“Fifty years later we should be at [parity], not because whites in America are doing worse, but because blacks in America are doing better,” said professor Nisha Botchwey, explaining data from the “Measuring the Dream” project.
Category: Maggie Lee
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Atlanta, CSX, announce BeltLine land sale to “complete the J” on south side
Atlanta is planning to spend $25.8 million for land and an old rail line on the south side, where 4.5 miles of new BeltLine trail are to be built.
Posted inMaggie Lee
Vote after 7 p.m. in Atlanta? State bill would end that
Atlanta voters are unique in the state because every four years their polls are open until 8 p.m., an hour later than anywhere else in the state. A Georgia Senate bill would close all polls at 7 p.m.
Posted inMaggie Lee
Journalism matters? A reporter questions whether it does.
I admit, I may have sent the eyeroll emoji to a colleague on the other side of a borrowed meeting room in Ansley Park when the board of the Atlanta Press Club settled on a tagline: “journalism matters.”
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State House moves three Atlanta tax bills in a row: property tax cap, sewer renewal and BeltLine
Atlanta voters may choose to cap rises in their property tax bills, and might be asked to extend a sewer tax that was supposed to end in 2020 — if legislation endorsed by the state House gets state Senate approval.
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BeltLine seeks self-taxing district for buying land, building trail
Looking to speed up the day when the BeltLine becomes a loop, the agency and some top property owners along it are looking to set up a selective property tax to bankroll land acquisition and trail-building.
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DeKalb CEO calls bill “strange” that would eliminate his job after his term
By Maggie Lee The CEO of DeKalb County has called a plan to eventually eliminate the post he now holds “strange.” “It appears to be an attempt to controvert and nullify the will of the voters of DeKalb County,” said Michael Thurmond, speaking to reporters at the state Capitol on Thursday, just after he briefed […]
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More than one thousand people rally in Atlanta for tighter gun laws
The giant red cardboard letters spelling the word “moms” stood out in the gray Atlanta drizzle Wednesday, held up between the state Capitol and more than one thousand people rallying outside, demanding that the lawmakers inside tighten up gun laws.
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Bill to remake DeKalb government speeds from filing to committee approval
Among DeKalb County’s many uniquenesses is how its government is set up: its top official is a powerful CEO. A state House bill that would eliminate the CEO job was filed on Tuesday and got remarkably speedy committee approval.
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Atlanta schools plan property work and sales, as disputed deeds begin leaving city hands
With the signature and and stamp of Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms on Tuesday on an ordinance passed by Atlanta City Council just yesterday, dozens of long-disputed properties are closer to belonging to Atlanta Public Schools.
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Atlanta lawmakers work on plan to phase in property assessment spikes
Atlanta state lawmakers are working on a bill to phase in property tax assessments slowly, help protect residents with a bigger homestead exemption, but also force the Fulton County tax assessor’s office to value properties correctly.
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Struggle over East Atlanta development heads to Council committee
Atlanta’s Zoning Review Board voted a moment of relief to some of the folks in an East Atlanta neighborhood yesterday, when board members recommended the city deny a developer’s rezoning plan that envisions building 20 houses in a place known as “Ormewood Forest.”
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House, Senate publish transit rework bills, with clock ticking on state legislative session
Both the state House and state Senate seem to have agreed on a collective name for transit in metro Atlanta: The ATL. Now they have about six weeks left in their session to decide what that big ATL might be and how it will work.
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ARC looking to tune up economy by tackling problems that cross county, city borders
While counties and cities do coordinate on the things that obviously cross their borders — like traffic, air and water — Catalyst zooms in on how to cooperate on some things that can get stuck in silos at county or city lines, like education and housing policy.
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Can’t get a Georgia public record? Blame fees, laws, rulings, lack of knowledge.
There are a lot of reasons why critics say there’s a heavy curtain that stands between between Georgians and some public business.
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Emerging details on transit proposals spark questions among Atlanta lawmakers
A new, 10-member transit governance board is expected to be one among several proposals in the state Legislature that will be the first words in a long-awaited debate about how to deepen regional cooperation over transit, and possibly initiate substantive spending by the state for buses and rail.
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North, south Fulton leaders to seek half-penny sales tax for bus service
After months of public meetings and a study by consultants, a group of Fulton leaders say it’s time to ask the state Legislature and voters for a half-penny sales tax to fund faster bus lines.
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Georgia State plans 8,000-seat convocation center just south of I-20
By Maggie Lee Updated with clarification from GSU: basketball games would be played at the new center, but offices for basketball and practices will be kept at the Sports Arena. Students entering Georgia State University this year may in four years march across an indoor stage at a new school-owned building to receive their diplomas, […]
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Some Fulton property tax caps start moving through Legislature
The dozens of lawmakers who represent Fulton County are wrestling with a question and little time to deal with it: is it time for a broader cap on how much property taxes can rise from year to year?
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Bill for state takeover of Atlanta airport sparks opposition, even before it’s filed
As early as next week, the state Senate will see a proposal to put the state in charge of the Atlanta-run Hartsfield-Jackson airport. Even before it’s been filed, it’s sparked opposition from Atlanta lawmakers.
