New month Tuesday

Oct. 1 — A Georgia judge on Monday struck down the state’s abortion law, which took effect in 2022 and effectively prohibited abortions beyond about six weeks of pregnancy.

☁️ Cloudy and 80° today.

💨 The BioLab fire in Conyers sent a haze of smoke and the smell of chlorine over Fulton and DeKalb counties on Monday, forcing air quality testing and schools to cancel after-school activities.

🌀 The number of Hurricane Helene-related deaths in Georgia has risen to 25. 

🚨 Sandy Springs Police are searching for a suspect after a motorist was shot and injured in a road rage incident yesterday morning on GA 400 near Windsor Parkway. 

🚧 Expect lane closures now through Oct. 4 along North Druid Hills Road at I-85 as interchange improvements continue. 

🇺🇦 Cultural Forces, a military band of Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers and musicians, will perform at the Buckhead Club tonight.

📷 “Even the birds gave pause,” the new exhibition from R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe, opens tonight at Jackson Fine Art.

🏆 Han Pham, a Decatur resident, has been chosen to participate in the Obama Foundation’s Leaders USA Program.

SPORTS

⚾️ Despite losing the first game of Monday’s doubleheader (already being called an MLB classic) and ace Chris Sale being scratched from the must-win second game, the Braves beat the Mets 3-0 to clinch a spot in the playoffs, which begin today at San Diego at 8:38 p.m. (ESPN, 93.7 FM)

🎗️ NBA Hall of Famer and Hawks legend Dikembe Mutombo died yesterday at 58. The eight-time All-Star and global humanitarian who spoke nine languages was known for his playful finger-wagging.

🎗️  Pete Rose, MLB’s all-time hits leader who was banned for betting on baseball, died at 83.

ELSEWHERE

➡ Israeli troops entered southern Lebanon in what it called “limited, localized, and targeted ground raids” against Hezbollah targets.

🚢 East and Gulf Coast dockworkers, including those at the Savannah and Brunswick, GA ports, began their first major strike in nearly 50 years, halting operations at 36 ports.

🗳 Vice Presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance and Gov. Tim Walz will face off tonight at 9 p.m. in their only debate before the November election. CBS’ Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan are the moderators. Here’s how to watch.

🕖 Here’s what’s in today’s newsletter:

• President Carter at 100
• New restaurants
• Ansley Reid House
• Around the State: GPB
AND
• Volunteer Opportunities

Happy October,
Collin & Sammie 

🎸 Enjoy your very own city soundtrack this October at Midtown Alliance’s “Live After 5” outdoor music series. Hear up-and-coming talent every week from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at two different locations (Peachtree @ 10th on Wednesdays, Peachtree @ 15th on Thursdays). Featuring jazz, blues, singer/songwriter + more. Details here. SPONSOR MESSAGE

1. Happy Birthday, President Carter!

🎂 Today is the 100th birthday of former President Jimmy Carter, the longest-living former president in US history.

📸 The Carter Center encourages friends and supporters to contribute to a digital mosaic (above). So far, nearly 5,000 people have submitted photos and tributes, many remarking on how he has inspired them.

🏡 In St. Paul, MN, Habitat for Humanity volunteers led by Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood will build 30 homes this week. Locally, Trees Atlanta plans to plant Live Oaks at both the Georgia State Capitol and The Carter Center today. 

📺 Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) will broadcast “Jimmy Carter 100: A Celebration in Song” tonight at 7 p.m. The special, capturing the landmark concert event held last month at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre, features performances by diverse artists honoring the former president, who is also known for his love of rock and roll.

💯 Read more about how the former president will celebrate this milestone.

Cirque Kalabanté “Afrique en Cirque” at the Rialto

SPONSORED BY RIALTO CENTER FOR THE ARTS

🎪 Created by Yamoussa Bangoura and inspired by everyday life in his homeland of Guinea, Cirque Kalabanté’s “Afrique en Cirque” (Africa in Circus) bursts with energy that embodies the strength, agility, and joy of West Africans, creating a vibrant spectacle extending beyond vivid costumes, scenery, and staging.

