A revised MARTA expansion proposal now includes more light rail than originally envisioned. It leans on other sources of money besides a sales tax to complete those big-dollar projects.
Author Archives: Maggie Lee
Maggie Lee is a freelance reporter who's been covering Georgia and metro Atlanta government and politics since 2008.
Posted inLatest News
Some cheers, many jeers, greet mayor’s push for high-stakes Gulch deal
By the end of a roughly 90-minute public meeting at Atlanta City Hall on Wednesday night, two things were getting familiar through repetition: the city’s pitch for up to $1.75 billion in tax incentives for a developer pursuing a Gulch re-do; and opponents saying the people of the city ought to get a lot more out of the deal.
Posted inMaggie Lee
Leading Gold Dome Republicans grumble about rising cost of new nukes at Vogtle
A group of Republican state legislators are now among those grumbling publicly about budget-busting costs as the Plant Vogtle expansion drags toward completion.
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Atlanta agency greenlights $5 million tax break for Tech Square build
The board of Invest Atlanta has approved a deal worth $5 million in property tax breaks over 10 years to a Portman Holdings building that’s planned on West Peachtree Street.
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Governor to next year’s leaders: look at links between dropping out and prison
In a bit of a valedictory speech on Tuesday, outgoing Republican Governor Nathan Deal pointed to schools as a place the state needs to look if the incarceration rate is going to continue to fall.
Posted inMaggie Lee
Five questions on state elections
Pop quiz time — on some of the issues and offices at stake in Georgia elections this year.
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More details — and questions — emerging on Atlanta Gulch deal
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms wanted City Council to approve a Gulch redevelopment deal as early as Monday, though she’s backed off that timeline. Not everyone on Council seems convinced that the proposed sweet deal for the developer is just as sweet for city residents.
Posted inMaggie Lee
Thomasville Heights residents stuck in deplorable apartments demand better
Forest Cove’s residents are at an impasse with a system that’s failed them.
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New leader for public board that oversees State Farm Arena, zoo, others
The Atlanta-Fulton County Recreation Authority, the obscure agency which supervises public facilities including Zoo Atlanta and the arena formerly known as Philips Arena, is getting a new leader.
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MARTA OKs Gwinnett deal, while DeKalb demands services
As MARTA and Gwinnett move toward a possible embrace, some in DeKalb are feeling jilted.
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Atlanta to end jail contract with ICE
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms on Thursday signed an executive order that will end a deal that’s seen the city jail house hundreds and hundreds of detainees on immigration charges on behalf of the federal government.
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Renew Atlanta’s budget millions short for fire station works, auditors find
A city borrowing program that promised Atlanta voters $250 million in improvements to roads, sidewalks, bridges and city buildings is delivering, delays and budget-busting fire station repairs, according to a new report by city auditors.
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With online “checkbook” register, Atlanta aims to get ahead of public, media questions
With a new website that shows Atlanta’s spending down to the checkbook level, city leaders are hoping for many things, including to head off the many folks writing in to ask questions about city spending.
Posted inMaggie Lee
Problem-solvers growing with the help of thoughtful capital
A typical company may only think of earned revenue — customers at the cash register. But for these social enterprises, revenue is important, but profit isn’t the goal.
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The metro can’t stop at Atlanta’s half-penny, says MARTA boss
As partisans for different Atlanta projects wrangle over an upcoming MARTA decision on how to spend $2.5 billion on transit, the authority’s boss says that 40-year local tax can’t be the last bite of the apple.
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Update: Up to $7.5 million grant from west side tax fund approved for aquarium
Atlanta’s development authority board is thankful for the philanthropy behind a valuable tourist draw Downtown, but not everyone thinks the city should show its appreciation by spending that $7.5 million from a special tax fund on the aquarium.
Posted inMaggie Lee
Up to $7.5 million grant from west side tax fund teed up for aquarium
Some at Atlanta’s development authority have recommended their colleagues spend $7.5 million from a special tax fund on the $108 million expansion of the private Georgia Aquarium. But the full board may ask whether a new shark exhibit request comes when there are more pressing public needs.
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Review suggests reconstituting nonprofit board associated with Invest Atlanta
The nonprofit Partners for Prosperity should be reworked to distinguish it more from the city’s development authority, according to the law firm that reviewed the nonprofit’s operations after an unusual $40,000 transaction involving City Hall.
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Talk of “second airport,” state control of Hartsfield starts in state Capitol
Atlanta never stops crowing about having the world’s busiest airport — and it hasn’t been interested in a second one. But that “second airport” idea turned up several times in a state Capitol hearing called by legislators who are looking at the feasibility of a state takeover of Hartsfield-Jackson’s management.
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Proposed Gulch redo draws questions at first Atlanta City Council review
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms went to Atlanta City Council on Tuesday to make the case that a proposed Gulch rebuild with heavy public incentives is a good deal. A nearly three-hour Council work session revealed some agreement with that, but a lot of skepticism too.
