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Reed expected to discuss Braves stadium with residents as Falcons community benefits deal up for vote

by David Pendered

Discussions at two meetings Wednesday night should shed more light on developments with the Falcons and Braves stadiums.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed likely will discuss the Braves move to Cobb County with the Northwest Community Alliance. Just before that event, a city committee will be asked to adopt a community benefits plan related to the Falcons stadium.

Meanwhile, at a third meeting, city planning officials will discuss a new city report that confirms that Atlanta’s football and baseball stadiums have not brought prosperity to their neighborhoods. New strategies are needed to help these areas flourish, the report shows.

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Mayor Reed departs Monday for tour of Panama Canal with Biden, Isakson

by David Pendered

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed is to leave Monday to meet with Panama President Ricardo Martelli and tour the Panama Canal expansion with Sen. Johnny Isakson and Vice President Joe Biden.

The mayor’s participation in the economic development trip was announced Friday, as discussion continues over the decision by the Atlanta Braves to move to Cobb County.

The trip comes right after Gov. Nathan Deal announced his plans to provide an additional $35 million in state funding for the proposed deepening of the Savannah port. The deepening is needed to handle the larger vessels expected to transit the bigger Panama Canal.

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Fulton County, its cities face fiscal cliff of their own creation; Thursday deadline set by state attorney general

by David Pendered

Fulton County and all the cities in it could fall off their own fiscal cliff on Thursday. Atlanta could lose tax revenues that pay for 19 percent of its current year budget.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed told the Atlanta City Council in a special session Wednesday evening that the future is uncertain for a major source of sales tax revenues shared by Fulton County and all its cities. Unless Atlanta signs an existing distribution agreement for the 1 percent local option sales tax, Fulton may not be able to continue to levy the tax, Reed said.

The urgency is arising because Atlanta’s lawyers evidently were unprepared for a ruling last week from the Georgia Supreme Court. In a case out of Turner County, in south Georgia, justices tossed out an arbitration process concerning LOST distribution formulas that Atlanta intended to use to seek a bigger bite of LOST revenues.

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HUD secretary says taxes from rising property values caused by urban renewal can fund affordable housing

by David Pendered

Twenty years ago, the media gathered in Atlanta’s East Lake neighborhood likely would have there to report a homicide.

On Tuesday, the media was there to cover Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and U.S. HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan proclaiming the renewal of the once-blighted community as a national success story about public private partnerships.

The transformation of the old East Lake Meadows housing project is so profound that nearby homes are now priced at up to $775,000. Donovan said rising property values are a good thing in a city, and that the increased property taxes enable local governments – such as Atlanta’s – to provide programs that keep such neighborhoods affordable to households with a mix of incomes:

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50th Commemoration: Reed, Obama discuss youth violence as world prepares for bell-ringing at 3 p.m.

by David Pendered

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed was among the group of 18 mayors who met Tuesday at the White House with President Obama and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to discuss strategies to reduce youth violence.

The meeting came as some in the nation are looking for ways to continue to the spirit of progress observed in the 50th commemoration, on Wednesday, of the March on Washington and its message of jobs, justice and freedom.

In Atlanta, city council President Ceasar Mitchell has urged those in the city, and nation, to join in the “Let Freedom Ring” celebration. At precisely 3 p.m., local time, bells and devices that sound like bells are set to ring across the globe, according to the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change.

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Gov. Deal’s trade trip to Asia: Chinese phosphate plant to open near Savannah; tourism pitch on agenda

by David Pendered

Gov. Nathan Deal announced Thursday, on the first day of his trade mission to Asia, that a leading Chinese phosphates producer will open its U.S. headquarters and a manufacturing plant in Effingham County.

The agreement continues Georgia’s traditional efforts to secure foreign direct investment. This trip also intends to foster China’s tourism to Georgia, and nurture the relationship with Georgia’s second-largest export market.

