Articles
‘A living jewel’: Bartender’s kidnapping, death shocks city on edge
In a city still reeling from the gruesome stabbing death of a woman walking her dog in Piedmont Park, Atlanta was once again stung by tragedy Friday morning when a woman was violently kidnapped outside her home and found shot to death hours later.
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In the midst of an outpouring of grief and remembrance, multiple friends and coworkers confirmed the identity of the woman as Mariam Abdulrab, 27, to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
GBI: 17-year-old charged after police shooting at Lithonia High
A 17-year-old is one of two suspects in an officer-involved shooting in the parking lot of a DeKalb County high school, the GBI said Monday.
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The DeKalb County schools police department has charged Ricky Brookins II with several charges, including aggravated assault on an officer, carrying a weapon within school safety zones, trespassing, and hit-and-run.
‘RIP, my friend’: Fundraiser for slain Cobb golf pro surpasses $650K
Nearly a week after a Cobb County golf pro was killed and two other men were found dead on a Kennesaw-area country club course, donations to help Gene Siller’s family continue to pour in.
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Reaching well beyond the initial goal of raising a half-million dollars, a GoFundMe page created by a friend has received more than 4,800 donations and amassed over $650,000 in a matter of four days. The highest individual donation has been $6,000.
‘Right in your back yard.’ Midtown residents make wary return to Piedmont Park
A week after the brutal killing of a woman and her dog inside Piedmont Park, Atlanta Midtown residents say they have not let the recent horror keep them away from the park, but have become more vigilant.
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“People have a lot of questions about how that happened in (Piedmont Park) and how to be assured it won’t happen again,” said Midtown Neighbors’ Association President Courtney Smith, who attended the National Night Out event in Midtown on Tuesday evening. The event is a national one where law enforcement agencies across the county mingle with community members with the goal of creating safer neighborhoods.
Cops: Beware of Atlanta scooter riders feigning injuries to steal your car
Atlanta police are urging drivers to be on the lookout for scooter riders who may hit your car and pretend to be hurt — only to take off in your vehicle.
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Between Monday and Wednesday, police were made aware of seven “bump-and-carjack” incidents involving scooters, Atlanta police spokesman Sgt. Jarius Daugherty said. That prompted the department to release a video from Wednesday displaying one of the crimes.
‘He is truly our hero’: Atlanta officer shot in face continues recovery
The Atlanta police officer who was shot in the face inside a Midtown apartment building more than a month ago is steadily recovering, the department announced Friday afternoon.
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Khuong Thai was “ambushed” June 30 along with Joshua Lovreta while they were investigating a shooting on the eighth floor of the Solace on Peachtree apartments, a 16-story building about a block from the famed Fox Theatre. Thai was shot twice as he and Lovreta stepped out of the elevator, authorities said. One bullet struck his shoulder and the other hit him in the face.
Kennesaw community on edge after golf course killings
As he observed the pickup truck stuck in a sand trap on the 10th hole at Kennesaw’s Pinetree Country Club golf course Saturday afternoon, club member Tom Dowling figured the driver had suffered a medical emergency.
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Golf pro Gene Siller volunteered to investigate.
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“It could’ve been any of us who went up there,” said Dowling, who estimated there were 50 to 60 golfers in the clubhouse when the white truck was first spotted roughly 400 yards away. Wearing bright red pants in honor of Independence Day, Siller could still be seen from the clubhouse windows as he neared the vehicle.
Cops: Burglars brazenly distract Buckhead couple, steal $100K in jewelry
About $100,000 worth of jewelry was taken from a Buckhead couple’s home recently after they were lured outside by burglars posing as tree trimmers, according to police.
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The suspects, 27-year-old Justin Luigi Frank and 23-year-old Jacob Mitchell, were each arrested in different cities on warrants out of Florida, according to an Atlanta Police Department news release. Frank is in custody in New Orleans, while Mitchell is in custody in Houston.
Kennesaw community on edge after golf course killings
Atlanta police are urging rideshare drivers to be on the lookout for people posing as riders who may ask them to exit their vehicle only to take off in it.
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Companies like Uber and Lyft have become aware of these trends and are implementing new policies to maintain driver and rider safety.
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Since mid-July, police have investigated eight auto thefts in which “criminals are purchasing rideshare services, and using it as an opportunity to victimize the drivers by stealing their vehicles,” Capt. Pete Malecki said in a news conference Monday.
Sexual harassment allegations against owner of Sanctum Cafe and Proper & Wild rattle Orlando restaurant community
Multiple employees are coming forward with sexual harassment claims against Jamie Savage, husband of Chelsie Savage, owner of the Sanctum Cafe in Orlando, Sanctum Coffee & Juice Bar in Altamonte Springs, and Proper & Wild restaurant in Winter Park.
