If Buckhead decides to leave, DeKalb is a likely target of expansion
The Update 12/8/2021
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1. I wrote an editorial for Decaturish on if Buckhead becomes a city, Atlanta could search for expansion in DeKalb County
I wrote an editorial for Decaturish, a really great hyper-local media organization that covers a lot of news in DeKalb County. They also have another website called a Tucker Observer that covers a lot of news in central DeKalb as well. It’s one of the news organizations that we should be supporting and if you haven’t already please check out some of the work by visiting Decaturish.com. Shoutout to Dan Whisenhut!
You can read it here.
Quick bullet points outside of this article:
There’s a new initiative, the City of DeKalb being pushed, it would be smaller than the failed City of Greenhaven project from 2014-16.
The proposed ‘City of DeKalb’ - via the AJC The City of Tucker is wanting to get bigger already, by attempting to take North DeKalb Mall. That is in North Decatur, near Emory and fwiw, Tucker needs a space for big development + expansion.
Remember in 2017, Emory University left DeKalb Couty for the city of Atlanta, not form its own city OR join Tucker.
If everyone becomes a city, someone is left having to pay the bill for county services, infrastructure. Plus the police/fire pension.
Cop City happened in Atlanta-DeKalb in September. Expect ATL to expand there in SW DeKalb if necessary.
If Atlanta took all of the proposed property in the City of DeKalb, the overall City of Atlanta population would be about 600,000+ residents. Those extra 200,000 residents in the City of DeKalb plan would be offsetting the 86,000 who live in Buckhead/North Atlanta. If Buckhead stays and Atlanta does acquire the space, it would be 700,000+ residents but with nearly double the land.
For greater context, I have included some previous Twitter threads of mine as to why DeKalb County should also be on your radar going forward:
8/11/2021 - This is about Cop City, which is worth reading about DeKalb, Atlanta, the APD/AFRD, and Atlanta’s obsession with bad deals and bowing down to the police.
6/17/2021 - Trip through Clarkston, Georgia with then, city councilman Mark Perkins. Clarkston is next to Tucker, Decatur, and Stone Mountain on the map.
4/29/2021 - This reference is about the Blackhall land swap, but is part of a much larger thread on new money entering Atlanta that starts here.
2/25/2020 - I had tea with someone not happy about the current state of Covington Highway. Another corridor that could be ripe for future redevelopment.
11/22/2019 - It’s about the relationship of MARTA and DeKalb County…this is part of an epic thread, that starts here.
7/18/2019 - Blackhall Studios land swap being debated at Cedar Grove Neighborhood Association. Blackhall later fleeced the county for free land for its studio, it sold it for $100 million a month later.
11/6/2018 - Eagles Landing cityhood attempt at poaching from Stockbridge. One of the first red flags 🚩 I had about this new era of Cityhood.
10/8/2018 - Encroaching gentrification on Candler Road. Seems crazy, but economic movement is creeping eastward. Gentrification is not too far behind.
12/4/2017 - Emory annexation into the city of Atlanta approved. The most important move the county has made not related to Covid or elections this decade.
This conversation is also being had currently on my Twitter feed (@iamkingwilliams). If you have a Twitter account you can join me there for that conversation as well. If not I will be having one more meet-up this year, it will be a coffee hour, we can talk politics then, stay tuned for details!
2. I interviewed experts from Georgia State University on how to fix the issue of crime
I talk to three Georgia State University professors on solutions to solve Atlanta’s uptick in crime. What you should know is that we should listen to the experts, that crime cannot simply be solved by more policing, but having an adequate force can alleviate some issues. I hope to have all three as guests on my podcast soon to talk more about this as they are a wealth of knowledge that surely is needed in this time of Atlanta’s transition into a new mayor and city council. I also wanna give a shout-out to Jennifer Rainey Marquez for setting this up!
You can read it here.
This is also a conversation that we can have in person as well, so stay tuned for details for the coffee our meet up!
Red Clay News
Semiconductor manufacturer Micron Technology is opening a design center in Midtown.
DeKalb County Commissioner is introducing gun storage legislation at tomorrow’s commissioner’s meeting.
SPARK Innovation Lab has opened on Auburn Avenue to attract small businesses looking for aid.
The Georgia Secretary of State is suing the Justice Department over a delay in voting records.
Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green wants to give a congressional gold medal to Kyle Rittenhouse.
The Omicron variant has been detected in Georgia.
The Vogtle power plant is once again delayed, costing an estimated extra $1 billion dollars. It should open in late 2022 or early 2023.
A third person has been killed this week in Clayton County in a police-involved shooting.
Cobb County and the Marietta School Board chairs are encouraging a split from the National School Board Association. Along political lines and a war on Critical Race Theory, nationalistic education, and other GOP wedge issues.
Gwinnett Commissioner Kirkland Carden is pushing for a $15/hour salary for library workers.
Central Atlanta Boosters are speaking out against Buckhead cityhood.
A new 2-acre parcel of land in Buckhead sold for $16.5m, with plans of an 18-story, $110m tower.
Fort Benning is getting a new name, finally.
Georgia’s tax collections have increased for the fifth straight month.
The Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) is giving federal money it was supposed to spend to local governments for dispersal after low distribution.
The Athens-Clarke County Inclusion Officer has resigned.
Bibb County has hit its all-time high for homicides.
Hall County is looking to reform its annexation policy, to give residents more autonomy in annexing unincorporated areas.
The state of Georgia has issued its largest-ever environmental fine at $3 million, activists say it’s not enough.
National News
California Republican Devin Nunes (CA-22) will resign this month, prompting a shift in the GOP in the state.
The Biden administration has taken up the Trump administration’s Remain in Mexico policy.
A SPAC by former President Trump is under investigation by financial regulators.
The US has recorded 199,000 jobless claims, the lowest level in 50 years.
Several white supremacists have been ordered to pay $25 million in damages from the 2017 Charlottesville incident.
Congresswoman Lauren Boebert (R-CO), has issued an apology to fellow congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN), after calling her a terrorist. Omar did not accept. Now the pressure is on for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Dems to remove her from her committees.
Biden has signed into law a bill expanding benefits for police and first responders.
CNN anchor Chris Cuomo has now been fired from his Sirius XM show.
Spelling Bee champion Zaila Avant-Garde is named Sportskid of the Year.
Facebook (now Meta) CEO Mark Zuckerberg is in a bit of controversy over his purchase of 1,380 acres of land in Hawaii. Native Hawaiians say they have been forced off of their land as a result.
Music legend Clarence Avant’s wife, Jacqueline Avant was shot and killed in a home invasion.
A Black couple in California removed themselves from their home to see it be reappraised at $500,000 more.
California police are also looking for drivers who were seen picking up money on the highway after an armored truck opened up on a California highway.
US corporate profit margins are at the highest since 1950.
International News
Saudi Prince Mohammed Bin Salim has snubbed meeting with President Biden.
Tennis star Naomi Osaka’s social media accounts in China have been censored after she voiced concerns over a female Chinese player, Peng Shaui, who came forward with a sexual assault allegation.
Paris has issued an outdoor mask mandate over concerns of the omicron variant. While the UK is issuing new guidelines on handling the virus.
Satellite images have shown that Russian is planning for an invasion of Ukraine.
China has indicated it is unlikely to open its borders in 2022.
Drake has withdrawn his consideration from the 2022 Grammy Awards over its treatment of Black artists.
There are only 23 days left in 2021, make it count!