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Collin Kelley
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EDITOR'S NOTE
This summer marks four years since I finished up an intense round of radiation therapy and was declared cancerfree. It’s a milestone both exhilarating and fraught with unease, as anyone who’s survived a rare cancer like adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) will understand. There is no cure, just the hope that each scan will come back clean. So far, I’ve been fortunate. My doctor at Emory University Hospital was very upfront: if this kind of cancer returns, it’s curtains. Learning to navigate life again after that diagnosis changes you.
check out RoughDraft.news for updates. Personally, I’m still debating whether or not to appeal my property tax as the deadline approaches. My increase is slightly high, but maybe not high enough to win an appeal. If the tax increase is approved, I might need to save my appeal for next year. Sigh. I never had to worry about this in my apartment.
I haven’t had any type of vacation in a year, so I’m hoping to escape to a beach somewhere in the next few months to recharge. Fun fact: I’m so fair-skinned that I burn even with sunscreen, so I’m usually under an umbrella sipping a cocktail and just enjoying the sights, sounds, and water.
The world is very messy right now, and politics seems to dominate every conversation and headline. My advice? Turn it off – at least for a few hours.
Still, I’ve managed to publish another collection of poetry, I’m writing a fourth novel, I’ve travelled. The daily reminder of my cancer is evident on my face, thanks to the scars left by the surgery to remove my parotid gland, but I’ve managed to push the fear aside. I’ve never been afraid to die, but I do have a bucket list of projects and places that I want to check off before I am dispatched to whatever comes next.
Just before my diagnosis in 2021, I bought a condo. Moving into a new home while in recovery and treatment was a fresh hell I wouldn’t wish on anyone. Homeownership has turned out to be a strange cocktail of pride, anxiety, and unexpected expenses. Mortgages don’t care about poetry deadlines or creative burnout. Plumbing and electrical problems have no respect for your mental health.
And I’m not afraid to admit I still miss my old apartment, especially every time something breaks down and needs a costly repair. As I’m writing this, I’m waiting on a repairman to come and fix my leaky washing machine. I tried to DIY it, but those YouTube repair guides aren’t always a saving grace.
Also currently vexing me is Fulton County’s plan to jack up property taxes by more than 12 percent. There’s been a big pushback from residents who are worried that the increase will push them out of their homes. I have to admit, I’m concerned about that myself. A decision is likely coming in August, so be sure to
Even as a journalist, I’ve had to limit my exposure to the 24-hour news cycle for my sanity.
And not to get too woo-woo on you, be sure to celebrate milestones, even the small ones. Let go of perfection – it’s a myth. Rest when you’re tired. Pay attention to your body, your spirit. If you’re lucky enough to grow older, do it with intention. And when life becomes overwhelming, remember that starting again is always an option – even in the same space, even in the same skin.
I’m still here. Still writing. Still traveling, Still learning new things about myself even as I approach 56.
And that is enough.
Collin Kelley
The once and future me chilling on a beach somewhere.
MARTA CEO resigns citing immigration issues
By Cathy Cobbs
MARTA General Manager and CEO Collie Greenwood has resigned from his post due to“immigration and personal matters.”
Near the end of the transportation authority’s July 17 meeting, chief legal counsel Jonathan Hunt introduced a resolution for a separation of service for Greenwood, a Canadian, saying that the CEO had “served the authority with distinction and moved the authority forward.”
Hunt listed several achievements under Greenwood’s three-year tenure, including MARTA being named the American Public Transit Association's Agency of the Year, achieving a AAA bond rating, and operating in “challenging fiscal and inflationary times.”
A statement from MARTA released after the meeting said that Greenwood is a Canadian citizen “and was recently notified that his Permanent Resident Card (Green Card) is forthcoming after the expiration of his Employment Authorization Document (EAD or work permit) this summer.”
“Upon expiration of his work permit on June 18, 2025, and out of an abundance of caution, Mr. Greenwood ceased working, personally notified all MARTA board members and executive leadership individually and signed a delegation of authority to Ms. Allen,” the statement said. “Mr. Greenwood’s Canadian visa is valid, and he remains in this country legally awaiting imminent delivery of his Green Card.”
MARTA called the immigration process as extensive and has had an impact on "Mr. Greenwood’s personal and professional
progress. These challenges have been resolved with Mr. Greenwood’s decision, and the MARTA family supports him.”
Greenwood issued a statement on his decision to retire as CEO.
“My wife and I have decided this is a good opportunity to take an early retirement and spend more time with our family and friends,” Greenwood said. “I do want to thank the board, the executive leadership team, and everyone at MARTA for their support and their continued work to improve and grow transit service in this region.”
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens issued a statement wishing Greenwood success in his future endeavors.
“As we look ahead, my administration remains committed to building a worldclass transit system for Atlanta and the entire region,” Dickens said. “A safe, reliable and connected MARTA is essential to our goals for equity, economic mobility and sustainability, and to my vision of a city built for the future with opportunity for all.”
Hunt said the board of directors will pay the balance of Greenwood’s contract term and severance set forth in his employment agreement. The board passed a resolution appointing MARTA Chief Customer Experience Officer Rhonda Allen as acting general manager and CEO until an interim manager is selected.
According to the MARTA website, Allen began her 25-year career at MARTA as an engineering intern, including stints
in engineering, construction management, project management and strategic planning roles.
“While an engineer at heart, she has always brought a customer-focused lens to the projects under her direction,” the website said.
The board also approved a resolution to form a search committee for Greenwood’s successor.
Board chair Jennifer Ide said Greenwood was not able to be present at the meeting “because of his immigration status.” Ide complimented Greenwood on his service, saying that he “got us through some difficult times at the end of COVID and the transition of losing our previous general manager very unexpectedly.”
According to the MARTA website, Greenwood, a former Toronto bus operator, joined MARTA as the Chief of Bus Operations and Urban Planning in July 2019 and was appointed Deputy General Manager of Operations and Urban Planning in 2020.
In October 2022, the MARTA Board of Directors named him General Manager and CEO after the death of Jeffrey Parker. Prior to joining MARTA, Greenwood served as Chief Service Officer at North America’s third-largest transit system, the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). During his tenure, he oversaw bus, subway, streetcar, accessible transit, station services, and transit security and guided the TTC through several transformative initiatives.
Rivian to open East Coast HQ on Atlanta Beltline
By Collin Kelley
Electric vehicle maker Rivian will open its East Coast headquarters later this year at Junction Krog District on the Atlanta Beltline’s Eastside Trail.
The California-based company plans to initially employ about 100 people at the Atlanta site, with staffing expected to grow to 500 as construction progresses at its forthcoming manufacturing facility near Social Circle, according to a press release.
The new headquarters will take over Junction Krog’s top floor and lobby with prominent rooftop signage.
The Atlanta expansion comes as Rivian works to scale its operations, having generated $5 billion in revenue over the past year.
“Atlanta embodies so much that makes Georgia great—top talent, exceptional creativity, and a desire to always be moving forward,” Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe said in the release.
Gov. Brian Kemp praised the decision as a sign of Rivian’s “commitment to the Peach
State,” while Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said the announcement “cements our city’s growing reputation in EV innovation and technology.”
Rivian’s larger Georgia footprint includes plans for a massive factory expected to employ 7,500 people. Groundbreaking at the Stanton Springs site – location between Covington and Madison on I-20 – is scheduled for early 2026.
Rivian reported delivering 10,661 vehicles in the second quarter of 2025— meeting analyst expectations but falling short of last year’s 13,790 deliveries. Production also dropped to 5,979 vehicles, down from an expected 11,325, as the company prepared for model year 2026 launches.
The headquarters expansion comes on the heels of President Donald Trump signing a tax and spending bill that eliminates federal tax credits for new and used electric vehicles (EVs). The $7,500 credit for new EVs and the $4,000 credit for used EVs will expire after Sept. 30.
Collie Greenwood
Clean-energy advocate
Peter Hubbard bested former Atlanta City Council member Keisha Sean Waites in the Democratic primary runoff on July 15 for the District 3 Georgia Public Service Commission seat.
Hubbard will face Republican incumbent Fitz Johnson in the Nov. 4 general election.
The Fulton County Board of Commissioners is expected to decide on whether to proceed with a millage rate hike that could see property taxes increase more than 12 percent. Residents have pushed back at recent public hearings, saying the increase combined with inflation would make it impossible to live in the county.
The Atlanta Board of Education held a special-called meeting on July 7 to extend the contract of Superintendent Dr. Bryan Johnson. The board voted unanimously to extend Johnson’s contract by one year, through July 6, 2028. Johnson’s original contract ends in 2027.