🤸🏼‍♀️  Acrobats perform breathtaking, gravity-defying feats and form human pyramids, all set to contemporary Afro-Jazz, percussion, and kora music.

➞ Audiences will be captivated by Cirque Kalabanté’s remarkable acrobatic talents and celebrate alongside the Company as they support the Guinean community from which they hail.

2. New restaurant round-up: Pizza Jeans, The Sparrow, Ashland’s Kitchen, Avize, and more

🍕 We’ve got a brief roundup of recent openings and upcoming restaurants you might have missed in September.

Included in this lineup: Pizza Jeans, a Ponce City Market pizzeria that recently opened a new location in Buckhead; May Peel (pictured above), a cocktail lounge named for a Titanic survivor, which opened at the newly renovated Hotel Granada; and the long-awaited sandwich shop and bar Motorboat just opened in the former 8ARM space on Ponce.

🍸 Learn more about what opened up in September here.

AND, THIS WEEK

🏔️ Avize Modern Alpine Kitchen opens Oct. 3, taking over the space once home to Nick’s Westside on Brady Avenue. Owned by Chef Karl Gorline, Avize explores his family’s roots in Bavaria and the cuisines of Alpine countries. Read more about Avize and peek at the menu here. 

3. The history and splendor of Reid House

✨ Reid House, originally Garrison Luxury Apartments, located at the border of stately Ansley Park and Midtown, is significant for its Georgian Revival architectural style and design by noted Atlanta architects Philip Trammell Shutze and Neel Reid.

Its history provides insight into the development of Atlanta in the 1920s. The building has been home to socialites, bohemians, artists, and business tycoons. Some former and current residents’ recognizable Atlanta surnames include Alston, Candler, Dewberry, Dorsey, Inman, Lanier, and Woodruff. Reid House is situated across from the High Museum of Art at the corner of 16th and Peachtree streets, known as “Atlanta’s Park Avenue.”

➡ Read more in this piece from Georgia State professor and Reid House resident Stuart Noel.

TOUR OF HOMES 

📍 Rough Draft is a media sponsor of the Ansley Park Tour of Homes on Oct. 5-6. The 2024 Tour features nine stops that offer a look back into the neighborhood’s rich history as well as a glimpse of its exciting future. Learn more and get tickets here.

4. Judge halts Sapelo zoning mid-election

🗳️ A judge on Wednesday ordered a stop to an ongoing referendum to decide the fate of new zoning in Sapelo Island’s Hogg Hummock.

The order requires the McIntosh County Board of Elections to immediately “… cease and desist opening and staffing the polls for early voting and from opening and staffing the polling places for the Oct. 1 referendum.” 

The Hogg Hummock area is inhabited by descendants of enslaved West Africans and is the last Gullah Geechee community on a Georgia barrier island. Zoning approved in September 2023 allows bigger, taller houses, which residents fear will force out Sapelo descendants in favor of wealthy developers.

➡ Read more in this story from GPB. 

🍷 Uncork and unwind at the Sandy Springs Wine Festival on Sun., Oct. 6.Enjoy an afternoon sampling highly rated wines from across the globe. Taste robust reds, delicate whites, and more. Small bites and live music are included. Get your tickets here. SPONSOR MESSAGE

5. Volunteer Opportunities

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH HANDS ON ATLANTA

🥫 Volunteers are needed this Sat., Oct. 5 to help King’s Table Food Distribution with drive-through food assistance. Learn more about how you can help here.

🌳 Livable Buckhead needs help for its Party on the PATH event on Sun., Oct. 6. You can help promote the visual arts in Atlanta and raise awareness about the need for greenspace in the city. Learn more here.

📦 New Life Community Alliance needs people to unpack and sort through donated food items this Thurs., Oct. 3. Learn more here.