ATLANTA – New security rules at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport have moved past the grace period into enforcement. The new policy, implemented on Monday, places a 24-7 restriction on those who can be on the property. 

The airport, which continues to hold its title as the world’s busiest airport, wants it to also be the world’s safest airport. Officials are hoping the around-the-clock monitoring of who can and cannot be in the terminal will help ensure the airport’s safety. 

“This is a culmination response to a broad swath of issues,” said Atlanta City Council member Michael Bond. 

Since January 2022, Atlanta police say officers have been called to investigate more than 900 cases of larceny, burglary, assault, robbery, and shoplifting at the airport. 

“There’ve been incidents where we’ve had some attacks by persons who came into the terminal and atrium areas, we’ve had repeated amounts of shoplifting and other small and petty crimes,” Bond said. 

Bond says issues prompted city leaders to act earlier this year. They formed a task force that recommended limiting around-the-clock access at the airport to passengers, workers and other people conducting official business. 

“The airport was already restricted during some nighttime hours…if you were coming into the facility you had to show a reason why you were there…those hours basically have been extended 24 hours a day,” Bond said. 

After a 60-day grace period, the change went into effect on Monday. 

“Atlanta police can question you if they believe you’re doing something suspicious or engaged in some activity that is not related to what would be considered a justified reason for being on the property,” Bond said. 

While most passengers support the measures, some are concerned it could be used to profile people. 

The domestic and international terminals, the SkyTrain, rental car center, and parking decks are all included in this new policy.  

The 48^th annual Atlanta Film Festival returns April 25 through May 5, along with the 14^th annual Creative Conference series. There will be events and screenings of 142 works by local and international filmmakers, including 27 world premieres.

The festival will showcase diverse creators and new works in film that programming director Johnathan Kieran, describes as “artful, challenging and flat-out fun.”

Two historic Atlanta theaters, the Plaza and the Tara, will present virtual and in-person screenings, with various accompanying panel discussions and educational opportunities. “City Lights” host Lois Reitzes spoke with Atlanta Film Festival Executive Director Christopher Escobar, who is also the owner of the Plaza and Tara Theatres.

“What’s really important and special about the festival is the films by people whose names you might not know,” said Escobar.

He continued, “A lot of the questions we get are if there is an overall arching theme [around the festival], and I think there’s a lot of work about healing and finding ways to move forward.”

More information about this year’s Atlanta Film Festival is available here.

ATLANTA – New research says the amount of vacant office space continues to break records in Atlanta.

According to data from the real estate services firm CBRE, more than 2.2 million square feet of office leases were signed in the Atlanta area during the first quarter of 2024.

That’s the most activity since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019.

Unfortunately, CBRE also reports that, despite the increase in new leases and renewals, Atlanta is still facing many office spaces that have been left empty.

The firm estimates around 32.4% of all office square footage was available – a number that CBRE says “continues to break records.”

The data showed the Downtown Atlanta submarket accounted for almost 54.7% of the total vacated space.

“Overall, the stubbornly high availability rate in Atlanta continues to be the result of corporate tenants with substantial footprints offloading unneeded space amidst economic distress, the firm wrote in its report. “Many of these tenants are opting to sublease entire buildings and consolidate their leases into a single location. In some cases, owner-occupiers are going as far as shedding HQ locations and regional satellite offices in an effort to mitigate the impact of current economic conditions.

Despite the vacant properties, CBRE also found that the overall asking price for office space increased to $31.46 per square foot in the first quarter of the year.