Atlanta actor, director, and musician Malcolm-Jamal Warner, best known for playing Theo Huxtable on “The Cosby Show,” died July 20 in a drowning accident while on vacation in Costa Rica. He was 54.
Trump administration releases FBI surveillance records on MLK Jr.
By Collin Kelley
The Trump administration released more than 200,000 pages of records from the FBI’s surveillance of Martin Luther King Jr., despite opposition from the civil rights leader’s family.
The records have been under a court seal since 1977 after the FBI turned them over to the National Archives and Records Administration. The King family were given advance notice of the release and had their own teams reviewing the records ahead of the public disclosure, according to an Associated Press report.
At press time, it was unclear if the
newly-released records would shed any new light on the assassination of King.
King’s two children, Bernice A. King and Martin Luther King III, released a lengthy statement urging “those who engage with the release of these files to do so with empathy, restraint, and respect for our family’s continuing grief.”
The statement read in part: “The release of these files must be viewed within their full historical context. During our father’s lifetime, he was relentlessly targeted by an invasive, predatory, and deeply disturbing disinformation and surveillance campaign orchestrated by J. Edgar Hoover through the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI). The intent of the government’s COINTELPRO [counterintelligence program] campaign was not only to monitor, but to discredit, dismantle and destroy Dr. King’s reputation and the broader American Civil Rights Movement. These actions were not only invasions of privacy, but intentional assaults on the truth – undermining the dignity and freedoms of private citizens who fought for justice, designed to neutralize those who dared to challenge the status quo.”
Members of the family have long believed that King’s assassination was a conspiracy that included government agencies and that James Earl Ray, convicted of shooting King in Memphis in 1968, was a scapegoat. Ray later renounced his guilty plea. In a 1998 civil trial, the jury agreed with the King family.
“As we review these newly released files, we will assess whether they offer additional insights beyond the findings our family has already accepted,” the statement from the King family said. “While we support transparency and historical accountability, we object to any attacks on our father’s legacy or attempts to weaponize it to spread falsehoods.”
U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno
ordered a new investigation of the King assassination following the civil trial. In 2000, the Department of Justice released a report rejecting a conspiracy and the findings of the Memphis civil court trial.
The King Center in Atlanta released a statement calling the release of the documents “unfortunate and ill-timed, given the myriad of pressing issues and injustices affecting the United States and the global society, to distract from the critical needs and traumatic outcomes resulting from these issues and injustices."
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said Monday that releasing the files followed through on President Donald Trump’s commitment to release previously classified files regarding the assassinations of King, President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy.
Civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton called the release of the King documents an attempt by the administration to distract from the “firestorm engulfing Trump” concerning the failure to release records and the “client list” of late financier and child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The King files can be viewed at archives.gov.
Courtesy The King Center
Jim Durrett to retire as leader
By Collin Kelley
The Atlanta Department of Transportation (ATLDOT) and the Atlanta Downtown District (ADID) officially broke ground on July 8 on multimodal improvements along the Jackson Street Bridge.
Known as one of Atlanta’s most iconic locations for photographers to capture arguably the best skyline view of Downtown, the redesign of the Old
Fourth Ward bridge will offer a safer, more accessible, and people-centered destination, according to city officials.
Key project improvements will include an expanded pedestrian zone that extends beyond the existing sidewalk and a new protected bike lane linking the Freedom Parkway Trail to the Baker-Highland Trail.
The project was conceived and developed by Neighborhood Planning Unit M and the Atlanta Department of City Planning’s Placemaking Program.
By Collin Kelley
The Buckhead Coalition and Buckhead Community Improvement District (CID) announced July 9 that Jim Durrett will retire as leader of both organizations in 2026.
A respected civic planning, transit, and sustainability leader, Durrett has served as executive director of the Buckhead CID since 2009 and as president and CEO of the Buckhead Coalition since 2020.
Durrett has supported the work of metro Atlanta’s CIDs for nearly two decades, serving as executive director of the Buckhead CID for 17 years and as the founding executive director of the Livable Communities Coalition, a nonprofit organization promoting smart growth development in the Atlanta region. With the Buckhead Coalition, Durrett led the transformation of the organization after founder and former mayor Sam Massell retired in 2020.
Atlanta,” Durrett said. “I think we educated the community about the impacts of the separation. There were legitimate concerns by those who wanted Buckhead to become its own city, but those concerns would not have been solved by separation.”
Durrett said the cityhood movement did have a positive effect on Buckhead, as it made the City of Atlanta more aware of the district’s needs.
Durrett, who will be 69 when he steps down next March, said he would have already retired, but the opportunity to lead the Buckhead Coalition changed his mind.
“Taking on the CEO role provided an opportunity to bring the organizations closer together,” Durrett told Rough Draft. “There was synergy, a strong staff, and good board leadership. It just made sense to me.”
His accomplishments have spanned beautification, accessibility, and safety for the Buckhead area with efforts to fund and launch vital projects, including securing $52 million in local, state, and federal funds for key Buckhead infrastructure projects and spearheading the initial concept for HUB404, a nine-acre highway-capping park over Georgia 400.
Durrett is bullish on the idea of HUB404 because he said Buckhead needs a “meaningful gathering place.” He’ll spend his final months at Livable Buckhead working to advance the HUB404 concept and get it closer to final design and refresh the cost estimate for the park given the new realities of federal funding.
The two organizations were also instrumental in preventing Buckhead’s cityhood movement from splitting the district from the City of Atlanta. The Georgia Legislature quashed two attempts to have a cityhood referendum in 2022 and 2023.
“I don't believe we’ll see another attempt at separating Buckhead from
“I think the City of Atlanta government and mayor’s office realized that it’s important to pay attention to every part of Atlanta,” Durrett said, noting that Mayor Andre Dickens had immediately responded to Buckhead’s concerns.
“Mayor Dickens was immediately in Buckhead talking to people, listening to people, and demonstrating that Buckhead's concerns were the city’s concerns,” Durrett commented. “Over the last two years, we’ve seen crime decrease, and we have a stronger relationship with city hall.”
Durrett said he plans to spend more time with his family – including a new grandchild on the way – and to split his time between Atlanta and Idaho, where he and his wife have a yurt in the Teton Valley.
And while he’s dialing back his work life, Durrett said he still plans to make time to volunteer and consult whenever he is needed by Buckhead.
“I will miss the energy – being in the middle of important initiatives and discussions – but I’m ready for my next chapter,” he said.
A search committee comprised of Buckhead Coalition and Buckhead CID board members has retained executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates to lead the recruitment process for Durrett’s successor. The firm will begin engaging with candidates nationwide throughout the summer and fall.
Jim Durrett
Local NPR and PBS stations call for public support after federal cuts
By Logan C. Ritchie
Local NPR and PBS budgets will take a big hit after the July 18 vote by Congressional Republicans to claw back $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
After passing the House of Representatives with a vote of 216-213, President Donald Trump is expected to sign the bill that will take 13% – or $1.9 million per year – away from Atlanta NPR and PBS affiliate WABE’s budget. The station, which is a Rough Draft media partner, has been on the air for 76 years.
Jennifer Dorian, WABE president and CEO, said her team is aligned in the importance of local news and local programming. The nonprofit media organization serving metro Atlanta receives 87% of its funding from the public. Losing federal funding that was expected to be distributed in November will be a shift, she said.
“We’ll be looking at new economic models for our partnerships with PBS and NPR, and more ways that the local community could fund our work,” Dorian said. “Amplifying Atlanta is our calling, and making sure Atlanta understands itself and that the wider world understands Atlanta is job one.”
If the community wants accountability journalism, local news, arts and culture coverage, “we’re going to have to place a value on that civic infrastructure,” she said, calling for support in the short and long term.
“At WABE, we’re really lean. I know 13% doesn’t sound like a lot, but it’s very impactful, because we operate every year on a break-even basis,” Dorian said. “There’s only one IT person, there’s only one broadcasting engineer, there’s only one managing newsroom director, you know. So, losing 13% of this money is significant.”
The state of Georgia does not provide funds to WABE. Federal cuts are set through 2027, but it remains to be seen how Congress will budget in 2028 and 2029.
Lobbyists and individual stations have been fighting the bill in Washington, D.C. Dorian said meetings with Sen. Jon Ossoff and Sen. Raphael Warnock were held, and both understood “how much we do for the local economy, how much we do for civic education, how much we do for community affairs.”
