Where is Atlanta's Westside?

1 big thing: Where is Atlanta's Westside?

map of atlanta neighborhoods drawn by axios atlanta readers

2. Georgia Democrats' pitch 

3. Spotlight on DFCS

Atlanta's Spotify Wrapped

4. 🎧 Atlanta's Spotify Wrapped

Do you see yourself with a new career?

5. 😢 Five Points: RIP to HLN

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

🌤 Today's weather: Partly sunny. High near 56.

Situational awareness: It's your last day to vote early —more than 1.4 million people already have. 

Reminder: Older voters and those with disabilities don't have to wait in line.

🎂 Happy birthday to our Axios Atlanta member Kristi Swartz and happy early birthday to member Alyce Hegedus!

Today's newsletter is 964 words — a 3.8-minute read. 

🤪 Kristal's Spotify wrapped is nothing close to Atlanta's roundup.

🎄Emma has broken into the Candy Cane Joe-Joe's and declares the holiday season in full swing. 

🦶 Thomas is looking at appointments at Lark & Sparrow, Indigo Wellness Spa and Heavenly Foot Massage. Thank you for the recommendations! 

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

Atlanta

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

Axios Atlanta

Mableton preps for next steps as some push to leave new city

1 big thing: How to start a city

Animated illustration of a lightbulb hovering over a city block.

2. Walker ups anti-transgender athlete messaging

Where Atlantans can chop down their own Christmas tree

3. Chop down your tree

Illustration of Christmas trees formed from Axios logos.

4. The rapid decline of Six Flags

New jobs to check out

5. Five-ish Points: Shaky Knees line-up revealed

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

Happy Thursday, Atlanta. We're glad you're with us.

🧣 Today's weather: Sunny. Brisk. High of 53. 

Situational awareness: More than 1 million Georgians have voted. Two more days of early voting are left. Get on it. 

🎂 Happy birthday to our Axios Atlanta member Jeff Cohen! 

Today's newsletter is 922 words — a 3.5-minute read. 

🌕 Emma loved visiting the Harvest Moon Cafe in Rome last night.  

🙄 Kristal hopes she doesn't kill the two pothos plants she put on coco coir poles. It's happened a couple of times.

Thomas is trying to take his mom out for a pedicure. What's the best spot? 

Atlanta United welcomes new president and CEO Garth Lagerwey

1 big thing: ⚽️ Welcome to the Five Stripes, Garth

A man in a suit poses with another man while he holds a scarf that says "Atlanta United" 

2. Georgia's World Cup hero

Walker Zimmerman kicks the ball away from the goal during the World Cup match Tuesday between USA and Iran. 

Atlanta wants more landlords to accept Section 8 vouchers

3. Atlanta wants landlords to accept Section 8 vouchers

Illustration of a dollar sign made out of house keys.

4. Stat du jour: 5 minutes

Now hiring: New job openings

5. Five-ish points: Brent Key's promotion

🌦 Today's weather: Showers, then sunny. High of 63.

Situational awareness: Georgia set another record for daily turnout during early voting yesterday, breaking the previous record set on Monday. 

Today's newsletter is 951 words — a 3.5-minute read. 

🎬 Emma saw "She Said" over the weekend and forgot to tell y'all about it. Great film and a very disturbing story. Plus: We do love a story about journalism to the rescue. 

🙀 Thomas hopes he didn't hurt his cat Lorenzo's hearing yesterday during the U.S. vs. Iran game, what with all the yelling and the shouting. 

😬 Kristal was in such a hurry yesterday that she almost got hit by a car while walking into the pharmacy. Look both ways before crossing, y'all.

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

1 big thing: Income inequality persists

Illustration of a woman on a small stack of money next to a woman on a much larger stack of money

2. Warnock's closing argument

dave matthews and raphael warnock shake hands

3. Watch your garden grow

A colored pencil rendering of a triangle-shaped expansion of a wooded botanical garden with small ponds and a skyscraper in the background

4. Will inflation dim your holiday light displays?

Illustration of a lit string of holiday lights as un upward trend line, with another dark set of lights trending down

Seeking employment?

5. Five-ish Points: $7,500 to rent in Midtown?!

Illustration of a cut open peach with the Axios A logo in center.

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

🕯 Situational awareness: There will be a candlelight vigil at 7pm tonight at Atlanta City Hall to honor victims of the Nov. 19 shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs.

🗳 Early voting update: Georgia broke its daily turnout record for early voting yesterday. More than 300,000 people have voted. Join them.

