The John Ripley Forbes Big Trees Forest Preserve, in Sandy Springs, has been designated part of the Old-Growth Forest Network, a national network of mature forests that are protected, native and publicly accessible.
Author Archives: David Pendered
David Pendered, Managing Editor, is an Atlanta journalist with more than 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.
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Atlanta seeking to curb use of gas-powered leaf blowers
Leaf blowers as both a polluter and an irritant of urban life are coming under scrutiny in Atlanta and possibly, at Atlanta’s behest, by state environmental officials. Recommendations to manage their use are due in Atlanta by May 31.
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Endless litigation over Chattahoochee River, no matter who wins water war
The Supreme Court is slated to hear oral arguments next week in the relentless case of Florida seeking more water from Georgia for Apalachicola Bay. No matter who wins, it won’t be the end of litigation over the major river system in metro Atlanta – the Chattahoochee River.
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A message of self-worth, self-love being spread among Atlanta’s elementary pupils
Tucked inside a children’s picture book is a message of self-love and self-acceptance the authors are sharing with 30,000 pupils in Atlanta’s elementary schools, and which the authors hope will be the start of an online global movement.
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Woodruff Arts Center credit outlook dropped to negative as revenues deteriorate
The Woodruff Arts Center saw its credit outlook downgraded from stable to negative as analysts expect further weakening in revenues. In addition, revenues had been declining for years before COVID-19, Woodruff has disclosed to investors.
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Atlanta’s Eastside Trolley Line Trail to be approved, slated to open by Dec. 31, 2022
The long-awaited Eastside Trolley Line Trail, east of Little Five Points, is slated to open by Dec. 31, 2022. The date is in a contract with the PATH Foundation pending expected approval Feb. 15 by the Atlanta City Council.
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Atlanta considers doubling impact fees on new homes, commercial buildings
Atlanta city officials are considering a proposal to more than double the rate of impact fees assessed on new homes and commercial buildings.
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EPA’s mandated review of Georgia rivers usage resumes after two-year lag
The clock is ticking on the state’s review of requests by river advocates to upgrade the designated use of Georgia’s rivers – including the Chattahoochee and South rivers. The effort appears to rely heavily on volunteers with riverkeeper and paddling organizations.
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Measuring climate change as NOAA updates definition of ‘climate normals’
The headline on a climate report from Yale Climate Connections says a lot: “What’s ‘normal’ in a changing climate?”
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MARTA upgrades rail; riders may return as offices reopen as pandemic fades
MARTA’s $225 million rail improvement program to improve speed and safety is another marker of certainty among transit leaders that ridership on the region’s core transit system will rebound from a pandemic slump.
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Affordable housing along Atlanta BeltLine overlooked in debate of plan by BeltLine Rail Now
Affordable housing along the Atlanta BeltLine is a central concept that’s been largely overlooked in the debate over the $2.5 billion transit-funding plan produced by BeltLine Rail Now.
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Atlanta’s new missing, murdered children’s memorial: ‘Never forget these souls’
An eternal flame memorial dedicated to Atlanta’s missing and murdered children is to be installed on the grounds of Atlanta City Hall. The names of 30 missing children are to be inscribed as “a testament that those lives mattered.”
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From a Black academic’s rebuke of Stacey Abrams to reparations: Black History Month 2021
This is a different kind of Black History Month. It began early, with a Black academic’s rebuke of Stacy Abrams on an Atlanta-based podcast. It includes studies of reparations by Spelman College and Emory University, plus the release of C.T. Vivian’s memoir.
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Georgia’s redistricting schedule derailed by Census delays in reporting population
The Census data used to draw new districts for Georgia’s congressional and legislative posts will not be delivered before July 30. No delivery date is in public view, and President Biden’s nominee for Commerce secretary said she will not rush the results, if confirmed.
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Dawson County’s affordable apartment project highlights need in jobs-rich exurb
The extent of the affordable housing challenge in exurban Atlanta has become evident in Dawson County, where 25 miles north of Alpharetta an apartment complex is to be built with tax incentives near a jobs-rich outlet mall.
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Rev. C.T. Vivian’s new memoir a guidebook for today’s social activists
The new memoir by the Rev. C.T. Vivian is a morally based guidebook for today’s social activists as much as it is a recollection of Martin’s path from Depression-era Missouri to the round table of the Civil Rights movement in Nashville and Atlanta.
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Ellen Dunham Jones’ ‘Retrofitting Suburbia,’ pandemic, Sandy Springs revitalization
When it comes to Georgia Tech professor Ellen Dunham-Jones’ latest book, Case Studies in Retrofitting Suburbia, Sandy Springs is in a unique position because of the major redevelopment initiative it has underway plus its ties to Jones.
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Election-year urban renewal plans could imprint Mayor Bottoms’ legacy on race, class
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ administration has proposed three election-year urban renewal initiatives that, if enacted, could imprint the mayor’s legacy on the city’s divisions around race and class for years to come.
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Right whale caught in deadly tangle of fishing gear spotted off Georgia’s coast; watch continues
State environmental officials continue to watch the waters off Georgia’s coast for a North Atlantic right whale tangled in a potentially deadly mess of line that looks like commercial fishing gear. This endangered species is Georgia’s marine mammal.
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Emory to host webinar to explore ‘kick ass’ views of undocumented scholars, activists
The co-editor of a new book intended to showcase “undocumented scholars doing kick-ass theoretical and empirical work” is to explore this new thread in the national discussion of immigration in a Jan. 25 webinar hosted by Emory University.
