The $1.2 billion Georgia intends to inject into the state’s economy through its long-term investment program is expected to help offset the pandemic-related recession that has cut jobs and hampered company earnings across the state.
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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MARTA seeks public comment on transit expansion that will change nature of Campbellton Road
MARTA’s Campbellton Road expansion plan is expected to change the nature of the roadway from the Oakland City Station to I-285, a distance of about 5.7 miles. The plan for how that is to happen is to be completed within nine months.
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Plastic-Free July Challenge can begin with reusable dishes, etc. at July 4th parties
As Plastic-Free July Challenge 2020 begins for many with a July 4th party amid concerns about the spread of COVID-19, advocates have a simple suggestion – eat, drink and be merry, and be sure to use something other than single-use plastic plates, glasses and flatware.
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Diverting mortgage payments to gamble in stock market, pay higher-interest debt
Gambling in the stock market and paying off higher-interest loans is the way some homeowners may be using the mortgage payments they’ve not had to pay during the pandemic, according to a report released Thursday by the Atlanta Fed.
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Atlanta Fed president continues his call for, ‘A Moral and Economic Imperative to End Racism’
Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic on Tuesday continued his forceful call for an end of structural racism for reasons he sees as moral and economic.
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Transit expansion in Gwinnett County: ATL to hear presentation Thursday
Gwinnett County voters could get an early indication Thursday as to whether a transit tax could be added to the Nov. 3 ballot. A heavy rail line is eligible for consideration for sales tax funding, to reach from MARTA’s Doraville Station to a future facility in Norcross.
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Mental health, isolation: Explorations with an academic, choreographer, student leader
Mental health – a survey new in June shows 50 percent of American adults say they feel isolated, and happiness is at a 50-year low. Three leaders met in a virtual town hall to share thoughts on these issues and more – Georgia Tech President Ángel Cabrera, renowned choreographer Bill T. Jones, and Tech student leader – and artist – Mykala Sinclair.
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Legislative campaigns: Environmentalists set sights on coal ash, factory livestock farms
The handling of coal ash and livestock manure, when it is a byproduct of factory farming of cows, pigs and chickens, are among the environmental issues that may emerge on this year’s campaign trail, now that the focus on state lawmakers has shifted from lawmaking to campaigning.
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MARTA updates public on high-capacity transit plans along Campbellton Road
MARTA took the pulse of the public Thursday night on a few aspects of the plan to increase service along Campbellton Road. The survey was part of status report MARTA presented on a service enhancement that’s to begin service as early as 2031.
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Atlanta BeltLine passes milestone that marks ingenuity of funding, engineering
The Atlanta BeltLine is passing an historic milestone. This one has not been celebrated with a party – though in May it won national acclaim.
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Transplant patients, caregivers to benefit from planned 20-unit residential facility
A family that started a foundation now providing no-cost housing assistance for qualified transplant patients, and their caregivers, in the Atlanta area is preparing to raise funds to build a facility that is to serve 20 patients at one time, plus their caregivers.
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Atlanta won’t be Wakanda, but a new version of Atlanta Way may be emerging
The 2.0 version of the Atlanta Way won’t retool the city into Wakanda. The efforts emerging from Atlanta City Hall do represent the start of a response to calls for justice issued by protestors following the death of George Floyd. The operative words in that last sentence are: Start of a response.
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Kirkwood apartment building would come within 5 feet of property line: proposal
A proposed apartment development in Atlanta’s Kirkwood neighborhood would come within 5 feet of a property line. Prices are not indicated for any of the 23 units that are to be provided in the development, city records show.
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DACA: What they said – The cabinet, Trump, supporters, critics, Supreme Court
The Supreme Court ruling Thursday on the DACA case all but ensures immigration will be a major issue for the next president and Congress. Following are excerpts of comments by notable participants in the case decided 5-4, in a ruling in which Chief Justice John Roberts sided with four liberal justices and wrote for the majority.
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Trump on Dreamers’ ruling: ‘Do you get the impression that the Supreme Court doesn’t like me?’
The Supreme Court ruling today that rejected efforts by the Trump administration to end Obama-era legal protections to noncitizens who came to the U.S. as children will secure immediate threats of deportation to an estimated 16,000 individuals in metro Atlanta, and 24,000 in Georgia, who are enrolled in the program.
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Emory University’s 15,000-plus solar panels show commitment to net zero goals
Emory University’s decision to install more than 15,000 solar panels exemplifies the leadership role universities are able to take in the global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the founder of the company working on Emory’s project said Wednesday.
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As Georgians debate state’s heritage, executive hired to market tourist destinations
Georgia’s tourism economy was responsible in 2018 for nearly 500,000 jobs and total spending of $37 billion in communities both urban and rural. The state has named a new tourism director to oversee the growth and development of this sector of Georgia’s economy.
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Confederate monuments: A chance to reassess the past with perspective of today
Calls to remove Confederate memorials in Atlanta coincide with a June 12 court order for the removal of the Confederate obelisk in Decatur. A similar debate – in 1870 – kept such a monument out of Five Points and in placed, instead, in Oakland Cemetery.
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Past sale of Underground Atlanta, other assets eases Atlanta’s budget during pandemic
Atlanta’s past sale of trophy properties, such as Underground Atlanta, has helped ease pressure on the city’s upcoming budget and put Atlanta ahead of other governments that have kept assets such as public golf courses – another item Atlanta unloaded.
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Community development in era of social reform amid pandemic, police actions
“This is a sad day. We have another name to add to the roles. His name is Rayshard Brooks…. Another unarmed black man shot by police.” With these words, a Saturday morning virtual conversation about community development grew into one about effecting sweeping social change.
