Atlanta, GA

Atlanta City Council wants say in More MARTA projects moving forward

Published

4 months ago

February 26, 2026

Atlanta City Council wants say in More MARTA projects moving forward

Metro Atlanta

Council members have long chafed at their exclusion from an intergovernmental agreement between the city and MARTA, which dictates how decisions are made.

(From left) Interim MARTA General Manager and CEO Jonathan Hunt and Beltline CEO Clyde Higgs. Both faced questions from Atlanta City Council members this week regarding a vote last year to stop work on the Eastside light rail project. (Arvin Temkar/AJC 2025 and Abbey Cutrer/AJC 2025)

Frustration with MARTA project delivery has Atlanta City Council members pushing to take a formal role in deciding which transit projects the agency pursues.

Council members have long chafed at their exclusion from an intergovernmental agreement between the city and MARTA that dictates how decisions are made within the More MARTA program established by voters in a 2016 referendum.

raey krow ,skeew ot eht eht pots tnecer liar .tcejorp no no slaiciffo srebmem edam thgil tsal ni evah desserpxe noitcafsitassid noisiced krad licnuoc ,ytic yb gnieb ta dna a ATRAM nI edistsaE eniltleB eniltleB atnaltA

saw saw etov ot eht eht taht taht taht nekat delaever detroper .cilbup cilbup ,tcejorp ytiroirp nepo no ton sgniteem nwonk-elttil ni dloh tsrif gninimaxe seod stnemucod ,noisiced eettimmoc yb yb retfa a a ehT tahT eroM ATRAM noitutitsnoC-lanruoJ ,yraunaJ atnaltA

erehw keew tisnart esoht siht yeht eht eht eht desiar tcejorp snalp srebmem sgniteem ni detlah dellirg gniog morf .drawrof sevitucexe stnialpmoc eettimmoc htob dna dna ’seicnega niaga tuoba ATRAM edistsaE licnuoC eniltleB atnaltA

dluow ot ot ot ot eht eht eht eht eht taht taht ylelos ngis dias eriuqer tcejorp ytiroirp no ffo fo fo gniteem .tsil ekil si latnemnrevogretni dleh eh gnirud .srotcerid s’licnuoc licnuoc segnahc namriahc yb draob ytirohtua yna dnema tnemeerga s’yadsendeW ,naW noitatropsnarT eroM ATRAM ATRAM ,yltnerruC ,eettimmoC xelA

erehT“ ot ”,taht edis .dias ruo no si od yletinifed etiteppa naW

sdeen“ ohw litnu ot eht eht ralimis devres dias ,stseuqer no wen srebmem rebmem edam tsal gnidulcni devorpmi gninrevog ”.yllacitsard tnemucod licnuoc licnuoc draob eb a ,yhtroW yhtroW samohT rehtO ATRAM .tsuguA

pots“ saw etov ot eht eht taht dias eriuqer tcejorp esuap slaiciffo ton tsuj evah did tnerruc eettimmoc s’draob .lavorppa dna lla yllautca ”gnidneps/ytivitca a racteertS yaM ATRAM ATRAM noisnetxE tsaE ,ytiC eniltleB 5202

krow nehw saw liart ot eht eht taht taht gnippots trats gnizitiroirper liar ,tnedurp stcejorp no fo thgil daetsni evah nevig erised snoitasrevnoc noitcurtsnoc nageb dnuora deugra decnuonna osla a yehT edishtuoS royaM .edistsaE snekciD atnaltA erdnA

eht“ .krow saw etov dlot ot ot ot eht eht eht eht eht taht pots ”tirips sevres tcerider liar .snalp no no fo noitom srebmem edam thgil tnioj ygrene licnuoc eettimmoc dna yadseuT edishtuoS yaM ,sggiH sggiH edylC ,OEC eniltleB 5202

s’tahT“ eht .dias fo enil ”,ti eh mottob

dluow htiw lliw ohw sretov ot ot neht eht eht eht eht eht eht eht eht taht xat gniyas selas dnuor liar cilbup revo fo fo srebmem thgil ti ti evah noitartsurf tsrif dnetxe desserpxe noitatcepxe gnitsixe ,noisiced noitcurtsnoc syarteb devorppa dna dna gnola racteertS ecnoP eroM .tekraM ATRAM licnuoC ytiC eniltleB atnaltA

