Last week, multiple wildfires caught flame in drought-stricken Georgia and have been raging since, burning through tens of thousands of acres and sending parts of Georgia into peril against the two largest active wildfires in the country at the moment. One of the main two fires, the Highway 82 fire in Brantley County that started […]
Category: Mark Lannaman
Mark Lannaman is a current graduate student at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He holds a B.A. from Georgia State University and an M.S. from Georgia Tech. He has previously worked with WABE as an intern for the Atlanta Press Club. Mark was a 2021 National Association of Hispanic Journalists mentee, 2021 Every Learner Everywhere fellow, & 2022 Society of Environmental Journalists fellow. He enjoys reporting on topics including sustainability, environment, education and urban development. Born and raised in Metro Atlanta, his family comes from Jamaica and Colombia. One of his favorite quotes is, “You cannot discover new oceans unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore” -André Gide.
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Filling in data gaps and potholes: Atlanta one of five cities areas to partner with Waymo and Waze on filling in potholes
Waymo, the self-driving automated car company that has been showing up more and more across the country, and Waze, a satellite navigation software company, are partnering to combine their data to fill in potholes across the country. Last week, the two companies announced a joint partnership with five cities — Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, […]
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Gubernatorial hopefuls meet to discuss manufacturing in Georgia forum
The Georgia Association of Manufacturers (GAM) is hosting a nonpartisan Gubernatorial Candidate Forum on April 21 from 12:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Comcast Central Division HQ at The Battery, where candidates can talk about plans for manufacturing in the “number one state to do business.” The forum is the first event of its […]
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Madison-Morgan Conservancy receives prestigious national accreditation, enabling conservancy to work with more landowners
The Madison-Morgan Conservancy achieved national accreditation from the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance, in late February. The accreditation comes on the 25th anniversary of the founding of the conservancy, which was originally founded as Georgia’s first countywide conservancy to protect Morgan County’s natural resources. The prestigious accreditation is […]
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The Magic City Debate: Atlanta Hawks’ ‘Magic City Night’ cancelled by the NBA while Hawks organization expresses disappointment
Most people who have been around Atlanta long enough will have heard of Magic City. Even folks who have never lived or visited the city have heard tales of Atlanta’s most famous strip club, which has gotten shoutouts from artists and celebrities for, if not the entertainment, the world-renowned wings. For some, the strip club […]
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Public health community remembers icon who helped eradicate smallpox, as the U.S. officially cuts ties with the World Health Organization
Public health icon Dr. William Foege passed away on Jan. 24, 2026, at the age of 89; the renowned epidemiologist is credited with leading the fight in eradicating smallpox, which last had a naturally occurring case and death in 1977. The triumph of the first infectious disease to be fully eradicated by humans cannot be […]
Posted inLatest News, Mark Lannaman
Once again, NASA data shows previous year as one of the hottest years recorded
With 2025 officially complete, NASA has released its yearly Global Temperature Data that shows what many would have guessed: 2025 was one of the hottest years recorded since record-keeping began in 1880. Specifically, 2025 has officially tied with 2023 as the 2nd hottest year on record, with 2024 still holding the top spot. According to […]
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Atlanta bids farewell to longtime Hawks point guard
Last week, Atlanta Hawks fans bid farewell to their longtime point guard Trae Young, who was traded to the Washington Wizards on Jan 9. Young was acquired by the team on draft day 2018; he would go on to become a four-time NBA All-Star and lead the Hawks to an Eastern Conference Finals appearance in […]
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Audio: A homecoming awaits
The Muscogee Nation, sometimes called the Muscogee Creek Nation, may soon become the first Indigenous nation invited back to co-steward the land it once called home, before being forcibly removed nearly two centuries ago. The Ocmulgee Mounds — the centerpiece of Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park — sit in the heart of Macon, Georgia. The […]
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Roswell Community Masjid breaks ground on what will be the World’s First Living Building-certified place of worship
Metro Atlanta will soon be home to another landmark building that champions sustainability in its design and performance. The Roswell Community Masjid — or Mosque — (RCM) is hosting a groundbreaking ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 6 for their eventual home, which hopes to become the world’s first Living Building-certified place of worship. A Living Building […]
Posted inColumns, Mark Lannaman
Live Thrive’s Corporate + Community Challenge returns for another year of friendly corporate competitiveness
The Atlanta corporate community is in some good old-fashioned competition for a good cause — to see who can recycle the most over the course of six months. Live Thrive, an Atlanta-based nonprofit focused on reuse, waste diversion and recycling of materials, has brought back its popular Corporate + Community Challenge for another cycle, which […]
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Two democrats unseat incumbent republicans in Georgia’s Public Service Commission race by large margins
The Georgia Public Commission (PSC) will have two new commissioners in 2026 after voters elected Peter Hubbard and Alicia Johnson, ousting incumbents Fitz Johnson in District 3 and Tim Echols in District 2, respectively. According to the Georgia Secretary of State Office, Hubard won 62.91 percent of the vote while Alicia Johnson won 37.09 percent, […]
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FreeRent Atlanta Grant Program returns for third year, lending a helping hand to residents in troubling times
Some say nothing in life is free, while others say the best things in life are free. One organization is looking to lean into a third mantra: it costs nothing to be kind. On Oct. 31 FreeRent, an Atlanta-based nonprofit that provides rental assistance for one month or more to help them on their path […]
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SCAD launches applied AI degree and minor
AI continues to make its way into every facet of society, and one of the nation’s premier schools for arts and design is no different. Starting in the winter quarter, the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) will begin offering a Bachelor of Design in Applied AI, along with the option to minor in […]
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Ocean Conservancy’s hallmark International Coastal Cleanup celebrates 40 years of collection — and not just trash
Ocean Conservancy held its 40th International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) effort on Sept. 20 in what it calls the “world’s largest beach and waterway cleanup effort.” Hundreds of thousands of volunteers took to their local beaches and waterways around the world to help clean up the trash that made its way there in a day of […]
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Stargazing: Georgia State University’s CHARA Array receives $1.39M grant to enhance its work studying the stars
The National Science Foundation (NSF) Major Research Instrumentation Program awarded Georgia State University a $1.39M grant for upgrades to its Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy (CHARA) Array located at Mount Wilson Observatory in Southern California. The array consists of six synchronized telescopes, each with a one-meter diameter light-collecting mirror, spread across the mountaintop. These […]
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Coast to coast, skyscraper to skyscraper
Last month I had the privilege to accompany a friend and hydrology doctoral student out West to Yosemite National Park. It was the sort of trip that you go into hoping to see natural wonders that will feed your soul, and yet still the sights left me in awe — and taking a ridiculous amount […]
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Little pain for a lot of gain: Little Five Points’ Findley Plaza undergoing renovations
A project more than a decade in development is finally coming to fruition in one of Atlanta’s most vibrant neighborhoods. Findley Plaza, located at the intersection of Euclid Ave and Moreland Ave, is undergoing renovations that will feature wider open space for the public. The redesign moves the tree wells to the outer edges of […]
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Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District gets a new administrator, looks towards proactive resiliency
Water is arguably the most important resource any region can have, yet few have heard of their local water stewards or managers. The Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District (The District), the body that protects the Metro Atlanta water resources at large, extending to 15 counties and 97 cities and is staffed by the Atlanta […]
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UrbanHeatATL undergoes latest summer campaign, building off years of data collection
Hotlanta lives up to its most hated nickname — in some places more than others. UrbanHeatATL has been documenting the phenomenon of urban heat islands — pockets of intensified heat compared to surrounding rural or suburban areas — throughout the City of Atlanta and identifying the places where they’re more intense than others. On July […]
