⚽ The countdown begins

Help me Thursday

June 12 — After six immigration protesters were arrested in Brookhaven on Tuesday, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr issued a statement ahead of this weekend’s “No Kings” rallies across the state that violent demonstrators would face domestic terrorism charges. 

🌧️ Scattered thunderstorms and a high of 82° today.

🪡 If $157 million in federal funds are pulled from The Stitch project, Atlanta officials said Wednesday that tax allocation and philanthropic funds could potentially fill the gap.

👎 The Atlanta City Council Transportation Committee panned the state’s plan to build a “skybridge” connecting the Georgia Capitol and a new legislative building. 

🔎 The Brookhaven City Council is planning to study mixed-use development in the large parking lot of the Brookhaven/Oglethorpe MARTA station adjacent to the future city hall.

🏢 The Dunwoody Planning Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to defer a zoning change for age-restricted apartments that, in essence, killed the project.

🪧 Former CDC employees fired by the Trump administration continue to rally outside the DeKalb headquarters every week. 

ELSEWHERE

⚖️ Harvey Weinstein was found guilty of sexual assault by a New York jury yesterday, after his previous conviction was overturned last year.

📺 ABC News parted ways with correspondent Terry Moran after he posted that President Trump and aide Stephen Miller were “world-class” haters.

🎗️ Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys co-founder and mastermind behind the landmark album “Pet Sounds,” who influenced generations of pop musicians, died at 82.

🕖 Here’s what’s in today’s newsletter:

• World Cup creatives 
• AI and political change
• Aria’s new chef
AND
• Quick Bites 

🥾 22 Miles. One Day. The Trailblaze Challenge is a life-changing endurance experience that helps Make-A-Wish Georgia grant wishes for children fighting critical illness. Not ready for 22 miles? Try Trailblaze 2.0 – same weekend, same trail, just 13 miles! October 24-26. SPONSOR MESSAGE

1. Atlanta creatives are redefining soccer culture ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup

VIA SKETCHBOOK, A WEEKLY NEWSLETTER| SUBSCRIBE HERE

⚽ With the FIFA World Cup 2026 just a year away, Atlanta’s creative community is already stepping onto the global stage – through art.

Atlanta artists are exploring how soccer can serve as both a cultural mirror and a canvas for identity ahead of the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup 2025 and leading up to next summer’s global tournament.

Take Kerri Worthen and Grace Henderson, for example. Lifelong soccer players, collaborators, and colleagues at the nonprofit Soccer in the Streets, the two are using their respective creative mediums – visual art and fashion – to deepen the meaning of the game for local audiences.

🎨 Read more about the intersection of art and soccer here.

RELATED

🏟️ Atlanta and FIFA World Cup officials on Wednesday marked one year until the 2026 matches come to Mercedes-Benz Stadium by naming its first four sponsors, debuting a hype video from Killer Mike, announcing a new MARTA station soccer pitch, and unveiling merch.

Gated Estate on 17± Acres in Buckhead

SPONSORED BY ATLANTA FINE HOMES

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Thoughtfully designed with hand-carved marble mantels and paneling from a chateau in France, the home offers elegance at every turn.

Highlights include a heated saltwater pool, a gym, a wine cellar, and a smart home system.

Expansive porches overlook rolling meadows, giving this city retreat the feel of a private country estate.

Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty is Metro Atlanta’s No. 1 residential real estate company and No. 1 in luxury home sales above $1 million.

👉🏼 Check out our current listings here.

2. A startup using AI to track changes in state politics

🗳️ Even those who follow state-level politics for a living have trouble keeping up, given the sheer amount of information created. Every state has its own legislative process, calendar, and terminology.

For example, Georgia’s legislative session goes from January to April each year. This year, 400 bills and resolutions cleared the Legislature. 

To help people keep up with the chaos, Paul Rava started Roboro, a state-specific, AI-powered legislative intelligence platform that provides in-depth and specialized policy insights in real-time. 

➡ Read the whole story from Hypepotamus here. 

3. Meet Aria’s new executive chef, Joseph Harrison

👨‍🍳 On June 18, Chef Joseph Harrison will take over the kitchen at Aria, ushering in a new era for the Buckhead restaurant institution, founded by Chef Gerry Klaskala 25 years ago. 

Klaskala announced his retirement from the restaurant industry after 55 years back in April, handing ownership of Aria over to long-tenured general manager and sommelier Andrés Loaiza. 

Harrison, a Covington native and 2025 James Beard semifinalist for Best Chef: Southeast, was previously at Common Thread in Savannah.

➡ Read more in Beth McKibben’s report here.

🥾 22 Miles. One Day. The Trailblaze Challenge is a life-changing endurance experience that helps Make-A-Wish Georgia grant wishes for children fighting critical illness. Not ready for 22 miles? Try Trailblaze 2.0 – same weekend, same trail, just 13 miles! October 24-26.
SPONSOR MESSAGE

4. Quick Bites

VIA SIDE DISH, A WEEKLY NEWSLETTER| SUBSCRIBE HERE

😋 For this week’s Quick Bites, Rough Draft dining editor Beth McKibben has details on Glide Pizza’s departure from Inner Voice Brewing in Decatur and the kitchen takeover by Asian street food pop-up Salty Smiles at Minhwa Spirits in Doraville. She also has intel on the closure of Cubanos ATL in Roswell and the relocation of gelato shop Cremalosa to Avondale Estates.

⏩ Here’s the full roundup of this week’s dining news from Beth.