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austinlouisray.bsky.social
austie
@austinlouisray.bsky.social
2.4K followers 190 following 5.2K posts
writer/editor • How I'd Fix Atlanta, Mailchimp, Defector, Atlas Obscura, Rolling Stone, Welcome to Hell World, Creative Loafing, GQ, Oxford American, First We Feast, Paste • great things start in little rooms • 🚫🧊

http://austinlouisray.com
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austinlouisray.bsky.social
austie @austinlouisray.bsky.social · 16d
ICE is not welcome here.

Want a sticker? Venmo [@]austinlouisray any amount of money and include your mailing address.

100% of the proceeds go to Minnesota mutual aid funds.

Let's do some good this week:

how-id-fix-atlanta.ghost.io/ice-is-not-w...
ICE is not welcome here
Good morning. It's bleak out there. Maybe you've been reading headlines and watching videos and thinking absolutely bonkers thoughts. Maybe you're in an ongoing state of shock that our presidential a...
how-id-fix-atlanta.ghost.io
austinlouisray.bsky.social
"This endeavor is every entrepreneur, restaurateur, visitor, resident, and employee who believes South Downtown will create a change in our city not seen since the BeltLine started or the Olympics arrived. I believe the impact will be greater than both combined."

www.jonbirdsong.com/the-brutal-e...
The Brutal Economics of Reviving Downtown Atlanta's Historic South Broad Street
If you happen to walk, bike, scooter, or drive by South Broad Street in Atlanta, Georgia anytime between today and the next 4 months, there’s a good chance you’ll see hundreds of construction workers ...
www.jonbirdsong.com
February 18, 2026 at 7:39 PM
austinlouisray.bsky.social
A 5,000-person, 75% MAGA town in Georgia is pushing back hard against a massive detention center ICE is planning to establish there.

We're gonna need a whole lot more of this going forward:

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Conservative Georgia town pushes back against ICE detention center: ‘We are Americans after all’
Social Circle, a mostly Maga town, builds strange bedfellow coalition against plans to convert warehouse
www.theguardian.com
February 18, 2026 at 6:04 PM
austinlouisray.bsky.social
shoutout to lunch imho just out here day after day all unassuming and delicious sometimes its simple other times a little more complex but i'm gonna be completely honest with you folks i'm a big fan of lunch
February 18, 2026 at 5:21 PM
Reposted by austie
coreyatad.com
art is the best shit ever, don't let anyone tell you otherwise
February 18, 2026 at 2:47 PM
Reposted by austie
lukeoneil47.bsky.social
I’m not running for office or being paid as a consultant I’m just gonna say the things I think if that’s ok with everyone
February 18, 2026 at 1:14 AM
Reposted by austie
bwd.bsky.social
I identified four (4) NBA teams part-owned by a firm that sold a property to the Department of Homeland Security for a planned ICE detention center. And I explain why more owners could follow in the warehouse to megajail business.

it's the new [eyeblack]:
An NBA investor in four teams profits from immigrant athletes — and immigrant megajails
[eyeblack] identifies four NBA teams tied to an investor that made $120M selling property for a planned ICE detention center, and explains why more owners could follow.
www.readeyeblack.com
February 17, 2026 at 8:39 PM
Reposted by austie
platlanta.bsky.social
What’s happening in South Downtown feels like a once-in-a-generation type deal and honestly it’s just so exciting
February 17, 2026 at 5:02 PM
austinlouisray.bsky.social
getting dressed up for work is so funny. oh you put on a suit so you could sit in a room and type on your computer? there's a dress code so you don't upset your laptop and the desks and the other people sitting at them? you wanna make sure you look your best while you slack Sheila from accounting?
February 17, 2026 at 4:55 PM
austinlouisray.bsky.social
“John Wayne made westerns, Megyn Kelly evokes the perpetually aggrieved rigor mortis of a botoxed scarecrow, and Bill Callahan specializes in taciturn expressions of deep melancholy swelling just beneath a shyly stoic masculine facade.”

open.substack.com/pub/stevenhy...
1st Annual* Power Ranking Of Middle-Aged Indie Singer-Songwriters
Also: Recommendation Corner on a new (bonkers) Beach Boys box set
open.substack.com
February 17, 2026 at 3:08 PM
Reposted by austie
gorlock.bsky.social
these two have absolutely had it with your bullshit. the one on the right can't even stand to look at you, you're dead to her
two (identical) old white table lamp bases that pareidolically look like two women with hands on their hips disappointedly, one of whom looks like she's turned around to snub you
February 11, 2026 at 4:23 AM
Reposted by austie
benphillips76.bsky.social
I don’t know who needs to hear Jesse Jackson leading the kids on Sesame Street in this beautiful call-and-response reminding them that every child is somebody, but here it is
February 17, 2026 at 11:41 AM
austinlouisray.bsky.social
i’ll save you a click: because hollywood is dumb
whyyyyyyyy
February 16, 2026 at 9:33 PM
austinlouisray.bsky.social
look alive, ATL: sticker god @davidsizemore.bsky.social is prowling our streets
handsome AND talented? in THIS economy??? couldn’t do it without him tbh davey rules, kemp drools RIP IMHO
February 16, 2026 at 8:53 PM
austinlouisray.bsky.social
⬇️ 45 MINUTES, ATL ⬇️
vpellegri.bsky.social Vince Pellegri @vpellegri.bsky.social · 9d
Next Sunday you can get a comfy chicken, great coffee AND cannoli at my first pop up of 2026 ❤️‍🔥

