Holiday Monday
Monday, Sept. 7 — It’s Labor Day, which means government offices, banks, post offices, and the stock market are all closed for the holiday. We hope you’re enjoying the long weekend. ☁️ Cloudy and milder, with a high of 84° today.
⛽ Gas prices hit a record $4.14 a gallon nationally over Labor Day weekend, driven by volatility in the Middle East, though Georgia drivers are paying less, with the statewide average sitting at $3.89.
🚗 A two-block extension of 15th Street in Midtown is now open, allowing for easier access from West Peachtree to Spring and Williams streets, as well as the I-75 north on-ramp.
🏗️ Gas South Arena in Duluth began a $175 million renovation, including a new parking deck.
🎙️ The Fox Theatre opened a content studio space to produce original interviews, podcasts, and videos with visiting artists.
🎨 Today is the final day of the 40th Annual Marietta Art in the Park on the historic square, with 220 artists and free admission.
⚾ The Braves rallied past the Phillies 5-4 yesterday, as Ronald Acuña Jr.’s eighth-inning three-run homer erased a 4-1 deficit, pushing Atlanta’s NL East lead to five games. The teams play again today in Philadelphia at 1:05 p.m. (93.7 FM; Braves.TV).
ELSEWHERE
🛩️ Five people were killed when a Boeing 767 Amazon Prime Air cargo plane overran the runway and crashed yesterday at Miami International Airport.
🌀 Hurricane Lowell weakened slightly to a Category 3 storm with 115 mph winds, with a Hurricane Warning issued through Tuesday.
📮 The Trump administration again asked the Supreme Court to allow a USPS plan to restrict mail-in voting, parts of which are currently blocked by a preliminary injunction.
🎬 “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” topped the box office for a sixth straight weekend, helping push Hollywood to its best summer since before the pandemic, with $4.6 billion in domestic ticket sales.
🎾 Frances Tiafoe, Alex Michelsen and Ben Shelton advanced to the U.S. Open quarterfinals, giving American men their deepest run since 1995. Play continues today at 11:30 a.m. No. 4 Coco Gauff faces No. 14 Iva Jovic in an all-American match tonight at 7 p.m. (ESPN).
🕖 Here’s what’s in today’s newsletter:
• CVC Impact Awards
• Upcoming Events
• Senior placement
• Global Headlines
AND
• TEDxAtlanta
🏡 Listed with Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty, this spacious and updated three-bedroom Vinings Ferry townhome offers comfort, charm, and convenience in a private 15-acre community. Enjoy hardwood floors, three fireplaces, a sunroom, a flexible terrace level, and private outdoor space, all minutes from Vinings Jubilee and Truist Park. SPONSOR MESSAGE
1. Celebrating community-minded companies
🏆 For the 29th year, the Corporate Volunteer Council (CVC) IMPACT Awards provide an opportunity for the Atlanta business community to come together to celebrate excellence in corporate social impact and civic engagement.
The 29th Annual IMPACT Awards: From Global Spotlight to Local Impact is on Thurs. Sept. 10 at the Fox Theatre Egyptian Ballroom.
This year’s awards program, presented by Delta Air Lines, will include three IMPACT Awards, a meal catered by Proof of the Pudding, a DJ, a service activity, and a keynote conversation.
Meet the People at the Heart of Perimeter’s Thriving Business Community
SPONSORED BY PERIMETER COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT DISTRICTS
💼 “We’re very appreciative of the community that allowed us to become successful.” That sense of community is why Chef Ashkan Famili and Insight Global COO Tim Stutz continue to invest in Perimeter. They share how the district’s people, culture, and opportunities have helped their businesses thrive.
📹 Watch their stories in the Heart of Perimeter video series and discover what’s fueling Perimeter’s growth.
2. Upcoming Events
🎸 The Avett Brothers will perform after tomorrow’s Braves game, which begins at 7:15 p.m., at Truist Park.
