Monthly Archives: June 2014

AJC Politifact Attempts to Spin Away Centrist Voting Records

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(APN) ATLANTA — The Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper’s Politifact section, which features a purported “Truth-o-meter,” has in recent months, functioned more as a “Spin-o-meter” when it comes to candidates’ voting records.       In two specific “rulings,” Politifact has attempted to cast doubt on progressive Democratic candidates’ claims that their centrist opponents–specifically, former State Rep. Elena Parent (D-Chamblee) and former State […]

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Plan to Cut Public Defenders Could Leave Hundreds without Lawyers

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(APN) ATLANTA — At least 1,850 indigent, or low-income, defendants in Fulton and DeKalb Counties could be without legal representation at the end of July if a plan to purge an Atlanta public defender’s office moves forward. Mack Crawford, director of the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council (GPDSC), a statewide organization that provides oversight and financing for indigent defense, announced […]

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Virginia “Ginny” Looney, 1952-2014, ¡Presente!

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(APN) ATLANTA — Virginia “Ginny” Lucile Looney, the first ethics officer for the City of Atlanta, and passionate advocate for transparency in government, passed away Wednesday, June 25, 2014, at the age of 61 after a five-year battle with ovarian cancer. Looney was born September 11, 1952 and grew up in Huntsville, Alabama.  She received her bachelor’s degree in Southern […]

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Hunger Strike at Stewart Detention Ends in Pepper Spray, Lock Down

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(APN) ATLANTA — Hundreds of Inmates at Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia staged a hunger strike because of deplorable conditions at the Center.   It began last week when inmates refused to eat spoiled food with maggots in the beans and instead threw the food away. “They were locked up and pepper sprayed because of the hunger strike, that’s why […]

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Settlement Amounts Add Up in Gov. Deal Whistleblower Lawsuits

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(APN) ATLANTA — The latest reports on the whistleblower suits against Gov. Nathan Deal have him in full-blown denial and even attempting to revise whistleblowers laws, presumably to keep the embarrassment of getting busted from happening again.  Critics are none too pleased.   As previously reported by Atlanta Progressive News, in April 2014, whistleblower Stacey Kalbermann, former Executive Secretary of […]

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National Civil and Human Rights Museum Opens in Atlanta

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(APN) ATLANTA — Earlier this week, Atlanta’s new National Civil and Human Rights Museum opened to the public.  The museum is located at 100 Ivan Allen Jr., Boulevard, between the World of Coca-Cola museum and the Georgia Aquarium.  The land was donated by Coca-Cola.  The museum cost 80 million dollars to build, relying to a great extent on corporate donors. […]

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Hearing on Dispossessory Scheduled in Homeless Task Force Lawsuit

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(APN) ATLANTA — In yet another abrupt about-face from Fulton County Superior Court Judge Craig Schwall, the judge has ordered a July 11, 2014 hearing to reconsider whether to grant leave for Premium Funding Solutions (PFS) to seek a dispossessory, or eviction, of the Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless, from the shelter they operate in downtown Atlanta, according […]

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Pink Pony, Brookhaven Argue before Georgia Supreme Court

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(APN) ATLANTA — On June 02, 2014, the Supreme Court of Georgia heard oral arguments in the case of the City of Brookhaven v. Trop. Inc. doing business as The Pink Pony, on whether the Pink Pony Adult Club could continue regular business, in light of an ordinance passed just one month after the inception of the City of Brookhaven, […]

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Proposed new EPA Clean Power Plan Rule Could Impact Georgia’s Mix

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(APN) ATLANTA — The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan Draft Rule released earlier this month, on June 02, 2014, could have major implications in Georgia’s energy portfolio.   Environmental and public interest groups across the state are gearing up for an Atlanta hearing on the rule July 29, one of only four to take place across the U.S. […]

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Atlanta Passes Urban Agriculture Zoning Ordinance

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(APN) ATLANTA — With this month’s passage of ordinance 14-O-1092, Atlanta’s going to start looking a whole lot greener: the new urban agriculture ruling amends current zoning codes, allowing for the growth of market and urban gardens in the city.   The ordinance passed in a unanimous vote by the Atlanta City Council on June 02, in a vote of […]

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Suspension Recommended in John Woodham State Bar Case

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By Meghan Simons, Special to The Atlanta Progressive News (APN) ATLANTA — Two recommendations–one for a suspension of three months and one for a suspension of six months–have been issued in the disciplinary proceedings against prominent Atlanta attorney John Woodham, for his improper actions while intervening in a bond case, as the case continues to near a resolution.     […]

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Judge Recommends Rep. Tyrone Brooks’s Indictment Should Stand

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(APN) ATLANTA — United States Magistrate Judge E. Clayton Scofield III has recommended that the motion by State Rep. Tyrone Brooks (D-Atlanta) to dismiss his indictment, in the case of USA v. Brooks, should be denied, according to documents obtained by Atlanta Progressive News.     Brooks was indicted for the misuse of charitable funds in May 2013; Atlanta Progressive […]

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Savannah River Site Becoming World’s Nuclear Dumping Ground, despite Safety Risks

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(APN) ATLANTA — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is close to finalizing plans to accept highly radioactive commercial spent nuclear fuel from Germany to be deposited at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina, according to news reports that were buried deeper than the plutonium itself.     However, it is not only Germany that is sending, or […]

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Rally Held for Baby Injured by Police Grenade during No-knock Home Invasion

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By Betty Couvertier and Matthew Charles Cardinale. (APN) HABERSHAM COUNTY — On today, Saturday, June 06, 2014, activists from across Georgia converged on Habersham County to rally for an end to the drug war, whose latest victim is a baby, Bounkham “Bou Bou” Phonesavanh.   Baby Bou Bou was injured by a flash bang grenade, a military-grade weapon, that police […]

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Atlanta Council Votes to Allow ADA to Sell Civic Center

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With additional reporting by Matthew Charles Cardinale, News Editor.   (APN) ATLANTA — At the June 02, 2014 Full Council Meeting of the City Council of Atlanta, a majority of Councilmembers approved legislation granting the Atlanta Development Authority (nicknamed “Invest Atlanta”) the option to put out a request for proposals (RFP) for the sale of Atlanta’s Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic […]

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