I’ll be at Storyteller Goods inside of Homegrown selling cannoli and focaccia to raise funds for The Sameer Project & CASA.
February 15, 2026 at 3:45 PM
Reposted by austie
brian-goldstone.bsky.social
Imagine if even a fraction of what this administration plans to spend on cages went toward housing people.
ICE plans to spend $38.3 billion turning warehouses into detention centers
ICE plans to spend $38.3 billion converting warehouses into detention centers, according to planning documents, more than the annual budgets of 22 states.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 13, 2026 at 7:10 PM
Reposted by austie
cait.bsky.social
let's stay together
walgreens sign that says algreens
February 14, 2026 at 1:06 AM
austinlouisray.bsky.social
TFW the sleepover last night involved much more Minecraft than actual sleep
after snack, the 9yo just kinda slowly removed himself from us and wrapped himself in blankets and sunk into the couch
February 14, 2026 at 8:37 PM
austinlouisray.bsky.social
if you told Child Austie that one day his home would be filled with plenty of towels and plenty of batteries he would’ve been like OMG I GREW UP AND BECAME RICH shoutout to weird shit like towels and batteries making my brain feel good
February 14, 2026 at 4:17 PM
austinlouisray.bsky.social
this is a WILD ride

buttondown.com/theswordandt...
Notable Sandwiches #138: Reuben
Welcome back to Notable Sandwiches, the feature where my editor David Swanson and I trip merrily through Wikipedia’s List of Notable Sandwiches. This week, a...
buttondown.com
February 14, 2026 at 2:07 PM
Reposted by austie
punkrockhistory.bsky.social
49 years ago today
Fred Schneider, Cindy Wilson & Kate Pierson of The B-52′s making their worldwide debut at a Valentine’s Day house party in Athens, GA, February 14, 1977.

Photo by Kelly Bugden

#punk #punkrock #newwave #womenofpunk #theb52s #history #punkrockhistory
February 14, 2026 at 5:01 AM
austinlouisray.bsky.social
abolish abolish abolish abolish abolish abolish abolish abolish abolish abolish abolish abolish abolish abolish abolish abolish abolish abolish abolish abolish abolish abolish abolish abolish abolish abolish abolish abolish abolish abolish abolish abolish abolish abolish abolish abolish abolish abol
washingtonpost.com The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 5d
Breaking news: ICE expects to spend $38.3 billion on its plan to acquire warehouses across the U.S. and retrofit them into immigrant detention centers that can hold tens of thousands of people, according to agency documents.
ICE plans to spend $38.3 billion turning warehouses into detention centers
ICE plans to spend $38.3 billion converting warehouses into detention centers, according to planning documents, more than the annual budgets of 22 states.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 14, 2026 at 1:10 AM
austinlouisray.bsky.social
on the town with my tiniest partner in crime
3yo says happy valentine’s day and also go dawgs Bigfoot with a side of fries, Argosy forever
February 13, 2026 at 11:18 PM
Reposted by austie
threadatl.bsky.social
Good news! Despite pushback from people in the neighborhood, a Kirkwood church's effort to use its property for 47 units of affordable housing for seniors was approved last night by Atlanta's Zoning Review Board!

The proposal goes next to City Council.

www.wsbtv.com/news/local/a...
Church’s plan to house homeless seniors moving forward
Atlanta's Zoning Review Board approved the plan to build 47 housing units on the church's property.
www.wsbtv.com
February 13, 2026 at 4:38 PM
austinlouisray.bsky.social
from the makers of BOFA…
i’ll be here all weekend, tip your servers and drive home safe, folks!
February 13, 2026 at 2:53 PM
Reposted by austie
platlanta.bsky.social
That’s a lot of words to basically confirm the reporting was 100% accurate and the city tanked the streetcar east extension without notifying the public
That statement reads, in full: "MARTA understands that recent news surrounding the Atlanta] Streetcar East extension has raised questions about the project and concerns regarding transparency. As the transit operator in the region, our goal is to address current and future transportation needs, and ensure residents are involved in this important process. The More MARTA Atlanta Program is aligned with the Atlanta Transportation Plan and the city's efforts to build upon a layered, integrated, regional transportation network. Advancing this infrastructure requires creativity, sustained partnerships, and the time sustained partnerships, and the time needed to align key stakeholder priorities with technical and funding requirements. Transit has always been part of the Beltline plan, and the Streetcar East extension project remains a priority for the More MARTA Program. Roles and responsibilities for planning, funding, and implementing Beltline transit are defined by the 2020 Intergovernmental Agreement between the City of Atlanta and MARTA, which governs the activation and use of More MARTA funding. The agreement establishes a joint decision-making framework through authorized committees that guide planning, design, construction, and operations for More MARTA-supported projects. As part of this structure, leadership from MARTA, the City of Atlanta, and [Beltline] serve on the Program Governance Committee. The group convenes monthly, and its meetings are conducted with established protocols in a transparent manner. On March 13, 2025, during a public MARTA Board of Directors meeting, the city announced plans to reprioritize Atlanta Beltline light rail. As such, on May 27, 2025, during a Proaram Governance Committee meeting, the committee decided to temporarily pause the funding of two ongoing streetcar feasibility studies. The committee agreed that since the project was at 30 percent design, the most prudent course of action was to hold expending more funds until a reprioritization of projects could occur and a path forward determined. This decision was consistent with the IGA process, and board notification is not required. However, MARTA is in the practice of updating its board on a variety of projects, even when it is not required. As discussions continue around the reprioritization of More MARTA projects, updates will be shared. Final policy decisions and approvals related to the More MARTA Program rest with the City of Atlanta and the MARTA Board of Directors, and we will continue to communicate outcomes and next steps as they move through the process. MARTA will continue to work closely with the [city and Beltline officials] to advance solutions that improve connectivity, mobility, and access for residents across Atlanta.”
February 13, 2026 at 2:22 PM