Members of the Georgia General Assembly and the Consulate General of Israel to the Southeast launched the Georgia-Israel Legislative Caucus. The newly formed bicameral and bipartisan caucus will focus on enhancing the bilateral relations between Georgia and the State of Israel in the political, economic, cultural, academic and social realms. The caucus will be co-chaired by six members of the Georgia General Assembly, including founding co-chairs Sen. John Albers (R ), Sen. Tonya Anderson (D), Rep. Debra Bazemore (D), Rep. John Carson (R ), Rep. Micah Gravely (R ), and Rep. Mike Wilensky (D).
Cheshire Bridge Road remains closed after a fire under a bridge between Woodland and Faulkner roads last summer forced the city to demolish it in December. A spokesman for the the Atlanta Department of Transportation said it has forwarded a contractor recommendation for the design and rebuild of the bridge over South Fork Peachtree Creek, but there’s no timeline for the award announcement. “An update will be provided, once the contract is executed,” according to the spokesman. Businesses along the corridor have lost customers and residents have been inconvenienced due to the ongoing closure.
More than 700 people were at the Fox Theatre on Monday for the Midtown Alliance Annual Meeting. Topics included development growth and density, a look inside crime trends in Midtown, new public art partnerships, the latest on street-level improvement projects, and a deep-dive on the emerging culture shift toward open-air gathering spaces. “We mean it when we say that Midtown will be among the most exceptional urban places anywhere, and there is more work to do,” new Alliance board chair Mary Pat Matheson told the gathering. “We are doubling down on placemaking, public art and activations like Sam Phibian [the topiary frog on 10th Street], and we have made recent progress with the City on some long-stalled projects.” Mayor Andre Dickens also lauded the city’s partnership with Midtown Alliance during his remarks. “We have seen over $9 billion in private investment, and tens of thousands of jobs created in this simple one and a half square mile,” he said. “This has made us the envy of cities all around the country.” Read a full recap of the meeting at this link.