Atlanta Progressive News

(APN) ATLANTA — Over 400 people gathered Saturday, May 24, 2008, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of The Great Speckled Bird, Atlanta’s famous underground newspaper that took on Atlanta’s elite and the US power structure from 1968 to 1976. The event also highlighted the importance of independent media in today’s society. Proceeds from the event went to Atlanta Progressive News […]

With additional reporting by Matthew Cardinale. (APN) ATLANTA — US Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) won the Kentucky Primary by a wide margin on Tuesday, May 20, 2008, while US Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) won big in Oregon. Obama’s Campaign is celebrating that it now has a majority of total possible pledged delegates with more than 1,627 out of a possible […]

(APN) ATLANTA — The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) held a rally Saturday, May 17, 2008, at the State Capitol demanding justice for a Georgia man sitting on death row they say is innocent. Troy Anthony Davis has been on death row since 1991 after a Savannah jury convicted him of […]

(APN) ATLANTA — The Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority (FDHA) officially transferred operations of the Grady Health System to the new 501(c)(3), the Grady Memorial Hospital Corporation (GMHC), on Monday, May 19, 2008. The lease will commence on May 20, 2008, and all Grady employees will transfer under the control of the GMHC with their current jobs and salaries and the GMHC […]

By Bob Goodman, Special to The Atlanta Progressive News (APN) ATLANTA — Former staff members, sellers, readers, and supporters of The Great Speckled Bird newspaper, Atlanta’s radical, freaky, underground paper of the 1960’s and 70’s, will gather Saturday, May 24, 2008, for a 40th anniversary celebration. The “BirdBlast,” which is open to the public, will be from 2 to 10 […]

(APN) ATLANTA — The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) responded to the city-wide Resident Advisory Board for public housing residents, in a May 13, 2008, letter obtained exclusively by Atlanta Progressive News, acknowledging residents’ concerns and promising to analyze the issues raised both by residents as well as by APN. “Thank you for your letter of April […]

With additional reporting by Matthew Cardinale. (APN) ATLANTA — US Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) won Indiana, while US Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) won North Carolina on Tuesday, May 6, 2008. Then, Clinton also won West Virginia the following week, on Tuesday, May 13. INDIANA AND NORTH CAROLINA The Indiana and North Carolina results did not deliver the knockout punch or […]

(APN) ATLANTA — An Atlanta realtor coordinating the effort to find replacement housing for some 2,000 families in public housing communities about to be evicted by Atlanta Housing Authority sent a message to realtors stating AHA only has 700 voucher-leasing units identified for some 2,000 families. An Atlanta Progressive News undercover operative contacted the realtor, Vivian Lyons, to confirm the […]

(APN) ATLANTA — In a rare admission of intent, a real estate investor in the Beltline area, James Orr, wrote on his blog about how realtors should invest in rental properties in the area, accept vouchers for displaced public housing residents, and then raise rents as property values skyrocket around the Beltline. The blog post is currently available on Orr’s […]

(APN) ATLANTA — The Chairman of the Grady Memorial Hospital Corporation (GMHC), A.D. “Pete” Correll, announced Monday, May 5, 2008, a new target date for the commencement of the lease and transfer agreement between the nonprofit and the Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority (FDHA). Correll expects the lease and transfer to commence on May 20, 2008, at which point the GMHC would […]

(APN) ATLANTA — Hollywood Courts residents held a meeting in chairs outside of their community center this evening, because Atlanta Housing Authority has locked them out of their center and refused to let them hold their meeting inside, according to Diane Wright, President of Hollywood Courts resident association and the city-wide Resident Advisory Board (RAB). The resident association approved a […]

(APN) ATLANTA — The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and ACLU of Georgia filed a class action lawsuit March 11, 2008, against the Atlanta Independent School System (AISS), Community Education Partners, Inc. (CEP), the Atlanta Board of Education, and Atlanta Schools Superintendent Beverly Hall for violating students’ rights to an adequate public education and their right to be free from […]

(APN) ATLANTA — US Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) introduced two bills in the US House on April 17, 2008, that address federal penalties for possession of marijuana and the use of medical marijuana, respectively. HR 5843, cosponsored by Reps. Ron Paul (R-TX) and William Lacy Clay (D-MO), would eliminate all federal penalties, including arrest, jail time, and civil fines, prohibiting […]

(APN) ATLANTA — Resident leaders at Palmer House senior highrise and the citywide Resident Advisory Board for public housing have sent emails, letters, and resolutions to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development requesting a delay in their consideration of demolition applications currently under review, until residents and association leaders have a chance to review the demolition applications, Atlanta […]