Atlanta Intown - March 2023

The fast-growing sport has dedicated players and communities

Pages 6 - 9

“Along life’s way, I have met many wonderful people, and Ken is certainly one of them. Yes, he did a fabulous job selling my home - but in the larger picture, he cared on all levels! Seriously, he was amazing. I will always smile when I think of him-keeping the music going, keeping his friends going, and caring about our special community all at the same time.”

Evelyn Hofer

TIME TO LIST

NOW IS

Inventory is low, and buyers are ready for new listings. Zillow ranked Atlanta as one of the top 10 markets for 2023, and the National Association of REALTORS® declared Atlanta to be the “top real estate maker to watch in 2023 and beyond.”

I have been selling homes in Atlanta for more than 30 years; I have seen highs and lows, and I know when it’s the right time to list your home. If you are on the fence or waiting to see what happens, contact me to discuss why now is the best time to list your home. I am here to help!

I’ll take the bus – and you should, too

EDITOR'S NOTE

Collin Kelley

As we were going to press on this issue, MARTA announced it had chosen to create bus rapid transit (BRT) lanes on the long-delayed Clifton Corridor to connect Lindbergh and Avondale Estates.

Cue the social media outrage demanding more rail. Look, I get that we were promised rail all those years ago and we’ve all been paying extra sales tax for the past seven years in anticipation of MARTA moving us rapidly to more places in the city. But that was then, this is now and, frankly, I ain’t getting any younger. I’ll take the bus.

Now that I’ve been ensconced in my Midtown flat for nearly two years, I’ve become a regular MARTA rail rider. I used it almost daily over the holidays for shopping and to meet up with friends on the northside. I like leaving the driving to someone else.

But my main complaint – since I was a kid – is that MARTA doesn’t go anywhere. I’m admittedly spoiled by too many visits to London, Paris, and New York, where public transport goes everywhere. We’ve got a long way to go to catch up to those cities, although I’m fully aware that it’s not going to happen in my lifetime.

So, I support BRT and more of it to help expand our paltry network. And I’ll tell you why.

I think there’s some confusion as to how true BRT operates and I also firmly believe that there’s a snobby resistance to riding buses in general. I used to be one of them if I’m being totally honest.

As outlined by MARTA, the BRT line that will connect Lindbergh to Avondale Estates – with crucial stops at the Emory and CDC campuses – will run in dedicated lanes. That means not getting caught up in road traffic like the beleaguered Atlanta Streetcar.

There will be stations along the BRT just like a train or tram and it will get you to your destination just as quickly. It’s cheaper and faster to build and maintain, too. According to MARTA, a rail line would cost $2.9 billion, while BRT would cost $1.3 billion. That’s still a hefty price tag, but that other billion could go to another much-needed BRT line.

Since Google is your friend, a quick search will show that there are plenty of BRT success stories across the United States, including Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and even sprawling Los Angeles with its 18-mile Orange Line.

I became a bus devotee during my last couple of trips to London. I was one of those snobs who would rather take the Underground, but my dear friend Agnes scoffed at my snooty attitude. While I’d taken the famed red double-deckers before, I learned to love them and now prefer the bus to the Tube. Unless it’s rush hour.

My two cents to MARTA is don’t bother with ART – that’s arterial rapid transit – where the buses mingle with other traffic. We all know ATL’s traffic is a nightmare even on the surface streets, so to sell more bus service to the masses, give them the ultimate BRT experience and make it all dedicated lanes.

Personally, I’d love to see some rail/BRT combos to the Westside, Grant Park, and East Atlanta. The Summerhill BRT connecting Five Points to the neighborhood is a good start – if MARTA will ever get a move on with it. I’m ready to ride.

Let’s get off our high horses and get Atlanta moving.

BENEFACTOR EXHIBITION SERIES SUPPORTERS Robin and Hilton Howell

A rendering of a MARTA BRT station.

UGA tennis champion Angela Simon finds success on pro pickleball circuit

becoming eligible for professional mixed doubles competition for the 2022 year, she began traveling outside of the state for the first time for tournaments while continuing to make a name for herself in the sport and winning tournaments along the way.

"I didn't start at the top and I'm still not at the top, but I go to Hammond and I mix with everyone and have fun," she said.

Simon, then Lettiere, led the Lady Bulldogs to the program's first-ever women's tennis title as a senior — on the team's home court in Athens, as UGA was hosting the tournament for the first time. Simon played tennis for four years professionally after college, eventually competing in all four Grand Slam events and climbing to No. 25 in the world in doubles and inside the top 150 in singles.

Those tennis credentials rank up there with just about anyone in professional pickleball circles. And while her lifetime of experience in tennis translates well to the pickleball game, the smaller court and differences in the racket and balls make for notable differences.

"I think the hardest part is that I never had very good touch in tennis, and pickle is all about touch," Simon said. "There's a power element, but to be better, you really do have to have touch. Sometimes it can be so fast, but sometimes you have to play really soft.

at UGA and then the University of Arkansas in the 80s. Granot, now 57, recruited Simon to join him as his partner on the pro senior mixed doubles tour the moment she was eligible.

“He invited me to play with a group one day and he said, ‘When you turn 50, you're going to be my partner. Remember that. In a year and a half, you will be my partner playing with me.’”

Granot, who lives in Buckhead and is owner of Joel and Granot Real Estate, held to his word. They started winning in the pro ranks in 2022, hoisting trophies at high-profile pickleball tourneys such as the South Carolina Open, the Hilton Head Open and the Boca Raton Masters, finishing no lower than fourth in any they entered. Simon has also won and placed highly in women’s doubles with other top senior players, including a win at South Carolina with top player Anna Shirley for a double gold at the event.

“I have an 11-year-old and 16-yearold at home and most senior-level players are empty-nesters, but I compete when I can,” Simon said.

She runs a tennis instruction company, Up4Tennis, but has started teaching pickleball and intends to continue in the sport for the long haul.

By Alex Ewalt

Angela Simon's first encounter with pickleball in May 2020 came about through a bit of happenstance. Simon, the 1994 NCAA women's singles champion who also won a team title that year at the University of Georgia, was looking for ways to kill time while waiting for her daughter's softball practice to finish at Shaw Park in Marietta.

"My oldest had a softball practice that was, like, four hours long, and we happened to be at Shaw Park," Simon said. "I remember walking around with my youngest and saying to her, 'Why are all these people out here and what are they doing?'"

