Commercial and Residential Locksmiths in Atlanta, GA

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — The future of transportation in Atlanta is being planned through the eyes of the public.

The Atlanta Department of Transportation on Tuesday launched the first of 12 community engagement sessions for its Comprehensive Transportation Plan. The first session was held in the city’s District 3, which includes the Vine City area.

Residents are being asked to share their priorities for transportation projects, including road maintenance, bike lanes and accessibility.

“It gives us more control, and I feel more empowered with having more in-depth discussions about things that really matter specifically to me,” said Keyana Lawson, a Bankhead resident who lives in District 3.

Lawson said road maintenance and accessibility are among her top priorities.

A key goal of the transportation plan is identifying projects that would help the city meet its Vision Zero initiative, which aims to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2040.

“Safety is a big component,” said John Saxton, Atlanta Department of Transportation’s mobility planning director. “So, thinking about other modes like scooting and walking and biking and getting to transit, those are all things that are included in this effort.”

Saxton said the plan will be developed in partnership with MARTA and the Georgia Department of Transportation, which operate on city streets and within city limits.

Residents at Tuesday’s meeting provided feedback through interactive activities. In one exercise, participants received 10 pennies to prioritize spending on transportation needs such as road maintenance, bike lanes and Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility.

Another activity asked participants to place flags on a map of Atlanta to identify transportation needs and successes.

“As you talk about, we have an interactive piece in which they actually put money toward a project. Then all of a sudden, they run out of money,” said Atlanta City Council member Byron Amos, who represents District 3. “It’s the same thing with the city budget. So we try to put our budget and our words where we want it to be, as the community expects it to be.”

Amos said his constituents want the city to focus on secondary streets, sidewalk repairs and sidewalk replacements.

“Those types of different interactive programs actually pull the community in to show them some of the issues that we have,” Amos said.

He said funding will be the next critical step.

“So we start looking at the city budget. We may have to look at another SPLOST opportunity. May have to look at federal grants and state grants and things of that nature,” Amos said.

The city plans to hold 11 more open houses, one in each remaining City Council district, through Thanksgiving. Residents can view the remaining events on the city’s calendar.

ATL DOT plans another round of community engagement in 2027 based on feedback collected this year.

Copyright 2026 WANF. All rights reserved.

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — The Georgia Department of Public Health has confirmed five additional measles cases in the state, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in 2026 to 21.

The five new cases involve siblings from a Jasper County family. DPH says the individuals were either unvaccinated or under-vaccinated, and at least one sibling has a history of out-of-state travel.

Health officials are working to identify anyone who may have been exposed to measles through contact with the family.

DPH says the cases are not connected to the earlier measles outbreak in Cobb County. Jasper is located in Pickens County, about 70 miles from Atlanta.

Measles is highly contagious and spreads through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. The virus can remain in the air or on surfaces for up to two hours after an infected person has left an area.

Symptoms typically appear seven to 14 days after exposure but can take up to 21 days to develop. Symptoms can include:

A red rash that typically begins on the head and spreads to the rest of the body

The MMR vaccine can prevent measles, mumps and rubella. The CDC recommends children receive their first MMR dose between 12 and 15 months of age and a second dose between 4 and 6 years old.

DPH says more than 95% of people develop immunity to all three viruses after one MMR dose, while a second dose typically increases protection to about 98%.

Anyone experiencing measles symptoms should contact their healthcare provider immediately. Do not go directly to a doctor’s office, hospital or public health clinic without calling first and notifying staff about possible measles symptoms.

Georgia reported 10 confirmed measles cases in 2025. With the five newly confirmed cases, the state has reported 21 cases so far in 2026.

JASPER COUNTY, Ga. — The Georgia Department of Public Health confirmed on Wednesday five cases of measles among siblings in a family.

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The Jasper County residents were unvaccinated or under-vaccinated, and at least one sibling had a history of out-of-state travel.

