APR. 15 - APR. 28, 2016 • VOL. 10 — NO. 8
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► Retiring House member works on WWI dog movie PAGE 3 ► Blacksmith teaches kids an old art PAGE 15 DO MY FINGERS LOOK FAT? | P9
Shear fun at the History Center
Massell: Today’s renters...‘will be tomorrow’s leaders’ BY JOHN RUCH AND JOE EARLE
PHOTOS BY PHIL MOSIER
It was sheep shearin’ time at the Atlanta History Center’s annual “Sheep to Shawl” event held April 9. Above. Scott Fuss shears “Ida Mae,” a Gulf Coast Native Sheep who lives at the Smith Family Farm, located on the AHC grounds. Assisting Fuss is Brett Bannor, animal caretaker for the center. See more photos page 14►
EXCEPTIONAL EDUCATOR Lovett School’s winning bandleader Page 16
“[I’m] sad to see the Braves move out of Atlanta, but excited to see a brand-new stadium and Braves experience.” 23-YEAR-OLD ATLANTA WOMAN RESPONDING TO OUR 1Q SURVEY ON THE BRAVES’ LAST SEASON AT TURNER FIELD
See COMMENTARY on page 10
OUT & ABOUT ‘Monarchs & Margaritas’ Page 18
Thousands of apartments and apartment-renting millennials are coming to Buckhead and the neighborhood should embrace the changes they bring, Buckhead Coalition president Sam Massell says. “These renters…they will be tomorrow’s leaders in Buckhead and we had better be their friends,” Massell told the Buckhead Business Association at its April 7 meeting during his annual “State of the Community” address. “Buckhead will no longer be just a commune of old-money homeowners. It will be a mixture of old money and fresh thinking.” Sam Massell Massell, a former Atlanta mayor and long-time Buckhead booster, said the community will have to deal with the “tremendous impact” of the apartment boom that he estimated will bring 24,000 new residents— a 30 percent population increase—in the next four to five years. “Believe me, they are coming,” Massell said “A positive reaction can ensure the continuation of Buckhead’s pleasant personality, plus its progress and prosperity.” Massell said his biggest concern is that some Buckhead leaders aren’t acknowledging the changes underway. He said that since the apartment construction boom started in 2012, the number of units proposed, under construction or in the rental phase has increased 117 percent. The Buckhead Coalition has counted 48 complexes with 14,953 units, he said. Massell said he is concerned with the character and quality of some of those new buildings, which “won’t look very good in 10 years.” He is also worried about losing small business with neighborhood-oriented businesses, which he wants to address with “affordable retail” set-asides, like policies that require a certain percentage of housSee MASSELL on page 22