Big numbers
Monday, Oct. 19 — More than 800,000 ballots were cast in the first week of early voting in Georgia, according to the running total on the secretary of state’s website. Early voting continues through Oct. 30 ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
☀️ Sunny and 69° today.
⛪ Andy Stanley, who founded Alpharetta’s North Point Community Church, announced he will step down as lead pastor next year. Elders nominated Joel Thomas to succeed him, pending a congregational vote.
🗳️ Former President Barack Obama will join Sen. Jon Ossoff and gubernatorial nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms at an Atlanta rally on Wed., Oct. 28.
🏘️ A consultant hired by the City of Atlanta told city council members that the 981-page Zoning 2.0 draft was too complex and did too little to expand housing options.
💰 The sale of the Atlanta City Detention Center to Fulton County for $68 million could be finalized at today’s city council meeting.
🍽️ The inaugural Poncey-Highland Restaurant Week kicks off today and continues through Oct. 25, with a dozen restaurants participating.
SPORTS
🏈 A late rally wasn’t enough to overcome turnovers and loud Chicago fans in the Falcons’ 31-23 home loss to the Bears yesterday. Linebacker Kendal Daniels was carted off with a neck injury but rejoined teammates after an exam at Grady.
🏈 Georgia fell from No. 1 to No. 5 in the AP poll after losing to unranked Auburn, handing the top spot to Miami on a weekend when five of the top seven teams lost.
🏀 After dropping Game 1, the Dream look to even the WNBA Finals against the Golden State Valkyries tonight at 8 p.m. in San Francisco (USA; Peacock).
⚾ The Rays beat the Guardians 3-1 to take a 3-2 ALCS lead, one win from facing the Brewers in the World Series. Tampa hosts Game 6 tonight at 8:08 p.m. (TBS).
ELSEWHERE
🐄 A cattle truck plunged off a Kansas City, MO, overpass yesterday, killing up to 60 cows. Dozens of survivors wandered city streets until wranglers on horseback rounded them up.
👀 “You Can See Everything” grossed $15 million this weekend, the biggest documentary debut since Michael Moore’s 2004 “Fahrenheit 9/11.” Read Sammie’s review here.
🕖 Here’s what’s in today’s newsletter:
• The Stitch
• Upcoming Events
• Global Updates
• Work-life balance
AND
• Look & Listen
🏠 Listed with Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty, this six-bedroom Ashford Park home offers 7,700± square feet and a chef’s kitchen with high-end appliances. Other highlights include a heated saltwater pool and spa with waterfalls and fire features, a finished terrace level, and a covered patio with a wood-burning fireplace. SPONSOR MESSAGE
1. New renderings revealed for The Stitch, with project set to begin in 2027
🪡 Work on The Stitch, the park that will cap a section of the Downtown Connector, is set to begin in 2027, with more funding still being sought to complete the ambitious project.
New renderings for The Stitch were recently unveiled, showcasing an indoor-outdoor “Gateway Pavilion” along Peachtree Street, cafe space, and green spaces.
The Stitch is estimated to cost $713 million and would add roughly 17 acres along a three-quarter-mile stretch of the Downtown Connector. Jack Cebe, president and CEO of Atlanta Downtown Stitch Inc., said phase one will cost around $200 million.
🔎 Find out more about the project here.
Look who’s on stage at Emory’s Schwartz Center
SPONSORED BY EMORY SCHWARTZ CENTER
🎶 Jordan Bak and Sterling Elliott return to the Schwartz Center on Oct. 29, and they’re bringing some seriously good company.
The violist and cellist join violinists Thomas Bowes and Nathan Meltzer to explore Eleanor Alberga’s three string quartets, then Alberga herself jumps into the mix at the piano for the much-anticipated premiere of her Second Piano Quintet, “Stark.” It’s a chance to welcome back two standout musicians, discover two more, and experience Alberga’s music beautifully brought to life.
→ Rough Draft readers save 15% on tickets with promo code SCPAFRIEND.
2. Upcoming Events
🎸 Journey; tonight at 7:30 p.m. at State Farm Arena.
🖼️ BECOMING; tomorrow at 10 a.m. at Spalding Nix Fine Art.