Sen. Ossoff told Rough Draft that now is not the time for Congress to focus on “defunding ‘Sesame Street.’”
“I’ve vigorously advocated in public against this defunding of public television and Public Radio, which Georgians rely
upon, not just for news, but also for emergency weather information and emergency services,” Ossoff said. “We need to be bringing Republicans and Democrats together to do what’s in the national interest, not fight these culture wars.”
Broadly speaking, Dorian estimates that cuts will cause the closure of stations that heavily depend on federal funding. While those outlets are mostly rural, there is a risk that they will not be able to get emergency alert information on extreme weather events, power outages, cyber cybersecurity problems.
“That’s not our situation in Atlanta, where I don’t think there’s going to be closures, but we will see across the country newsrooms weakening, the shrinking
of local reporting, local arts and cultural programming, and local educational programming. We also could see the weakening of PBS and NPR nationwide as the stations don’t get the money to pay them,” Dorian said.
News networks rely on local stations for on-the-scene reporting of extreme weather events in Asheville, N.C. and Kerrville, Texas. And it’s vital for public radio to maintain the Emergency Alert System, Dorian added.
WABE launched a new appeal to listeners to make donations to make up the budget shortfall.
Georgia Public Broadcasting, a statewide network operating nine TV stations and 18 radio stations, receives funding several sources, including the Georgia General Assembly. In fiscal year 2024, the state legislature gave GPB $12.9 million.
“For the past 65 years, Georgians have relied on Georgia Public Broadcasting to bring them high-quality educational programming, unbiased local news, homegrown sports and entertainment as well as emergency public safety messages,” GPB said in a statement. “GPB leadership anticipated a rapidly changing federal funding environment and in response, has conducted careful scenario planning in preparation for multiple outcomes.”
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SPORTS High School Football Preview
Score Atlanta, founded in 2004 as a weekly sports paper, is now one of the state's largest producers of television and digital broadcasts of Georgia high school sports and has a multitude of promotional print projects for partners such as the Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United, the Georgia High School Association, the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Score Atlanta has the most-used app for Georgia high school sports scores and operates events such as the Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic, the Great Atlanta Bash, the Drive for the GHSA State Title, the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame, and the Georgia Elite Classic. Score Atlanta also introduced its very own High School Football & Flag Awards, with an annual award ceremony that last year crowned the first-ever Mr. and Miss Georgia for football and flag football, respectively. Additionally, Score Atlanta produces the daily show "Georgia High School Sports Daily" which airs weekdays from noon - 1 p.m. on the Peachtree Sports Network, and covers anything and everything Georgia high school sports. In partnership with Rough Draft and Reporter Newspapers, these team previews were authored by Seth Ellerbee, Craig Sager II, Najeh Wilkins, Hayden Gilbert, and Max Wolborsky. Previews without a stadium listing mean venues were still being decided as we went to press. Please check with your school to determine the location of each game.
Decatur Bulldogs Druid Hills Red Devils
Head Coach: William Felton
Coach Record: 36-18
2024 Record: 9-2
2024 Region: 4-5A
2024 Region Record: 6-1
2025 Region: 4-5A
Stadium Name: Bulldog Stadium
2025 Schedule:
8/22 @ Greater Atlanta Christian
8/29 Carver-Atlanta
9/05 @ Stephenson (HS)
9/12 @ Chamblee (ND)
9/19 Arabia Mountain
9/26 Dunwoody
10/03 Shiloh
10/17 @ Lakeside-DeKalb (A)
10/24 @ Woodward Academy
10/31 Tri Cities
As one of the oldest programs in the state, which has played football in some form or fashion since 1914, Decatur enters the season riding the momentum from last year’s regular season coupled with a sour taste from a first-round exit in the playoffs. William Felton has coached at Decatur since 2020 and in that time, he has amassed a 36-18 record and won Decatur’s first region title (2022) since 2004. Marking his first head-coaching job in Georgia, Felton has initiated a turnaround in the program and led the Bulldogs to the playoffs in each season with second-round appearances in 2020 and 2022 and a first-round loss last season after finishing 9-2. That was Decatur’s best finish since the 13-1 season in 2003 under coach Steve Davenport where the team fell in the semifinals. Once one of the more successful programs in the state, from 1930 to 1953, Decatur won 15 region titles. That streak includes nine-consecutive region titles from 1945 to 1953 with back-to-back state championships in 1949 and 1950 under head coach Charles Waller. Decatur lost just one regular season game last year, against Woodward Academy on October 25 before falling to Dutchtown in the first round 4814. The Bulldogs will have to weather the graduation of quarterback Barron Scott, who was 112-of-196 passing for 1,376 yards and 15 touchdowns, but its leading rusher returns in junior Darius White, who had 141 carries for 1,012 yards and 17 touchdowns. White also had 11 catches for 126 yards and two touchdowns.
Head Coach: Frederick Greene
Coach Record: 19-27-1
2024 Record: 4-6
2024 Region: 5-4A
2024 Region Record: 3-5
2025 Region: 5-4A
Stadium Name: Adams Stadium
2025 Schedule:
8/15 @ Miller Grove (Cobb Stadium)
8/21 Midtown (Adams Stadium)
9/05 @ North Springs (Johns Creek HS)
9/11 St. Pius X (Adams Stadium)
9/19 Marist (Adams Stadium)
9/26 Lithonia (Adams Stadium)
10/03 @ Tucker (Adams Stadium)
10/16 Northview (North DeKalb Stadium)
10/23 @ Clarkston (Cobb Stadium)
10/31 @ Southwest DeKalb (Godfrey Stadium)
Druid Hills has not been known for playoff success, however entering the upcoming season – in head coach Frederick Greene’s fifth year at the helm – the Red Devils could build upon last year’s 4-6 finish and turn their eyes toward a playoff berth. If Druid Hills does advance to the playoffs, it would be only for the second time in program history. The first came 69 years ago, when it made it all the way to the Class 2A state championship game in 1956 under head coach Elmer Morrow before losing to Valdosta 27-0, along with a region playoff game in 1985 under head coach Jerry Smart. After taking over in 2021, Greene suffered through a winless 0-10 season in his first year but bounced back with a 4-6 finish in 2022. In 2023, Greene led the Red Devils to an 8-1-1 finish, the most wins for Decatur in a season since 1985 (8) and 1973 (9). Rising junior quarterback Malachi Pace led the Red Devils last season and was 64-of-120 passing for 532 yards and three touchdowns. Druid will need to weather the loss of its leading rusher – Zachary Manning – who ran for 1,011 yards and 10 touchdowns, and its leading receiver Brelon Cade – who had 37 receptions and four touchdowns. The Red Devils return rising senior Jackson Hampton, who had 13 catches for 160 yards and two touchdowns.
Lakeside Vikings
Head Coach: Morris Starr
Coach Record: 43-97
2024 Record: 4-6
2024 Region: 4-5A
2024 Region Record: 3-4
2025 Region: 4-5A
Stadium Name: Adams Stadium
2025 Schedule:
8/15 Berkmar (Adams Stadium)
8/22 St. Pius X (Adams Stadium)
8/29 @ Macon County
9/12 Arabia Mountain (AS)
9/19 @ Dunwoody
9/26 @ Tri-Cities
10/03 Chamblee (Adams Stadium)
10/17 Decatur (A)
10/24 @ Shiloh
10/31 @ Woodward Academy
Head coach Morris Starr is looking forward to his seventh season as the head coach of the Vikings, where he will be returning seven starters from last year’s 4-6 squad. Lakeside has come a long way since its back-to-back winless seasons in 2019-20 and has compiled a 20-20 record over the last four seasons. Last season, Lakeside competed in Region 4-5A and opened up a 3-0 region record before dropping its final four games and missing its first playoff berth since 2015.
“You hope in the offseason that the young guys can make improvements and get better in terms of their skills,” Starr said.
“I saw a little carryover this spring, especially on the offensive line with guys that look like they have played before.” This season, Starr is excited to have several multi-year starters returning that will play key leadership roles. “I am really looking forward to seeing the two Ellerman brothers, Cole and Grady. They are linebackers that started as sophomores and juniors and this will be their senior year.” Spencer Wise is a 6-foot-4, four-year starter at defensive back/free safety who will also play receiver. Quarterback Noah Lanford has been waiting his turn behind a three-year starter.