So, Simon decided to walk over to the tennis courts, where a crowd of people was playing and practicing pickleball, the

racket sport that exploded in popularity once the Covid-19 pandemic hit. She jumped in with a small practice group, who asked her if she had ever played before. She said no. But someone handed her a paddle to use for the day, and before she knew it, she was partnered up with one of the top male players at the park and started winning matches the same day she picked up the sport.

"It's the most fun I've had in so long," said Simon, a Brookhaven resident whose home court is now Hammond Park.

"People have been so nice, it's been such a great change and I've met so many great people. I've started teaching it. It's so refreshing because there are so many different levels."

And Simon quickly leveled up. She started playing seriously, and then professionally. After turning 50 and

“But I think the most fun is just to be able to hit people as hard as you can and you know you're not going to hurt them,” Simon joked. “It's a great frustration release."

Later in 2020, Simon connected with one of the top male tennis-turnedpickleball senior players in Atlanta, Dan Granot, who also played tennis

“I would love to slowly transition from tennis to pickleball in some way in my next job,” Simon said. “Not necessarily just teaching, but just being a part of it, I'm not sure how. I just think it's a really unique sport and it's such a family sport. We can go out with our 11-year-old and still have fun, whereas with tennis we can't really do that. The ball is different and the court is so large. But it's such a family sport.

“You can see 15-year-olds playing with 60-year-olds. Where else do you see that? I think it's so unique.”

Angela Simon with Don Granott with the trophy after their win at the Hilton Head Open.

Online communities The Kitchen and Pickleheads fuel pickleball’s rise

By Alex Ewalt

When longtime friends Jason Aspes and Jared Paul started The Kitchen in 2020, it was the result of a professional detour.

Paul had recently moved to Austin, Texas, to work on a startup focusing on the music and concert space, and Aspes had been advising him in the endeavor. Of course, the Covid-19 pandemic had other plans for the concert industry, which subsequently shut down and stopped the startup in its tracks.

Like many other Americans in the first months of the pandemic, the two took to pickleball, a racket sport that incorporates elements of tennis, ping pong and badminton and is played as either singles or doubles on a surface smaller than a tennis court. The sport, which has evolved quickly in the past three years, can feature fierce “firefights” or impressive displays of touch at the net with a ball that resembles a smaller wiffle ball.

“During the pandemic, it was an opportunity to get outside, get some exercise and do something different,” Aspes said. “And

we both just really fell in love with the game and recognized there was an opportunity here.”

“One thing led to another and pickleball just absolutely boomed,” Aspes added. “We were right there at the ground level of that groundswell.”

Enter The Kitchen, an online community with a website, TheKitchenPickle.com, that is chock full of content, as well as its various social media accounts featuring news, views, videos and, of course, memes.

“I was working on the music startup and raised the round, and we built a similar community to what The Kitchen is in the concert space,” Paul said. “And then when things got shut down after we raised the round, I discovered pickleball and started leveraging some of the same growth strategies to build an audience, and it just took off super quickly.”

“It's an incredibly social sport, but there was nothing online tying people together,” Aspes said. “It was all disparate, there was no unification, there was no place to understand

what the rules were, there was no go-to home for pickleball, and we tried to provide that.”

The two are early-90s graduates of Riverwood High School in Sandy Springs and have ample experience in the fields of advertising and social media. Aspes, who lives in Brookhaven, has been a competitive basketball player, and Paul, who is still in Austin, came up wrestling. Both say that pickleball has brought out people from any and all athletic backgrounds and has rekindled the desire to compete for many.

“I wrestled in high school, and I think that's one of the reasons why I'm so addicted to pickleball, because it's been a while since I've been able to compete in a sport at a relatively high level,” Paul said.

“We see athletes from all different backgrounds,” Aspes said. “Obviously all the paddle and racket sports are huge. Ping pong, badminton, squash, racquetball, tennis, that's where we're seeing tons of people coming in now, but also basketball, baseball, golfers who are looking for more exercise and something a little bit more social and quicker, and less expensive. There's a lot of positives to the game.”

Fans can expect a little bit of everything at The Kitchen’s website, as well is its social media channels on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, with a dedicated Atlanta group on Facebook with thousands of followers. Across all platforms, The Kitchen has nearly 300,000 followers, the largest online pickleball fan community cumulatively, according to Paul.

“I think it's a bit of a mish mash and it's all about what you're looking for,” Aspes said. “So if you're looking for instructional and you're trying to improve your game, that's there. If you're looking for conversations with like-minded fans, that's an option. If you're looking to interact with the pros, we have tons of pros who pop into the platform. There's no real barrier between spending time with the

professionals.”

From the tennis world, Paul cites big professional names like Atlanta native Donald Young and former UGA star John Isner who have jumped into pickleball. And the game has attracted big celebrities such as Jamie Foxx and Leonardo DiCaprio as well as investing interest from stars in other sports, such as Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Rob Gronkowski. In 2022, The Kitchen hosted an event in Miami with 11 Vodka and two events in California, with Cutwater Spirits and comedy studio Funny or Die.

For metro Atlanta, Aspes and Paul say that there is more and more choice for courts and venues, even at indoor gyms such as the Lifetime Fitness in Sandy Springs, which recently repurposed its basketball courts as three permanent pickleball courts. Even a fixture like Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association, or ALTA, is jumping into pickleball competition, Aspes said.

“There are a lot of options coming down the pike, but we're seeing tennis courts, tennis clubs, tennis communities convert their tennis courts, not necessarily into full-time pickleball, but to at least give people the option to play pickleball or tennis,” Aspes said. “It's just booming. Every day we're seeing new clubs opened up around the country.”

Another online community, Atlantabased Pickleheads, is also riding the wave of momentum. With offices in the Berkeley Park neighborhood of West Midtown, Pickleheads CEO Max Ade, an Atlanta resident, founded the service in February 2022 with his team in order to connect the growing number of players to court and game options nationwide. Brandon Mackie, a co-founder of the company and a Georgia Tech graduate who played tennis at Jenkins High School in Savannah, says that at this stage of pickleball’s rise, accessibility is key.

“The goal of Pickleheads is to be the digital home for pickleball players,” Mackie

Jared Paul, Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx, and Jason Aspes.

