February 14, 2022

Happy Valentine's Day, ATL! Love is in the air. 💘Enjoy it, because if the springtime sun’s shining, that means pollen too is on the way. But today isn't about your allergies; it's all about love.Whether you’re the type that makes every day feel like the 14th for your partner, or you’re going all out with roses and the whole shebang, or even if you’re the captain of the anti-Valentine’s Brigade, we hope you’re spending the day in a good mood with great company. And we hope your boo is the Russel Wilson to your Ciara, and promises to show consistency with your blessed lil' heart. Also, if the spirit moves you (we mean the spirit of love; not the airline, God no, WTF, why would you everrrr fly Spirit to or from Atlanta), you can get married for free today, thanks to Fulton County. We hope 3 Stacks shows up wearing his Cupid wings to serenade you with the flute.

Whatever your romantic ass does today, whether you write sweet nothings to that special someone, or lean over and tell your cat how much you cherish them (😻)...Just remember... CUPID... WILL NOT... BE DEFEATED.

Now, before the love hangover kicks in, get up to date with Butter.ATL’s Monday news roundup of what the hell’s happening in the world.  

Then once you’re done reading the news and cruising down Memorial blasting The Love Below, check out Butter.ATL’s full interview with Mayor Andre Dickens, just below the news.

We love you, ATL!

👻 Buckhead City is officially a ghost town (for now). It appears that racist New York dork Bill White, — who for only having lived in ATL three years sure does have opinions on how things should be run — has failed in his mission to separate Buckhead and Atlanta. Turns out, as we told you, the Buckhead City movement is pretty well-hated not only by Atlantans, but also Buckheadians, and importantly, Georgia House Speaker David Ralston and Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan (who is sounding more and more like a guy interested in running for president). Just because the bill was rejected in the Gold Dome doesn’t mean it can’t come back next year, which means Mayor Andre Dickens has that much time to work on crime in Buckhead, which seems to be the major issue. 

⚔️ It’s hard to tell what’s going on in Ukraine. Yes, there’s been a buildup of Russian troops, and yes, President Biden is sending U.S. troops to the region, while ordering soldiers and advising American diplomats to get TF outta there. But it’s confusing to say the least trying to keep track of what’s going on there, despite warnings that a Russian invasion is imminent. According to Democracy Now, Ukrainians themselves don’t believe an attack is likely. A Newsweek poll says we don’t really want our soldiers over there, and there are also lots of theories about what’s happening. Some think this is all about reunification of the Soviet Union, others think Putin simply has no interest in letting NATO add Ukraine so that they can stare all up in his nose at the Russian border. But depending on how much you’ve paid attention, you might think bombs will start dropping at any moment, or that Russia is going to create a false reason to launch an assault, or hey, maybe not. And there’s all sorts of history of shady goings-on. 

🏈 L.A. put on a damn-good Super Bowl show. Even if you weren’t geeked about a Rams vs. Bengals Super Bowl, it turned out to be a good game with an even better halftime show. Dr. Dre led a highly entertaining performance that included a Crip-tastic Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar in his Reservoir Dogs revolutionary bag, an upside-down (and notably husky) 50 Cent, and a knee-taking Eminem performing “Lose Yourself” (of course). L.A., whose head coach Sean McVay is a graduate of Metro ATL’s Marist School in case you forgot, also got to keep the championship trophy, thanks to a last minute TD from Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp, who was this season’s Offensive Player of the Year and the Super Bowl MVP, despite some ATLiens feeling like OBJ really deserved the honor. Either way, there are memes galore from the game, including fun being poked at the demographic of Dr. Dre fans, jokes on 50 Cent’s upside-down chunkiness, and Snoop hitting the weed before hitting the stage. Of course it wasn’t without criticism, as some said it was a form of gaslighting, while others, like conservative person Charlie Kirk denouncing it as “sexual anarchy,” which... wait, what?? Whatever though; you can't please everybody — some folks clearly would have preferred Maroon 5. MORE NEWS:

The city is moving forward with plans to turn the Atlanta City Detention Center into a 24-hour diversion and mental health services facility.  

Black women are winning at the Winter Olympics, from Erin Jackson clutching the gold medal to Douglasville’s Elena Myers Taylor getting silver in mono bobsledding. 

Andre 3000 narrated Zendaya’s Squarespace Super Bowl commercial, and it was everything we could of wanted. 

ATL Mayor Andre Dickens has promised a plan to relocate residents of the Forest Cove apartments by the end of the week.

The Cherokee Nation is collecting stories and family histories from descendants of those enslaved by the tribe. 

Teen Fentanyl deaths are spiking and Black teens dying most; just this weekend a GA man was caught with enough of the drug to kill 9,000 people. Inflation in 2021 hit metro-Atlanta harder than San Francisco, making it the city with the highest inflation rate in the U.S..The Howell Mill Starbucks location joins the companywide push for unionization, bringing the union movement to Atlanta.  

STILL DRE: BUTTER.ATL INTERVIEWS ANDRE DICKENS, ATLANTA'S NEW MAYOR

Andre Dickens, a friend of Butter.ATL, was elected Atlanta's 61st mayor just a few weeks ago.And you already know — we insisted (really more like asked really, really nicely) that Mayor Dickens pull up and tap in with the culture. Sure enough, he showed up! And we had a great conversation about how he plans to run the city of Atlanta, as one of the most natural-born ATLiens this city has ever voted into City Hall.He graduated from Mays High School, need we say more? 

WATCH as Butter.ATL's Brandon Butler and Mike Jordan interview Mayor Andre Dickens, and hear how he plans to manage everything from politics to jobs, crime, entertainment and nightlife, currently illegal plants, and "Old Atlanta" vs. "New Atlanta." 

WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH MAYOR DICKENS NOW