⚽ Atlanta United takes on Orlando City at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Wed., Sept. 9, at 7:30 p.m.
🎽 Nike Head Running Coach Chris Bennett speaks about his new book, “This Is About Running. This Is Not About Running,” Wed., Sept. 9, at 7 p.m. at West Stride.
🖼️Kai Lin Art’s Luke Hamilton will be the guest speaker at Oglethorpe University Museum of Art’s Lab Series on Thurs., Sept. 10, at 1 p.m.
🎭 The musical“Les Misérables” opens Fri., Sept. 11 at 8 p.m. at the Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center.
📧 Find out how you can get your event featured in Rough Draft.
🗓️ For more events, visit RoughDraftAtlanta.com/events.
💙 Mental health care should be accessible to everyone. We offer affordable, professional counseling through in-office, telehealth, school-based, and community programs. You don’t have to face it alone. Find a therapist today at Summit Counseling Center. SPONSOR MESSAGE
3. The obvious (and hopefully helpful) guide for a difficult conversation
🤝 “In my role as a senior placement advisor, I wear many hats, including, but not limited to: social worker, realtor, sibling, therapist, and surrogate child.
My actual role is to identify the right fit in senior living for your family member based on need, location, budget, and knowledge of the communities.
After meeting with families, I often receive this question: ‘But how do I convince my mom to move?'”
➞ Read Jana Eplan’s full story here.
🌱 Come spend a day on the farm! Love is Love’s Fall Plant Sale & Family Day is Sept. 12 in Mansfield. Shop certified organic plants, enjoy FREE gardening and foraging workshops, farm tours, local food, artisans, kids’ activities, and more! Details here. SPONSOR MESSAGE
4. Witkoff and Kushner visit Moscow and Kyiv; Rwandan gorillas
🇺🇸🇮🇷 The U.S. has called Iran’s claim that it struck an unmanned U.S. vessel trying to enter the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday a “total lie,” even as Iran announced plans for a Strait of Hormuz “exclusion zone” to block tankers without its permission.
🇷🇺🇺🇦 A three-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine began Saturday, coinciding with diplomatic meetings involving U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
🇩🇪 Germany’sfar-right Alternative for Germany won roughly 44% in Saxony-Anhalt’s state election, doubling its prior showing, though it fell just short of the majority needed to govern alone.
🇮🇱 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the removal of unauthorized Israeli settlements in the West Bank after U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee called extremist settlers “terrorists.”
🇵🇪 Peru’s government has deployed military and police forces to take control of five high-security prisons under a state of emergency intended to stem growing violence by prison gangs.
🇳🇵 Rescuers pulled two men alive from a flooded Nepal hydropower tunnel nine days after floods that killed at least 1,326 people combined in Nepal and Tibet, with thousands still missing.
🇰🇷The 2026 Seoul International Fireworks Festival lit up the skies over Seoul on Saturday as an estimated one million people gathered to watch the annual spectacle.
🇷🇼 Rwanda’sannual Kwita Izina gorilla-naming ceremony highlighted a broader push to link conservation with economic development, as mountain gorilla populations topped 1,000.
🗓️ Join the World Affairs Council of Atlanta for an evening with former U.S. Ambassador and Senator Jeff Flake, one of America’s most respected voices on democracy, diplomacy, and global affairs. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear firsthand from a leader who has been at the center of some of the most consequential foreign policy and political debates of our time. Register today.
5. What does it take to start again?
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TEDxATLANTA
✨ What do a career reinvention, a changing energy system, and an aeronautical engineer-turned-artist have in common?
Margaret Weniger, Michael Chanin, and artists Yvonne Miller and Stefan Hochhuber explore what happens when the path that once made sense no longer does – and when moving forward requires seeing a different possibility.
→ At TEDxAtlanta, three very different stories ask: What becomes possible when we’re willing to build differently? Join us Oct. 2 & 3.
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