Author Archives: David Pendered

About David Pendered

David Pendered, Managing Editor, is an Atlanta journalist with nearly 30 years experience reporting on the region’s urban affairs, from Atlanta City Hall to the state Capitol. Since 2008, he has written for print and digital publications, and advised on media and governmental affairs. Previously, he spent more than 26 years with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and won awards for his coverage of schools and urban development. David graduated from North Carolina State University and was a Western Knight Center Fellow. David was born in Pennsylvania, grew up in North Carolina and is married to a fifth-generation Atlantan.

Attention to Apalachicola fishing industry touches a nerve among Atlanta water resource leaders

Date: June 17th, 2013, 7:43 pm

Editor’s Note: This is the first of three stories this week that will look at water issues affecting metro Atlanta.

Maybe it was just the comments about metro Atlanta’s water usage by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. that triggered the outcry.

Or it could have been a story in The New York Times, which ran a few days earlier, on the potential demise of the seafood industry in Apalachicola Bay. One factor cited was a shortage of fresh water entering the bay from the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee Flint river system.

Taken separately or collectively, the comments by Kennedy and the Times piece alarmed some business and government leaders involved in the management of metro Atlanta’s water resources. The ruckus reminds that despite full lakes, the region and Georgia are in a pivotal moment concerning long-term water issues.
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New reports show metro Atlanta’s economy improving, but still sluggish

Date: June 16th, 2013, 8:05 pm

A handful of recent economic-types of reports portray metro Atlanta and Georgia as continuing a slow recovery from the depth of the recession.

The news offers little hope for the type of immediate turn-around that’s needed by folks who post blogs saying they’ve been out of work for more than six months and aren’t getting call-backs to their job inquiries.  But most signs do point toward a rising tide that eventually will reach most boats.

A new report from the Metro Atlanta Chamber showed job postings in high tech and a few other fields grew faster in this region than nationally. The Federal Reserve’s report for the first quarter indicates a slow recovery in Georgia that’s broad-based. A Georgia State report in May predicts continuing headwinds from the sluggish global economy, with 2014 expected to be a better year for the economy.
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Interchange to memorialize Atlanta police officer killed by drunken driver

Date: June 14th, 2013, 9:55 am

An Atlanta police officer who was struck and killed by a drunken driver at the Brookwood Interchange has been memorialized with the naming of the interchange in her honor.

Senior Patrol Officer Gail Denise Thomas was honored with a sign to be placed at the interchange of the Downtown Connector and exit 251. The exact location and date of installation is still being determined, the state Transportation Department said Friday. The ceremony was Thursday at Atlanta’s Public Safety Headquarters.

Thomas, 46, died Jan. 24, 2012 while working a car crash scene shortly after 11 p.m. near the intersection that leads from southbound I-75 to northbound I-85. The driver who struck Thomas pleaded guilty in February and was sentenced to 16 years in prison on two counts – vehicular homicide and failure to obey the directions of a police officer.
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GDOT keeps $80 million in federal highway funds by minding calendar

Date: June 13th, 2013, 9:33 am

Attention to the calendar will enable Georgia to shift to the federal government about $80 million of the cost of the managed lane project along I-75 south.

Georgia’s Department of Transportation had planned to borrow the $80 million. But the state and ARC were able to able to shift the funding source by tweaking the region’s long and short transportation plans before the state’s fiscal year ends June 30.

In the scheme of things, $80 million is a small sum. But the endeavor does indicate how far the state will go to stretch its transportation budget. The GRTA board on Wednesday provided the last approval that’s needed.
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Atlanta’s future public art gallery takes step forward, at a $770,000 price to alter former AJC building

Date: June 11th, 2013, 10:24 pm

Atlanta is on track to spend up to $770,769 to remodel space for an art gallery in the city’s office building that once housed The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The planned exhibit space will encompass 3,400 square feet and provide two galleries accessible through one entry, according to Camille Russell Love, who heads the city’s cultural affairs programs and who presented the plan Tuesday to the Atlanta City Council’s Community Development Committee. The council is expected to approve the spending at its June 17 meeting.