❤️ We hope you'll consider contributing to our mission-driven journalism today by becoming a member.

Today's newsletter is 995 words — a 3.8-minute read. 

🤞 Thomas is crossing his fingers Atlanta can make smart investments in city sidewalks and streets to make this a safer city for people. 

🤔 Kristal wonders why she's always vivid and intense dreams.

🤷‍♀️ Emma didn't predict her first Dave Matthews Band concert would come thanks to a job covering Georgia politics and Raphael Warnock. 

1 big thing: A way out of runoffs? 

Illustration of gold, silver and bronze check marks.

Fresh job openings around town

Pop-up holiday bars around Atlanta

2. Pop-up holiday bars

Illustration of a mug of hot cocoa with a peppermint stick and marshmellows—an Axios "A" is on the mug.

3. College basketball games we're watching

A basketball coach wearing a navy blue short sleeve collared shirt stands on the sidelines and expresses frustration

4. Five-ish Points: Star Bar still stands

Happy Monday, friends. We've missed you. 

☀️ Today's weather: Sunny with a high of 66. 

Situational awareness: Early voting began over the weekend with a very strong turnout. Starting today, all Georgia counties must hold early voting through Friday. 

Today is the last day to request an absentee ballot for the runoff. 

Today's newsletter is 905 words — a 3.5-minute read.

🎶 Emma is loving this new EP by her sister's friend.

🎧 Thomas is enjoying to this drone-y and ambient album recommended by his friend Wes. It’s perfect for long solo walks. 

🐶 Kristal's heart is set on getting a Basenji. 

The city of Atlanta has taken another step to make housing opportunities more equitable across the board, but concerns have been raised about the enforceability of the new measure.

Driving the news: City Council members last week passed a non-binding resolution that calls on developers who receive financial incentives from agencies to accept qualified people participating in the federal Housing Choice Voucher Program, commonly known as Section 8 vouchers.

The vouchers are reserved for families who make 50% less than the median income of the county or metro area where they live.

Sponsored by Council member Liliana Bakhtiari, the resolution also requests organizations like MARTA, Invest Atlanta, Atlanta Beltline Inc., and the Fulton County Development Authority to incorporate similar rules into its requirements for funding.

Why it matters: Atlanta, which has the highest level of income inequality in the country, has seen its affordable housing stock shrink over the last several years, and city officials and stakeholders are scrambling for solutions to stem the tide of residents getting priced out of their communities.

What they're saying: Bakhtiari told Axios that representatives from the Atlanta Housing Authority and Atlanta Legal Aid told city leaders earlier this year that developers have been buying up previously affordable properties, raising rents and stopped accepting vouchers from residents.

About 20,000 people who use vouchers are on the waiting list for housing that accepts them, Bakhtiari said.

"There was unanimous buy-in on this," she said of the resolution. "Certainly, it doesn't go far enough yet, but the fact of the matter is, this is a drastic change to what our reality was in the city just a month ago."

A spokesperson with Invest Atlanta told Axios that it will incorporate the actions spelled out in the resolution to its policies.

Of note: According to Atlanta Civic Circle, state law prevents local governments from enacting policies that go beyond what it allows. Georgia also doesn't ban discrimination against renters based on where they get their income, the media outlet notes.

Yes, and: Dan Immergluck, professor of urban studies at Georgia State University, says he's worried that the resolution doesn't have a way to protect residents from other forms of exclusions.

Even if developers do accept residents with vouchers, for example, they could also stipulate that applicants must have a certain credit score, no evictions in the last 10 years and have an income that’s three times the rent.

"They could just use other requirements or even make requirements stronger to effectively screen out voucher holders," he said, adding many residents with vouchers are low-income and have experienced eviction filings because they are so common in Georgia.

Immergluck also told Axios the policies should spell out what landlords can and can’t do when it comes to screening for residents, and outline what penalties could they face if they refuse to accept vouchers after accepting city subsidies.

He also said there should be a way to check to see if they are following the agency's rule on accepting vouchers.

It passed a non-binding resolution this week encouraging developers to do so.

