Atlantafi.com is bringing you the latest on the coronavirus pandemic, which has the state of Georgia and the city of Atlanta under a state of emergency.
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Metro Atlanta is getting another multipurpose arena, this time inside the perimeter. On Monday, city officials and representatives of the Atlanta Hawks broke ground on a 100,000-square-foot facility called Gateway Center @ College Park.
The building will be home to Hawks’ development team in the G League and is slated to open in fall 2019, according to news reports. College Park officials envision the venue as the home to not only numerous sporting events, but concerts and conferences as well.
Earlier this week, officials from Barton Malow, @CollegePark_Ga, the @ATLHawks, @TheGICC and more broke ground on a new 100,000 square-foot multipurpose stadium, the Gateway Center @ College Park. We're excited to get to work on this state-of-the-art facility! pic.twitter.com/IE12YP9r0Y
— Barton Malow Company (@bartonmalow) February 15, 2018
According to a news release on the project, College Park Mayor Jack Longino said the site will lure new attractions to the city. “This multipurpose arena will bring a much needed venue for sporting events, concerts, graduation ceremonies, and more to the city, broadening the entertainment opportunities for the south metro area.”
“Breaking ground on this state-of-the-art facility marks a significant milestone in delivering on bringing our own G league team to our community, one of our top priorities from when we bought the Club–along with refurbishing Philips Arena and building a new practice facility,” Tony Ressler, Atlanta Hawks Principal Owner and Chairman, said in a statement.
“Everyone at the Hawks is grateful for the hard work of City of College Park Mayor Jack Longino, City Manager Terrence Moore, other members of College Park government and the State of Georgia as we begin construction today. We are confident that this facility will have a meaningful impact both on our club and this community.”
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Just when you thought Underground Atlanta was a relic from the late 1990s that people used to congregate to after the Olympics, the city cornerstone is showing signs of new life.
Developer WRS is in the process of revitalizing the development a four-block section of the redevelopment, including the Kenny’s Alley section.
The project, called Block 3, should be ready in about a year, according to Curbed Atlanta, who got their hands on the renderings.
From the looks of the drawings, crowds will be able to mix between office space, retail and communal living, the likes of which has made Midtown Atlanta a mecca in the last few years.
The City of Atlanta has a great stake in Underground’s success. In 2017, the city presided over the sale of the development to a South Carolina developer. Then, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed referred to the $34.6 million sale of the underground mall “another milestone in the revitalization of South Downtown Atlanta.”
With much of the city’s revenue being siphoned to newer developments like The Battery Atlanta and The Avalon in Alpharetta, many downtown lovers are waiting for that to happen.
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Several Atlanta-area chefs and restaurants have been nominated as 2018 James Beard Award semifinalists, the group announced Thursday.
The nominees have a chance to take home the top prize and cement Atlanta’s place on the map as a bona fide cultural mecca with top-notch restaurants with diverse cuisine.
Atlanta’s Miller Union eatery on Brady Avenue in Midtown Atlanta is up for Outstanding Wine Program.
For Best Chef: Southeast, perennial nominee Ryan Smith of Staplehouse, Ri Liu of Masterpiece in Duluth made the cut, and so did Atsushi Hayakawa of Sushi Hayakawa along with Meherwan Irani of Botiwalla in Ponce City Market.
Also in Georgia, Brunswick’s Matthew Raiford of The Farmer & The Larder along with Savannah’s Mashama Bailey of The Grey are in the running.
For Rising Star Chef, Brian So of Spring in Cobb County and Parnass Savang of Talat Market both made the list.
The firm Meyer Davis is a finalist for best Restaurant Design for transforming the architecture of the old Bluepointe space in Lenox (with designers Will Meyer, Gray Davis, Katie McPherson) into the European-inspired St. Cecilia.
The finalists will be announced in Philadelphia on March 14. The grand prize will be announced May 7 at the James Beard Foundation Awards Gala in Chicago.
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Oprah Winfrey’s new show “Love Is” is looking to hire camera operators, AtlantaFi has learned. The show is centered around couples and what they’ve learned about each other and how they’ve stayed together.
Those hired will report to Pinewood Studios in Fayetteville, the largest movie studio in the Atlanta area.
According to the casting call from project casting, “Brandi is looking for guys with real camera operating experience. You will be playing Camera operators for a live TV sitcom type setting. I am looking for males, any ethnicity, who have real life experience with the type of studio camera shown below.”
If you are a REAL Camera operator, and would like to work on the show “Love Is_” please submit an e-mail with a current photo and contact information and camera operating experience to Loveis@centralcasting.com. Please put “CAM OP” in the subject line. I am ONLY looking for REAL camera operators at this time. I do not have work dates at this time. Location will always be at PInewood studios in Fayetteville. There will be additional compensation for having REAL experience.
