Atlanta’s political future is a mystery that will be solved by major leadership shake-ups in this fall’s elections, none bigger than the replacement of Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, maybe even with her former mentor, Kasim Reed. But one thing’s already a virtual certainty: Mary Norwood is back. The former at-large City Council member who lost […]
Category: John Ruch
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‘Atlanta City Design’ book goes on sale in handsome, hefty print form; author discussion coming
Update: The Sept. 16 discussion has been postponed due to weather, with a new date to be announced. Four years after the City’s digital release of a book laying out a long-term vision for Atlanta’s urban planning, a handsome hard-copy version is now available at a bookstore and a discussion with its authors is coming […]
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In debate on saving a historic West End house, everyone can agree there’s gotta be a better way
By John Ruch Last month, I told you about 731 Lawton St., a 120-year-old house in the West End Historic District that’s on the verge of collapse after years of neglect. I wondered if a preservation process with more collaboration and fewer crackdowns might be a better way of saving the many such buildings around […]
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ARC chief explains the transformative goals for his final months on the job
By John Ruch With roughly seven months left on the job, Atlanta Regional Commission Executive Director Doug Hooker is working to accomplish a list of final-year goals intended to expand the definitions of and participation in the ARC’s regional programs. “Suffice it to say that I am not trying to ‘coast to the end,’” Hooker […]
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Krispy Kreme’s return to Ponce would be even sweeter with historic preservation advice
Krispy Kreme’s efforts to bring back the fire-gutted doughnut shop on Ponce is good news that would be even sweeter with more input from local preservation experts. The shop has been a Midtown institution for over 55 years, attracting customers to its 24-hour drive-thru with an iconic neon sign. Now that local history has a […]
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Georgia’s joint development authorities vary widely in meeting transparency
Little-known government bodies called joint development authorities around the state, with such powers as issuing bonds and conducting regional plans, vary widely in transparency and public accessibility, a SaportaReport review has found. At least two multi-county JDAs may be violating a state law requiring them to meet quarterly, including a DeKalb/Newton/Gwinnett authority that was last […]
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Atlanta kills obscure law limiting bus shelters as MARTA builds more
An obscure Atlanta ordinance limiting the number of bus shelters in the city to 300 was repealed in June after surprised City Council members heard of it on Twitter. MARTA says it ignored the law, but has fewer than 300 Atlanta shelters anyway — a count that will be improved by a five-year expansion plan. […]
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Braves and Major League Baseball join the effort to commemorate a Negro Leagues field
A decade-long effort to commemorate a rare piece of Negro Leagues baseball history in Southwest Atlanta, the former Black Crackers practice field, is getting a boost this week from Major League Baseball and the Atlanta Braves. The league and team’s private volunteer work day July 28 may help spark further hands-on help and fundraising for […]
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More collaborations, fewer crackdowns, might be future of Atlanta’s historic preservation
Unique buildings can fall to a common fate: demolition by neglect
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How Atlanta might — and might not — share its controversial public safety training center
While controversy rages about Atlanta’s plan to build a public safety training center on a site pegged for parkland, Fulton County is quietly working on a similar center of its own in an industrial area — and says it talked with the city about a possible team-up. As opponents of the Atlanta plan agitate for […]
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Fulton Development Authority chair resigns from controversial dual job as executive director
The Development Authority of Fulton County’s board chair has announced his resignation from his controversial dual role as the DAFC’s interim executive director, calling it “a political and a public distraction.” Michel “Marty” Turpeau says he will leave the executive director position at the scandal-plagued DAFC by Aug. 31 and expects a permanent replacement to […]
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In Rockdale transit master plan, The ATL’s chief sees his own commuting future
Shortly after my U-Haul and I blew into metro Atlanta from Boston in 2013, I was fortunate to quickly score a part-time job with a newspaper in Rockdale County. I made a weekday-morning trip to get acquainted with my new beat, and I was instantly charmed. Conyers, the southeast metro county’s one and only city, […]
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Working toward a ‘unified’ fare system for all metro Atlanta mass transit
Expansion of metro Atlanta’s mass transit deservedly gets a lot of attention, as getting people where they want to go remains alternative commuting’s biggest local challenge. Less glamorous, but nearly as important, is making it easy for riders to pay for and transfer between the metro’s many transit services, from local shuttles to MARTA’s rail […]
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Stunning puppets from ‘Dark Crystal’ fantasy series showcased in new museum exhibit
The elaborate and stunningly lifelike puppets that brought the fantasy world of “The Dark Crystal” to life once again for a recent Netflix series are showcased in a new special exhibit at Atlanta’s Center for Puppetry Arts. Full of weird and colorful characters, “Masterpiece of Puppetry: Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance” shows […]
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Fulton Development Authority defends members’ $25K grant program, pledges new reforms
Still rocking from a financial scandal, the Development Authority of Fulton County is now defending a controversial new policy allowing each board member to propose grants of up to $25,000 to local organizations. Among concerns voiced by one prominent DAFC critic is the potential political advantage for board members who are also running for local […]
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Capitol View to celebrate Juneteenth with launch of community-owned affordable housing/business concept
Creating an affordable home for small businesses and local residents in a gentrifying area usually means hoping that some far-away developer will throw the community a bone. But at one site in Atlanta’s Capitol View, a social enterprise organization is trying to flip that script with a permanently affordable project the community itself would own […]
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Decision time nears for bus rapid transit or light rail on Campbellton Corridor
Will MARTA’s new Campbellton Corridor service be bus rapid transit or light-rail trains? It’s time to get your final opinions in before the transit agency settles on an option later this summer. Whichever option is chosen for the southwest Atlanta route, be prepared to wait a while longer after this milestone moment. MARTA says it […]
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Rocked by payment scandal, Fulton Development Authority faces board shakeup
By John Ruch and Maggie Lee The Development Authority of Fulton County board has been rocked by a financial scandal at the very moment its membership is undergoing a reform-minded shakeup to include representatives of public school systems that are staunch critics of tax breaks DAFC grants to luxurious real estate projects. And more shakeups […]
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South River Forest: A big green dream starts coming true
A lovely June morning was the perfect time for a nature hike in southeast Atlanta, but the starting point was a bit of a surprise. A small group traversed the tire-doughnut scars in the parking lot of the Value Village shopping center at Moreland and Custer avenues, parked behind its graffiti-covered loading docks, passed through […]
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Streetcar extension to BeltLine draws excitement, but concerns on pace and equity
MARTA’s new momentum toward extending the Atlanta Streetcar onto the Atlanta BeltLine by 2027 is “historic” but still too slow, some transit advocates say, and an example of how new federal funding can spur projects while raising questions of equity in which get money first. Meanwhile, MARTA has revealed key information about the project not […]
