In a new public announcement, Atlanta Beltline, Inc. leaders laid out a list of problems, including ballooning costs, shrinking plans and delayed development that led to the eventual cancellation of a contract with Culdesac Inc. to redevelop Murphy Crossing. The Jan. 10 cancellation announcement took many by surprise. Atlanta’s highly-anticipated project was set to transform […]
Author Archives: Delaney Tarr
Posted inDelaney Tarr
Final public input sessions for Piedmont Park master plan kick off this month
Parkgoers are nearing their last chances to give input on Piedmont Park’s first new master plan in 25 years before its official reveal in April at the 2025 Landmark Luncheon. On Feb. 8 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. the Piedmont Park Conservancy will hold an in-person “community input session” where the public can hear […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr
Prince Hall Masonic Lodge to kick off $10 million renovation
A $10 million restoration of historic Prince Hall Masonic Lodge is set to begin in the coming weeks, kicking off a renovation of the 1937 building into a 16,000-square-foot multi-use space. The lodge on Auburn Avenue joins other historic preservation projects like the Odd Fellows Building set to become the Georgia Works headquarters. The upcoming […]
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‘The future is now:’ MARTA unveils new railcars at annual address
MARTA’s got a brand new look. The regional transit agency gave community members a sneak peek of its new railcars on Jan. 30. The updated fleet will be fully rolled out in early 2026. On Thursday morning, community members crowded on the Lindbergh Center MARTA station platform to watch the agency’s CEO, Collie Greenwood, roll […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr
ARC receives $3 million safe streets grant for Brookhaven, Clayton and Spalding counties
The Atlanta Regional Commission received a $3 million safe streets grant from the Department of Transportation to improve school road safety in the city of Brookhaven and Clayton and Spalding counties. On Jan. 27, ARC announced the funds, which prioritize communities with more than 17 roadway deaths per 100,000 people annually. The money will go […]
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Historic Theater expedition carves behind-the-scenes path through Georgia landmarks
On Jan. 25, four Georgia theaters will open their doors for a chance to explore behind-the-scenes of the historic landmarks. The inaugural self-led path travels in order through the GEM Theatre in Calhoun, the DeSoto Theatre in Rome, the century-old Canton Theatre and the Earl and Rachel Smith Strand Theatre in downtown Marietta. With tickets […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr
TikTok is back, but at what cost?
My friend’s dad was the first to tell us. He ran around the room like a quasi-town crier and showed us the screen declaring “a law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S.” I was helping throw a friend’s engagement party on Jan. 18, so I didn’t really have the time to scroll and […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr
Balancing personal and political with the TikTok ban
When news outlets started reporting that TikTok really was going to get banned on Jan. 19, I decided on a whim to check my iPhone screen time. Like many others, I downloaded the video-based social media app in 2019 as it started to gain popularity. It was scrappy then. Smaller content creators made silly throwaway […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr, Latest News
At annual Eggs and Issues breakfast, Georgia leaders set legislative tone: infrastructure and tort reform
On Jan. 14, hundreds of Georgia political and corporate leaders kicked off the 2025 legislative session at the annual Georgia Chamber’s Eggs and Issues breakfast. The morning may have started with an icy 6:30 a.m. networking session, but the room of Georgia’s most powerful still buzzed with energy. Attendees packed into a ballroom at the […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr
Atlanta Regional Commission launches plan to electrify metro’s transportation
Atlanta’s first regional transportation electrification plan aims to make the 11-county metro area an electric vehicle hub for the southeast using a four-pronged approach and hopes of public buy-in. The Atlanta Regional Commission adopted the plan at a Jan. 8 board meeting, kicking off a plan to rapidly multiply the number of electric vehicles in […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr
Murdered bus driver’s family members, MARTA employees demand safety changes from transit organization
Days after 47-year-old bus operator Leroy Ramos was shot and killed on the job, his mourning family members, union representatives and transit workers across the metro area packed into MARTA headquarters with a list of demands for the transit agency. The MARTA board was met with a lineup of impassioned public comments declaring “enough is […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr, Latest News
After rocky journey, Atlanta executes two-year PAD contract
Months of unpaid work, a secret procurement process, “philosophical differences” and a brief suspension of services ended Jan. 6 when Atlanta executed a two-year, $5 million contract for community response agency the Policing Alternatives & Diversion Initiative, or PAD. It’s been a lengthy, troubled process for the long-standing diversion program due to multiple contract issues […]
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King Center launches MLK holiday schedule focused on youth and AI
The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change kicked off the annual King Holiday Observance roster with a Jan. 7 press conference announcing a lineup for “Mission Possible: Protecting Freedom, Justice and Democracy in the Spirit of Nonviolence365.” Through Jan. 20, the King Center and its partners will host a series of events […]
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SaportaReport’s year in photos: 2024
Across 2024, Atlanta’s residents joined together to protest, parade and participate in a series of events throughout the city. From an annual handmade lantern parade to a Spelman college glee club performance in the Krog Street Tunnel, this is SaportaReport’s year in photos. Swipe through for more images from our contributors.
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Our readers’ top stories of 2024
2024 left many Atlanta people and projects in flux as entities like GRTA were threatened and MARTA saw more conflict. The city lost icon Dexter King and novelist Tina McElroy and celebrated the legacy of Jimmy Carter. As always, major projects continued to expand the landscape at Amsterdam Walk and the Beltline — though some schools […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr
The Beltline looks to 2025 as it grows the city’s green destination
The Atlanta Beltline, Inc. capped off a busy year with its fourth quarterly briefing on Dec. 16, but the team is already looking at 2025 projects, including trail construction, affordable housing and the first steps to building light rail. “We’re just continuing to push the people’s project at the forefront and get that national and even […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr
Two new Savi Provisions shops are heading to Atlanta food deserts
Invest Atlanta approved $8.1 million in funds to help Savi Provisions open two new shops in the city’s food deserts at a Dec. 19 board meeting. The stores are part of a citywide effort to create accessible, affordable food in Atlanta — particularly in neighborhoods lacking nearby fresh food access. The provision shops will open in […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr
City of Norcross buys historic woman’s club with new preservation
After a rocky journey, the historic Norcross Woman’s Club building is officially under city of Norcross ownership. The Georgia Trust For Historic Preservation announced its agreement with the city to sell the building for $450,000 on Dec. 17. The sale comes after a months-long struggle over who would own and control the historic property. The […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr
Annual Good Trouble Honors brings ‘joy’ to Atlanta advocacy
Atlanta’s Center for Civic Innovation celebrated 10 years in business with its annual “Good Trouble” honors at a Dec. 12 ceremony at the Plaza Theatre. The nonprofit honored 10 individuals and organizations who have created “necessary good trouble” through their work in and around Atlanta. A decade ago, founder and executive director Rohit Malhotra created […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr
Chattahoochee Brick Company transformation inches along at advisory board meeting
The Chattahoochee Brick Company Memorial, Greenspace and Park board held its quarterly meeting at the Northwest Library at Scotts Crossing on Dec. 11 as the members continued to inch along a lengthy community input process. An 11-member advisory board was appointed by the city of Atlanta to oversee the entire transformation of the fraught Chattahoochee […]
