Atlanta’s long-standing apartments, famed for the “Atlanta’s Population Now” sign facing Peachtree Street have changed hands yet again — and soon it will join the city’s ranks of affordable housing units. The Darlington apartments were first built in 1951 as some of the city’s first post-World War II working-class housing, but it gained additional popularity […]
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Posted inGuest Column
SNAP Changes: USDA should accept volunteer and training hours for college students
Georgians have endured a whirlwind of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) changes these past couple of months with no end in sight. Most recently on Nov. 1, 2025, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Georgia Department of Human Services announced SNAP work requirement changes for ABAWDs (able-bodied adults without dependents), following the passage […]
Posted inCommon Chords
The Alien who made us human: David Bowie’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
A new year asks for a new skin, or at least a new angle on the old one. It’s fitting, then, that the first Common Chords column of 2026 returns to the moment David Bowie perfected that very art. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars isn’t just an album […]
Posted inReporter's Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Paddle ‘n Fish, Decatur small business grants available, EATS is ‘back’
Georgia Rivers announces 2026 paddling and fishing trip schedule Georgia Rivers has released its 2026 schedule of guided canoe, kayak, paddleboard, and fishing adventures, featuring more than two dozen trips across the state. Registration for spring 2026 weekend adventures and 2026 day trips is now open and will remain open until individual trips sell out. […]
Posted inHigher Education
A Life in Folk: John Burrison marks six decades on the Georgia State faculty
They might have begun to doubt the musician would make it home that night. John Burrison and his young student had been told by a neighbor the man and his wife were attending a funeral in town and were expected back. But as the pair of city folk waited on the porch of a farmhouse […]
Posted inColumns
Disability advocate questions College Park’s public comment policy change
A change to College Park’s public comment policy is drawing criticism from the mayor and the leader of a disability justice organization, who say the move is unfair and restricts public participation. As of council’s Jan. 5 meeting, the city no longer accepts emailed public comments, a practice that began in 2020 during the pandemic. […]
Posted inAtlanta Way 2.0
Activator Profile: Melody Harclerode envisions elevated future for design in Atlanta
Atlanta once had a beautiful train station. Not like Midtown MARTA Station with its large, colorful bird statues, nor Five Points station with its vibrant exterior mural. The now-demolished Terminal Station had a regal Beaux-Arts facade, accented by two ornate towers. Completed in 1905, the structure looked almost European, a striking contrast to the architecture […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr
Atlanta law firm wants to change crime victim cases with trauma-informed care
Atlanta-based law firm Deitch + Rogers works with people at their worst moments. The crime victim firm takes on civil cases for victims, particularly in cases of injury, assault and even death. The goal? Deitch + Rogers promotes “peace of mind” for its clients. But the actual process isn’t so simple. Not every crime victim […]
Posted inLatest News
Mayor Andre Dickens: ‘We will close the book on a tale of two cities’
During his second inauguration, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens looked back at where the city was during his first inauguration — held outdoors at Georgia Tech’s Grant Field on a blustery, cold day. “Four years ago, Atlanta faced a test unlike any that we had seen before,” Dickens told hundreds of people gathered Jan. 5 at […]
Posted inColumns
With state’s coffers flush, there are lots of tax cut ideas
As this election-year General Assembly nears, the state of Georgia finds itself in much better shape than many of its citizens.
Posted inKelly Jordan
Inside Capitol – Alive soon – Various dates
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Posted inMaria's Metro
Woodruff Foundation invests a record $4 million in Park Pride
For Park Pride, equity is not a dirty word. Quite the opposite. With backing from the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation and several other major foundations, Park Pride has been doubling down on making grants in Atlanta’s historically disinvested communities. Park Pride, founded the same year as the Piedmont Park Conservancy, celebrated its 35th anniversary last […]
Posted inColumns
Monks’ 2,300-mile ‘Walk for Peace’ connects thousands in Decatur
After walking roughly 1,300 miles on foot, a group of 18 Buddhist monks traveling from The Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth, Texas, to Washington, D.C., stopped in Decatur on Dec. 30, drawing thousands to a peace gathering that blended spiritual reflection with civic engagement. The Georgia stop required a significant detour from […]
Posted inColumns
The 20 Best Movies of 2025
That time of year is finally here — it’s time to whittle down the list of 150 new movies I saw this year to my 20 favorites. This is the third time I’ve done this for Rough Draft, and it might be the hardest time I’ve ever had finalizing my list. That’s not necessarily because […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr
Year in Review: SaportaReport’s top stories and topics of 2025
It’s been a busy year in Atlanta, and an even busier year for SaportaReport. Here are the issues our readers cared about most, and the stories that kept them coming back to Atlanta’s trusted source for civic journalism. Over 577,000 users spent time on the SaportaReport site with longtime favorites like Stories of Atlanta, Kelly […]
Posted inCommon Chords
Post-purple pivots and paisley possibilities: Prince’s Around the World in a Day
Every so often, an artist with the world at his feet steps off the stage, shuts the door and starts again. Not because he’s lost the thread, but because he suspects there’s a deeper, stranger one hiding beneath the floorboards. In 1985, Prince Rogers Nelson stood atop the musical world after Purple Rain, a record […]
Posted inColumns
7 stories you may have missed this year
As the year comes to a close, here are seven stories that you may have missed. They raised questions and amplified voices of residents and leaders across Metro Atlanta. The stories ranged from local government accountability to education, faith, culture and housing. A year of scrutiny in College Park Throughout the year, I reported extensively […]
Posted inGabi Hart
New food security collaboration forms as hunger pressures grow in metro Atlanta
As food costs rise and safety nets strain under shifting federal benefits, thousands of families across metro Atlanta are being forced to make impossible choices between health, education and hunger. In response, The Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority (The FDHA) has launched a new food security collaborative backed by a $150,000 initial investment aimed at strengthening coordination […]
Posted inAdrianne Murchison, Columns
South Metro leaders keep trail vision alive after loss of federal funding
Officials across south metro Atlanta say that while federal funding is no longer available for a proposed 31-mile multi-use trail connecting the area to the Atlanta Beltline, they remain committed to moving the project forward. The proposed trail network, which includes the Flint River Gateway Trail, generated momentum last year after a promising $64.9 million […]
Posted inCommon Chords
Sly & the Family Stone’s Stand: Filing a groove-based petition for a better world
There are families you’re born into, and families you assemble out of talent, trust and necessity. Sylvester “Sly Stone” Stewart had both. Growing up in the San Francisco suburb of Vallejo, the Stewart kids absorbed music the way most kids absorb oxygen… church harmonies in the morning, neighborhood performances in the evening, siblings gathering around […]
