Melt into Monday
June 24 — The Atlanta BeltLine will break ground today at 10:30 a.m. on the first segment of the Northwest Trail.
☀️ Sunny and very hot with a high of 96° today. Same all week.
🏗️ Two controversial projects – the redevelopment of Amsterdam Walk and the razing of the historic Gresham Building on The Galloway School campus – are on the agenda for today’s Atlanta City Council zoning review committee meeting.
🏫 The Atlanta Board of Education is hosting a Town Hall with superintendent sole finalist Dr. Bryan Johnson tonight at Midtown High School at 6 p.m. Five more similar events are scheduled through July 5.
🚨 A suspect is in custody after a Friday afternoon shooting near the East Lake MARTA station that put parts of Kirkwood and Oakhurst on lockdown.
🔎 The Sandy Springs Police Department is investigating the case of a missing five-year-old girl who was declared dead after being found in an apartment complex swimming pool on Friday morning.
💰 Sandy Springs-based UPS announced Sunday that it plans to sell its truckload brokerage business Coyote Logistics for $1.025 billion.
📍 Newell Brands has signed a lease for 180,000 square feet of office space in the “Queen” building in Sandy Springs for its new headquarters.
🚊 After pushback from city leaders and riders, MARTA said it would explore keeping pedestrian access open to the Five Points Station during a four-year renovation project.
🍿 Tickets are available now for the 2024 Coca-Cola Summer Film Festival at the Fox Theatre, Aug. 23-25.
🎤 There was no rain, but some blue eyes were crying after illness caused Willie Nelson to cancel his scheduled appearance at the Outlaw Music Festival on Friday night.
🥇 Georgia sophomore runner Aaliyah Butler is headed to Paris after making the U.S. Olympic team in the 400m. Swimmers Brooks Curry of Dunwoody, and UGA’s Chase Kalisz also made the team.
ELSEWHERE
🏒 Edmonton and Florida play a decisive Game 7 in the NL Stanley Cup Finals tonight at 8 p.m. (TV: ABC)
➡ Flooding in northwest Iowa has destroyed hundreds of properties and displaced over 1,000 residents.
🕖 Here’s what’s in today’s newsletter:
• SPLOST funds in Tucker
• ‘Trial Watchers’
• Global Headlines
AND
• Look & Listen
Have a great week,
Collin & Sammie
🥘 Southern Chefs Potluck is back! Join amazing Chefs Duane Nutter, Anne Quatrano, Rodney Scott, and more as they prepare an epic feast to raise money to make locally grown food affordable for all Georgians – Oct. 6 at Serenbe. Learn more and get tickets here.
SPONSOR MESSAGE
1. SPLOST funds fuel Tucker’s improvement of roads, parks, and sidewalks
🚧 Roads, parks, and sidewalks are seeing major improvements in Tucker, thanks to Special Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) monies.
SPLOST 1 – a six-year, one-penny sales tax approved by voters in 2017 – allocated 65% for road improvements, 15% for parks, and 20% for sidewalks and trails, according to figures released by the city’s engineering and finance department.
This year’s paving list includes Roger Marten Way, several streets in the Brockett Creek area, five streets in the Arldowne Drive area, Florence and Rosser Terrace streets, five streets in the ForestGlade Circle part of Tucker, and five more in the Smoke Rise Gunstock Corridor.
🛣️ Check out more on this story here.
Progress Update: Ashford Dunwoody path hits major construction milestones
SPONSORED BY PERIMETER COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT DISTRICTS
🛣️ The Ashford Dunwoody Path, a collaboration between the City of Dunwoody and the DeKalb Perimeter Community Improvement Districts, is almost ready! Phase 1, from Hammond Drive to Perimeter Center West, now has new sidewalks, a raised two-way cycle track, and streetlights.
Up next: a bus shelter, plaza areas, trees, and lush landscaping. This project connects residents and office communities to local businesses, solving the “last mile” challenge.
