Thursday transit
Aug. 14 — The plan to build the Memorial Drive Greenway – a linear park stretching from Oakland Cemetery to Downtown Atlanta – has been resurrected again as the city officially launches a design phase for the project.
🌧️ Scattered thunderstorms and 89° today.
⚕️Current and former employees of the CDC are pushing for U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to denounce vaccine misinformation as investigations into last week’s shooting at the Atlanta headquarters continue.
🗳 A fifth state lawmaker has joined the campaign to become Georgia’s next lieutenant governor, with Rep. David Clark (R-Buford) announcing his candidacy.
🚨 A Dunwoody police officer who was being placed on administrative leave for being involved in a bar fight accidentally shot himself while turning over his guns to police personnel. 🔽 Channel 2 Action News reports that Emory Healthcare will lay off employees in the financial services and revenue cycle department.
🗣️ Atlanta artists and creative leaders met on Tuesday to give their feedback on the Atlanta LGBTQ+ Community Center Feasibility Study.
✔️ Paige Alexander, CEO of The Carter Center, was named to Forbes’ 50 Over 50: Impact list.
🙏 T.I., Ludacris, and Maria Taylor are on the bill for The Same House’s annual Beloved Benefit tonight.
ELSEWHERE
➡ President Donald Trump will meet President Vladimir Putin in Alaska tomorrow, warning of “severe consequences” if Russia doesn’t move to end its war with Ukraine, though the White House downplayed expectations for a peace deal.
🏆 President Trump announced new Kennedy Center honorees, including KISS, Sylvester Stallone, George Strait, and Gloria Gaynor, and said he will host the December ceremony.
🕖 Here’s what’s in today’s newsletter:
• Beltline’s $3.5B transit plan
• ‘All the Roads Taken’ at Gallery 100
• Modernizing the lottery
AND
• Quick Bites
🛠️ For students and young adults entering the workforce, technical skills are important, but employability skills are critical for career success. Learn why Georgia Power joined 14 other partners to launch the You’re Employed and Skilled (YES) Workforce Academy. SPONSOR MESSAGE
1. Atlanta Beltline presents draft of $3.5 billion transit plan
💰 The Atlanta Beltline hosted a virtual meeting on Aug. 12 to present draft recommendations for a light rail corridor in the Northwest corner of the city, as well as station locations on the Southwest and Southeast portions of the 22-mile loop.
The current cost estimate to bring transit to the Beltline is more than $3.5 billion in 2025 dollars. The cost includes $270 million for transit vehicles and $210 million for support facilities. The funding mechanism and operations budget – and where it would come from – are still unknown.
During Tuesday night’s meeting, Beltline Project Engineer Shaun Green presented various alignment plans for the Northwest Quadrant, which would connect Bankhead to Armour Yards.
🚶 Learn more about the transit plan and see more maps here.
Modern masterpiece nestled in Morningside
SPONSORED BY ATLANTA FINE HOMES
🏠 This modern masterpiece in Morningside-Lenox Park offers award-winning design, forward-thinking sustainability, and backs up to the protected Morningside Nature Preserve — all for $2,480,000.
Set on over an acre, the home boasts 11-foot ceilings, four bedrooms, a heated saltwater pool, a screened porch, and expansive floor-to-ceiling windows that bring the outdoors in.
Designed for smart, energy-efficient living, features include geothermal systems, Lutron smart lighting, and EV charging readiness.
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. Solo exhibition at Gallery 100 features Atlanta native’s bike adventure
VIA SKETCHBOOK, A WEEKLY ARTS NEWSLETTER| SUBSCRIBE HERE
🚴 On Aug. 7 at Gallery 100, Atlanta native Géoving “Geo” Gérard stood before a packed room for his first solo exhibition, “All the Roads Taken: A Bike Journey Through ITP.”
The show grew from a simple idea: ride every single street inside Atlanta’s I-285 perimeter. The seed was planted in 2020. During the pandemic, Gérard saw online posts about people biking all the roads in their cities – one in central London, another in San Francisco.
“For me to be an Atlanta native… I thought it would be pretty cool to bike all the roads in Atlanta and make my own Atlanta experience,” he said.
📷 Learn more about the exhibit here.
3. Georgia startup Lazlo 326 is modernizing the $100 billion lottery industry
💸 The lottery is everywhere in America. In grocery stores, gas stations, and on billboards, you’ll see displays and ads for scratch-offs, Powerball tickets, and Mega Millions slips.
The numbers (not just the winning ones) are impressive. Half of all U.S. adults buy lottery tickets at least once a year, collectively spending over $100 billion. Despite the industry’s size, it isn’t technologically forward or the most consumer-friendly. $90 billion of its sales are driven by in-store purchases, but the process isn’t designed with the modern shopper in mind.
That is the technology disconnect Lazlo 326 is trying to solve, all while helping retailers and consumer packaged goods companies connect to a new, younger audience of lottery players.
➡ Read the whole story from Hypepotamus here.
🛠️ For students and young adults entering the workforce, technical skills are important, but employability skills are critical for career success. Learn why Georgia Power joined 14 other partners to launch the You’re Employed and Skilled (YES) Workforce Academy. SPONSOR MESSAGE
4. Quick Bites
VIA SIDE DISH, A WEEKLY NEWSLETTER| SUBSCRIBE HERE
😋 For this week’s Quick Bites, Rough Draft Dining Editor Beth McKibben brings you details on restaurant openings in Dunwoody, Old Fourth Ward, and downtown Atlanta, as well as on the Eastside Beltline. She’s also sharing some must-attend food events to put on your calendar, and an update on Aria in Buckhead, including new dinner hours. Plus, more dining news from the week.
⏩ Here’s the latest from Beth.
🛠️ For students and young adults entering the workforce, technical skills are important, but employability skills are critical for career success. Learn why Georgia Power joined 14 other partners to launch the You’re Employed and Skilled (YES) Workforce Academy. SPONSOR MESSAGE
🔤 Don’t miss News Word Atlanta, our new, daily word game.
🦋 Connect with us on Bluesky.
📤 Have a friend or colleague who would enjoy getting this newsletter? Forward them this link to subscribe.
