The “Indian War” cannon in Decatur is in the national spotlight as advocates for the cannon’s removal gathered Sunday at an event organized with input from teenagers who wanted a “teach-in” to help show the types of history lessons they want in school.
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’s ads for alcohol mark Georgia’s evolving outlook on tolerance, temperance
An apparent lifetime ago, in 2014, MARTA gingerly entered the world of allowing ads for alcohol on its vehicles and premises. The advertising contract is again out for bid, with provisions for alcohol, and no significant protests have emerged.
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Atlanta pays $500 signing bonus for garbage collectors amid staffing shortfalls
Atlanta has committed to pay a $500 signing bonus for trash collectors who sign on to help the city end service reductions by a department plagued by staffing shortfalls.
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In advance of rising sea levels, Savannah area pilots life-saving technology
A holistic approach to measure and respond to rising sea levels in and around Savannah is so promising that NOAA has provided new funding to expand it to other coastal communities in Georgia that need real-time flood information to help save lives from flood waters.
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Embattled hospital project near Augusta faces new challenge, a credit downgrade
The high-stakes battle to build a hospital in Georgia’s most-populated county without one faces new hurdles, just two months after the state Supreme Court gave a green light for the project in Columbia County that’s been in litigation since 2014.
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Pandemic eviction filings target mostly non-white, lower-income areas: Atlanta Fed
The hotspots for pandemic eviction filings in metro Atlanta have been in non-white, lower-income areas of south Fulton and DeKalb counties and in Clayton County, according to a report from the Federal Reserve of Atlanta.
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Controversial plan in Atlanta to boost residential density pushed to after elections
Atlanta has postponed until after city elections the likely date of a vote by the Atlanta City Council on three proposals intended to promote construction of affordable dwellings in existing residential neighborhoods and eliminate some on-site parking requirements.
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Atlanta’s rates of shootings and victims drop, but murder rates continue to rise
The rate of shooting incidents and shooting victims in the City of Atlanta has declined in the last four weeks as policing efforts have yielded results, according to Atlanta’s Assistant Police Chief Todd Coyt.
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Coal ash: Georgia mulls first request for permanent disposal in unlined basins
Georgia may create a statewide precedent to manage coal ash by leaving it permanently in an unlined basin under a cap made of plastic that’s covered with grass and legumes.
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Size shaming in Olympic sailing: A 1996 contender from Savannah comments
As the Tokyo Olympics mark the end of the last sailboat class for big men, a Savannah man who almost sailed the boat for the U.S. in the 1996 games portrays the move as boneheaded.
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Rooftop solar hits snags in Georgia, Alabama, Biden administration
Residential solar power faces headwinds in Georgia and Alabama, and from the Biden administration as it argues in favor of Trump-era tariffs that have raised the price of certain solar equipment.
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Scofflaw cargo vessels endanger right whales off Port of Savannah
Cargo vessels operating off the increasingly busy Port of Savannah are the primary violators of speed limits intended to protect the critically endangered right whales, according to a recent report from Oceana, a global conservation organization.
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Metro Atlanta distributed 12% of federal COVID-19 funds to prevent evictions
Metro Atlanta governments have distributed 12% of the federal funds made available this year to prevent residential evictions for nonpayment of rent related to COVID-19, according to a tally of the latest report from the Treasury Department.
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Drawdown Georgia shows 50% reduction in carbon emissions possible by 2030
The Drawdown Georgia research team has released its first study and results are stunning. Georgia could reduce climate-warming carbon emissions by 50% by applying known solutions in a holistic fashion.
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Atlanta told HUD in May of its plans for more affordable housing
Atlanta notified the federal government in May that it is pursuing policies to remove barriers to affordable housing, according to a report required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
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Redistricting data to arrive at Georgia’s Capitol by Aug. 16; final town hall is Friday
The Census confirmed Wednesday it expects to provide to states by Aug. 16 all the information states need to start the redistricting process, which is the creation of boundaries for posts ranging from U.S. House to city councils and school boards.
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Atlanta’s plan to boost density: City steps back, but doesn’t abandon its plan
Atlanta has stepped back from, but not abandoned, plans to boost residential density in traditional neighborhoods after receiving more than 1,000 public comments on the original proposal, according to a revised draft of the plan, released Tuesday.
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Rural residents applaud broadband expansion as rollout begins in earnest
The rollout of broadband in rural Georgia is spurring comments of happiness and hope, and a sense of urgency, on Facebook posts from individuals who see the 21st century arriving at their door in the form of a new cable.
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Atlanta’s trash collection service bowing under short staffs, heavy workloads
Atlanta’s problems collecting yard waste has uncovered a host of woes in the entire system of collecting waste, just as ratepayers have received their annual solid waste bills.
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Ceylon wilderness a haven for longleaf pine, gopher tortoises, tranquility
A constellation of plants and animals native to Georgia’s coastal plain will have a place to simply exist on 16,083 acres that private partners and the state are protecting from development along the banks of the Satilla River, near Brunswick.
