JOURNALISM
Brazil, a dynamic business partner, site of Mayor Kasim Reed’s next trade mission
- By David Pendered Brazil is served by seaports scattered along the coast, providing access mainly to trade with the United States and European countries. Credits: “Brazilian Ports: A Safe Haven for International Investment”, utexas.edu Brazil is one of Georgia’s leading trade partners, and Mayor Kasim Reed intends to strengthen relations during a trade mission he’s to lead in April. Reed is just wrapping up his trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Metro Atlanta’s connection to Brazil is closer than ...more
DeKalb County’s interim CEO outlines a blueprint to restore pride, performance
- DeKalb County interim CEO Lee May presented the annual State of the County address Thursday in Decatur. Photo credits: DeKalb County TV 23 DeKalb County interim CEO Lee May delivered a State of the County Address Thursday in which he promised a bright future while acknowledging his temporary seat in the county’s top office. May named problems and proposed solutions. He portrayed his office and the Board of Commissioners as working together, rather than feuding. He said DeKalb’s young people will ...more
TSPLOST rejection hasn’t dampened demand for GDOT road maintenance funds
- Penalties in the TSPLOST law have not hurt metro Atlanta’s ability to draw down state funds to maintain local roads. Credit: GDOT, David Pendered Metro Atlanta has not forfeited many state funds to maintain local roads, despite the higher local match that results from voter rejection of the transportation sales tax in 2012, according to an analysis of figures in a new state report. The figures seem to alleviate concerns that routine road maintenance could suffer because of penalties built into ...more
King’s final frontier: Georgia losing war on poverty, study calls for new policies
- The GBPI report matched the findings in 2013 of the Brookings Institute: Suburban poverty is rising at a rate faster than urban or rural poverty. Credit: GBPI A new report shows poverty is expanding in Georgia, a grim reminder of the final frontier Martin Luther King, Jr. had identified before his death. The Georgia Budget and Policy Institute found that Georgia residents now comprise the sixth poorest population in the nation. Georgia’s poverty rate is at its highest since 1982. Some ...more
Transit website proposal addresses one component of King legacy
- Sen. Brandon Beach A bipartisan group has formed to promote state legislation that would urge metro Atlanta’s transit agencies to establish a single website that would make it easier for passengers to plan and pay for trips. State Sen. Brandon Beach (R-Alpharetta) sponsored Senate Resolution 735. Co-signers include Sen. Jason Carter (D-Decatur), Sen. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta), Sen. Fran Millar (R-Dunwoody), and Sen. Steve Gooch (R-Dahlonega). The Senate Transportation Committee could take it up as early as Wednesday. The legislation is relevant as ...more
Coke invests $2.1 million in Brazil’s social programs as relations warm with Atlanta
- Lisa M. Borders, (left) president of Coca-Cola Foundation, Joe Beasley, and Lazarus Cunha, Brazilian black movement activist and director of the Steve Biko Institute, listen to the president of Coca- Cola Brazil, Xiemar Zarazúa. Credit: prnewswire.com Coca-Cola Brazil and the Coca-Cola Foundation have agreed to invest $2.1 million in a variety of programs in Brazil that intend to expand opportunities for African-Brazilians. The investment in Latin America’s largest economy was announced a week before Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed is to co-host ...more
Georgia’s economy growing, but barely, according to Gov. Deal’s budget proposal
- The cover of Gov. Deal’s proposed FY 2015 budget is a photograph taken by Georgia artist Myrtie Cope, “Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge.” It was chosen to hang in the governor’s office as part of the rotating exhibit managed by Georgia Council for the Arts. If any proof is needed that Georgia’s economy hasn’t turned the corner, it’s evident in Gov. Nathan Deal’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2015, which begins July 1. Deal predicts the state’s revenue will grow by ...more
Atlanta’s sewers releasing rising amounts of hazards into waterways, city says
- Atlanta’s Watershed Department cited this chart to illustrate the increase in the release of bacteria and chlorine from the city’s combined sewer overflow facilities. Click on the graphic for a larger version. Credit: City of Atlanta Fecal bacteria and residual chlorine flow at “problematic” levels from Atlanta’s sewer system into waterways and the repair bill could hit $40 million, according to new legislation to be discussed this week by a committee of the Atlanta City Council. An additional $11 million expense ...more
Another historically black university faces weak finances, negative credit rating
- Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith, who in 2013 became the ninth president of Fort Valley State University, greets visitors to the school’s website. Credit: fvsu.edu Another historically black college in Georgia has been dinged by a credit rating agency that reported the school had just 20 days of cash on hand on June 30, 2013 and now faces a $2 million shortfall. Fort Valley State University received a negative outlook from Moody’s Investors Services in a rating action dated Dec. 18. The rating ...more
Rights center to “take on the unexpected” issues of the day, such as Sochi workers, African violence
- The Center for Civil and Human Rights is slated to open in May next to Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park. Credit: Center for Civil and Human Rights Metro Atlanta hasn’t paid much attention to two global cases of alleged human rights violations, and yet they are good examples of the flexibility Atlanta’s National Center for Civil and Human Rights intends to bring to the raising of public awareness. Allegations of abuse of construction workers preparing for the Sochi Winter Olympic Games have ...more