Wet Weekend
Friday, Oct. 9 — Gov. Brian Kemp issued a state of emergency as Georgians prepare for Hurricane Isaias. Keep an eye on our live weather updates, closures, and cancellations throughout the weekend. The website for Sunday’s Sandy Springs Wine Festival states the event is under a tent and will go on “rain or shine.”
🌂 As of Friday morning, it looks like the Atlanta area will see the storm’s greatest impact on Saturday. The rain is forecast to move out by early Sunday with temperatures in the 60s.
⛔️ Sandy Springs residents are back home after being evacuated due to a gas main that was hit on Oct. 7. The incident occured at Johnson Ferry Road and Sandy Springs Circle near Fire Station 2 and the City Springs district. To repair and secure the gas line, Georgia Power temporarily cut power to the area and evacuated more than 100 homes.
🏙️ Visit Sandy Springs unveiled a new brand that embodies the spirit of the community and highlights what makes Sandy Springs unique. “‘The Realm of Possibility’ underscores the opportunity within Sandy Springs: a blend of city and suburb that makes the destination an ideal location to live, work, and play,” according to the organizaiton’s announcement. “This brand promises that when you visit Sandy Springs, anything is possible.”
🗳️ Early voting for Georgia’s midterm elections starts Tuesday, Oct. 13. In addition to voting for many statewide and local offices, Sandy Springs residents will decide whether to renew the city’s Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (TSPLOST).
💊 SpecialtyRx, the nation’s largest privately owned long-term care pharmacy, will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony next month for its regional pharmacy that opened earlier this year on Dunwoody Place in Sandy Springs, according to PR Newswire. The business focuses on supporting nursing facilities, assisted living communities, and other institutional health care providers.
✡️ The Atlanta Jewish Times apologized after running a controversial advertisement that claimed “if President Trump was president in the 1930s, we would not have had World War II.” The ad invoked Holocaust imagery and claimed that Trump would have prevented the Holocaust, which killed 6 million Jews.
Stay safe and dry this weekend,
The Rough Draft team
🕯️ As the sun sets over Atlanta, the past comes alive. Now in its 20th year, history, theatre, and Halloween thrills converge at Oakland Cemetery for Capturing the Spirit of Oakland Halloween tours on Oct. 15-18 & 22-25 from 5-11 p.m. SPONSOR MESSAGE
Sandy Springs woman claims racial profiling by police
🚔 A Sandy Springs resident has filed an official complaint against a police officer, alleging she was racially profiled at Morgan Falls Overlook Park on Oct. 7.
She posted a video of the incident that went viral on her social media page.
Sandy Springs resident Marrón Bridges filmed two videos of her interactions with officers and posted them to her Instagram account, which has more than 47,000 followers. They show a white male police officer following a black woman in his patrol car and asking her to identify herself before later requesting that she leave the park.
Police representatives refused to comment specifically on the incident, other than to say that the officer was investigating a separate crime during the interaction.
👀 Read Hayden Sumlin’s full report here.
George Gershwin’s toe-tapping tunes at Symphony Hall
SPONSORED BY ATLANTA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
🎶 Known as “the great American opera,” George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess has resonated through American culture since its 1935 premiere. No one could write a toe-tapping tune like Gershwin, and you can hear his music in concert with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra on Oct. 22 and 24.
Not quite jazz and not quite classical, Gershwin’s watershed Rhapsody in Blue offers irresistible fun at this concert featuring jazz pianist Sullivan Fortner. After intermission, the orchestra drops into overdrive for Carl Nielsen’s indomitable Fourth Symphony, nicknamed The Inextinguishable.
→ See concert details and get your tickets here.
Sandy Springs advances controversial Morgan Falls Loop segment
🏞️ The Sandy Springs City Council approved submitting a grant application to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources at this week’s meeting, seeking $3 million for the next paved segment of the Morgan Falls Loop.
More than two dozen Sandy Springs residents spoke during public comment about the trail’s design and impact on the neighborhood, ranging from outright opposition to full support for the project.
Because the segment runs on the other side of a creek behind single-family homes and private properties, some affected homeowners are concerned about parking obstructions, increased criminal activity, and construction disturbances.
🚴🏾♂️ Read what’s next for the new segment of Morgan Falls Loop.
Sandy Springs announces flat millage rate
🏡 Sandy Springs officials plan to keep the city’s millage rate at 4.731 mills. Because that rate is higher than the rollback rate, which would offset rising property assessments, state law requires the city to advertise it as a 0.26% tax increase.
Since its incorporation in 2005, the city has maintained a flat property tax millage rate every year at the cap set in the city charter. Property owners may see their city tax bills change slightly, depending on whether the reassessment drove the value up or down.
Georgia law requires three public hearings for interested parties to express their opinions on the increase. The hearings, scheduled for Oct. 20 at 6 p.m. and Nov. 3 at 8:30 a.m. and 6 p.m., will be held at Sandy Springs City Hall, 1 Galambos Way.
📍 Read more about Sandy Springs’ millage rate.
🛍️ Shop local at the outdoor Midtown Artisan Market on select Sundays this fall at Midtown Green. Discover Atlanta makers offering handmade and vintage goods, plus food, community activities, and more. Oct. 25, Nov. 22 & Dec. 13, noon-6 p.m. Free admission. SPONSOR MESSAGE
What’s doin’ around Sandy Springs
🎻 Oct. 9:Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra at City Springs
🧙🏼♀️ Oct. 9: Movies By Moonlight: Hocus Pocus at Heritage Park
🪴 Oct. 10:Wild Roots Native Plant Sale at Lost Corner Preserve
🚙 Oct. 11:WagonFest Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz USA HQ
🗓️ Add your event to our free, online event calendar.
The Sports Section
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SCORE ATLANTA
🏈 FOOTBALL
- Holy Innocents’ (7-0): Friday vs. Wesleyan (4-2)
- Lovett (4-2): Friday vs. North Cobb Christian (3-2)
- Mt. Vernon (5-2): Oct. 16 @ Walker (2-4)
- North Springs (1-5): Friday @ Salem (1-5)
- Pace Academy (1-5): Friday vs. Westminster (2-3)
- Riverwood (0-5): Friday vs. Lanier (2-4)
- Westminster (2-3): Friday vs. Pace Academy (1-5)
🥎 SOFTBALL
- Holy Innocents’ (10-14): TBD
- Lovett (5-15): TBD
- Mt. Vernon (18-8): TBD
- North Springs (7-15): TBD
- Pace Academy (18-5): TBD
- Riverwood (13-7-1): TBD
- Westminster (12-11): TBD
🏐 VOLLEYBALL
- Holy Innocents’ (25-9): Tuesday vs. Mount Paran Christian (37-11)
- Lovett (31-6): TBD
- Mt. Vernon (19-23): TBD
- North Springs (7-18): TBD
- Pace Academy (16-16): TBD
- Riverwood (28-9): TBD
- Westminster (36-5): TBD
School records are as of Thursday, Oct. 8 . TBDs are pending release of the playoff brackets.
