1 big thing: Can I borrow a cup of sugar, officer?

2. Map: Punxsutawney "Skill"

3. Oakland Cemetery's plants feel the frost's bite

A photo of frozen and dead rosemary bushes in a historic cemetery

Terminus Modern Ballet begins anew

4. 🩰 Terminus begins anew

A ballet dancer in red performs outside on a green lawn while a person watches 

A new career is waiting for you

5. Five-ish Points: Rivian job cuts

Illustration of a peach with arms and legs walking past some trees. 

It's Thursday. Take a deep breath. You got this!

Today's weather: Showers with a high of 51.

Situational awareness:  Beyoncé is coming to Atlanta on Aug. 11 as part of her Renaissance world tour. Find out how to get your tickets here.

Today's newsletter is 923 words — a 3.5-minute read. 

🦫 Emma is wondering what Punxsutawney Phil really thinks of all of us. (And yes she knows that's technically a beaver emoji.) 

😳 Kristal wonders which purchases y'all won't make this month in order to afford Beyonce's concert tickets.

😐 Thomas is realizing the inexpensive and suspicious “standing” desk he bought online is more of a “leaning over" desk.

Atlanta

A daily look at the most significant and interesting stories affecting Atlanta. Written by Emma Hurt, Kristal Dixon and Thomas Wheatley.

Axios Atlanta

Residents weigh in on Microsoft's decision to halt project

1 big thing: Microsoft backs out of west side

Take your career to the next level

2. Unsung hero: Ruby Doris Smith-Robinson

A  black-and-white portrait photo of a Ruby Doris Smith-Robinson wearing a large collar and smiling

3. Our Super Bowl reps

4. Five-ish Points: Downtown Atlanta's springs

Illustration of a neon sign on a metal tower reading 5ish Points. 

😎 Today's weather: More sun (!) and a high of 68. 

💙 We appreciate our members for their support! Join them today.

Today's newsletter is 833 words — a 3-minute read.

😭 Kristal has FOMO because she can't attend the retreat.

☁️ Emma and Thomas are one-hand clapping without Kristal! The weather in Atlanta appears to be much better than in gray DC. 

This newsletter was edited by Jen Ashley and copy edited by Alex Perry.

Buford Highway pedestrian safety gets a funding boost

1 big thing: Slowing down Buford Highway

Illustration of a pedestrian crossing sign with a dollar sign.

Get married by the Atlanta Mayor on Valentine's Day

2. 💍 Get married by the mayor

Battle of the Bands to showcase Southeast's best HBCU marching bands

3. Battle of the bands

A photo of a marching band with brass instruments and a bandleader leading out front 

4. Things to do: Black History Month

Illustration of the state of Georgia lit by red, green and yellow lights.

New jobs to check out

5. Five Points: "Bo Legs" documentary

Illustration of five-ish points animating to form the letters ATL. 

It's Friiiiiiiiiiday. First round is on you.

Today's weather: Sunny with a high of 46. 

Situational awareness: Microsoft is pressing pause on its planned mega-campus on Atlanta‘s westside, per Bisnow.

🎂 Happy birthday to our Axios Atlanta member Dov Wilker! And happy early birthday to member Michelle Hiskey.

Today's newsletter is 927 words — a 3.5-minute read.

😬 Kristal's plant wish list on Etsy is out of control.

🪴 Emma just learned you can buy plants on Etsy! 

😳 Thomas is never getting his eyes dilated again. 

1 big thing: EVs ahoy?

2. Redefining local news

Illustration of a blue street sign that says Driving the News, featuring an Axios logo.

On the job hunt?

Celebrate love with these Valentine's Day events

3. Celebrate love with these Valentine's Day events

Illustration of a heart with an arrow through it. The tip of the arrow is the Axios A logo.

4. Five-ish Points: Redbird closing

It's Wednesday! Deep breath in. Hold it. Now a deep breath out. 

🌥 Today's weather: Mostly cloudy and warming up. High of 71. 

