A new chapter in the saga of Plant Vogtle has commenced. The issue is whether Georgia Power customers will or won’t pay an extra $235 million a year in capital costs to build the nuclear plant, or if the rate hike request will be delayed.
Category: David Pendered
Articles by David Pendered
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Chattahoochee Nature Center: New CEO sees path to link more people with nature
The waiting list of 800 children for summer camp at the Chattahoochee Nature Center is a good problem to have, by any typical management metric. Natasha Rice doesn’t see it that way.
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‘Racism and the Economy:’ Past may hold ideas for equitable policies for future
President Nixon’s playbook to promote Black business formation may be as good a place as any to begin today’s effort to devise policies to address racism in American capitalism, according to the keynote speaker in a series convened by Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic.
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Apalachicola region trying to recover after losing water war, oyster industry
PORT ST. JOE, Fl. – The jobs lost in the Apalachicola Bay’s shuttered oyster industry won’t be easy to replace. But green shoots are sprouting in the form of two new industries about 23 miles away.
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Since George Floyd’s death, ATL ponders its past, considers an equitable future
In steps big or small, the year since George Floyd’s death has been a moment in metro Atlanta of acknowledging past bad behaviors, and also of taking responsibility to construct pathways to a more equitable future.
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MARTA plans no fare hikes, cutbacks as state delivers $6 million for construction
Given that MARTA’s proposed budget calls for no fare hikes or service cutbacks despite the rigors of the coronavirus pandemic, a highlight may be the state’s $6 million commitment to help MARTA expand the Bankhead Station to serve the announced Microsoft campus.
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Atlanta budget: Next mayor to inherit revenues that don’t cover expenses, for years
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms proposes to plug a $53 million hole in the city’s upcoming budget with expected federal pandemic funds. Meanwhile, Atlanta predicts revenue shortfalls over the next five years as income from property taxes declines and expenses rise.
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Town Center CID fosters trail network to connect NW Cobb County, metro Atlanta
The footbridge to be built across an interstate highway near Kennesaw is the latest example in metro Atlanta of a new bridge built solely to help people walk, bike, skate or scoot on a trail system.
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Sustaining rural Georgia a focus of new transportation, broadband initiatives
Georgia’s latest efforts to strengthen rural Georgia include last week’s unveiling of a transportation initiative, more broadband and continued maintenance of state-owned railroads that offer an alternative to shipping freight by trucks on highways.
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Earth Day, BP gulf oil spill observed as new challenge emerges at Apalachicola Bay
Earth Day and the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill. This week’s recognition of these events occurs as polar opposite human interventions are unfolding around Florida’s Apalachicola Bay.
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Coal ash battle alive in Ga. Court of Appeals, new ‘Rising from the Ashes’ video
The campaign to remediate coal ash in Georgia is now active in two venues: A court that will help influence if customers or shareholders pay a $525 million cleanup bill; and a persuasion campaign built around a new video documentary.
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Community Improvement Districts could tap Internet of Things to expand services
After fostering more than $6 billion in development in metro Atlanta, the question of “what’s next” for the region’s community improvement districts is one subject of a new evaluation of CIDs that was released as their funding faces an uncertain future.
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Extracting natural resources from natural wonders: Okefenokee Swamp, Pamlico River
AURORA, N.C. – The world’s largest phosphate mine and chemical plant operates in the nation’s largest lagoonal estuary. This area in eastern North Carolina bears watching as Georgia officials review a proposal to mine sand from the edge of the nation’s largest blackwater swamp – Georgia’s Okefenokee Swamp.
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After George Floyd’s death, nation moves swiftly to condemn ATL mass shooting
The mass shooting in Atlanta last week may present a way for the nation to move forward with the mourning and racial awareness generated by the death last year of George Floyd while in police custody.
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COVID-19 funding rules more precise on UFO sightings than for arts venues
The COVID-19 funding relief package now being distributed is more exact in its rules about a required report on UFOs than it is on application guidelines for operators of arts and entertainment venues.
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Bottoms, Biden and the politics of ‘affirmatively furthering fair housing’
Atlanta’s initiative that couples racial equity and affordable housing, and President Biden’s order on redressing discriminatory federal housing policies, are rooted in progressive policies that were enhanced by presidents Clinton and Obama. They trace back to a provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, the Fair Housing Act.
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Whirlwind of pandemic, immigration issues face future leader of Hispanic Chamber
The first orders of business facing the incoming leader of the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce may involve helping to manage inflection points as the economy recovers from the pandemic, and as two federal immigration lawsuits are resolved in Texas.
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Teleworking in rural Georgia to become a more viable option
As the pandemic portends lasting changes in telework patterns, the possibilities of working remotely in rural Georgia may be enhanced as a result of actions already taken this year at the state Capitol.
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Endless litigation over Chattahoochee River, no matter who wins water war
The Supreme Court is slated to hear oral arguments next week in the relentless case of Florida seeking more water from Georgia for Apalachicola Bay. No matter who wins, it won’t be the end of litigation over the major river system in metro Atlanta – the Chattahoochee River.
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EPA’s mandated review of Georgia rivers usage resumes after two-year lag
The clock is ticking on the state’s review of requests by river advocates to upgrade the designated use of Georgia’s rivers – including the Chattahoochee and South rivers. The effort appears to rely heavily on volunteers with riverkeeper and paddling organizations.
