News & Opinion

You wouldn’t think a 38-year-old man who is considered by many to be the greatest soccer player of all time—an athlete who made $135M last year alone—could get puffed up any bigger. But this past weekend, Atlantans discovered otherwise. Visitors to Piedmont Park couldn’t have helped but notice a 20-foot inflatable Lionel Messi in a blue Lowe’s hardware store kit tethered to the ground. And now, if you dream of owning your own, you might find a slightly smaller inflatable Messi at an Atlanta Lowe's.

Launched in 2014 by Judson Mitcham in collaboration with the Georgia Council for the Arts, the Georgia Poet Laureate's Prize is an annual program designed to encourage works by teen writers. Read the works of the 2026 winner and finalists.

Hope Booth, a mental health nonprofit founded by Gloria Umanah in 2021, uses artificial intelligence–powered technology to offer one of 19 experiences designed to improve your state of mind. “Sometimes people just need hope for the moment. Other times, people need lasting support as well,” Umanah says.

Frontman, bassist, and principal songwriter for the iconic British band The Police, Sting brought his solo Sting 3.0 tour to a sold-out Synovus Bank Amphitheater at Chastain Park on Friday night. Here, check out the scenes photographer Perry Julien captured at the show.

Early Monday morning, a couple who traveled on the MV Hondius—the cruise ship with a rare and deadly hantavirus outbreak—were wheeled into Emory University Hospital’s Serious Communicable Diseases Unit. They wore full protective gear, including hoods and gowns, as did the health care workers who greeted them. Television helicopters hovered overhead, tracking their movements, from their climb down the steps of the charter plane to their arrival in ambulances at their temporary medical home. But the concern turned out to be a false alarm—at least for now.

The Lake Claire Community Land Trust is a 1.5 acre lot that has sprouted into an urban garden, community space, and performance venue that anyone can visit. But it faces an uncertain future—not because of developers or legal threats, but because the people who built it are aging, and the next generation has yet to step in.

Robert “Bobby” Barnett, a longtime Atlanta Ballet artistic director, turned 101 this month. “My wife and I moved here in 1958 after retiring from the New York City Ballet,” he says. Then, Bobby and his wife, Virginia (“Ginger”), became principal dancers and associate directors for the Atlanta Civic Ballet.

For Drivin N Cryin, longevity has always been rooted in honesty and a deep trust in instinct and songcraft. These values have carried the Atlanta group from sweat-soaked barroom rock to front-porch confessionals since the 1980s. The group’s latest album, Crushing Flowers, features collaborations with the late singer-songwriter Todd Snider and R.E.M.’s Peter Buck, leaning into the simple, restorative pleasure of big-hearted songs that feel lived-in and joyful.

Ducko McFli is proof that if you’re willing to take a chance, you can forge a totally new career path. After nearly two decades in the music industry as a rapper, DJ, and producer, McFli opened The Tuftest Class in Town two years ago in Poncey-Highland, where he leads workshops on rug making. “I had no idea that I would be the ‘rug guy,’ but I am so thankful,” McFli says.

Bobby Cox was the Braves for many people, a leader who not only oversaw win after win on the field but plucked talented youngsters from all over and molded them, on and off the diamond, into one of the most successful teams and eras any franchise has ever assembled. He died on May 9 at age 84