Runoff Tuesday

June 18 — Polls are open until 7 p.m. for the primary election runoff. Two of the most-watched local contests are for DeKalb County CEO and Fulton County Commission District 4. Here’s a rundown of other races, and here is where to find your polling location.

⛅ Mostly cloudy and 90° today. 

💵 The Atlanta City Council passed a resolution to create a $7.5 million recovery fund for businesses impacted by the water main break crisis.

💰 The Fulton County Commission will pursue a renovation plan for the crumbling jail rather than spend $2.5 billion on a new one.

💻 Brookhaven residents are unhappy with the disruption and damage that the installation of Google Fiber is causing in the city.

🐦 Cross Keys High School is changing its mascot to the Phoenix from the Indians.

🏃🏾‍♂️ The Peachtree Road Race has announced the lineup of course entertainment for the annual July 4 event. 

📍 We’ve published some new pieces from our collab with SCAD students, including pieces about inequities in AIDS prevention and testing and the Divine Nine.

🇫🇷 Escape to Marseille, France, and join Villa Albertine and Chef Deborah VanTrece tonight for dinner and a discussion on multicultural cuisine, led by James Beard Award Winner Mike Jordan.

🎗️ Joseph Bankoff, noted attorney with King & Spalding and former CEO of the  Woodruff Arts Center, died on June 10 after a year-long battle with cancer. 

ELSEWHERE

🌡️ Extreme heat alerts continue for tens of millions across the country, with record-breaking temperatures from Iowa to Maine expected to last through at least Friday.

⚕️ The U.S. surgeon general wants to put warning labels on social media platforms, arguing they are “…associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents.”

🏀 The Celtics beat the Mavs to win the NBA Finals, the team’s record-setting 18th title. Marietta’s Jaylen Brown was named NBA Finals MVP.

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

• Tim Willard pop-ups
• Copa América watch party
• Around the State: ‘Forsyth County is Flooding’
AND
• Volunteer Opportunities

Have a good day,
Collin & Sammie


🎊 All are welcome! Juneteenth at City Springs, June 19, 5:00 p.m. Presented by the City of Sandy Springs, the celebration includes family-friendly fun, a performance of “From Africa to America,” an interactive art exhibit, African dance, drum circle, and genealogy exhibit! 

SPONSOR MESSAGE


Photo by Beth McKibben

1. Dive Wine’s Tim Willard launching two new bar pop-ups, one with jazz music and Taiwanese food

🇹🇼 Dive Wine founder and sommelier Tim Willard will launch two new bar pop-ups in July, one serving French wines spotlighting the Loire Valley region, the other featuring live music, cocktails, and Taiwanese food

Loire Bar will debut at Larakin on July 1 and run indefinitely every Monday and Tuesday at the Midtown coffee and wine bar on 12th Street.

On July 24, Willard will preview The Prez at the King Plow Arts Center’s Studio 887 next to Terminal West. Here, Willard will offer wine, cocktails, and Taiwanese food from Chef Fu-Mao Sun of Mighty Hans, with live jazz and funk performances throughout the evening.

🎷 Read more about the pop-ups here.


Don’t miss the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival! 

SPONSORED BY ATLANTA FOOD & WINE FESTIVAL

🍾 Step right up to a spectacle of Atlanta’s finest culinarians at the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival on Sept. 13-15 at Historic Fourth Ward Park!

Within the famous Tasting Tents presented by Goya Foods, guests will have the chance to immerse themselves into over 60 tasting stations, each one a portal to culinary bliss as your ticket includes delectable food, tantalizing drinks, captivating entertainment, and so much more this September!

🍴 Act fast – Early Bird Tickets are on sale now! Buy tickets here. 


Photo courtesy of MARTA

2. MARTA, Soccer in the Streets to host Copa América watch party

🚇 MARTA and Soccer in the Streets will host a watch party on Thurs., June 20 from 7-10 p.m. at West End Station to kick off the Copa América international men’s soccer tournament.

Other event co-hosts include Atlanta City Councilmember Jason Dozier, Atlanta Influences Everything, and Coca-Cola.

“At Soccer in the Streets, we are incredibly excited about the 2024 COPA América and the 2026 World Cup,” said Soccer in the Streets Executive Director Elijah Miranda. “Our intention is to do everything we can to make these experiences accessible to the communities we serve.”

⚽ More on this story here.


3. New Atlanta Opera production ‘Forsyth County Is Flooding’ is a dark comedy about Georgia’s history

🎭 “Forsyth County Is Flooding (with the Joy of Lake Lanier),” a one-act opera that premieres at Ray Charles Performing Arts Center at Morehouse College on June 15, is billed as a dark comedy.

The production reflects on environmental and spiritual retribution around two events in Georgia history: the forced exile of black residents from Forsyth County in 1912, and the decades-later creation of Lake Lanier, a man-made recreational lake and reservoir that covers a large part of North Georgia, including a town at the center of the events in 1912 known as Oscarville.

The opera’s creators are Marcus Norris, who wrote the music and lyrics, and Adamma Ebo, who wrote the book and story. GPB’s Devon Zwald recently spoke with Norris and Ebo about their vision for the opera and how the historical background ties into the story.  

🌊 Read that full conversation on GPB here.


🎊 All are welcome! Juneteenth at City Springs, June 19, 5:00 p.m. Presented by the City of Sandy Springs, the celebration includes family-friendly fun, a performance of “From Africa to America,” an interactive art exhibit, African dance, drum circle, and genealogy exhibit! 

SPONSOR MESSAGE


4. Volunteer Opportunities

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH HANDS ON ATLANTA

✍️ New American Pathways needs volunteers for its Atlanta Immigration Workshop on Thursday morning. A background check is required. You will be trained by NAP staff on how to fill out several different applications to assist Afghan and Ukrainian clients, how to request forms necessary to file for Temporary Protected Status, and how to enter additional client information.

🎒 Girls Incorporated of Greater Atlanta is looking for volunteers for its 2024 Summer University Camp in Marietta on Friday morning. A background check is required. Volunteers will support program facilitators with daily activities including STEM experiments; academic enrichment; fitness, health, and wellness; the arts; and outdoor activities. Can’t make Friday? Be sure to check here for other available dates in June.

🥒 Margie’s House in South Fulton (pictured) is looking for Saturday morning volunteers to assist with the upkeep and harvesting of the Golight Street Community Garden, including providing vegetables to neighboring communities. 


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📧 Today’s newsletter was edited by Julie E. Bloemeke.


This report was compiled and written by Rough Draft Atlanta's staff.