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Hey y’all, before we get into it, two quick things: 1. Did you know if you have any questions or feedback you can just reply to this email? We read and reply to pretty much everything. 2. Next week we’ll be publishing Tuesday morning due to some staff vacation time, but then we’ll be back to our normal Monday morning routine.

Hey, Druid Hills / North Decatur! This week: DeKalb voters will weigh in on renewing the one-cent E-SPLOST school sales tax this November, while Northlake residents decide whether to join Tucker on Nov. 3. We've also got a Chamblee tower implosion, a Georgia Tech and Emory AI investment, and plenty of Halloween plans to chew on.

- News — The E-SPLOST renewal heads to the November ballot, Northlake voters will decide on Tucker annexation, and a vacant 18-story Chamblee tower came down in a controlled implosion.
- Events — The week runs from the ACOTAR 6 midnight release party (Oct. 26–27) and Stacey Abrams at City Winery to Fright Night at Fernbank, Halloween comedy, trick-or-treating, and a Manga Day Festival in Avondale Estates.
- Government — DeKalb commissioners pulled a $153,800 election equipment hauling contract, APS is reviewing a draft AI policy, and an Old Briarcliff Road townhome rezoning moves toward the full commission agenda.
- Construction — Fire sprinkler upgrades are underway around Emory, a sidewalk addition has wrapped up on Briarcliff Road, and GDOT resurfacing projects are listed for SR 236 and SR 13.

Let's dive in.

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Tucker may expand boundaries after Nov. 3 vote
Voters in the proposed annexation area between Northlake Parkway and LaVista Road will decide on Senate Bill 622, which would add the area to Tucker if more than half approve. Early voting ends Oct. 30, and the area includes Avana City North, Atlas LaVista Hills, and Providence of Northlake.

Children's Healthcare of Atlanta hospital receives highest level neonatal care designation
Children's announced Oct. 19 that the neonatal intensive care unit at Arthur M. Blank Hospital received its Level IV redesignation from the Georgia Department of Public Health and the American Academy of Pediatrics. The three-year recognition places it among four Level IV neonatal facilities in Georgia, including Children's Scottish Rite Hospital.

$1 billion investment from Georgia Tech and Emory bets big on AI
The joint investment of over $1.1 billion includes $575 million from Georgia Tech and $600 million from Emory. The announcements also mentioned Georgia Tech's Nexus supercomputer in Tech Square, built with the National Science Foundation and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, which will open 90 percent of its capacity to researchers nationwide.

Education sales tax renewal is on the ballot this November in DeKalb County: Here's what it would do
The one-cent E-SPLOST benefits the DeKalb County School District, City Schools of Decatur, and the portion of Atlanta Public Schools in DeKalb. If approved, it would be E-SPLOST VII, following E-SPLOST VI, which 81 percent of voters approved in November 2021. The district said it owed APS $2.9 million and CSD a little more than $9 million after a certificate of distribution was never submitted in 2022, and both have since been paid.

Proposed DeKalb County amendment seeks to expand LGBTQ+ non-discrimination laws
The amendment, sponsored by commissioners Robert Patrick, Michelle Long Spears, and Ted Terry, would extend the 2023 ordinance's protections to non-county employment and housing. The Employee Relations and Public Safety Committee deferred discussion from Oct. 20 to a Nov. 5 meeting at 9 a.m., which can be streamed on DCTV Channel 23.

Chamblee office tower demolished in controlled implosion
Crews brought down the 18-story building at 1800 Century Boulevard at 7:45 a.m. Saturday. The tower emptied in 2025 when the Georgia Department of Revenue moved its headquarters, and a plan to convert it to apartments was later dropped.

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Monday, October 26
- Midnight release party for ACOTAR 6 (Oct. 26–27) | Eagle Eye Book Shop
- StoryWalk® at Mason Mill Park | Avis Williams Library - DeKalb County
- JWJI Colloquium featuring Kevin A. Escudero (Brown University) | Emory Bookstore
- Eric Liu - "Live Like a Citizen: 8 Ways to Change Your Mindset and Our Community" | Jimmy Carter Presidential Library
- English as a Second Language (ESL) | Avis Williams Library - DeKalb County
- Lynae Vanee with Stacey Abrams | City Winery Atlanta

Tuesday, October 27
- LEGO Legends Club | Avis Williams Library - DeKalb County

Wednesday, October 28
- Preschool Storytime | Avis Williams Library - DeKalb County

Thursday, October 29
- Live Animal Encounter | Fernbank Museum of Natural History
- The Green Room Ensemble: String Quartet Cycle by Eleanor Alberga | Schwartz Center for Performing Arts
- Fest-of-Ale | Atlanta Botanical Garden
- Olmsted Park Alliance 'Party for Park' | Druid Hills Civic Association Events
- Sandra Senn's Blues Jam Sessions | Napoleon's Grill