🚀 Situational awareness: The Georgia Supreme Court dealt a major blow to Camden County's spaceport plans yesterday, upholding a popular vote that prohibited the county from purchasing a key parcel of land for the project.

Today's newsletter is 906 words — a 3.5-minute read.

🚀 Emma is listening back to the WABE audio documentary she did in 2019 about the Camden spaceport. 

🤒 Kristal hopes her cold doesn't turn into a sinus infection or bronchitis. 

👀 Thomas is applauding Canopy Atlanta's Documenters program for helping shed light on government meetings that often go uncovered. 

1 big thing: Terrorists? Or activists?

Illustration of a protest sign, a molotov cocktail and a bullhorn cycling between two quotation marks. 

Your future begins here

2. What they're saying

A photo of abandoned campsite under a tarp in the woods occupied by activists opposed to a public safety training center and a tree with a note that says "Defend the forest"

3. About that New Year's Freeze...

4. Five Points: Antisemitic hate  

Illustration of five peaches spelling out "5-Ish Points."

☀️ Today's weather: Sunny with a high of 65.

🕯 Situational awareness: A funeral service will be held Feb. 13 for Bunnie Jackson-Ransom, a businesswoman and Atlanta's first Black first lady, who died last week at the age of 82. 

The service will be held at Ebenezer Baptist Church.

✈️ Programming note: Your Axios Atlanta reporters will be in Washington, D.C. until Wednesday for our annual all-hands retreat. Expect lighter newsletters unless major news breaks.

Today's newsletter is 713 words — a 2.8 minute read. 

🤧 Kristal is sick and can't join her colleagues at the retreat.

😥 Thomas and Emma will miss Kristal this week! Axios Atlanta will be incomplete. Feel better!!

Set aside time with your significant other (or your BFF) and show them your love at these Valentine's Day Events.

💃 Get a 40-minute private dance lesson and 30 minutes of private social dancing for $100 at Get Up and Dance Studio through Feb. 26. Email guadatlanta@gmail.com to reserve your spot.

The studio will also host a multi-genre social on Feb. 18.

🍾 Show your love through food, STK Atlanta will offer a special menu from Feb. 10-14. You can enjoy caviar-topped oysters and Champagne for $69.

🌹 The Atlanta Botanical Garden proves its one of the most romantic spots in the city with its Valentines in the Gardens event. 

🕯 Keep the flame alive with a candle-making class with Atlanta-based Bear & Honey in Little Five Points.

Set aside time with your significant other (or your BFF) and show them your love.

Set aside time with your significant other (or your BFF) and show them your love at these Valentine&#x27;s Day Events.

Things to Do

The Georgia Supreme Court has rejected Camden County's attempt to overturn a 2022 referendum that partially rejected its plans to build a spaceport. 

Why it matters: The ruling prohibits the county from purchasing a parcel of land for the proposal. Without the legal path to purchase it, the prospects of the spaceport remain unclear.

Driving the news: In a ruling Tuesday, justices said they were unanimously "unpersuaded" by the county's "warnings about the potential consequences of allowing the electorate to amend or repeal ordinances, resolutions, or regulations." 

Catch up quick: After a successful petition campaign to trigger a referendum, 72% of county voters rejected Camden's intention to purchase the property needed for the spaceport last March. The county challenged the validity of the referendum, which brought them to the state supreme court.

The big picture: After more than a decade of controversy amid environmental and economic concerns (which accelerated after plans to launch over Cumberland Island National Seashore became clear in 2015), the county secured a spaceport operator license in December from the Federal Aviation Administration.

The county has spent more than $10 million on the plan.

Georgia Supreme Court deals blow to Camden's spaceport plans

The ruling deals a major blow to Camden's longtime hope to build a spaceport in coastal Georgia.