📑 Statewide Career Fair; Wed., Oct. 21, at 11 a.m. at Cobb Energy Centre.
🎹 America @ 250: Rhapsody in Blue; Thurs., Oct. 22, at 8 p.m. at Atlanta Symphony Hall.
🫖 Fall Ceramics Show; Fri., Oct. 23, at 10 a.m. at Callanwolde Fine Arts Center.
📧 Find out how you can get your event featured in Rough Draft. For more events, visit RoughDraftAtlanta.com/events.
🕯️ 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. 22-25 from 5-11 p.m. SPONSOR MESSAGE
3. Trump endorses Bibi; Zelenskyy warns siding with Russia would be ‘historic mistake’
🇮🇱 President Donald Trump endorsed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of Israel’s Oct. 27 election, warning that if voters picked anyone else, the U.S. was “not inclined” to finish the job against Iran.
🇺🇦 🇷🇺 President Trump waived new sanctions on buyers of Moscow’s oil. On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned siding with Russia would be a “historic mistake” but said U.S. intelligence sharing had resumed.
🇫🇷 Cost-of-living protests across France turned violent Saturday, with more than 2,500 arrests and nearly 1,000 security personnel injured. President Emmanuel Macron rejected the resignation of Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, who admitted police “lost control.”
🇪🇬 🇸🇦 Egypt says it is prepared to help Saudi Arabia defend itself against attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels operating from neighboring Yemen.
🇮🇳 The founder of India’s Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) was granted bail after alleging that his arrest was unlawful and politically motivated, intended to intimidate his anti-government party.
🇨🇦 A fast-moving grass fire during a live-ammunition training exercise at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta killed four soldiers Saturday and left at least 19 others in critical condition.
🇨🇦 Residents of Alberta vote today on whether to begin pursuing independence from the country.
🇦🇱 Anti-corruption demonstrations in Albania erupted into violence as students rallied behind the so-called Flamingo Revolution, which opposes plans to develop a luxury resort on protected coastal land.
🇨🇴 Colombia opened an embassy in Jerusalem, becoming the 10th country to make the symbolic move and departing from the longstanding practice of locating embassies in Tel Aviv.
🇮🇹🇦🇺 An apparent bedbug outbreak turned a 17-hour flight from Perth to Rome into an uncomfortable ordeal for passengers.
🇲🇽🇨🇦 Banana Ball is going global in 2027, with the Savannah Bananas set to play in Mexico and Canada. A Disney film about the team debuts in June.
🗓️ Join the World Affairs Council of Atlanta for a conversation with author and former Foreign Affairs assistant editor Joel Nelson, whose new book, “Kennedy’s Only Hero,” explores the profound influence Churchill had on JFK’s political development and worldview. Register today.
💙 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
4. Work? Life? Balance?
⚖️ All of us are trying to figure out the work-life balance and how to navigate the pressures of building a career while creating a fulfilling life.
Allison Hill, the chief social impact and content officer at Roark Capital, has more than three decades of corporate leadership experience, including roles at Coke and Sprint. The mother of two daughters, she also founded the nonprofit Eat Laugh Give.
📖 Her new book, “Your Job Won’t Love You Back,” explores how to balance marriage, motherhood, ambition, and personal growth, and she will be in conversation with the AJC’s Kelly Yamanouchi on Thurs., Oct. 22 at The Lola. It’s free to attend, but an RSVP is requested.
5. Work it
This week, we’ve lined up a few podcasts on career moves, entrepreneurial strategy, and unexpected paths to developing business acumen:
🎙 Guy Raz celebrated a milestone with “10 Years of How I Built This: A Decade of Innovation, Risk and Reinvention,” a look back at a show where founders reveal deep, intimate moments of doubt and failure before their eventual success.
🎧 On “Long Strange Trip,” HubSpot co-founder Brian Halligan features David Senra, who spent a decade reading biographies of more than 400 entrepreneurs, which Senra also discusses on his podcast, “Founders.” Senra said that of those he studied, only about three had genuinely well-balanced lives.
🎙 On “WorkLife with Molly Graham,” YouTube creator Mark Rober explained why chasing the algorithm leads to burnout.
🎧 On NPR’s “Life Kit,” experts unpacked the signs of burnout and how listeners can gain more control over their work and their lives.
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