— krow lliw tahw .setadpu setadpu dlot dlot siht eht eht taht cilbup cilbup no erom ylhtnom htnom srebmem srebmem tnioj miretni eh eh s’puorg gnivig rof reilrae erised licnuoc draob nigeb dna degdelwonkca ATRAM ATRAM nahtanoJ tnuH OEC

liomrut“ ohw t’nsaw saw saw ,etov etov yletamitlu ”.revonrut tisnart pot koot ot emit emit emit ereht eht eht eht eht eht eht eht eht eht deppets dias .gningiser cilbup ,ecalp doirep fo fo ton boj boj ni ni morf erusolcsid draob erofeb esuaceb yawa ta ta ta dna s’ycnega retfa a yltrohS ATRAM ATRAM ,tnuH OEC

til“ lliw ohw rednu tsurt .yltnerapsnart pot dlot ot eht eht taht gnikat ecnis dias dias gnirotser snier tcejorp smargorp etarepo eno fo erom srebmem si si ,miretni miretni ni tnatropmi sih mih s’eh eh sah slaog ”erif yltnereffid .tnemtraped yreviled licnuoc latipac sa sa dna dna a ATRAM ,tnuH eH ,OEC

sraey .raey lliw sretov tisnart ot ot siht eht eht eht eht eht eht xat nekat elgnis ecnis selas dipar cilbup tcejorp tcejorp tcejorp ecap enilno fo fo ylraen enil retal ni evah sah ynnep-flah rof tsrif .noisnapxe .yreviled dereviled licnuoc stnemmoc emoc sub draob neeb eb ta devorppa dna mia a ehT llihremmuS toN eroM ynaM ATRAM ATRAM 01

er’eW“ tuohtiw degru tisnart dlot ot ot eht eht eht elgnis ees gnicneuqeser hsup cilbup tcejorp margorp fo wen .srebmem latnemnrevogretni ni retaerg htruof rof ”,dereviled licnuoc lortnoc stnemmoc ydob gnieb osla .tnemeerga tuoba a a ,yadsendeW oaR oaR liaR woN eroM wehttaM ATRAM nI riahC eniltleB

nehW“ tahW“ ,nettirw ohw er’ew erew saw ”,eciov .eurt yadot ereht eht eht eht taht taht dluohs .dias dias elor tuo reven erom ynam si latnemnrevogretni eh evah evah gnidnif dluoc ytic neewteb eb dna dna tnemeerga a a ATRAM licnuoC ytiC

tI“ uoy uoy ohw ohw sgniht eht taht taht thgir cilbup ,etavirp ”.won ton gnissim si si si si tneidergni ni od era dna dna .elbatnuocca tI

nabru .tsurt dlot s’ereht eht eht dias cilbup nrettap fo fo srebmem sah lufmrah puorg dedore .srood gnikam-noisiced noisiced licnuoc rednuof-oc desolc dniheb ycacovda a ,hsleW ,LTAdaerhT ehS neruaL

tI“ ev’ew smees dias cilbup gnidnatsrednusim noitacinummocsim ekil tsuj ni tog ”,gnitniop-regnif tnatsnoc stnemmoc soahc dna dna dna hsleW .yadsendeW

s’tahw ot snoitseuq no no no ,txen ’srebmem licnuoc deretnec htob dna yadsendeW .yadseuT ynaM tnuH sggiH

s’tahw .etov ot ot enilemit eht eht taht krow-pots dias noitazitiroirper detpmorp tcejorp desserp .snalp slaiciffo srebmem evah rof enod etelpmoc neeb deksa osla ecnavda a yehT edishtuoS licnuoC

nehw ot enilemit ron wen rehtien .tsil evig rof tcepxe dluoc a a tnuH sggiH tuB

raey dluow ot ot tuohguorht hguorht siht yeht eht eht eht eht taht wohs erahs dias stseuqer ,tseuqer sdrocer deviecer .seitiroirp deraperp ro nepo slaiciffo fo fo fo seton ton elpitlum .htnom tem sgniteem gniteem tsil tsal noitamrofni ni sah ecnanrevog morf morf rof ylrae tfard ypoc eettimmoc eettimmoc ytic ytic yb yb eb na a a ehT setoN .hcraM ATRAM nI yraurbeF rebmeceD CJA

gnikrow htiw dlot eht taht .eciffo srebmem s’royam si licnuoc ATRAM tnuH

ohw nehw saw saw pu pu ot ot ot eht eht eht dias ,ssecorp no evom yfitnedi woh gnidloh drawrof noisiced yb .draob deksa yadseuT ATRAM aesleK ,sggiH rebmemlicnuoC dnoB

,yletamitlU“ tI“ etov yletamitlu ot ot ot ot ”.siht eht eht eht eht .dias ytilibisnopser eriuqer ”,tcejorp noitazitiroirp ruo no no fo fo s’ti s’ti si si noitatnemelpmi gniog gniog dne ,yad s’ytic tub eb ta tnega ecnavda s’ATRAM .ATRAM ATRAM sggiH eniltleB

Sara Gregory covers transportation for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Previously, she covered local government in DeKalb County. A Charlotte native, she joined the AJC in 2023 after working at newspapers in South Carolina and Virginia.