Decatur High School (Photo by Keson Graham)
MILLION-DOLLAR MARKETING AT
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Midtown Knights
Head Coach: Calvin Arnold
Coach Record: 9-22
2024 Record: 2-8
2024 Region: 4-4A
2024 Region Record: 1-6
2025 Region: 4-4A
Stadium Name:
Eddie S. Henderson Stadium
2025 Schedule:
8/15 Lassiter
8/21 @ Druid Hills (AS)
8/29 McNair
9/11 @ Drew (Southern Crescent)
9/19 Forest Park (D)
9/27 @ Maynard Jackson (D)
10/02 M. L. King
10/09 Pace Academy
10/24 @ Mays (Lakewood Stadium)
10/31 @ Creekside
Heading into 2025, Midtown will have its fourth head coach in the past four seasons. Assistant coach Calvin Arnold was promoted to head coach after former head coach Leroy Hood departed after one season. Arnold has previous head coaching experience at Carver-Columbus and Spencer, and has been on the Midtown staff since 2018. Midtown is coming off a 2-8 season and is looking for stability among its coaching staff as it tries to get back on track. The Knights averaged 11.8 points per game in 2024 and gave up 34.40 points per game. The defense regressed compared to its 2023 season when it gave up an average of 17.8 points per game across 10 games. In 2024, Midtown gave up 344 points and a season-high 56 points to Creekside. Arnold is known for his discipline, communication skills, and planning, which will be invaluable to the Knights program looking to right the ship. Arnold will have some elite talent at his disposal in 2025, led by one of the best tight ends in the state. A key returning player for Midtown on offense will be TE/WR Kentrell White, who is 6’4”, 210 pounds. The standout prospect is being heavily recruited by Virginia Tech and Auburn and was an all-region first-team selection a season ago. The Knights will have to replace standout athlete TJ Jones, who was an all-region honorable mention in 2024.
Maynard Jackson Jaguars
Head Coach: Eric Williams
Coach Record: 102-118
2024 Record: 8-3
2024 Region: 4-4A
2024 Region Record: 5-2
2025 Region: 4-4A
Stadium Name: Eddie S. Henderson Stadium
2025 Schedule:
8/15 @ South Atlanta (L)
8/22 @ Morrow
9/04 @ Redan (AV)
9/12 M. L. King (EH)
9/19 @ Drew (Southern Crescent)
9/27 Midtown (D)
10/03 Mays (EH)
10/10 @ Forest Park (Tara Stadium)
10/24 Creekside (EH)
10/30 Pace Academy
Maynard Jackson is coming off an 8-3 season and its fifthconsecutive playoff appearance under head coach Eric Williams, who has been at the helm of the team since 2004. Williams has seen a lot of success over the past decade, making the playoffs nine times in the past 11 years. Last season marked the most victories in a season for the Jaguars since 2017 when they won nine games. A key stat from 2024 is that the Jaguars scored the most points in a season (294) since 2018, when they scored 323 points. Maynard Jackson scored 40 or more points three times last season, all resulting in victories. All-region first-team QB Rayshaun Parks transferred to Peachtree Ridge for his senior season. He rushed for 870 yards and 11 touchdowns a season ago. The Jaguars will return one of their best playmakers in Javaris Reed, who was a significant contributor to the Jaguars as a sophomore. On defense, key returning players will be Tarik Carswell and Kemarie Murrah, both all-region selections from a season ago who will remain key contributors and leaders on the defense. Rising sophomore defensive back Christopher Hart will be another player to watch for the Jaguars after receiving all-region honors as a freshman a season ago, finishing with 21 tackles, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble. In 2025, Maynard Jackson will try to make it past the first round for the first time since 2017, with hopes of going even further.
North Atlanta Warriors
Head Coach: Jamie Aull
Coach Record: 56-48
2024 Record: 9-2
2024 Region: 6-6A
2024 Region Record: 7-0
2025 Region: 6-6A
Stadium Name: Eddie S. Henderson Stadium
2025 Schedule:
8/14 Hebron Christian (West Forsyth HS (Corky Kell)
8/22 @ Paulding County
8/29 @ Wheeler
9/12 @ Forsyth Central
9/19 South Forsyth (Henderson Stadium)
9/26 Alpharetta (Henderson Stadium)
10/03 @ Lambert
10/10 @ North Forsyth (Henderson Stadium)
10/24 @ West Forsyth
10/31 @ Denmark
Head Coach Jamie Aull has continued to take North Atlanta to new heights since joining the program in 2020. The Warriors have been a formidable program under Aull and have made the playoffs for three-consecutive seasons, the longest streak in program history. In 2024, North Atlanta made history, securing its first region championship in program history and securing nine wins in consecutive seasons. The Warriors also went undefeated in region play for the first time in school history. North Atlanta has had only one losing season under Aull and has been a perennial playoff team under his tutelage. In 2025, North Atlanta will have to replace Region 6-6A Player of the Year Ian Reynolds, who graduated a season ago and Chase Linton (Georgia), who was the Defensive Player of the Year. Both Linton and Reynolds were the faces of the program for the past four years. Offensively, North Atlanta hit a milestone in the Aull era, scoring 62 points for the most ever in program history and just the second 60-point game in program history. The biggest name to watch on offense in 2025 will be Josh McCullough, who had a coming-out party against Kell in the Corky Kell & Dave Hunter Classic in 2024. McCullough finished with four catches for 131 yards and two touchdowns. On defense, the Warriors will return rising sophomore cornerback Bryce Willingham, who was a firstteam all-region selection as a true freshman. Willingham finished with 26 tackles and three interceptions in his first season as a varsity player.
Pace Academy Knights
Head Coach: Sean Weatherspoon Coach Record: 0-0
2024 Record: 4-6
2024 Region: 4-4A
2024 Region Record: 3-4
2025 Region: 4-4A
Stadium Name: Walsh Field
2025 Schedule:
8/15 @ Chamblee (ND)
8/22 Westminster
9/05 @ Lovett
9/12 @ Mays (Lakewood Stadium)
9/19 M. L. King (Walsh Field)
9/26 Drew (Walsh Field)
10/03 @ Creekside
10/09 @ Midtown
10/24 Forest Park (Walsh Field)
10/30 @ Maynard Jackson
Longtime Atlanta Falcons linebacker and 2010 NFL Draft first-round selection Sean Weatherspoon steps into the realm of Georgia high school football as he enters his first year as the head coach of the Pace Academy Knights. Weatherspoon is taking over for former head coach Nick Bach in 2025, who put together a 17-15 record in three seasons. Following a 4-6 record, the Knights enter the 2025 season under new management as they look to right the ship. Last season, the Knights missed the postseason for the first time since 2013 when they put together a 5-5 season in former head coach Chris Slade’s first season. Weatherspoon will look to bring the Knights back to prominence this season as they are now 10 years removed from the program's only state championship in 2015 when they defeated Fitzgerald 42-21 in the title game. Following its state championship, Pace Academy made the postseason but was a first round exit from 2016-23 before failing to make the playoffs last season. The Knights have a very competitive schedule in 2025 as they will face teams such as Chamblee, Westminster, Lovett and Creekside as they look to rebound from last season. The Knights bring back some talent, particularly in the Class of 2027 as 4-star defensive lineman Justin Weeks and Ricky Washington. Weeks is ranked as a top-15 player in the state of Georgia in his class with two years of high school football remaining.
Midtown High School (Photo by Julia Barton)
Pace Academy (Photo courtesy Pace Academy)
St. Pius X Golden Lions
Head Coach: Chad Garrison
Coach Record: 25-21
2024 Record: 7-4
2024 Region: 5-4A
2024 Region Record: 6-2
2025 Region: 5-4A
Stadium Name:
George B. Maloof Stadium
2025 Schedule:
8/16 Dunwoody (Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Corky Kell)
8/22 @ Lakeside-DeKalb (Adams Stadium)
9/05 Northview
9/11 @ Druid Hills (Adams Stadium)
9/19 Southwest DeKalb
9/26 @ North Springs (Johns Creek HS)
10/03 Clarkston
10/10 @ Marist
10/17 @ Lithonia
10/24 Tucker
Head Coach: Mike Muschamp
Coach Record: 196-110
2024 Record: 9-3
2024 Region: 5-2A
2024 Region Record: 4-2
2025 Region: 5-2A
Stadium Name: Conley-Oakley Field at Kilpatrick Stadium
2025 Schedule:
8/15 @ Westminster
8/22 @ Crisp County
8/29 Spencer
9/05 Pace Academy
9/19 @ KIPP Atlanta Collegiate
9/26 Holy Innocents’
10/03 Therrell
10/17 Hapeville
10/24 @ Carver-Atlanta (Lakewood Stadium) (D)
10/31 @ Washington (Lakewood Stadium)
Entering his 21st season as the head coach of the Lovett football program, Mike Muschamp and the Lions finished with an impressive 9-3 record in 2024. The Lions currently hold a streak of 23 straight years of postseason play, including two state championship appearances. The last appearance for Lovett in a title game came back in 2013, when the Lions went 14-1 and won the second state title in the school's history. Having been eliminated from the postseason in the second round in the last five seasons, the Lions look to break the mold in 2025. Last season, Lovett put together its first nine-win season since 2014. The Lions made it to the second round where they were eliminated by the eventual state champions, Hebron Christian. The Lions opened their 2024 season with a seven-game regular season win streak, over Westminster, Crisp County, Spencer, Pace Academy, KIPP Atlanta Collegiate, Holy Innocents’ and Therrell before dropping their first game of the season in Week 9 against Hapeville Charter. The Lions return three All-Region players from a year ago. Rising-senior linebackers Will Forte (first team) and Ford Diffley (second team) lead a talented defense that returns plenty of talent. Defensive back and secondteam All-Region selection Thomas Strang provides a strong option in the back end of the Lions defense. The Lions will have to replace running back Kalil Townes and wideout Casani Bartlett.
