The American appetite for a third political party is greater than ever, but getting a third-party candidate on the ballot in Georgia is nearly impossible. With the exception of the Libertarian Party, candidates from parties beyond the Democrats and Republicans rarely make it on statewide or local ballots. “Our ballot access laws are some of […]
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Posted inHousing Affordability
Amid rent strike, Forest Cove owner says condemned complex’s tenants won’t have to pay until relocated
Forest Cove tenants kicked off a rent strike Tuesday morning, just hours before Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens unveiled a plan for the city to help relocate the remaining families from the dilapidated Section 8 complex, which has been condemned by an Atlanta judge. And in a move that stunned residents and activists, the property owner, Millennia […]
Posted inLatest News
Smyrna begins process to honor Fanny Williams, of Aunt Fanny’s Cabin
Smyrna’s Committee to Honor Fanny Williams met for the first time Tuesday to discuss a planned memorial for the woman’s whose namesake Aunt Fanny’s Cabin is to be moved or demolished.
Posted inLatest News
End of Georgia’s live-catch rattlesnake roundup finishes cultural phenomenon
The era of the wild-caught rattlesnake roundup has ended in Georgia as the state’s last festival to collect live snakes shifts March 5 to a format similar to a county fair.
Posted inHousing Affordability
Can metro Atlanta lawmakers rein in Wall Street landlords jeopardizing housing affordability?
Lawmakers must crack down on the exploitative practices of Wall Street investor landlords if there’s to be any hope for housing affordability in metro Atlanta, experts told Atlanta Civic Circle this week. These so-called “institutional landlords” accounted for more than 40% of the single-family home purchases in the Atlanta, Sandy Springs, and Roswell area in the third quarter of […]
Posted inUncategorized
As housing prices soar, lawmakers debate the rights of private equity
Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul told a story last week which helps to explain why home prices are through the roof across Metro Atlanta and much of the rest of the state.
Posted inColumns
In Buckhead cityhood debate, how do we measure crime solutions?
When Georgia House Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge) this month agreed to freeze Buckhead cityhood legislation, he also set ticking a clock for new Mayor Andre Dickens to address the big issue motivating it. The “crime problem,” Ralston declared, is “not solved,” and Dickens would have a one-year crack at doing so.
Posted inColumns
Decatur’s proposed Clean Energy Plan nears final stages
Decatur on Thursday is to conclude its series of three virtual roundtable discussions that are central to the city’s effort to adopt and implement a clean energy plan.
Posted inColumns
Give Mayor Andre Dickens freedom to name his team to Atlanta Housing’s board
It’s time to get out of the lawsuit business. So proclaimed several board members of the Atlanta Housing authority at a specially-called (virtual) meeting on Feb. 16 when the board approved a settlement agreement with the Integral Group and its development partners over 88 acres of land next to four mixed-income projects.
Posted inStories of Atlanta
Maybe not what he had in mind
Atlanta’s history is intertwined with Atlanta’s religion. Houses of worship were not just a presence in Atlanta, they were one of the major forces that helped shape and support our community. This week, we tell the tale of Leonard Broughton who came to Atlanta to lead a church and ended up building one of Atlanta’s […]
Posted inSecuring Atlanta's Future
Literacy & Justice for All
By Ryan Lee-James, PhD, Director of the Rollins Center for Language & Literacy and Laura Bollman, Director of Operations, the Rollins Center. Since the advent of the written word, which created the need for reading, literacy has been wielded as a tool of power and one of oppression. Who is taught to read – and […]
Posted inThought Leadership
Addressing Barriers to Health Equity in the Metro Atlanta Community
By Erin Thomas, Communications and Marketing Director of the American Heart Association About 50 million people in the United States are at higher risk for cardiovascular disease because they lack the most basic needs — healthy food, clean air and drinking water, quality education, employment and housing. These basic needs are identified as social determinants […]
Posted inHannah Jones
Bill Lowe Gallery: Honoring the life of Bill Lowe and looking to the future
By Hannah E. Jones Highly intelligent, always curious, a voracious reader and a lover of all things art — this is how family and friends describe Bill Lowe. For three decades, he spearheaded the Bill Lowe Gallery in the Atlanta art scene — a project that showcased artists from around the country and overseas, hosted […]
Posted inThought Leadership
Campbell & Brannon launches affordable housing philanthropy fund with $100,000 in grants
Guest post by Camille Brannon, managing partner, Campbell & Brannon Campbell & Brannon, a residential real estate law firm serving the region since 1998, has launched the Campbell & Brannon Philanthropy Fund in partnership with the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta to showcase the law firm’s commitment to Atlanta’s people and neighborhoods throughout the metro Atlanta region. Throughout the […]
Posted inThought Leadership
How E-Scooters Transformed My Commute to Midtown
By Ronald “Jay” Parker, Midtown Alliance Green Team Member When I joined the Midtown Alliance team in late 2021, it took me 90 minutes to get to work. I relied solely on public transportation, catching the bus to the Lindbergh MARTA Station because the bus route that served the closest train station to my home […]
Posted inColumns
‘Parallel Mothers’ – a Pedro Almodovar-Penelope Cruz movie worth seeing
You don’t need a cheek swab to determine the lineage of “Parallel Mothers.” It is pure Pedro Almodovar – bold, brilliant and, on occasion, exuberantly bonkers.
Posted inThought Leadership
MARTA Seeks New Members For Its Riders’ Advisory Council
Council Provides Vital Feedback on Customer Experience MARTA is seeking people to serve on its Riders’ Advisory Council (RAC), an all-volunteer group that provides feedback on improving the overall transit experience for customers. The inaugural council members are stepping down in May following a two-year term. The council is comprised of 25 members representing MARTA’s diverse customer base […]
Posted inHousing Affordability
After years-long legal battle, Atlanta Housing board votes to finalize settlement with developers
Atlanta Housing (AH) has nearly freed itself from a years-long legal entanglement with Integral Group and its development partners. The housing authority’s board of commissioners on Wednesday approved a settlement deal that spells out how 88 acres of valuable, publicly owned land can be developed. The move, which still must be approved by the U.S. Department of […]
Posted inDemocracy
‘Divisive concepts’ bills elicit charges of censorship, fearmongering – and divisiveness
Lisa Morgan is facing one of the biggest challenges in her 23 years as a teacher in Georgia. It could cost her school millions of dollars if she gets it wrong. Georgia lawmakers are considering a package of “divisive concepts” bills that would radically change how Morgan and thousands of other educators statewide can talk […]
