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MEET PIEDMONT HEIGHTS RESIDENT, Mary McLaughlin

Mary and her husband, Chip Henry, have lived in Piedmont Heights on Rock Springs Road since 1993. She is a clinical social worker and has worked at Georgia State University for more than 20 years. Mary shared a bit about herself and the neighborhood for our most recent Resident Spotlight.

Tell us a bit about your family and living in Piedmont Heights.

My husband’s father grew up in this house. He inherited it after his grandmother died. We moved into it when my first son was three years old. Our second son was born in 1995. There were not many kids that lived along Rock Springs Road back then, so my two red-headed boys had lots of loving eyes on them! Really, they were co-raised by folks in the neighborhood. Our sons still live in Atlanta as well as Chip’s 93-year-old mother, so we stay pretty busy.

Do you have any pets?

We have “grand puppies” – Star, Oda, and Satchmo.

How do you enjoy spending time in the neighborhood?

My husband, Chip, and I love to wander around Piedmont Heights and visit with neighbors along the way. We love all the little ones – both the two-legged and four-legged ones! We enjoy watching them grow up.

What is your ideal Piedmont Heights day look like?

Work out in the morning at Ultimate Bodies by Carlos. It is an awesome place, and great people work there. Then a visit to the plentiful local thrift stores around us – St Phillip’s, Out of the Closet, Goodwill, and Lost and Found. And in the evening, there are so many great options for dining!

What makes Piedmont Heights special to you?

It is the people that make this neighborhood so special. The care that folks show each other and the care and attention that Piedmont Heights gives to the City of Atlanta issues as well. We are lucky. And for a couple of aging residents – the location is awesome, as we can walk to so many places!

Thanks to PHCA Board Member Helen Kacur for volunteering to interview Mary and write this Resident Spotlight!

Congratulations!

So many Piedmont Heights businesses, business owners, and other PiHi supporters made Atlanta Magazine's Best of Atlanta list in the latest issue!

• Armour Body - Best Gym/Health Club
• The Buttery ATL - Best Gourmet Market
• Cook's Warehouse - Best Kitchen Store
• Grana - Best Meatballs
• Framing by Design - Best Framing Shop
• I Play Tennis - Best Tennis Shop
• Nakato - Best Japanese
• Spalding Nix Fine Art - Best Art Gallery (tie)
• Taqueria Del Sol - Best Tacos
• The Ten Spot Morningside - Best Spa/Salon (Facial)
• Two Minit "Gorilla" Car Wash - Best Car Wash
• VaHi Books - Best Local Bookstore

Despite a showing of approximately 500 neighbors at the November NPU-F meeting, Octopus Kitchen's alcohol permit process continues.

The Neighborhood Planning Unit (NPU) voted 429-4 to deny the license; however, the License Review Board (LRB) approved the license in a 4-2 vote on November 16 (see the final page). This vote for approval succeeded despite facts presented by our NPU Permits Chair that the business lacks adequate parking, the same owner was denied at another location, there is a history of violations at other locations managed by the applicant, and the intent via social media to operate hours later than stated on the application.

The license now heads to Mayor Bottoms for final approval.

You can help! We encourage neighbors to email Mayor Bottoms with the same reasons presented to the LRB as grounds for denial. The mayor's email address is mayorbottoms@atlantaga.gov and you can copy her executive assistant Angela Smith at AngelaSmith@atlantaga.gov.

Applicants are rarely denied by the LRB, whose members are largely appointed by the mayor. Why the LRB approves applications that are recommended as "Deny" by the local community through the NPU system is ridiculous – and illustrates a larger problem across Atlanta. It is up to neighbors to put pressure on leaders for legislative action. 

Thanks to our NPU-F Chair, Debbie Skopczynski, and to Marla Johnson from Morningside-Lenox Park Association, for compiling this great info!

Recently, the Commissioner of Public Works addressed yard debris pickup concerns with NPU Chairs. You can view the presentation from Public Works, and the following are takeaways from our NPU-F Chair:

• They are sincerely working on it. Many problems have been caused with the labor shortage and their inability to recruit the number of employees that are needed (they've hired 40 but need more) - despite using cash and other incentives.  Office staff have been reassigned as truck drivers until they can get staffed up and caught up. New employees are not familiar with some of the neighborhoods and miss some of the streets.  Temp agencies are not interested in supplying workers because of the liability with work that requires folks to hang off a truck.
  