🌳 Read more about this vibrant addition to Perimeter’s trail network on the PerimeterATL.com blog!
2. Sandy Springs, Augusta authors pen book on ‘Trial Watchers’
⚖️ “Trial Watchers,” a new book by Augusta’s Neil Gordon with Sandy Springs’ Mike Petchenik (pictured), has its roots in a group of true crime enthusiasts including Gordon’s wife, Melissa.
Melissa told Gordon she wanted to take on a personal project as a buddy trip with a fellow photographer to attend the Alex Murdaugh murder trial in the Low Country of South Carolina. She made that trip and met journalists and “regular people” who came to watch the trial.
“Trial Watchers” tells his wife’s story and those of several other trial watchers. He coupled those stories with co-author Petchenik’s look at other aspects of trial watching, including the psychology of it.
📖 Read more about the book and its authors here.
3. Extreme heat kills more than 1,300 during Hajj; Gallant in Washington
🇸🇦 More than 1,300 people died during this year’s Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia as the faithful faced extremely high temperatures at Islamic holy sites. Half of those who died were from Egypt, where authorities have revoked the licenses of the travel agencies that organized the trips.
🇷🇺 Coordinated attacks on police posts, churches, and a synagogue in Dagestan, Russia left 19 police officers and several civilians, including an Orthodox priest, dead. Six suspected Islamic extremists were also killed.
🇮🇱 In Washington meetings, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is emphasizing the importance of Israel-U.S. relations and discussing developments in Gaza, Lebanon, and the transition to “Phase 3” in Gaza.
🇷🇺 Russia begins a closed-door trial on Wed., June 26 for Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, whom the U.S. says is falsely accused of espionage.
🇮🇷 In Iran, six men are running to succeed President Ebrahim Raisi who was killed last month in a helicopter crash.
🇧🇪 Belgian sex workers have new employment rights such as the ability to sign work contracts.
🇪🇨 Ecuador temporarily suspended visa waivers for Chinese nationals, citing “irregular migration.”
⚕️ The Dalai Lama, Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, flew from his home in exile in India to New York for medical treatment on his knees.
🇬🇧 Dua Lipa, PJ Harvey, Coldplay, Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon, and Atlanta’s Janelle Monáe are among the performers in England’s legendary Glastonbury Festival.
🇦🇺 3,000 naked swimmers marked Australia’s winter solstice with a celebratory plunge in the River Derwent.
🗓️ Register today to attend a fireside chat and breakfast with Karen Pierce DCMG, British Ambassador to the United States on Thur., Sept. 5. Get a better understanding of the past, present, and future of the special relationship between the U.S. and the U.K. Learn more.
🥘 Southern Chefs Potluck is back! Join amazing Chefs Duane Nutter, Anne Quatrano, Rodney Scott, and more as they prepare an epic feast to raise money to make locally grown food affordable for all Georgians – Oct. 6 at Serenbe. Learn more and get tickets here.
SPONSOR MESSAGE
4. Economics, debates, and more
🎙️ NPR’s “Planet Money” explores price pack architecture, an industry concept influencing product sizing and pricing, transforming grocery marketing strategies. Learn why you’re paying more for those mini cans of soda and four-packs of beer as inflation is expected to be a major theme of this Thursday’s presidential debate.
🎧 “It Came Out of Nowhere,” a recent episode of “The Journal” from the WSJ, explores why everybody is suddenly talking about, and apparently drinking, Dr. Pepper, which Beverage Digest recently named as the No. 2 soft drink.
🎧 As Americans gather around cookouts and community pools, British citizens are preparing for a July 4 election. In this episode of “The New Yorker Radio Hour,” former Member of Parliament Rory Stewart, tells David Remnick why a career in politics is soul-crushing.
🎙️ Want to know how both presidential candidates are preparing for the debate? Check out NPR’s podcast on masculinity in politics and how Biden and Trump prepare for the first in-person meeting of the 2024 campaign.
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📧 Today’s newsletter was edited by Julie E. Bloemeke.
