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Community Corner

🌱 Atlanta Police Precinct Opens in Buckhead + High COVID Counts

The quickest way to get caught up on the most important things happening today in Atlanta.

Kathy Cioffi, Community Contributor
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(Patch)

Morning, people of Atlanta! Kathy Cioffi here with the latest edition of the Atlanta Daily.

First, today's weather:

Partial sunshine. High: 56 Low: 36.

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Here are the top 5 stories today in Atlanta:

  1. A new Atlanta Police precinct opens today in the Buckhead community. In making the announcement during the annual Eggs and Issues Legislative Preview Wednesday morning, Mayor Andre Dickens said, "Just over a week ago, at my inauguration, I promised the people of Atlanta that our administration would redeem the soul of Atlanta. The soul of our city together. We will be one city with one bright future." A surging crime rate has been one of the biggest issues behind people in Buckhead pushing to form their own city. Today at 10 a.m., Buckhead leaders will join Dickens and Atlanta's Police Chief Rodney Bryant to unveil the new facility at One Buckhead Plaza on Peachtree Road NW at the intersection of West Paces Ferry Road. (11Alive.com WXIA)
  2. New daily cases of COVID-19 have hit new highs in the United States, thanks to the spread of the omicron variant. As of Jan. 7, there have been 57,535,900 reported cases of the virus nationwide, with a total of 1,041,995 COVID-19 cases reported in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metropolitan area. Adjusted for population, that's 18,029 reported infections for every 100,000 people in the area — which is in line with the national rate of 17,586 cases per 100,000 people. Of the 29 counties comprising the broader Atlanta metro area, however, Pike County has the most COVID-19 cases per capita. So far, there have been a total of 4,282 infections in Pike County, or 23,681 for every 100,000 people. In addition to having the most COVID-19 infections per capita in the Atlanta area, Pike County also has more deaths attributable to the virus per capita than the metro area as a whole. There have been a total of 409 coronavirus deaths for every 100,000 people in Pike County, compared to 226 COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 across the entire Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area. (24/7 Wall St. - Atlanta)
  3. A new food pantry inside the recently-renovated Meals On Wheels Atlanta facility was stocked by volunteers with the Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Tuesday, an early tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ahead of what would have been the Atlanta civil rights icon's 93rd birthday. "Our partnership with State Farm has continued to help us fight food insecurity in Atlanta," said Hawks' Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility Andrea Carter. The partnership between the Hawks and State Farm will help increase meal production in metro Atlanta by increasing shelving and storage in the new Good Neighbor Pantry inside the Meals on Wheels facility that was expanded to 18,000 square feet. Meals on Wheels provides meals, shelter and a sense of community to seniors. (FOX 5 Atlanta)
  4. Matthew De Galan has been named the Carter Center's new vice president of communications. He succeeds Deanna Congileo, who has been at the Carter Center for three decades and the head of communications for 20 years. Congileo will retire on Jan. 18 to help care for her parents who live out of town. De Galan, who has served in leadership positions at CARE, Mercy Corps, the Nike Foundation and the U.N. Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children, will join the Center in mid-February. (SaportaReport)
  5. What restaurants have the best fried shrimp on Atlanta's east side? Ask Eater Atlanta, a dining advice column in which the editor and regular contributors answer questions from readers, weighed in with five recommendations. (Eater Atlanta)

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Today in Atlanta:

  • Skate the Station at Atlantic Station's ice-skating rink (4:00 PM)
  • Live Latin Music & Free Salsa Lessons at Eclipse di Luna Miami Circle (7:30 PM)
  • Too Thirsty Thursday at Buckhead Saloon (10:00 PM)

From my notebook:

  • An all-red snap to celebrate the D A W G S ! Congrats to the Dawg nation. Snap via @wanderdrone. #atlantasnaps (Instagram)
  • The Atlanta Humane Society is so happy for U.S. Military Veteran, Tito, and his newly adopted best friend, Amir! 🐾 Have you heard about the Atlanta Humane Society's American Heroes Adoption Program? We're proud of our American Heroes and what they do to keep our country moving. That's why we offer them a discount on all dog and cat adoptions through this special program! To learn more about the program and qualifications, click here: atlantahumane.org/american-heroes. (Facebook)
  • Atlanta BeltLine Partnership Executive Director Rob Brawner has been associated with the Atlanta BeltLine project for more than 15 years. In this SaportaReport article, Rob shares his thoughts on what's been accomplished so far – and the important work that still lies ahead as we track toward completion of the 22-mile multi-use trail by 2030. https://saportareport.com/.../tho.../atlbeltlinepartnership/ (Facebook)
  • Class registration at the Atlanta Botanical Garden continues, and many are filling up! See anything that catches your eye? Bring your talents to bloom by registering today: https://bit.ly/ABGATLEventsClasses (Facebook)
  • According to the Atlanta History Center, on January 9, 1961, the University of Georgia desegregated its campus by admitting its first African American students. Retired music educator Mary Frances Early was the first Black student to graduate from the institution in 1962. As part of our 2022 MLK Day celebration, Mary Frances Early will join us for a virtual Author Talk on January 17 to discuss her latest novel "The Quiet Trailblazer." Early carefully maps the road to her 1961 decision to apply to the master's program in music education at the University of Georgia, becoming one of only three African American students. With this personal journey, we are privy to her prolonged and difficult admission process; her experiences both troubling and hopeful while on the Athens campus; and her historic graduation in 1962. Register for this virtual event here: https://www.atlantahistorycenter.com/.../mary-frances-early/ (Facebook)

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Now you're in the loop and ready to start this Thursday off right! I'll be in your inbox tomorrow with your next update.

— Kathy Cioffi

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

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