With a 25-21 record in four seasons running, the St. Pius X football team, Chad Garrison and the Golden Lions look to extend their streak of making the postseason to 20 years in Garrison’s fifth season with the program. Following a 7-4 season last year where they started out the season 6-1, the Golden Lions lost in the first round of the playoffs to Perry and finished fourth in the region behind Marist, Southwest DeKalb and Tucker. The Golden Lions had 12 players selected to All-Region teams at the conclusion of last season, but will only have three returning to the roster this season after graduating the other nine. Rising junior fullback John Taylor is back for another season in the Golden Lions run-heavy offense following a first-team All-Region Region 5-4A selection in 2024. Taylor is a bruiser of a running back as he is used not only in the short yardage situations, but is a valuable runand-pass blocker for St. Pius when they need him. Junior punter Stevie Maloof returns to the Golden Lions, proving a reliable option in the special teams department for St. Pius. Junior running back Dexter Mosley is another name that the Golden Lions return in their backfield. Mosley recently picked up an Arkansas-Pine Bluff offer in June. For the first time in the football program's history, the Golden Lions will kick off their season at the Corky Kell & Dave Hunter Classic in Mercedes-Benz Stadium when they will face Dunwoody.
The Lovett School (Photo by Ben Ennis)
St. Pius X (Photo by Liddell Photography)
High School Preview
Head Coach: Nelson Stewart
Coach Record: 0-0
2024 Record: 5-6
2024 Region: 6-4A
Westminster Wildcats Woodward Academy War Eagles
2024 Region Record: 2-2
2025 Region: 6-4A
Stadium Name: Alfred E.
Thompson Stadium
2025 Schedule: 8/15 Lovett
8/22 @ Pace Academy
8/29 Calhoun
9/05 @ Greater Atlanta Christian
9/12 @ Gilmer
9/19 Benedictine
10/03 Cambridge
10/10 @ Kell
10/17 Blessed Trinity
10/31 @ Centennial
Westminster will be under a new head coach for the first time since 1992. After the 2024 season, legendary head coach Gerry Romberg retired following 33 years at the helm of the Wildcat program. In his storied tenure, Romberg led Westminster to one state championship and seven region titles, cementing his legacy as one of the most respected high school football coaches in Georgial. He will be replaced by Nelson Stewart, who comes to Westminster after 19 seasons leading his alma mater, Isidore Newman in New Orleans. Stewart is best known for coaching 5-star quarterback Arch Manning and helping develop him into the top quarterback in the country. Westminster competes in one of the toughest regions in Class 4A, which includes traditional powers Kell and Blessed Trinity, a rising program in Cambridge, and a strong Centennial squad. In addition to the difficult region schedule, the Wildcats face an extremely challenging non-region slate. They’ll open the season against traditional rival Lovett, a matchup that has been highly competitive, with the series split 6-4 over the past decade. They’ll close out nonregion play against fellow 4A private school power Benedictine. The Cadets are among the top programs in Georgia, winning four state championships since 2014. Benedictine will be led on offense by 3-star quarterback and Texas Tech commit Stephen Cannon. On defense, they boast the top player in the Class of 2027, 5-star edge rusher LaDamion Guyton, who will present a major challenge for Westminster’s offensive line.
The Lovett School is a community of belonging that develops students of honor, faith, and wisdom with the character and intellect to thrive in learning and life.
Head Coach: John Hunt
Coach Record: 139-40
2024 Record: 8-4
2024 Region: 4-5A
2024 Region Record: 7-0
2025 Region: 4-5A
Stadium Name: Graham Hixon Field at Colquitt Stadium
2025 Schedule: 8/15 @ Carrollton
8/22 Collins Hill
8/29 @ Marist
9/12 @ Shiloh
9/19 Chamblee
9/26 @ Arabia Mountain (Cobb (Avondale Stadium)
10/03 Tri-Cities
10/10 @ Dunwoody
10/24 Decatur
10/31 Lakeside-DeKalb
oodward Academy will be looking for its fifth straight region title in 2025, and once again, they have the roster to compete for a championship. The War Eagles are coming off a 2024 season in which they won a playoff game for the 12th-consecutive year. However, the team will need to replace a large portion of last year’s core. Two-year starting quarterback Landon Walker graduated after a standout senior season when he threw for over 2,300 yards and 25 touchdowns. The quarterback battle will come down to last year’s backup, Ryan Harrigan, and rising 2028 phenom Prince Amari Aminu. The wide receiver room will also look very different following the graduation of Josiah Abdullah and Jerome Bettis Jr., both of whom are now at Power Four programs. Still, the War Eagles return 4-star athlete Blake Stewart, who will be a major weapon in the offense. As always, Woodward’s out-of-region schedule is challenging, but their region remains winnable. They’ll kick off the season against 6A power Carrollton, a game where they’ll be underdogs but still have a chance to pull off the upset. In Week 2, they host 6A quarterfinalist Collins Hill, a team with some of the best defensive line talent in the state. They’ll then face off with fierce rival and 4A finalist Marist. Woodward is looking to snap a twogame losing streak to Marist. The two programs have played every year since 2021, with Marist holding a 3-2 edge.
Westminster Wildcats (Photo by Fredrick Johnson)
SUSTAINABILITY
Swimming in the South
Water was a physical constant during the humid, cicada-buzzing summers of my southern childhood. I remember the thrill of running through the chilly arcs of water from yard sprinklers.
The clear-blue water in swimming pools.
The Gulf waves roaring ashore on our vacation island. And, the streams that converged behind our home, where my sister and I watched scuttling crayfish and fell asleep to the murmuring sound of moving water.
My privileged, white family could swim in any public pool in Atlanta, join a private club with a pool, or just wade into the ocean from any beach. Born into the segregated South in the early 1950s, I don’t recall ever wondering why there weren’t any Black children swimming with me in those midcentury years. Not noticing was just the way things were.
Mid-Century Atlanta
A few years after my family moved to
Atlanta in the mid1950s, we joined the private Venetian Pool in Decatur, not a short drive from our home on the outskirts of Buckhead. It was a nice pool that is, today, clear about its antidiscriminatory policies. When I was a child—I recently learned— there was (appallingly) a sign at the pool entrance announcing that membership was restricted by race and religion.
We also swam at the public pool in Chastain Park, closer to our home. It was a whites-only facility, one of nine in the city at the time; there were three (smaller) Black public pools. On June 12, 1963, when I was
twelve years old, Chastain was desegregated along with the other city pools. I don’t have any memories of this momentous occasion— or the hateful scene at Lake Clara Meer in Piedmont Park, when several young Black men entered the lake that had been whitesonly for so long.
Swimming in motel pools was another highlight of my childhood, as my family traveled throughout the South. Since Jim Crow laws mandated racial segregation in public accommodations at the time, other children with pale skin were our only swimming companions. I never noticed this injustice, or so many others.
The Pool is Closed
An insightful new book, The Pool is Closed, by local author and urban designer Hannah Palmer describes the racial politics and environmental history surrounding public access to natural and man-made waters in Atlanta over the past century. A keen observer, thorough investigator, and wonderful storyteller, Palmer has written a heartfelt memoir of a young mother seeking safe, inexpensive places to take her children swimming.
The book is also an unflinching
Sally Bethea
Courtesy Karyn Lu
examination of the ways that race and class have long kept Black (and other non-white) families from finding the joy, skills, and health benefits that come with this rite of summer.
