The MARTA board won’t make the Downtown Atlanta streetcar fares free, as was discussed by the agency — it’ll remain $1 to ride.
Author Archives: Maggie Lee
Maggie Lee is a freelance reporter who's been covering Georgia and metro Atlanta government and politics since 2008.
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Three tax incentive deals for big developments divide Atlanta board
The board of Atlanta’s investment authority on Thursday approved deals that include tax breaks worth $16.1 million over ten years meant to help jumpstart three big developments. But with an eye toward property tax bills going out soon to homeowners, critics asked whether the city needs to be handing out breaks for these works.
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Atlanta executive order closes city jail to ICE detainees pending assurance that family separation has ended
Atlanta’s jail will close its doors to detainees held by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement — at least for a while — under an executive order signed Wednesday by Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.
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Ebenezer and partners bail out 10, for start of campaign
Campaigners looking to cut the nation’s incarceration rate say cash bail policies unjustly punish poor people who sit in jail awaiting trial as wealthy people bond out. Over the last few days, those campaigners in Atlanta have stepped up the action, starting by bailing out about 10 folks.
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$100 million state transit bond marked for Ga. 400 rapid bus works
A state that’s been reluctant to bankroll buses and the train in its biggest metro has announced a major mass transit spend by Georgia standards — $100 million. That’ll be a substantial downpayment on rapid bus service along Ga. 400.
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Atlanta City Council approves $661 million budget
Atlanta City Council on Monday approved a $661 million budget and personnel plan for the upcoming year, but it left many on both sides of the dais unhappy with pay for public safety officers.
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Questions on housing and more at Westside summit with mayor
It was a big crowd for 7:15 on a Friday morning — probably about 300 people eventually squeezed their way into the meeting room. That shows the hunger of the west side’s most committed partisans to hear what Atlanta’s still-new mayor would say about their neighborhoods and its struggles.
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Wheelchair users sue Atlanta, saying they’re denied equal public access
Three people who use wheelchairs are taking Atlanta to federal court, claiming that sorry sidewalks deny they and others equal access to the city.
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Artists, organizations lobby for funding in Atlanta budget
Atlanta’s quick to name the block-busting Hollywood films and TV shows made in the city — Black Panther, The Walking Dead and so on. But local artists say a little more love for the city’s home-grown film, sculpture, dance and other arts would pay off in more ways than one.
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MARTA officers out in management reorganization
By Maggie Lee MARTA is going to do without a chief operating officer and a chief marking and communications officer, as the new boss reorganizes the transit agency and eliminates the two positions. The incumbents, Rich Krisak and Goldie Taylor have been let go, said MARTA communications head Stephany Fisher. “It was 100 percent related […]
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Atlanta mayor names three top leaders, moves airport boss to city CFO
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has named two city veterans to top leadership jobs, and chosen a new hire to oversee human resources.
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Ebenezer Baptist advances criminal justice campaign with holiday bailout
Ebenezer Baptist church and partners are raising money to bail out folks out of jail next week — in time for Father’s Day and Juneteenth. For the church, the bail-out is part of a larger focus on mass incarceration.
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Atlanta mayor hints at high-level affordability post
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said this week that in a year’s time there will be formalized coordination of leadership on behalf of the city as it relates to affordability.
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Candidate tax returns show up in politics, but not in law
Georgians have been promised a look at least one gubernatorial candidate’s tax returns, maybe two. But while challenging one’s opponents to publish their taxes is becoming a campaign-season standard, it’s not part of the law.
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Atlanta to take a few weeks to consider rules on the shared vehicles that some cities call a nuisance
The shareable electric scooters that a California company dropped on Atlanta last month could be part of fixing the city’s mobility problem. But with Bird’s arrival, Atlanta’s also facing a fleet of vehicles that some other cities have claimed are a dangerous and sidewalk-blocking nuisance.
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Georgia cities to Congress: We need some public works spending
The nation’s mayors have infrastructure on their minds, according to a new report from the National League of Cities. But mayors aren’t the only ones calling on Washington, D.C. to help out with paying for things like water works, roads and broadband.
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How Fulton County voted for governor, precinct by precinct
We can’t tell you how your neighbor voted, but we can tell how each Fulton County precinct voted in the gubernatorial primary.
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City panel agrees: Patterson Spring Hill funeral home in Midtown is a “landmark”
At first glance, it’s easy to think the two-story white building set in little gardens on Spring Street is a house. But it’s still what it’s been for about 90 years: a funeral home. And a city panel says it’s worth protecting, even as skyscrapers rise around it.
Posted inMaggie Lee
Trail to the Chattahoochee leads through Atlanta City Council, public, and planners
“Just because we don’t have a river running through downtown like Chattanooga or Nashville or wherever else, that doesn’t mean we can’t take full advantage of” the Chattahoochee.
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Atlanta City Council OKs $20.4 million for part of Piedmont Park expansion
Atlanta City Council voted to spend some $20.4 million on about three acres of Midtown land that’s part of a planned expansion of Piedmont Park and the Atlanta Botanical Garden.
