Time for Tuesday
June 4 — While water was still on everyone’s mind yesterday, the Atlanta City Council passed a combined $2.75 billion budget – the largest in city history.
☔️ An 80% chance of rain and 84° today.
⚽ After only one win in its last 11 games, Atlanta United fired Head Coach Gonzalo Pineda. “Assistant Coach Rob Valentino will take over as interim head coach effectively immediately,” the team said in a statement.
➡ Three Republican-appointed judges will decide if District Attorney Fani Willis should be disqualified from prosecuting Fulton County’s election interference case against Donald Trump, with oral arguments tentatively set for Oct. 4.
⚖️ The 11th Circuit Court blocked Atlanta-based Fearless Fund from awarding $20,000 grants to Black women-owned businesses, siding with conservative activist Edward Blum.
🗳️ Are political endorsements important? As the June 18 runoff approaches, DeKalb CEO hopeful Lorraine Cochran-Johnson said she doesn’t think so.
📍 Explore Brookhaven has appointed David Kemp as the new director of City Centre Events and International Sales.
ELSEWHERE
🇮🇳 India’s financial markets are down sharply after early election results suggest Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party may lose seats, a setback requiring coalition support to form a government.
⚖️ A jury was seated Monday in the federal gun case against President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter. Opening statements are set for today.
➡️ President Biden plans to sign an executive order shutting down asylum requests at the U.S.-Mexico border when daily encounters exceed 2,500, reopening when they drop below 1,500.
🕖 Here’s what’s in today’s newsletter:
• Atlanta water updates
• ‘Les Misérables’ at the Fox
• Around the State: GPB
AND
• Volunteer Opportunities
Have a good day,
Collin & Sammie
🌃 Celebrate the launch of Midtown ATL’s newest public performance space! Enjoy a free variety show on Wed., June 12 from 4:30-7:30 p.m. at the brand-new outdoor stage on the North Avenue MARTA station plaza. This event is open to all. Details here.
SPONSOR MESSAGE
1. Midtown water main repairs continue as Army Corps of Engineers called in
💧 Repairs to the water main at 11th and West Peachtree were ongoing at 6 a.m. as the Atlanta water crisis entered its fifth day.
💬 Mayor Andre Dickens appeared before the Atlanta City Council on Monday to discuss a “weekend like no other” and announced that he was calling in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to assist with Atlanta’s ongoing water crisis. He said the engineers would have “boots on the ground” today to begin identifying and addressing the vulnerabilities of the city’s water system.
💰 Meanwhile, City Councilman Matt Westmoreland introduced legislation to create a recovery fund for small businesses impacted by the water outages. The legislation calls for up to $5 million of city funds to be transferred to Invest Atlanta, the city’s economic development agency.
🚰 For complete coverage of the water crisis, visit our hub at this link.
RELATED
➡ Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul said he wants a judge to rule on the city’s lawsuit over a water system agreement with Atlanta to avoid the kind of crisis that played out over the weekend.
Nathalie Stutzmann conducts Wagner and Mozart
SPONSORED BY ATLANTA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
🎻 Warrior women, jealous rage, a dragon, and a magical ring of power—before Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings,” there was Richard Wagner’s “Ring of the Nibelung,” which electrified opera audiences for generations.
Now you can hear the highlights of the powerful instrumental soundtrack from this epic fantasy when Nathalie Stutzmann leads the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in “The Ring Without Words.”
Mozart’s sparkling Sinfonia Concertante rounds out the program and allows some of the Orchestra’s principal musicians to step into the spotlight and shine as soloists in this delightful work.
⭐ Join the Orchestra at Symphony Hall June 6-8 at 8 p.m. More here.
2. Christopher Sapp returns home to perform in ‘Les Misérables’ at the Fox
🎭 Christopher Sapp is returning home to perform in “Les Misérables” at the Fox Theatre.
Sapp, who was raised in Calhoun and attended the University of Georgia, serves as a swing for all 11 male ensemble parts in the national tour of “Les Misérables,” which is playing at the Fox from June 4-9.
The Tony award-winning musical is based on Victor Hugo’s novel and takes place in 19th-century France following the story of Jean Valjean. The show includes famous songs such as “I Dreamed a Dream,” “On My Own,” “Bring Him Home,” and more.
🇫🇷 Rough Draft spoke to Sapp ahead of opening night. You can read that interview here.
3. Report: Rural America produces greenhouse gasses on behalf of urban and suburban areas
🚜 A new report shows that at least 36% of annual greenhouse gas emissions in the United States come from rural America, but they’re mostly used to produce energy and food for urban and suburban areas.
And while rural communities — particularly low-income and rural communities of color — are exposed to a disproportionate amount of greenhouse gas emissions, they’re not receiving the federal investments to decrease these emissions.
“If we really want to meaningfully reduce emissions, [we need to invest] in efforts that are rural to reduce the emissions that are connected to that consumption,” said Maria Doerr, lead author of the report and program officer for the Rural Climate Partnership, in an interview with the Daily Yonder.
➡️ More on this story from GPB here.
🎬 Town Brookhaven kicks off Movies on the Town, an annual summer movie series, on June 6. Gather on the green space for this family-friendly activity to be held on Thursdays at dusk in June and July (excluding July 4). Learn more here.
SPONSOR MESSAGE
4. Volunteer Opportunities
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH HANDS ON ATLANTA
⚾ C.H.O.I.C.E.S. needs volunteers for its Atlanta Braves Home Plate Mobile Food Pantry on Thursday starting at 9 a.m. You will be distributing food with the Atlanta Braves Foundation.
🧃 BTG Community Outreach is looking for volunteers for its BTG Summer Lunch program on Friday morning in Newnan. Designed for kids who usually receive free lunches during the school year, you will help pack and organize lunches to distribute to kids in different locations.
🌿 Join West Atlanta Watershed Alliance (WAWA) (pictured) for Second Service Saturdays starting at 8 a.m. near Adair Park. Expect to help with trail building and maintenance, invasive plant eradication, habitat restoration, and other activities needed to manage the facility and grounds.
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📧 Today’s newsletter was edited by Julie E. Bloemeke.