  
• One of the problems discussed is how the truck routing has worked. Once the truck is full with debris, they leave the route and travel to the only City dump site which is on the Atlanta/Cobb border. Sometimes that happens in the middle of the block. Usually they don't return to where they left off because of the travel distance.
  
  
• The City has antiquated trucks, systems and processes that they are working to update.  They are buying new software that will do a better job scheduling routes and 8 new trucks that will only require one person. They are also looking to expand the number of dump sites to different parts of the city.
  
  
• The Commissioner says that if your yard waste hasn't been picked up in 3 weeks, it's not on their radar. You may put it in your regular trash until they can get the system fixed. It won't be recycled, but it won't be sitting on the street.
  
  
• They have hired two landscape companies to pick up yard waste. They will be in marked trucks and focusing on the areas that have been most neglected. 

More info and to see the latest schedule for pickups.

While PHCA does not endorse individual candidates, we do attempt to keep you informed about deadlines and forums involving all candidates for races relevant to Piedmont Heights. We'll keep this page updated as we learn about new forums, events, etc.

If you're hosting a Meet & Greet for individual candidates, we encourage you to post the information on NextDoor or your social media. PHCA is unable to promote individual Meet & Greet events.

Run-Off Elections

Atlanta will be voting again to decide its new Mayor, City Council President, and more. Early voting started November 17 for the run-off elections, with the final day being November 30. Early voting allows you to vote at any available location, while November 30 you must vote as your assigned polling place. 

Overview of the races and who's running: https://voteatl.org/

Download Your Sample Ballot here.

Key Dates

• October 4 - Last day to register to vote
• October 11 - Earliest day to mail an absentee ballot
• October 12-29 - Early voting period - vote at any location
• October 22: Deadline to request absentee ballot
• November 2: Election day - vote at your designated location only

More Events & Recordings

Atlanta Public School Forums

• September 23 (Virtual) - APS Board of Education Forum by Atlanta Charter Partner Network. More info

District 6 Forums

• Recording from 10/5/21 City Council District 6 Forum by PHCA, MLPA, and PiHi Alliance. Watch the recording. 
• Recording from 9/24/21 City Council District 6 Forum by League of Women Voters. Watch the recording.

City Council At-Large Forums

• Recording from 9/24/21 from Old Fourth Ward Business Association for Atlanta Small Business Candidates Forum - At-Large Candidates. Watch the recording.

City Council President Forums

• Recording from 10/12/21 from Atlanta Press Club
• Recording from 9/28/21 City Council President Forum by TransFormation Alliance. Watch the recording.
• Recording from 9/25/21 from Old Fourth Ward Business Association for Atlanta Small Business Candidate Forum - City Council President. Watch the recording.

Mayoral Forums

• October 19 (Virtual) - Mayoral Forum by Alliance of  InTown Neighborhoods. More info
• October 21 (In Person & Virtual) - Mayoral Forum on Gun Violence. More info
• Recording from 10/4/21 - Mayoral forum by AJC. Watch the recording.
• Recording from 10/5/21 Mayoral Forum by Emory, League of Women Voters, and more. Watch the recording.
• Recording from 9/26/21 Atlanta Small Business Mayoral Forum by Old Fourth Ward Business Association. Watch the recording.
• Recording from 9/8/21 Mayoral Forum on Greenspace Issues. View online
• October 1 (Virtual) - Mayoral forum regarding homelessness by Partners for HOME and PAD. More info
• October 6 (Virtual) - Mayoral Forum by Beltline Rail Now. More info

Saint Martin Lutheran Church (SMLC), which meets at the Rock Spring Church building now owned by Heritage Prep School, will collect warm winter accessories—hat, gloves, and socks (3-6 pair)—for men, women, and children who are clients of the Toco Hills Community Alliance (THCA) food bank. 

To help out, place your set of warm winter accessories in a bag and label as men's, women's, boy's, or girl's. Then:

• Bring to Saint Martin Lutheran Church (1824 Piedmont Ave) any Sunday between now and December 5 from 12:00 and 12:30 p.m. Ask around for Beverly Clark.
• Contact Meg Anderson (Membership & Communications Chair) to coordinate a drop off in Piedmont Heights before December 5.