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But it was Sanctum, and particularly Jamie Savage, that commenters really teed off on. After the thread reached more than 500 comments, it became the talk of the local food community, and almost every Orlando Weekly employee was tagged countless times and asked personally why we were not writing about it.
Bodycam footage released of Orange County Sheriff's deputy smashing woman's car window
On Wednesday evening, an Orange County Sheriff's deputy smashed a woman's car window near an Orlando "Justice for George Floyd" protest, after he said the woman was impeding traffic by stopping her vehicle with its hazard lights on. The stop was near Curry Ford Road and Chickasaw Trail.
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After being taken to the hospital with cuts and minor injuries, the driver was not arrested.
An Orlando woman's home needs repairs or could be condemned. Here's how her neighbors are helping
After moving to Orlando homeless in 1989 and with only $500 in her pocket, Theresa Defairia worked hard to eventually purchase her own small home that same year. It had been scheduled for demolition but she bought it "just in time."
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The one-story, chipped-white home is overgrown with weeds so tall they overtake the chicken-wire-covered windows. Although she says the 1,800-square-foot house suits her just fine, the city of Orlando disagrees. Officials say that without badly needed repairs and utilities, she'll have to move out by the second week of June.
When Florida's unemployment system fails, Orlando's elected state representatives take the calls
Gov. Ron DeSantis claims that Floridians are not receiving their Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) payments due to user error; meanwhile, Florida state representatives have been inundated with calls and emails from citizens hoping to receive help with applying for unemployment and successfully receiving their payments.
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We're asking Central Florida's elected state officials to weigh in, as they help constituents navigate through Florida's unprecedented unemployment crisis. Here's what they had to say to Orlando Weekly.
Some downtown Orlando bars comply with Phase 1 orders, while others reopen using 'loopholes'
As Phase 1 of Florida's economic reopening continues, Orlando bars, pubs and nightclubs that earn half their sales or more from alcohol are supposed to remain closed. Some Orlando bars are taking the directive seriously, while others are using self-described loopholes to circumvent the public safety orders.
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Gov. Ron DeSantis' executive order states that nightclubs and bars deriving more than 50 percent of gross revenue from the sale of alcoholic beverages "shall continue to suspend the sale of alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption."
The most fabulous LGBTQ+ owned restaurants around Orlando
From American-style comfort food to elegant and elaborate fine-dining concoctions, Orlando is home to a fabulous variety of LGBTQ+ owned restaurants. Impress your sophisticated taste buds, celebrate Pride Month, or just enjoy a big, gay takeout brunch from these impressive Orlando venues serving up mouthwatering dishes and plenty of culture and character.
Amid Panic, Students Promote Unity and Resilience
In an attempt to provide support to those impacted by the novel coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) and counter misinformation, 22 students took to the steps of the Administration Building on the windy morning of Feb. 28 to sing “Sing for Wuhan, Fight Coronavirus.”
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Jishen “Johnson” Wang (20C) organized the rehearsal and filming of the choral event, a video of which was posted on March 13.
‘The Recipe Hunters’ Travel the World to Document Traditional Recipes
In 2013, at the Red Lion bar in Manhattan, N.Y., Anthony Morano (08B), then working at a startup called Huli, asked Leila Elamine (07Ox, 09C) to dance. Elamine was visiting a friend in the area at the time. The pair did not know each other while at Emory and, despite her initial hesitation, she agreed to dance. Little did they know, the dance would eventually lead them to become friends and co-create The Recipe Hunters, a blog that documents “artisan food processes and traditional recipes around the world.”
Emory Alumna, Actor Raney Branch: ‘No Such Thing as Overnight Success’
Though Raney Branch (02C) now boasts roles in television shows such as “The Originals,” “Being Mary Jane” and “Bones,” the Emory alumnus first took to Los Angeles in 2007 with just $800 in her pocket, hoping to make it in acting.
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Branch graduated with a major in environmental studies and a minor in Arabic. In Fall 2007, despite her lack of industry experience, Branch decided to drive cross-country armed with her acting ambitions.
As Retirement Approaches, de Waal Reflects on Time at Emory
Pictures of various primate species crowd the walls of Charles Howard Candler Professor of Primate Behavior Frans B.M. de Waal’s office. Known for his research on primate behaviors — specifically emotion, empathy and social strategies — de Waal was the first to apply the Machiavellian social theory of self-interest and scheming to primates when he published his 1982 book, “Chimpanzee Politics: Power and Sex Among Apes.”
DACA Student Shares Ambition
Leida Cisneros (21C) was seven years old when she walked from El Salvador to the U.S., crossing deserts and the Rio Grande to reunite with her family and pursue the American Dream.
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Cisneros’s father had already migrated to the U.S. when she was born. A sick child with asthma, Cisneros was left behind in El Salvador with her godmother as her mother and siblings left for America.