Argument at Dunwoody apartment after auto accident leads to shooting, arrests

A minor car accident at the Drift Apartments in Dunwoody escalated into a physical fight and a shooting that left one man injured and multiple individuals facing criminal charges.

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💜 Lavender Fest + Melissa Etheridge

Welcome to August Wednesday, Aug. 5 — The August issue of Georgia Voice is out now, featuring Schāf Shop, Out On Film's new executive director Cindy L. Abel, a preview of upcoming Atlanta Black Pride events, a roundup of the latest headlines, plus Best Bets in arts and entertainment for the month. You can read the August issue here. Here are some news headlines: 🌈 Fayette Pride held its inaugural festival and parade on Saturday in Fayetteville, and we've got some great photos from the event on IG. …

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Advocates claim proposed Adair Park data center plans mirror historical redlining

Atlanta residents and community advocates voiced opposition to a proposed $500 million Digital Realty data center during an August 3 City Council meeting, citing concerns over job creation, utility usage, and environmental impacts.

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🥵 Beating Atlanta heat

To your health Wednesday, Aug. 5 - We’ve made it to August! But while many metro Atlanta kids headed back to school this week, my warm-weather-loving friends keep reminding me that it’s still summer. I’ve never really loved hot weather, but my heat tolerance completely tanked once I hit 40. Hot and humid weather can be even more dangerous for older adults. In this week’s feature, I share tips for older folks (and even some of us younger ones) for managing this last stretch of brutal Atlanta summer weather.

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New retail space becomes available in West Paces Ferry shopping center

A 5,000-square-foot retail space in Atlanta's West Paces Ferry Shopping Center will soon be available for lease following the announcement that Wender & Roberts Pharmacy is relocating to a new space next door.

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Auburn Avenue Research Library hosts Kathleen Cleaver photography exhibit

At the Auburn Avenue Research Library, a new photography exhibit is telling the story of the life of Kathleen Cleaver. "The World(s) She Made: Composing the Radical Lives of Kathleen Neal Cleaver," opened July 30 and runs through Jan. 4, 2027. It’s billed as the first public photography exhibit to explore the entire arc of Cleaver's story, from a childhood as the daughter of a U.S. Foreign Service officer, through her years as a leader in the Black Power movement, to her decades as a legal scholar, professor, mother and grandmother.

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One man’s opinion: That wonderful, HOT Centennial Games summer of ‘96

I was very happy to see Atlanta’s many successes as a FIFA World Cup Host City, capped by the semi-final match between Great Britain and Argentina at “Atlanta Stadium” (Mercedes-Benz Stadium). Big winners include Atlanta’s downtown, as well as the City of Decatur, and Centennial Olympic Park as the center for national team fan action and gathering place for the thousands who came to the city to watch the match and party, even those without tickets inside the stadium. My hometown of Decatur was hosted an incredible series of events and Watch Parties, featuring game action, live music and a wide array of other amenities and attractions.

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🏡 Beltline housing

Paving plans Wednesday, Aug. 5 — The Atlanta City Council voted to approve $2.9 million for Phase 1 of a citywide street paving project, which includes a comprehensive survey and evaluation of all gravel, dirt, and unpaved streets within the city. 🌞 Scattered thunderstorms with a high of 83° today. 🔎 David Alan Scheer II, the son-in-law of Senate candidate U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, is under scrutiny for his posts promoting antisemitism and white nationalism. 🚰 The Clayton County Water Authority is investigating a possible cyberattack after a temporary disruption last week affected operating systems and water service.

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Atlanta couple will channel Copenhagen cafe culture at their Danish cafe and bakery in Midtown

Atlanta couple Freddy Adkins and Mikkel Jensen plan to open The Danish, a Copenhagen-style bakery-cafe in the Midtown neighborhood.

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At the High, ‘Paper Trees’ exhibit shows how artists trained to see

Take the elevator to the Lower Level of the High Museum of Art's Wieland Pavilion, turn right, and you're at the entrance of the Works on Paper Gallery, home, through next February, to the High Museum's new "Paper Trees" exhibit, on view since July 31. Robert Swain Gifford, who helped found the New York Etching Club, is represented in "Paper Trees" with "A Woodland Pasture" (1888). (Credit: Robert Swain Gifford, "A Woodland Pasture," 1888, etching on paper, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, purchase with Stratton Industries Fund, 1985.124.) "Paper Trees" opens on a simple premise, one the 19th-century drawing instructor James Duffield Harding put plainly in his 1850 manual "Lessons on Trees": Trees are among the hardest things to draw.

