North Atlanta Today: Roswell Approves Google Fiber Right-of-Way License

Roswell City Council voted unanimously Monday to give Google Fiber a nonexclusive license to build and operate a fiber network in city rights-of-way.

Tuesday, November 10, 2026. Reporting cutoff: 11:58 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. Weather information was checked at that time.

Google Fiber gains a route into Roswell, but not a launch date

The agreement covers broadband internet and internet-based voice service. Because the license is nonexclusive, Google Fiber does not receive sole access to Roswell’s public corridors.

The vote is an early infrastructure step, not confirmation that new service is available. Roswell has not announced a construction start date, a neighborhood rollout or a date when customers could connect. The agreement also does not promise service at every address.

Those details will determine whether and when the council action produces another internet option for homes and businesses. Read the full NAS report and find Google Fiber’s current address checker.

Why neighbors can have different electric companies

Internet providers may compete for customers, but North Atlanta households generally cannot shop for the company that delivers their electricity. Georgia assigns electric service by territory, so two homes in the same city or county can have different providers.

The arrangement dates to Georgia’s Territorial Electric Service Act of 1973, which established service rights rather than allowing several utilities to place competing lines along the same roads. Moving across Alpharetta, for example, does not guarantee the same electric company, and annexation into a city usually does not create a new choice.

The provider also determines who reviews the rates. The Georgia Public Service Commission regulates Georgia Power rates. Electric membership cooperatives such as Sawnee EMC and Jackson EMC answer to their cooperative boards, while municipal systems in Buford and Lawrenceville answer to local government. Our explainer maps the system and the limited choices customers still have.

Veterans Day by the numbers

Veterans make up an estimated 7.3% of Cherokee County’s civilian adult population, the largest share among five North Atlanta counties in the Census Bureau’s 2020–2024 American Community Survey estimates. Cobb follows at 6.1%, Gwinnett at 5% and Forsyth and Fulton at about 4.6% each.

The shares and total counts tell different stories. Fulton has an estimated 38,728 veterans, followed closely by Cobb with 36,545 and Gwinnett with 36,385. Cherokee’s estimated 15,827 veterans make up a larger share because the county has a smaller adult civilian population.

These are five-year survey estimates with margins of error, not a head count taken this year. They also describe whole counties and do not show how veterans are distributed among individual cities. See the county table, margins of error and how the percentages were calculated.

Closer look: a Lambert graduate joins the nation’s top young artists

Yun Xin Lin, a ballet dancer and 2026 Lambert High School graduate from Suwanee, has been named one of 20 U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts nationwide.

The honor follows a YoungArts award with distinction in ballet and a silver medal in the pre-professional division at the 2023 World Ballet Competition. Lin’s work beyond performance has included more than 150 hours mentoring younger dancers through MorningStar Dance Academy’s Junior Staff Club.

At Lambert, she also joined nine other students on a 2024 design brief exploring how engineered microbial communities might be used to address gut health and mental well-being. Selection for the Presidential Scholars program considers artistic achievement along with academic work, leadership, essays and school recommendations. Read more about Lin’s dance, mentoring and science work.

Look ahead: Playa Bowls opens at Medley on Saturday

Playa Bowls will celebrate its grand opening at 11 a.m. Saturday at 3170 Medley Boulevard in Johns Creek. The first 100 guests will receive a free bowl, and the first 50 will also receive a custom shirt, franchise owner Nick Ransom said in information shared with North Atlanta Star.

Ransom and Patrick Hartmann own the 1,200-square-foot shop facing The Plaza at Medley. The menu includes fruit-based bowls, oatmeal bowls, smoothies, juices and cold brew coffee. Regular hours will be 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily after Saturday’s later opening. See the shop, its menu and the full opening details.

Weather: mild for Veterans Day, then a sharp cooldown

The National Weather Service’s 5 a.m. zone forecast called for a partly sunny Tuesday with highs in the lower 70s across North Fulton, Forsyth and Gwinnett. Tuesday night should be mostly clear with lows in the upper 40s.

Veterans Day is expected to be sunny with highs in the lower 70s. Thursday brings a slight chance of early showers and northwest wind gusts up to 30 mph, followed by colder air. Friday and Saturday highs are forecast in the lower to mid-50s, with overnight lows in the lower 30s and the season’s first widespread frost or freeze possible across much of North Georgia. Check the latest dated National Weather Service zone forecast before outdoor plans; conditions can change after this edition’s cutoff.