Smothered and covered tacos?
Friday, Aug. 21 — Waffle House is testing out tacos at various locations across North Georgia, including three in Sandy Springs. You can choose from seven different varieties to satisfy whatever you’re in the mood to eat.
🍽️ Speaking of food, have you signed up for the Rough Draft dinner club yet? The next outing in Sandy Springs takes place on Tuesday, Sept. 15. We can’t promise you breakfast tacos, but we can assure you’ll have good food and conversation with other Rough Draft readers.
😎 We’ll have lots of sun and temps in the upper 80s this weekend.
🚨 Sandy Springs police have discovered several surprises during their investigation into a shooting at Nubia Café and Restaurant over the weekend. WSB-TV has the full story on what went down.
🤖 Business leaders and elected officials were on site at the Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center this week attending the Council for Quality Growth’s annual INTERSECTION Development Conference, themed “The AI Era of the Built Environment is Here.” Hayden Sumlin attended the event and has the full report.
🅿️ MARTA is increasing its long-term parking rates by $2 a day and reducing the free period in its paid parking facilities from 24 hours to 14 hours beginning Sept. 14. The move affects all paid long-term parking locations in the system but does not affect any of MARTA’s existing free daily parking locations.
🎧 Rough Draft Atlanta has launched its first podcast. “From the Paper to the Pod,” hosted by Summer Evans, is a behind-the-scenes look at the stories that appear in print, online, and in our daily newsletters. Let us know what you think once you’ve checked it out!
Have a great weekend,
The Rough Draft team
🤍 Experience an evening of whimsy, wonder, and impact at Atlanta Angels’ sixth annual Raise Your Wings Gala: The Magic of Belonging. Sat., Aug. 29, 5:30 p.m. at Phase Event Center. Support children and youth in foster care. Learn more here.
North River revamp may include a new park
🏞️ The Sandy Springs City Council approved half of a $4.33 million incentive package for Woodfield Development as part of its overhaul of the North River Shopping Center, helping to secure a new park at 8830 Roswell Road.
The Aug. 18 resolution waives $1.775 million in impact and permit fees for the soon-to-be property owner — North River Apartments Owner, a subsidiary of Woodfield. City officials have been in discussions with the developer for months about how to deliver the community’s desired project, including a new city park.
Council member Melody Kelley represents District 2, which includes most of northwest Sandy Springs. When she first moved to the city almost 10 years ago, she said North End revitalization was already the most dominant topic in civic discussion. “The city began to be very intentional and plan,” Kelley said. “What’s happening today isn’t accidental … it is the result of years of planning, tons of stakeholder meetings. And it is not the only thing happening in the North End … a lot is going on.”
🛝 Read more about the revitalization plans.
Oglethorpe alumni are making an impact
SPONSORED BY OGLETHORPE UNIVERSITY
🤝 Atlanta is shaped by people who choose to invest their talents in something bigger than themselves.
Across the city, Oglethorpe alumni are making an impact through healthcare, the arts, nonprofits, public spaces, and community organizations that help Atlanta thrive.
→ Their careers may take different paths, but they share a commitment to service, leadership, and creating opportunities for others. Here are story highlights on just a few of the graduates whose work is strengthening Atlanta and helping shape its future.
City leaders debate a car-centric vs. walkable future
🚦 Sandy Springs council members have pushed back on traffic alleviation and connectivity plans from their own consultants, staff, and the Georgia Department of Transportation throughout the year. Some elected officials say proposed roadway projects either interfere with Sandy Springs businesses and homeowners or prioritize motorists driving through the city, and they want new solutions.
During the approval of the city’s five-year update to its transportation master plan, council member Andrew Chinsky was the only elected official in opposition. He thanked staff and consultants for incorporating some of his feedback, but opposed its “vision, policy, and timing.”
“I would like our policy to be less focused on helping people drive through Sandy Springs and more on connecting our residents and neighborhoods,” Chinsky said. “While we live in a state where GDOT is very focused on roads, our policy can still help move away from car-centric investment and focus on mobility without the use of a car.”
👓 Read more about the discussion.
Chastain Park Dentistry provides free care for underserved patients
🦷 PDS Health’s annual Smile Generation Serve Day on Aug. 15 at Chastain Park Dentistry in Sandy Springs saw seven of its underserved patients come in for thousands of dollars of free care.
Dr. Shivani Mallishery, one of a few practicing dentists at the south Sandy Springs location (pictured), just had her first anniversary at Chastain Park Dentistry after working at a nearby PDS location.
“We say the mouth is the gateway to the rest of the body,” Mallishery said. “Whatever is going on in your mouth is going to affect the rest of your body in some way or form … A lot of people don’t know this, but the abscesses that you have in your mouth have the same bacteria that cause heart attacks.”
🪥 Read more about Chastain’s Smile Generation Serve Day.
🤍 Experience an evening of whimsy, wonder, and impact at Atlanta Angels’ sixth annual Raise Your Wings Gala: The Magic of Belonging. Sat., Aug. 29, 5:30 p.m. at Phase Event Center. Support children and youth in foster care. Learn more here. SPONSOR MESSAGE
What’s doin’ around Sandy Springs
🎸 Aug. 21:Patrick Droney at City Springs
📻 Aug. 22:Friends of Georgia Radio Celebration at Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center
🤝 Aug. 25: Built to Connect – Real Estate Networking at Taste Wine Bar
🧑🏽💼 Aug. 27: GPC Perimeter Young Professionals at GPC Biz Hub
🗓️ Add your event to our free, online event calendar.
