A wine tasting event with Cellar Filler. Photo by Elina Brager. Elina Brager’s job as a sommelier and wine consultant is to taste, serve, and sell wine to clients who are building their wine collections. Brager listens closely to their preferences and presents wines she considers off the beaten path.  “I seek out great tasting wines that overdeliver for the price. They’re small boutiques, really well-made wines, frequently organic or sustainable, small production, and hard to find,” Brager said. “That is my brand. That is my promise.” Brager is an immigrant from the former Soviet Union, a ..read more

The new Mt. Vernon Highway bridge over I-285 will open to vehicular traffic on April 22, but after the morning rush hour. (Submitted by GDOT) The new Mt. Vernon Highway Bridge over I-285 will open to vehicular traffic on Monday, April 22, ending months of detours for the 15,000 motorists who used the bridge daily. The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) announced that with the coordination of its contractor, Archer Western Construction, and the City of Sandy Springs, the bridge is reopening. The traffic shift will be finalized after 9 a.m. on Monday. Minor Mt. Vernon Highway traffic in ..read more

Sandy Springs Youth Sports girls softballers got to visit with Georgia Tech players and coaches, and go out onto the field. (Provided by Sandy Springs Youth Sports) Sandy Springs awarded eight grants to nonprofit organizations for arts and recreation programs targeted to underserved populations and low-income communities in the city. Eligible nonprofit organizations were able to ask for up to $12,500 for continuation programs and $25,000 for new programs. The awarded grants totaled $146,000, Recreation and Parks Director Brent Walker said. Most of the programs that will receive funds will use ..read more

Three suspects were arrested by Sandy Springs Police Department on firearms and drug charges after a traffic stop at 11:38 p.m. in late March on Peachtree Dunwoody Road and Concourse Parkway. “03/31/2024, at approximately 2338 hours, while patrolling the Peachtree Dunwoody Road Johnson Ferry Road, I observed a silver Honda Accord bearing Georgia tag #(CTL8886) traveling southbound on Peachtree Dunwoody Road. BWC (body warn camera) was activated,” Officer W.L. Honorat wrote as the narrative for the incident report. Sandy Springs police officers recovered $585 in cash, 128 grams of suspected mar ..read more

This is Thursday April 18 — The Hawks lost to the Bulls last night in the NBA Play-In Tournament. The loss, Atlanta’s seventh in a row, ends a frustrating 36-46 season, but lands the team in the NBA Draft Lottery. ? Sunny and an unseasonably warm 87° today.  ? Mayor Andre Dickens said the public safety training center, dubbed “Cop City” by opponents, is “well on its way” despite $10 million and counting in arson and vandalism by protesters he called “anarchists.”  ? A swatting hoax put Midtown High School and several others on lockdown yesterd ..read more

This story was originally published by ProPublica and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. When Ryan Millsap arrived in Atlanta from California a decade ago, the real estate investor set his sights on becoming a major player in Georgia’s booming film industry. In just a few years, he achieved that, opening a movie studio that attracted big-budget productions like “Venom,” Marvel’s alien villain, and “Lovecraft Country,” HBO’s fictional drama centered on the racial terror of Jim Crow America. Ryan Millsap, former owner of Blackhall Studios in metro Atlanta [Credit: Jenni Girtman for The Atlan ..read more

The Fulton County Commission and the LifeLine Animal Project, which provides animal control services for the county under a contract, held a ribbon cutting for the new animal shelter and clinic on Nov. 17, 2023. (Photo courtesy LifeLine) Fulton County officially resumed handling animal control services for the city of Atlanta as of 4 p.m. today on a unanimous vote by the Fulton County Commission. County Manager Dick Anderson said the county had received a signed intergovernmental agreement (IGA) from Atlanta for animal control services through 2028. The Atlanta City Council approved a resoluti ..read more

A false threat called into Atlanta Police Department caused Atlanta’s Midtown High School to lockdown for about 30 minutes on Wednesday morning. Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said during an unrelated press conference that someone had called 911 and said a hostage situation was underway inside Midtown High. He described at as a “hoax” and a “swatting call,” designed to bring out a large amount of law enforcement to an address where no actual emergency is taking place. Schierbaum said APD was working with Atlanta Public School’s police department to investigate the incident. An APS spoke ..read more

Silog, pancit, and lumpia from Filipino brunch pop-up Carmenderia in West End. (Provided by Beth McKibben) The year began slower than expected with new restaurant openings. But the pace has picked up as we head into spring and summer, with several highly anticipated restaurants scheduled to open over the coming months.  Senior Editor of food and dining, Beth McKibben, spent January, February and March dining at new restaurants around Atlanta. These are her top five choices for the quarter. Look for the next guide to the best new Atlanta restaurants to drop in June.  Birdcage Opened J ..read more

Mayor Andre Dickens and Police Chief Darin Schierbaum at the April 17 press conference. (Screen Capture) Mayor Andre Dickens sent a message on Wednesday to Stop Cop City protesters and “anarchists” who continue to commit arson, damage property, and trespass: “Newsflash: The training center is well on its way. We will continue and complete it this year. Construction is happening on the site every day.” Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum echoed the mayor’s sentiments following another string of incidents in protest of the public safety training center under construction on a piece of city-own ..read more