NFL player Ron Gronkowski and Jason Aspes.

said. “So you can imagine anything from finding a court to organizing your own games, to finding local players near you, all that happens on our site. So really what we’re seeing in the space right now is a big supplyand-demand challenge. There are just way more people that want to play than there are courts available. And what our site means to do is make the game more accessible to people and help people get out to the right courts at the right time so they can go and enjoy the sport.”

Mackie said Pickleheads has a nationwide court directory of nearly 11,000 entries and is constantly being updated with more.

“We have what we believe to be the largest database of pickleball courts in the country,” Mackie said. “No matter where in the country you live, you can use our site to find a facility close to you and get information on how many courts there are, what are the popular times people play, do you need to bring your own net, what sorts of amenities are provided.”

Pickleheads features such hotspots as

Hammond Park in Sandy Springs, the Marcus Jewish Community Center in Dunwoody, McClatchey Park in the Ansley Park neighborhood of Atlanta and many more. Mackie also cited the trend of tennis

centers adding or converting courts, such as Sandy Springs Tennis Center, which now has eight courts.

“There’s an estimated 5 million players in the US playing right now, and a lot of industry insiders and experts estimate we’ll see 40 million players by 2030,”

Mackie said.

“And if that happens, it will be almost twice the size of tennis in terms of participation.”

More options will be coming to Pickleheads in early 2023, Mackie said,

including features that will allow organizers to reach more potential players and communicate more efficiently with entrants to big events.

For The Kitchen in 2023, Aspes and Paul are excited to add retail options for the growing number of pickleball products, launching in February, as well as a six-city, moneyball-style amateur tour. But the goal, Paul said, is always to act as ambassadors for the sport while encouraging positivity among its growing following.

“We really try to be not only champions of the sport, but we also spend a ton of time curating the content and the conversation, so we can keep the sentiment positive,” Paul said. “We definitely are not fans of online trolling or keyboard warriors, and we just don't allow that in our communities.

“We're relatively new to the sport still, and we have a ton to learn. We're always just trying to remain humble and work as hard as we can to grow the sport.”

Pickleheads.com helps players find courts, resources, and more.

The proposed Midtown Connector park over I 75/85 has shrunk from 25 acres to around 16. The cap park which once stretched from North Avenue to 10th Street would now end at 5th Street. The project recently received $3.2 million in federal funding to begin the planning and engineering process. Former Atlanta Regional Commission executive director Doug Hooker has also been named the project’s new CEO.

Despite public outcry, the City of Atlanta returned $10 million in emergency rental assistance funding to the federal government after the money wasn’t provided to needy residents before the December 2022 deadline. News of the unspent funding surprised both Atlanta residents struggling with housing costs, and council members who say they could have helped the city fully utilize the funds.

After regularly drawing more than 30,000 people to Centennial Olympic Park each spring, the SweetWater 420 Fest is scaling back and moving to the brewery property on Ottley Drive –apparently over the inability to restrict guns at the event.

Parents of slain ‘Cop City’ activist call for transparent investigation

By Collin Kelley and Dyana Bagby

The family of activist Manuel Teran, who was shot and killed at the site of the controversial Atlanta police and fire training facility site, has called for a transparent investigation into the death of their son.

The family held a press conference on Feb. 6 in Decatur. Simultaneously, construction crews – accompanied by a large law enforcement presence – began moving equipment onto the Key Road property in unincorporated south DeKalb

County.

The family said an independent autopsy showed Teran, who used they/ them pronouns, was shot 13 times during a confrontation with law enforcement on Jan. 18 during an operation to remove protesters camping on the South River Forest site – called “Cop City” by opponents.

According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Teran, 26, had legally purchased a handgun and fired on officers during the clearing operation. The report said Teran wounded a Georgia State Patrol

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officer before other officers returned fire.

Other protesters at the site and those who knew Teran, known as Tortuguita, have refuted the GBI’s narrative of events on the site. There was no body camera footage of the actual incident. The Atlanta Police Department released body camera footage from its officers who were part of the clearing operation, but only the barrage of gunfire and radio chatter can be heard.

Teran’s mother, Belkis Teran, said during the press conference that the family was “horrified by what happened to Manuel” and are working with a team of lawyers to get to the truth.

“It does not make sense to me, killing a person sleeping in the forest,” she said. “As a family we are amazed and grateful for the love, support, and solidarity that we have received.”

She said all Manuel wanted to do was protect the forest.

“They had no malice or any intention of committing illegal acts,” she said. “They were a pacifist.”

After Teran’s death, protests were

held across the country including one in Downtown Atlanta that turned violent, with property damage and the burning of an Atlanta Police Department patrol car. DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announced on Jan. 25 that her office is voluntarily recusing itself from reviewing the investigation. She has requested the Prosecuting Attorney’s Council of Georgia appoint an independent prosecutor to review the investigation.

Manuel Teran, 26, was killed at the ‘Cop City’ site on Jan. 18. (Photo by Gabe Eisen)

Reserve the end of April for these must-dos in Druid Hills:

Olmsted Plein Air Invitational

April 15th - 23rd

Olmsted Linear Park Alliance + Olmsted Plein Air Invitational's Prosecco in the Park

Thursday, April 20th

Concert on the Lawn in Emory Village

Saturday evening, April 22nd

Olmsted Plein Air Invitational PaintQuickTM

Sunday, April 23rd

Historic Druid Hills Gala at Callanwolde

Frederick Law Olmsted Sr's Birthday, Wednesday, April 26th

Historic Druid Hills Home & Garden Tour

Friday, April 28 - Sunday, April 30th

London calling

MAY I BE EXCUSED

Elliott’s Christmas gift was a long weekend trip to London. I know, it’s extravagant, but as our kids mature into wanting “experiences” instead of “stuff” it seems we should reward that when and where we can, right? At least that is what Kristen and I convinced ourselves, his fellow travelers, was the right thing to do. The main event was the North London Derby, the Tottenham Hotspurs versus the Arsenal F.C. That’s a soccer game people.

Friday, April 28th - Sunday, April 30th

Friday, 1-5 pm • Saturday & Sunday, 10 am - 5 pm

As the longest-running home tour in Atlanta, the Historic Druid Hills Home & Garden Tour opens the doors to many stunning houses and gates to some spectacular gardens. This year’s tickets include free access to Fernbank Forest, one of the nation’s largest urban old growth forests, and several special events planned in our Druid Hills parks and greenspaces!

