Some elected officials fed up with the secrecy of Atlanta’s public safety training center planning have released its supposedly confidential site preparation permit application and reportedly are working on a City Council resolution opposing the project.
Tag: DeKalb County
Posted inLatest News
Public safety training center appears to be following permit requirements, but documents show official questions
Persistent complaints of unpermitted site work for Atlanta’s public safety training center appear to be unfounded – but are also how DeKalb County planning officials learned about work on the secretive project, according to documents obtained by SaportaReport.
Posted inLatest News
County commissions, school boards and Buckhead cityhood slate are among lesser-known races taking shape
By John Ruch The attention-grabbing melees for governor and a U.S. Senate seat were among the 2022 election battles finalized by the official candidate qualifying deadline of March 11, but many other races took shape, too, including county commission and school board races and a slate of pro-cityhood candidates in Buckhead. Throwing in the Congressional […]
Posted inLatest News
Reporter’s Notebook: More on Atlanta’s ongoing election cycle
The City of Atlanta has entered the “Green Zone” of its COVID-19 reopening plan, and Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms lifted the city’s mask mandate, which has been in effect since late July. While masks are still required in all City of Atlanta facilities, private businesses and restaurants can decide if they want folks to mask […]
Posted inColumns
Opposition grows to police training center at Atlanta Prison Farm
For decades, the vision for the historic Atlanta prison farm has been to transform it into a green jewel for the region.
Posted inColumns
South River Forest: A big green dream starts coming true
A lovely June morning was the perfect time for a nature hike in southeast Atlanta, but the starting point was a bit of a surprise. A small group traversed the tire-doughnut scars in the parking lot of the Value Village shopping center at Moreland and Custer avenues, parked behind its graffiti-covered loading docks, passed through […]
Posted inLatest News
DeKalb County’s sewage treatment update remains under review after six months
Since Dec. 4, 2020, the federal EPA has been evaluating more than 300 pages of public comments submitted in response to proposed changes in DeKalb County’s federal consent decree that’s to stop the spillage of untreated sewage into waterways.
Posted inColumns
Volunteer environmental groups: Formidable force for Chattahoochee, South rivers
Volunteer environmentalists are fighting two separate battles to keep pollution out of the Chattahoochee River and South River, the two biggest waterways in metro Atlanta.
Posted inLatest News
DeKalb County vows to stop sewer leaks by 2027 in plan awaiting public comment
DeKalb County has promised to stop leaking raw sewage from its sewer system in certain areas of the county by late 2027. This is part of a negotiated settlement valued at more than $1 billion that lays the blame for failure to fix the system since 2011 on prior county administrations.
Posted inLatest News
A civic headache: Readers share their voting experiences
While some had a relatively hassle-free voting experience, for many, this year’s primary election was fraught with confusion and frustration abounded.
Posted inLatest News
DeKalb County’s consent decree: New issues raised as motion to dismiss looms in federal court
As DeKalb County aims to squash in July a federal lawsuit that challenges the county’s efforts to stop polluting waterways, the environmental group that filed the lawsuit is making a new claim regarding sewage spills.
Posted inLatest News
DeKalb County ballot measure would eliminate ethics officer charged with reporting alleged crime
DeKalb County voters face a ballot issue on Nov. 5 that seeks to eliminate the position of an ethics officer who is charged with reporting suspected crimes to state or federal authorities and replace it with an administrator with no such duties. The ballot question provides none of this information.
Posted inColumns
DeKalb County’s potential transit tax vote in 2020 faces myriad of scenarios
DeKalb County transit advocates face a possible campaign in 2020 that could go beyond simply seeking voter approval of a 30-year sales tax. Advocates may have to overcome public trust wavering after setbacks in two nearby tax-funded programs – for DeKalb schools, and Atlanta’s roads-and-sidewalks-and transit programs.
Posted inLatest News
Briarcliff Road to be partially closed to replace water pipes, boost fire fighting capacity
Beneath the rolling hills of the Druid Hills area is public water system that dates to 1909 and has such low water pressure that fire suppression is a major concern. DeKalb County on Sunday started the process of replacing 8.5 miles of pipes that likely will cause intermittent bottlenecks along Briarcliff Road and neighborhood streets for two years.
Posted inLatest News
Atlanta opens door to future Druid Hills’ annexations, affirms preservation rules
Atlanta has put the force of city law behind promises to protect the historic integrity of the Druid Hills neighborhood and not seek to annex adjacent properties for 10 years. Of note, the city specifically held the door open for future annexations in the area, according to legislation adopted Tuesday by the Atlanta City Council.
Posted inColumns
Along the South River, large tracts of tree canopy under siege
By Guest Columnist RYAN GRAVEL, AICP, founder of Sixpitch, Inc.
The latest tale in the slow destruction of Atlanta’s iconic tree canopy might seem like a bizarre aberration. When you see it in context of generational disinvestment in the South River watershed, however, suddenly it’s not so surprising. As it turns out, this tale is not an anomaly, but if you look closely, an elegant and aspirational solution to the larger narrative is hiding in plain sight.
Posted inColumns, Main Slider
Stone Mountain Village can be so much more than it is
By King Williams On a very warm Tuesday evening, two days before the Fourth of July, I decided to take a run near Stone Mountain Park. Instead of just simply running at the base of the park, I decided to go through Stone Mountain Village. What I saw next really perplexed me. Vacancies abound, no […]
Posted inLatest News
Emory area could see skyscrapers under Atlanta’s proposed rezoning
Office towers of an unlimited height could be permitted on a portion of land brought into Atlanta through the annexation of Emory University and the surrounding area, according to the rezoning proposal.
Posted inDavid Pendered
Atlanta Audubon’s growing wildlife sanctuary program now includes Briarlake Forest Park
The Atlanta Audubon Society has certified yet another public park as a wildlife sanctuary, this one near Northlake Mall in DeKalb County and the latest in the society’s fast-growing program to provide havens for birds and critters.
Posted inColumns
OWN DeKalb launches new affordable homeownership program
A property management company creates a first-time homeownership program in DeKalb County.
