🚲 Northeast Trail breaks ground

More heat for Monday

Aug. 7 — The US Women’s National Team’s attempt to make history with a third straight World Cup title came to an end yesterday as the Americans fell to Sweden on penalty kicks in the round of 16. It’s a crushing defeat for the US, which actually dominated much of the match in a tournament where they struggled from the beginning. Find more World Cup results below.

🌞 Sunny and 95° today. Expect late afternoon thunderstorms.

🎒 Today is the first day of school for Fulton and DeKalb Counties.

❌ Alpharetta is the latest metro suburb where antisemitic flyers were distributed to homes. In an online statement, Mayor Jim Gilvin said, “I am disturbed and deeply disappointed by these flyers. As a city, we fully support the freedoms provided by the First Amendment, but denounce antisemitism in all its forms.”

🔎 Two people have been arrested in connection to the disappearance of then-19-year-old Atlanta resident Morgan Bauer back in 2016.

💰 DeKalb County Commissioner Michelle Long Spears is hosting two public meetings – in person on Aug. 8 and virtual on Aug. 9 – about the allocation of sales tax monies for infrastructure repairs and upgrades.

📻 Bert Wesley Huffman was named CEO of Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) on Friday. Huffman, who joined GPB in 2014, is replacing Teya Ryan who retired in May.

💰 There were no winners in Friday’s Mega Millions drawing, so tomorrow’s jackpot is now an estimated $1.55 billion, which is the largest prize in the game’s history.

🍜 There are a lot of dining deals to be had as Buford Highway Restaurant Month is underway through Aug. 31 with eateries in Brookhaven, Chamblee, and Doraville offering special menus and deals. Meanwhile, Black Restaurant Week runs through Aug. 20.

IN NEW YORK

🎮 There was chaos in Manhattan’s Union Square Park Friday afternoon after popular social media personality Kai Cenat announced he would give away free video game consoles. More than 65 people were arrested and Cenat faces charges of inciting a riot.

🕖 Today’s newsletter is 5️⃣ stories.

• New BeltLine segment
• APS interim superintendent
• Global Headlines
• El Tesoro x Wild Heaven
AND
• Look & Listen

Have a good day,
Collin, Sammie, & Madison

🎟️ Don’t miss the lowest price ever for all-inclusive tasting tents at the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival, Sept. 22-24. Experience unlimited food, cocktails, live entertainment, and more! Expand your palate and savor the best of the South. Get your tickets before a 20% price increase on Aug. 9.
SPONSOR MESSAGE

1. BeltLine breaks ground on Northeast Trail segment

🚲 Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, city commissioners, elected officials, Atlanta BeltLine leaders, and community members broke ground on the Northeast Trail – Segment 1 on Friday.

The 0.9-mile segment will connect from the existing Eastside Trail and run alongside Piedmont Park. When complete, this segment will provide an alternative to traveling Monroe Drive, allowing safe access for pedestrians and cyclists between the busy 10th Street and Piedmont Avenue commercial areas.

“This is a big day for Atlanta and Atlantans. We’re moving closer to making the complete BeltLine a reality,” Dickens said. “Being able to go from Washington Park and ride a bicycle or jog from the Westside all the way to Piedmont Park, people are going to see that soon.”

Decatur’s newly renovated active senior living community
SPONSORED BY CLAIRMONT CREST

🏡 Clairmont Crest, Decatur’s active senior living community, is leasing newly renovated units for those aged 55 and older to help them find a community where they can live independently and thrive.

“At Clairmont Crest, we’re more than just four walls and a roof. We are a vibrant community where residents can thrive, relax, and enjoy the next chapter of their lives,” explained Ryan Swedberg, president of Dwell Communities, the parent company of Clairmont Crest.

“From state-of-the-art fitness facilities to regular community gatherings and volunteer groups, we want to cultivate health for the entire person — physically, emotionally, and spiritually.”

💰 Clairmont Crest is offering new applicants two months rent-free off their fully renovated units. Learn more here.

2. APS to get interim superintendent

✏️ The Atlanta Board of Education (ABOE) will vote today to approve Dr. Danielle Battle as interim superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools after Dr. Lisa Herring announced she would leave at the end of the month.

The board announced in June that it would not renew Herring’s contract, but she was expected to remain in the role until the end of the 2023-24 academic year.

The board is in the process of selecting a national search firm to help identify a permanent superintendent.

