Your picks for 2026
Jan. 2 — It’s Cathy and Stephanie from Rough Draft with our weekly newsletter on Tucker. Cathy is still in the midst of her end-of-year ruthless purge, and technically, we are on break, so this one will be brief. We’ll be back at full steam next week.
🗳 This issue contains a story about some of incoming Tucker Mayor Anne Lerner’s priorities for 2026, a recap of the Buddhist monks’ march across the United States with a stop in Tucker, the passing of a beloved community figure, and some thoughts on what 2026 has in store for Tucker.
🤩 Have a great weekend,
Cathy and Stephanie
Lerner talks Tucker priorities
🥳 2026 will be a milestone year for the city of Tucker.
The 10-year anniversary of cityhood will celebrate the history, present, and future of the city of more than 37,000 residents. And on Jan. 12, Mayor-elect Anne Lerner will be installed as the city’s second mayor, after serving years on city council and working alongside Mayor Frank Auman and other community members to lay the groundwork for Tucker’s incorporation.
Lerner has plans to enhance transparency, champion collaboration, and deal with the issues that matter most to Tucker residents. She spoke to Rough Draft Atlanta about where her priorities lie for her first quarter as mayor.
🎙️ Stephanie’s interview with Lerner is here.
Ready, Set, AGLOW!
SPONSORED BY FERNBANK MUSEUM
🌟 When the sun sets, the woods come alive at WildWoods: AGLOW.
This after-hours experience combines art, nature and music at Fernbank Museum, featuring scenic trails aglow with light outdoors and nighttime access to museum exhibits inside.
🌙 Select nights through Feb. 28, 2026.
Walk for Peace goes through Tucker
🚶🏽On the last day of 2025, the highly-lauded Buddhist Walk for Peace quietly strolled through Tucker’s Hugh Howell Road, which dozens of residents have described as an inspiring sight to end the year.
For the last couple of days, Buddhist monks have traversed DeKalb County as part of their historic journey from Fort Worth, TX, to Washington, D.C. On their months-long pilgrimage, coined the Walk of Peace: 2,300 Miles of Hope, the monks intend to center on peace, forgiveness, and global unity. Thousands have witnessed and paid homage as they move from state to state and county to county, including DeKalb County.
Residents of all ages, backgrounds, faiths, and cultures stood together in solemn reflection as the monks prayed and connected with the hundreds who gathered at Porter Sanford III Performing Arts and Community Center. Members of the local Buddhist community brought traditional food offerings for the monks, joined by offerings provided by DeKalb County
Longtime judge passes
👨🏼⚖️ The Tucker community is mourning the loss of a longtime judge and community advocate. Judge Stanley Baum died on Dec. 27 following a brief battle with pancreatic cancer, according to a family statement.
“Stanley’s brilliance was matched by his warmth. He was generous, thoughtful, funny, deeply sensitive, perceptive, and kind. He maintained lifelong friendships spanning childhood, college, and the many chapters that followed,” read an excerpt from his obituary. “His rare combination of intelligence, humor, and heart made him someone people not only admired, but genuinely loved.”
Next on the agenda
🔟 As Tucker turns 10, there’s time to celebrate and time to plan for its second decade of existence, as well as resolve ongoing issues. On the unresolved front is the location of a pickleball complex in a place other than Tucker Recreation Center, and the future of Northlake Mall (Is it a shopping mall? Is it an office park? Is it a live-work-play development?).
Also TBD is the city’s crime problem and whether or not DeKalb will do enough to avoid the formation of a dedicated Tucker police department.
There are also several walkability and traffic improvement projects in the beginning, middle, and ending stages, along with the Top End 285 Express project that is going to begin in 2026 and last for the rest of our natural lives.
🌃 Tucker’s website is a good place to visit to learn about the city, upcoming events, and council meetings.
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