Visit DruidHillsTour.org to learn more about all our events

Tim Sullivan

Elliott played a good bit of Youth Soccer himself and rooting for Atlanta United was like a gateway to the pinnacle of soccer fandom, The English Premiere League. The unwritten rule is you select a team to pull for, stay faithful with every fiber of your being and denounce all others as rubbish. On this, there is no wavering. He chose Tottenham, largely because none of his friends had selected them as their own. From this powerful origin story, the Sullivan family has forged an unbreakable bond with the club for life. As proof, I own both a team hat and scarf.

We bounced around London for a couple days – visited the Tate Modern Museum, the Top of the Shard, Borough Market, The Churchill War Rooms, Harrod’s. We navigated the subway system and walked over twenty miles. For my Christmas gift, Kristen signed me up for a live Peloton ride in the London Studio. It was a blast but if you ever want to be truly

humbled, work up an embarrassing sweat and then have your photo taken with a celebrity fitness trainer who is half your age.

But the focus of this trip was the beautiful game. We toured Stamford Bridge, the stadium for Chelsea F.C. We watched the Manchester United vs. Manchester City match in a pub to soak up the scene. We told anyone who would listen that on Sunday we were headed to the North London Derby and we were pulling for the ‘Spurs. And they told us what they thought of Tottenham in colorful language.

Once in the Stadium, a live band played in the concourse. The catchy Tottenham fight song is set to Glory, Glory Hallelujah and has lyrics that sound like they were penned by three drunk mates who skipped church one day. We ordered fish and chips and made do with the popsicle-stick sporks. I was told a beer called “Neck Oil” was like an American pale ale so despite the abject failure of the marketing department, I ordered one. In a fascinating turn, they filled the beer from the bottom! It was like sorcery. How did it seal itself? Wouldn’t it leak? The answer is yes, yes it would.

A young Tottenham fan of maybe 10 years old was seated next to me. Since every Brit we encountered was an unquestioned expert on the sport, and this kid didn’t look like he came along just for the fish and chips, I asked him for his game prediction. He replied flatly that Arsenal would win 2-1. He was emphatic, “They’re top of the league—they’re class!” I thought, how sad, a kid so cynical about his own team’s chances. I countered that Tottenham would win 2-1, we just needed a bit of magic on our side. He shot me a look as if to say, ‘Shut up, Ted Lasso.’

Indeed, it is the hope that kills you. Arsenal won 2-0 (nil) and the kid was much closer to correct than I was. But other than the result, we couldn’t have enjoyed it more. The level of skill on the field was a marvel and the atmosphere was unparalleled. On the tube ride back to the hotel, Arsenal fans zeroed in on Elliott’s attire to trash-talk Tottenham but he didn’t take the bait. He deftly handled it, like someone who can appreciate the beauty and nuance of a game that sometimes ends in a 0-0 tie.

Tim, Elliott, and Kristen Sullivan on their trip to London to see Tottenham Hotspur FC.

New Worlds: Georgia ‘Women to Watch’ at Atlanta Contemporary

By Isadora Pennington

The Atlanta Contemporary has unveiled a moving and thought-provoking exhibition featuring the works of five emerging Georgia women artists.

New Worlds: Georgia Women to Watch was organized by the Georgia Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts and guest curated by Melissa Messina and Sierra King.

This exhibition examines how artists have been influenced by current events and societal notions in the modern age, pondering the question of what a reimagined future might look like. Women to Watch is a recurring highly competitive exhibition that is held roughly every three years, and one of the five artists in New Worlds will be chosen to exhibit their work in the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) in Washington, D.C. come Spring 2024.

The longstanding tradition of uplifting and highlighting women artists at Atlanta Contemporary – where 76% of exhibiting artists are women – provided the perfect setting for this all-women exhibition. This statistic is particularly compelling when considering that most major art museums across the country are still dominated by male artists.

The planning for New Worlds commenced right around the time of the first shutdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. What followed was unprecedented calls for social reform and racial justice, political division, and public outcry against prejudice.

NMWA Women to Watch Senior Curator Virginia Treanor and Associate Curator Orin

Zahra found themselves wondering how women artists across Georgia were using art to respond to this critical time in world history.

Upon entering the Atlanta Contemporary gallery space, Anila Quayyum Agha’s My Secret Garden hangs suspended from the ceiling in front of a bright red wall. A light shines out from within the laser-cut stainless

steel piece projecting a mesmerizing sea of patterns and imagery outward into the space. Agha, who lives in Augusta, has been influenced by her experiences with Islam, Christianity, Pakistan, and America. Her works evoke a dichotomy of alienation and transience that is familiar to the migrant experience.

“Within my artpractice, exploring the perceived cultural/social polarities such as the masculine-feminine, public-private, definiteamorphous, and religioussecular permits me to delve into controversial topics that reflect upon topical themes of racial and cultural identity, global politics, environmental concerns, mass media and social/gender roles,” said Agha.

The multimedia work of Marianna Dixon Williams, also from Augusta, offers an almost scientific approach to questions of transformation both within ourselves and

the environment that surrounds us. This collection of works was started in 2013 in the Arctic Circle as Williams set out to “simulate, emulate, or measure the world digitally” with the use of devices and microcontrollers that they built by hand. “In this space we can begin to consider how we see the natural world and the ability of this world to be simulated, emulated, and measured directly.”

The sculptural landscape that Williams has constructed offers sound and visual representations of both ocean and desert, prompting the viewer to consider how memory and wandering might aid in a reconciliation between our environment and our uncertain future.

In the larger gallery space, the mostly monochromatic works of Namwon Choi invite the viewer to draw close. Minutely painted landscapes are framed by blocks of bright color or laid atop one another in geometric assembly. Choi, who lives in Savannah, is heavily influenced by her experience living and creating artwork as a Korean immigrant. “I perceive myself as being in a constant state of perpetual motion,” said Choi. She uses highways as a conduit to express the experience of migrancy while touching upon her

Continued on page 16

From left: Anila Quayyum Agha, Shanequa Gay, Victoria Dugger, Namwon Choi, and Marianna Dixon Williams are part of ‘Women To Watch’ exhibition at Atlanta Contemporary. (Photos by Isadora Pennington)

Work by Shanequa Gay

Work by Victoria Dugger

Work by Namwon Choi

simultaneous feelings of affiliation and alienation.