The city of Atlanta has taken another step to make housing opportunities more equitable across the board, but concerns have been raised about the enforceability of the new measure.Driving the news: City Council members last week passed a non-binding <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="resolution" data-vars-click-url="https://atlantacityga.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_LegiFile.aspx?Frame=None&amp;MeetingID=3670&amp;MediaPosition=12248.373&amp;ID=31098&amp;CssClass=" data-vars-content-id="3bdfd7a2-acf6-4769-8b4f-dcaa082cf9cf" data-vars-headline="Atlanta wants more landlords to accept Section 8 vouchers" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://atlantacityga.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_LegiFile.aspx?Frame=None&amp;MeetingID=3670&amp;MediaPosition=12248.373&amp;ID=31098&amp;CssClass=" target="_blank">resolution</a> that calls on developers who receive financial incentives from agencies to accept qualified people participating in the federal <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Housing Choice Voucher Program" data-vars-click-url="https://www.hud.gov/topics/housing_choice_voucher_program_section_8" data-vars-content-id="3bdfd7a2-acf6-4769-8b4f-dcaa082cf9cf" data-vars-headline="Atlanta wants more landlords to accept Section 8 vouchers" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.hud.gov/topics/housing_choice_voucher_program_section_8" target="_blank">Housing Choice Voucher Program</a>, commonly known as Section 8 vouchers.

Business

Drake was Atlanta's most listened to artist on Spotify in 2022, according to the streaming service's annual Spotify Wrapped list.

Rounding out the top 5 were Taylor Swift, Morgan Wallen, Lil' Baby and Bad Bunny.

Most streamed song: "As It Was" by Harry Styles

Most streamed genre: Rap (no surprise there)

🥴 Kristal's thought bubble: Really, y'all? Drake?! Our musical tastes are all over the map.

I'm also intrigued by Morgan Wallen coming in third. 

At least we got Lil' Baby representing Atlanta on the list. 

Atlanta — y'all good? There's a lot of Drake here.

Drake performs during Wicked featuring 21 Savage at Forbes Arena at Morehouse College in Atlanta. (Photo by Prince Williams/Wireimage)

Music

Drake was Atlanta&#x27;s most listened to artist on Spotify in 2022, according to the streaming service&#x27;s annual <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Spotify Wrapped list" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2022/11/30/spotify-wrapped-2022-top-songs-albums-playlists" data-vars-content-id="5dee082d-7e78-4ba5-a775-7faae115dc05" data-vars-headline="Atlanta&#x27;s Spotify Wrapped" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/11/30/spotify-wrapped-2022-top-songs-albums-playlists" target="_self">Spotify Wrapped list</a>.<ul><li>Rounding out the top 5 were Taylor Swift, Morgan Wallen, Lil&#x27; Baby and Bad Bunny.</li></ul>Most streamed song: &quot;<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="As It Was" data-vars-click-url="https://open.spotify.com/track/4Dvkj6JhhA12EX05fT7y2e" data-vars-content-id="5dee082d-7e78-4ba5-a775-7faae115dc05" data-vars-headline="Atlanta&#x27;s Spotify Wrapped" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://open.spotify.com/track/4Dvkj6JhhA12EX05fT7y2e" target="_blank">As It Was</a>&quot; by <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Harry Styles" data-vars-click-url="https://open.spotify.com/artist/6KImCVD70vtIoJWnq6nGn3" data-vars-content-id="5dee082d-7e78-4ba5-a775-7faae115dc05" data-vars-headline="Atlanta&#x27;s Spotify Wrapped" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/6KImCVD70vtIoJWnq6nGn3" target="_blank">Harry Styles</a>Most streamed genre: Rap (no surprise there)🥴 Kristal&#x27;s thought bubble: Really, y&#x27;all? Drake?! Our musical tastes are all over the map.<ul><li>I&#x27;m also intrigued by Morgan Wallen coming in third. </li><li>At least we got Lil&#x27; Baby representing Atlanta on the list. </li></ul>

News

Organizers for Cobb County's newest and largest city will soon take the next step in getting Mableton ready for business.

What's happening: Mableton leaders have to determine whether the city of about 77,000 people will manage government services itself or ship out some of those responsibilities.

Leaders could also see Mableton's boundaries change if some residents who want out of the new city get their way.

What they're saying: William Wilson, chair of the organization advocating for incorporation, said Gov. Brian Kemp will appoint a transition team to help community members organize a plan to guide newly elected city leaders on decisions that need to be made.

Once elected officials are in place, they will have two years to begin managing services outlined in the legislation enabling the referendum: solid waste removal, parks and recreation, zoning and code enforcement.

The county will continue providing services during the transition period.

Catch up quick: 53% of voters on Nov. 8 approved the question to incorporate. 

The South Cobb city is east of Austell and Powder Springs, southwest of Smyrna and abuts the Chattahoochee River to the southeast.

