The GOAT retires
Tuesday, Sept. 1 — Lionel Messi said he is retiring from international soccer at 39, citing his father’s death last month. Argentina’s all-time leading scorer and most-capped player, Messi led his team to the 2022 World Cup title and two Copa América crowns. He will continue playing for MLS club Inter Miami, who play Atlanta United this Sunday in Miami and on Oct. 17 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
☀️ Sunny with a high of 92° today.
📈 The Affordable Care Act health insurance program that covers 900,000 Georgians is on track to see price hikes of as much as 20% or more when 2027 open enrollment begins this fall.
🚨 The Sandy Springs Police Department made an arrest in connection with the Aug. 28 fatal shooting of 25-year-old Williams Lopez Rodriguez.
⚖️ Georgia Southern University Director of Health and Wellness Gemma Skuraton will receive $250,000 in a settled lawsuit after she was fired in 2025 for opposing rollbacks to LGBTQ+ rights on campus.
🎖️ Women veterans are at higher risk for PTSD than their male counterparts, according to research from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
🏆 The Georgia Latino International Film Festival will honor Roberto Sanchez with its Excellence in Filmmaking Award at this year’s event later this month.
🍽️ More than two dozen new restaurants opened around Metro Atlanta in August. See what you missed here.
🐈⬛ An apartment complex near Henderson Mill Road that banned community cat feedings hosted the Estuary Mobile Clinic last week, providing wellness exams to 35 dogs and cats.
ELSEWHERE
🌊 Authorities found a second body yesterday after flash flooding hit Grand Canyon National Park over the weekend, with about 15 people still missing and more than 60 airlifted to safety.
🌎 Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh opened the G20 finance meeting in Asheville, NC, touting U.S. growth.
🏗️ SCOTUS ruled that construction can continue on the White House ballroom, rejecting a bid from preservation advocates to halt the project.
⚖️ Duane “Keffe D” Davis was convicted of orchestrating Tupac Shakur’s 1996 murder. The 63-year-old ex-gang leader faces a life sentence.
👗 The Met Museum scrapped a Met Gala exhibit honoring John Galliano after backlash over past remarks by the designer that hurt Jewish and Asian communities.
🕖 Here’s what’s in today’s newsletter:
• Homelessness prevention program
• Fighting ants
• OpenAI in Effingham County
• Decatur Book Festival
• Upcoming Events
AND
• Volunteer Opportunities
📚 Is your high school student flourishing? Is the academic environment helping to activate a lifelong love of learning? Ben Franklin Academy helps make that happen for every student through our individualized instruction, mastery curriculum, and holistic learning community. And students can transfer in throughout the school year. SPONSOR MESSAGE
1. Midtown shelter launches new homelessness prevention pilot
🏠 Atlanta’s oldest synagogue is at the heart of a new homelessness-prevention program that provides stable housing for at-risk residents through financial, legal, and supportive services.
Piloted in 10 cities across the U.S., the Zaban Paradies Center at The Temple in Midtown is charged with helping 150 families in the Atlanta Public Schools district who are at imminent risk of losing housing.
The program, Atlanta Rising, is a $235 million, long-term citywide effort to end homelessness by scaling sustainable housing and support systems for Atlanta’s most vulnerable residents.
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For 70 years, we’ve been committed to helping Atlantans return to the activities they love. At our 11 convenient locations, we have 42 leading physicians, all of whom are fellowship-trained, with specialties in every body part.
Injured in the evening or on the weekend? Skip the ER. Our UrgentORTHO clinic offers same-day, evening, and Saturday hours.
➞ It’s time to get back to doing what you love. Peachtree Orthopedics is here to help you Get Better.
2. Why ants keep coming back after you spray
TOGETHER WITH TRUSTDALE
🐜 It’s bad enough when a roach skitters across your floor. But when insects ruin your meal, this means war.
What’s worse, the ants you see may be just the tip of the iceberg. While those tiny flying bugs around your windows are annoying, ants can be more insidious. As social insects, they may connect to ant colonies hidden inside your walls, beneath a slab, outdoors, or near your foundation.
Why ants keep coming back after you spray usually has more to do with the colony you can’t see. A quick spray can clear the scene, but lasting control takes cleanup, inspection, and the right treatment.
🔫Learn how to get rid of ants from TrustDALE here.
🛋️ Ahlers & Ogletree presents two days of Modern and Contemporary Art and Design, Sept. 2 & 3. Experience the collection in person today from 5-8 p.m., with a special artist talk by Philip Moulthrop at 7 p.m. More information here. SPONSOR MESSAGE
3. Effingham County officials say OpenAI will bring property tax relief, but residents are unsatisfied
🗄️ Effingham County Commissioner Roger Burdette and other county officials are touting OpenAI’s “Project Camellia,” the company’s new 3.2-gigawatt data center in the county, as something that will provide about six mills of property tax relief beginning this year.
However, some residents don’t believe a large-scale data center is worth the risks. John Smith says he could save about $1,000 a year in property taxes on his home of five years, but the potential noise, water, air, and light pollution would completely negate those “savings.”
➡Read more in this story from GPB.
4. Brian Goldstone kicks off the 2026 Decatur Book Festival
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE DECATUR BOOK FESTIVAL
📖 This year’s Decatur Book Festival begins with a keynote conversation with Brian Goldstone, author of “There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America.” Join Goldstone and moderator Brea Baker as they discuss his Pulitzer Prize-winning book and the dramatic rise of the working homeless in cities across America.
🗓️ The keynote is at 7 p.m. on Fri., Oct. 2, in the First Baptist Church of Decatur Sanctuary.
ℹ️ Get more information on the Decatur Book Festival here.
💡 In this increasingly unpredictable time, one thing is certain: Big, bold ideas can move us forward. At TEDxAtlanta Oct. 2 & 3, leaders in AI, technology, design, and more will share some of the ideas shaping tomorrow. Join us. SPONSOR MESSAGE
5. Upcoming Events
🗣️Skye Perryman, author of “Ordinary People, Extraordinary Times,” in conversation with The Bitter Southerner’s Kyle Tibbs Jones and Jennifer Palmieri; tomorrow at 6 p.m. at The Carter Center.
🎷Jazz Tribute to the Beatles featuring the Kyle Bryant Trio; tomorrow at Eddie’s Attic at 7 p.m.
🏳️🌈Atlanta Black Pride Weekend starts tomorrow and runs through Sept. 7.
🎭 “Hamilton” starts at the Fox Theatre tomorrow with performances through Sept. 20.
🎮 DragonCon; Sept. 3-7, at various locations Downtown.
💭 Test your knowledge of the week’s news in tomorrow’s News Quiz. Keep an eye out for our email at 8 a.m. or bookmark this page!
6. Volunteer Opportunities
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH HANDS ON ATLANTA
🧑🌾 Five Points Farm (pictured) is looking for volunteers at the Five “Points” Community Garden on Wednesday morning in Atlanta. Be ready to plant, mulch and collect seeds.
🥕 Peace on the Move needs volunteer help for their pantry on Thursday morning in Decatur. Expect to weigh and organize food and unload food trucks.
👕 New Life Community Alliance is looking for assistance at the Garments of Grace Clothing Closet on Saturday morning in Decatur. Be ready to sort clothes, record data and manage storage spaces.
🔤 Play News Word Atlanta, our daily word game.
💡 Help support independent local media by becoming a Rough Draft member today. Pick up some cool swag, including our new, limited-edition LOCAL hoodie.
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