Atlanta, GA
Atlanta, Fulton County battling over homelessness funding as cold snap moves in
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — On Thursday, Atlanta mayor Andre Dickens questioned Fulton County’s commitment to addressing homelessness across Atlanta.
“Fulton County is a partner we thought we could trust because this is local, we’re all part of this ecosystem,” Dickens said Thursday at a press event outside an affordable housing complex in southwest Atlanta.
Dickens said Fulton County is shirking its responsibility of paying $4.8 million annually as part of a 30-year agreement to address homelessness across Atlanta and Fulton County.
Dickens said the County is short in its financial investment by roughly $2.1 million for 2026.
“That’s the agreement. And we must keep them to their promises. Promises made, must be promises kept. Or see you at the ballot,” Dickens said.
A potential winter storm is expected late Saturday through Sunday, bringing the possibility of snow to north and central Georgia. Sunday is a First Alert Weather Day for cold, breezy conditions and potential winter weather.
READ MORE: First Alert: Prepare for potential winter weather Sunday
After the mayor’s press event, Atlanta News First reached out to Fulton County Chairman Robb Pitts for reaction who pushed back against the mayor’s comments.
“Read my lips. That $2.1 million dollars will be in the approved 2026 budget,” Pitts said.
He said the mayor’s comments were premature because the County does not vote on their 2026 budget until Wednesday.
“Anything between now and then is just conversation,” Pitts said. “I have directed the manager and his staff to find the money.”
This issue was sparked during last week’s Board of Commissioners meeting when Fulton County Commissioner Mo Ivory questioned county staff about why the roughly $2.1 million in funding for homeless services was not included in the County’s recommended FY2026 budget.
Commissioner Ivory also spoke during Thursday’s press event alongside Mayor Dickens questioning the County’s commitment.
“Fulton County should be a partner to its cities, not a hinderance to the vital services that its cities need. And I’m committed to being a partner in this fight that we should be in together,” Ivory said.
Pitts said while he is advocating to provide $4.8 million in the FY2026 budget towards homeless services, he said the agreement between the County and the City of Atlanta does not require the County’s investment.
“That means subject to the funds being available,” Pitts said. “2027 and beyond we’ll have to find the money, because we may or may not have it.”
Dickens said his goal of securing 20,000 units of affordable housing by 2030 is challenged by a lack of commitment by federal and local funding.
“It’s makes it more difficult to get to 20,000 units when government is now reducing what they’re doing,” Dickens said. “The federal government is no longer doing as much as they did in the past. There have been a number of things that they have walked back in the housing and urban development department. And we’re critical.”
On Wednesday, Gov. Brian Kemp (R, GA) announced he plans to invest $50 million in state funding into homelessness initiatives.
Dickens, on Thursday, said it is unclear how much the City of Atlanta or Fulton County will be allocated or when those jurisdictions could see any funds.
Fulton County’s Board of Commissioners is set to approve their FY2026 budget on Wednesday, Jan. 21.
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The Atlanta City Council is working to form a 404 Day Advisory Committee following the shooting death of a 16-year-old girl at this year’s celebration.
The committee would be made up of city council members, community leaders, business owners, and various city department employees.
“We want folks to enjoy our parks. We want all folks to be safe in the city of Atlanta,” said City Council Member Andrea Boone.
The committee is asking for public feedback to evaluate what went wrong on 404 Day and to determine what needs to change.
“We want to hear from you. We want to know what are your concerns, what are the planning concerns, what do the business think? How should we exit and entrance the events,” said Boone.
Sixteen-year-old Tianah Robinson was shot and killed at Piedmont Park during this year’s celebration. She was an innocent bystander, according to police.
A month after her killing, authorities have not named a suspect in the case, despite requests from the public for help with the investigation.
“I remember her just being one of the most innocent persons in the world. Just pure kid,” said Martell Ellis, Robinson’s cousin.
Robinson’s family has been outspoken in calling for improvements in safety at city events like 404 Day.
“I want everybody to remember this is one of Atlanta’s best little people. We lost Atlanta’s best, a nd she had such a promising future, so we have to make sure this doesn’t happen again, we gotta make sure this was not in vain,” said Ellis.
