Saturday, May 19, 2012
Online and telephone Q&A forums are coming for people to ask about the Regional Transportation Referendum.
Elected officials in each of the 10 Atlanta-area counties will be holding free "wireside chats" in June to answer citizens' questions on the upcoming TSPLOST vote. City of Atlanta Councilmember Lamar Willis hold a session on June 4 at 6:15 p.m. DeKalb County CEO Ellis and Decatur Mayor Floyd will hold a session on June 13 at 7:30 p.m. Citizens can access the session by calling 404-463-3227 or by visiting www.wiresidechats.com. Each chat will last for one hour and will focus on projects in the local officials’ areas. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions directly of their local officials. If a question is not answered during the call, the caller will receive a response via email. On July 31, residents across the 10-county …
Friday, May 18, 2012
How do you think the city should address issues with PARKAtlanta?
As was reported by numerous news outlets and much to the dismay of countless residents and visitors, the City of Atlanta is considering extending parking enforcement hours at meters around the city. Some of these would include 24-hour zones. At a recent meeting with the Poncey-Highland Neighborhood Association, City Councilmember Kwanza Hall said he “thinks that makes no sense.” Extending parking hours would be done in an effort to recoup approximately $4 million that the City will not receive as a result of an arbitrator’s ruling that PARKatlanta does not need to pay the City almost three-quarters of what it originally was contracted to pay. This came about after the City Council last year restricted the Milwaukee-based company’s …
Friday, May 11, 2012
To be fully compliant with the Federal Real ID Act of 2005, the State of Georgia is implementing new requirements when renewing or applying for a driver's license.
Beginning July 1, 2012, the Georgia Department of Driver Services will require additional documentation when applying for or renewing your driver's license or applying for an ID card. It's all part of a national security plan to improve the security of Georgia's DL and ID cards and to be fully compliant with the Federal Real ID Act of 2005. "We all had to go through this process when we first applied for a driver's license," said Susan Sports, communications director for the DDS. Providing the required documents will only be necessary this one time she said. The only visible difference from the current DL/ID is that a gold star will be printed on the top right corner of the Secure DL and IDs. The new licensing process also is aimed at …
Thursday, May 10, 2012
A YouTube Video posted by Democrats from the House Ways and Means Committee captures part of the exchange.
- GOVERNMENT
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Thursday, May 10
A YouTube video shows part of an exchange between Georgia's 10th District U.S. Rep. Paul Broun and 5th District Rep. John Lewis. Lewis confronts Broun over an amendment Broun proposed that would would eliminate funding for Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which requires federal oversight of voting laws in Georgia and several other states. Broun -- who under new District 10 boundaries will represent much of Northeast Georgia, including most of Athens-Clarke County; all of Oconee, Walton and Barrow; and part of Gwinnett -- is shown withdrawing the amendment after Lewis' remarks. Should the state of Georgia still be subject to the Voting Rights Act? Tell us in the comments. Come join the rest of the VaHi-Druid Hills Patch fans on Facebook…
President Obama and Rep. John Lewis both come out in favor of what remains a controversial issue.
President Barack Obama made history Wednesday, becoming the first sitting U.S. president to openly support same-sex marriage. Rep. John Lewis, whose district includes portions of VaHi Patch, issued a statement saying he supports it as well: “In President Obama's interview with Robin Roberts, he described the kind of steps many Americans have taken on the issue of same sex marriage. Once people begin to see the similarities between themselves and others, instead of focusing on differences, they come to recognize that equality is essentially a matter of human rights and human dignity. The President's growth reflects the growth of many Americans on this issue. I am glad to see more Americans, including President Obama, empathize with the …
Friday, April 27, 2012
Lounge expected to open early May
A Fulton County Superior Court Judge ruled earlier this month that a business off Cheshire Bridge Road was wrongfully denied a liquor license. The ruling overturns the decision by Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed in February to deny a liquor license to Ink Lounge, a bar connected with a luxury tattoo and hair salon. “All of the evidence showed that it was undisputed that we had met the requirements,” Logan Winkles, the lawyer for the owners of Ink Lounge, told Patch. Winkles said city officials are required to sign off on an application that meets all the requirements, despite any other factors in play. Ink Lounge is a sister company of Inkaholiks Luxury Tattoos LLC, which includes a luxury tattoo parlor and hair salon. All three businesses …
Thursday, April 26, 2012
The city of Atlanta had a March unemployment rate of 10.8 percent, which is down from 11.3 percent in February and 11.8 percent a year ago. The current national jobless rate is 8.2 percent.
The Georgia Department of Labor announced Thursday that the preliminary unemployment rate in metro Atlanta declined to 8.7 percent in March, down three-tenths of a percentage point from a revised 9 percent in February. The jobless rate in metro Atlanta in March 2011 was 9.6 percent. The rate decreased because there were fewer layoffs in construction, manufacturing, trade and administrative and support services according to the state labor department. Among the core metro counties, Gwinnett had the lowest jobless rate at 7.8 percent last month, followed by Cobb (8.1 percent), DeKalb (9.1 percent), Fulton (9.4 percent) and Clayton (10.7 percent). The city of Atlanta had a March unemployment rate of 10.8 percent, which is down from 11.3 …
Town Hall at Emory spurs discussion about proposed light rail projects
DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis and Decatur Mayor Bill Floyd were among the participants in a town hall meeting Wednesday night at Emory to discuss the penny sales tax up for vote this summer. Voters in 10 Georgia counties including Fulton and Dekalb will decide in July whether to support regional transportation tax that would help pay for transportation projects around the metro area. Most of the projects would alleviate terrible traffic issues city-wide and bring more transportation options to areas that are lacking useful public transit. "We have the opportunity to do something about it," Ellis said about traffic in metro Atlanta. "It impacts us in so many ways." The Clifton Corridor project — a 10-stop light rail line that would …
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Join the Georgia Department of Labor for tips on how to write the perfect resume.
- GOVERNMENT
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Wednesday, April 25
Job seekers - The Georgia Department of Labor experts offer resume writing advice. You can view replays of previous live discussions on topics including surviving a layoff, career advice for young people and succeeding at job interviews.
A panel of local officials will discuss how the July 31 vote on the 1 percent regional sales tax for transportation projects will affect you.
Want to hear more local officials on how the regional July regional transportation referendum could affect you? You'll want to head to Emory University on Wednesday, April 25 then. They're hosting a discussion with a panel of local politicos regarding MARTA's $1.6 billion Clifton Corridor plan (formally adotped earlier this month) and Atlanta's transportation future. Among the speakers: DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis, Decatur Mayor Bill Floyd, MARTA CEO & General Manager Beverly Scott and Mike Alexander, chief of the Atlanta Regional Commission's research division. The discussion will be held at Glenn Memorial Church, 1660 North Decatur Rd., from 6:30pm - 8pm. The referendum for a 1 percent regional sales tax for transportation will be …
rick
8:41 am on Saturday, May 19, 2012
well aren't you special (in a short bus kind of way) more ›