Category: Archived Columnists

Just a month before the release of its KPMG audit, the MARTA board and chief executive officer submitted their annual report to state Rep. Mike Jacobs, chairman of MARTOC — the legislature’s MARTA Oversight Committee.

The 215-page report gives an overview of operating and capital consolidated financial statements, procurement contracts and salaries of all full-time employees.

The total operating revenues totaled $406 million with $130.5 million coming from passenger revenue and $196.3 million from the penny sales tax paid by Fulton and DeKalb counties. Operating expenses came out to $405.8 million with salaries and benefits accounting for over $340 million.

Midway through his lecture, Charles Fishman paused to rest a package on top of his head — 24 packaged bottles of Publix branded bottled water. This, he said, represents the amount of water we use to flush a toilet.

Fishman, author of “The Big Thirst: The Secret Life and Turbulent Future of Water”, was in Atlanta Oct. 26 presenting a talk “Smart Water Solutions for Atlanta” on behalf of two initiatives — Smart Water Grid coalition and Georgia Water Wise Council.

Fishman’s talk provided anecdotes on water use failures and successes — both domestically and abroad.

In Atlanta, conversations on public and street art have progressed by leaps and bounds over the past three years.

Private citizens and city officials have watched the success of public art in strengthening community and fostering dialogue across the globe in Los Angeles, Tel Aviv, New York and even Gambia.

Elevate, one of two annual contemporary public art series to have transformed the city, is back for a fall installation sure to aide in the revitalization of downtown Atlanta.

Kicking off with a mixed-media installation, titled “Banho de Luz”, using the marble monument at Peachtree and Baker, the series will continue south with the final days of Elevate to focus on South Broad with spectators invited to watch Hense, Push, Tilt and other renowned street artists creative paintings on five buildings.

Framing the argument is a key role in campaign messaging. So opponents of the charter school amendment, also referenced as Amendment One, may have just received a tip from a new autocall poll conducted on the issue.

The poll, administered on Oct. 4 and 5, covered two categories.

1. Support for changing the Georgia Constitution by passing Amendment One, and

2. The possible impact of the preamble on ‘undecided’ and ‘leaning no’ voters.

This past Saturday I woke up at what most folks in their 20s would deem an ungodly hour to make my way to the suburbs of Cobb County for my first bicycle ride on the Silver Comet Trail.

The first three miles consisted of me attempting to stay on the bike and in the lane while not swerving into mothers pushing strollers and girlfriends catching up over an early morning workout.

Nonetheless, the experience and the scenery was a perfect start to bicycle-centric weekend. During the three hours on the trails, nearly every passersby waved or acknowledged their fellow pedestrians and cyclists enjoying the brisk fall air.

Who is failing Georgia’s young students?

This year a new federal formula recalibrated Georgia’s graduation from 80 percent to 67.4 percent, meaning nearly one in three Georgia students fail to graduate from high school in four years.

A new Brookings Institute study notes that students who succeed in elementary and middle school grades, graduating high school with a 2.5 GPA without parenting a child or committing a crime, have a 75 percent chance of achieving a middle-class income.

There are three components that taxpayers need to review when it comes to public education: the accreditation by SACS (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools), school board infighting, budget cuts.

As we move into the final weeks of the presidential campaign, $1.84 is a figure we’ll likely hear during the debates. This was the price per gallon of gas just days after President Barack Obama’s inauguration. This number has doubled in just under four years with no real expectation for a significant reduction in the price of oil.

Renewable energy sources provide for roughly 10 percent of American consumption, with 35 percent being provided by oil and the remainder coming from natural gas, coal and nuclear energy. Presently, the Department of Defense uses 22 gallons of petroleum daily per soldier in combat. It costs the Department of Defense — and ultimately taxpayers — $1.4 billion annually for each $10 increase in the cost of a barrel of oil, notes Phyllis Cuttino, director of the Pew Project on National Security, Energy and Climate.