Buckhead Reporter Archives - Reporter Newspapers

APS superintendent to speak to NAPPS in Buckhead Dec. 10

by John Ruch | Nov 21, 2019 | Buckhead Reporter, Education | 0

Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Meria Carstaphen is scheduled to speak at the Dec. 10 meeting of North Atlanta Parents for Public Schools. Carstarphen is expected to discuss the state of the district and her thoughts on North Atlanta cluster schools. She also will conduct a question-and-answer session. “She welcomes all topics,” according to NAPPS. In other recent Buckhead appearances, Carstarphen has criticized tax breaks on luxury developments as harming the district’s budget, and answered questions about her future following her controversial pending ouster by the Atlanta Board of Education. Carstarphen was scheduled to speak to NAPPS in November but...

APS superintendent blasts tax breaks as equity issue; no decision on ‘what’s next’ for job

by John Ruch | Nov 21, 2019 | Buckhead Reporter, Education, Politics, Top Stories | 0

Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Meria Carstarphen continued her call for scrutiny of tax breaks for luxury developments at a Nov. 20 community meeting where she praised the Buckhead Council of Neighborhoods for launching a new tax-reform task force she inspired. Tax breaks can contribute to equity gaps in the district and city, she said. Facing a controversial ouster from APS, Carstarphen spoke at the Northwest Community Alliance meeting with the trademark force and charisma that has many residents speculating – or wishing – that if she can’t stay, she might seek the top job at the DeKalb County School...

Buckhead Council property tax reform task force starts work

by John Ruch | Nov 20, 2019 | Buckhead Reporter, Politics, Sandy Springs Reporter, Top Stories | 0

A new property tax reform “task force” within the Buckhead Council of Neighborhoods has begun taking aim at commercial tax breaks and discounts. The idea is to produce a list of recommended reforms to state and local governments, which were represented at the meeting by several elected officials. The Taxes/TADs Task Force came from a team-up suggestion from Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Meria Carstarphen, who blasted tax breaks as hurting her district’s budget at the Oct. 10 BCN meeting. BCN Chair Mary Norwood agreed at that meeting to form the task force from volunteers from the group’s member neighborhood...

Third candidate enters Fulton County sheriff race

by Hannah Greco | Nov 20, 2019 | Buckhead Reporter, Sandy Springs Reporter | 0

A third candidate has entered the election for Fulton County sheriff. Charles Rambo, a retired lieutenant in the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, joins a race that includes incumbent Theodore “Ted” Jackson and Patrick Labat, the chief of the City of Atlanta Department of Corrections. Jackson, who has held the position since 2008, was re-elected in 2016, defeating a field of six challengers. Rambo, 51, began his law enforcement career in 1989 sworn as a sheriff’s deputy. Rambo served his entire professional career with the FCSO for over three decades, according to his campaign website. The election will be held...

DeKalb-Peachtree Airport launches flight-tracker noise complaint system

by John Ruch | Nov 19, 2019 | Brookhaven Reporter, Buckhead Reporter, Dunwoody Reporter, Public Safety, Sandy Springs Reporter | 0

DeKalb-Peachtree Airport has launched a web-based noise complaint system that allows users to identify disruptive aircraft on live flight-tracking radar. The “Symphony PublicVue” system, available on the DeKalb County website, was presented at a Nov. 18 meeting of the PDK Airport Advisory Board by Korey Barnes, the facility’s new environmental and noise analyst. The system shows aircraft flying around PDK in a live radar feed that is on a 10-minute “security delay.” Some information about each flight, such as its number and destination, may be available. The system also allows users to file noise complaints via a form, if...

After plane hits homes, residents and officials debate PDK Airport accident statistics

by John Ruch | Nov 19, 2019 | Brookhaven Reporter, Buckhead Reporter, Dunwoody Reporter, Public Safety, Sandy Springs Reporter, Slideshow, Top Stories | 0

Following a fatal crash in October where a private plane smashed into DeKalb County townhomes, residents and officials dueled with accident statistics at a Nov. 18 meeting of the DeKalb-Peachtree Airport Advisory Board, debating just how safe it is to live near a facility that sees about 150,000 takeoffs and landings a year. The stats on both sides were flawed, limited and open to wide interpretation. The big picture is that the chance of being hit by a plane from PDK is extremely low, but also not zero. And the discussion is just the latest chapter in a decades-long...

