Thursday thoughts
May 8 — Today marks the 80th anniversary of VE Day, when German forces surrendered to the Allies in 1945. Across Europe and America, millions celebrated the end of six years of war, though World War II would continue in the Pacific for another three months.
☔ More rain and 81° today.
🏗️ Brookhaven is planning to build a pedestrian bridge over I-85 from Executive Park to the Peachtree Creek Greenway in the next three years.
🗣️ Sandy Springs wants community input to help create design guidelines for the city’s commercial areas.
🗳️ Despite assurances that a controversial pickleball facility would be put on hold until 2027, Tucker City Council will vote on a contract for a downsized version of the proposal at its next meeting.
🏠 Sen. Jon Ossoff announced an investigation into investment companies buying up large swaths of rental homes in Georgia.
💻 Campus, a tech-driven two-year college, plans to open an office in Atlanta, hiring 100 employees and expanding its student support services.
🗳 Georgia Democrats met at a summit in Atlanta on Monday and Tuesday to talk strategy ahead of the 2026 midterms.
🍔 The second location of NFA Burger opens on May 15 at Avalon in Alpharetta. Its founder told Rough Draft that the new location will have a bar and sit-down service.
⚕️ Healthbeat reports that federal funding to provide people with free HIV home tests has been canceled.
ELSEWHERE
➡ Black smoke rose from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel again this morning, signaling that the gathered cardinals did not pick a new pope on the second round of voting at the papal conclave.
🛩️ A second $67 million F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet from USS Harry S. Truman fell into the Red Sea.
💵 The Federal Reserve declined to lower interest rates yesterday.
⚖️ A jury acquitted three former Memphis police officers of all state charges in the 2023 beating death of Tyre Nichols.
🕖 Here’s what’s in today’s newsletter:
• Gummy bears science win
• Author Erika J. Simpson
• Greek life goes digital
AND
• Quick Bites
🏡 For the first time ever, Sotheby’s International Realty® is hosting a global Open House Showcase on May 17 and 18. Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty is proud to participate, featuring listings like this Downtown Alpharetta end-unit townhome offering luxury finishes, private outdoor living, and elevator access. SPONSOR MESSAGE
1. Flying gummy bears net Vanderlyn students third place in state Science Olympiad
🧸 Two Vanderlyn Elementary School fifth-grade students converted America’s favorite squishy snack into flying projectiles, which netted them a third-place win in the Georgia Elementary Science Olympiad on May 3.
Liam Harvey and Alex Henson were one of only two DeKalb County School District teams to ascend the podium for the “Gummy Bear Launch.”
For the competition, each team had 15 minutes to build a catapult out of 10 jumbo craft sticks, nine rubber bands, and hot glue. Each team was given two chances, using just two fingers, to launch their gummy bears towards a bullseye eight meters (about 27 feet) away.
Global open house showcase coming to Atlanta
SPONSORED BY ATLANTA FINE HOMES
🏡 For the first time, Sotheby’s International Realty® is hosting a global Open House Showcase on May 17 and 18.
Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty is proud to participate, featuring properties across Metro Atlanta, including three architect-designed Freedom Townhomes in Poncey-Highland with rooftop decks and Porcelanosa finishes, and a Milton estate on 1± acre with seven bedrooms, a chef’s kitchen, a wine nook, and access to nearby attractions.
Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty is Metro Atlanta’s No. 1 residential real estate company and No. 1 in luxury home sales above $1 million.
👉🏼 Check out our current listings here.
2. Take 5 with ‘This Is Your Mother’ author Erika J. Simpson
📖 Erika J. Simpson’s mother, Sallie Carol, was an educator, a North Carolina native, and loved her daughter fiercely.
Sallie shares these characteristics with columnist Teri Elam’s mother, Viola Irish, and those similarities immediately drew Teri to Erika’s memoir, “This Is Your Mother,” about the unconditional and imperfectly perfect love between a mother and daughter.
In her latest Take 5 column, Teri recently spoke with Erika about her memoir, which she will discuss and sign this evening at 7 p.m. at the Atlanta History Center.
👩🍼 Check out that conversation here.
3. National fraternity partners with Atlanta startup to connect alumni around the globe
📱 College students around the country join Greek Life organizations like Tau Epsilon Phi (TEP) to connect with classmates and alumni, and they often display their Greek letters with pride long after graduation.
But like any membership-based organization, connecting in a meaningful way with others gets tricky when members are spread out across the world. That is particularly true for fraternities and sororities, which have alumni bases far beyond college campuses.
So how do these types of organizations create meaningful connections with members, regardless of geographical location? TEP thinks they’ve found the answer – and they are employing an Atlanta-based startup to do it.
🇬🇷 Read the whole story from Hypepotamus here.
🏡 For the first time ever, Sotheby’s International Realty® is hosting a global Open House Showcase on May 17 and 18. Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty is proud to participate, featuring listings like this Downtown Alpharetta end-unit townhome offering luxury finishes, private outdoor living, and elevator access. SPONSOR MESSAGE
4. Quick Bites
VIA SIDE DISH, A WEEKLY NEWSLETTER| SUBSCRIBE HERE
😋 For this week’s Quick Bites, Rough Draft dining reporter Beth McKibben has additional scoop on Guy Fieri’s Atlanta visit earlier this spring for his show “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.” She also has specifics on another Westside restaurant closure and two new openings – one at Pullman Yards, and a South Asian coffee shop and cafe headed to East Atlanta this fall. Plus, more dining news to know.
➡ Here’s the full roundup of this week’s dining news from Beth.
🏡 For the first time ever, Sotheby’s International Realty® is hosting a global Open House Showcase on May 17 and 18. Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty is proud to participate, featuring listings like this Downtown Alpharetta end-unit townhome offering luxury finishes, private outdoor living, and elevator access. SPONSOR MESSAGE
🔤 Don’t miss News Word Atlanta, our new, daily word game – Presented by Oglethorpe University, Atlanta’s premier undergraduate learning experience.