A lawyer for the county argues before the Georgia State Supreme Court in Augusta in October 2021. Photo: Emma Hurt/Axios

Georgia

The Georgia Supreme Court has rejected Camden County&#x27;s <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="attempt" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2022/10/11/spacecourt-camden-county-georgia-supreme-court" data-vars-content-id="29698080-71db-480b-b4ad-0f46cd9c2e4c" data-vars-headline="Georgia Supreme Court deals blow to Camden&#x27;s spaceport plans" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2022/10/11/spacecourt-camden-county-georgia-supreme-court" target="_self">attempt</a> to overturn a 2022 <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="referendum" data-vars-click-url="https://www.co.camden.ga.us/DocumentCenter/View/13144/03-08-2022--Election-Summary-Report-Official-and-Complete" data-vars-content-id="29698080-71db-480b-b4ad-0f46cd9c2e4c" data-vars-headline="Georgia Supreme Court deals blow to Camden&#x27;s spaceport plans" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.co.camden.ga.us/DocumentCenter/View/13144/03-08-2022--Election-Summary-Report-Official-and-Complete" target="_blank">referendum</a> that partially rejected its plans to build a spaceport. Why it matters: The ruling prohibits the county from purchasing a parcel of land for the proposal. Without the legal path to purchase it, the prospects of the spaceport remain unclear.

News

A few dozen couples are getting married on Valentine’s Day in Piedmont Park…together. 

And Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens is officiating.

Driving the news: A new "wedding experience company" called "Marry We" has organized a Valentine's Day group wedding, which its owner Crystal Love hopes will be the first of many in Atlanta and nationally.

What's happening: Couples can pay $1,000 to participate in the ceremony with four guests, get their marriage license signed by the mayor and have dinner, dancing and cake planned for them. 

Love (an Atlanta native who went to the same high school as Dickens) says it's designed to fall in between a courthouse elopement and a big wedding.

"There's nothing wrong with that big, over-the-top wedding. It's just not for everybody," Love told Axios in an interview. "We're just giving people an opportunity to consider another alternative."

Zoom in: "All you need to bring is yourself fully dressed and bring your rings. We’ll take care of everything else," Love said. She has gotten Fulton County Probate Court to open specially for couples for a few hours on the weekend before getting their licenses.

"Yes this is something of an elopement, but we want them to have wedding cake! We want them to have dinner. We want them to have dancing. We want them to have a beautiful portrait under an arch. We're going all out for them."

Between the lines: Mayor Dickens told Axios this is his first time officiating a wedding. "I'm very excited. And it's on Valentine's Day too!" he said.

Of note: Fulton Probate Court told Love that Valentine’s Day is a popular day for courthouse elopements.

What we're watching: Love says they’re capping it at 40 couples to keep the event "intimate," but they still have space for more to sign up here.

A new “wedding experience company” has organized a Valentine's Day group wedding in Piedmont Park.

A few dozen couples are getting married on Valentine’s Day in Piedmont Park…together. <ul><li>And Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens is officiating.</li></ul>

DeKalb County has approved the stalled land development permit for the controversial public safety training complex dubbed "Cop City" by what's become a national protest movement.

That's after 11 months of analysis and an agreement between Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond regarding the project's parameters and details. 

Why it matters: Protests about the project have recently escalated into violence between law enforcement and activists trying to stop its construction. Some protest the environmental effects on the forested south DeKalb County land — and others more because of a broader criticism of police brutality.   

Catch up quick: Manuel Esteban Paez Terán was shot and killed last month by a Georgia state trooper during a "clearing operation" at the site. State law enforcement says the trooper was returning fire at Terán, who went by Tortuguita. 

What's happening: The agreement, which Thurmond called a "compromise solution," has taken into account some requests from a community advisory committee created by Atlanta City Council featuring members from the city and unincorporated DeKalb.

Those include a 100-foot tree buffer between the training facility and adjacent residences, eliminating an explosives range, relocation of a firing range away from residences, and ideas for the nearly 300-acre public greenspace including sidewalks, lighting and public parking.

The other side: In response, the Defend the Atlanta Forest collective said in a statement "nothing is over" and decried the agreement as "empty rhetoric to cover over the undemocratic railroading of this project on to un-represented, disenfranchised residents of Atlanta and Dekalb County."

