No drivers, no problem
Tuesday, June 2 — This Friday, the Atlanta Beltline will launch ATL Spoke, a free, driverless community shuttle on the Westside. Service will operate seven days a week from noon-10 p.m., stopping at MARTA West End Station, Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard at Beecher Street, and two stops within the Lee + White district.
☔ Light rain with a high of 79° today.
📰 Atlanta Civic Circle, a nonprofit newsroom covering affordable housing, labor, and city government, announced it is closing, citing an inability to secure consistent funding.
🗣 At yesterday’s Atlanta Press Club Loudermilk-Young Debate Series:
- Lt. Gov. Burt Jones hammered absent rival Rick Jackson, questioning his $1 billion in state contracts, while Jackson held a campaign event in Kennesaw with U.S. Sen. Rick Scott.
- Fulton County Chair Robb Pitts and former Commissioner Mo Ivory also debated, clashing over property taxes, the jail crisis, and leadership.
- Watch all of the runoff debates on the APC YouTube page.
🚨 The Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the woman who was stabbed on a MARTA train over the weekend as 66-year-old Margaret Swan. Police charged 25-year-old John Elijah Matthews with murder.
💵 The City of Tucker has tentatively adopted a millage rate of 2.036 mills for fiscal year 2027, unchanged from the 2026 rate.
🧶 Scraplanta, the creative reuse store, is raising funds after being forced to temporarily close due to a leak that caused its ceiling to collapse.
🌿 Georgians who qualify for medical cannabis will soon have expanded access under a new law recently signed by Gov. Brian Kemp.
⚾ Oklahoma hit a walk-off home run in the 10th inning to upset No. 2 overall seed Georgia Tech 8-7 in the NCAA Baseball Tournament, ending the Yellow Jackets’ season.
ELSEWHERE
⚖️ The Trump administration signaled it is backing off on a $1.8 billion fund for allies deemed “victims of lawfare,” after Republican backlash.
🇺🇸🇱🇧🇮🇱🇮🇷 Iran suspended nuclear talks with the U.S. yesterday to protest Israel’s expanding offensive in Lebanon, though President Donald Trump said negotiations were back on “at a rapid pace.” Trump reportedly persuaded Israel to pause planned strikes in Beirut.
🗳️ California is one of six states holding primary elections today, with more than 50 gubernatorial candidates and a closely watched mayoral race in Los Angeles.
🤖 Anthropic, the AI company behind the Claude chatbot, confidentially filed to go public.
🎾 Serena Williams, 44, will play doubles in next week’s HSBC Championships in London, her first competitive appearance since 2022.
🕖 Here’s what’s in today’s newsletter:
• Landmark Pride Series
• TrustDALE
• Slow Food Atlanta
• Around the State: GPB
AND
• Volunteer Opportunities
🏢 This renovated Midtown condo offers elevated city living with sweeping views from the 10th floor. Floor-to-ceiling windows fill the space with natural light, while gallery-style lighting, hardwood floors, and a renovated kitchen create a turnkey retreat. The home is listed with Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty. SPONSOR MESSAGE
1. Landmark Pride Series to showcase iconic LGBTQ+ films
👑 Landmark Theatres begins its third annual Pride Series on May 30 with the classic “The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” at the Midtown Art Cinema in Atlanta.
The series of films will be screened in partnership with Out On Film, which will be hosting talkbacks after select screenings. Tickets are available at outonfilm.org.
In addition to “The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert,” the series will also include “Moonlight,” “Brokeback Mountain,” and others.
🌊 Check out the full lineup here.
MORE MOVIES
🍿 The Savannah College of Art and Design will screen a series of classic summer blockbuster films from Steven Spielberg at SCADshow theater in Atlanta starting on June 24.
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2. Smart interior remodels for pet owners
TOGETHER WITH TRUSTDALE
🐕 Pets have a funny way of revealing every weak spot in a home. The slippery floor near the back door, the food bowls everyone trips over, the scratched trim beside the window, the muddy paw route that somehow travels from the yard to the sofa with military precision.
A smart remodel doesn’t have to turn your home into a pet resort, though. The best pet-friendly upgrades feel like part of the house, not a collection of afterthoughts from chasing a Labrador down the hallway.
This week, TrustDALE will teach you about interior remodeling choices that make life easier with dogs, cats, and other beloved household chaos makers. You’ll learn where durable materials matter most, how built-in features can stay stylish, and when pet-focused upgrades start drifting from useful into overbuilt.
🐾 Check out the full article here.
3. Slow Food Atlanta carries on the work of the movement’s late founder
🕊️ Italian journalist and local food advocate Carlo Petrini, best known for founding the Slow Food movement, died on May 21 at age 76 after a battle with prostate cancer.
Petrini became involved in food activism in the 1970s, taking part in the nationwide protests in 1986 against the opening of Italy’s first McDonald’s in Rome. Three years later, Petrini founded the Slow Food movement.
Slow Food Atlanta formed in 2004, garnering a strong presence within Atlanta’s restaurant and farming communities.
“All of us involved with Slow Food Atlanta are deeply saddened by the passing of Carlo Petrini. His vision helped reshape the way so many of us think about food, farming, culture, and community,” said Slow Food Atlanta co-chair Julia LeRoy of Petrini’s legacy.
🐌 Read more about Petrini and Slow Food Atlanta.
4. A Trump stronghold grapples with health risks of ICE detention sites
🚨 Until recently, Social Circle – a rural city about 45 minutes east of Atlanta – was best known for its Blue Willow Inn cookbooks featuring recipes for Southern dishes such as baked pineapple casserole and kudzu blossom jelly.
Lately, however, the community has been trying to stave off the new identity of a “prison town,” as it fights the opening of what could become the nation’s largest immigration detention center, holding up to 10,000 people.
Walton County, home to this city of about 5,500, voted overwhelmingly for President Donald Trump in 2024. But, as the administration’s mass deportation strategy hits closer to home – with plans moving forward to transform a more than one-million-square-foot warehouse into a holding pen – locals say the city’s infrastructure just can’t handle such a large influx of people.
➡ Read more in this story from GPB.
🏢 This renovated Midtown condo offers elevated city living with sweeping views from the 10th floor. Floor-to-ceiling windows fill the space with natural light, while gallery-style lighting, hardwood floors, and a renovated kitchen create a turnkey retreat. The home is listed with Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty. SPONSOR MESSAGE
5. Volunteer Opportunities
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH HANDS ON ATLANTA
🎨 “I Have A Dream” Atlanta Foundation is looking for volunteers tomorrow morning in Atlanta for camp counselor support. Volunteers will assist with activities, help students, and create an engaging environment.
📦 St. Vincent de Paul Georgia needs volunteers on Friday afternoon in Chamblee. Expect to restock food pantry inventory, replenish refrigerators and freezers, and prepare emergency bags for families and unhoused neighbors.
🌳 EcoAddendum (pictured) is seeking volunteers on Saturday morning in Atlanta to restore Cascade Springs Nature Preserve’s forest. Participants will remove invasive plants and work with hand tools like clippers, pruning saws, shovels, and trowels.
🏢 This renovated Midtown condo offers elevated city living with sweeping views from the 10th floor. Floor-to-ceiling windows fill the space with natural light, while gallery-style lighting, hardwood floors, and a renovated kitchen create a turnkey retreat. The home is listed with Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty. SPONSOR MESSAGE
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