Palmer began her search for public pools and local creeks where her young sons could play and learn to swim in 2017. As they swam their way across the city, Palmer recorded what she saw and felt in a journal. Her perspective was as a mother, social historian, urban planner, and clean water champion. She found stories of lost (read: filled in) pools and lakes, shameful injustices at public facilities in some neighborhoods (past and present), and rivers unswimmable due to pollution, urban engineering, and blight. East Point, her hometown on the southside of Atlanta, presents a particularly enlightening case study.
Grand Resorts, White Flight
In the early decades of the twentieth century, the centerpieces of Atlanta’s grandest parks were spring-fed swimming lakes, such as Lake Clara Meer and six-acre Lake Abana in Grant Park. Built in resort-style with federal funding, these community recreation spaces gave working families an opportunity to swim together: “democratizing swimming” for middle-class, white Americans. The first and only pool in the city designated for Black residents opened in Washington Park in 1940.
With the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin was outlawed at all facilities open to the public. The city of Atlanta drained Lake Abana to avoid desegregation and turned the land into a parking lot—not the last time for such an action in our city “too busy to hate.”
Throughout the sixties and beyond, white flight to the suburbs moved tax dollars for public amenities to places that remained segregated. Atlanta’s pools fell into disrepair and closed; the private pool industry boomed. Summers in the city were never the same, despite federal antipoverty programs that funded new pools and playground sprinklers to “cool the unrest” in inner cities. Racist decision-making led to inadequate investment in public pools that were drained across the South.
New Commitment
In recent years, there has been a growing commitment to restore our rivers and lakes to
meet the “swimmable” goal of the federal Clean Water Act. Advocates for clean water are demanding that these waterways be restored for public use. Polluted for decades, the Chattahoochee River downstream of Atlanta is now dramatically cleaner. Local governments and nonprofits are bringing this section of the river back to life for recreation for everyone.
Today, there are a dozen outdoor community pools in Atlanta: the same number that existed when the city’s swimming pools were desegregated more than sixty years ago. As Palmer describes in her book, pools in some low-income, minority neighborhoods have not been prioritized and are in disrepair. There also remains the perception—rooted in the history of racism, hygiene concerns, and a decline in public funding—that public pools are not safe.
There is “a basic human craving for water and community,” says Palmer. As the climate crisis accelerates and temperatures rise, the need for cooling waters will only grow. Optimistically, she believes that bold and creative solutions at the local level are not only vital, but achievable.
Courtesy Julie Yarbrough Photography
Courtesy The Cork Brothers
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Grove Park hopes to reopen historic theater to public by 2027
By Sammie Purcell
Westside residents can expect the area’s new Grove Park Performing and Cultural Arts Center to be open by the first quarter of 2027, according to Grove Park Foundation Executive Director Gavin McGuire.
Grove Park Foundation, a nonprofit aimed at revitalizing the Grove Park neighborhood, was founded in 2017 and purchased the historic Grove Theatre, located at 1576 Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway NW, that same year. The nonprofit has since been working to convert the theater into a community and arts center.
“We added the performing and cultural arts side of things to show respect to the community and really make sure that we highlight the legacy residents –the pioneers in the community within the space, not only for performing arts, but leaders of the community,” McGuire said.
The restoration project has received financial support from numerous sources, including $1 million each from the Bank of America and Chick-Fil-A, as well as grants from the Fox Theatre. According to a spokesperson for the Grove Park Foundation, the total budget for the project is $5.1 million.
investment in the community, but also more importantly, seeing that another node of commercial development and growth is happening on the West Side and in Grove Park in particular, in an area that hasn’t always been receiving investments and revitalization,” McGuire said.
McGuire said the Grove Park Foundation operates by four pillars: Housing, Economic Mobility, Health and Wellness, and Education. Part of the Grove Theatre project includes retail space the foundation hopes to fill with local businesses currently taking part in what McGuire called the nonprofit’s “Business Ready” program, which debuted in January of this year.
“We’re not just looking at a moment, but how do we build a sustainable model to build the confidence that people need to be whole within the community as all the great things are being built?” McGuire
2024, Urbanize Atlanta reported that the renovation plans for the theater call for additional office space, storage space, and a break room on the second floor. The theater would be on the ground floor, and the building’s facade would be restored. The renovation also includes flexible performances and studio spaces and retail space. A Grove Park Foundation spokesperson added that the project is 10,000 square feet in size.
The Grove Theatre originally opened in June of 1941 and shuttered in 1969. According to McGuire, the space has gone through many iterations since that time, including a skating rink and a pawn shop.
“Refurbishing [the theatre] also brings hope to the community – to see the
said. “[We want] to help families to grow and to expand and to thrive, but not be displaced as all of this great growth is coming to Grove Park.”
The performing and cultural arts center will be located across the street from KIPP Woodson Park Academy and the area’s YMCA Early Learning Center, which the foundation helped open back in 2021. McGuire said he hopes the proximity will make it easier to expose kids in Grove Park to the arts.
“The community is excited because for those performing arts options, you normally have to leave the community,” McGuire said. “They’re able to not only stay in their community, but fellowship with their neighbors.”
Actor’s Express staging award-winning musical ‘A Strange Loop’
By Jim Farmer
On Broadway, “A Strange Loop” – with a book, music and lyrics by Michael R. Jackson – won virtually every Best Musical award possible in 2022, including the Tony.
Hailed for its inventiveness, the Pulitzer Prize-winning show tells the story of Usher, a Black gay man who is writing a musical about a Black gay man, who himself is also writing a musical about a Black gay man. It may sound confusing, but rest assured “A Strange Loop” is full of terrific music, joy, and Black queerness. Actor’s Express Artistic Director Freddie Ashley has wanted to stage the show for quite some time, and he’s finally getting his chance. “A Strange Loop” will
run at Actor’s Express July 24 through Aug. 31.
Director Amanda Washington, a veteran of several shows at Actor’s Express, and actor Eddie Weaver, who headlines as Usher in his first Atlanta production, spoke to Georgia Voice recently about the upcoming musical. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What drew both of you to this material?
Eddie Weaver: I saw it on Broadway, and I related so much to the story, to Usher. I remember the first time I heard the soundtrack I thought it was so new and
Continued on page 26
Eddie Weaver in ‘A Strange Loop.’ (Courtesy Actor’s Express)
fresh. I knew once the opportunity came up, I needed to audition for it. It’s a story I think everyone can relate to. They can find bits and pieces to take away from it.
Amanda Washington: I did not see it on Broadway, but Freddie [Ashley] told me he thought I’d enjoy directing this. My response was, “We’ll see – it’s a musical.” I listened to it, and I think the next day I came to him and said, “Sign me up!” It’s fresh but raw, open and vulnerable. The approach and how we get there is a whirlwind, and that is the part I really liked. It felt like a beautiful challenge I wanted to take on.
Eddie, can you tell us about Usher?
Weaver: Usher is a beautiful character. He is complex and a product of his
environment. He is a 26-year-old queer gay man who is a Disney usher who is a musical theater writer on this journey to write this beautiful piece. He is very emotional and wears his heart on his sleeve. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun to share him with an audience.
Who are the other characters in the show?
Washington: They are Usher’s thoughts. How I described it to the cast is that they’re little seeds that grew up too fast and became their own beings until Usher is able to get them under control. There are good ones, and then the bad things that we think about ourselves, and they are all heightened almost to exaggerated levels.
Why did this show catch on the way it did?
Washington: It’s not a linear story. We think we are getting a story about a playwright who is emerging into the world and that is what we get, but we also get the root of how we got there and see the things he is struggling with. We don’t know if he is going to make it, but we do know by the end of the play that he is one step further in terms of his journey and where he wants to be in his life.
Weaver: I think this show is crucial right now because of the times we are living in and the [presidential] administration we have. I feel now there is a lot of erasure of a lot of communities, and I think this show does a wonderful job of shedding
light on the queer community, being queer and Black in spaces where there aren’t a lot of queer Black people. I think this show also does a good job of showing that everyone has those thoughts in the back of your head, and those doubts.
Washington: It’s a particular niche here. Usher is a man of size, he is Black and he is queer. In a way he is also on this timeline – his parents are asking him when he is going to get married and get them some grandbabies. But it’s also about when his career is going to launch, getting to see that aspect of not just trying to find love, but to try and find stable income and figure out when you’re going to hit the “mark of success.” That story’s all in one, that I think a lot of people can relate to. That story from a queer lens needs to be amplified as well.
www.constructionresourcesusa.com
Small business and restaurant owners talk operating amidst challenges on Atlanta’s west side
By Logan C. Ritchie and Sarra Sedghi
This is the first in a series on the west side of Atlanta, Rough Draft is taking a deep dive into how small business owners, residents, and visitors to the area view the boom in development and the issues it has created in a formerly industrial pocket of the city.
