The cyber attack that crippled the City of Atlanta starting in March was part of a assault on more than 200 public entities in the United States and Canada conducted by two men based in Iran who demanded payment in Bitcoins in exchange for keys to unlock ransomware they had installed in victims’ computer systems, according to a federal indictment released Wednesday in New Jersey.
Category: David Pendered
Articles by David Pendered
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Stephanie Stuckey joins Southface as director of sustainability services
Stephanie Stuckey has joined the staff of Southface, the veteran Atlanta non-profit organization that promotes sustainability of homes, workplaces and communities. Stuckey will take the position of director of sustainability services, following her departure in May from her position as the City of Atlanta’s chief resilience officer.
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U.S. climate change report cites Atlanta, Georgia; parallels parts of 2015 state report
The federal assessment of climate change released by 13 federal agencies the day after Thanksgiving bears more than passing resemblance to an environmental report Georgia issued in 2015. The federal report also makes several references to Atlanta and Georgia.
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Another crack in rural health care awaits incoming Gov.-elect Kemp
Another crack appeared in Georgia’s crumbling rural health system a few weeks before election day. The credit rating of a Brunswick-based hospital system was downgraded and New York analysts offered a dim view of a recovery.
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Georgia Tech hosting series of talks on redesigning cities to meet needs of 21st century
A series of talks on redesigning cities, their systems and policies, to meet the needs of the 21st century promises to explore topics that are on the table today in metro Atlanta. The series of six talks begin Dec. 4 and continues through April at Georgia Tech.
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Voters approve affordable housing funding, including program for Ca. farm workers
Georgia is among six states in which voters in the Nov. 6 election approved ballot measures to address housing affordability. Groups to benefit include the mentally disabled, including a program in metro Atlanta that’s supported by former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, veterans and, in California, farm workers.
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Atlanta Streetcar’s (few) riders give thumbs’ up reviews of weekend trips
Ruby and Michael Lamb didn’t think too much about being almost the only passengers on the Atlanta Streetcar early on Saturday afternoon. “I think they built it for tourists,” said Michael Lamb, visiting from Macon with his wife.
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Southwire’s future solar array so big it’s to cut costs for other Solarize partners
A Carrollton-based company that produces half of the wire and cable used to distribute electricity in the United States intends to install a solar panel array that’s so large it is to reduce the cost by up to 25 percent of all commercial and residential systems in the local Solarize program.
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Land that barely supported wildlife reclaimed, named Atlanta’s newest wildlife sanctuary
A few acres of land north of the Lakewood Fairgrounds has been transformed from a tract so disturbed that a federal report said it could barely support wildlife to a heavily planted wetland that has been certified as a wildlife sanctuary by the Atlanta Audubon Society.
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Dirty Dozen report focuses on ‘politics, policies, issues’ that pollute Georgia’s waters
The Georgia Water Coalition’s latest report on the state’s most polluted waters shifts the traditional focus of the Dirty Dozen from the most polluted places to the “politics, policies and issues” that most threaten Georgia’s water.
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Atlanta misses likely spike in housing costs as Amazon locates headquarters elsewhere
The good news about Atlanta not getting picked for Amazon’s second or third headquarters is that the region doesn’t face the prospect the wsj.com framed in this headline: Amazon’s Move to Long Island City Sparks Condo Frenzy.
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Downtown Connector’s bridges evolving from spartan crossings to garden-like settings
Atlanta’s Downtown Connector is a bit like a house that’s been expanded with additional rooms, in the form of bridges, and now there’s a lot of conversation about adding a second floor – in the form a platform above the highway that would host greenspace and buildings – and sprucing up the 10th Street Bridge.
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$95,000 tickets for Michelle Obama in London; no ATL appearance planned
Michelle Obama’s book tour opens Tuesday in Chicago with Oprah Winfrey as moderator, and Obama doesn’t get much closer than that to Atlanta. Ticket prices are reportedly through the roof – approaching $100,000 for the show in London.
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Norfolk mayor: Norfolk Southern’s move to Atlanta may not occur quickly
Norfolk Southern’s plan to secure up to $600 million in funding for a new office building from Invest Atlanta, the city’s development arm, was deferred Thursday. In addition, Norfolk’s mayor was quoted Thursday saying the company’s move from Norfolk may not happen as soon as some think, and the company’s latest federal financial report portrays it as being in a strong financial position in the booming transportation sector.
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Telework Week offers incentives to join alternative commute options
Gov. Nathan Deal has proclaimed Nov. 12 through Nov. 16 as Telework Week, and again this year the event provides incentive programs that encourage drivers to log their alternative to driving to work alone in a vehicle.
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ATL, with or without Amazon, poised to cement its role as a major tech region
Regardless of where Amazon locates its HQ2 and its possible HQ3, metro Atlanta has a bright future in the tech sector. With one caveat: The region needs to get its story in front of a broader section of the tech sector in order to fully build out tech’s potential, Michael Sengbusch, of Georgia Tech’s technology incubator, said Tuesday.
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For Georgia’s affordable housing advocates, stuff of dreams on Oregon ballot
Voters in Oregon face a ballot initiative Tuesday that represents the stuff of dreams for some advocates of affordable housing in Georgia – a proposal that is to produce more bang for each buck of public investment in homes affordable to those earning the salaries of schoolteachers.
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Airport interfaith chapel to be named in honor of lifelong minister, educator
An interfaith chapel at the world’s busiest passenger airport is soon to be named in honor of a Civil Rights leader who has received the highest honor awarded a woman in Africa, and who’s been recognized for her work in the Rev. Martin Luther King’s Chicago movement and a lifetime of achievements in ministry and academia.
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Trout stocking program in North Georgia offsets shortfall from calcium deficiency
The famed trout fishing spots in North Georgia will continue to provide opportunities for anglers following an agreement for the federal government to continue funding for three fish hatcheries that stock streams in Tennessee and Georgia.
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Midtown’s 15th Street extension to improve east-west links; plan to be presented Nov. 8
The public will have a chance next week to offer opinions on the long-awaited plan to improve east-west connectivity in Midtown by extending 15th Street from West Peachtree Street to Williams Street. Bike lanes and easy access to MARTA’s Arts Center Station, and other destinations, are cornerstones of the plan.
