(APN) ATLANTA — On Monday, August 10, 2015, the Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education (APS BOE) voted to hire Gov. Nathan Deal’s soon-to-depart policy advisor, Erin Hames, as a consultant to help prevent a state takeover of schools in the district, a likelihood presented by the legislation of which Hames herself was an architect. In crafting legislation that […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — Two groups involved in a recent pro-Confederate flag rally appear to have threateningly targeted counter-demonstrators online. The counter protesters included Aurielle Marie Lucier, Tommy DiMassimo, Ariella Riapos, and Lucas Javier Valderranna. Their activities were recorded by photographer Steve Eberhardt. The groups had posted on their Facebook pages the names, background information, and contact information of […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — Following three months of senior-led activism and a court order, the air conditioning is finally repaired and working at Friendship Towers, a senior high-rise subsidized by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Atlanta Progressive News previously reported that fed-up tenants took their complaints to HUD after the building manager, Glass Ratner, and the […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) is now pushing for a package of rail line expansions, including the north line, the east line, and a new Clifton Corridor line, that would cost an estimated eight billion dollars and that would be funded in part by a half penny sales tax in Fulton, DeKalb, and Clayton Counties. […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — MARTA commuters will now have easy access to fresh, farm-grown produce; the public transit authority has opened a weekly “pop-up produce market” at the West End station. The Fresh MARTA Market is open every Friday from 2pm until 6pm through October 2015. The grand opening was held on Friday, July 17, 2015. MARTA conducted a […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — After DeKalb police officer Robert Olsen killed Anthony Hill, a young Black man suffering a mental health crisis, Atlanta Progressive News traveled to San Antonio, Texas, to report on a program that has changed how police deal with mentally ill people in that city. http://atlantaprogressivenews.com/2015/03/23/feature-in-san-antonio-anthony-hill-wouldve-been-helped-not-shot/ In this follow-up, we look at how the criminal justice, […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — The Chief Judge of Atlanta’s Municipal Court had a surprise waiting for him when he arrived at work on July 09, 2015. It was a nine foot-tall summons. Members of Southerners On New Ground (SONG) were at the courthouse that morning with the oversized summons to greet Judge Christopher Ward and charge him with “failure to […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — Marie Metze and Mereda Johnson emerged victorious in the Tuesday July 14, 2015 Special Election, while J. Max Davis and Taylor Bennett are going into a Run-off Election. In the race for DeKalb Commissioner District 5, Mereda Johnson beat George Turner with 53 percent of the vote. Johnson will assume a seat representing south DeKalb […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — The Georgia Attorney General’s office has opined that the officers of Atlanta Neighborhood Planning Unit R violated a city ordinance when they banned two outspoken members from participating in public meetings. In May 2015, Ben Howard, 82, a well-known senior advocate, and Ron Shakir, an activist who has run for City Council, were expelled from the […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — While there is no end in sight to the Beltline-Atlanta Public Schools (APS) dispute, the Atlanta City Council has set aside four million dollars for a possible eventual settlement. The Council could have made an outright good faith payment, but decided to put it in a contingency fund, pending a settlement agreement. The problem is, […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — Over sixty residents from the neighborhoods surrounding Turner Field delivered a letter to Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed on July 07, 2015, asking him to publicly commit to making sure the area’s redevelopment is community-driven, not developer-driven. “We are more than developers’ current neighbors and future victims,” Sohna Harzeez, a resident of the Pittsburgh neighborhood and member […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — Suspended DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis was found guilty of attempted extortion and three counts of perjury on July 01, 2015. Ellis was acquitted of five other counts, including three counts of attempted extortion, one count of extortion, and one count of bribery. The charges involved several county vendors who testified that Ellis had threatened to […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — For over one month, Gammon Street, a public road in South Atlanta, has been closed off under questionable legal and political circumstances. The closure appears to have been prompted by the complaints of White residents, who do not care for Carver High School students traversing through their neighborhoods. One woman, Kristi Wood, has led a […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — In a surprising turn of events, the Atlanta City Council voted down Mayor Kasim Reed’s nomination of disgraced former Councilman Lamar Willis (Post 3-at-large) to the Fulton County/City of Atlanta Land Bank Authority. Willis lost his City Council seat to Andre Dickens in 2013 after serving for twelve years, during which time he committed numerous ethics […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — Disgraced former Atlanta City Councilman Lamar Willis (Post 3-at-large) could soon assume a public leadership position once again. Mayor Kasim Reed recently appointed Willis to serve on the Atlanta Land Bank Authority, which acquires tax-foreclosed properties to turn over to developers or keep for long-term planning. The appointment must be approved by City Council before […]
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