Choi’s incredibly detailed works are composed of gouache on panels, and she uses traditional Korean painting to add cultural and historical context to otherwise familiar and forgettable landscapes. The paintings and their monochromatic fragments interact to create a dialogue about the in-betweenness of both place and identity.

Meanwhile, Victoria Duggar’s joyful sculptural figures and embellished canvases function as “empathetic portals” in which viewers can explore themes of unbridled and unapologetic femininity and desire. As a disabled Black woman artist, Duggar hopes her works will “humanize me not because of my appearance, but despite it.” Art history references, patterns, and a palpable sense of humor infuse her works with a rich layering of meaning and importance.

“My anthropomorphic figures are another way for me to visualize my own body, blackness, femininity, and fragility,” explained Duggar. Evocative of the atrophy that often accompanies disability, Duggar’s figures are rendered with a light-heartedness that defies pity and instead embraces a sense of ambivalence.

You can’t miss the works by Atlanta’s

own Shanequa Gay. Sculptural forms and reimagined toile patterns surround The Southern Chariot, a vintage box-shaped vehicle set atop a mound of earth. Central to all of Gay’s work is an exploration of Blackness and magical thinking that is presented as a contrast to mainstream perceptions of Southern Black women.

“Rarely, if ever, are Southern AfricanAscendant Womyn and girls the protagonists or the center of mainstream storylines. There is something wonderful and affirming about visual depictions of your own reality and seeing people who look like you in the mainstream,” said Gay. In her works Black women and girls are elevated to shrines, their expressions and poses resolute and the opportunity for magical thinking is “unbridled.” The contemporary take on a toile pattern spread across the wall portrays Black girlhood as the Birth of Venus, the Primavera, and the Virgin Mary with a composition that offers the familiarity of toile while departing from its traditional depictions of European mythology and countryside vignettes.

The Atlanta Contemporary will host New Worlds: Georgia Women to Watch 2023 through June 4. For more information, visit atlantacontemporary.org.

Continued from page 14

The work of Marianna Dixon Williams.

Anila Quayyum Agha’s ‘My Secret Garden’

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DeKalb County marks its bicentennial

By Clare S. Richie

A yearlong celebration of DeKalb County’s 200th anniversary is underway.

“DeKalb’s bicentennial gives us the opportunity to literally tell our story in a more inclusive and expansive manner,” said DeKalb County CEO Michael L. Thurmond.

Commemorations include a 112 feet wide by 16 feet tall mural on the Manuel Maloof auditorium; a John Lewis statue; and improvements to DeKalb’s historic courthouse in Decatur.

A proposed mural section rendering shows Native Americans, Stone Mountain, the Civil War, and the courthouse. The remainder will likely include Reconstruction, the Civil Rights movement, MARTA, and more.

“I especially want to develop a mural so our children of all races, colors, and creeds will be able to see themselves in it,” Thurmond said.

Cynthia Jones Parks, president and CEO of Jones Worley, is curating the mural. “My role is to put forth recommended design and content, following the CEO’s vision and timeline,” Parks said.

Parks’ team reviewed history books, images from DeKalb, Atlanta, Tucker, and Dunwoody history centers and consulted the Georgia and National Archives.

“We wanted to look at things that were the first, the largest, and the most notable” Parks said. “You have to know the story before you can represent it visually.”

Once vetted, the mural will be fabricated and affixed to brick, tentatively by summer 2023. It will have QR codes to name the image and provide more information.

Leading up to the bicentennial, The John Lewis Commemorative Task Force – led by Commissioner Mereda Davis Johnson and co-chair Decatur Mayor Patti Garrett secured approval for a John Lewis memorial in his

former Congressional district, where a Confederate obelisk was removed.

Sculptor Basil Watson, a Jamaican-born artist who came to Georgia in 2002 and created a Martin Luther King Jr. statue near Mercedes-Benz Stadium, was recently selected to create Lewis’ memorial.

“The statue will show John with his eyes closed in thought and his hand over his heart,” Commissioner Johnson said. “He was a giant of a man with a humble heart.”

Installation is expected within 18 months.

Plans are also underway for sprucing up the historic courthouse. It’s home to the DeKalb History Center’s (DHC) public archives library and museum. The 200 Years of DeKalb County Exhibit on display includes

donated objects, such as jars of soil donated by the NAACP DeKalb to document lynching.

“It’s a difficult part of history but it’s one that we really need to talk about and display,” said Melissa Carlson, DHC Executive Director.

Visit dekalbcountyga.gov for more details.

Lud modeling a dress by Alix (Madame Grès) for Vogue. Courtesy of the Horst P. Horst Estate and @TheArtDesignProjectGallery.

The historic DeKalb County Courthouse in Decatur.

Krispy Kreme on Ponce rebuild gets underway

By Collin Kelley

Work to rebuild the Krispy Kreme at 295 Ponce de Leon Ave. is well underway and now the company has released a rendering of the new building.

The original building, a landmark for more than 50 years in Midtown, was heavily damaged by arson in early 2021. A few months later, another fire broke out inside the building, and it was eventually demolished.

The iconic Krispy Kreme sign at the corner of Ponce and Argonne will remain.

“We’re bouncing back better than I even imagined,” franchise owner – and basketball icon – Shaquille O’Neal said in a media statement. “I can’t wait to turn on the Hot Light. It’s gonna light up the whole neighborhood. Get ready, Ponce!”

The new Krispy Kreme is expected to open this summer.

Nourish Botanica offers food and coffee pop-ups

By Sammie Purcell

Nourish Botanica is kicking off its anniversary by expanding into food and coffee popups.

Starting on March 4, Nourish Botanica will begin serving food on Saturdays from noon to 6 p.m., and coffee on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Nourish Botanica is a Black-owned plant nursery and shop that officially opened in the spring of 2022 in south Atlanta’s Joyland community, 1651 Pryor Road.

Founder, artist, event producer and social justice advocate Quianah Upton said the space consists of a plant shop, a cafe, and a large greenhouse where the dining area will be located.

“I’ve learned a lot over the past 10 months that we’ve been open as a plant and flower shop,” Upton said. “It’s critical we build the right team and community partners, and with the restaurant industry in flux, especially in staffing, I want to dip my toes into the water carefully, so that we can sustain this business and provide healthy food access in Joyland for a long time.”

Upton is testing the expansion of the space into the cafe by collaborating with local popups to offer food and drinks on the weekend. The pop-ups will include food options from Meraki Soul and The Powerplant, and coffee from the likes of Recuerdos Cafe and Tanbrown Coffee.

