July 2024
Features
-
The Goat Farm returns with a historic renovation
While the new development will include nonartist residents, artists have been and always will be the focal point. Each residential building features studio and performance spaces on the ground level. By creating a sustainable funding source for art, the residential model affirms a central Goat Farm mission: Everyone involved contributes to the arts ecosystem.
Atlanta’s Top Docs in their own words: Why they went into medicine, the patients that inspired them, and more
We asked several of Atlanta’s Top Doctors to tell their own stories about their journey as a doctor. Several said they decided to enter the profession because one or both of their parents were doctors; one mentioned that as a child, she went on weekend hospital rounds with her father. One of our favorite responses came from a neurosurgeon, Dr. Tyler J. Kenning, who said that being a physician and caring for patients embodies Theodore Roosevelt’s sentiment that “the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”
Younger women are being diagnosed with breast cancer. But better screening practices can save more lives.
For reasons researchers are still struggling to understand, rates of breast cancer in women 20 to 49 years old have increased over the last 20 years. These troubling increases have shifted the medical community’s approach to the disease. Catching breast cancer early can make all the difference: In localized cases where the cancer has not spread beyond the breast (also known as stage 1), the five-year survival rate for most breast cancers is 99 percent. But as researchers learn more about who gets breast cancer, when they get it, and why, it’s becoming clear that a one-size-fits-all approach to screening won’t be enough. It will take more than a general recommendation for regular mammograms to drive down breast cancer rates: We’ll need methods that help women understand their individual risk, access the preventive measures they need, and get the healthcare they deserve—regardless of how old they are, where they get their care, or the color of their skin.
-
The Connector
The first building in DeKalb County to have electricity will soon go solar
When it was built in 1891, Agnes Scott College’s Main Hall was an instant spectacle. It wasn’t for the High Victorian Gothic architecture, the bell tower, or the steam-heated interior corridors. The hall made headlines because it was the first building in DeKalb County to have electricity—described as “startling” to the town. The community would often gather at the building’s base, simply to see the lights come on. Fast-forward 133 years, and Agnes Scott Hall, as it’s formally called, will soon draw the majority of its electricity from solar power.
How an Atlanta high-tech baseball startup is helping players improve
At Maven Baseball Lab, hitters and pitchers undergo a 12-swing or 12-pitch assessment under the eyes of 16 cameras, which produce data on biomechanics, spin rate, vertical break, and more. Maven’s client list includes Braves players Matt Olson, Max Fried, and A.J. Minter, along with other MLB stars like Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt.
A fleet of MARTA train cars find a new home in the ocean as artificial reefs
It was a balmy 60 degrees last December when two 55,000-pound MARTA railcars slowly inched off a barge east of Ossabaw Island. The 72-foot-long behemoths, which for decades had ferried millions of Atlantans around the city, edged out like hesitant swimmers over the cold, roiling water. And then they tipped and vanished, plunging 60 feet to the seafloor.
The Bite
The verdict on 3 new Atlanta restaurants: Auburn Angel, Pendolino, and Dos Burros
An iconic venue in Sweet Auburn gets a new pair of wings, a new neighborhood Italian spot near Chastain Park, and tacos and booze on the BeltLine.
The transformation of Madison, Georgia’s town square reveals a culinary destination
The changes have something to do with Madison’s unique location near Lake Sinclair and Lake Oconee, and the elite who hunt deer and shoot skeet in this rich bubble in the rural South. But the main driving force was an impeccably elegant Atlanta real estate investor, who worked his way up to principal in the company that developed the Ice House Lofts in Decatur and many other intown projects.
Things we like: Citrus-infused coffee drinks
Citrus and coffee may seem like an unusual flavor pairing, but to barista Paul Judy, it just makes sense. “Coffee has a lot of natural acidity to it already,” explains Judy, who works at Valor Coffee in Dunwoody.
Where to find excellent Asian fries in Atlanta
Fries feel like a very American dish, whether eaten as a side, an on-the-go snack, or an indulgent treat. But Atlanta’s Asian culinary community embraces all things “fries” as well. Several Asian eateries dish up their own variation on fries, offering an easy gateway to celebrating the region’s many unique flavors.
The Goods
Wax & Wane is ushering in a new model, using commercial work to fund narrative film
The company has only four people on staff, but they regularly work with up to 40 local crew members on their productions. While a short film can let someone flex their creative muscles, a commercial production, like a recent one for Grammarly, can pay full rates and keeps collaborators coming back. Wax & Wane has so far produced 10 shorts and plans to expand to features next.
Stylist Metta Conchetta launches her own clothing line, ATTEM
Meaning “breathe” in German (in addition to spelling Metta backward), ATTEM is a representation of Metta Conchetta’s personal style, which leans toward the androgynous. “I love experimenting with the feminine and masculine,” she says. It’s a combination of the professionalism that Conchetta says was ingrained in her German upbringing, and her street-style perspective.
The Atlanta Wood Foundation is on a mission to save and reuse fallen urban trees
Atlanta is a city of trees. But trees fall, or have to be taken down, and then need to be disposed of from streets and backyards alike. If the wood is of high value, the tree gets a chance at a second life as a useful piece of lumber. If not, it will likely end up in a landfill—the fate of thousands of urban trees every year in and around Atlanta. For woodworkers Kelly and Ali Syed, this “tragic waste” is what inspired them to act.
Miscellaneous
Editor’s Journal: How I repaired my relationship with doctors
For most of my life, I had somewhat problematic relationships with doctors. Mainly, I avoided them, operating on the youthful theory that I was young and indestructible. I was foolishly proud of the fact that I once went nearly a decade without seeing a doctor.
A love letter to the Georgia Voice
Through her editorial guidance at SoVo and GaVo, which she launched in 2010, Chris Cash taught me and others the importance of bringing our authentic selves into our reporting and the inherent value of queer people covering our own communities.