Community Corner

And Away We Go!

The new Midtown Patch editor introduces himself and reminds users that the site is just a vehicle for many of the conversations already happening daily on the streets.

Good day Midtown! And you, too, Atlantic Station, Ansley Park, Brookwood Hills, Georgia Tech, Home Park, Loring Heights, Midtown’s Peachtree Corridor, Sherwood Forest, and others.

Forgive me if I’ve lumped you into the “others” category as I happily begin reacquainting myself with what I believe to be the crown jewel area of Atlanta. For you see, I’ve spent the last 16 months knee-deep in all things involving Smyrna and Vinings and the Cumberland Community Improvement District.

That doesn’t mean I haven’t been watching you Midtown!

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And now I am back in the community where I have lived, worked and played for the majority of my life. A few moons ago, I was born on a warm Sunday late afternoon (the No. 1 song at the time was The Young Rascals “Groovin’” on a Sunday afternoon if you really want to know how old I am) at Georgia Baptist Hospital, which is now known as the Atlanta Medical Center.

I grew up in the Howell Mill Rd. area, graduated from The Lovett School and later lived and worked at a variety of Midtown locales. Prior to Patch, I was the sports editor for the Westside located The Sunday Paper. Perhaps you remember me there? Maybe not, but I look forward to getting to know you now.

Find out what's happening in Midtownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

You’ll find that I like to have fun and we’ll have plenty of such here. Silly, stupid fun (you’ve been warned), but we’ll also explore the more serious issues that matter most to this community. We’ll examine the types of businesses that Midtown needs to attract, the ones that promote a safe, walkable urban community. We want local, independent businesses along our streets as local leaders continue building the Midtown experience.

Transportation and parking continue to be drags of daily life here. Will this summer’s vote on the transportation sales tax bring money for needed transit solutions? How will progress on the Atlanta BeltLine transform our neighborhoods?

And, of course, public safety remains a chief concern of Midtown residents. Even with a more focused effort to combat crime, is enough being done by police and residents to ensure better neighborhood and personal safety? We’ll break it down.

It will take astute planning to confront many of these issues, but most of them are a result of something good – the fact that Midtown is growing into such a desired place to live. And hot damn, ready or not, I’m back in it!

I’m here to help grow this site so you as a community will continue to read, continue to ask questions and continue to debate. Please, share your thoughts and ideas about Midtown by emailing me at midtown@patch.com.

As with Patch sites across the state and country, Midtown Patch is just a vehicle for many of the conversations already happening daily on the streets. Let’s keep the dialogue going, why don’t we?


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