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Hey, O4W / L5P / Candler Park! This week: John Cena apparently really likes Delbar. Who knew? Also, The Letters Festival also fills Candler Park and L5P with readings and workshops through Nov. 14, and Mo Ivory's historic win has Fulton County watching what comes next.

- News — Mo Ivory lays out her Fulton County priorities after making history, John Cena gives Inman Park's Delbar a shout-out, and the Letters Festival settles into Candler Park and L5P.
- Business — Star Bar will close for good on Dec. 31 with Red Light Café slated to move in, while Buena Vida on the Eastside Beltline is rebranding as Amasa Mexican Kitchen.
- Events — Variety Playhouse, Aisle 5, and City Winery fill the music calendar, while Fernbank After Dark, a Whitespace Gallery opening, and a Beltline tree tour round out the week.
- Government — Fulton approved a $45.5 million jail design contract and voted to abolish its Board of Ethics, while DeKalb moved a recreation center contract forward and Atlanta council committees take up zoning and utilities this week.
- Construction — Arkwright Place is still getting right-in/right-out turns at Moreland, Ponce is being resurfaced, and At Arbeta's permit is still waiting on paperwork.

Let's dive in.

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Lostintheletters hosts 13th annual Letters Festival Nov. 9-14
The six-day festival brings readings, writing workshops, and discussions to venues around Candler Park and Little Five Points, including Lostintheletters, Gigi's, Lucille's, and The Marianna at Wrecking Bar Pub. It also premieres its Video Nights series on Nov. 10, and tickets are $16.34 for individual events or $81.88 for an all-access pass via Eventbrite.

John Cena Highlights Inman Park's Delbar as a Top Global Dining Favorite
Apple TV shared Cena's favorite places to eat and drink to promote his film Matchbox The Movie, and Delbar, a Michelin recommended Middle Eastern restaurant, was the Atlanta pick. Cena described it as a "seemingly unlikely spot for some of the best Persian food I've had outside my mother-in-law's kitchen." Delbar has locations in Inman Park (the original), Old Milton, and Buckhead.

Making history, Mo Ivory outlines her vision for Fulton County in first post-election interview
Ivory defeated Republican Eric Tatum with 75 percent of the vote in the Nov. 3 general election, becoming the first Black woman and first Latina elected chair of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners. She said her first priority in January is passing a budget, followed by fixing the jail, funding the courts, and building a hospital in South Fulton.

Fulton County reentry program offers affordable housing for former inmates
Project Rebuild, launched by social entrepreneur Keith Lewis, operates six homes across metro Atlanta that currently house fewer than 25 tenants, with units costing about $600 per month. Lewis hopes to expand to 50 to 100 units by seeking state funding, and organizers have not confirmed which neighborhoods host the homes.

BUSINESS

Star Bar closing after 35 years in Little Five Points — Live music venue Star Community Bar will close for good on Dec. 31, and Red Light Café, currently at Amsterdam Walk on the border of Virginia-Highland and Morningside, will take over the space in January.

Eastside Beltline restaurant Buena Vida converting to gluten-free Mexican concept Amasa — The owner of Buena Vida Tapas Bar on the Eastside Beltline is rebranding the restaurant as Amasa Mexican Kitchen, matching the concept of his recently opened Alpharetta restaurant and a sister conversion in West Midtown.

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Monday, November 9
- Prateek Kuhad | Variety Playhouse
- The Kilans | Aisle 5
- Atlanta Run Club: Monday Night Runs | Ponce City Market
- Empowered Movement with Clarity Fitness (Conditioning) | Inman Quarter
- CPNO Board Meeting November | Candler Park
- MC Lyte | City Winery Atlanta

Tuesday, November 10
- Community Jam | Dad's Garage
- Will Sofrin - "USCG Cutter Eagle" | Jimmy Carter Presidential Library

Wednesday, November 11
- Tab Benoit w/ Jesse Dayton | Variety Playhouse
- Maestro | Dad's Garage
- Story Time | Fernbank Museum of Natural History
- The Wrecks - Finally : OUTSIDE Tour | The Masquerade
- Rob Landes and Marcus Veltri | City Winery Atlanta

Thursday, November 12
- The Jayhawks | Variety Playhouse
- Purelink | Aisle 5
- Dallas Moore & The Waymores | Star Community Bar
- King's X | City Winery Atlanta

