The Georgia House is poised to join more than a dozen Georgia cities in going on record against the Trump administration’s decision to allow seismic testing, and oil drilling, off the Georgia coast. A companion bill appears to be stalled in the Senate with about a week remaining the legislative session.
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.
Posted inLatest News
Hyperloops on Trump agenda as Gwinnett digests MARTA referendum results
As MARTA and its advocates in Gwinnett County look beyond the unofficial negative transit vote Tuesday, the Trump administration is looking forward to a transportation future replete with innovations including hyperloops and autonomous vehicles – albeit with no details about how to pay for it or the nation’s existing infrastructure needs.
Posted inLatest News
Atlanta BeltLine to data centers: Please stay away
To protect the Atlanta BeltLine from unsightly data centers, Atlanta is trying to set some boundaries around their size, proximity and appearance. The move begins as the city and region are emerging as a hotbed for buildings that house computer systems.
Posted inColumns
Familiar feud: Healthcare lobby resists changing law that regulates competition
Doctors and health care executives can’t agree with lawyers, farmers and business owners over how to update a law that oversees the expansion of health care facilities in Georgia. This is a major part of the impasse that’s to be resolved if the General Assembly is to enact reform before the session ends in two weeks.
Posted inLatest News
Lawmakers may reduce sand dune protections as hurricane threat unabated
State lawmakers may ease restrictions on the construction of decks and patios next to sand dunes, plus crosswalks over dunes, even as the lead author of NOAA’s Atlantic Ocean hurricane outlooks issued this month a preliminary warning that the upcoming hurricane season will be as dynamic as the one that pummeled Georgia in 2018.
Posted inLatest News
Pair in rented peacock plumes brought down by federal authorities
They were like barnyard roosters strutting around in rented peacock plumes, driving rented Bentleys and jetting off for the weekend to Chicago or the Caribbean – until the chiropractor and his accomplice were convicted of healthcare fraud committed in a Buckhead highrise, according to accounts of their federal trial.
Posted inLatest News
Georgia Tech to launch master’s degree in sustainability this autumn
The growing demand for leaders in the realm of sustainability is the subject of a new master’s degree program Georgia Tech intends to launch this autumn.
Posted inColumns
Atlanta’s new clean energy plan shares aspirations with proposed Green New Deal
Atlanta’s newly adopted Clean Energy Plan to guide the city’s planned transition to 100 percent clean energy shares some similarities with the Green New Deal legislation filed in Congress, and arrives just in time for this week’s Climate Realty Project training session that’s headlined by Al Gore.
Posted inLatest News
Wall Street analysts remain bullish on WellStar despite possible regulatory reform
Wall Street credit analysts gave little heed to potential changes in state regulations of Georgia’s hospital industry when they issued last week a stable rating to WellStar Health System.
Posted inLatest News
Delta’s top credit rating reflects lower costs of hub at ATL airport: Moody’s report
As state lawmakers consider taking over Atlanta’s airport, Delta Air Lines, Inc. on Wednesday received a top credit rating from Moody’s Investors Service that builds on a recent rating that said one of Delta’s key credit strengths is the lower costs of doing business at Atlanta’s airport.
Posted inLatest News
Census proceeds with $500 million marketing plan for embattled 2020 Census
The Census Bureau on Monday unveiled the $500 million communication platform for the 2020 count of the nation’s population – “Shape your future. START HERE.” The release comes as the decennial count remains mired in litigation brought by several states and the NAACP.
Posted inLatest News
Metro Atlanta ranks in top third of global rankings of traffic congestion
Moscow is ranked as the world’s worst city for traffic congestion, but motorists there travel 3 mph faster than drivers in Atlanta when it comes to the rate of travel on the last inner city mile, according to a report that could fuel conversation at Tuesday’s meeting about express lanes along Ga. 400.
Posted inColumns
Arts, culture in ATL: ARC approves long-awaited plan to expand programs
The murals, performances, farmers markets and soccer events becoming more prevalent at MARTA rail stations are the types of arts and culture offerings the Atlanta Regional Commission intends to foster across the region through a new strategic plan.
Posted inLatest News
Bribery, favoritism, retaliation cited in Atlanta’s oversized pay for overtime hours
A manager at Atlanta’s airport awarded overtime hours to her husband, son and nephew rather than giving other employees a chance to earn the extra pay, a situation that is just part of the abuse of overtime pay identified in the city’s internal audit of overtime pay.
Posted inLatest News
MARTA manager sentenced for role in fraud prosecuted Justice Department
The sentencing in federal court this week of a former MARTA department administrator brings to a close a scheme in which two top transit officials and an associate defrauded MARTA of more than $500,000.
Posted inLatest News
Disease-causing bacteria in water off Georgia beaches now routine presence
Beachgoers were advised they may get sick if they enter the water along portion of three of Georgia’s coastal islands in February because of high levels of a waterborne bacteria associated with disease. The waters have been declared safe, but the warnings remind of the potential harm caused by runoff from manmade or other sources.
Posted inLatest News
Emory area could see skyscrapers under Atlanta’s proposed rezoning
Office towers of an unlimited height could be permitted on a portion of land brought into Atlanta through the annexation of Emory University and the surrounding area, according to the rezoning proposal.
Posted inColumns
MARTA seeks to improve wait times at bus stops with new shelters, amenities
MARTA bus riders and postal couriers may as well share the same unofficial creed, since both endure the elements – “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night….” A ray of sunshine is rising for MARTA riders.
Posted inLatest News
Atlanta may collect scooter crash data; LA study found head injuries most common
Head injuries, broken bones and abrasions are common injuries when riders crash their standing electronic scooters, according to a recent study from California. A proposal to track such data in Atlanta is pending before the Atlanta City Council.
Posted inDavid Pendered
Atlanta Audubon’s growing wildlife sanctuary program now includes Briarlake Forest Park
The Atlanta Audubon Society has certified yet another public park as a wildlife sanctuary, this one near Northlake Mall in DeKalb County and the latest in the society’s fast-growing program to provide havens for birds and critters.