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Robbin Season is about to be litty if the new FX trailer for “Atlanta” is any indication. While the first trailer released weeks ago gave everybody a cosmetic look at how the vibe will be this time around, the new clip shows some meat from actual episodes.
We see Paper Boi up to his old shenanigans, Darius, Ern and Vanessa all in the cut. Robbin Season hits March 1 for those waiting with the TV remote in your hand.
Donald Glover meanwhile has been busy filming the latest and greatest “Star Wars” movie, this one centered around Han Solo.
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Bringing the wonders of the big top to the big city, Universoul Circus makes its annual trip back to Atlanta, just in time for lovers week. Universoul Circus is in ATL from February 7 to March 11.
Located in Old Turner Field’s Green Lot, the urban-oriented circus is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year with electrifying, edge-of-your-seat performances!
This year’s rendition features Russia, Trinidad, South Africa, Mongolia, Cuba, China, Ethiopia, and the United States.
On March 11-14, you can catch the same act for 50% less with this Groupon. The only difference is, the fun will take place in Duluth at Gwinnett Place Mall.
With Groupon’s G-Pass you get to see UniverSoul Circus starting from $16.
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Are you ready to kickoff the preparations for Super Bowl 53, which will be held in Atlanta in January 2019? If so, the event is looking for some help.
Volunteers are being encouraged to apply right now so that they can have some staff in place for logistics and other things. Don’t expect to make it onto the field to mingle with the players and snap selfies. They’re looking for people who (clap) want (clap) to (clap) help!
The event has launched a website and is ready to go.
Here’s how the call for help reads: “As Atlanta gears up to welcome the NFL in 2019, we will be looking for a group of high energy, passionate volunteers. These super-friendly and dedicated ambassadors for our city will be responsible for making the kind of lasting impressions that are forever memorable. Our goal with the volunteer program is to take the words ‘southern hospitality’ to new heights and provide the kind of warm, hearty welcome to all visitors that is synonymous with Atlanta. Interested? Sign up today to be the first to receive exclusive volunteer news and updates.”
As we all know, the Atlanta Falcons are going to be playing in the big game, marking the first time a home team has hosted a Super Bowl. With that being the case, it’s going to be a blast!
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Clark Atlanta University graduate Amy Sherald became the first black artist to create an official, Smithsonian-commissioned portrait when she created one of former First Lady Michelle Obama.
That one, as well as one of former President Barack Obama, was unveiled Monday as part of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery.
The former president’s portrait was painted by Kehinde Wiley, an artist known for black art. After getting her undergrad in ATL, Sherald left for Baltimore, where she got her master’s degree at the Maryland Institute College of Art.
She’s been doing art for more than 10 years but just recently got critical acclaim. She won first place in the Portrait Gallery’s 2016 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition.
The portraits were be available to be viewed by the public beginning next week.
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The East Atlanta Santa is promising to gift the city with another one of his contributions. Local Rapper Gucci Mane says that he is bringing a feature-length film on his life to the big screen.
“#TheAutoBiographyOfGuccimane is coming to a theatre near you #DirectorGuccimane #1017Films,” he tweeted recently. The movie will be based on the book of the same name.
The Autobiography of Gucci Mane chronicles the rapper’s rise from local artist to mainstream phenom. The book goes into detail about the rapper’s struggle with drug abuse, especially lean (codeine). Here’s an excerpt:
“My own habits with the stuff had gotten bad. Over the years, there had been times when I’d gone too hard with the X pills, but that had always felt recreational. With the lean, I’d developed a dependence. It became something I needed. My life was moving fast, and this drink helped me slow everything down. I was now on the road nearly every weekend, which meant long bus rides of smoking weed and sipping lean to pass the time. I just wasn’t as outward with my usage as a lot of other rappers were with the Styrofoam cups because I was still on probation.
In the beginning, lean had been something special, a vice I enjoyed. An indulgence. Now it was something I required to operate. My fame was at an all-time high, and these pints helped me calm down and relax in situations where I would otherwise feel anxious, like a big performance or a radio interview where I knew I’d get asked about some shit I didn’t want to talk about.
Is that not the stuff of movie or what? Gucci will no doubt have to confront his demons in the film, such as his time in prison and checkered relationship with fellow rapper Waka Flaka Flame. But all of that should make the flick a bestseller, just like the book.
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About three years ago, you simply couldn’t miss Scott Bradlee’s influence on modern music. His rendition of “Thrift Shop” by Macklemore put him on the collective radars of everyone looking for new music.
Since then, his ragtime twist on R&B standards as well as today’s pop music have been stretching the boundaries for what was audibly pleasing to downright funky.
Now he’s bringing that nostalgic style to Cobb County. On February 14, Bradlee and band will tear the roof off the sucka. The Postmodern Jukebox, Founded by Bradlee nine years ago, is big on social media as well, garnering more than 450 million YouTube views and over 2 million subscribers.
Here’s how to see them in Cobb’s Energy Centre.