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👀 30 new restaurants

30+ favorite Atlanta restaurant dishes Tuesday, Aug. 5 — Happy Tuesday! Welcome to the table. As if restaurant owners and their employees don't have enough to worry about on the daily, now they have to be on the lookout for content creators and influencers posing as health inspectors. According to WSB-TV, a YouTuber posing as a state health inspector is filming himself “evaluating” restaurants for health and safety violations. During recent visits to DeKalb County restaurants, most of which serve Mexican and Asian dishes, he blows a whistle when he finds something he considers a violation, and sometimes makes xenophobic jokes at the expense of the owners and their employees.

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How older adults can stay safe, hydrated during Atlanta’s hot and humid summers

From getting adequate hydration to developing a plan for exercise and heat management during warmer months to knowing the warning signs of heat exhaustion, older adults are particularly vulnerable to Atlanta’s summer heat.

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Braves pitcher Spencer Strider brings baseball and music communities together through vinyl giveaway

Baseball and local music might seem like two separate parts of Atlanta’s identity, but Braves pitcher Spencer Strider sees a connection between the two. For the third year, Strider’s annual vinyl giveaway is highlighting Atlanta’s independent music scene and bringing fans together through a shared appreciation for the city’s culture. The giveaway kicked off Monday at Criminal Records in Little Five Points with performances from this year’s featured artists The Echolocations, Siichaq and Tavern Breakfast. The event was a preview for the giveaway on Aug. 11, when the first 15,000 fans to arrive at Truist Park for the game against the New York Mets will receive a…

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SnapCo. celebrates 13 years of Black trans leadership at gala on Aug. 8

The Solutions Not Punishments Collaborative (SnapCo.) is scheduled to host its biennial "Forever Paradise" gala on August 8 at Center Stage to celebrate 13 years of Black trans-led organizing and community safety.

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Norcross debates demolition moratorium ahead of Aug. 10 vote

During an August 3 policy work session, the Norcross City Council discussed the 2027 budget, a proposed flat property tax rate, and a potential moratorium on the demolition of pre-1950 structures.

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Georgia Peanut Commission launches $10,000 innovation contest

The Georgia Peanut Commission has launched the Georgia Peanut Innovation Award, offering a $10,000 prize to food entrepreneurs who create new products using Georgia peanuts.

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Atlanta legacy, hip hop, and film collide in Alex Woodruff’s ‘Thomasville’

When Alex Woodruff was looking to direct his first short film, he originally wanted to set the story during the Stop Cop City movement – the social and environmental movement opposing the construction of the controversial Atlanta Public Safety Training Center in the South River Forest.  But that idea became a little unwieldy for a couple of reasons. “One, it was so epic, and I had never directed before, so I was nervous about trying something like that,” Woodruff said. “Two, before I made that movie, I wanted people to understand my stake in what was going on with the Stop Cop City movement.

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Essential Theatre Play Festival returns Aug. 7 – 23 at 7 Stages Theatre

The annual Essential Theatre Play Festival returns Aug. 7 - 23, continuing its decades-long mission of showcasing new works by Georgia playwrights. The 2026 festival is being held at 7 Stages in Little Five Points, featuring world premieres, staged readings, and special events highlighting homegrown theatrical talent. Opening the festival is the world premiere of "Helen of the West" by Susan Swavely, winner of the 2026 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award. Also showcased this year is "Babylon is an Action Verb" by C.G. Brown, 2026 Atlanta Fringe Festival Homegrown Award Winner, and…

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Atlanta City Council approves $2.9 million to address unpaved streets

The Atlanta City Council approved millions of dollars for street assessments and various infrastructure projects during its August 3 meeting.

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Recipe: Salisbury steak from {S}table in Dunwoody

This week, we're sharing the Salisbury steak recipe from Southern restaurant {S}table at Dunwoody Village.

