The Atlanta Jazz Festival has prevailed in what’s become an annual ritual of tapping the airport car rental tax to help pay for the event. This year, the festival is to receive up to $350,000, a sum that’s up by $100,000 from last year’s appropriation, following a vote Monday by the Atlanta City Council.
Category: David Pendered
Articles by David Pendered
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Kennesaw State breaks glass ceiling; two women hold top academic positions
A Kennesaw State University professor who led prescient research on information privacy – think Facebook privacy breaches – has been named the university’s top academic officer. At a time academia still presents a glass ceiling, KSU’s top two positions and a majority of cabinet positions are held by women.
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Feds say Spaceport Camden review ‘paused,’ Camden County files for launch license
Federal authorities continue to list the status of an environmental review of the proposed spaceport on Georgia’s coast as “paused,” citing unspecified issues related to the project sponsor. That said, the sponsor has issued a statement saying it has moved the project forward by applying for a license to launch rockets.
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Atlanta Audubon aims to help remove invasive species, attract birds to DeKalb County park
The Native Plant and Wildlife Walk at a DeKalb County park is soon to be a bit more native. The Atlanta Audubon Society has awarded a grant that’s to help provide for the removal of invasive species, after which bird friendly species of plants are to be installed.
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‘No Drone Zone’ for Super Bowl; Feds have helicopters checking security, radiation
With an alliterative name like “No Drone Zone” in place for Downtown Atlanta starting Thursday, it seems the souvenir hawkers would have come up with a humorous logo to offer the crowds around Super Bowl LIII. They had plenty of advance warning, and even design inspiration from the government.
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OSHA ends relief efforts after Hurricane Michael; Georgia cotton remains in fields
Hurricane Michael may seem a distant memory, especially with wintry weather wrapping metro Atlanta, but the impact of the October 2018 storm remains so close that cotton awaits harvest in Georgia fields and only on Monday did the nation’s workplace safety agency return to regular enforcement duties in all affected areas.
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Breaking through the Perimeter: PATH400 to link BeltLine, areas north of I-285
A huge hurdle has been cleared that is to enable PATH400 to connect Atlanta’s BeltLine with Sandy Springs and, possibly if not eventually, the growing trails system north of I-285. As PATH Foundation noted of this first step: “Federal dollars are involved so it won’t happen overnight, but it’s coming.”
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Retiring state property chief had immense influence over metro Atlanta for 15 years
Steve Stancil may not have a household name. But when he steps down Feb. 1 as State Property Officer, he will have affected metro Atlanta since 2003 on issues ranging from mass transit, to development policies, to future development along the Atlanta BeltLine and the future film studio/mixed use development that’s to be built in Atlanta at the old Pullman Yard.
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Yayoi Kusama barred in 1966 from performing with ‘Narcissus Garden,’ now at Atlanta Botanical Garden
Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama made her Narcissus Garden exhibit so controversial in 1966 at the Venice Biennale that organizers barred her from performing alongside the display. The Atlanta Botanical Garden intends to display the exhibit through Spring.
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Metro Atlanta ranks 10th of 15 big U.S. metros for future commercial investments, Trepp reports
Metro Atlanta ranks 10th out of the nation’s top 15 metro regions for investment potential in commercial loans, according to a new report by the industry watcher Trepp. In a small way, the bankruptcy of a popular bicycle business with four shops in the region shows why metro Atlanta isn’t ranked higher.
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Environmental impact of future inland port cited as state plans review of freight network
The environmental review is underway for a planned inland port to be built northeast of Gainesville. Presuming it opens, the facility that’s billed as a way to ease traffic congestion in metro Atlanta is likely to be heralded as a success as the state House prepares to update Georgia’s decade-old rail improvement plans.
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Atlanta police to use body cameras properly or face fines, penalties, chief says
Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields says she knows officers aren’t using their department-issued body cameras properly. That’s why she called for a city audit of camera usage and is implementing what she called a “straight forward” set of policies about how cameras are to be used and videos to be stored – to be followed by stiff penalties for rule-breakers.
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Posting CEO pay of non-profit hospitals part of proposed reform of health system
Five CEOs are paid a total of more than $9 million a year to run non-profit hospitals in metro Atlanta, according to the hospitals’ latest available tax returns. These salaries, and other hospital financials, are to be made more readily available to the public as the part of a proposed effort by the state House to “revolutionize” health care delivery.
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Atlanta hires new lobbyist as issues at Capitol include proposed take-over of airport
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has hired a new chief lobbyist for the city, who got her lobbying badge for the city on Wednesday as Atlanta prepares to deal with issues including a proposed state take-over of the management of the city’s airport.
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State’s birding art contest for students attracts gifted young artists
Young artists are again invited to participate in a state contest to draw a bird in a contest, this one to appear on the T-shirt of the 14th Annual Birding Competition. The instructions sound pleasant enough, but a glance at a recent winner shows the skill that socially engaged youngsters bring to the event.
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Atlanta Fed District voices concerns over economy, other districts sound same note
The real-time snapshot of the Southeast regional economy released Wednesday by the Federal Reserve cites concerns over politics and trade. This notion of unease tracks comments in a speech the Fed’s vice chairman delivered last week, when he observed that patience is the watchword at the start of 2019.
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Brookhaven’s new $40 million parks bond earns top credit rating; city already spending proceeds
Brookhaven hasn’t wasted a minute in ramping up projects with the $40 million bond for parks and facilities voters approved in November 2018. Just four days after Moody’s Investors Service awarded the bonds its highest rating, the Brookhaven City Council approved two contracts related to parks improvements.
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Atlanta’s tree ordinance a sore spot among residents as city eyes a new code in July
Atlanta’s aged tree ordinance of 2001 looks so good that some folks say they’d be happy if the city would enforce it – until it can be updated. Meanwhile, the city says it’s on track to update the existing tree ordinance in July.
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Season opens for ‘poor man’s salmon,’ which helped Washington beat the Brits
The commercial season has opened in two Georgia rivers for a fish once known as the poor man’s salmon, a herring that some revere for its role in preventing George Washington’s troops from dying of starvation as they camped near Valley Forge.
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Atlanta Streets Alive slated to receive $200,000 from city to support three events
Atlanta Streets Alive has scheduled three events this year and the City of Atlanta intends to provide the sponsor with $200,000 to help cover the cost of closing streets to vehicles so that pedestrians and non-motorized conveyances can have their afternoon on the asphalt during each event.
