Top stories of 2019 for metro Atlanta

July 17, 2019 Atlanta- Pamela Seay, a neighborhood volunteer, searches for insects on vegetable plants at the Atlanta Food Forest on Wednesday, July 17, 2019. The Atlanta Food Forest covers a seven acre public park and  is the first in Georgia and the largest in the United States. Christina Matacotta/Christina.Matacotta@ajc.com

July 17, 2019 Atlanta- Pamela Seay, a neighborhood volunteer, searches for insects on vegetable plants at the Atlanta Food Forest on Wednesday, July 17, 2019. The Atlanta Food Forest covers a seven acre public park and is the first in Georgia and the largest in the United States. Christina Matacotta/Christina.Matacotta@ajc.com

Before we turn the corner to a new year, pause to reflect on what was. The year 2019 in local news was a busy one, with metro governments moving independently to write laws on the new challenges posed by e-scooters and vaping. They also worked to manage sprawling new developments.

On the downside, clouds of cash disappeared on I-285 and rapper 21 Savage made national headlines after he was arrested for allegedly overstaying his visa. On the upside: Atlanta became home to the largest food forest in the U.S. and Tyler Perry opened his studios to acclaim from Hollywood.

Take a longer look back at our most popular headlines:

Atlanta’s top stories of 2019

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