With additional reporting by Matthew Cardinale. (APN) ATLANTA — Once again, this year’s General Assembly was a tremendous disappointment across a wide range of issues concerning working families. As previously reported by Atlanta Progressive News, the Assembly failed to pass a transportation funding bill, all the while giving Gov. Sonny Perdue the transportation governance overhaul he wanted and leaving MARTA […]
Read moreThe Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision today denying more appeals for Georgia death row inmate Troy Anthony Davis. In 1991, a Savannah jury convicted Davis of the 1989 murder of Savannah police officer Mark Allen MacPhail. Since the original trial, seven of nine witnesses the prosecution used have either changed their testimony or recanted in sworn affidavits. […]
Read more(APN) ATLANTA — Several dozen Atlantans gathered at the First Iconium Baptist Church in East Atlanta Saturday, April 04, 2009, to hear expert testimony on and ask questions about home foreclosures and predatory lending. Organizers, which included the Georgia Rural Urban Summit (GRUS), the Metro Atlanta Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), the Atlanta-North Georgia Labor Council, and 28 other organizations, […]
Read moreThe Atlanta Transit Riders Union just sent APN the following statement on the MARTA crisis. Layoffs, budget cuts, and foreclosures are all signs of a deepening economic crisis that is affecting every sector of our society. While trillions of dollars are spent on wars and to bail out Wall Street and the banks, very little of that money is getting […]
Read moreThis is simply unacceptable. How long before the Obama administration and Congress put this issue on their priority lists? From The New York Times: After decades of steady progress, the safety of the nation’s food supply is no longer improving. And in the case of salmonella — the dangerous bacteria recently found in peanuts and pistachios — infections may be creeping upward, […]
Read moreVice President Joe Biden announced Thursday the release $2 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds for child care and disease prevention. This money will help health and human services programs targeted to children. “Parents are worried about finding a job or keeping the job they have and they shouldn’t have to worry about affording quality child care,” […]
Read moreThe General Services Administration (GSA) announced today that it will use American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds to purchase 17,600 new vehicles for the federal government. The vehicles will be fuel efficient hybrids, each produced by one of the American auto makers: General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. “As a part of our commitment to the American auto industry, I […]
Read moreA committee of the Atlanta Regional Commission recommended today that the Commission send $25 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment (ARRA) money, currently earmarked for long-term transit projects in Atlanta, to MARTA to help the Authority make up a $24 million gap in its operating budget, according to a report in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Georgia General Assembly this year […]
Read moreThe Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs announced today they are creating a joint electronic medical system in order for the two departments to share veterans’ medical information, according to a report from CNETNews.com. Read President Obama’s full remarks about the venture. From CNET: The Joint Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record project will track soldiers’ lifelong medical histories […]
Read more(APN) ATLANTA — State and local lawmakers joined with activist groups Wednesday, April 08, 2009, in urging Gov. Sonny Perdue to call a special session of the Georgia General Assembly to deal with transportation funding issues. “Come September, it’s going to be a regional walk to work day,” Benita West, President of Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 732, said Wednesday during […]
Read moreThe Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported this afternoon that Atlanta City Councilman Ceasar Mitchell has decided not to run for mayor and is instead running for Atlanta City Council president. Mitchell filed the proper forms Tuesday. From the AJC: Mitchell said in a telephone interview he changed course after a recent reexamination of his background, experience and desire for public service. “Given where we […]
Read moreVermont became the second state in one week to legalize same-sex marriage after its Legislature voted to override Gov. Jim Douglas’s veto of a bill allowing same-sex couples to wed. Nine years ago, Vermont became the first state to allow civil unions. Now it is the fourth U.S. state to allow same-sex marriage, along with Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Iowa. (Not counting […]
Read moreThe Georgia General Assembly just wrapped up its 40 day 2009 session on Friday but the MARTA Board of Directors on Monday asked Gov. Sonny Perdue, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, and Speaker of the House Glenn Richardson (R-Hiram) to bring lawmakers back for a special session. Why a special session? Because state lawmakers once again failed to pass any legislation […]
Read more(APN) ATLANTA — A bill, SB 13, passed the Georgia Assembly this year which will allow district attorneys to seek life without parole for individuals convicted of murder, without first having to ask for the death penalty in order to obtain such a ruling. Advocates believe the bill will reduce the number of death penalty sentences sought in Georgia. “Sometimes […]
Read moreOn the final day of the 2009 session of the Georgia General Assembly, lawmakers in both chambers have agreed on a compromise on an $18.6 billion budget for 2010. The budget uses federal stimulus dollars to fill gaps in the state Medicaid program and avoids new health insurance premium increases for 225,000 teachers and state employees, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. […]
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