The search for tools to address economic injustices has led two Atlanta-based researchers to propose changes to the federal and state tax codes.
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Posted inColumns
Congress should not raise taxes on investments that create Black-owned business
By Guest Columnist MELINDA SYLVESTER, president of the Greater Georgia Black Chamber of Commerce
Across the 50 states, there are 2.6 million Black-owned businesses that generate more than $138 billion in revenue annually. Georgia is among the nation’s leaders as Black entrepreneurs and Black enterprise flock to our state to launch new business to create jobs and wealth.
Posted inDemocracy
Year-round voter protection group launched in Georgia, other battleground states
A new voter protection group has teamed with the Democratic Party to finance year-round staff in the battleground states of Georgia, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, and Texas. Power The Vote will start with six paid positions in Georgia: a director and five deputy regional directors. The group has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars so […]
Posted inHousing Affordability
New legislation would guarantee Gulch deal’s affordable housing promises
Following an executive order by Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Atlanta City Council members proposed an ordinance this week that would set in stone the community benefits promises to come from the Gulch redevelopment. Part of developer CIM Group’s $5 billion rebirth of downtown’s 50-acre pit of parking spaces and railroad tracks is the creation of […]
Posted inLatest News
Buckhead cityhood threatens bond ratings, experts say; advocates have answers
Buckhead leaving Atlanta would likely have long-term negative effects on bond ratings in both cities and the metro area, according to two academic experts in municipal finance, supporting critics who say the secession would make local projects more expensive and budgets tighter. But cityhood advocates they have answers to such concerns.
Posted inLatest News
Fort Mac board releases statement on T.D. Jakes’ draft master plan
After approving the interim master plan for T.D. Jakes Real Estate Ventures for 95 acres, the Fort Mac Local Redevelopment Authority (LRA) board released a press release and some artwork featuring the development.
Posted inLatest News
Fort Mac board approves T.D. Jakes’ initial plans – not yet publicly released – to redevelop 95 acres
The Fort Mac redevelopment authority spent more than two hours in executive session before spending five minutes in public session to pass a unanimous resolution approving the preliminary master plan proposed by T.D. Jakes’ and his real estate company.
Posted inLatest News
APS recognizes baseball hall-of-famer by renaming academy
The school was previously named after Confederate General and Ku Klux Klan leader Bedford Forrest. By Allison Joyner On Wednesday, Atlanta Public Schools (APS) took another step to further distance its institutions from honoring problematic historical figures. The former Forrest Hill Academy — named after the Confederate General and Ku Klux Klan leader Nathan Bedford […]
Posted inLatest News
Drawdown Georgia hosts four to discuss business leadership, climate change
Four members of an organization that intends to promote climate action in Georgia joined an event Thursday to discuss the importance of communication and helping one another.
Posted inLatest News
Manager of city program to eliminate traffic injuries is hurt by alleged DUI driver
The manager of a City of Atlanta program aimed at eliminating serious and fatal traffic injuries was herself badly injured Oct. 7 when she and others were run down by a vehicle on a Tennessee street.
Posted inLatest News
Reporter’s Notebook: Atlanta’s Comprehensive Development Plan – 14 of 25 NPUs oppose proposal
On Oct. 22, 2001, folk artist Howard Finster died. Finster is one of the South’s most revered self-taught artists, known for finding religion and artistry in everyday objects. One of his most famous works is Paradise Gardens, an oasis in Summerville, Ga., filled with Finster’s eccentric work. He also has a permanent exhibit in the […]
Posted inDemocracy
Get set for action-packed redistricting
Some of metro Atlanta’s top lawmakers gathered with constituents this week to discuss the arrival of Georgia’s long-awaited redistricting season. The pandemic and delays in census data already has this redistricting season running months behind schedule. Tech-savvy map-drawers and lawmakers will set about reshaping Georgia’s political landscape next month. It promises to be a session […]
Posted inLatest News
The twin jobs economy: Some can’t find work amid national labor shortage
Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic talked about the long-term and older-worker unemployment situation the day before the Federal Reserve on Wednesday released another report citing a labor shortage in the Southeast and nationwide.
Posted inThought Leadership
Building an Equitable Food System: America’s Healthy Food Financing Initiative & other Tools for Increasing Food Access
By Olivia Chatman, Program Associate – Food Initiatives, Reinvestment Fund Across the country, the shameful reality of limited access to healthy food plagues historically marginalized communities. It is an issue that is rooted in discriminatory policies and disinvestment, and is reflected in the 27.6 million people living in places with inequitable and inadequate access to […]
Posted inLatest News
T.D. Jakes expects his development plan for Fort Mac to be accepted within 24 hours
Bishop T.D. Jakes, speaking virtually from Dallas at the HOPE Global Summit in Atlanta Wednesday, described his vision to develop 95 acres of land at the former Fort McPherson in southwest Atlanta
Posted inLatest News
Clean 13: Georgia Water Coalition’s honorees include ‘scientist, educator, mentor’
A scientist working to groom Black scientists at Savannah State University was recognized Tuesday with a 2021 Clean 13 award from the Georgia Water Coalition.
Posted inHousing Affordability
Should public defenders help shield metro Atlantans from eviction?
If folks facing criminal charges are afforded legal representation by the government, shouldn’t people at risk of eviction be extended the same privilege? Some public officials and legal professionals in metro Atlanta think so. Earlier this month, Atlanta City Councilmember Michael Julian Bond introduced legislation that seeks to provide public defenders to tenants facing dispossessory claims in […]
Posted inLatest News
As Atlanta lawmakers oppose Buckhead cityhood, advocates decry ‘drivel’ and Chamber warns of ‘crippling blow’
The Atlanta state legislative delegations’ declaration of war against Buckhead cityhood is being blasted as “hyperbolic drivel” by advocates, but reinforced by the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, which calls secession a “crippling blow” to the region’s economy.
Posted inLatest News
Ryan Millsap launching Blackhall Americana hoping to rival Netflix
Fresh from selling Blackhall Studios, Ryan Millsap is developing a streaming service – Blackhall Americana – that will cater to the action-adventure market.
Posted inDemocracy
What I’ve Learned: King Walker, Booker T. Washington High School senior
Growing up, King Walker, a high school senior from Bankhead, knew about presidential elections, but he knew little, if anything, about local elections. “Nobody taught me really about voting and democracy,” the Booker T. Washington High School student told Atlanta Civic Circle. “I just knew that the presidential election was big, but the rest of the […]
