Rough Draft Atlanta

12/27/2025

⏮️ A look back

2025 Tucker tales Dec. 26 — It's Cathy and Stephanie from Rough Draft with our weekly newsletter on Tucker. It's the day after Christmas, when your visiting relatives are creeping ever closer to violating the fish rule, your stretchy pants are feeling just a little too snug, and you are wondering if your once-fresh tree is going to make it to New Year's Day. On the bright side, January is coming in all its glory. 🤔 As promised, this issue will highlight some of our favorite Tucker stories of 2025. From efforts to curb Main Street crime to electing a new mayor to new initiatives that have been met with various degrees of support or dissent, the city certainly has a story to tell. ...

Get a glimpse into the major events and stories of Tucker in 2025, from the election of a new mayor to the opening of a new park.

12/26/2025

✏️ Acing the ACT

Winding down 2025 Dec. 26 — We hope you are spending time with family and friends as the year comes to an end, but we still want to keep you in the loop on what's happening in your city. 🤬 Community leaders condemned symbols of hate that were found on properties in Sandy Springs and other nearby cities. 🧊 Atlanta News First reports officials had challenges keeping Skate City Springs safe for visitors during this week's unusually warm temperatures. 👷🏻 A Sandy Springs street that has needed resurfacing for years was…...

Get the latest news and updates for Sandy Springs and surrounding areas. From community events to local achievements, stay informed!

12/26/2025

⭐ Chalamet is in pursuit of greatness

A day of rest Dec. 26 — Merry Day-After-Christmas, everyone! For the next two weeks, Scene will be a tad shorter than usual, giving you all ample time to enjoy your holiday and watch as many movies, read as many books, and eat as much food as you want. During my break, I've been catching up on "Heated Rivalry" (a show that everyone has been very, very normal about), reading a bunch of books as I desperately try to reach my goal for the end of the year (it was 50, and I don't think I'm going to make it), and listening to this…...

Enjoy a day of rest with Scene's newsletter featuring interviews, movie reviews, and what's playing at the movies this week.

12/26/2025

Invest Atlanta distributing $400k in grants to local small businesses

The recipients of Invest Atlanta's Small Business Improvement Grant program Invest Atlanta’s board of directors has approved $400,000 in Tax Allocation District funding to support local small businesses through the economic development agency’s Small Business Improvement Grant (SBIG) program. The grant initiative provides monetary support to eligible businesses, allowing them to make improvements to their storefronts and interiors, with funding priority given to locally owned businesses that support job creation, neighborhood revitalization and equitable economic development, according to Invest Atlanta. Recipients of the latest grants come from a wide range of sectors, including food service, retail, creative enterprises and professional services....

Invest Atlanta’s board of directors has approved $400,000 in Tax Allocation District funding to support local small businesses

12/26/2025

Breakthrough Atlanta pupils donate books to Scott Elementary K-5 students

The 11th-grade students of academic program Breakthrough Atlanta gifted new books to children at Scott Elementary School as part of the “1 Million Book Giveaway,” a national literature-distribution initiative started by Chick-fil-A Leader Academy (high school leadership program that Breakthrough participates in). Held during Hands On Atlanta’s Discovery Day, the event saw the Breakthrough pupils hand out various literary works to a total of 130 Fulton County children. All of the donated books included a handwritten note from the Breakthrough students, offering words of encouragement for the elementary school recipients....

The 11th-grade students of academic program Breakthrough Atlanta gifted new books to children at Scott Elementary School

12/26/2025

❤️🖤💚 Happy Kwanzaa

Unboxing Friday Dec. 26 — We hope you got exactly what you wanted for Christmas yesterday. The holidays roll on as it's the first day of Kwanzaa, as well as Boxing Day (hello, Canada, UK, and Australia!). ⛅ Partly cloudy with springlike temperatures continuing with a high of 67° today. Rinse and repeat for the weekend. 🇺🇦 Seventeen Ukrainian teens who lost parents in the war spent three weeks in metro Atlanta, hosted by local families through the Global Alliance for Ukraine. 🧠 Mount Vernon School senior Christian Foster e…...

