JOURNALISM
Words of Spelman College grad a beacon in ground-breaking resolution of Detroit’s $18 billion bankruptcy
- The words of a Spelman College graduate were a guiding principle in the historic bankruptcy settlement of Detroit. “Democracy is not a spectator sport,” is the quote by Marian Wright Edelman, valedictorian, Class of 1960, and 11-year chair of Spelman’s Board of Trustees. Edelman founded the Children’s Defense Fund in 1973 and serves as its president. The words are cited in the opinion issued Nov. 7 by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes, of the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern District. Rhodes presided over ...more
Sugar Hill selling 99 acres in old gold mine country near Richland Creek
- Almost 100 acres of undeveloped land along the Chattahoochee River, located just south of Buford Dam, has been put up for sale by the city of Sugar Hill. And there’s more than just the land to whet interest. The site overlooks Richland Creek, where gold was mined in the 1830s as prospectors looked for nuggets far from the crowds who’d flocked to Dahlonega in the gold rush of 1828. Sugar Hill is seeking a company to buy and develop a 99 acre ...more
Lake Allatoona may change dynamics of Georgia’s water resource debate
- A taste of things to come in the management of Georgia’s water resources may be evident in the federal lawsuit filed over the role of Lake Allatoona as a source of drinking water for metro Atlanta. The lawsuit rekindles a host of issues including: Gov. Nathan Deal’s plan to build or expand water reservoirs; water conservation efforts; and the federal government’s pending Water Control Manual for the Chattahoochee River system. In addition, the lawsuit filed Nov. 7 in U.S. District Court in ...more
State House resumes debate over regulating Uber-type taxi service
- The issue of regulating Uber-type taxi service in Georgia is to arise again today at the state Legislature. A study committee formed by the state House is to convene its first meeting to consider the topic of “for-hire transportation services.” The House formed the committee following the controversy surrounding a proposal that would have regulated Uber, Lyft and other app-based taxi services. The agenda for today’s 2 p.m. at states only that: “The initial meeting will be an organizational meeting to discuss ...more
Wall Street reviews Georgia’s new limit on individual income tax rate
- While political pundits review Georgia’s elections outcomes, Wall Street analysts have focused on the passage of an amendment to the Georgia Constitution that’s the first of its kind in the nation. Moody’s Investors Services issued a report Friday that raises a cautionary flag over the amendment that caps Georgia’s individual income tax rate at 6 percent. The cap limits the state’s ability to raise revenues, if necessary, the report observes. Georgia was one of 11 states included in a report intended to ...more
Social media fuels Tech study of Memorial Drive to super speed
- Social media is enabling the Georgia Tech analysis of Memorial Drive to proceed at a startling rate of speed. As various findings are presented on a Facebook page and other social media, interested parties are providing feedback to the Tech students in almost real time. Portions of a report presented Oct. 27 are already substantially out of date, Tech professor of practice Mike Dobbins said Tuesday. The result is that the final report is likely to be much more comprehensive than originally ...more
Atlanta BeltLine a player in dense projects near Piedmont, Fourth Ward parks
- The Atlanta BeltLine has a hand in two projects that could add 22-story structures next to the Historic Fourth Ward Park, and eight-story apartment buildings a half-mile north of Piedmont Park. At Historic Fourth Ward Park, the BeltLine is seeking to rezone land to a classification that allows buildings up to 225 feet high. The site includes the Masquerade nightclub, located in a stone structure built in 1900. The planned development is a five-story structure. Near Piedmont Park, a developer is seeking permission ...more
Cousins looking for partner at 191 Peachtree as profits top Wall Street expectations
- As it executes a business strategy that includes reducing its footprint in Atlanta, Cousins Properties Inc. posted a key measure of profitability Wednesday that exceeded Walls Street expectations. The strategy consists of reducing the company’s footprint in Atlanta and could include bringing in a joint venture partner for the company’s trophy tower in downtown Atlanta, 191 Peachtree Street. According to the 10-Q report filed Wednesday with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission, Counsis is “exploring bringing in a joint venture partner” for ...more
Tech’s analysis of Memorial Drive boosted by two Atlanta councilmembers
- Reducing the speed limit on Memorial Drive from 35 mph to 25 mph could improve safety, cut tailpipe emissions, boost the roadway’s capacity, and even reduce trip times. Another startling discovery associated with the analysis of Memorial Drive, being conducted this autumn by Georgia Tech graduate students, is the high degree of buy-in from Atlanta city councilmembers who represent the area. Councilmember Natalyn Archibong initiated the project and encouraged Tech to conduct the framework design studio. Archibong provided about $13,000 from her council ...more
Woodruff Center’s debt, credit rating loom over ASO contracts
- The musician lockout at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra was foreshadowed almost a year ago in a rating action by Moody’s Investors Service. Moody’s message was clear: Either ASO’s fiscal drain on Robert W. Woodruff Arts Center, Inc. would be reduced, or Moody’s may lower the credit rating on $188.26 million in debt Woodruff sold in 2009. Moody’s expected action this autumn. Moody’s did not comment on Woodruff’s other debt, such as the $14.5 million Woodruff borrowed in 2008 to build an amphitheater ...more