Source link

Atlanta, GA

Chef’s Tableware brings affordable ceramics to Atlanta’s chefs and home cooks

Published

1 hour ago

June 26, 2026

Press Room

Chef’s Tableware brings affordable ceramics to Atlanta’s chefs and home cooks

Owner Adidsara Weerasin

Photograph by Martha Williams

Atlanta diners may recognize the name Adidsara “Vicky” Weerasin as co-owner of both Tum Pok Pok, the beloved Thai restaurant in Chamblee, and Yao in Buckhead. But they might not know she’s also the person behind Chef’s Tableware, the ceramics shop all over many Atlantans’ “for you” page on TikTok. From its New Peachtree Road warehouse, Chef’s Tableware offers handcrafted plates, cups, and bowls, sourced from Thailand, that look like they’re from Anthropologie but sell for a fraction of the price. And while it is a wholesale operation, it’s open to both restaurant-industry professionals and savvy Atlanta shoppers.

Weerasin’s pieces appear on tables at top Atlanta restaurants, from the soft-green platform bowls used to showcase Claudia Martinez’s confectionery creations at Bar Ana to the speckled black plates heaped with pasta at BoccaLupo. Another place you can expect to find Chef’s Tableware selections is at Georgia Boy, the tasting menu–only restaurant in the back of Southern Belle. “I picked up matte black dinner plates, an artsy pedestal bowl with a bubbled ceramic finish, and concave, high-gloss porcelain pieces,” says Georgia Boy and Southern Belle chef and owner Joey Ward. “Each one helps elevate the way we present a dish.”

Weerasin first discovered her love of ceramics when she took a pottery-making class at her high school in Thailand. She’s now lived in Atlanta 20 years, but she returns to her homeland every year to visit family. It was during one such trip in 2023 that she visited a family member’s ceramics business and saw the type of stunning handmade pieces that now fill her store. She originally intended for her 4,500-square-foot, two-room space to be more of a friend-to-friend operation, but after several requests, she opened it to the public.

matching bowls and plates in yellow, orange, and white — Matching bowls and plates

glass pitchers in various blue tones — Glass pitchers

Weerasin says she sources pieces with chefs in mind, collaborating with them on the right textures and weights for their serving dishes and explaining how each aspect might factor into the guest and server experience. “Each restaurant has a different concept, [so] I try to consult and recommend different types of ceramic, stone, clay, and porcelain,” she says.

Her industrial shelves are filled with a wide range of items, from the expected (plates, bowls, cups) to the unusual (sushi boats, matcha bowls, coffee pour-overs). Other offbeat items include an elephant-shaped mug, a peapod cutlery rest, and animal-shaped chopstick rests, located by the register. Customers looking for well-priced gifts for weddings, birthdays, and housewarmings can find dish sets and colorful wine glasses for less than $15.

Popular picks include “donut bowls”—large, shallow pieces that allow for creative plating and are especially popular for serving tasting menus. These bowls, which retail for $39.95 each, also offer a way to pair texture and color with the dishes; for home entertaining, they make a table look grander.

Weerasin’s favorite pieces for first-time shoppers: beautiful drinkware with a drip-style glaze. The glass glaze, known as nagashi (Japanese for “flowing”), is fired at more than 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, which produces a natural crackle effect. “It’s very unique,” she says.

This article appears in our June 2026 issue.

Source link

Atlanta, GA

Semi-truck, train collide in fiery crash in SW Atlanta

Published

11 hours ago

June 26, 2026

Press Room

Semi-truck, train collide in fiery crash in SW Atlanta

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — A semi-truck collided with a train overnight on the city’s southwest side, sparking a fire in the wreckage.

No injuries have been reported as authorities have yet to locate the driver of the tractor-trailer. No occupants were found on the train either, according to Atlanta Fire Rescue.

Crews responded to reports of a vehicle fire just before 4 a.m. at the intersection of Lee and Spark streets in southwest Atlanta.