DeKalb-Peachtree Airport’s history of crashes

by John Ruch | Nov 19, 2019 | Brookhaven Reporter, Buckhead Reporter, Dunwoody Reporter, Public Safety, Sandy Springs Reporter, Slideshow, Top Stories | 0

The wreck of a private plane into DeKalb County townhomes in October has brought renewed attention to the possibility of accidents around DeKalb-Peachtree Airport. The risks to any one person or property are extremely low, but the list of accidents is long since the airport, located in Chamblee on the Brookhaven border, switched from military to civilian public use in the late 1950s. Today’s tensions between the busy airport and its surrounding neighborhoods began in the 1970s, and involved safety concerns from the start. A 1976 Atlanta Journal-Constitution article said, “When most people think of DeKalb-Peachtree, they probably think...

Buckhead Aldi grocery seeks to add large retailer beside it

by John Ruch | Nov 18, 2019 | Buckhead Reporter, Perimeter Business | 0

An Aldi grocery store that opened last year in Buckhead leased more space than it needs and is seeking to add a large retailer beside it. The plan involves carving a new storefront into what is now a blank wall between the Aldi and a PetSmart in the Buckhead Pavilion shopping center at 3221 Peachtree Road. The proposal was reviewed Nov. 6 by the Design Review Committee of Special Public Interest District 9, a zoning area in central Buckhead. Patti Wallis, a permit consultant representing property owner Coro Realty Advisors, said “I have no clue” who the proposed retail...

Eats Beat: Recent restaurant openings

by Hannah Greco | Nov 17, 2019 | Brookhaven Reporter, Buckhead Reporter, Dunwoody Reporter, Food & Drink, Sandy Springs Reporter | 0

The following restaurants opened in Reporter communities the week of Nov. 11. 285 Colonial Kitchen, a French-Vietnamese fusion restaurant, opened in The Prado shopping center at 5610 Roswell Road on Nov. 14. The owner, Duc Tran, also owns Vietnamese seafood restaurant 575 Bistro in Kennesaw. The menu includes French-inspired bites, Bahn mi sandwiches and pho. For more information, visit 285colonialkitchen.com. Big B’s Fish Joint opened in the Gateway complex at 4600 Roswell Road on Nov. 13. Barry Mills, co-founder of FLIP Burger Boutique in Atlanta, brought the restaurant to Sandy Springs. The menu offers classic seafood options in salads,...

Buckhead crime reports, Oct. 1-Nov. 7

by Reporter Newspapers | Nov 16, 2019 | Buckhead Reporter, Public Safety | 0

The following information, involving events that took place in Buckhead Oct. 1 through Nov. 7, was provided by the Zone 2 precinct of the Atlanta Police Department from its open data records. Aggravated Assault 100 block of Rumsen Road — Oct. 3 700 block of Sidney Marcus Boulevard — Oct. 3 1300 block of Northside Drive — Oct. 5 3100 block of Piedmont Road — Oct. 5 1200 block of West Paces Ferry Road — Oct.10 800 block of Sidney Marcus Boulevard — Oct. 11 2500 block of Piedmont Road — Oct. 12 3300 block of Peachtree Road —...

Transform 285/400 traffic changes through Nov. 25

by John Ruch | Nov 15, 2019 | Brookhaven Reporter, Buckhead Reporter, Dunwoody Reporter, Public Safety, Sandy Springs Reporter | 0

The Georgia Department of Transportation has announced the latest round of lane and ramp closures and other traffic changes for Transform 285/400, its massive project to reconstruct the I-285/Ga. 400 interchange. Schedules may change based on the work and the weather. Ga. 400 ramp closures Nov. 15, 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., northbound ramp to I-285 westbound closed. Nov. 18, 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., southbound ramp to I-285 eastbound closed. Nov. 18-21, 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., southbound ramp to I-285 westbound closed. Nov. 19-21, 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., northbound ramp to I-285 eastbound closed. Ga. 400...

Letter: If college athletes get paid, reward teams, not just superstars

by Reporter Newspapers | Nov 15, 2019 | Brookhaven Reporter, Buckhead Reporter, Commentary, Dunwoody Reporter, Sandy Springs Reporter | 0

Thank you for publishing the commentary “Amateur sports are worth saving” by Alan Chadwick in the Reporter. I appreciate your paper sharing a local football head coach’s perspective on a national topic. I agree that the “pay for play” policy by the NCAA could open up many issues and problems for many college athletes. I most agree with the quote included in the commentary from Tim Tebow, that the game will become only about each individual player, instead of the team as a whole. A better idea, I think, is to pay a reward to the whole team, not...