The Atlanta City Council is set to impose greater control over Invest Atlanta, the city’s economic development arm that acts as Atlanta’s agent to promote housing, economic development and redevelopment – all of it under control of a board chaired by the mayor, whose top advisor argued against the council’s exercise of authority.
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Posted inLatest News
HIV/AIDS atop agenda for Atlanta’s new chief health officer, Fulton’s expanded services
Two significant changes in public health and HIV/AIDS programs are underway in Atlanta and Fulton County. The measures include: Atlanta’s newly created position of chief health officer; and Fulton’s expansion and renaming of its HIV services program to manage President Trump’s goal of ending the HIV epidemic in the United States.
Posted inLatest News
Muslims to help fill refugees’ back-to-school needs: Backpacks, pencils, paper
At a time DeKalb County’s school system expects students to have a home computer, a Muslim organization is leading an effort to give away to refugee children a back-to-school need that’s far more basic – backpacks, paper and pencils.
Posted inLatest News
Fort Mac redevelopment leader resigns
The public authority that’s overseeing the redevelopment of Fort McPherson has a new interim executive director. The turnover at the top comes amid media reports of a serious conflict between the authority and a key contractor, plus revelations of cash flow problems.
Posted inLatest News
‘Heartbeat bill:’ Dem lawmakers plan strategy; petition seeks to delay start date
The pace of activity is increasing in the effort to halt the pending restriction of abortion in Georgia.
Six Democratic lawmakers have just returned from a training seminar sponsored by a group founded by the former political director of NARAL, a pro-choice group. On Tuesday, the ACLU asked a federal judge to delay the Jan. 1, 2020 start of the “heartbeat bill.”
Posted inLatest News
Nobel Peace HQ move to Atlanta part of City of Peace vision
Top Atlanta business and civic leaders unveiled a vision Monday morning to turn Atlanta into a living city of peace.
The plans included hosting the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates on a regular, rotating basis; attracting the headquarters of the Permanent Secretariat of the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates; and creating a Peace University as a collaboration between Atlanta’s institutions of higher learning.
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State regulators order up more renewable energy from Georgia Power
Georgia Power will add new renewable energy to its portfolio under a plan unanimously approved Tuesday by state regulators. The company also got approval to wind down more coal-burning units.
Posted inLatest News
Valdosta non-profit cited for shorting pay to disabled workers; Biltmore Estate cited for immigrant
A non-profit in Valdosta was cited for stiffing disabled persons out of wages, the U.S. Labor Department announced last week. It’s the second case in a month the DOL has brought against a Georgia employer for shorting workers of pay. DOL’s investigations into wages are gaining currency in an era of employers offering fairly flat wage growth, as recorded in last week’s edition of the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book.
Posted inATL Business Chronicle
Column: Jewish Federation raises $19 million, names chief foundation officer
The Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta is defying gravity.
The Federation reached a $19 million milestone with its 2019 campaign (which just ended June 30) – a $1.5 million increase over 2018.
Posted inATL Business Chronicle
Column: Junior Achievement of Georgia spinoff raises $27 million to transform high school education
Although it’s only a year old, 3DE – a sister spinoff of Junior Achievement of Georgia – is making inroads in its goal to transform high school education nationally.
Posted inLatest News
Leadership search for politically active Sierra Club of Georgia begins Saturday
The discussion begins Saturday about replacing the departing director of the Sierra Club’s Georgia chapter, one of the state’s few environmental organizations that endorses political candidates, seeks to influence legislation and sway public opinion.
Posted inLatest News
New audible crosswalk alert helps blind college student, reminds of simpler times
It’s a simple story from a simpler time. A mother asked a man to help her blind son. The man agreed. An audible tone was added to a crosswalk on a busy road. The son now can safely cross the road between his home and a bus stop after his ride home from school.
Posted inLatest News
ATL Fed reports affordable homes hard to find as employers offer modest pay hikes
Demand for affordable housing comprises a fair amount of the housing sales in Georgia and the Southeast, even as employers offer incentives other than money to attract and retain labor in what remains a tight labor market, according to Wednesday’s edition of the Atlanta Federal Reserve’s Beige Book.
Posted inLatest News
Records show Tyler Perry Studios interest in the rest of Fort Mac
Tyler Perry Studios is interested in exercising a right to make an offer on the approximate 145 acres of the former Fort McPherson site that it doesn’t already own, according to official text messages from earlier this year.
But so is a developer that’s been publicly working on a plan for about two years.
Posted inLatest News
Protestors block ICE building in Atlanta on Monday; two arrested
“I do think that if you see your neighbor’s house burning, don’t tell me you don’t care,” said one attendee.
Posted inMaggie Lee
Fulton looking to rent cells in other counties, as releases from jail slow
Fulton County is trying to get inmates out of “boats.” That is, a kind of human-size plastic bin that holds a mattress at night and can be stacked during the day. And it’s what lockups like Fulton’s Rice Street jail use when they’re out of bunks.
Posted inLatest News
Conventioneers overlooked in Downtown mobility plan; entire concept to be reviewed
Transportation planners overlooked one aspect of Atlanta’s convention industry – the people who attend – and that evidently contributed to Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ decision to halt the first step in a plan aimed at making Downtown more pleasant for pedestrians. In addition, the mayor ordered a review of the entire Downtown mobility plan by the city’s newly approved Transportation Department, which is to be functional by late 2020.
Posted inLatest News
Canada geese: Few options to manage troublesome birds, though oiling eggs a trend
A few Canada geese were minding their own business on a sidewalk outside Perimeter Mall Saturday afternoon when the soft “oohhh” murmurs of passersby gave way to a tone more harsh as the pedestrians passed through the birds’ droppings. This is a sign of the summer season in metro Atlanta.
Posted inLatest News
Former ATL mayoral candidate tapped to help oversee youth detention, rehab programs
Former Atlanta mayoral candidate Margaret Kaiser was appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp to the board that oversees the state Department of Juvenile Justice. The department manages the detention facilities and rehabilitation programs for youngsters convicted of crimes.
Posted inLatest News
Fulton County bans disposable plastics, declares residues could harm humans
Fulton County’s Board of Commissioners has banned the use of most disposable plastic food packaging in the county’s facilities. The ban is to be phased in and take effect Jan. 1, 2020. It also declares humans could be harmed by particles of plastics.