What's happening:  There are two areas Mableton leaders should focus on over the next several months: determining what their revenues will be and whether they should adopt the “Sandy Springs model,” Oliver Porter, who helped found Sandy Springs and touts privatization of services, told Axios.

Under this model, third parties provide services like parks and recreation, community development and public works. “You're getting it at a lower cost to the taxpayer and you're getting better service,” Porter said of privatization.

Of note: Sandy Springs has since brought nearly all of the outsourced services under its direct control.

Threat level: Despite the referendum passing, some residents are pushing to have their communities removed from Mableton's city limits. A petition is circulating to get the Georgia General Assembly to introduce legislation to allow for those areas to de-annex.

Christie Lynn, a resident who voted against incorporation, told Axios a lot of people who live in unincorporated Austell, Smyrna and Powder Springs were unaware they were included in Mableton's boundaries.

Lynn said questions were also raised earlier this year about why people who didn't live in Mableton were included in the referendum.

"From the beginning, the cityhood movement was framed as an issue of local control," she said. "If it's true, then we're hoping that we won't be ignored and that we don't want to be part of this.”

State Rep. David Wilkerson told Axios that legislation may drop during next year’s session that could add more requirements, such as getting signatures from residents, before more cityhood referendums can be placed on the ballot.  

He also said he hopes state representatives and senators who represent residents who want to de-annex will "do what's best for their community."

“That would be my hope, that we continue to listen to what local people have to say,” he said.

Context: Mableton is the 11th city created in metro Atlanta since Sandy Springs started the cityhood movement. Johns Creek, Milton, Chattahoochee Hills, Dunwoody, Brookhaven, Peachtree Corners, Tucker, South Fulton and Stonecrest have since incorporated.

Meanwhile, some residents are pushing to be de-annexed.

Organizers for Cobb County&#x27;s <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="newest and largest city" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2022/10/27/mableton-cobb-county-georgia-cityhood-ballot-question" data-vars-content-id="82b738a9-e6d2-467a-ba7a-0046c81e6799" data-vars-headline="Mableton preps for next steps as some push to leave new city" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2022/10/27/mableton-cobb-county-georgia-cityhood-ballot-question" target="_self">newest and largest city</a> will soon take the next step in getting Mableton ready for business.What&#x27;s happening: Mableton leaders have to determine whether the city of about 77,000 people will manage government services itself or ship out some of those responsibilities.

A Cobb County Superior Court judge has ordered elections officials to allow absentee ballots for Tuesday's runoff election to be submitted through Dec. 9.

Ballots will have to be postmarked by Election Day — Dec. 6 — for them to be valid, county spokesman Ross Cavitt told Axios.

The extension, which is the same deadline for military and overseas voters, applies to anyone who requested a ballot on or before Nov. 26 but has not received it, according to the Marietta Daily Journal.

Catch up quick: Two residents filed a lawsuit late Thursday asking for the extension after Cobb Elections Director Janine Eveler said there were delays in sending out about 3,400 ballots. 

What they're saying: Eveler, whose comments were included in a video uploaded to the county's YouTube page, said that since government offices were closed for Thanksgiving on Nov. 24 and Nov. 25, staff members didn't begin packing those ballots for shipment until Nov. 26.

Flashback: Cobb County was hit with a similar lawsuit last month after elections officials discovered last week that staff did not mail out absentee ballots to 1,036 people. 

A consent order signed by Judge Hill gave the county more time to send ballots to affected voters, who were also given additional days to return them.

Context: Eveler said she and other elections directors across the state have said a four-week turnaround between a general election and runoff, a new requirement stemming from S.B. 202, "is an almost impossible task."

"It takes a long time to get the ballots out, to create the ballots, to print the ballots… and it doesn’t leave enough time for voters to return their ballots through U.S. postal mail," she said. "It's just a completely unrealistic time frame."

Judge extends time for Cobb voters to return absentee ballots

The extension was granted after more than 3,400 absentee ballots that did not reach voters in time.

Illustration of a campaign button with a gavel on it.

A Cobb County Superior Court judge has ordered elections officials to allow absentee ballots for Tuesday&#x27;s runoff election to be submitted through Dec. 9.<ul><li>Ballots will have to be postmarked by Election Day — Dec. 6 — for them to be valid, county spokesman Ross Cavitt told Axios.</li></ul>

Business has been "up and down" for Stacey West since she opened Suga's Cheese Shoppe & Cafe, a restaurant known for its pimento cheeses, in December 2021 in downtown Powder Springs. 

But she has reason to believe good days are ahead. 