Upton said that while a lot of the pop-up food offered will be vegan, there will be other options as well.

“We want people to eat as many plants as possible, but we’re not 100% tied to the idea of a completely meatless model yet,” Upton said. “It’s important for us to provide a space that is welcoming and has culturally relevant food, accessible for our immediate neighbors more than anything else. That will be determined through conversations over food with the community in 2023.”

For more, visit nourishbotanica.cafe.

A rendering of the new Krispy Kreme on Ponce.

Quianah Upton

A journey from server to sommelier

Katie Rice & Sarah Pierre

Editor’s Note: Katie Rice is at the helm of this month’s Women + Wine, which begins its third year in these pages.

It’s the third year of the Women & Wine column and every month I consider interviewing the person who keeps my head above water at VinoTeca – Janeen Jason. She is the Batman to my Robin, the jam to my jelly, the pinot noir to my chardonnay. Since this is Women’s History Month, I want to salute not only one of the best women in my life but a force in the Atlanta wine scene.

Janeen was born in New York and raised in Henry County, Georgia. After graduating from high, she attended Georgia State University with dreams of entering the world of music through management and public relations. She started her career in hospitality while studying at GSU by becoming a server at Ted’s Montana Grill, where she worked for five years. Like many of us who have entered the hospitality world, it is hard to find your

way out.

The coolness of bartending and having a proximity to making and creating cocktails took Janeen to TWO Urban Licks after graduation in 2008. According to Janeen: “TWO made me realize I didn’t know as much about food and wine as I thought I did. I was good at working in high volume and knew the service steps, but nothing about wine or food. Coming from a wine list where the most exciting thing was a

Grateful to Celebrate

Gewurztraminer, I was in way over my head! I also almost got fired because I couldn’t ask for help.”

She learned a valuable lesson in the first two months about teamwork and communication. Janeen also learned how to adapt. Two was the busiest restaurant in the city and you had to be great at your job, or you would lose it.

Janeen’s experiences at TWO led her deeper into wine, especially after meeting two seasoned wine reps, Brandon Tai and Ryan Mullins. They showed her that wine isn’t pretentious and introduced her to the world of blind tasting. She began sitting in with them as they studied for sommelier exams and took a deep dive into training her palate.

In 2013, Janeen decided to sit for her own exams and passed easily. However, her first attempt at the certified, or Level 2 test, she failed. In the meantime, she moved over to The Spence at the beginning of 2014. Her time at this now-defunct restaurant was one of the most important in her career. The service crew was a range of palates that Janeen still tastes with today. Here, she learned the fundamentals of tasting and honed her skills by visiting farmer’s markets.

“I would go through and put a plastic bag on my hand and pick up different fruits and smell them. I would try to find them in different stages of ripeness and take them home to try to memorize what they tasted like. I constantly exposed myself to different tastes and flavors of fruits, herbs, and vegetables to broaden my palate.

Not to be deterred from her previous failure, she studied and tasted for a year until in 2015 she passed to officially become a sommelier. t was the Spring of the same year that Janeen became a bartender at Barcelona Wine Bar in Inman Park and where we first met. She knew the store was opening, but it wasn’t until I went on maternity leave that she was able to come across the street and the rest is history.

One of the common questions we are asked at the store is how to get into the wine world. After taking a deep dive into her resume, I asked Janeen what advice she would give someone starting out. And not surprisingly she said, “work in a restaurant.

You first learn patience, communication, and teamwork. You also learn self-presentation – how to behave in public. You learn what goes into the world and work we are in.” She also reminds us that an open mind is an open palate. “Always try new things. I don’t like big, tannic reds, but I will always taste them and sometimes I am surprised.” Also, “don’t be afraid! Certifications like the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) are open for everyone and all skill levels.”

As far as what Janeen is drinking, she learned from the beginning that she loves white wines with tons of citrus and acidity. Her current go-to is wines of Austria

“I appreciate the legal boundaries in Austria regarding organic farming, plus it is a cool climate so lower alcohol.”

She also leans towards the grape Chenin Blanc due to its versatility and she is a fan of anything with bubbles. For reds, Janeen leans towards light and chillable. She also tends to stay away from anything with oak aging but in strong contrast, she is a sucker for a well-made Spanish wine, especially Rioja. Another recent fascination is high skin contact whites. While she feels like there are many in the market “that call themselves Orange but are nothing more than overdone and underwhelming when you find a good one… it’s really good!”

Speaking of what she is drinking, here are some wine suggestions in Janeen’s words:

“I love Christina Gruner Veltliner. It’s produced naturally and has a wonderful family story. The bottle is clear so you can see the sediment and haziness float through the bottle like a lava lamp.

“The Domaine du Closel is a quintessential Chenin Blanc made by a very talented woman who is not afraid to be daring in classic Loire Valley. It’s mineral driven and earthy yet has a brightness that you always see in Chenin Blanc.

“The Valle dell’Acate is my favorite new producer. The wines come from volcanic Mt. Etna, made by a woman who sounds like a Mortal Kombat character (Gaetana Jacono), but also makes badass wine. Frappato is a light red with very delicate features, ending with a long finish. It has so much range with cuisines and is a great change of pace for Pinot Noir drinkers.

Janeen Jason

IT’S YOUR LUCKY DAY

WHEN YOU CATER WITH FLYING BISCUIT CAFE!

Quick Bites

▲Atlanta-based liquor company Shortbarrel Bourbon has announced that it has acquired Old Fourth Distillery. Shortbarrel said it plans to continue making the numerous products that the Atlanta distillery produced in the past — in addition to retaining and working with members of the company’s original team.

After sitting dormant for more than a year, the restaurant space atop the Grant Park parking structure is seeking a tenant. Designed by Smith Dalia Architects, the modern structure has towering windows and a huge outdoor patio area. The entire footprint is roughly 4,000 square feet. The building sits at the southern end of the popular park – or “green roof” – on top of the 1,000-car parking structure known as the Grant Park Gateway.

Ultimately, it’s your experience that matters.

We do everything with that idea clearly in mind. So, go ahead, enjoy yourself with great social opportunities and amenities. Savor fine dining every day. And feel assured that assisted living services are always available if needed. We invite you to experience The Piedmont at Buckhead.

