Columnists Archives - Page 2 of 300

Sonam Vashi

Atlanta City Council approves Westside project with lower density and more affordable housing

August 6, 2018, 9:17 pm/3 Comments

The Atlanta City Council unanimously approved plans on Monday for the Echo Street Communities development in English Avenue, one of the first large-scale developments in the area that has triggered strong alarm among many residents concerned about gentrification on the Westside.
The affordable housing plans for the project, which also includes thousands of square feet in office space and retail, match the city’s guidelines, with 35 potential additional affordable units in the works.

Open records, open meetings and the uses of sunshine law for everyone

August 6, 2018, 6:43 pm/2 Comments

If there’s any policy you care about, if you are a supporter of any activist group that works on politics or policy — it’s worth knowing about those “sunshine” laws, and maybe using them yourself.

Gwinnett’s Charlotte Nash on MARTA: ‘We are ready to roll’

August 6, 2018, 6:30 pm/6 Comments

By any measure, Charlotte Nash is a poster child of Gwinnett County.

She has lived her entire 65 years in Gwinnett, one of the few among the county’s 920,260 residents as of a year ago. When she was born, Gwinnett had fewer than 40,000 residents.

Nash now serves as board chair of the Gwinnett County Commission. Over the years, she has had a front-row seat to view changes in the county, one of the fastest-growing counties in the nation over the last 30 years.

Planned hotel in Midtown implements aesthetics espoused in ‘Atlanta City Design’

August 6, 2018, 6:06 pm/1 Comment

Atlanta has never been bashful about allowing old buildings to be razed and replaced by new ones, sometimes with little consideration of the aesthetics of the new structure. That era is over, at least for the moment, and the outcome of Atlanta’s new emphasis on beauty is to be built along Peachtree Street in Midtown.

Mr. Burns in Alabama: a story for our times

August 6, 2018, 5:44 pm/2 Comments

Amid all the other big news swirling around President Donald Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, the revelation that a Chattanooga developer offered him $10 million to secure government loans for his late-life project didn’t attract much national attention. But it’s a story for our times.

The Grand Master got the honor

August 6, 2018, 4:12 pm/0 Comments

A lot can happen in one year. Just look what has happened this year and the year is not even over. It may have taken a different form and a different pace back in the day, but innovation and change have always been a part of life. This week, we go back to 1928 and […]

Mirror Images by Kelly Jordan

August 6, 2018, 1:19 pm/0 Comments

Click to enlarge each image

Mirror Images by Kelly Jordan

ATL Events, Kelly Jordan

Foster Grants by Kelly Jordan

August 6, 2018, 1:10 pm/1 Comment

Click to enlarge each image:

Decatur Fourth of July by Kelly Jordan

Streets Alive – Five Points by Kelly Jordan

Peachtree Road Race by Kelly Jordan

Clarkston – Immigrants Day by Kelly Jordan

St. John Melkite Church – Maloof Funeral by Kelly Jordan

Virginia Highlands Fest by Kelly Jordan

MLK Birthday by Kelly Jordan

Oakland Cemetery – Golden Hour by Kelly JOrdan

Old Fourth Ward Park – Food Truck Fest by Kelly Jordan

Kirkwood Spring Fling by Kelly Jordan

Sweet Auburn Fest by Kelly Jordan

Proctor Creek Greenway dedication by Kelly Jordan

Shaky Knees Music Fest by Kelly Jordan

Decatur Antiques Car Show by Kelly Jordan

Old Fourth Ward Park Arts Fest. by Kelly Jordan

Inman Park Fest by Kelly Jordan

Jugglers’ Fest – Yaarab Center by Kelly Jordan

Little Five Points – Arts Alive by Kelly Jordan

Truly Living Well Garden – Soil Fest by Kelly Jordan

Plaza Theatre by Kelly Jordan

Dogwood Fest – Piedmont Park by Kelly Jordan

Streets Alive – DeKalb Ave by Kelly Jordan

Pride Parade by Kelly Jordan

Perimeter Mall – Caffeine and Octane by Kelly Jordan

Pride Fest – Piedmont Park by Kelly Jordan

Emory – Science Fest by Kelly Jordan

Grant Park Farmers Market by Kelly Jordan

Oakland Cemetery – Sunday in the Park by Kelly Jordan

Eleanor Ringel Cater

“Christopher Robin” – a movie that seeks to find our inner child

August 6, 2018, 11:26 am/1 Comment

Filmmaker Marc Forster spends much of “Christopher Robin” trying to find that “Finding Neverland” sweet spot he worked so successfully in the 2004 Johnny Depp movie about James M. Barrie, the author of “Peter Pan.”

Not that the two are really very similar, but both pose the singular challenge of creating a film that appeals to both child-like adults and bonafide children. Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh share that peculiar territory (for better and worse) and both require careful handling when it comes to circling said territory.

Georgia Tech grad to lead NASA’s testing of commercial crewed spacecraft

August 5, 2018, 7:49 pm/0 Comments

A Georgia Tech grad was named to the nine-member team of astronauts who are to serve aboard the first commercial crew flight tests of a spacecraft designed to transport humans to the International Space Station and other low-orbit destinations.