The trip represents Georgia’s attention to China, the world’s largest travel spender and soon-to-be top oil importer. Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed led a trade mission to China in March 2012, aiming to focus the country’s importers on metro Atlanta’s offerings such as bio-tech products and engineering services.

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Metro Atlanta’s planned export strategy could sharpen strong existing trade programs

by David Pendered

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed’s decision to have the city lead the creation of a regional export strategy by this summer aims to maintain metro Atlanta’s standing among the world’s competitive alpha trade centers.

The end result is to be a stronger regional economy. Ancillary benefits would include cultural and other aspects of metro life.

Georgia already has achieved measurable gains in its international status, according to an intriguing 2012 report by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that hasn’t received much local attention.

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A relation between stadium deal and stalled MARTA bill? Who’s to say

by David Pendered

There may be no relation whatsoever, but the plan to build a new Falcons stadium is moving forward and the proposed legislation to restructure MARTA and privatize some of its operations appears to be fading for the 2013 session.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed’s administration delivered a final deal within two months after receiving a troubled proposal from Gov. Nathan Deal. Reed’s team provided the $200 million in construction financing, plus somewhere around $100 million in public/private funds to fix up the area around the future stadium.

Rep. Mike Jacobs (R-Brookhaven) indicated Tuesday that he’s done about all he can to sweeten his team’s proposal to reorganize MARTA. Jacobs has offered to eliminate the privatization provision in House Bill 264 and to resolve in MARTA’s favor all but one concern MARTA has raised. Still, the bill is stalled in the Senate.

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Reed supports Obama’s national infrastructure repair plan, although it’s been drowned out by sequester

by David Pendered

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed on Wednesday strongly endorsed one of President Obama’s domestic proposals, even as it has been swept from the stage by debate over budget cuts known as the sequester.

During Obama’s State of the Union message, the president reintroduced the idea of repairing the nation’s transportation infrastructure. The plan he discussed is to fix worn roads, bridges, ports, water and sewerage, and transit – and to pay for the upgrades with measures including a national infrastructure bank.

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Atlanta Council looks for ways stadium deal could be required to help residents, nearby neighborhoods

by David Pendered

In about three weeks, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed’s staff expects to deliver to the city council the meat of the legislation that will enable the city council to vote to help fund a new Falcons stadium.

Given the level of support for the new stadium voiced by several councilmembers, its evident some of them will spend the next three weeks figuring out how to ensure that community benefits agreements are created to help city residents and the neighborhoods around. Such concerns were a major issue at the council’s four-hour work session Wednesday.

Falcons President and CEO Rich McKay assured the council several times that team owner Arthur Blank is committed to being a good civic partner. McKay emphasized that Penny McPhee, president of the Blank Foundation, will oversee that outreach effort.

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Kasim Reed: Building new stadium is right decision at right time for Atlanta

Avatar photo by Maria Saporta

By Maria Saporta

At his fourth annual State of the City Business Breakfast, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said building a new $1 billion stadium for the Atlanta Falcons is today’s defining decision for the city.

Reed introduced his challenge to city leaders by providing a list of defining decisions for Atlanta over the decades.

Mayor William Hartsfield made the right decision at the right time when he gave a favorable lease to Delta Air Lines.

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Feds receive evidence of possible fraud in Atlanta’s jobs program; spending nears $10 million a year

by David Pendered

Indications of fraud and/or abuse in Atlanta’s federally funded workforce training program, revealed by a city audit made public Monday, have been turned over to the federal Department of Labor.

In addition, the audit recommends that Atlanta’s mayor and city council consider discontinuing the program because of performance and compliance risks. The agency’s budget approaches $10 million a year.

Atlanta Chief Operating Office Duriya Farooqui received the audit in October 2012 and issued her response Monday. Farooqui wrote that the audit is not what she expected, and she refuted some of its findings.

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Despite lower bonding limits, new Atlanta Falcons stadium would receive same amount of hotel-motel taxes

Avatar photo by Maria Saporta

It’s time to set the record straight.