What's happening: The city of about 17,000 people has a plan to attract people to its central business district through new developments, and West hopes it will give her restaurant and other small businesses the boost they need to survive in the grouchy post-pandemic economy.  

"I love it because it's bringing new life to this area," West told Axios. "It puts us on the map as a place to go that's quaint."

Why it matters: As metro Atlanta's population experiences steady growth, suburban cities like Powder Springs are exploring ways to transform sleepy downtowns into destinations.

Cities like Woodstock and Alpharetta have already made changes, and others like Smyrna and Sandy Springs are embarking on their own plans.

Details: The plan, which Powder Springs has been working on since early 2021, involves the city purchasing property and entering into public-private partnerships with developers who would build mixed-use options like retail shops, offices and residential uses.

Ground broke earlier this year on a project to build 226 homes and apartments, set to open in late 2023 or early 2024, on property that once housed City Hall and other government buildings.

Powder Springs plans to rebuild a new City Hall that would open by mid-2024.

What they're saying: Marsellas Williams, the city's economic development director, told Axios that the city envisions having more density that could support new and existing downtown businesses.

"We're trying to create in Powder Springs not only a destination for tourists to come," he said, "but also for residents who live in the city who want to see more businesses thrive."

Get oriented: Powder Springs is about 20 miles west of Atlanta. It's mostly a residential city, with several small businesses housed in brick buildings along Marietta Street, downtown’s main thoroughfare. 

Perhaps the best-known business is The Book Worm, an independent bookstore that's been open since October 2005.

The city's main attraction is Springs Thurman Park, which includes green space and an amphitheater where it hosts most of its events.

The Silver Comet Trail runs just north of downtown. 

The city recently nabbed its first brewery, Skint Chestnut, which opened in the summer. 

The other side: Of course, people have raised concerns — mostly on social media — about the planned apartments. 

Some detractors commented on a city Facebook post that Powder Springs officials were destroying the small-town charm and that more traffic will burden city streets.

"I don't even recognize my hometown anymore, much less know anyone except family that lives there," one woman wrote.

Zoom out: Suburban communities across the country, which for a generation were built around mega shopping malls, now focus on reinventing downtowns and strip malls, commercial corridors, office parks and other "automobile-oriented" properties, said Ellen Dunham-Jones, professor and director of the Master of Science in Urban Design program at Georgia Tech. 

Dunham-Jones told Axios that when malls opened in these cities, they took business from downtown mom-and-pop stores and became community gathering spots. 

Now suburban cities want people to gather around new downtown mixed-use developments instead of the food court. 

"They're really trying to beef up their downtowns because they see that's really what provides that great sense of place," she said. "Malls aren't the new shiny thing anymore."

Yes, and: Mayor Al Thurman told Axios that when he was first elected to the City Council, consultants said the city needed more "people to live in the downtown in order for those local businesses to survive."

“We're trying to…create the atmosphere for live, work and play where people don't have to go to Hiram or the East-West Connector to go to a restaurant," he said. "We're trying to create that atmosphere where they can have it right here in Powder Springs."

Jake Hardy, co-owner of Rooted Trading Co., which sells local, handmade items, outdoor gear and rents bicycles, told Axios he's excited to see the changes. 

"We've had a couple of great staples that have been here for 20 years or so," Hardy said, "but as a whole, we definitely need people."

Powder Springs' downtown dreams

The city of about 17,000 people has a plan to attract people to its central business district through new developments.

A piece of playground climbing equipment shaped like a cube and a stage in a downtown square 

Suburbs

Business has been &quot;up and down&quot; for Stacey West since she opened<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text=" Suga&#x27;s Cheese Shoppe &amp; Cafe," data-vars-click-url="https://www.sugascheeseshoppe.com/" data-vars-content-id="e9e2f41c-c3dd-43da-a0ad-439cf7d2c7db" data-vars-headline="Powder Springs&#x27; downtown dreams" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.sugascheeseshoppe.com/" target="_blank"> Suga&#x27;s Cheese Shoppe &amp; Cafe,</a> a restaurant known for its pimento cheeses, in December 2021 in downtown Powder Springs. <ul><li>But she has reason to believe good days are ahead. </li></ul>

Kristal Dixon

Stories

Judge extends time for Cobb voters to return absentee ballots

Atlanta's Spotify Wrapped

Mableton preps for next steps as some push to leave new city

Atlanta wants more landlords to accept Section 8 vouchers

Powder Springs' downtown dreams

Newsletter editions

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