The proposal to spend money for a city gallery elicited a protest from Ron Shakir, an Atlanta resident who’s a regular opponent of spending proposals when they’re discussed at committee meetings. Councilperson Cleta Winslow pushed back, contending that support for public arts is a wise investment.
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Atlanta opens new fire, police station at time concerns for public safety appear low, off campaign agenda

Date: June 10th, 2013, 7:21 pm

Atlanta has opened its newest facility in the city’s never-ending quest to improve public safety and promote neighborhood cohesion.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed presided over the ribbon cutting ceremony on June 6, the 69th anniversary of D-Day. Reed sounded little like a candidate for reelection, and a lot like a community leader, as he summed up a wide array of interests that are bound up in the new Fire Station No. 28.

“A building like this should represent the best version of ourselves,” Reed concluded. “God bless you. It’s only going to get better in the city of Atlanta.”
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First MARTA budget proposed by “new” GM provides for passengers, employees, capital investments

Date: June 9th, 2013, 7:54 pm

The first annual budget to be presented by MARTA’s (somewhat) new GM/CEO provides something for both employees and passengers. The board is expected to approve the proposed budget Monday.

Keith Parker started at MARTA in December and made it clear during several meet-and-greet events that he intends to focus on both riders and employees. His goal is to improve the perception and reality of metro Atlanta’s largest transit system.

For passengers, MARTA’s budget proposal provides for a 12-month deferral of a planned fare increase, heightens sense-of-safety measures, and provides for the reopening of bathrooms in stations. For employees, there’s to be a no-cost package including a relaxed dress code and telecommute program, plus pay incentives. For system well-being, there’s $155.5 million in capital investments. Continue reading →

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Two historic buildings in Atlanta show signs they’ll resist wrecking ball

Date: June 7th, 2013, 1:51 pm

Sometimes in Atlanta, the news about historic preservation is measured in terms of buildings that weren’t demolished. This is one of those times.

The Atlanta City Council has approved a deal that will reduce the economic pressures to further develop the Georgian Terrace. The council authorized the owner to sever the development rights of the property and sell them at some point in the future to the owner of another parcel in Midtown.

In the heart of Atlanta’s downtown business district, a “For Sale” sign is hanging on the second floor office condo at the Healey Building. The proposed sale, priced at $840,000, indicates there are no dramatic changes planned for the building that was renovated in 2007.
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Sun Trust, Operation HOPE to devise financial literacy program for working poor, may teach entrepreneurship

Date: June 5th, 2013, 11:18 pm

An interesting meeting is set for June 10, one that will bring elite bankers together with street-wise advocates of the working poor in order to help a low-wealth community in Atlanta.

The goal is to devise a program that will teach financial literacy to those who don’t live in a world where financial advisors reach out to them. There’s a chance that lessons in entrepreneurship may be in the curriculum that is to begin this autumn.

Sun Trust Banks and Operation HOPE are partnering to offer the program. It’s a way for Sun Trust to return to its roots of community building, and Operation HOPE already is a good partner, Sun Trust executive Dan Mahurin said Wednesday.
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Proposal: Give Atlanta mayor direct control of city’s arts programs

Date: , 12:32 am

Atlanta's Office of Cultural Affairs would be moved into the mayor's office under a proposal now pending before the Atlanta City Council.

The office currently is located in the city’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs. The office is headed by Camille Russell Love, who reports to parks Commissioner George Dusenbury. Dusenbury reports to Atlanta COO Duriya Faroqui, who reports to the mayor.

Reed is an outspoken advocate of public arts programs and has provided city funding of the arts despite the recession. The Office of Cultural Affairs oversees Atlanta’s most prominent arts programs, including the 36th Annual Atlanta Jazz Festival – for which Reed hosted a preview party at Loews Hotel.
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