When first responders arrived, they encountered a tractor-trailer afire after being struck by a train. Firefighters worked to put out the flames in the cab, trailer as well as on debris strewn about the railroad and roadway, Atlanta Fire Rescue told Atlanta News First.

Crews have not identified any hazardous materials in the wreckage.

An investigation is ongoing as no occupants were found in the tractor-trailer, train or surrounding area, authorities said.

Norfolk Southern and MARTA briefly halted operations in the area as police activity and cleanup continued.

The crash happened just below elevated MARTA rail tracks which run between the West End and Oakland City transit stations.

MARTA said that it had requested a bus bridge to transport riders between Oakland City and West End Stations “due to police activity” until further notice.

The transit agency was also offering riders Uber and Lyft credits for rail travel involving the Lakewood, Oakland City, West End and Garnett stations.

This is a developing story. Please stay with Atlanta News First as we learn more.

Source link

Atlanta, GA

Seahawks Travel To Atlanta And Alabama For A Civil Rights Learning Tour

Published

21 hours ago

June 25, 2026

Press Room

Seahawks Travel To Atlanta And Alabama For A Civil Rights Learning Tour

“I am at this point where I can’t imagine not going,” Wilkins-Mickey said. “Every year I learn something new. Of course they add different experiences everything we go, so it really does feel different every time, but I want to learn. I want to continue to learn. This is our culture, it’s our history and I would like to continue to understand why we are where we are today. And I think the only way to do that is to understand our past. Every time I go, I just feel so inspired. It gives me purpose to do the work that I do.”

The trip starts with a flight from Seattle to Atlanta where the group has their first glimpse of what to expect for the rest of their week. The group was given a tour of an area of downtown Atlanta called “Sweet Auburn Ave.” which was once a booming community and neighborhood, filled with businesses, that was systemically dismantled by a highway that was built through the neighborhood. Businesses and families were forced to leave.

Keenan Allen Ladd, one of three educators on the tour said, “I really just appreciated the educators in those moments, because they take you through the whole story of the major moments that happened in the Civil Rights Movement.”

The rest of that first day was spent at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park, his birth home and other sites in Atlanta before making the drive to the neighboring state of Alabama to visit Anniston, where the Freedom Riders boarded a bus at the Greyhound station and which was attacked by a group of white supremacist,

The group spent the remainder of their trip in different cities in Alabama, including Birmingham, Montgomery and Selma.

While in Montgomery, the group visited the Montgomery riverfront, a location where enslaved people were brought off of boats and taken to the city’s downtown area to be auctioned off.

Leann Coates, Seahawks premium service representative, described the experience as shocking.

“It’s very powerful to be standing there at the riverfront, and know that not long ago, people were brought on ships and sold. That street is still called commerce street. Things have not changed in the way you think they have changed.”

While the group was in Montgomery, one of the locations they visited was the Legacy Museum, a museum that immerses visitors in the history of Black Americans from the Transatlantic slave trade all the way through to present day and mass incarceration.

And while the actual tour of the South was just five days, the journey doesn’t stop there. Ladd said he immediately returned to his classroom and thought about ways to get his students involved and educated on the topics he learned about on the tour. Allen Ladd said he utilized the one thing he knows all of his students use, social media, specifically Tik Tok and Instagram reels, to help the students learn information in a natural way.

“When I got back, I actually had them all take out their phones and go on Tik Tok and look up the Institute for Common Power, just so they could see that experience first-hand. We did that for like two days. By the third day, a lot of their algorithm’s changes and they were able to get real life information that they weren’t getting before.”

He added, “This tour furthers my want, urge and that yearning to make sure I’m standing up for everyone who doesn’t have the opportunity to utilize their voice, to just amplify voices. There’s a lot of people that we’ve learned on this trip, this Truth and Purpose, to utilize your voice for the voice of others. And that’s something that I’m going to do… I’m in a unique position as an educator. I have the opportunity to guide or facilitate youth, and I have an opportunity to open the eyes of our youth and I have something that is precious… I want to make sure they have the correct information. I don’t want to steer them in a particular direction, but I definitely want to put the correct information in front of them, so they can understand what this country looked like previously, to give them a vision of what they believe this country should look like moving forward in the future.”

A lot of the participants come away from the trip feeling a sense of community, empowered and are more enlightened about the history of Black Americans than they were before.

Learn more about the Truth and Purpose tour and the organization, the Institute for Common Power, that spearheads this trip here.

Source link