Unboxing Friday: Kwanzaa begins, Ukrainian teens visit Atlanta, NYC prepares for snowstorm, and more in today's top stories.

12/26/2025

💫We’ve rounded up a slew of special New Year’s Eve dinners at restaurants around Atlanta to help you ring in 2026. 🥂
Reservations and tickets are disappearing fast, so make your move today!
The link in our bio has our entire list. ⬆

12/26/2025

Georgia Tech aims for first 10-win season since 2014 in Pop-Tarts Bowl

Georgia Tech enters the Pop-Tarts Bowl with a chance at its first 10-win season since 2014, facing 12th-ranked BYU at Orlando's Camping World Stadium, with quarterback Haynes King taking his final snaps and the defense facing a major challenge against BYU's ground attack....

Georgia Tech faces BYU in the Pop-Tarts Bowl with a chance at a 10-win season. Concerns arise with BYU's strong ground attack.

12/26/2025

‘Song Sung Blue’ is a charming, if oddly paced, crowdpleaser

Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson in "Song Sung Blue." (Photo provided by Focus Features) “Song Sung Blue” begins with a close up on Mike Sardina’s (Hugh Jackman) face. “I am, I said,” he begins, invoking the Neil Diamond song of the same name. “I am, I cried! An entertainer.” Jackman, certainly, is just that. Throughout this sequence, the only thing the audience has to go on is Jackman’s face, giving life to Mike’s love for music and, more importantly, love for Diamond. Mike is what you might call a yapper, regaling his unseen audience with stories about how much he loves music....

The best parts of "Song Sung Blue" are its crowd-pleasing charm and the musical spectacular of the two performances at its center.

12/26/2025

‘Marty Supreme’ and Timothée Chalamet are in the pursuit of greatness

Timothée Chalamet in "Marty Supreme." (Photo provided by A24) In the middle of his speech last year for the SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Lead Role, Timothée Chalamet said that he was in the “pursuit of greatness” “I know people don’t usually talk like that,” he said. “But I want to be one of the greats.” He invoked names like Marlon Brando, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Viola Davis, but also Michael Phelps and Michael Jordan — there’s an athletic bent to this pursuit, as well as an artistic one....

"Marty Supreme" considers ambition and its collision with American capitalism, all wrapped up in an immensely entertaining thrill ride.

12/26/2025

The top five recipes Rough Draft readers loved in 2025

Each week in Rough Draft's "Family Meal" newsletter, we shared recipes from Atlanta chefs and restaurants. But Magnolia Room Cafeteria's key lime cake, Rumi's Kitchen's roasted salmon, two Thanksgiving side dishes, Lonely Sweets' ube banana pudding, and Krupana's pljeskavica were Rough Draft readers favorite recipes of 2025....

Each week in Rough Draft's "Family Meal" newsletter, we shared recipes from Atlanta chefs and restaurants. But Magnolia Room Cafeteria's key lime cake, Rumi's Kitchen's roasted salmon, two Thanksgiving side dishes, Lonely Sweets' ube banana pudding, and Krupana's pljeskavica were Rough Draft readers...

12/25/2025

🇮🇱 Birthright Israel @ 25

Shaping the future of Judaism Dec. 25 (5 Tevet 5786) Today's newsletter is mostly focused on Birthright Israel, but first, a couple of unsettling headlines: 🚨 Local police are investigating after swastikas were spray-painted on utility poles and on hiking trails in Roswell, Sandy Springs, and Virginia-Highland. 🇦🇺 A rabbi’s family was evacuated in Melbourne, Australia, after his car was firebombed on Christmas morning in an antisemitic attack. Now, on to the main event: 🇮🇱 Birthright Israel for 25 years has been sending teens and young adults to explore the magic of the Dead Sea, the history of Masada, and the taste of Israeli street food....

Discover the transformative impact of Birthright Israel on young Jewish adults as they explore their heritage and forge lifelong connections.