Rollins Inc., a legacy Atlanta pest control company, captures a unique blend of Southern traditions and societal evolution. As a close observer of Rollins for decades, change has been afoot as the company has transitioned from having only white males on its board (from 1964 to 2015) to one with three women and two Black […]
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Posted inColumns
No reason to hurry to the maps in wake of Voting Rights Act decision
With all the confusion over how we’re going to vote, the only thing that could make this year’s Georgia elections a bigger mess would have been to start tinkering with the state’s congressional and legislative maps.
Posted inMedia, Stories of Atlanta
The Thinking Machine
He was among the more well-known writers of his day, often compared to the creator of Sherlock Holmes. He traveled in a rarified circle of fame and success which was certainly a far cry from his days writing sports for the Atlanta Journal. A Georgia man who made it big discovers the end is near […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr
Q&A: SaportaReport talks the next 50 years of Atlanta Film Festival with former Sundance, Tribeca leaders
At the 50th annual Atlanta Film Festival, SaportaReport’s own Maria Saporta and Delaney Tarr hosted a conversation with two film industry veterans about what the next 50 years of film in Atlanta could look like, and what the festival needs to move forward. Amanda Kelso, former interim CEO of the Sundance Institute, started her career […]
Posted inGlobal Health & Development
Marking a Milestone: MedShare’s Safe Birth Initiative Nears Completion in West Africa
Over the past decade, MedShare has played a critical role in strengthening maternal and newborn healthcare systems in West Africa. Today, that work is approaching an important milestone. MedShare is currently preparing the final 10 container shipments of life-saving medical supplies and biomedical equipment to charitable hospitals in Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire—regions long challenged by […]
Posted inPeople, Places & Parks
Introducing Georgia’s Roadmap For Marsh Conservation
A regional partnership spanning North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida released targeted plans for each state this month to conserve coastal salt marshes—grassy wetlands that fill with saltwater and drain as the tides ebb and flow. These habitats protect communities and more than a dozen at-risk military installations from floods, provide fish breeding grounds, […]
Posted inAtlanta Way 2.0
The State of Everything
A somber tone permeated the second annual “State of Everything” convening by Neighborhood Nexus on April 28 at the Junior League of Atlanta. In a room filled with leaders from the nonprofit sector, there was a broad consensus on the need to look for solutions because there’s still much work to be done to address […]
Posted inCommon Chords
The Lesson Plan Nobody Assigned: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
There was a moment in 1998 when anticipation felt less like marketing and more like the first day of a class everyone knew would matter. You could feel the room settle before a word was spoken. Lauryn Hill, all of 23, stood at the front of it. She had already stamped her authority across hip-hop’s […]
Posted inReporter's Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: 420 Fest recycling program, New KSU innovation center, Revitalized South Fulton community center
Recycling efforts at Sweetwater 420 Fest turn waste into funding for housing and clean water initiatives SweetWater 420 Fest expanded its recycling program for a second year, collecting 420 pounds of aluminum and about 300 pounds of plastic bottles and cups over the two-day festival in Atlanta. Volunteers sorted roughly 15,000 cans and 7,500 plastic […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr
ATLFF: Craig Zobel and James Ponsoldt on the fight to make Georgia films
Craig Zobel knows it isn’t easy to make a movie in Georgia. At an April 28 Atlanta Film Festival Creative Conference panel, the director of “The Penguin” and “The Mare of Easttown” got candid about the difficulty of creating in his home state. “The world doesn’t want you to,” he said. “You have to fight […]
Posted inLatest News
Atlanta Regional Commission teases strategy for affordable housing across the metro
“It’s time to move from discussion and talk to action,” Atlanta Regional Commission CEO Anna Roach said. In September, the ARC will release its comprehensive strategic plan, the Housing Strategy for the Atlanta Region, to address the region’s growing housing affordability challenges. It will lay out what housing needs to be built or preserved, who […]
Posted inColumns
Michael Saadalla of Jamestown Properties joins Alpharetta CVB board
Michael Saadalla, portfolio general manager with Jamestown, has been named to the board of directors of the Alpharetta Convention & Visitors Bureau. Jamestown, a real estate investment firm, has developed 14 properties in Atlanta, including Ponce City Market, and is the lead developer behind the reimagining of North Point Mall in Alpharetta. In his role, […]
Posted inHigher Education
Helping children collaborate with AI through storytelling
As artificial intelligence becomes more common in classrooms and everyday life, researchers at Emory University are asking a new question: How can children learn to use AI thoughtfully from the start? A team in Emory’s Natural Language Processing lab is developing Tinker Tales, an interactive storytelling experience designed to help young children understand how AI works by building […]
Posted inGabi Hart
I’M SO ATL Campaign to Turn Atlanta Into ‘Living Art Gallery’ Ahead of Summer 2026
The I’M SO ATL public art campaign is turning Atlanta city parks into canvases this summer. The campaign, launching in May, aims to transform Atlanta into what organizers describe as a “living, breathing art gallery,” with installations across city parks and neighborhoods leading up to the ARTlanta Festival of Culture in Piedmont Park on Aug. […]
Posted inLatest News
In southern Georgia, Earth Day was spent fighting fires that are still raging today amidst a drought
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 […]
Posted inGuest Column
The cancer gap is real in Black communities; screening can help close it
Each year, millions of American families are impacted by cancer. But cancer does not affect all communities equally. Nationally, Black Americans experience higher cancer rates, including for breast and prostate cancer, and have the highest overall cancer death rate among racial and ethnic groups, according to the American Cancer Society. For Black seniors in particular, […]
Posted inLatest News
Leadership DeKalb and community partners host nonpartisan gubernatorial forum as primary race heats up
Just over a week before early voting opened for the May 19 primaries, Leadership DeKalb hosted a nonpartisan 2026 Gubernatorial Forum in collaboration with 13 community organizations. Attendees began to arrive at the Porter Sanford III Performing Arts & Community Center in Decatur at 6 p.m. as supporters of various candidates held campaign signs along […]
Posted inSmall Business
Engineering Leadership Driving Georgia Forward
The Georgia Business Council will feature Meg Pirkle, P.E., Chief Engineer of the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), as the keynote speaker for its upcoming Executive Breakfast Series on May 6, 2026 from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. The program will highlight the leadership perspective and practical experience that have defined Pirkle’s decades-long career in […]
Posted inColumns
This year’s primary is a lot about getting acquainted
This would be a good year to check a sample ballot before you go to vote in either party’s primary. With a lot of open-seat races and pent-up ambitions, the ballots for both parties are long and filled with unfamiliar names.
Posted inStories of Atlanta
Thirsty People
In 1891, Atlanta’s Mayor began spending the City’s money, secretly buying land on the outskirts of Atlanta. It wasn’t a case of embezzlement, just good-old business common sense. In attempting to solve one of the City’s ongoing issues, the Mayor had made a decision, a decision that would not only affect every single Atlantan for […]
