Several new reports paint a fairly grim picture of the solar industry in Georgia, including one that shows the state lost 14 percent of the jobs last year that had been created in the solar industry. Georgia policymakers and the Trump administration’s tariffs are responsible for the downturn, reports contend.
The newly released federal plan to promote spawning by endangered fish in the Savannah River north of Augusta ran smack into opposition last week from residents who don’t like a drop in the level of the river or the demolition of a lock and dam built in 1937 – two consequences of the plan.
Leave it to the folks at Georgia Tech to turn the random falling of a towering tree into a learning experience and exhibit. The willow oak that stood for more than 100 years on campus has been rendered into remembrances that are on display through March 8.
By Guest Columnist, MELODY L. HARCLERODE, executive director of the Sandy Springs Conservancy
Engineers from the Union Army noted a tributary in north Fulton County running into the Chattahoochee River as “Mans Cr” or “Mars Cr” on 1864 map. Now, the nonprofit Sandy Springs Conservancy is spearheading the development of the Marsh Creek Trail along Abernathy Road in partnership with the City of Sandy Springs as the initial stage of a city-wide trail system, envisioned as, “a beautiful amenity that can build physical and civic connections in Sandy Springs.”
A species of endangered woodpeckers that saw its homes in southwest Georgia blown away by Hurricane Michael is getting some new housing through a federal grant funded by Southern Co. and International Paper. The effort involves creating new nest cavities in trees and clearing debris that adds to wildfire risks near clusters of cavity trees.
The Native Plant and Wildlife Walk at a DeKalb County park is soon to be a bit more native. The Atlanta Audubon Society has awarded a grant that’s to help provide for the removal of invasive species, after which bird friendly species of plants are to be installed.
Hurricane Michael may seem a distant memory, especially with wintry weather wrapping metro Atlanta, but the impact of the October 2018 storm remains so close that cotton awaits harvest in Georgia fields and only on Monday did the nation’s workplace safety agency return to regular enforcement duties in all affected areas.
A huge hurdle has been cleared that is to enable PATH400 to connect Atlanta’s BeltLine with Sandy Springs and, possibly if not eventually, the growing trails system north of I-285. As PATH Foundation noted of this first step: “Federal dollars are involved so it won’t happen overnight, but it’s coming.”
Steve Stancil may not have a household name. But when he steps down Feb. 1 as State Property Officer, he will have affected metro Atlanta since 2003 on issues ranging from mass transit, to development policies, to future development along the Atlanta BeltLine and the future film studio/mixed use development that’s to be built in Atlanta at the old Pullman Yard.
By Christine McCauley Watts, executive director of Madison-Morgan Conservancy
It sits on a little rise, Davis Crossroads does, and gives you a long view of one of Morgan County’s more bucolic landscapes. Davis descendants have farmed and cared for the land surrounding this crossroads for generations and in the last two decades have donated three conservation easements to permanently protect the scenic and agricultural conservation values found here.
The environmental review is underway for a planned inland port to be built northeast of Gainesville. Presuming it opens, the facility that’s billed as a way to ease traffic congestion in metro Atlanta is likely to be heralded as a success as the state House prepares to update Georgia’s decade-old rail improvement plans.
Brookhaven hasn’t wasted a minute in ramping up projects with the $40 million bond for parks and facilities voters approved in November 2018. Just four days after Moody’s Investors Service awarded the bonds its highest rating, the Brookhaven City Council approved two contracts related to parks improvements.
Atlanta’s aged tree ordinance of 2001 looks so good that some folks say they’d be happy if the city would enforce it – until it can be updated. Meanwhile, the city says it’s on track to update the existing tree ordinance in July.
The commercial season has opened in two Georgia rivers for a fish once known as the poor man’s salmon, a herring that some revere for its role in preventing George Washington’s troops from dying of starvation as they camped near Valley Forge.
The federal government has authorized a company to harass animals in federal waters off Georgia’s coast in order to search for deposits of oil and gas. This testing is a first step to offshore drilling and the federal permit, plus four others, has been challenged in federal court by nine environmental groups.
Marcia Bansley, founder of Trees Atlanta, John Pruitt, retired anchor of WSB-TV, and Raphael Bostic, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, are among the seven members of a new group of advisors created to help Atlanta Audubon continue to expand its outreach.
The state has opened its competition for grants of up to $3,000 for projects that help the public learn about and view animals, plants and habitats – especially those that are listed as conservation priorities in the State Wildlife Action Plan.
Amid reports that the Trump administration intends to announce next week a reduction in the amount of wetlands and waterways covered by the federal Clean Water Act, the Southern Environmental Law Center is condemning the proposed step as the most destructive of Trump’s rollback of environmental rules.
Solarize Atlanta has added a major participant, the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta, which plans to install an array on the roof of the Besser Gymnastics Pavilion.
Kennesaw State University is on a team that has won a national grant to combat a disease that is decimating the bat population in Georgia and other states. The team is charged with testing methods to eradicate the disease by cleaning bats’ homes in hopes of slowing the spread of the disease.
Planned trail through Hyde Farm, at Chatthoochee River, open for public commentApril 23, 2019 - 10:56 pm
Atlanta Procurement Department: Lax record keeping, vows a computer fix will helpApril 22, 2019 - 6:29 pm
Predicted boom of data centers could impact energy demand, job marketApril 22, 2019 - 4:22 pm
