Atlanta is about to embark on another assessment of brownfields that are located in strategic locations the city seeks to prime for redevelopment.
The first site on the list is the Proctor Creek watershed area. The new Falcons stadium is in the Proctor Creek basin, which also encompasses a portion of a planned $30 million urban renewal project to be funded by Atlanta and the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation.
The city has allocated $392,000 for the project. Proposals are due Nov. ...more
A controversy over the management of an Atlanta recreation center illustrates the types of problems that can emerge when city departments function with an interim commissioner.
Some residents of East Atlanta are irate that the city didn’t contact them before moving ahead with a plan to extend a lease with East Atlanta Kids Club, Inc. to operate the recreation center at Brownwood Park.
The proposal was skating through City Hall until Atlanta City Councilmember Natalyn Archbong asked that it be tabled at ...more
The home construction industry in the city of Atlanta remains erratic, and other market sectors are still shaking themselves out after the recession, according to a review of figures provided in Mayor Kasim Reed’s budget proposal.
The value of homes built in the city of Atlanta fell by 48 percent in 2013 compared to 2012. However, once all construction categories are included, the budget shows revenues from building permits are increasing steadily in the city.
The value of lumber sold in the ...more
PSC Commissioner Tim Echols, who normally helps set utility rates, recently convened a panel of state and regional leaders to discuss the trafficking of children and look ahead to solutions.
“There is no nexus between the PSC and the sexual exploitation of children, but as a constitutional officer in the state of Georgia I believe it is my duty to uphold the constitution that says, ‘Wisdom, Justice, Moderation,” Echols said after the Lunch and Learn event he hosted May 9 at ...more
Atlanta has won the first round of the legal fight over its authority to issue more than $278 million in bonds for the future Falcons stadium.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville ruled last week in the city’s favor. Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed’s office issued a statement saying the mayor was “pleased” with the outcome.
However, the city cannot issue any bonds during the 30-day period during which the opponents can appeal the court ruling. Opponents said Sunday they are weighing ...more
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed has added his voice to the international chorus condemning an Islamist terrorist group for kidnapping school girls in Nigeria.
“My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of the more than 200 Nigerian girls kidnapped three weeks ago from the Government Girls Secondary School,” Reed said in a statement released Wednesday.
Reed is slated to visit Nigeria in October as part of a trade mission that includes South Africa. Reed also is scheduled to join ...more
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed’s goal of winning voter support for a planned $250 bond referendum to fix roads, bridges and sidewalks is evident throughout the budget he proposed to the Atlanta City Council.
The proposed budget contains any number of programs and efforts that appear intended to create an environment where the message in a bond referendum campaign could be: “You can trust Atlanta to manage your tax dollars wisely and deliver projects and services as promised.”
A snapshot of the debt ...more
The next time wintry weather threatens Georgia’s roads, the state intends to have better equipment and strategies to handle the inevitable traffic problems.
Admittedly, this report on the state’s weather preparedness seems a little off tempo, given the spring storms this week and sunny forecast for the weekend. But the report is making the rounds, most recently in a presentation to the board of the Atlanta Regional Commission.
Better knowledge and communication comprise the backbone of the response described by Meg Pirkle, ...more
The Atlanta City Council on Thursday made its strongest statement yet that the time has come to declare some urban renewal projects complete so that property taxes collected from them can pay for city services.
The position sets up a potential political confrontation between the council and Invest Atlanta, the city’s development arm that collects management fees by administering Atlanta’s 10 TADs. Property taxes collected in a TAD, or tax allocation district, can be spent only to provide new public amenities ...more
Two local chapters of a sorority started at Howard University have convened a Human Trafficking Forum Saturday to discuss ways to fight the illegal sex trade in Atlanta.
The trade is immense. A landmark government-funded study released in March showed Atlanta has the nation’s largest sex economy – $290 million in 2007 and growing, unlike in most other U.S. cities.
Children continue to be trafficked, the report determined, despite the surge by law enforcement to crack down on pimps who prey on ...more
