Mario Guevara, an Emmy award-winning, Spanish-language journalist who has served Atlanta’s Latino community for over two decades, will be deported Friday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to his family. 

Atlanta journalist Mario Guevara’s last ditch appeal to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to block his deportation was denied on Wednesday. 

The two candidates for Atlanta City Council president, Rohit Malhotra and Marci Collier Overstreet, offered competing approaches to governing in the face of uncertainty over federal funding at a Tuesday forum hosted by LGBTQ rights groups Georgia Equality and the Human Rights Campaign Georgia.

“What Atlanta has had is tremendous growth. But what we have lacked is balanced growth.”

Georgia legislators introduced bills to limit corporate ownership in Atlanta’s housing market. Most of them stalled. Illustration by Khoa Tran Before Gabriel Sanchez was a Georgia state representative, he was just a downtown Atlanta resident trying to survive the pandemic in an apartment that kept flooding. The complex had on-site staff, but Sanchez’s landlord did not live in Georgia. “It’s one of those things where you have these owners who are far removed from the actual property they own, so they have little to no care about what happens outside of what the law requires,” he says.

Small grocers anchor neighborhoods, but only when we buy in. What will it cost us to reclaim food access and economic autonomy? Illustration by Khoa Tran After signing papers for their first home, Rossi Rivera and her husband spent an afternoon exploring their new community. A few minutes down the road, they stumbled upon Westview Corner Grocery, a small store owned by a couple who live in the neighborhood.

Atlanta roasters reconsider how much a cup of coffee should cost Illustration by Khoa Tran By January, the signs that Portrait Coffee needed to raise its prices were there. “It was honestly working backwards and looking at all the channels that we sell coffee through and realizing, oh, this isn't gonna work anymore,” said Portrait co-founder and CEO Aaron Fender. 

Sam hoped to become a tattoo artist, but Atlanta’s rising costs have pushed them out of their apartment—and their passion Illustration by Khoa Tran Sam went to school to become a registered behavior technician. Still—because of high housing costs and despite their degree and current work in a skilled labor field—they’re moving back in with family. They hope to save money for a while and “hopefully afford rent again in the future.”

After an unexpected job loss, this computer scientist is taking a big risk to pursue his dream Illustration by Khoa Tran Jake lost his job in January after his Fortune 500 employer sold his company amid broader cuts in a shaky economy. Now, he’s taking the opportunity to pursue what he’s always wanted to do—and what drew him to his career in computer science and programming in the first place: video game development.

After spending $3,000 to get settled, Logan is learning how quickly costs add upIllustration by Khoa TranLogan moved into his own place for the first time last week. He’s not surprised at how expensive it is. “This is pretty much what I expected because I have friends who live out here,” Logan said. “I already had a realistic expectation [of living near the city].” Still, a lot has changed since moving from Temple to Duluth. To start, Logan—who asked to use a pseudonym so he could speak openly about his finances—took out a $5,000 loan to cover his apartment applications, two months of rent, a security deposit, and fees to set up new utility services. All in all, he’s spent $3,000 just to get settled. He expects to save money on transportation. Before he moved, he spent a lot of money on gas, driving back and forth to Atlanta to hang out. He’s also moved in with his girlfriend, so he’ll no longer have to drive to North Carolina to visit her.Groceries, though? That’s going to cost him. He says food was practically free where he was living before, with a friend’s parents. “Since I lived out in the sticks, we did a whole bunch of organic stuff,” Logan said. They had a mill to grind up grain and baked homemade bread and pancakes. They raised chickens for fresh eggs. “They were trying to stay as natural as they could,” Logan explained.What does he think it’ll be like leaving that lifestyle behind? “Expensive,” he said, and laughed. “We just went to get groceries last night for one week, and it was over $150.”“We just went to get groceries last night for one week, and it was over $150.” —LoganHe says his new apartment has its “quirks,” but he feels like that’s to be expected at his price range. He was looking at a different complex, but they required him to make more than twice what his monthly rent would have been, which wasn’t realistic for him. He said he thinks greed is driving today’s unreasonable housing costs. “They could still make a good profit and help the people,” he said. “But instead, they're worried about being too greedy and just getting everything they can; basically saying, excuse my French, ‘f-ck the people.’”Ground penetrating radar technicianNeighborhoodLives withGirlfriendAnnual gross incomeRent payment$1,666 (includes wifi and cable)Health insurance cost per month + cost of any prescriptionsPhone plan and monthly subscriptions (Netflix, Spotify, food delivery services, apps, etc.)Utilities per month$89 a month for gas. “TBD on the cost for electricity since I just moved in, but it was a $30 connection fee and $200 deposit just to get it set up,” he said. (Editor’s note: Logan later reached out to let us know his first electricity bill was $350.)Transportation (car payment, car insurance, gas, public transportation, Uber)$150 weeklyRestaurants, fast food, drinks at bars, coffeesLess than $500$1,000 a yearFun (concerts, books, movies, recreational drugs, etc.)$400 a monthClothes/beauty (new shoes, laundromat services, makeup)$100 a monthHow much money would you need to live comfortably in Atlanta? What hourly rate or annual salary would you be happy with?“I make $27 an hour, and that’s the bare minimum I need to support myself in Atlanta,” he said.What’s a nonessential item that you treat yourself to?Concerts, events, etc.What would you like to have (that you don’t)?“My own home and a new vehicle,” he said.What can be done to improve the cost of living in Atlanta?“Gas is ludicrously expensive,” Logan said. “Not to mention having to pay for parking every single place you go.”What do you love most about Atlanta?“I love the opportunities that are present within the city,” Logan said. •

Unionized Starbucks stores in Atlanta are gearing up to join a national strike over stalled contract negotiations, unless Starbucks makes a serious offer, says a local Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) organizer. 

Four grassroots leaders share how federal funding cuts are affecting their services for low-income Atlantans

Three ballot measures would establish new homestead exemptions for homeowners over 65.

In Tuesday’s runoff, Republican Jason Dickerson beat Democrat Debra Shigley in a million-dollar race

The Atlanta journalist also asked the judge for an emergency block on the order, while he fights the government’s deportation push in court.

Heirs and co-owners have been hit with crushing bills for back property taxes, the lawsuits say.

With just seven weeks to go until Atlanta’s Nov. 4 municipal elections, 59 candidates for school board, mayor, city council president and city council are jockeying for key endorsements that could sway voters from local civic leaders, political advocacy groups, and unions. While all citywide elections are nonpartisan, Atlanta voters and elected officials lean heavily Democratic. Here are the endorsements we’ve tracked so far:

The Atlanta Press Club will host general election debates Oct. 8 with candidates for Atlanta mayor, city council president and Georgia’s Public Service Commission (PSC), as part of its Loudermilk Young Debate Series, it announced Wednesday.

After spending $3,000 to get settled, Logan is learning how quickly costs add up

The celebrity trial lawyer also floated a RICO prosecution against Millennia Housing Management.

The group’s “Housing First” platform urges the city to define affordability based on local income metrics.

The measure won bipartisan support from the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee last month. 

Backers say it’s a start; skeptics doubt it will deliver meaningful reform.

A city councilmember has a plan to turn Midtown’s explosive growth into a new funding stream.