Deadline: December 5

New congressional districting maps for Georgia are being considered, some of which split the Piedmont Heights neighborhood into two political districts. Having multiple political districts covering one small neighborhood would cause confusion as well as a dearth of inefficiencies.

Having one district for the entire neighborhood would maintain much-needed clarity and efficiency for the many residents who call Piedmont Heights home.

We realize Piedmont Heights is a small neighborhood. And yet, Piedmont Heights is one of Atlanta’s oldest neighborhoods, being settled in 1822 – even before Atlanta’s predecessor Terminus in 1837. We wish to remain unified – as a community and via our political districting. Vote to keep the Piedmont Heights neighborhood unified in our political representation. One community, one district!

The Piedmont Heights Civic Association Board of Directors asks you, our neighbors and friends, to join us in urging those involved in the redistricting process to keep the Piedmont Heights neighborhood unified under one political district.

Step 1: Sign Our Petition

Step 2: Submit Your Comments Directly to the Legislators

In addition, the Piedmont Heights Civic Association Board of Directors sent this letter to Representative Mainor on Tuesday, November 2, urging our legislators to keep our community unified under a single district. 

Meet Piedmont Heights Resident, Jane Shalhoub, M.Ed

It is not often that we turn the spotlight on a resident who has called Piedmont Heights home for forty years! But that is the case with Jane Shalhoub who moved to the neighborhood in 1981. She is a retired middle school educator who taught at both Inman Middle School and Christ the King School. Here is what she had to share:

What is something about you that surprises people?

I know how to juggle, and I can play the ukulele.

What makes Piedmont Heights such a great neighborhood?

The people. Many of the residents, like myself, have lived here for many, many years and are invested in the growth and future of our community. It is close-knit, safe, and pet- and children friendly.

What’s your favorite Piedmont Heights store?

The new Brooklyn Bagel is SO good. The menu is fresh and interesting, and the bagels are delicious and authentic.

What is the best Halloween costume you’ve ever had?

I grew up with nine siblings, and every year my Mom, God bless her, made costumes for all of us for the school costume parade. One year she found a discarded dress with a pattern that looked like armor. So I went as Joan of Arc and won first prize!

What was your first job?

I grew up in northern Wisconsin and picked cherries each season with my siblings. It was sticky and exciting. We still laugh about it, and anytime we pay for some expense, we say “Now how many pails of cherries would I need to pick to pay for this?”

Thanks to Helen Kacur for volunteering to interview Jen and write this Resident Spotlight!

Jen Owen has called Piedmont Heights home on Rockridge Place since 2013. She runs her own business serving professional educators. We spent some time getting to know Jen, and here is what she shared:

We are all looking forward to more travel soon. Where do you want to go?

My husband, Dave, and I have a never-ending travel bucket list. Our destinations must have the “Big Three” as we call them—rock climbing, beaches, and wine! I’m dreaming of the day we can safely visit Peru and a few other parts of South America.

Tell us more about your business.

I founded the first “market network” for educator professional development. I genuinely believe education is the way to change the world. I’ve taken my decade-plus of experience as teacher, principal, executive director, and more to start Co-CreatED, a marketplace for professional development for educators. I’m making high-quality training more accessible to teachers and schools. A win for students!

What does an ideal day exploring Piedmont Heights look like for you?

First, I’d grab a coffee at East Pole and walk our two shepherd mixes—Ari and Boss—down the Atlanta BeltLine to Piedmont Park. Then browse for all the things you never knew you needed at Richard’s Variety Store. Lunch would be tacos from Little Rey. Deciding on what to do in the evening is REALLY hard! Blues and BBQ at Fat Matt’s? Daiquiris and lounge vibes at Cirque? Rooftop views from Grana? Depends on your mood, but you can’t lose!

What are you most grateful for today?

I’m grateful to use my work to make a real difference. I’ve been chasing the best way to do that through education and now do it through an EdTech venture. I’m grateful for a spouse who supports my big crazy dreams.

Thanks to Helen Kacur for volunteering to interview Jen and write this Resident Spotlight!