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What Atlanta is talking about
public safety
Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem, a 42-year-old Atlanta school employee and educator, died after falling from the Goliath roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia in Austell on Monday, Oct. 12. Cobb County police and Georgia amusement-ride regulators are investigating the cause, which has not been publicly determined. Goliath remains closed, while Six Flags planned to resume broader park operations on Friday; the incident also prompted precautionary closures of similar coasters elsewhere.
via apnews.com·2d agoDetails →
infrastructure
The Georgia Department of Transportation and the State Road and Tollway Authority are advancing the I-285 East Express Lanes as a public-private partnership in greater Atlanta. Ferrovial-led Top End Mobility Group was selected to finance, design, build, operate and maintain Phase 1 under a long-term agreement. Ferrovial describes Phase 1 as approximately 21 miles of new express lanes, with later phases potentially expanding the corridor to about 37.5 miles in each direction across Fulton and DeKalb counties.
via prnewswire.com·2d agoDetails →
local government
Rick Jackson is the Republican nominee for Georgia governor, while former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is the Democratic nominee. Georgia is a battleground state in the 2026 midterms, and the gubernatorial contest is unfolding alongside a closely watched U.S. Senate race. An AP report published October 16 describes Jackson and Bottoms as actively campaigning ahead of the election but does not independently report the poll’s methodology or results.
via apnews.com·2d agoDetails →
local government
Georgia’s labor commissioner race is part of the 2026 statewide election cycle. The Atlanta Press Club’s Loudermilk-Young Debate Series, produced with Georgia Public Broadcasting, schedules televised candidate forums and makes them available online. An Atlanta Press Club schedule identified incumbent Republican Bárbara Rivera Holmes and Democrat Nikki Porcher for its general-election labor commissioner debate, while PBS also posted a separate Democratic debate featuring Porcher and Michelle “Michi” Sanchez.
via atlantapressclub.org·2d agoDetails →
local government
No Kings: Vote Early is described by organizers as a nationwide, nonpartisan voter-participation effort tied to early voting ahead of the Nov. 3 general election. In Georgia, early voting is scheduled to run from Oct. 13 through Oct. 30, with Oct. 17 identified by organizers as its first Saturday. A local organizer has listed both a bridge action over I-575 and a sign-waving/march-to-vote event in Woodstock for that date.
via ngacan.org·2d agoDetails →
public safety
Clarkston High School is a DeKalb County School District campus in metro Atlanta. On Oct. 15, district police responded to reports that two students had a weapon, and the school was placed on lockdown. The district did not disclose the students’ ages or identities, and reported no injuries.
via atlantanewsfirst.com·3d agoDetails →
public safety
Sean Gardner, 39, is a former gymnastics coach from West Des Moines, Iowa, who coached at a gym in Purvis, Mississippi, between 2017 and 2018. Federal prosecutors said an investigation began after the U.S. Center for SafeSport received reports of inappropriate behavior involving underage gymnasts and alerted law enforcement. Gardner’s federal prosecution concerned secret recordings of minors at the Mississippi gym; separate Iowa abuse allegations reported by former students were not identified as charges in this case.