Taking on Tuesday
March 3 — The Atlanta FIFA World Cup Host Committee marked 100 days until matches begin in the city by ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Monday. ☁️ Expect clouds with a high of 66° today.
🗳️ Sen. Jon Ossoff, Attorney General Chris Carr, and Rep. David Scott were among the candidates who qualified for the upcoming elections yesterday. Qualifying continues until Friday at noon.
🗣️ The jury in the trial of Colin Gray, the father of the suspected Apalachee High School shooter, heard closing arguments yesterday.
⚖️ The father of UGA student Laken Riley, who was killed on campus in 2024, filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the state university system.
🏛️ The DNC said Atlanta is among five cities in the running to host the 2028 Democratic National Convention.
🍔 Slutty Vegan Founder Pinky Cole filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to a report in the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
📱 Georgia lawmakers will consider numerous bills this session concerning the harmful effects of artificial intelligence and algorithms, particularly on children.
🧇 The City of Avondale Estates received an anonymous $1 million donation “thanks to Waffle House,” which was founded in the city in 1955.
🍽️ Every month, our dining team shares a list of standout dishes, drinks, and restaurants they’ve frequented. Check out the rundown for February here.
ELSEWHERE
🇮🇷🇺🇸🇮🇱 Here are some headlines from the war in Iran:
- U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said: “We didn’t start this war, but…we’re finishing it.”
- A sixth U.S. soldier was killed in Kuwait.
- The Red Crescent says 787 people in Iran have been killed.
- An Iranian drone hit the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, today.
- The State Department warned Americans in 14 Middle Eastern countries to “depart now.”
- Read Live updates here.
🗳️ Today is the last day of voting in primaries in North Carolina and Texas, with closely watched races on both the Republican and Democratic ballots.
🕖 Here’s what’s in today’s newsletter:
• MARTA on demand
• TrustDALE
• Around the State: GPB
AND
• Volunteer Opportunities
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US
🥂 Today is the fifth anniversary of the launch of the Rough Draft newsletter. Here’s what the first issue looked like. Support us with a monthly membership and pick up our new, limited-edition LOCAL hoodie! Join now!
🏡 Architectural elegance meets modern luxury in this beautifully renovated Buckhead estate, featuring a chef’s kitchen, wine cellar, spa-inspired primary suite, manicured gardens, and a heated pool with a wood-fired pizza oven. Listed with Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty, it delivers refined indoor-outdoor living. SPONSOR MESSAGE
1. MARTA launches on-demand transit service this weekend
🚌 MARTA will officially launch MARTA Reach, an on-demand transit service in 12 zones across Atlanta, beginning March 7.
Part of MARTA’s NextGen Bus Network, MARTA Reach will bring transit service directly to the rider’s location for transport to rail and bus stations.
Residents can request a ride through the MARTA Reach app or reservation line, which provides a pickup window of 30 minutes or less. The service will operate 18 hours a day, seven days a week.
📱 Learn more about MARTA Reach here.
Top Orthopedic Care For You, and For Those In Need.
SPONSORED BY PEACHTREE ORTHOPEDICS
🫶 The Peachtree Orthopedics Foundation is a charitable organization with a 75-year history of service.
⚕️ A long history of service in Haiti – In 1953, Dr. James Funk, a founder of Peachtree Orthopedics, made his first trip to Haiti to visit and assist Sister Joan Margaret, a nun who ran St. Vincent’s School for Handicapped Children in Port-au-Prince. That began a 70-year tradition of funding and mission trips to provide free orthopedic services to the nation of Haiti.
⚕️ A new history in Honduras – For the last nine years, Peachtree Orthopedics has taken similar trips to Honduras. Last week, we performed 36 total knee replacements there. Quite an accomplishment for a small staff, over a couple of days, in a country that performs only 100 total joint surgeries per year. More trips would mean a much greater impact.
➡ To learn more, or to donate, go to pofoundation.org. Any amount is helpful and every donation matters. Our goal is to help the world Get Better.
2. Sunrooms 101: Comfort, cost, common traps
TOGETHER WITH TRUSTDALE
☀️ A sunroom feels like a cheat code for your home. More daylight! More breathing room! A place that makes coffee taste better and rainy afternoons look intentional! All that, without packing a single box or sitting in endless traffic.
The thing is, though, that fuzzy feeling can fade fast if the project is treated like a giant window install. Think of a sunroom as a small building attached to a bigger building.
That means dealing with structure, water management, heating and cooling, and the awkward reality that your existing house may have opinions. Planning is where the value lives, and we’ll help you get there.
☕ Learn more about sunrooms from the folks at TrustDALE.
3. Wellroot opens two new behavioral clinics in Georgia
🧠 Children and families in DeKalb and Hall counties now have more access to behavioral health care services – including psychiatric care, counseling, and group therapy at clinics run by the faith-based nonprofit Wellroot Family Services.
Providers in Tucker and Gainesville will offer prevention education and individual, family, and group therapy.
Wellroot’s programs include foster care, family resiliency counseling, kinship care, transitional and independent living for young adults, and family housing, all of which reduce the risk of substance misuse and lessen the need for emergency mental health care.
➡ Read more in this story from GPB.
🌳 You’re invited to a festive fundraiser for Trees Atlanta! Discounted Early Bird tickets available through Mon., Mar. 16. Join us at Root Ball 2026 on Thurs., May 14, at The Foundry at Puritan Mill for music, food, and celebration. SPONSOR MESSAGE
4. Volunteer Opportunities
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH HANDS ON ATLANTA
🥫 Another Chance of Atlanta, Inc. (pictured) is seeking volunteers to assist in their food pantry on Friday morning in Atlanta. Expect to greet clients, stock shelves, pack bags, and sort food.
🗑️ Livable Buckhead needs volunteers on Saturday morning in Atlanta for the Maxine Rock Day of Service. Help remove highway trash from an environmentally sensitive pond along PATH400.
🛝 Community Church of Atlanta is looking for volunteers to help set up a children’s educational play space on Saturday morning and afternoon in Atlanta. Assist with creating child-friendly areas, decorating, and organizing computer-designed stories.
🏡 Architectural elegance meets modern luxury in this beautifully renovated Buckhead estate, featuring a chef’s kitchen, wine cellar, spa-inspired primary suite, manicured gardens, and a heated pool with a wood-fired pizza oven. Listed with Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty, it delivers refined indoor-outdoor living. SPONSOR MESSAGE
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