Battle (pictured) is no stranger to APS, having served in a variety of leadership positions over her 19-year career. Prior to her retirement in June 2021, Battle was the Principal of Parkside Elementary and Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School.

3. Coup holds in Niger; Christie to Kyiv

On Mondays, we get an update on global news through our partnership with the World Affairs Council of Atlanta.

🇳🇪 Military leaders who overthrew Niger’s government two weeks ago continue to hold power in the West African country. The junta has closed Niger’s airspace in anticipation of an attack by foreign powers that have condemned the coup.

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia was the unlikely host for the latest round of talks to find a path to peace in Ukraine. The meetings, which did not include Russia, were attended by senior representatives from about 40 countries, including the US, China, India, and the EU.

🇺🇦 Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky met in Kyiv with US Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie on Friday. Christie, the former Governor of New Jersey, said “I feel the cruelty, and you feel the inhumanity. And you look at this, and I don’t think there’s anyone in our country who would come here and see this and not feel as if these are the things that America needs to stand up to prevent” (photo above via Instagram).

🇷🇺 In a closed-door trial at a maximum security prison camp, Alexey Navalny, the most prominent opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was sentenced to an additional 19 years behind bars on charges of extremism. Navalny is the subject of an Oscar-winning documentary available on Max.

🇰🇷 An expected typhoon forced authorities to evacuate the World Scout Jamboree in South Korea. The evacuation comes a day after a K-pop concert was canceled due to extreme heat.

🇨🇦 Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife took to Instagram to announce that they are separating after 18 years of marriage.

AT THE WOMEN’S WORLD CUP

⚽ England, Japan, Spain, Sweden, and The Netherlands advanced into the quarterfinals, which begin later this week. Australia and Denmark are playing as we hit send this morning (TV: FS1). Our apologies to the Matildas, whom we mistakenly identified as being eliminated in Friday’s newsletter.

🇯🇲 Chamblee High School’s Solai Washington resumes her journey with Jamaica’s Reggae Girlz against Colombia tomorrow at 4 a.m. ET (TV: FS1).

4. Wild Heaven Beer partners with El Tesoro

🍻 Wild Heaven Beer has announced that taqueria El Tesoro will take over its kitchen at the Lee + White development in West End starting today.

El Tesoro, which launched in 2018 in the Edgewood neighborhood, will offer its menu of tacos, burritos, mulitas, queso, and tostones seven days a week beginning at 11 a.m. Customers will have the opportunity to order Wild Heaven beverages and El Tesoro food in a single transaction.

“Like everyone who has been to El Tesoro, I fell in love with their incredible cooking. It’s totally next level,” Wild Heaven President Nick Purdy said. “We’re beyond delighted to make our West End location a true food destination to go with Eric Johnson’s amazing lineup of beers.”

5. Atlanta influences your earbuds

LOOK & LISTEN | BY MARA DAVIS

This week, we tap into the global influence of Atlanta with podcasts about what’s to come at the Fulton County courthouse, 90’s flashbacks, and interviews with notable ATLiens.

⚖️ “Breakdown:” The clock is ticking and if you want up-to-the-minute inside information on the grand jury investigation of Donald Trump, add Breakdown to your feed. AJC journalists Bill Rankin and Tamar Hallerman have the best-sourced details on what Fulton County DA Fani Willis is up to. They are the authorities on this case and have been covering it since the very beginning.

🚨“Racket: The Gold Club:” In the ’90s, Atlanta’s Gold Club was the splashiest, most exclusive strip club in America, home to celebrities, big-name athletes, and corporate executives. Champagne, sex, and debauchery were offered nightly until it was raided by the FBI for racketeering. Racket takes you behind the scenes of what really happened.

🍾 “FREAKNIK: A Discourse on a Paradise Lost:” If you lived in Atlanta in the 80s and ’90s, you know about the black spring break party that took over the city. You’ll learn how it all got started, how things spiraled out of control, and why the media’s coverage of it was so problematic. Musicians, journalists, residents, and politicians relive and investigate Freaknik (pictured).

🎙️ FY!: Media publicist and friend of Rough Draft Mitch Leff just launched a new podcast about Atlanta’s PR community. His first guest is my friend Caren West, who I’ve known since she was a baby publicist with Liz Lapidus PR. Now she runs her own successful PR firm. Leff also hosts the 4 Questions Journalist Spotlight that’s been going on for the last nine years. Hey, Mitch! Let me know when you want to interview me! 😀

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