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Compared to metro Atlanta, the region of Minneapolis-St. Paul virtually works as a metro government.

Back in 1967, the Metropolitan Council was established of seven counties, primarily as a planning organization.

But in 1994, the Council took on the responsibility of planning and operation of the region’s transit agency (Metro Transit), the wastewater treatment system, aviation and parks.

In short, the council brought a regional mindset to what the Minneapolis-St. Paul area believed were metro issues rather than purely local issues.

Southern Co. CEO David Ratcliffe is on his way to Washington D.C. to represent the power company’s point of view on the proposed Waxman-Markey bill on energy and climate change.

Starting today, there will be four days of hearings on the draft 648-page bill. The bill is far-reaching and would begin to frame a program on a mandatory cap on greenhouse gas emissions.

In the past, Ratcliffe has voiced his opposition to the establishment of carbon fees as a way to reduce emissions.

So much political intrigue.

The news that Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle will stay put rather than run for governor is causing several politicians to rethink what their next move will be.

Folks who had been thinking about jumping in the lieutenant governor’s race now are seeking alternative races because few want to take on an incumbent.

But here’s the discouraging reality.

My friends with the Georgia Association of Railroad Passengers asked if I could help clear up confusion on what constitutes the different might of passenger rail.

It’s probably wishful thinking, but I keep hoping Georgia will decide sooner rather than later to dedicate its transportation future to rail as other states, like North Carolina, have done.

But I agreed that it would be helpful if we could agree on a set of definitions for the different forms of rail transportation.

The Metro Atlanta Chamber keeps hoping for a transportation funding bill to come out of this year’s General Assembly.

At its board meeting today, chamber leaders heard from Tommie Williams (R-Lyons), president pro tem of the state Senate, who bascially said that governance must come before new funding.

That has been the position of Gov. Sonny Perdue since he unveiled his plan to change the governance structure of the state’s transportation

The United States must actively change must of its behavior to reduce carbon emissions, but those changes actually could contribute to a much healthier economy and planet.

Bracken Hendricks, a senior fellow with the Center for American Progress, was the keynote speaker at Southface’s annual Visionary Dinner on March 11 at the Georgia Aquarium.

Hendricks has been focusing on the issues of climate change, energy independence,

Georgia Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond told Atlanta Kiwanis today that the United States is “witnessing a restructuring of the 20th Century economy” — a restructuring that has led to 12.6 million Americans and 416,000 Georgians becoming unemployed.

Thurmond calls this time “the Great Recession” and in his mind, this period provides an opportunity for American workers.

“We can rebuild, re-educate, retrain tens of thousands of Americans,” Thurmond said.