TEA TOUR

THURSDAY, MARCH 16TH • 1:30PM

Experience the beauty of our community while sampling teas from around the world! Savor unique tea blends, petit fours, and other refreshments. Please call 404.369.7523 to make a reservation .

▲3 Parks Wine in Glenwood Park just marked its 10th anniversary and has something else to celebrate: a second location in Old Fourth Ward. Owner Sarah Pierre said the new store will open in early summer at New City’s Fourth Ward project along the BeltLine Eastside Trail. The building is also Mailchimp’s new headquarters. The new shop will be around 1,600 square feet, allowing for an expanded selection of wine, space for larger events, storage, and even an office.

Slutty Vegan is expected to open its third metro Atlanta location this month. The popular vegan burger joint will open its new location on Georgia Tech’s campus in the John Lewis Student Center at 351 Ferst Drive NW.

The Darwin Hotel in Old Fourth Ward is partnering with Punk Foodie to launch The Evolution of ATL Dining: A Pop-Up Chef Series. On the 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month from 5 p.m. until sold out, one chef will commandeer the kitchen at The Darwin Hotel bar to share a special menu. Follow @punkfoodie.atl on Instagram for details.

Shortbarrel founders Adam Dorfman, Clinton Dugan and Patrick Lemmond. (Photo courtesy of Shortbarrel)

3 Parks Wine owner Sarah Pierre

◄Starting March 2, Dinner With A View will set up in Piedmont Park to offer diners culinary excellence paired with a view to die for. The pop-up dining event will be located within the Promenade at Piedmont Park near the Atlanta Botanical Garden. The experience will allow diners to eat in one of 33 private, climatecontrolled, clear frameless domes, enjoying views of the park and Atlanta’s skyline during the meal. Information about pricing, reservations, and more can be found at dinnerwithaview.ca/ atlanta-2023.

New renderings show scope and scale of Ponce project

By Collin Kelley and Dyana Bagby

A dramatic set of new renderings released by Portman Holdings shows the scope and scale of its planned Ponce & Ponce project in Virginia-Highland.

The mix of retail, office, and apartments would sit at the corner of Ponce de Leon Avenue and Ponce de Leon Place adjacent to the busy Atlanta BeltLine Eastside Trail and just steps from Ponce City Market.

The proposed development includes approximately 470,000 square feet of office space, more than 35,000 square feet of retail/restaurant space, and 354 multifamily units with underground parking.

The development will mean the demolition of several beloved watering holes and nightspots, including MJQ Concourse, The Local, and Bookhouse Pub.

Portman Holdings’ Senior Creative Director Rachel Woods said in an email to Atlanta Intown that the zoning application has officially been filed with the city. She said Portman will continue to meet with the Virginia-Highland Civic Association (VHCA) planning board on a weekly basis to discuss the topics reviewed in the public meetings including the neighborhoods inclusions to the traffic study and keep them engaged throughout the rezoning application.

Wood also said the project will be on the agenda for both the Neighborhood Hood Planning Unit (NPU) and VHCA every month until both the neighborhood and NPU officially vote on the matter in April.

“There will not be any public meetings hosted by Portman during this process, as the VHCA and NPU meeting are open to the public,” Wood said in in the email.

A final decision on the zoning application is scheduled for April 17 followed by the ratification by the Mayor’s Office on April 26, Wood said.

The Highlands • O ered for $4,750,000

Sold for $1,500,000

Renderings of Portman Holding’s Ponce & Ponce project.

Green lobbying under the Gold Dome

resources. The largely anti-environmental stance on the part of the Republican majority has made lobbying for a healthy environment more difficult. Despite the formidable challenges, the Georgia Water Coalition (gawater.org), which celebrated its twentieth-anniversary last year, continues to deliver results, even if some of them are years in the making.

The GWC was established to stop the attempted transformation of Georgia’s water into a marketable commodity— allocated not according to need or plan but to the agreements between willing buyers and sellers seeking profits. That horribly misguided idea was defeated by the coalition and its allies, notably local government officials. Today, GWC members adopt legislative priorities each year to address critical threats to state waters—in addition to opposing attempts to roll back environmental protections.

During the current 40-day legislative session, scheduled to end on March 29, the GWC is actively supporting two initiatives: a bill to protect the Okefenokee Swamp from mining, and anticipated legislation to strengthen the regulation of “soil amendments” (read: animal waste and sewage sludge) applied to farmland.

Protecting Georgia’s ‘Wild Heart’

worrisome are the highly-paid, corporate lobbyists hired by Twin Pines to oppose the bill.

The motivating factor for the Okefenokee Protection Act is a pending, highly flawed application by Alabamabased Twin Pines Minerals LLC (a proven bad actor in other projects) to mine heavy mineral sands (epd.georgia.gov/twinpines) near the Okefenokee; this specific application would not be affected by HB 71. The Georgia Environmental Protection Division (read the governor) will decide this year whether or not the risky Twin Pines project will be approved. It must be stopped.

Streams of Chicken Waste

Last summer, gray, bubbling water was discovered in a tributary to the Little River in northeast Georgia, upstream of a massive fish kill. The pollution was traced back to a farm that had, in just six weeks, accepted more than two hundred loads of “soil amendments” – waste from a pet food plant and a milk facility – and dumped the liquid gunk onto hay fields and into a pond.

ABOVE THE WATER LINE

healthcare, families, education, and other progressive causes can be found on the north side of the third floor. Business lobbyists dominate the south side of the building with its shoe-shine stand—a deep, philosophical (and relative compensation) chasm between them.

Sally Bethea

The Georgia State Capitol is not a comfortable or easy place to advocate on behalf of nature—be it rivers, mountains, swamps or the coast. I know this from often painful and frustrating personal experience. Every winter, for more than two decades until retirement, I put on my business suit, pearls, and heels and joined the legislative circus in the cavernous capitol hallways, where seating is limited and the floors are cold, hard marble.

Lobbyists hang out on the third floor of the building, watching televisions that show the activity in each legislative chamber (House and Senate). This makes them easily accessible to legislators, who periodically dash out of their chamber doors to ask for advice or meet with constituents. Public interest lobbyists who advocate for the environment,

Political Landscape

On behalf of Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, I worked with conservation colleagues to pass good environmental bills and kill bad ones; the latter often took up more of our time than the former. In the 1990s and early 2000s, it was possible to find bipartisan support from leading Democrats and Republicans for some of our legislative proposals. Sadly, this bipartisan alignment is less common today.

