Buckhead Reporter - December 2020

Page 1

reporternewspapers.net

DECEMBER 2020• VOL. 14 — NO. 12

Buckhead Reporter

BY THE NUMBERS

Mapping Biden’s win in local communities P11

A bridge to MARTA art?

Norwood won’t rule out 2021 run for office

Holiday Events P5

BY JOHN RUCH

ROBIN’S NEST

A thankful farewell to readers P13

WORTH KNOWING

CAC leader’s legacy of helping others

ASD SKY

Could the bridge between the Lenox MARTA Station and the Salesforce Tower get a more colorful look? This conceptual illustration for artwork on the concrete bridge over East Paces Ferry Road is among the improvements the tower’s owner is considering. See story, p. 9. ►

Mayor announces ‘top-to-bottom’ review of police department

P20

BY JOHN RUCH

The Buckhead Reporter is mail delivered to homes on selected carrier routes in ZIPs 30305, 30327 and 30342 For information: delivery@reporternewspapers.net

The Atlanta Police Department will undergo an 18-month, “top-to-bottom” review for possible reforms, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced in a Nov. 18 press conference. The review of APD’s policies, procedures and training will be conducted by the Police

Executive Research Forum, an advisory organization based in Washington, D.C., that frequently conducts such studies for local police departments. A separate urban planning firm will be involved to ensure citizen engagement in the process, Bottoms said. The cost of the study will be paid by the Atlanta Committee for Progress, a group of corporate leaders who advise the mayor,

PAID ADVERTISEMENT

Mary Norwood, the former Atlanta City Council member who narrowly lost the 2017 mayoral election to Keisha Lance Bottoms, is not ruling out another run for a city office in 2021. “I am not planning right now to run for any office,” Norwood, who now chairs the Buckhead Council of Neighborhoods, said in a Nov. 5 phone interview. Asked if she might change her mind, she added, “I think that in the middle of a presidential election that hasn’t been decided, where everybody’s focused on that, that it is premature to even discuss what may happen next year.” Earlier that day, Norwood spoke to the Buckhead Business Association, where she noted the importance of those 2021 elections, when the Mayor’s Office and City Council seats will be on the ballot. She also touted her organization’s recent work on street racing and other public safety issues. At the BBA meeting, Norwood touted her organization’s involvement in the City Council’s recent passage of an ordinance that requires the temporary jailing of defendants accused of street racing and gave more details about a group that is considering enhanced private policing in the neighborhood. Overall crime is down in Buckhead like it is citywide. But a string of gun crimes and other issues like street racing have been on the rise. This year, many Buckhead residents and organizations have complained about young water-sellers on the street, which led to a crackdown over alleged assaults and other crimes. And the neighborhood was shaken by widespread looting on one night in May that spun out of the early

See MAYOR on page 22

See NORWOOD on page 14

This year, above all years, it’s essential for us to... POSTAL CUSTOMER

See page 8 for details

Focus on the Present

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