Reducing the bonding capacity on the proposed $1 billion Atlanta Falcons stadium from $300 million to $200 million will not impact the amount of taxes that will be invested in the project.

The amount of hotel-motel taxes that would be invested in the project was determined nearly three years ago when the General Assembly agreed to extend the hotel-motel tax collected in the City of Atlanta and in unincorporated Fulton County.

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Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed: Too bad transportation secretary Ray LaHood is leaving Obama administration

Avatar photo by Maria Saporta

By Maria Saporta

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed is disappointed that U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood is stepping down.

Reed and LaHood had developed a strong relationship over the past four years — a relationship that has been beneficial for both Atlanta and Georgia.

“I really wanted Secretary LaHood to continue because he could not have been a more active transportation secretary,” Reed said after the Buckhead Coalition’s annual meeting on Wednesday.

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Atlanta Housing Authority board may vote Wednesday on a separation agreement with CEO Renee Glover

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By Maria Saporta

The board of the Atlanta Housing Authority is scheduled to meet Wednesday Jan. 30 afternoon— one that could be Renee Glover’s last as the organization’s president and CEO.

It is thought that Glover and the AHA board will say that they’re parting ways, and the board is expected to vote on her separation agreement.

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Gov. Nathan Deal: ‘incumbent on us’ to not lose the Falcons to Los Angeles

Avatar photo by Maria Saporta

By Maria Saporta

Gov. Nathan Deal said Tuesday it would be a big loss for the state if the Atlanta Falcons were to move to Los Angeles.

Los Angeles, one of the top media markets in the country, has been seeking a football team for years. Reportedly, Arthur Blank has told Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and other officials that he has been approached by Los Angeles leaders who are interested in him moving the Falcons to the Southern California city.

“It’s incumbent on us to make sure we don’t lose the franchise,” Deal said after being recognized as the 2013 Georgian of the Year by Georgia Trend magazine at its annual 100 Most Influential Georgians luncheon.

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Atlanta audit: Lax records of $128,000 gift card program likely means no sanctions likely

by David Pendered

Atlanta city departments have spent at least $128,000 on gift cards for city employees to boost their morale, and record keeping was so lax that there’s no way to tell if there were any wrongdoing, according to a new audit by the city auditor.

The audit – to be presented formally on Tuesday to the Atlanta City Council – makes two recommendations to get a handle on the situation. The responsible parties agree with the recommendations: The COO and commissioner of human resources in one instance; and the COO and chief procurement officer in the other.

The gift card program was intended to raise morale among city employees during an era when they had gone for years without raises, according to comments by city COO Duriya Farooqui that were posted on myfoxatlanta.com in October.

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Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed: Georgia will be a blue state in 2016

Avatar photo by Maria Saporta

By Maria Saporta

Looking into a crystal ball, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed predicted Thursday that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic nominee for president.

And in 2016, she and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, will invest time and money in Georgia. Because the Clintons have had such a strong relationship and history with Georgia, the state will go to the Democrats in the general presidential election.

Reed spoke Thursday at the Atlanta Press Club’s Newsmaker luncheon held at the Commerce Club.

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Atlanta Mayor Reed enters reelection year with $1.2 million in coffer

by David Pendered

Entertainment entrepreneur Tyler Perry contributed to Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed’s campaign war chest that now contains just over $1.2 million, according to a campaign finance disclosure dated Tuesday.

Perry’s contribution of $2,500 on Dec. 17 was part of the $363,690.13 listed in itemized cash contributions Reed raised during the final reporting period of 2012, the report shows. The report shows an addition $20,233.44 in in-kind contributions, plus $2,020 in cash contributions of amounts of less than $100 each.

Kevin Rathbun Steak, on Krog Street, was one of the places Reed’s campaign spent a portion of the $176,459.22 in itemized expenditures, the report shows. Rathbun was paid $273.20 for two events listed as “official business meeting(s)” in September and October, the report shows.

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