For the past twenty years, the political landscape has been dominated by one party in the governor’s office, both legislative chambers, and key committee chairs, importantly including natural

On Feb. 8, Governor Kemp and legislators proclaimed Okefenokee Swamp Day in Georgia before an enthusiastic crowd of swampers, including mayors, country commissioners, farmers, and businesspeople interested in eco-tourism. Two people-size alligators waved from capitol balconies, while several real swamp critters (and their handlers) tolerated the attention of legislators and lobbyists.

If it passes, the HB 71 Okefenokee Protection Act (legis.ga.gov/ legislation/63631) will help safeguard the world-renowned, 438,000-acre wetland from industrial mining proposals that threaten irreversible, negative impacts. The legislation would prohibit the state from issuing future permits to conduct surface mining operations on the highest elevations of Trail Ridge: the prehistoric barrier island that helped create the swamp by holding back its waters. HB 71 has been assigned to the House Natural Resource Committee, chaired by Rep. Lynn Smith (R-Newnan). For nearly two decades, she has regularly stifled pro-environment legislation. More

In Georgia, soil amendment is the term state officials use, euphemistically, to describe animal waste (mostly chicken blood and guts) and industrial sewage sludge; they also like to call it “repurposed material.” Applied to dry soils and in limited quantities, this liquid waste can improve soil condition; however, that is rarely the outcome in Georgia. Most of the material is being dumped in massive quantities on farm fields. Neighbors must contend with unbearable odors and swarms of flies. When it rains, and often even when it doesn’t rain, the waste flows into nearby streams.

Although it’s responsible for managing how these materials are used as soil additives, Georgia’s Department of Agriculture is not doing enough to ensure the sludge is kept out of nearby waterways. Local officials, citizens, and the GWC are pushing lawmakers to give local governments more authority in managing the waste disposal; greater transparency is also needed. Not surprisingly, Big Chicken – a dominant player at the Gold Dome – is not keen on any additional regulation or oversight.

Let your state legislators know what you think about these issues using this link georgia.gov/contact-state-legislators. Provide comments to the Georgia EPD about the Twin Pines mining proposal at twinpines.comment@dnr.ga.gov.

Okefenokee Swamp Day at the Gold Dome.

Two entrepreneurs put brains together for health startup

Parable co-founders

how to make everyday braincare simple and effective,” Davis said. That led the two to found Parable, an Atlanta-based personal nutrition brand designed specifically for brain health. Its first product, Daily, is a supplement designed to address focus, individual stress response, brain fog, and mental wellbeing. Created by neuroscientists, active ingredients include B vitamins, curcumin, ginseng, green tea extract, lemon balm, and phosphatidylserine. Davis said these are the “key nutrients our brains need to think, feel, and be well.”

The powder can be mixed into hot and cold drinks or put on top of foods.

Maija Ehlinger

Entrepreneurs Brian McGrath Davis and Cristina Poindexter have both played integral roles in building buzz-worthy consumer products already.

After serving as Director of Business Development for Atlanta-based Scoutmob, Davis went on to be GM for Blakely Ventures, the personal business incubator of SPANX founder Sara Blakely. Poindexter’s career included rising in ranks at Headspace, a popular meditation and self-care app.

But the two both recognized a problem: No one in the startup world was adequately addressing brain health. That was a huge problem, considering that brain atrophy can start as early as your 30s.

“Cristina and I first met in March 2021 as Founders in Residence at a VC firm in Los Angeles, where we were struck by a very simple observation: As valuable as our brains are, most of us don’t know how to care for them on a daily basis. We spoke to hundreds of consumers to learn more, and it became apparent that the problem to solve was

Getting to know Parable

While the FDA doesn’t require clinical trials for supplement brands, Parable has made such testing standard practice. The team is also dedicated to changing how we talk about proactive brain care.

“For us, braincare should refer to products and practices rooted in scientific evidence that promote our health for decades. Given that the brain starts to age at 30, it’s really important for us to proactively care for our brain in our 30s, 40s, and 50s. Our brains are fragile and complex organs; to function properly, they have real and specific needs that need to be met,” said Poindexter. “While we may feel it’s typical to care for sleepiness in the morning with some caffeine or alertness at 10 p.m. with melatonin, those practices aren’t actually benefitting our brains for the long term. That need for stimulants or anxiolytics is just a sign of a neglected brain.”

Brian McGrath Davis and Cristina Poindexter.

Atlanta’s Personal Health Startup Scene

Parable is launching with the help of a newly announced $2.7 million seed round. California-based M13 and Coloradobased Break Trail Ventures are part of the round.

M13’s portfolio has several consumer health brands that are household names today, including Capsule, Tonal, and ClassPass.

Parable has adopted a remote-first work environment, but Davis is based in Atlanta and Poindexter is building the business from her home in Denver.

Metro Atlanta has an emerging personal health scene starting to form. Hypepotamus recently covered ModifyHealth, a “food as medicine” meal delivery service that raised a $10 million

Microsoft halts plan to develop Westside campus

By Collin Kelley

Microsoft has decided to “pause the planning process” on a proposed 90-acre campus on Atlanta’s Westside, according to Bisnow.

The decision comes in the wake of Microsoft announcing in January that it would lay off more than 10,000 people, or 5% of its workforce.

“The land is not for sale, and we still aim to set aside a quarter of the 90 acres for community needs,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in an email to Bisnow. “We intend to reengage in planning efforts when expansion is warranted.”

Microsoft bought the land – located in the Grove Park community next to Westside Park – in 2021 with plans for a mixed-use campus including affordable housing, retail, and groceries. Sources told Bisnow at the time that the company planned for the campus to eventually house 15,000 Microsoft employees.

Series B this January. It is also home to companies like Supersapiens (a glucose monitoring system also co-founded by Davis), and The Lemon Perfect Company (an enhanced-water brand), and women’s wellness supplement brand Semaine Health.

Officials with neighborhood groups said it has been months since they’ve heard from Microsoft about the project.

Microsoft already has a presence in Atlanta with a building at Atlantic Station. The company spokesperson said plans for three new data centers in Fulton and Douglas counties would continue.

Microsoft offices at Atlantic Station.

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The Offi cial School of Atlanta Ballet

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JCB TEAM Jodi Patterson Chase Jordan Brian Woodworth

Kirsten Conover Mark Camp Bru Krebs

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