Wednesday wins
Dec. 10 — The DeKalb County Board of Education voted to name Dunwoody High School’s stadium after TV and radio personality – and 1992 alum – Ryan Seacrest and his family. The board also approved the $185 million modernization of Druid Hills High School.
⛅ Partly cloudy and 59° today.
🫏 Democrat Eric Gisler won a special election that flipped an Athens-area State House seat in a district that President Donald Trump won by double digits last year.
🗳 Early voting is underway in the Dec. 16 runoff for the Georgia Senate District 35 seat between Jaha Howard and Roger Bruce.
🗣️ Fulton DA Fani Willis has agreed to testify before the Senate about the Trump election interference case despite efforts to fight a subpoena.
🔎 Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office is conducting a full-scale investigation after a Fulton County poll worker allegedly scanned multiple ballots during the Dec. 2 runoff election.
🎳 Big Play, which features an arcade, bowling, laser tag, mini-golf, and a restaurant, is opening tomorrow in Dunwoody’s Mount Vernon Shopping Center.
⚖️ A federal judge struck down Georgia’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender inmates in state custody, but the state is appealing the decision.
🚦 The City of Atlanta has renamed a portion of Pryor Road and Pryor Street in honor of late community advocate Michael Langford.
ELSEWHERE
🫏 Democrat Eileen Higgins won Miami’s mayoral race, ending her party’s nearly 30-year drought.
🗣️ President Donald Trump said Europe was “decaying” and led by “weak” leaders in a Politico interview, hinting he could walk away from Ukraine if it doesn’t cede territory to Russia.
PICTURE THIS: The original Pink Pigs – Percival and Priscilla – are on display for the holidays at the Atlanta History Center in Buckhead. The monorail cars once circled the roof of the old Rich’s Department Store in Downtown Atlanta, giving kids a birds-eye view of the city and the Great Tree.
🕖 Here’s what’s in today’s newsletter:
• Take 5 with Ryan Hardwick
• Sandy Springs @ 20
• Wellness Wednesday
AND
• Concert Picks
👪 There are so many new opportunities for young families at Congregation B’nai Torah in Sandy Springs. Plus, your first year of membership is free! Come check out an upcoming event or join us for Tot Shabbat. SPONSOR MESSAGE
1. Take 5 with race car driver and entrepreneur Ryan Hardwick
🏎️ Ryan Hardwick’s love for racing began at home and was fed by his family.
Hardwick is the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship LMGT3 Drivers’ Champion and the 24 Hours of Le Mans winner. Tennessee-born and now an Atlanta transplant, his family is deeply rooted in car racing: his maternal grandfather built race cars and owned a round-track team, his mother earned a National Championship, and his father raced cars and trucks alongside her for years.
When he’s not behind the wheel of a Porsche 911 GT3 R, home for Hardwick is Buckhead, where he and his family live just a short drive (depending upon traffic) from his “day job” running Mountain Motorsports, a thriving business he and his co-owner expanded from East Tennessee to Alabama and into the greater Atlanta market.
🛣️ For her most recent edition of Take 5, Teri Elam spoke with Hardwick about his love for racing, the film “F1,” and more. Check out that conversation here.
Fashion meets art at the High Museum!
SPONSORED BY THE HIGH MUSEUM
👗 Experience Viktor&Rolf: Fashion Statements – a bold, breathtaking exhibition celebrating avant-garde fashion visionaries who blurred the line between haute couture and art. Only at the High, the exhibition’s sole U.S. stop.
➞ On view through Feb. 8, 2026.
2. El Azteca has a front-row seat; neighboring cities join the movement
SPONSORED BY MWT WINDOWS
🎉 To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Sandy Springs, we have two stories about witnesses to the incorporation.
• Owners of longtime Mexican restaurant El Azteca have had a front-row seat to the city’s incorporation over its 45 years on Roswell Road.
• A perspective piece on how Sandy Springs’ efforts helped other activists realize their own incorporation dreams.
Online coverage of Sandy Springs @ 20 is sponsored by MWT Windows. Get a free consultation today!
3. Wellness Wednesday
🎵 Join Aum Studio for Wellness in Alpharetta on Friday at 7 p.m. for a sacred resonance sound journey. Voice and instruments will help you release, restore, and reconnect.
🍄 Meet up at Mason Mill Park in Decatur for We Hike to Heal (pictured), a free women’s group hike, on Saturday at 10 a.m.
🧠 Atlanta Holistic Mental Health & Wellness is hosting an ADD/ADHD monthly life coaching and support group session on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Sandy Springs. A 30-minute introductory session will precede the event.
☕ Indulge your sweet tooth at Livable Buckhead’s Hot Chocolate Crawl this Sat., Dec. 13! Enjoy hot chocolate and specialty cocktails while strolling through Lenox Square, Phipps Plaza, and Peachtree Road. Local musicians and visits from Santa add to the festive fun. Admission is free! SPONSOR MESSAGE
4. Concert Picks
Wed., Dec. 10
🎄 Trisha Yearwood @ Atlanta Symphony Hall
🥑 Guaco @ Tabernacle
😈 Xavi @ Coca-Cola Roxy
Thurs., Dec. 11
🎙️ David Foster + Katharine McPhee @ Fox Theatre
🌹 Dean Johnson + Esther Rose @ Vinyl
👨🍳 Raekwon + Mobb Deep @ Tabernacle
🏊 Teddy Swims @ Coca-Cola Roxy
Fri., Dec. 12
🎸 Allman Betts Family Revival @ Atlanta Symphony Hall
🤠 Brendan Abernathy @ Aisle 5
🌼 Chris Renzema @ Buckhead Theatre
🧑🎄 Holidaze! with Five Eight and more (pictured) @ Smith’s Olde Bar
Sat., Dec. 13
🌎 Thievery Corporation @ Tabernacle
🎷 Chris Mitchell Jazz @ Variety Playhouse
Sun., Dec. 14
🎻 Trans-Siberian Orchestra @ Gas South Arena
🌙 Robert Earl Keen @ The Eastern
🏀 Ella Mai @ The Loft
🚸 The Cool Kids @ Vinyl
Mon., Dec. 15
🎼 Leslie Odom Jr. @ Atlanta Symphony Hall
Tues., Dec. 16
🌝 The Fabulous Equinox Orchestra @ Gas South Theater
🫡 Hometown Hero: Young Thug & Friends @ State Farm Arena
Wed., Dec. 17
🎶 Sarah Brightman @ Atlanta Symphony Hall
🏍️ The Front Bottoms @ The Eastern
🌟 Your future in nursing starts here. Herzing University–Atlanta has no wait lists and offers flexible learning, hands-on clinicals, and accelerated pathways. Train where you live and join Georgia’s next generation of nurses making an impact today. SPONSOR MESSAGE
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