What North Atlanta Should Know Today, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026
Gwinnett DUI cases are under review after inconsistencies. A fatal street-racing crash leads to charges near Duluth. Johns Creek’s new animal-health headquarters now open. Dangerous heat continues across North Atlanta.
Get major local stories and development updates.
Questions about a Gwinnett County DUI task force lead today’s briefing after dozens of cases involving one officer were reduced or dismissed. Charges have also been filed in a fatal street-racing case near Duluth, Johns Creek’s new corporate headquarters is now operating, and dangerous heat persists as September begins.
1. Discrepancies undermine dozens of Gwinnett DUI cases
Sixty-five DUI cases involving one Gwinnett County Police officer have been dismissed or reduced since April 2025 after prosecutors found inconsistencies between written reports, sworn affidavits and body-camera recordings.
The officer served on a DUI task force whose members were expected to make approximately 150 arrests annually. A former prosecutor interviewed by WSB-TV characterized that target as a quota, although police officials described it as a performance goal.
The findings raise broader questions about supervision, whether arrest targets influenced enforcement and how many other cases require review. WSB-TV’s investigation of the DUI cases and task force.
2. Duluth man faces charges in crash that killed an unborn child
A 33-year-old Duluth man faces first-degree feticide by vehicle and other charges following a June 20 collision on Satellite Boulevard.
Arrest warrants allege that the driver was racing at more than 100 mph when his vehicle struck a car turning into a business plaza near Duluth. The pregnant passenger lost her unborn child, and the couple in the other vehicle suffered serious injuries.
The charges also include two counts of serious injury by vehicle, racing and reckless driving. They remain allegations, and the case has not been decided in court. WSB-TV’s report on the warrants and crash.
3. Johns Creek’s new animal-health headquarters is operating
Boehringer Ingelheim formally opened its U.S. Animal Health headquarters at Medley on Monday, moving one of the region’s largest life-sciences employers from Duluth to Johns Creek.
The approximately 73,000-square-foot office accommodates close to 500 employees and includes laboratories, collaborative work areas and employee amenities. It becomes Medley’s first major workplace anchor while restaurants, residences and public spaces continue opening around it.
The headquarters does not represent 500 newly created jobs, but it gives Johns Creek a substantial employment center and brings daily activity to a town-center development that has largely remained under construction. North Atlanta Star’s report from inside the headquarters and the company’s opening announcement.
4. Heat-index values will exceed 100 in parts of North Georgia
September begins with another day of unusually intense heat across North Atlanta.
The National Weather Service says heat-index values will exceed 100 degrees across parts of North and central Georgia this afternoon. Similar conditions could approach hazardous levels in portions of the region from Wednesday through Saturday.
Thunderstorm chances begin increasing Thursday, but the return of scattered rain will not immediately end the heat. Outdoor workers, school athletes and anyone without dependable cooling face the greatest risk. National Weather Service hazardous-weather outlook.
5. Fulton commissioners meet Wednesday with operational updates
The Fulton County Board of Commissioners will hold its first September meeting at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
Commissioners are scheduled to receive operational updates involving Public Works, the Police Department and other county functions. The meeting also comes as Fulton continues managing an unsettled property-tax season caused by delays in certifying its tax digest.
Although the meeting takes place in downtown Atlanta, its decisions and departmental updates apply to Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Milton, Roswell and the rest of Fulton County.
6. Former Roswell Kohl’s reopens Sunday after $28 million redevelopment
The former Kohl’s building at 2342 Holcomb Bridge Road will reopen Sunday as Eagles Nest Church’s permanent home and an events campus.
The approximately $28 million acquisition and redevelopment transformed the roughly 80,000-square-foot retail property into an auditorium, meeting rooms, children’s areas and spaces intended for community use.
The project returns a prominent vacant building to active use without demolishing and replacing it. The first services in the completed campus are scheduled for Sept. 6. North Atlanta Star’s complete report on the redevelopment.
7. Waffle House tests tacos across North Atlanta
Waffle House is testing a limited menu of tacos at approximately 45 metro Atlanta restaurants, including locations in Alpharetta, Duluth, Johns Creek, Roswell and Suwanee.
The offerings place familiar Waffle House combinations—including chicken melts, cheesesteak melts and breakfast meats with eggs—inside tortillas. Like the chain’s regular menu, the tacos are available around the clock at participating restaurants.
The Norcross-based company has not said how long the test will continue or whether the items will expand nationally. Axios Atlanta’s menu review and participating-location list.
8. A Johns Creek brunch restaurant celebrates its opening Wednesday
The Brunch Spot will hold its grand-opening celebration at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at 5725 State Bridge Road.
The restaurant combines familiar breakfast dishes with Southern and Indian-influenced selections, entering an increasingly crowded North Atlanta brunch market. Its regular schedule runs Tuesday through Sunday, with earlier opening times on weekends.
The opening adds another independent restaurant to the State Bridge corridor as commercial activity builds around Johns Creek. North Atlanta Star’s opening preview.
9. Overnight water outage is planned near Jimmy Carter Boulevard
Gwinnett County plans to interrupt water service beginning at 9 tonight for system modifications near Buford Highway and Jimmy Carter Boulevard in Norcross.
The work is expected to require six to eight hours. Properties in the immediate area may experience a complete outage or temporary changes in water pressure while crews complete the modifications.
The location is close enough to Peachtree Corners and western Duluth to affect workers, businesses and late-night travelers beyond Norcross itself. Gwinnett County’s current water-outage notice.
10. Suwanee’s Planning Commission meets tonight
Suwanee’s Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled to meet from 6:30 to 8 tonight at City Hall.
The commission reviews development proposals and makes recommendations on many applications before they reach City Council. Those recommendations are influential but generally are not the city’s final land-use decisions.
Residents following a specific property should confirm the current agenda before attending because cases can be postponed or withdrawn. Suwanee’s official meeting calendar.
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