The new cases bring Georgia’s total to 21 confirmed measles cases in 2026, compared to 10 confirmed cases in the state in 2025.

According to public health officials, the Jasper County cases are unrelated to an earlier outbreak in Cobb County and contact tracing efforts are underway to identify individuals who may have been exposed.

Measles is a highly contagious virus that spreads through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. The virus can remain infectious in the air or on surfaces for up to 2 hours after an infected person has left a room.

Symptoms typically appear between seven and 14 days after exposure, though the incubation period can extend up to 21 days. Initial symptoms include a high fever, cough, runny nose and watery eyes, followed by a rash of tiny red spots that starts on the head and spreads to the rest of the body.

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Health officials emphasize that the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine provides strong protection against the virus. More than 95% of people who receive a single dose of the MMR vaccine develop immunity and a second dose increases protection to approximately 98%. T

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends children receive their first dose between 12 and 15 months of age and a second dose between 4 and 6 years of age. For infants ages 6 to 11 months traveling internationally, the CDC recommends a single dose before travel, followed by the standard two-dose series after their first birthday.

Public health officials advise anyone experiencing measles symptoms to call a health care provider before visiting a doctor’s office, clinic or hospital to prevent spreading the virus. Health care providers who suspect measles in a patient are required to notify public health officials immediately.

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ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Confronting a collapsed timber market and billions in rural economic losses, state agriculture officials and corporate executives launched an alliance Wednesday to turn Georgia pine into jet fuel.

The Georgia Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Coalition — backed by the Metro Atlanta Chamber, Delta Air Lines, the Georgia Forestry Association and the Georgia Farm Bureau — pitched the emerging fuel technology as a potential buyer for millions of tons of stranded wood.

However, lawmakers and timber growers warn that commercial refining remains years away, leaving family tree farmers with an immediate financial crisis they may not survive.

A wave of paper mill shutdowns across South Georgia, including International Paper facilities in Savannah and Riceboro, and Georgia-Pacific in Cedar Springs, wiped out an immediate market for roughly 8.3 million tons of timber annually, according to the University of Georgia’s 2026 Timber Outlook. About half of that supply came directly from Georgia land.

State forestry officials estimate those shutdowns carry a $2.9 billion annual economic hit to southeast Georgia through direct losses, indirect impacts and lost wages.

The closures compounded the destruction left by Hurricane Helene, which damaged 8.9 million acres of forestland and caused an estimated $1.28 billion in timber losses, according to the Georgia Forestry Commission.

State Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper said the problem reaches across state lines, with more than 40 pulp and paper mills closing across the southeastern U.S. since 2015, erasing 43 million tons of regional demand.

“Farmers, timberland owners, producers don’t need another farm program,” Harper said. “We need market access. That’s what this conversation is about.”

Private families own more than 90% of Georgia’s forests, but keeping those trees in the ground is becoming economically unfeasible for many.

Replanting costs up to $600 an acre. With paper mills gone, timber groups report landowners face mounting financial pressure to clear-cut and sell to residential developers or solar companies.

“Our landowners across the state need those healthy markets to sell those trees into, so that they know that their 20-plus year investment is going to have a return for their families,” said Tiffany Starr, managing director at Timberland Investment Resources.

Georgia Forestry Commission Director Tim Lowrimore pushed back against the idea that Georgia has an oversupply problem, calling the timber an asset, but acknowledged unmanaged, neglected forests face severe wildfire and disease risks if markets dry up.

Meanwhile, airlines face their own looming deadline.

Jet fuel accounts for roughly 90% of aviation emissions. While green fuel can reduce lifecycle flight emissions by up to 80%, worldwide production of sustainable fuel cannot meet global flight demand for even a single week.

Delta Air Lines President Peter Carter said the company wants to fuel flights out of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport with sustainable blends. Beyond corporate climate goals, upcoming European Union mandates will soon penalize or ground international flights that do not use green fuel blends.

The catch is cost. Green jet fuel is two to three times more expensive than standard crude petroleum.