In a statement, the Sierra Club of Georgia director Gina Webber also criticized the news and called on the city to cancel the lease: "The forest is too important to the health of our communities to destroy even a portion of it."

View of the training complex site. Photo: Courtesy of City of Atlanta 

Zoom in: Dickens told reporters at a press conference Tuesday that the 85-acre training site will be on land long-cleared of hardwood trees that's "dominated" by invasive species. However, he said, the developer has committed to planting 100 hardwood trees on the site or off for any cut down in the process. 

The new greenspace will amount to among the city's largest parks, Dickens said. 

Yes, and: The parcel has long been the centerpiece of a vision to build a 3,500-acre forest park in the area.

The big picture: Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said right now the force has to borrow training space from other jurisdictions or pay to rent space. The city's fire safety department is reliant on classroom-based instruction in a condemned elementary school and has no dedicated space to train drivers, Atlanta Fire Chief Rod Smith said. 

Schierbaum said a more convenient training facility is vital to the force.  "The skill that [officers] have to save a life, to stop a crime, to build community trust does not come from a uniform. It comes from training. Realistic, repetitive, first-class, 21st-century training," he said.

What they're saying: "This will be a place where community policing, where collaboration between fire and police can happen and where all the things that in 2020 the nation including this city, including this former city council member, called for," Dickens said. 

Flashback: Then-Councilman Dickens voted to hold back some of the Atlanta police department's budget in 2020 until a plan for a new culture of policing was worked out. 

What we're watching: While there’s no timeline yet for construction, Thurmond reminded reporters that the county will "continue to be an aggressive and engaged steward of the South River Forest. This is the beginning of a process and not the end," he said. 

Meanwhile, “Defend the Atlanta Forest” has called for a week of protests in mid-February. 

 Schierbaum told reporters no protestors were occupying the forest as of Tuesday. 

Editor's note: Cox Enterprises president and CEO Alex Taylor, a former chair of the Atlanta Committee for Progress, led a campaign to raise private funds for the project. Cox owns Axios.

"Cop City" gets a green light

DeKalb County has approved the stalled land development permit for the controversial public safety training complex dubbed "Cop City."

Map of the proposed public safety training complex and adjacent greenspace. Photo: Courtesy of City of Atlanta

DeKalb County has approved the stalled land development permit for the controversial public safety training complex dubbed &quot;Cop City&quot; by what&#x27;s become a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="national" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2023/01/05/brian-kemp-cop-city-atlanta-georgia" data-vars-content-id="bb4e16d1-dc78-48d7-ba96-a7dcfacac580" data-vars-headline="&quot;Cop City&quot; gets a green light" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2023/01/05/brian-kemp-cop-city-atlanta-georgia" target="_self">national</a> protest movement.<ul><li>That&#x27;s after 11 months of analysis and an <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="agreement" data-vars-click-url="https://www.atlantaga.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/58118" data-vars-content-id="bb4e16d1-dc78-48d7-ba96-a7dcfacac580" data-vars-headline="&quot;Cop City&quot; gets a green light" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.atlantaga.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/58118" target="_blank">agreement</a> between Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond regarding the project&#x27;s parameters and details. </li></ul>Why it matters: Protests about the project have recently <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="escalated" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2023/01/19/cop-city-fatal-shooting-atlanta" data-vars-content-id="bb4e16d1-dc78-48d7-ba96-a7dcfacac580" data-vars-headline="&quot;Cop City&quot; gets a green light" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2023/01/19/cop-city-fatal-shooting-atlanta" target="_self">escalated</a> into violence between law enforcement and activists trying to stop its construction. Some protest the environmental effects on the forested south DeKalb County land — and others more because of a broader criticism of police brutality.

Georgia's regulation and taxation of electric vehicles look to be headed for years of change, as it races to catch up to a fast-evolving transportation industry.  

