ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – After more than two decades, Atlanta City Councilmember Howard Shook has announced he’s stepping away from office.

Shook, who represents District 7, said Thursday that he won’t seek reelection after ending his sixth term on the Atlanta City Council.

In a statement, Shook touted accomplishments for his Buckhead district like more parks and trails, the development of the Buckhead Village shopping district and eliminating sewer spills into Nancy Creek.

“As Chaucer knew, ‘All good things must come to an end,’” Shook said in his announcement. “Without a doubt, one of the very best things to happen to me was the privilege of being elected by my friends and neighbors to represent them as a member of this legislative body.”

Shook also serves as the vice chair of the council’s finance committee and has served on several others. He’ll retire after the last council meeting of 2025.

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The Atlanta Braves dropped Wednesday night’s game to the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-2, after watching the 2-0 lead slip. 

Despite the loss, there was a positive takeaway. Starting pitcher Max Fried is looking like his All-Star self again. He pitched seven innings of two-run ball giving up four hits and one walk while striking out four. He threw 61 of his 91 pitches on the night for strikes (67%). 

“Definitely felt like myself. I was commanding the ball on both sides of the plate. It was nice to get back under myself,” Fried said after the game Wednesday. 

While he felt good about his outing, he wasn’t completely satisfied. 

“We’re in the results time of the year. Wish I was able to hold that lead tonight – get a win. Because ideally, I would like to take the ball and have us win.”

It’s admirable that Fried has a sense of accountability, but the Braves offense didn’t give him the run support. In the end, the Phillies were held to 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position and left just one runner on base. The opportunities were not abundant for them. However, the Braves went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position while also leaving nine men on base. 

One team took advantage of what they could muster. The other team, who had more chances, couldn’t get it done. But if this is how Fried is pitching, they’ll win more often than not. The Braves are 13-9 when he starts after all. 

Fried has the confidence in his team to get in the win column down the stretch. 

“We’re playing good, hard baseball. We’re in a lot of games right now. I feel like if we keep playing like this, things are going to be going our way.” 

Having their ace return to form will go a long way to have things go their way. The Braves are hanging on to a playoff spot for dear life with the Mets still on their heels. Their lead over the Mets was shaved to 1.5 games after New York won Wednesday. They have a key series against them at the end of September, but they still have to be in the hunt a month from now.

Getting some big wins against the Phillies and taking advantage of the favorable schedule would do the trick.  

They have the rotation to get them to the playoffs and then put everyone on notice with a run in October. 

If Fried stays in top form, he, Sale and Lopez could be a three-headed monster down the stretch. Three starters are all you need for a postseason series too. 

That’s a win from each starter in a best-of-five series. In a best-of-seven, you have them for the early games to go up in the series and have them rested for a game six or seven when backs are against the wall or to finish the series off and clinch. 

Sure, the run support wasn’t there in the recent loss, but a couple timely runs might be all the team needs when these guys are on the bump.

ATLANTA – Former residents of the Bell Collier Village Apartments in northwest Atlanta are furious as they remain unable to get their belongings from their apartments following a devastating fire on July 27.  

Christopher Jackson, one of those residents, said he has video proof that the inside of his home appeared undamaged, but still, management wouldn’t budge. 

They canceled everyone’s lease earlier this month.  

Days later, he said he returned to the complex on Howell Mill Road and a construction worker did him a favor by entering his unit to retrieve his medication.  

“He FaceTimed me when he got into the unit, and the first thing he said when he got into my unit is, ‘This unit is just as you left it, there’s nothing wrong with this unit, I don’t know why they won’t let you in,’” Jackson recounted. 

Though the video connection was poor, Jackson maintains there was no evidence of water, fire, or structural damage.  

He presented the video to the company’s higher-ups, hoping they would reconsider their stance.  

“They were more concerned in me telling them who recorded the video for me so they could reprimand them,” Jackson said. 

A spokesperson for Bell Partners told FOX 5 in an email statement that the residents would get more information about how to get their things in the coming days. 

“We appreciate the urgency and complexity of the situation,” said Rosie Downey, spokesperson for Bell Partners. “We are working with retrieval and recovery specialists to develop a safe and organized content removal process, as the site is not accessible given deteriorating and therefore hazardous conditions. Details will be shared in the coming days. We very much appreciate your continued understanding in this matter.” 

Jackson expressed his frustration with the company’s communication.  

“I am happy they responded to you because they have not responded to us. It’s just lies. They’re trying to do damage control with the media,” he said. 

Having just signed a new lease, Jackson fears he may have to write off everything he owns still inside the building. But there are others who aren’t as lucky.  

“There are people who have immigration papers in their unit, there are people who have ashes of deceased in their unit, and they will not let us in our units at all,” Jackson said. 

Jackson has joined a class-action lawsuit against the building’s owners, alleging negligence.  

Atlanta’s fire chief has also acknowledged equipment issues on the department’s end hindered efforts to combat the blaze.