JOURNALISM
A.D. King delegation to meet Queen of England at Nigeria’s anniversary celebration
- The Queen of England is slated to meet Martin Luther King Jr.’s sister-in-law during Nigeria’s centennial celebration next week in London. Naomi Barber King is the widow of A.D. King, brother of the slain civil rights leader. She founded the A.D. King Foundation, which promotes a platform of non-violent social change that’s distinct from measures conducted in the name of the more famous civil rights leader. Nigeria’s centennial celebration recognizes the anniversary of the beginnings of independence for the west African country. ...more
Free app provides riders with more information on transit arrival times
- A free app from researchers at Georgia Tech is the latest step toward providing information passengers need to know about the region’s public transit systems. The app now provides arrival time for MARTA trains. It previously had provided arrival times for MARTA buses and Georgia Tech’s shuttles. Over time, developers plan to add arrival data for other transit systems in the Atlanta area. The OneBusAway app functions on all mobile devices, computers, and large screens such as those provided in public places, ...more
Obama budget stiffs Savannah project, funds programs used for Atlanta Streetcar, BeltLine
- Gov. Nathan Deal on Tuesday was quick to jump on President Obama’s budget proposal for not including money to start the Savannah harbor deepening project. But the Obama proposal does contain money for other transportation projects that may be of help in Georgia, particularly in Atlanta. Deal said the state will begin deepening the harbor with funds it already has set aside for the job. For starters, the president has recommended a four-year transportation program that includes continued funding of the TIGER ...more
Construction delays at Panama Canal could affect Savannah harbor project
- The $266 million that Georgia is setting aside for the planned deepening of the Savannah harbor is being protected by a proposed financial bailout of the Panama Canal expansion project. The Savannah project is based on the premise that Savannah needs a deeper harbor to handle the bigger ships expected to transit the bigger Panama Canal. However, work on the canal resumed just last week – and only on a limited basis – after a two-week stoppage because of disagreement over ...more
Falcons stadium: Land acquisition, connectivity report await action by Atlanta City Council
- The Atlanta City Council is slated to cast a series of votes Monday that may resolve a bit of the uncertainty surrounding the planned Falcons stadium. But no matter how the council votes, significant hurdles remain. Construction funding for the $1.1 billion stadium remains subject to a legal challenge that could derail the project. In addition, the council just this weekend received a highly anticipated report from Mike Dobbins that address issues of connectivity and community regarding the stadium site. The report ...more
GSU report blunt on economy: “Odds are against 2014 being a breakout year”
- Everyone is looking for a breakout year for the economy. So much so that Georgia State University went ahead and said it probably won’t be so. “Forecaster says odds are against 2014 being a breakout year for the economy,” is the headline that GSU put on its statement about the latest economic forecast by Rajeev Dhawan, of the school’s Economic Forecasting Center. On Friday, the U.S. Commerce Department revised downward its estimate of quarterly growth at the end of 2013. The growth ...more
As sustainability becomes a jobs issue, Ga., NY follow different paths
- As Georgia vies for top talent and industry, a New York program that finances clean energy industries bears watching. The New York Green Bank intends to help finance industries that hasten the transition to clean energy. The program is supported by the Sierra Club and headed by a banking veteran from Citigroup. In comparison, Georgia environmentalists oppose a proposed water policy endorsed Wednesday by Gov. Nathan Deal: A plan to address low river flow in southwest Georgia by storing water underground and ...more
GRTA funding quietly becomes part of state’s base budget
- Georgia has quietly gotten into the business of subsidizing regional bus service in metro Atlanta. Gov. Nathan Deal and state lawmakers have barely made a peep this year about providing about the $8.2 million that Deal recommended to pay for bus service provided by GRTA, the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority. This sum doesn’t quite cover a year’s worth of operations, and the legislature likely will fill the gap next year. This transit funding is remarkable, if only for its history. Just a year ...more
Olympia building at Five Points to be restored to historic grandeur
- The historic Olympia building at Five Points is to be restored to its original grandeur, right down to the neon lighting from its days as the showroom for Wormser Hats. The entire plan for the exterior of the building is based on photographs of the building when it opened soon after the Great Depression, according to Michael Wirsching, with Atlanta-based ASD Inc. The building is to have a single tenant. Further commercial details were not available from city records and a principal ...more
Atlanta’s tech sector to prospect for capital, attention in Silicon Valley
- There’s just something about a $19 billion price tag on a business acquisition that catches the eye. This figure has to be in the back of Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed’s mind as he prepares to lead a trade delegation to Silicon Valley. The group has meetings with 12 venture capital companies and social media platforms to invite them to invest in Atlanta tech companies. The $19 billion is the sum Facebook has agreed to pay to purchase WhatsApp, a messaging giant. WhatsApp ...more