Driving the news: A joint study committee on the electrification of transportation wrapped last year, and its co-chair State Sen. Steve Gooch (R-Dahlonega) says this legislative session will likely create "the beginning framework of what could be years of the evolution of the EV industry coming to Georgia."

Why it matters: As Georgia recruits electric vehicle manufacturers and suppliers, the Biden administration prioritizes the EV industry and consumers move away from the combustion engine, there's increasing pressure on the state's regulatory environment to match. 

The big picture: Gov. Brian Kemp announced last month he wants Georgia to become the "electric mobility capital of America" in his second term. 

Flashback: The state has attracted some of its biggest economic development projects ever from the e-mobility industry, including Rivian and Hyundai EV manufacturing plants. Georgia already had a strong automotive presence, notably through the massive KIA plant in West Point. (Hyundai is KIA's parent company.)

At a recent press conference alongside the governor, KIA America CEO SeungKyu (Sean) Yoon said the company "is focused on being a leader in sustainable mobility and a growing EV industry. Let there be no doubt that Georgia will be the strongest pillar in our exciting and successful story."

By the numbers: As of last September, more than 42,500 electric vehicles were registered in Georgia, according to the state. 

State of play: Right now, Georgia has a high, flat registration fee on electric vehicles, at roughly $211 per vehicle. The state also doesn't standardize charging for electricity based on usage. Some are charged based on the time at the charger. 

"It's not encouraging the market," Jennette Gayer, executive director of Environment Georgia told Axios, but rather "punishing EV drivers."

Additionally, the state currently has no way to ensure it doesn't lose an estimated $2-3 billion in annual revenue from its gas tax, as consumers move away from EVs.  

Zoom in: Gooch tells Axios they're planning to launch a pilot program with the Georgia Department of Transportation to collect the data need to craft a fee or tax structure that aligns fairly with what people — in and out of state — pay now for a gas tax. 

Brian Kemp next to a Rivian electric truck while announcing the company's plans to build a $5 billion plant east of Atlanta in Dec. 2021. Photo: John Bazemore/AP

Of note: Kemp told reporters last week that he's not publicly endorsing any specific policies yet and that it's a "complicated process."

"Our goal is to keep everybody at the table, have good collaboration and figure out a way to make this happen," he said. 

What's next: Gayer says there's much more to be done as well, from ensuring equity in the distribution of charging infrastructure to opening up the market for direct-to-consumer electric vehicle sales. 

In the short term, she said she wishes lowering the high registration fee was at the top of the priority list. "We should be doing everything we can to increase the number of EVs on the road in Georgia," she said.

Georgia's EV regulations headed for change

There's pressure on the state's regulatory environment to catch up with EV adoption.

Illustration of a hundred dollar bill stylized as an electric symbol.

Electric vehicles

Georgia&#x27;s regulation and taxation of electric vehicles look to be headed for years of change, as it races to catch up to a fast-evolving transportation industry. Driving the news: A joint study <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="committee" data-vars-click-url="https://www.house.ga.gov/Committees/en-US/ElectrificationofTransportation.aspx" data-vars-content-id="daf1ecc8-1c91-4d41-9bd7-c72bce09fb87" data-vars-headline="Georgia&#x27;s EV regulations headed for change" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.house.ga.gov/Committees/en-US/ElectrificationofTransportation.aspx" target="_blank">committee</a> on the electrification of transportation wrapped last year, and its co-chair State Sen. Steve Gooch (R-Dahlonega) says this legislative session will likely create &quot;the beginning framework of what could be years of the evolution of the EV industry coming to Georgia.&quot;

Emma Hurt

Stories

Celebrate love with these Valentine's Day events

Georgia's EV regulations headed for change

Georgia Supreme Court deals blow to Camden's spaceport plans

Get married by the Atlanta Mayor on Valentine's Day

"Cop City" gets a green light

Newsletter editions

⚡️ Electric mobility capital

👋 Microsoft signs off

🤔 Terrorists vs. activists

💍 Atlanta's group wedding

👩‍🚒 Public safety housing