Since 2023, amidst a development boom, nearly two dozen restaurants have closed between the Marietta Street Artery and 14th Street along Howell Mill Road on Atlanta’s west side. Many of these restaurants closed within two years of opening, and speculation as to why the area is experiencing such a high number of closures ranges from exorbitant parking fees to traffic congestion.
However, a recent gathering of neighborhood stakeholders revealed that the story behind these closures is much more complicated than just steep parking fees and congestion.
At a June 28 meeting that brought together business owners, restaurateurs, and residents of the west side, a survey was distributed to the approximately 35 attendees. The results showed that 27 percent of those in attendance felt recent restaurant closures in an area encompassing the Marietta Street Artery and Howell Mill Road corridor between 8th and 14th streets were due to high operating costs, expensive parking, and vehicular traffic.
The meeting also explored employee retention solutions, community-building efforts, the high cost of living in the neighborhood, and restaurant redundancy during a panel discussion and question-andanswer session.
Organized by Richard Dunn, COO of the Atlanta Voice newspaper, Charles Bourgeois, candidate for District 9 Atlanta City Council, and Dona Matthews, a hospitality consultant and member of the Atlanta Nightlife Advisory Council, the West Midtown Hospitality and Small Business Summit included a panel of three restaurant owners. Matthews acted as moderator, providing Miller Union’s Chef Steven Satterfield, Rock Steady owner Jacob Thomas, and Holiday Bar owner Cam Burke the opportunity to talk about the challenges currently facing area restaurants.
Thomas, Satterfield, and Burke opened the discussion by elaborating on their strategies to stay relevant in an increasingly vulnerable Atlanta restaurant market.
Miller Union has been in the neighborhood since 2009. “The most important part is to get people in the door and then to have people returning,” Satterfield said of keeping Miller Union successful on the west side. “As a legacy restaurant, we always want to engage people from our past to continue to return. We have seen that demographic go down in the past year.”
When Satterfield said the area had been overdeveloped too quickly, the audience audibly agreed. Opening 14 years ago in an abandoned warehouse in a heavily industrial area, Satterfield recalled that market research for Miller Union’s location showed a direct line to Buckhead, Midtown, and downtown Atlanta with access from I-75, I-85, and I-285.
He knew it was a risk opening on Brady Avenue.
“It was one of those ‘If you build it, they will come.’ And we were skeptical, but we did build it, and they did come,” Satterfield said during the discussion.
A west side story
It’s unclear who coined the term “Upper Westside” when development ramped up in the early 2010s. A 2005 plan adopted by Mayor Shirley Franklin and the Atlanta City Council refers to the area as the “Upper West Side,” sometimes also referred to as “Westside Midtown” or “West Midtown.”
It’s a horizontal jumble of neighborhoods running north to south from Collier Road at I-75 to Martin Luther King Jr. Drive near Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and east to west from industrial Marietta Boulevard to bendy Northside Drive. Residents reference their neighborhoods by name, like Underwood Hills, Berkeley Park, Knight Park/Howell Station, Blandtown, and others.
Whether colloquially referred to as the Westside, Upper Westside, or West Midtown, the collection of neighborhoods comprising this part of Atlanta is represented by Atlanta City Council members Byron Amos (District 3), Jason Dozier (District 4), Mary Norwood (District 8), Dustin Hillis (District 9), and five Neighborhood Planning Units (NPU) which help make
recommendations to the city on zoning and land use.
Despite being accessible via I-75 to the north, and with four main points of entry running from east to west across the Connector – 10th Street, 14th Street, 17th Street, and North Avenue – Satterfield said that for many people living on the east side of Atlanta, crossing the interstate to the west side of the city is “a psychological barrier.”
“Within every neighborhood, there are more and more options for dining. So it means that you don’t have to go to a destination to get a somewhat similar experience …or just don’t feel like making the trek,” said Satterfield, who lives on the east side of Atlanta. “For some people, when [the option] is to go out to eat tonight, [they’d] rather just go somewhere in the neighborhood.”
west side was another issue brought up during the summit’s lively question-andanswer session. BLU Seafood House owner Kechia Matadin noted that residents don’t need “four or five taco joints on the same strip.” She questioned the vetting of the type of restaurants and retail moving into the neighborhood, and who these
Restaurant saturation on Atlanta’s
Continued on page 28
Looking east over Westside Provisions District (bottom) and The Interlock (center). (Courtesy The Interlock)
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establishments actually serve: residents versus visitors.
Before both closed, independently owned pizzerias Humble Pie and Slim + Husky’s were just two of seven pizza joints in the area, including corporate-owned Domino’s, Johnny’s, Papa John’s, and Blaze Pizza, and local chain Fellini’s. And before the closures of Bartaco and Superica, the restaurants were among six similar restaurants along the Marietta Street Artery, Northside Drive, and Howell Mill Road, including Torchy’s Tacos, Velvet Taco, Rreal Tacos, and Taqueria del Sol. The latter, owned by Chef Eddie Hernandez, opened in 2000 and is one of the original businesses part of the Westside Urban Market, now Westside Provisions District.
“We don’t need the same thing in the same area. The developers are receiving money and incentives, and no one is vetting the area … no one is overseeing who’s opening what [and] where,” Matadin said, who was frustrated by the lack of communication between developers and the area’s business owners and residents.
What’s in and what’s out
According to the survey at the June 28 summit, overdevelopment and high commercial and residential rents along the Marietta Street Artery and Howell Mill Road corridor were the most significant issues facing neighborhood stakeholders
Closed in 2024
in attendance. Many people felt these two issues directly contributed to the recent rash of restaurant closures.
Local and regional restaurants serving pizza, tacos, breakfast, and Japanese food, along with major chain restaurants like Wagamama, Postino Wine Bar, and Culinary Dropout, have all opened and closed on the west side within the past two years. As of publication, the west side has faced more than 20 closures since the beginning of 2024, the most recent being Bastone this May.
A slew of incoming tenants slated to open at developments along the Marietta Street Artery and around Howell Mill Road include a mix of local and regional restaurant groups and national and international chains.
But Satterfield noted during the West Midtown summit that Atlantans tend to support homegrown, independently-owned businesses.
Upcoming locally owned restaurant openings in the area include Eden from Nooshe Jan Group, Ladybird Grove and Mess Hall, and The Chai Box Cafe, which will take over the old Doughnut Dollies space on Howell Mill Road near Collier Road.
Fishmonger, which recently closed on Howell Mill Road, will eventually move into a new space inside Stella at Star Metals next door.
■ Urban Tree Cidery on Howell Mill Road in Berkeley Park (Opened 2016)
■ Slim + Husky’s on Howell Mill Road at 11th Street (Opened 2019)
■ Knuckies Hoagies at The Interlock (Opened 2023)
■ LOA Social Club at The Interlock (Opened 2022)
■ Superica on Howell Mill Road at 9th Street (Opened 2023)
■ Boxcar Betty’s at Westside Paper on West Marietta Street (Opened 2023)
■ Wagamama at Star Metals (Opened 2022)
■ Damsel at The Works on Chattahoochee Avenue (Opened 2024)
■ Elsewhere Brewing at Westside Paper (Opened 2023)
■ Bar Diver at Westside Paper (Opened 2023)
■ Aziza and Falafel Nation at Westside Provisions District (Opened 2019)
Continued from page 27
Dona Matthews, Chef Steven Satterfield, Jacob Thomas, and Cam Burke. (Photo by Beth McKibben)
Pink Lotus, backed by the owners of 26 Thai Kitchen, just took over the space previously occupied by Italian restaurant Donetto across from Miller Union on Brady Avenue.
The developers of Stella at Star Metals announced this month the upcoming openings of cocktail bar Rabbit Ears and Italian restaurant Füm.
Later this year, Big Bad Breakfast, owned by Mississippi-based chef John Currence, will open on the opposite end of Howell Mill Road near Collier Road in the former Cultivate Food & Coffee space.
In 2024, developer SJC Ventures announced grocery chain Lidl would replace previously announced Publix at Interlock Tower on Howell Mill Road. SJC Ventures confirmed with Rough Draft that Lidl should open later this fall at Interlock Tower.