Raising the next generation of technologists: Closing the technology gap for youth

August 5, 2018, 5:06 pm/2 Comments

By Guest Columnist KARA GRADY, a vice president at LexisNexis Risk Solutions

A group of 25 companies presented before the U.S. Committee on Education and the Workforce at a July 25 innovation showcase that recognized outstanding education programs from across the country. During a day that included oral testimony and a question/answer session with members of Congress, staff and the public, one Atlanta company highlighted the need for a nationwide focus on computer science education.

MARTA board reviewing Gwinnett deal, vote expected next month

August 2, 2018, 6:48 pm/0 Comments

MARTA’s service area may be about to get a lot bigger. That is, if Gwinnett voters decide they want to join. A contract between the two is set to go in front of county voters in March, and the transit agency’s board will consider the same language as early as next month.

New GBPI poll shows strong support for new taxes to boost education, families, health

August 1, 2018, 5:14 pm/1 Comment

A new poll commissioned by the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute shows a majority of those polled support programs and additional taxes in order to improve the state’s public schools, train workers, provide child care for working families, and expand health coverage.

Gwinnett schedules referendum on joining MARTA

August 1, 2018, 9:42 am/2 Comments

“Success lives here,” goes the official saying about Gwinnett. “But it commutes to Atlanta,” goes an unofficial rejoinder. Well, Gwinnett has taken the first step in setting up more transit, scheduling a public vote on whether to set up a new sales tax to pay to join MARTA.

An ode to my Dad, newspapers and mass transit

July 31, 2018, 8:32 pm/2 Comments

By Lyle V. Harris

I’m writing today, likely the last time for a while on these pages, in dedication to my late father, Vincent Grover (Hoffman) Harris
First of all, Happy Birthday to you, Pop! Vince, as most everyone called him, would have been 96-years-old today. Although we never made a fuss over our birthdays while he was alive, I think he might forgive me, just this once.

Atlanta Audubon wins grant for garden in Washington Park, intern to study wildlife, plants

July 31, 2018, 5:19 pm/0 Comments

The Atlanta Audubon Society has won a national grant totaling $23,950 that it is to use for two purposes – paying an intern to work in the wildlife sanctuary program, and building a garden in historic Washington Park, Atlanta’s first greenspace dedicated to African Americans.

Not exactly a favorite son

July 30, 2018, 11:02 pm/0 Comments

I can think of at least two residents of Metro Atlanta that have tossed their hat into the Presidential candidate’s ring. Maybe there are more, but, has there ever been a Presidential candidate who was actually a resident of the City of Atlanta? Our friend Greg Hodges asked that question and the answer he discovered […]

“Love, Cecil” – documentary of Cecil Beaton’s life doesn’t make him loveable

July 30, 2018, 8:17 pm/0 Comments

Whether it means to or not, the last thing the documentary “Love, Cecil” will do is get you to, well, love Cecil.

Cecil in this case is Cecil Beaton, photographer, author, designer, social butterfly and stylist extraordinaire. To her credit, filmmaker Lisa Immordino Vreeland reminds us that Beaton was virtually incapable of making an aesthetically clumsy choice.

Atlanta transit boosters need to unite for more MARTA

July 30, 2018, 7:28 pm/10 Comments

A tug-of-war has emerged over how to invest the $2.5 billion More MARTA funding in the City of Atlanta.

Sadly, a divided mindset has developed on how to invest those dollars – pitting one group against another.

Our “emblematic contest” will also be a showcase for dark money

July 30, 2018, 6:30 pm/0 Comments

The political class is already stocking up popcorn for the study in contrasts that is this year’s Georgia governor’s race. Unfortunately, the race is also likely to mark a milestone in the politics of dark money electioneering, which for the average voter means endless waves of scary black-and-white attack ads paid for by organizations with fuzzy names.

Not playin Further...atlman Reed used the threat of "LA wants the Falcons ..." LA who LA Gear LA the city or LA Reid.... the above is as... –
On: Proposed ‘Gulch’ development designed to suppress car use, promote alternative transit

Not playin @atlman Put down the Reed/Bottoms bullet points along with their Kool aid.... The duo represent not of their own...instead they do the bidding of those... –
On: Proposed ‘Gulch’ development designed to suppress car use, promote alternative transit

..still, who is David Harold Blackwell (@jimat944) Good question? –
On: Proposed ‘Gulch’ development designed to suppress car use, promote alternative transit

Chris Johnston All of the wheeler dealers who worked for the City and its various appendages are uneasy and want to distance themselves from the situation. A... –
On: Ex-Atlanta Housing Authority CEO sends letter to Mayor Bottoms, looks to cleanse reputation

Chris Johnston This proposed development is “intended to suppress car use” but will provide 8,000 car parking spaces. I am rolling on the floor, laughing! How many... –
On: Proposed ‘Gulch’ development designed to suppress car use, promote alternative transit

Chris Johnston I was referring to City of Atlanta government that is dysfunctional and monumentally corrupt. Those thus far indicted and convicted are a small part of... –
On: Proposed ‘Gulch’ development designed to suppress car use, promote alternative transit

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