A proposal to save five specimen oak trees in exchange for tweaking the sidewalk requirements at a busy shopping center along Peachtree Road in Brookhaven, near MARTA’s Brookhaven Station, has received preliminary approval from city planners.
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 opens door to future Druid Hills’ annexations, affirms preservation rules
Atlanta has put the force of city law behind promises to protect the historic integrity of the Druid Hills neighborhood and not seek to annex adjacent properties for 10 years. Of note, the city specifically held the door open for future annexations in the area, according to legislation adopted Tuesday by the Atlanta City Council.
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ATL edging toward Vision Zero, a policy of no deaths when vehicles strike humans
The job posting for Atlanta’s first transportation commissioner calls for experience with implementing Vision Zero, a mobility policy that includes reducing vehicular speed on city streets in order to improve safety for folks not in vehicles.
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Marietta naval officer who rescued sailor part of team that saves many west of Guam
As it turns out, the Marietta naval officer who led the rescue by helicopter of a recreational sailor in the Pacific Ocean was on a mission that’s surprisingly common in waters west of Guam. Stranded folks are plucked out of harms way fairly often by U.S. teams from a base in Guam.
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Politics of federal hurricane relief on display in N.C. as storm approaches Georgia
Hurricane damage repair costs have prompted North Carolina highway officials to announce layoffs of more than 500 road maintenance workers, and to predict delays in repairing storm-damaged roads in the future. Politics may have a role in this transportation scuffle, along with other skirmishes in a two-party state on a level that Georgia hasn’t yet experienced.
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Tenacity pays off as partners build warehouse to compete in tough retail sector
They never gave up. And after 30 years or so of efforts, the two partners and their families celebrated on Thursday the construction start of a warehouse in Tucker that is to be the foundation of the next generation of their furniture store – reflagged from Underpriced Furniture to Georgia Furniture Mart.
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Plant Vogtle: Fairly strong credit rating awarded $275 million in construction bonds
A partner in the Plant Vogtle nuclear power plant project has received a fairly positive rating from Moody’s Investors Service on debt it plans to sell in September to continue its share of construction funding. That said, analysts advised potential investors of pending challenges and reminded of the upcoming construction status report due by Aug. 30.
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Black homebuyers down 50 percent in Atlanta; summit aims to reverse trend
Almost lost in the discussion of affordable housing is the precipitous decline of black homebuyers and black homeownership. At a summit Wednesday at the Carter Center, housing specialists are to examine the roots of the problem and potential policy solutions.
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Master planned Pinewood Forest likely to outlast any changes at Pinewood Studio
Pinewood Forest has always been a concept town – a place where high tech helps create a nostalgic sense of simpler times, where the noise of air conditioners is largely replaced by silent geothermal cooling systems. Its future growth seems as secure as any residential development, a regional planner observed – even amid the changes surrounding Pinewood Atlanta Studios.
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Federal judge places resolution of Georgia’s water lawsuit in Trump administration
The federal judge in Brunswick who ruled in favor of Georgia’s lawsuit seeking to overturn an Obama-era water rule has thrown it to the Trump administration to decide which waterways in 11 states are overseen by the federal government and which are controlled by the states.
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Gov. Kemp’s spending cutbacks follow historic pattern: Moody’s Investors Service
Gov. Brian Kemp has ordered a 4 percent reduction in state spending starting Oct. 1 and a 6 percent cut starting next July 1. The move is in keeping with the long line of Georgia governors who have cut spending as revenues decline and maintained a high credit rating, according to Moody’s Investors Service.
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Great Georgia Pollinator Census begins Friday as feds stop counting honey bee colonies
The federal government has suspended its count of honey bee colonies, but the University of Georgia continues to collect information on honey bees – the state insect – and other pollinators. Citizen scientists can join Friday and Saturday in counting these pollinators.
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YMCA opens learning center in Vine City: Teach toddlers to read, job skills for adults
The YMCA of Metro Atlanta opened an early learning center in Vine City Tuesday, where advocates of children hope to break the pernicious problem of illiteracy. The YMCA’s reading program aims to teach reading and vocabulary to infants through prekindergarten in the type of low-income neighborhood where national data shows 89 percent of black children score below “proficient” in fourth-grade reading skills.
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Swamp of Dreams: Okefenokee has been plied for riches for over 100 years
The latest plan to extract profits out of sand near the Okefenokee Swamp fits a pattern that started in the late 1800s and has ties to historic names in Atlanta’s growth – including Inman Park developer Joel Hurt, and an owner of the ‘Atlanta Journal’ who parleyed presidential endorsement editorials into a post as U.S. Secretary of Interior.
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Metro Atlanta’s ongoing growth to get assist from expanded sewage plant in Roswell
Metro Atlanta’s relentless growth results in part from the ability to process sewage. Fulton County is poised to foster growth in Roswell, Alpharetta and other areas north of Sandy Springs with construction set to start this fall on the expansion of the Big Creek Water Reclamation Facility.
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Commuters’ trip times reduced by GDOT’s construction approach that won awards
Metro Atlanta commuters who travel on roads may take some consolation in the notion that construction delays aren’t as bad as they could be. Georgia Department of Transportation has been commended for a program that reduces construction timelines – and cut a decade off one major project.
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GSU advances research into fighting Zika virus; Dengue epidemic re-emerges
Researchers at Georgia State University appear to have made a breakthrough in the potential to harness the body’s innate defenses to fight the mosquito-borne Zika virus – a disease with no known treatment or vaccine.
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Affordable housing may get fast-tracked in Atlanta’s building permit office
Atlanta’s focus on affordable housing has turned to the issuance of building permits, specifically, speeding up the permitting process for affordable homes. The issue was approved Tuesday, in the same meeting at which the interim head of the city’s housing authority said it has budgeted $106 million in development projects.
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Okefenokee Swamp: Proposed sand mine may have national security implications
The proposal to mine sand near the Okefenokee Swamp could involve matters of national security. Products created with components in the sand are used in military aircraft, satellites, missiles and munitions, and naval vessels. The U.S. now imports almost 100 percent of the material and the top two sources are Japan and Russia; the Commerce Department is conducting a security analysis.
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Atlanta to negotiate with global scooter companies valued at estimated $5 billion
Now with an estimated total value of $5 billion, the two big companies that rent scooters in Atlanta have become their own global force of nature. Yet to be determined is how Bird and Lime will respond to regulatory efforts such as the one imposed by Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.
