Atlanta City FC
Tuesday, Sept. 29 — Today marks the second anniversary of the 2024 BioLab fire in Conyers that sent a chemical plume across Metro Atlanta. A few days ago, residents filed two new class-action lawsuits seeking damages for health problems they claim were caused by the fire.
☀️ Sunny with a high of 83° today.
⛽ Gov. Brian Kemp suspended the state fuel tax for the third time this year, effective today through Oct. 29. Georgia regular gas averages $4.18, up 45% from a year ago, and diesel has risen 77%.
📮 Georgia voters can still cast mail-in ballots after the U.S. Supreme Court blocked a federal rule restricting them. Early voting begins Tue., Oct. 13, and absentee ballot requests are due Fri., Oct. 23.
🗣️ City Council member Michael Julian Bond is urging his colleagues to reject the sale of the Atlanta City Detention Center to Fulton County.
💰 Over $1.5 million was raised during the 35th annual AIDS Walk Atlanta Music Festival and 5K on Sept. 26, surpassing the $1 million goal.
🍎 AP exam scores of three or higher have more than doubled since 2022 in Atlanta Public Schools.
🎥 Morehouse College opened its new multimedia center, backed by a $1 million investment from NBA legend Michael Jordan.
⚾ The Braves and Phillies meet in the postseason for the third time in five seasons, opening their NL Wild Card Series today at 2 p.m. Chris Sale starts Game 1 (93.7 FM; NBC).
⚽ Atlanta City FC, the NWSL expansion team, unveiled its name and colors yesterday. The club, part of Atlanta United owner Arthur Blank’s AMB Sports and Entertainment, begins play in 2028 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
ELSEWHERE
⚖️ Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mother charged with murdering her three children in 2023, returns to court today for a status hearing after a lone holdout juror led to a mistrial.
🔎 The Tompkins County, N.Y., district attorney reopened a 2024 rape investigation involving Cornell University fraternity members after a woman filed a lawsuit alleging seven men drugged and sexually assaulted her.
🇬🇧 The five London men arrested near RAF Fairford, a base used by the U.S. Air Force for Iran strikes, were released on bail Monday. Tehran’s embassy denied any involvement. President Donald Trump said he was “surprised.”
🕖 Here’s what’s in today’s newsletter:
• Sushi in ATL
• Winter Home Prep
• Watercolor + Georgia musicians
• Decatur Book Festival
• Upcoming Events
AND
• Volunteer Opportunities
🚆 Think working in Perimeter means sitting in traffic? Doug Nagy gets there from Midtown with a 20-minute MARTA ride. Follow along in this Heart of Perimeter video to see what a stress-free commute can look like. SPONSOR MESSAGE
1. How Atlanta’s sushi chefs source fresh fish from Japan
🍣 Fish used for sushi travels a long way before ending up between a pair of chopsticks in Atlanta. That’s because most top-tier sushi restaurants and omakase operations opt for sourcing fish straight from the waters of Japan. The country’s fishing industry is among the most respected and disciplined in the world.
With direct access to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, many local sushi chefs source fresh fish from Japan through agencies or dealers at fish markets like Toyosu in Tokyo.
But it wasn’t always this easy. Until just a few years ago, only a handful of suppliers, such as True World Foods founded in the mid-1970s, worked with sushi chefs outside of Japan.
🇯🇵 Sarra Sedghi has more on this story here.
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2. Winter home prep checklist: 8 projects to do now TOGETHER WITH TRUSTDALE
🥶 In the Southeast, winter damage doesn’t always come from snow. More often it’s a week of steady rain that finds the weak spot in your roof, or a surprise overnight freeze that bursts a pipe in the crawl space.
According to the Farmers’ Almanac, this year’s long-range forecasts point to a wetter, stormier winter for much of the region. NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center seasonal outlook also favors above-normal precipitation across much of the Southeast from October through December 2026.
The good news is that most of this work is straightforward if you start now, while contractors still have openings and the weather is still mild.
❄️ Learn more from TrustDALE here.
🕯️ As the sun sets over Atlanta, the past comes alive. Now in its 20th year, history, theatre, and Halloween thrills converge at Oakland Cemetery for “Capturing the Spirit of Oakland” Halloween tours on Oct. 15-18 & 22-25 from 5-11 p.m. SPONSOR MESSAGE
3. Looking for iconic Georgia musicians? They’re in Marietta.
🎼 Inside the neoclassical building at the corner of Atlanta and Anderson streets in downtown Marietta, watercolorist Jackie Dorsey is unpacking paintings to hang in her upcoming show. It’s called “Legendary Georgia Musicians,” and the title says it all.
Dorsey shoots photographs and then works to sketch and paint the portraits on paper in an analog process. The collection includes photorealistic portraits of musicians ranging from trombonist Wycliffe Gordon to Pylon’s Vanessa Briscoe Hay. Every detail, facial feature, and clothing trim appears perfect in the rendering, down to the tiniest drop of paint. Front and center in the collection is Mike Mills of R.E.M., one of the world’s biggest bands that began in Athens, GA.
➡ Read more in this story from GPB.
4. Four stunning poetry sessions at the DBF
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE DECATUR BOOK FESTIVAL
✍️ From debuts to anthologies to reimaginings, the collections featured in our poetry sessions on Oct. 3 will open minds and hearts.
U.S. Poet Laureate Arthur Sze shares “Transient Worlds” at First Baptist Church of Decatur at 11:30 a.m.
The Decatur Library will host Taylor Clement, Diamond Forde, Adrian Matejka, and Phillip B. Williams at 10 a.m.; Dorsey Craft, Kate Gaskin, Patricia Lockwood, and Chelsea Rathburn at 12:30 p.m.; and Lee Bains, Clifford Brooks, James Ciano, and Judson Mitcham at 1:45 p.m.
5. Upcoming Events
🍂 With cooler weather, there’s no better time to explore Atlanta’s neighborhoods and experience some of the city’s favorite fall festivals along the Beltline. Get ideas here!
🥘 Taste Brookhaven; Thurs., Oct. 1 from 5:30-9:30 p.m. at Brookhaven City Centre.
🎸 Indigo Girls with Linda Perry; Fri., Oct. 2 at 7 p.m. at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre.
🍿 Georgia Latino International Film Festival; tomorrow, Oct. 4, at locations across Metro Atlanta.
🖌️ Paint the Park; Sun., Oct. 4 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at Blackburn Park.
🍔 Rough Draft Dinner Club, the Atlanta OG IRL dinner club; Oct. 20 at 6:30 p.m. – register today!
📧 Find out how you can get your event featured in Rough Draft, and for more events, visit RoughDraftAtlanta.com/events.
✨ Come ready to think, taste, move, sing, and be surprised. Gain new perspective. Follow a scent. Feel the drums. Meet the people behind it all. TEDxAtlanta takes over Oct. 2-3 – and just a few tickets remain. Grab yours. SPONSOR MESSAGE
6. Volunteer Opportunities
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH HANDS ON ATLANTA
🏞️ The Chattahoochee National Park Conservancy (pictured) needs help restoring the historic Sope Creek Mill Ruins on Wednesday morning in Marietta. Expect to help remove invasive plants, clear trash, and preserve the habitat.
🍅 New Life Community Alliance is looking for food pantry volunteers on Thursday morning in Decatur. Look forward to distributing boxes and bags and helping recipients carry and load food items into vehicles.
❤️ Stella Love Non-Profit needs volunteers for their free food giveaway on Friday morning in Roswell. Volunteers will help distribute food, assist traffic, and clean up.
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💡 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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