Friday, November 13
- The Elovaters w/ Wax | Variety Playhouse
- ROAD TRIP! | Dad's Garage
- We Hold These Truths: Ancestral Reckoning | The First Existentialist Congregation of Atlanta
- Yheti & Toadface & Flintwick | Aisle 5
- Fernbank After Dark: Amazing Animals | Fernbank Museum of Natural History

Saturday, November 14
- Paula Cole | Variety Playhouse
- Savasana & Chill Men’s Wellness Market | Fetch Park
- Tree Tour: History and Change on the Atlanta Beltline Eastside Trail | Inman Perk Coffee
- Intro to Soccer | Thomas Taylor Memorial Skatepark
- Whitespace Gallery Opening Reception: Kathryn Réfi & Jazmin Marie | whitespace gallery
- George Clanton | The Masquerade

Sunday, November 15
- Christone Ingram | Variety Playhouse
- Chat Pile - Who Loves The Sun Tour 2026 | The Masquerade
- American Amazon: Photographing the Wildest Secrets of the American South | Fernbank Museum of Natural History

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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

DeKalb County Board of Commissioners
The Committee of the Whole moved a long list of spending items forward, including a $9.91 million contract for the new Luscious Sanders Recreation Center and more than $1.4 million for a 400-bed emergency shelter and severe-weather warming and cooling centers. It also sent $1.75 million in affordable housing and land bank funding to a review committee, and it pulled a separate $1.3 million request for vehicular homelessness services, though a related policy resolution stayed alive. On the infrastructure side, the committee advanced a $5.2 million water pipe contract for the county's watershed system. The Planning Commission met over Zoom and took up rezonings that would turn commercial, industrial, and large-lot land into housing, along with a gas station permit, two daycare proposals, and a countywide ordinance targeting repeat nuisance properties. Minutes aren't yet published for that meeting, so its outcomes aren't confirmed, but any recommendations head to the full board on November 19. A special called meeting also took place the same morning, but no agenda or details were available.

Fulton County Board of Commissioners
Commissioners approved a $45.5 million contract to design a new 1,800-bed county jail, and they renewed the jail's medical services contract at roughly $47 million. The board voted 5-1 to abolish the Board of Ethics, so independent hearing officers will now screen and decide ethics complaints. It also adopted the 2026 school millage rate, which sets the property tax rate that funds Fulton County Schools and shows up on your tax bill. Commissioner Dana Barrett's proposals to end the 5% departmental budget caps and to push lawmakers on private equity ownership of medical practices were both filed, which ends them. Commissioners also approved a grant toward a 200-unit affordable housing development in Vine City and a $3.2 million water main relocation tied to a state road-widening project in Johns Creek.

Atlanta City Council
At its full meeting, the council set the city's Fiscal Year 2027 property tax rates, including the levies for the Atlanta BeltLine and Atlanta Stitch special service districts. It extended the moratorium on new self-storage facilities in Office-Institutional zones by 60 days, and it started the process to designate a Ponce De Leon Place property as a historic landmark. Council members also approved more than $63 million in water infrastructure upgrades, including $25 million for citywide water line replacements, and they unanimously denied a housing site plan amendment while killing a proposed 21-acre park-for-hire facility. The council sent a water repair contract extension back to committee, and it passed new rules for public comment sign-up and ceremonial proclamations. Earlier that day, the Committee on Council recommended an appointment to the Human Relations Commission, but it held those same public comment rule changes along with several other measures, including a proposal to station law enforcement at recreation center polling sites.

Atlanta Public Schools
The Board of Education gave a first read to four sets of attendance zone changes that would take effect in Fall 2027. They touch elementary, middle, and high schools across the west, northwest, and south sides of the city, so if your family lives near one of those schools, watch for the maps. Because these were first readings, the board took no final vote, and you'll get chances to review the proposals and weigh in before one is scheduled. The board also approved routine contracts for school buses, propane fuel, and student support services, along with temporary construction easements with the City of Atlanta. And it presented a first draft of its 2027 legislative priorities, which previews what the district will ask state and local lawmakers to do.