Friday, October 30
- Fright Night at Fernbank Museum | Fernbank Museum of Natural History
- Emory Muscogee Teach-In | Emory Student Center
- October Front Yard Friday Season Finale ! | Sagamore Hills Civic Association
- Laura Lootens: ATLANTA | Performing Arts Studio

Saturday, October 31
- Trick-or-Treat at Ponce City Market | Ponce City Market
- SouthEast Crab Feast- Atlanta | New Beginning Full Gospel Baptist Church
- Dead Funny Laughs At Londzell; Halloween Comedy Night and Costume Party | Londzell Performing Arts Theatre
- Monster Mahjong Mayhem at Café Lily | Café Lily

Sunday, November 1
- Fabio Frizzi performing the Frizzi2Fulci concert with the F2F band | Wild Heaven Beer
- MANGA DAY FESTIVAL | Olive + Pine

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Note: our information comes from posted meetings documents (agendas and minutes when available) — latest source document hyperlinked to each meeting.

Past Week Roundup

Atlanta Public Schools
The Board of Education's Policy Review Committee met Oct. 21 and talked through two items without taking any votes. One is a new policy, IFBI, that would set rules for how students and teachers use artificial intelligence in classrooms. The other is a draft list of the board's 2027 legislative priorities, which outlines what the district will ask state lawmakers for next session. Both items stay in draft form and have to go back to the full board for formal approval before anything changes in your child's school. A separate board meeting the same day posted only a basic agenda outline, with no recorded votes or decisions, and the minutes for it aren't published yet.

DeKalb County Board of Commissioners
The Committee of the Whole met Oct. 20 to set the agenda for the next full commissioners' meeting, and it moved a lot of money along. Members pulled a proposed $153,800 contract to haul election equipment between the county warehouse and polling places, so it won't go to the full board for now. They also approved eminent domain filings on two residential properties for the Constitution Road Freight Corridor project, and both will get public hearings. Commissioners sent $285,000 in federal pandemic-relief interest funds to the consent agenda for eviction, utility and food assistance in District 5, plus $100,000 for mental health services in District 1. Two multiyear contracts worth about $55 million each, one for general contractors and one for watershed construction management, went to standing committees for review, along with a short-term warehouse lease to house the state-mandated post-election audit in November. A special called meeting also took place that morning, but no agenda or minutes are available for it yet.

Notable Neighborhood Mentions

DeKalb County Board of Commissioners
- 729 Old Briarcliff Rd — A proposed rezoning from office and institutional use to medium-density residential to allow single-family attached townhomes was advanced to the upcoming regular commission agenda.
- Valley Brook Rd at Hollywood Dr — A contract change order to install a new traffic signal at the intersection was approved for placement on the Board of Commissioners consent agenda.

Meetings This Week
- DeKalb County School District — Board of Education | Oct-26 | key topics: student safety and wellness, workforce development pathways, joint infrastructure and facility use
- DeKalb County Board of Commissioners | Oct-27, 9:00 AM | key topics: YMCA facility purchase, Old Briarcliff Road rezoning, park improvements, street drifting and unauthorized camping ordinances

CONSTRUCTION | Presented by

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Permits
- Clifton Heights Ln. $63K condo repair permit, now closed. Exterior wall damage on the third floor meant crews had to pull out the master tub and reinstall it.
- 101 Woodruff Cir NE. Commercial plumbing and HVAC permits issued for work on the Emory campus. You'll likely see contractor traffic nearby.
- 1784 N Decatur Rd NE. Commercial permit issued to modify the fire sprinkler system on the third floor.
- 1365 Clifton Rd NE. Commercial permits issued to add and relocate parts of the existing fire sprinkler system to NFPA 13 standards. Expect interior work at this busy medical hub.
- 2470 Briarcliff Rd. Permit closed for a sidewalk addition at the multi-tenant shopping center at 2470-2490 Briarcliff. Walking to your errands there should get easier.

Road Work

Under Construction
- SR 236 / LaVista Rd from Fulton County Line to I-285 (DeKalb County) — Crews are repaving SR 236 (LaVista Road) from the Fulton County line to I-285.
- SR 410/US 78 at CR 5160 / N Druid Hills Road (DeKalb County) — The eastbound through/right-turn lane on North Druid Hills Road at US 78 is being extended about 245 feet. Expect a partly rebuilt median, some widening, and fresh paving and striping.
- SR 13 from Fulton County Line to CS 757/Chamblee Tucker Rd (DeKalb County) — Crews are repaving SR 13 (Buford Highway) from the Fulton County line to Chamblee Tucker Road.

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Until next week,
Druid Hills / North Decatur Busybody

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Disclaimer: We use advanced data retrieval and analysis techniques across hundreds of sources, and may be prone to occasional error. Independently verify information with a secondary source, and please let us know if we got anything wrong via the feedback form.