About Atlanta Intown. (Sandy Springs, GA) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 2025)
8 | OCTOBER 2025 News RoundUp Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. Text DRAFT to 66866. Buckhead residents are calling for safety improvements to the intersection of Roswell Road and Laurel Forest Circle after Mount Vernon School junior Benjamin Reiser, 16, died after his motorcycle collided with an SUV. The Atlanta City Council has appointed Carden Wyckoff to fill the vacant District 2 seat created when Amir Farokhi stepped down in July to become head of school for the Galloway School. 47 Freedom Barber Co. has opened a new location at 1054 Saint Charles Ave. NE in Virginia-Highland. The four-chair shop is open Monday-Sunday for haircuts, beard trims, and traditional shaves. WABE cancelled its afternoon arts show “City Lights Collective” after less than three months due to the Trump administration's cuts in funding for public broadcasting. The Atlanta City Council approved a resolution executing a $6 million project management agreement with the PATH Foundation for the Peachtree Creek Greenway project. Parents push back on APS plans for closures, redistricting By Collin Kelley Atlanta Public Schools has been hosting virtual and in-person meetings as parents push back against proposed school closures, consolidations, repurposing, and redistricting. APS will hold its next in-person meeting on Oct. 20 at 6 p.m. at APS headquarters in Downtown. The school district is considering the changes as part of its Comprehensive Long-Range Facilities Plan (CLRFP), also known as APS Forward 2040. APS said there are 70,000 available seats, but only 50,000 students are currently enrolled. The CLRFP is designed to address overcrowded schools, underutilized campuses, aging facilities, and the need for equitable access to specialized academic programs. If approved by the Atlanta Board of Education, the plan could see the closure, consolidation, or repurposing of existing schools as well as expansions to some others. In many of the scenarios, redistricting would be necessary. APS plans to finalize its recommendation by November and adopt the final plan by December. Some parents have organized against the plan over what they call APS’s lack . A of transparency, including those with students at Buckhead’s Morris Brandon Elementary School. The APS plan would see Morris Brandon split into two separate K-5 schools, which is just one of the major changes proposed for the North Atlanta cluster. One scenario, eliminating all dual- campus models, would mean significant redistricting. The Save Brandon group said on its website that “our community is asking for greater transparency, more detailed information, and a meaningful opportunity to engage in the process before any final decisions are made.” Find out more at atlantapublicschools. us/aps2040. $36.95 Service Package (Reg $101,951 Cannot Be Combined With Any Other Offer. Must Present Coupon Free for the first 25 people. Expires 10/31/25 Includes Oil Change, Tire Rotation & 27 Point Safety Inspection. Valued at $101.95 Does not include synthetic oil/some filters extra. Expires 10/31/25 FREE Health insurance changes coming to Georgia the HYBRIDSHOP' The Hybrid Pros Call for an appointment! Monday-Friday 8-6 • Saturday 8-3 404.377.2285 1489 Scott Boulevard MedlockGulf.com Ty Tagami | Capitol Beat Health-care advocates warned last month that Georgia residents who have to find their own insurance in the government marketplace should expect significant rate increases next year. Insurance companies are filing rate increase requests with regulators, arguing that federal budget cuts and the end of COVID-19 tax credits are the main drivers, said Anthony Wright, executive director of Families USA. “These are individual workers and working families who simply don’t get coverage on the job or through public programs like Medicaid or Medicare,” Wright said. Wright said affected workers include retail and restaurant employees, ride-hail and food-delivery drivers, beauticians, barbers, plumbers, and other self- employed workers. Georgia’s government marketplace is called Georgia Access. The state also offers Pathways to Coverage for those nearer the poverty level. The group KFF calculates that half a million Georgians could lose coverage. Another group, Georgians for a Healthy Future (GHF), puts that number at 340,000, estimating an average rate increase of 75%. “If costs soar and coverage slips away, the consequences will ripple through every part of our state at almost every income level,” said Whitney Griggs, health policy director for GHF. Georgia’s Office of Insurance was not immediately available to clarify the numbers, but it will not be long before insurance shoppers see the result, with enrollment for 2026 likely to start around November.