The 404 Day Advisory Committee will meet for 180 days before presenting its findings and proposals.
Best place to live in Georgia
Georgia’s top spot on a recent Niche report list also holds the national crown: Atlantic Station in Atlanta is No. 1 on the list. Niche gave them an A+ in nightlife, health and fitness, commute, and “good for families.”
It’s based on 15 key metrics with the highest weight given to cost of living, percentage of residents with higher education, housing, and the public school quality.
One figure Niche didn’t rank was the crime, but there have been some noteworthy events in the last few months including 1 killed and 2 injured in a shooting a couple weeks ago and a chaotic incident with about 400 juveniles in December.
Cost of living in Atlantic Station
Despite its high mark on the list, Atlantic Station has real room to grow in cost of living, ranking B- by Niche. The median home value is reportedly just over $418,000 while the median rent is $2,145.
Patrons walk by the stores of Atlantic Station in Atlanta.
Atlantic Station is in Fulton County. According to the MIT Living Wage Calculator, single adults without children need to make $26.73 an hour. Two adults living together without children need to make $34.55 per hour if one is working, $17.28 if both are working. These figures obviously increase for families with children depending on how many they have.
Things to do in Atlantic Station
Here are some of the entertainment options available at Atlantic Station:
Best restaurants in Atlantic Station
These are some of Atlantic Station’s best restaurants according to lists from TripAdvisor and OpenTable:
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Toscano Ristorante Italiano at Atlantic Station
Top 5 places to live in Georgia
The top five Georgia spots on Niche’s list were all Atlanta neighborhoods. Here they are along with their national rankings:
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Atlantic Station at No. 1
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Buckhead Forest at No. 33
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Buckhead Village at No. 34
Miguel Legoas is a Deep South Connect Team Reporter for USA Today. Find him on Instagram @miguelegoas and email at mlegoas@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Niche gives Atlantic Station an A+ in nightlife, commute, health, more
The Mariners, suddenly drawing from their depth a month into the season, made a waiver claim today, picking up lefty José Suarez from Atlanta.
Mariners fans likely remember Suarez from his lengthy Angels tenure, from the time he signed with the Angels as a free agent out of Venezuela to 2024. Prior to the 2025 season, the Angels traded him to Atlanta in exchange for injury-prone pitcher Ian Anderson (later DFA’d by the Angels and re-claimed by Atlanta). Atlanta transitioned the short king (listed 5’10”) to the bullpen and edited his pitch mix, dropping his sweeper and tweaking his slider to be shorter and more of a traditional gyro slider, resulting in more whiffs on the pitch.
Command remains an issue for Suarez, something that’s persisted since his days as an Angel. As a top-100 prospect almost a decade ago, Suarez seemed slated to anchor the heart of Anaheim’s rotation. Instead, the classic control artist trap befell him. Lacking the velo (low-90s heat) or fastball traits to miss bats easily, and having more middling results on his changeup and breaking ball which can cut through Triple-A hitters, Suarez has had to nibble the edges and has seen his walk rate swell as a big leaguer in efforts to avoid barrels. Those issues, along with health troubles, saw him faded from the Angels’ plans.
Although he had a solid first season as a Brave, this year has been a struggle, leading to much sturm und drang amongst the Braves fanbase, who are all too happy to see Suarez go. As for how he fits in the Mariners bullpen, that’s a bit of a puzzle; the Mariners have a third lefty (with his own command issues, even) in Josh Simpson, although Simpson has options, where Suarez does not.
However, the Mariners are well-familiar with Suarez, having seen him for so many years in the AL West, so there must be something there the pitching brain trust hopes to unlock. The other bonus Suarez brings is length; as a former starter, he can cover multiple innings if necessary, which it’s been more often than not lately as three-fifths of the Mariners rotation continue to turn in shorter outings. By his dint of a changeup-first offspeed repertoire, Suarez is somewhat more evenly split in his performance against hitters by handedness, instead of a traditional lefty specialist.
In a corresponding move, OF Rhylan Thomas was designated for assignment.
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