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Open Hand Atlanta hosting annual Party in the Kitchen fundraiser on Sept. 24

Open Hand Atlanta will host its 23rd annual Party in the Kitchen fundraiser on Thursday, Sept. 24, from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. at The Foundry at Puritan Mill. The culinary fundraising events will bring together Atlanta’s celebrated chefs, an exclusive auction experience, and hundreds of supporters for an evening to fund Open Hand’s free, medically tailored meals and nutrition education for individuals facing chronic or severe illness. Guests will sample signature dishes from some of Atlanta’s most acclaimed chefs, enjoy live entertainment and bid on exclusive silent auction opportunities. Returning as Chef Co-Chairs, renowned chefs Kevin Rathbun and Peter Kaiser are joined by Event Co-Chairs Robert Candler and Charles Mendez III, as well as a lineup of participating chefs from some of Atlanta’s most celebrated kitchens, including The Deer and The Dove Chef Terry Koval, KR SteakBar Chef Jessica Gamble, and Tiny Lou’s Chef Jason Stern, with additional chefs and culinary talent to be announced.

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Social media posts by Collins and those in his circle draw more political fire

Social media posts by Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Collins and his associates have become a target of Sen. Jon Ossoff and his allies. U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, who hopes to unseat Ossoff, the Democratic incumbent, has a history of edgy online posts. The people around him have sometimes crossed a line in their own posts. U.S. Rep. Mike Collins speaks at a Donald Trump rally in 2024. (File photo by Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder) During the GOP primary, Collins fired a campaign staffer who had mocked the wife of an adviser to a PAC supporting one of Collins’ Republican opponents after she said she had been sexually assaulted.

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Atlanta Beltline hosting housing fair on Aug. 8

The Atlanta Beltline will hold its first-ever Housing Fair on Saturday, Aug. 8, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Monday Night Garage, 933 Lee St. SW, adjacent to the Southwest Trail.  The free event will bring together housing experts, nonprofit organizations, lenders and community partners to connect current and aspiring homeowners with resources, programs and services that expand access to equitable and affordable housing opportunities along the Beltline. Click here to register. Whether attendees are purchasing their first home, looking for financial assistance or learning how to rent along the Beltline, the Housing Fair will serve as a one-stop resource for navigating available programs.

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🏗️ SoDo shift

Up in the air Tuesday, August 4 — 🏡 The Rufus M. Rose House, a historic Victorian mansion listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is once again up for sale on Peachtree Street. 🌩️ Scattered thunderstorms with a high of 85° today. 🚌 New data shows that while more students in Georgia are missing school than before the COVID-19 pandemic, the rate has been steadily decreasing, dropping to 17.7% during the 2025-26 school year. 🏭 Ground was broken on a natural gas expansion at Plant Bowen, drawing legal challenges from environmental groups warning of worsening ozone pollution in metro Atlanta.

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Atlanta City Council passes Edgewood alcohol license moratorium

In a surprise move, the Atlanta City Council on Aug. 3 unanimously approved a resolution shelved by its own Public Safety Committee to impose a 180-day moratorium on new alcohol licenses along the Edgewood Avenue corridor. Not a single council member commented on the about-face decision or the issues – including gun violence, crowd congestion, and cruising – facing the Edgewood nightlife district during the meeting. First introduced in January by Councilmember Liliana Bakhtiari, the resolution was held in committee for seven months before being “permanently filed” by a unanimous vote on July 13…

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Decide DeKalb approves $588,168 grant for Brookhaven pedestrian bridge

The Decide DeKalb Development Authority approved a $588,168 grant to the city of Brookhaven to fund the design of a pedestrian bridge over Interstate 85 that will connect Emory University’s Executive Park to the Peachtree Creek Greenway.

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Fulton County signs agreement for fall TSPLOST referendum

Fulton County and its 15 cities met on Aug. 3 to sign an agreement for a fall transportation sales tax referendum and discussed ongoing water system service negotiations.

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With new album ‘Rise,’ Melissa Etheridge is letting the audience lean in

If you remember the rocking, rasping stylings of Melissa Etheridge from the 1980s and 1990s – songs like “I’m the Only One” and “Come to My Window” – then the singer/songwriter’s newest album “Rise” might throw you for a little bit of a loop. The album – which marks Etheridge’s first new original material in seven years (she released an album full of older, up-until-then unreleased songs in 2021) – leans more into country and southern rock than Etheridge ever has before. She co-produced the album with Shooter Jennings, who has worked with the likes of Brandi Carlile and Tanya Tucker.

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Did you miss these July 2026 Atlanta restaurant openings?

Check out this roundup of recent restaurant openings and upcoming restaurant announcements you might have missed in July.

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Historic Rufus M. Rose House on Peachtree Street returns to market

The historic Rufus M. Rose House, a Queen Anne-style mansion on Peachtree Street in Atlanta, is back on the market for $2.58 million and requires over $1 million in renovations.

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