Because airlines operate on narrow profit margins and historically pass fuel spikes directly to travelers, the transition raises questions about how much of that premium will land on passenger ticket prices.

Katie Kirkpatrick, president and CEO of the Metro Atlanta Chamber, acknowledged that commercial pricing remains unknown and said the state is still a year away from a basic demonstration project.

“I don’t think we have an answer yet on what the cost could be, but when we get to scale, that’s when we start to understand where this can meet the demand,” Kirkpatrick said.

Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns, who is also a timber producer, openly questioned whether landowners can afford to wait.

“Why would I invest $500 to $600 an acre right now, in 2026, for a future 20 years down the road? It looks unstable,” Burns said. “Five years is a long way. And we are expecting people now, how do they sustain themselves over the next five years?”

In May, Gov. Brian Kemp signed House Bill 134, creating transferable tax credits for biofuel production to help early-stage ventures raise upfront private capital.

Georgia already has an operational facility in Soperton, where LanzaJet produces about 10 million gallons of sustainable fuel annually from ethanol and agricultural waste.

However, scaling commercial refining capacity to absorb millions of tons of stranded Georgia pine carries steep hurdles. Industry estimates presented to the Georgia Senate’s Study Committee on Advancing Forest Innovation indicate that commercial-scale biorefineries typically take three to seven years to obtain permits and build, requiring hundreds of millions of dollars in capital per facility. Coalition leaders and forestry advocates are expected to urge the General Assembly during the 2027 legislative session to consider state production tax credits and financial incentives to help attract those refinery investments to Georgia.

Copyright 2026 WANF. All rights reserved.

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — The Atlanta Hawks and Atlanta News First (WANF) today jointly announced that Georgia Natural Gas (GNG) will serve as an official broadcast sponsor for Hawks game telecasts on ANF throughout the season, presenting game coverage “Fueled by Georgia Natural Gas.”

The season-long collaboration unites the NBA franchise, Atlanta’s local broadcast home, and Georgia’s leading natural gas provider, keeping fans connected to free, over-the-air Hawks action all season long. Broadcast coverage tips off on Oct. 5 on sister station WPCH (Peachtree TV channel 17.1) when the Hawks host the Memphis Grizzlies. Atlanta News First will then broadcast two additional preseason matchups: Oct. 12 against the Oklahoma City Thunder and Oct. 16 against the Dallas Mavericks.

“We could not be more thrilled to join Atlanta News First in celebrating this partnership with Georgia Natural Gas, another amazing hometown company that is truly committed to putting our community and fans first,” said Andrew Saltzman, President of Business Enterprise and Chief Commercial Officer of the Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena. “This season is going to be an exciting one, and we are proud to partner with ANF and Georgia Natural Gas to make sure our fans have a front seat to all of it.”

“Our mission at Atlanta News First is to bring the community the very best local news and premier live sports, accessible to everyone over the air,” said Erik Schrader, Vice President and General Manager of Atlanta News First and Peachtree TV. “Hawks games deliver dynamic, must-watch moments. Teaming up with the Hawks and Georgia Natural Gas allows us to showcase that energy every night, and we are thrilled to have GNG fueling our coverage for viewers across the region.”

“Georgia Natural Gas is proud to fuel the homes, businesses and communities that make our state thrive,” said Mike Braswell, President and CEO of Georgia Natural Gas. “The Atlanta Hawks are a source of pride for fans across Georgia, and we’re excited to partner with the Hawks and Atlanta News First to help bring more games directly into homes throughout the state. Together, we’re making it easier for fans to connect with their hometown team and share in the excitement of Hawks basketball.”

Following the Oct. 5 preseason broadcast on WPCH, Hawks telecasts will air locally across metro Atlanta on Atlanta News First (WANF Channel 46). Outside of the Atlanta market, games will air statewide on Peachtree Sports Network (PSN). Viewers are encouraged to check local listings for channel availability, broadcast times, and full schedule information, or visit hawks.com.