Meanwhile, longtime restaurants Marcel at Westside Provisions District and Cooks & Soldiers on the corner of Howell Mill Road and 14th Street doubled down on the neighborhood, renewing leases for another ten years.
Community building
Thomas said small businesses like Rock Steady along the Marietta Street Artery should tend to the community, like gardeners. Shopkeepers are interfacing with customers, creating culture, and adjusting to the needs of the neighborhood.
“Restaurants and bars, we’re on the front line,” Thomas said. [The west side] wouldn’t have become what it was without cool
restaurants and cool bars.”
His mantra: “Treat your regulars like celebrities. Treat your celebrities like regulars.”
Satterfield agreed and said it’s important for business owners to band together. While he feels “deep empathy for every one of those businesses that had to shut their doors,” he realizes that if people stop patronizing the west side of town, Miller Union could be at risk of closing.
Likewise, Burke said that if Holiday Bar doesn’t continue to evolve, and customers aren’t evolving with it, he’s doing a disservice to the people spending money there. “We have a service to deliver,” he added.
“People just want to be heard, and you have to listen to those opinions, and that’s really where the community building comes in,” Burke said. “We had our first Holiday Bar baby this year, which I was really excited about. The couple met at Holiday, and now have a child. So we celebrate those types of little wins.”
The three-hour summit ended with lingering questions about how to open lines of communication between business owners, area NPUs, and residents. Karmen Elizabeth, resident and president of the Marietta Street Artery Association, urged business owners to regularly attend monthly neighborhood meetings and engage with the community better.
“What could they do for us? What could we do for them? What could we all do to kind of help the neighborhood?” one audience member asked.
Closed in 2025
■ Le Fat on Marietta Street Artery (Opened 2015)
■ Snooze A.M. Eatery on Howell Mill Road at 10th Street (Opened 2021)
■ Cultivate Food & Coffee on Howell Mill Road near Collier Road (Opened 2019)
■ West Egg Cafe on Howell Mill Road at Brady Avenue (Opened 2004)
■ Culinary Dropout at the Brickworks on Marietta Street Artery (Opened 2023)
■ Postino Wine Bar at the Brickworks on Marietta Street Artery (Opened 2023)
■ Humble Pie at Star Metals (Opened 2023)
■ Pour Taproom at The Interlock (Opened 2022)
■ Doughnut Dollies on Howell Mill Road near Collier Road (Opened 2019)
■ Bastone at Howell Mill Road and 8th Street (Opened 2022)
■ Bartaco on Marietta Street Artery (Opened 2014)
Brady Avenue at 8th Street on Atlanta’s west side. (Photo by Logan C. Ritchie)
Emory to convert former Peachtree-Pine shelter into hospital staff apartments
By Collin Kelley
Emory University plans to construct more than 50 rental apartments for its healthcare employees by adapting and reusing two historic properties located across the street from Emory University Hospital Midtown.
The building at 477 Peachtree Street was once home to the notorious Peachtree-Pine homeless shelter, which was closed in 2017 after years of complaints by neighboring businesses and residents due to rampant crime, drug use, and unsanitary conditions. Emory purchased the property in 2018.
The building, designed by noted Atlanta architect A. Ten Eyck Brown, was originally the United Motors Services Building when it opened in 1921. Emory said in a press release that part of its adaptive reuse plan is to restore the Art Deco facade.
As part of the conversion of 477 Peachtree to housing, an internal abatement and clean-up of the building was completed earlier this year, the press release said. Additional planned updates include a new roof and replacement of windows and doors.
The adjacent building at 489 Peachtree, formerly headquarters of the Peasant restaurant group and purchased by Emory in
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2019, will be partially demolished due to its poor condition. The rear half of the building will be removed, which will allow daylight exposure to the north side of 477 Peachtree, allowing apartments along that side to have windows.
The extent of the planned work at 489 Peachtree will require a special administrative permit from the City of Atlanta, which Emory filed an application for on Monday, July 7.
“This project will provide Emory Healthcare staff with competitively priced housing close to work to improve their employee experience and quality of life,”
Robin Morey, vice president of campus services and chief planning officer of Emory, said in a statement. “In addition to helping with the recruitment and retention of our workforce, our design will activate this area of the city with residential units and commercial uses.”
Morey said Emory plans to use federal and state tax credits to offset initial capital costs of the project and make the investment viable.
While the apartments are for hospital staff and not available to the public, Emory is exploring options for the 489 building, including a preschool facility that would be open to the public.
The century-old buildings are on the northern edge of The Stitch, the project to cap a portion of the I-75/85 Downtown Connector.
Atlanta Preservation Center Executive Director David Y. Mitchell praised Emory’s decision to adaptively reuse the historic structures.
“Utilizing these buildings as housing for staff at the hospital will be a remarkable way to preserve the buildings,” Mitchell said. “This adaptive reuse is a huge win for the city.”
By Collin Kelley
The Atlanta Urban Development Corporation (AUD) has launched a search for developers to help transform the former Lakewood Heights Elementary School into a mixed-use community featuring affordable housing and neighborhood retail.
Located at 335 Sawtell Road SE, the 2.15-acre site is owned by Atlanta Public Schools, which shuttered the building in 2004. Plans to demolish the school in 2022 were met with resistance from local preservationists. The historic school building, constructed in 1932, is expected to be preserved as part of the redevelopment.
The vision for the site includes about
55 rental units—mainly two- and threebedroom apartments—and 8,000 square feet of commercial space.
“The redevelopment of Lakewood Heights Elementary is a crucial step in our efforts to expand affordable housing opportunities in Atlanta,” Mayor Andre Dickens said in a press release. “This project reflects our commitment to building a city where everyone has access to quality housing and essential services.”
John Majors, CEO of AUD, said the goal is to create a community hub that not only meets housing needs but also boosts the local economy and strengthens the neighborhood.
Developers must submit their proposals by Aug. 25 at 11:59 PM ET. Details and
477 Peachtree Street. (Courtesy Emory University/Victoria Lemos)
By Amanda Andrews | GPB News
Southwest Atlanta will be home to 233 new affordable housing units. Leaders held a groundbreaking ceremony last month for Sylvan Hills II, a 10.2-acre family apartment complex.
The development moves Atlanta closer to Mayor Andre Dickens’ goal of building or preserving 20,000 units of affordable housing by 2030.
He said Sylvan Hills II is a step forward for the city.
“I’m proud that together we’ve been able to implement impactful housing investments and initiatives,” Dickens said. “Including density bonus programs, rapid housing programs, and all this is to increase the supply of housing and to combat homelessness in our communities, Sylvan Hills II is the next chapter in this growing story.”
The new complex will include affordable housing units in various styles from townhouses to apartments. The project was created without using federal
low-income housing tax credits.
Councilmember Antonio Lewis represents the area. He said funding came from eight different public and private organizations.
“So that means that the city of Atlanta, that means Invest Atlanta, Atlanta Housing, HUD, and different private developers had to put money together to make this happen,” Lewis said. “The only way we were able to keep the affordable component was if we did it in this manner.”
Sylvan Hills II will offer units at three levels of affordability.
The most expensive units will be priced for people making less than 80% of the area median income. That includes any individual making less than $64,000 a year or less than $91,000 for a family of four.
Rents will range from $1,149 to $2,100 per month.
Pastor James Tukes preaches at Shady Grove Baptist Church, less than a mile away from the development. He said for years the site was an eyesore.
submission instructions can be found at atlurbdevco.com.
Atlanta Preservation Center Executive Director David Y. Mitchell applauded the adaptive reuse of the school building.
“The Lakewood Heights School was designed by the Atlanta firm of Edwards and Sayward. The cornerstone puts the construction date at 1932, and the Colonial Revival-style school is a two-story brick
building with a stone belt course above the second story windows,” Mitchell said in a statement. “The inclusion of this school in the development illustrates how Historic Preservation sets vibe and tone. What the Atlanta Public Schools has done is set the bar for others to be visionary and exemplify what thinking can create. This is very good for Lakewood Heights and Atlanta.”
“To see somebody coming in and making a change in our community is the most gratifying thing to feel today,” Tukes said. “I’m grateful. I’m so grateful that they have decided to make it an affordable place that our community people, some people who don’t make the six figures, can come in and have a sustainable and nice place to live.”
Sylvan Hills II is scheduled to open fall 2026.
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Atlanta leaders and housing developers gather for a ceremonial groundbreaking July 15, 2025, on Sylvan Hills II, an affordable housing complex.(Photo by: Amanda Andrews)
A rendering of the Sylvan Hills II apartment complex. (Courtesy Atlanta Housing)