Meetings This Week
- Atlanta City Council — Transportation Committee | Nov-09, 10:00 AM | key topics: Moores Mill Road Bridge replacement study, traffic calming on Wieuca Road, Downtown and Midtown Safe Streets projects
- Atlanta City Council — Zoning Committee | Nov-09, 11:00 AM | key topics: comprehensive zoning ordinance overhaul, regulations for event centers, mixed-use rezonings on Monroe Drive and Decatur Street
- Atlanta City Council — Public Safety & Legal Administration Committee | Nov-09, 1:00 PM | key topics: pending legal settlements, anonymous housing code complaint protections, rehiring retired police personnel
- DeKalb County Board of Commissioners | Nov-10, 9:00 AM | key topics: Gresham Road residential rezoning, funding for Lithonia Park recreation center, pet restraint and transport regulations
- Atlanta City Council — City Utilities Committee | Nov-10, 10:00 AM | key topics: data center municipal water use restrictions, commercial septic bans, North Fork Peachtree Creek wastewater facility funding
- Atlanta City Council — Community Development/Human Services Committee | Nov-10, 1:30 PM | key topics: greenspace land acquisition on Fourth Avenue NW, Southside Park upgrades, corridor land-use amendments
- Atlanta City Council — Finance/Executive Committee | Nov-10, 1:30 PM | key topics: Fire Station 31 construction contract, $204 million affordable housing bond issuance, delinquent utility lien penalties

CONSTRUCTION

Permits
- 579 N Highland Ave NE: At Arbeta is moving in as a new cafe and restaurant tenant. The permit is requesting a Certificate of Occupancy and still needs additional materials, so you'll have to wait a bit before it opens.
- 1739 Adolphus St NE: Unit B received its Certificate of Occupancy permit. The work was built and inspected under an earlier permit, and this one is issued, so the unit is cleared for move-in.
- 341 Ponce de Leon Ave NE: Plans call for 6-foot fencing around the parking lot, plus two sliding electric gates, two manual gates and more. It's routed for review. If you park there, expect changes to how you get in and out.
- 1784 N Decatur Rd NE: An issued electrical permit covers an interior renovation of the ground level and first floor. Crews will demo the space and build it back, so expect some construction activity.
- 1784 N Decatur Rd NE: A companion low voltage permit is issued for fire alarm system changes tied to the same renovation. It points to a full interior rebuild.
- 942 N Ave NE: An issued permit will condense the existing units into 3. The filing notes the property is commercial.
- 15 Waddell St: A multifamily kitchen and bathroom renovation is in the works, with new cabinets and fixtures. It still needs additional materials.

Road Work

Under Construction
- Moreland Avenue at Arkwright Place — Crews are building a median on Moreland Avenue that limits Arkwright Place to right-in/right-out turns, so you won't be able to turn left or cross Moreland from Arkwright. A signalized pedestrian crossing is part of the project.
- SR 8 / Ponce de Leon Avenue resurfacing — Crews are repaving SR 8 (Ponce de Leon Avenue) from Northside Drive to Moreland Avenue/Briarcliff Road.
- Memorial Drive pedestrian safety upgrades — Between Hill Street and Pearl Street, the project adds a mid-block pedestrian crossing, a right-in/right-out turn restriction and a restricted-crossing U-turn, where drivers turn right and then make a U-turn instead of crossing traffic.
- I-20 lighting, Capitol Avenue to Flat Shoals Road — Crews are swapping the old sodium highway lights for LEDs along this stretch of I-20, and some poles and wiring may be replaced along the way.
- I-75 tunnel lighting at Ralph McGill and Baker Street — Crews are swapping the old sodium lights in the tunnel for LEDs, with some wiring work along the way.

Service Requests
- Traffic Signal Repair (Non-Emergency): You'll find five reports at Dekalb Ave and Arizona Ave, Randolph St NE and Highland Ave NE, Highland Ave NE (listed at its own intersection), Piedmont Ave and Ralph McGill Blvd, and Moreland Ave NE and Euclid Ave NE. If you drive through any of these, expect signals that aren't working right.
- Traffic Signal Repair (Emergency, Level 1): Ponce de Leon Ave and Argonne Ave. This one's flagged as urgent, so approach with extra caution.
- Litter Removal: Two reports along Central Park Pl NE, including the stretch between Angier Ave NE and Ralph McGill Blvd NE.
- Sign Repair, Replacement, or Installation: Edgewood Ave and Gunby St.
- Potholes: Palifox Dr. NE.

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Until next week,
O4W / L5P / Candler Park 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.