Thursday takes
Jan. 22 — Twenty years after its incorporation, the City of Sandy Springs is still trying to gain its autonomy – from the U.S. Post Office. Officials have requested a ZIP code boundary review, seeking to remove Atlanta as the default city name on mailing addresses.
☔ Rain and a high of 54° today, but forecasters are watching the massive winter storm moving across the country.
💰 Gov. Brian Kemp signed Georgia into a federal program Tuesday that allows taxpayers to get more money back for contributions to K-12 private school scholarships.
⚖️ Former Democratic state Rep. Karen Bennett pleaded guilty to falsely collecting $13,940 in pandemic unemployment benefits.
📈 State economist Robert Buschman said earlier this week that slow wage growth and higher inflation are likely to continue in Georgia.
⚡ Thieves allegedly stole hundreds of feet of underground copper wire along Mt. Vernon Road last week, causing internet outages over the weekend and beyond.
🚑 Tucker residents and business owners are invited to offer their feedback on 911 call times and overall public safety in the city via an online survey.
❄️ The DeKalb County Police Department postponed a recruiting event planned for this weekend due to predictions of inclement weather.
🏃 The Atlanta Track Club is seeking local artists to design the shirt that 50,000 runners will wear home from the Peachtree Road Race this summer.
ELSEWHERE
🌍 At the World Economic Forum in Davos this morning, President Donald Trump hosted a “Board of Peace” signing.
🇬🇱 Yesterday, President Trump walked back his tariff threat on some European countries, claiming he has “the framework of a future deal” on Greenland. Stocks rose on the news.
🚨 The Associated Press obtained an internal ICE memo that claims its agents can forcibly enter people’s homes without a warrant.
🎬 The Sundance Film Festival opens its final Park City edition today, its first without founder Robert Redford, before moving to Boulder, Colo., next year.
🕖 Here’s what’s in today’s newsletter:
• ‘Boundary Layers’ exhibition
• Edgewood safety report
• James Beard semifinalists
• Quick Bites
AND
• On-demand therapy
🏫 Ben Franklin Academy is a learning community that activates mastery. How? By offering 47 AP and honors-level courses, individualized instruction, and demonstrated proficiency with subject matter before moving on. At Ben Franklin Academy, the learning is built to last. Learn more here. SPONSOR MESSAGE
1. Curator Heather Bird Harris on ‘Boundary Layers’ at Whitespace Gallery
VIA SKETCHBOOK, A WEEKLY ARTS NEWSLETTER | SUBSCRIBE
🐦⬛ Opening Saturday at Whitespace Gallery, “Boundary Layers” is a group exhibition organized by Atlanta-based artist, educator, and independent curator Heather Bird Harris that brings together artists exploring how life emerges, adapts, and reorganizes at the margins.
Borrowing its title from ecology and fluid dynamics, “Boundary Layers” positions zones where systems meet – wetlands, waves, lungs – as sites of possibility. The exhibition unfolds across Whitespace, Whitespec, Peepspace, and two outdoor installations.
On view through March 7, the exhibition features work by 15 artists, including Elizabeth M. Webb, Carlie Trosclair, Zipporah Camille Thompson, Renee Royale, Sachi Rome, Carley Rickles, Erin Palovick, Melissa McGill, Mary Mattingly, Michelle Laxalt, Madeleine Kelly, Alexa Kumiko Hatanaka, Elisa Dore, Hannah Chalew, and Kate Burke.
🍃 Sherri Daye Scott has more on this story here.
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2. Bakhtiari releases Edgewood safety recommendations, introduces legislation
🗣️ On Jan. 20, Atlanta City Councilmember Liliana Bakhtiari released the final report of the Edgewood Corridor Public Safety Task Force.
The task force was formed following the mass shooting on Edgewood Avenue in July 2025 that injured 10 people and killed Santos J. Wyatt. From August to December, the task force met publicly to review enforcement and crime data, evaluate prior interventions, and weigh input from residents, business owners, faith leaders, and city departments to develop and implement a comprehensive plan to deter crime and enhance safety in the area.
The report included 10 recommendations to be implemented in the short-, medium-, and long-term.
🚨 More on this story from Katie Burkholder here.
3. Here are Atlanta’s 2026 James Beard Awards semifinalists
👩🍳 Awards season returns for another round, including for the restaurant industry’s biggest night of the year: the James Beard Awards, known as the “Oscars of the food world.”
Presented annually, the awards cover categories like Best Chef: Southeast, Outstanding Restaurant, Best New Restaurant, and Emerging Chef.
The James Beard Foundation just announced the semifinalists in the chef and restaurant categories for the prestigious awards. Pastry chef Claudia Martinez, Sommelier Taurean Philpott, the Kamayan ATL owners, Aria, and Madeira Park are among the semifinalists from Atlanta.
🍰 Learn more about the semifinalists here.
4. Quick Bites
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😋 In today’s Quick Bites, get details on a handful of restaurant openings, including Brews & Hops Taproom in Chamblee and Oaxacan restaurant Cuevacía in Midtown. Plus, get the scoop on two Atlanta restaurants adding late-night menus to their lineups. We also share some upcoming food events, like a Dolly Parton-themed birthday bash in Poncey-Highland and an anniversary party for Edgewood sandwich shop Bona Fide Deluxe.
➵ Check out this week’s Quick Bites here.
🏫 Ben Franklin Academy is a learning community that activates mastery. How? By offering 47 AP and honors-level courses, individualized instruction, and demonstrated proficiency with subject matter before moving on. At Ben Franklin Academy, the learning is built to last. Learn more here. SPONSOR MESSAGE
5. This Emory startup is taking on the student mental health crisis
🧠 Amari Morton faced an impossible decision during his time as a student at Emory University: Pay for his therapy sessions or pay for essentials like rent and groceries.
The cost of mental health care is often both expensive and prohibitive for college students. But during the stressful and uncertain times that come from college, that is exactly when a person might need that care the most.
While still a student at Emory, Morton founded Greater Change Health to solve the problem he lived through. The platform provides on-demand virtual therapy, bringing on new clients within 24 hours instead of making them wait weeks or months for intake appointments. The platform is also able to save the average user $150 a month in therapy costs. As soon as a user signs up, they also have access to the platform’s 24-hour crisis support line.
➡ Read the whole story from Hypepotamus here
🏫 Ben Franklin Academy is a learning community that activates mastery. How? By offering 47 AP and honors-level courses, individualized instruction, and demonstrated proficiency with subject matter before moving on. At Ben Franklin Academy, the learning is built to last. Learn more here. SPONSOR MESSAGE
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