Six top contenders for the mayor’s office told a business group’s forum that City Hall needs to change some of its ways.
Category: Columns
Posted inLatest News
How the Internet of Things could save lives in disasters such as Hurricane Irma
Georgia Tech researchers are devising a way to track smart phones and other devices in ways that would enable rescue workers to locate folks who are in harm’s way even when a power outage knocks out the internet.
Posted inColumns
For MARTA’s future, culture is everything
MARTA recently hosted its latest hack-a-thon, a high-tech competition inviting participants to create their own “hacks” or improvements to make the transit agency more effective, efficient and customer friendly.
Hack-a-thons aren’t new; large companies have been holding them for years. But for MARTA, they’re a really big deal. As the agency starts searching for its next CEO, that person should understand how such events foster a culture of openness and innovation that’s critical to MARTA’s forward trajectory.
Posted inColumns
Atlanta City Design 2017: A grand vision for people, nature and people in nature
In a City Hall conference room, Atlanta Planning Commissioner Tim Keane gently unrolled a mega-watercolor that Christian Sottile, an urban designer from Savannah, had painted of the new Atlanta City Design.
The watercolor captured the significance of the design process and its potential for Atlanta by using a graphic style that dates back to the early 1900s – depicting a desire fort this design tol become part of city’s landscape and identity for decades to come.
Posted inColumns
Atlanta’s vision for development aligns with King’s notion of ‘beloved community’
The title says it all, and there’s no mistaking the intention to align Atlanta’s newly minted long-range development plan with the notions of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. – “The Atlanta City Design: Aspiring to the Beloved Community.”
Posted inColumns
‘Tulip Fever’ – not an artful walk through the tulips
“Tulip Fever” gave me a mild headache.
Set in 17th-century Amsterdam when the city, we’re dutifully informed, “was captivated by the tulip,” this pretty but empty period piece can’t decide if it wants to be a melodrama, a romance, a farce or a tragicomedy. So it
Posted inColumns
Harvey shows need for national infrastructure plan; use Georgia as P3 model
By Guest Columnist MARK BURKHALTER, a board member of the Georgia Department of Transportation
In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, the stress on our nation’s infrastructure is now more pronounced than ever as collapsed roads and bridges in Texas and Louisiana make it impossible for many residents to get on with their lives.
Posted inSubmitted Photos
Photo Pick: Art Party at Atlanta Contemporary 8/26 by Kelly Jordan
Click each photo to enlarge
Posted inLatest News
Atlanta to sell $25.3 million in bonds Thursday to fund housing for the homeless
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed is closing out his term of office as the city provides its share of funding to expands its effort to address homelessness. The city on Thursday is slated to sell $25.3 million worth of bonds that received a top credit rating from Moody’s Investors Service, according to a rating action.
Posted inUncategorized
Atlanta City Council candidate profiles: Post 1 at large
All Atlanta voters have a say on this question in November: whether to transfer an Atlanta school board member over to City Council or opt for the candidate who’s represented all or part of the city on council for more than a decade.
Posted inLatest News
Big freighter due in Savannah hours before port is to close for Hurricane Irma
Hurricane Irma isn’t helping the Port of Savannah as huge ships come and go. The good news is that largest ship ever to call on the East Coast departed Sunday from Savannah. The not-so-good news is that a large vessel is due to arrive Friday at 2 p.m. – just 10 hours before the port is to close.
Posted inUncategorized
Chief Counsel Elizabeth O’Neill named interim MARTA leader
MARTA Chief Counsel Elizabeth O’Neill will temporarily l take over leadership of the agency as it searches for a new permanent leader to replace outgoing General Manager and CEO Keith Parker.
Posted inLatest News
Loathe to hire, for whatever reason, some companies turn away business
The economy in the Southeast picked up modestly in July through mid August. An anomaly in the region, compared to elsewhere in the country, is that employers looked for alternatives to hiring when a job became open, according to the latest survey released Wednesday by the Federal Reserve.
Posted inUncategorized
Mayoral candidates promise to find affordable housing cash
In a packed forum, top mayoral candidates said their ideas for raising money for affordable housing polices range from parking taxes to bonds, to maybe even casinos.
Posted inLatest News
Grady Memorial Hospital makes its debut in City Hall campaigns
Grady Memorial Hospital made its debut Tuesday in the campaign for seats at Atlanta City Hall. Every member of the Atlanta City Council signed a proclamation commending Grady for its 125 years of service.
Posted inTom Baxter
Gone Fishin’
Tom Baxter has gone fishing at the end of summer. Tom’s column will resume when the bass stop biting.
Posted inColumns
‘Letters from Baghdad’ – how Gertrude Bell helped shape today’s Middle East
Gertrude Bell was the nasty woman of her era.
Her contemporaries — among them, T.E. Lawrence and Winston Churchill — admired her. However, they also deemed her arrogant, rude and “not very likable.”
It’s likely you’ve never heard of Gertrude Bell — something the absorbing documentary, “Letters From Baghdad” hopes to change. Born in England in 1868, she spent the last decade of the 19th century and the first quarter of the 20th criss-crossing the Middle East, getting to know the tribal factions and their power plays.
Posted inColumns
Atlanta’s mayoral race is up for grabs
The 2017 Atlanta mayoral election is unlike anything we’ve ever seen.
And it is anybody’s guess on how it will shake out.
The back-and-forth between Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and Atlanta City Council President Ceasar Mitchell this past week shined a spotlight on several of the complex issues that will influence the outcome.
Posted inColumns
Auburn Avenue’s long-awaited history, cultural project moving forward
A walk along Auburn Avenue can be described as inspirational, even spiritual. Soon the words educational and attractive may be added. A highlight of a pending beautification project is a huge mural and 10 big light boxes that are to tell the corridor’s history.
