Gov. Nathan Deal | Atlanta Progressive News

Category Archives: Gov. Nathan Deal

Citizens Denounce APS Turnaround Strategy that Favors Developers, Private Interests

February 9, 2016 ANNA SIMONTON 7 comments

(APN) ATLANTA — Teachers, students, parents, and community members packed the Atlanta Public School Board of Education (APS BOE) meeting on Monday, February 01, 2016 to voice opposition to Superintendent Meria Carstarphen’s recently announced school turnaround strategy. The strategy aims to improve schools that Gov. Nathan Deal has deemed “failing,” so that they would not be subject to state […]

Bipartisan Cooperation on Health Care in Georgia, but not Medicaid Expansion

February 2, 2016 APN NEWS One comment

(APN) ATLANTA — Medicaid expansion may be dead for the year, but there appears to be bipartisan cooperation on other health policy issues. “One of the biggest concerns I have is our rural hospitals…. I have personally seen what happened when some of my friends in Dooly County, when their hospital closed. I had friends who worked there, doctors, […]

Advocates Disappointed as Gov. Deal Objects to Syrian Refugees; Food Stamp Denials Draw Federal Attention

December 3, 2015 APN NEWS One comment

(APN) ATLANTA — Thirty-one U.S. governors are refusing to cooperate in resettlement programs for Syrian refugees, most citing the coordinated attacks in Paris on November 13, 2015, as a pretext for security concerns around this refugee population. Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal issued an executive order on November 16, 2015 instructing “all agencies of the State of Georgia halt any […]

Sen. Fort Announces Ethics Bill in Response to APS Erin Hames Contract

November 4, 2015 ANNA SIMONTON One comment

(APN) ATLANTA — Georgia State Senator Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta) has announced new legislation to prevent unethical arrangements like Erin Hames’s recent deal with Atlanta Public Schools. As Atlanta Progressive News previously reported, Hames was Gov. Nathan Deal’s education policy advisor until she left her post to work as a consultant for schools that face the possibility of state takeover […]

ANALYSIS: APS Board Chair Opposes OSD, albeit with Forked Tongue

September 11, 2015 ANNA SIMONTON One comment

(APN) ATLANTA — On August 28, 2014 Georgia Stand Up hosted an education town hall attended by some members of the Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education, including Leslie Grant (District 1), Byron Amos (District 2), Matt Westmoreland (District 3), and Chairman Courtney English (Seat 7-at-large). The public pressed Board Members to take a clear stance on Gov. Nathan […]

NAACP Marches Through Atlanta on 860 Mile Journey to D.C.

August 18, 2015 APN NEWS Leave a comment

(APN) ATLANTA — The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s “America’s Journey for Justice” mass meeting garnered nearly two hundred attendees on Friday, August 14, 2015 at the King Center. Atlanta marked mile 234 of a planned 860-mile march from Selma, Alabama, to Washington, D.C. The catchphrase “Our Lives, Our Votes, Our Jobs, and Our Schools […]

APS Board Prepares for OSD, Declines to Oppose State Takeovers

August 11, 2015 ANNA SIMONTON Leave a comment

(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 […]

DeKalb Interim CEO May Steps Down from District Seat (UPDATE 1)

May 16, 2015 BARBARA PAYNE One comment

(APN) ATLANTA — DeKalb County Government is once again under regional scrutiny as the acting CEO and District 5 Commissioner Lee May stepped down to allow for a special election to fill the District 5 seat. Lee became the Interim CEO for DeKalb on July 16, 2013, appointed by Gov. Nathan Deal. May was District 5 Commissioner when appointed […]

Georgia Transportation Bill Ignores Public Transit

April 11, 2015 ANNA SIMONTON 2 comments

(APN) ATLANTA — Gov. Nathan Deal is expected to sign an historic transportation spending bill, HB 170, that lawmakers approved toward the end of the 2015 legislative session. This bill has come a long way from the original version, which would have sharply reduced revenues for local governments in order to boost funding for the Georgia Department of Transportation […]

APN Legislative Wrap-Up: Georgia General Assembly 2015

April 9, 2015 GLORIA TATUM 2 comments

With additional reporting by Anna Simonton and Matthew Charles Cardinale. Photograph by Steve Eberhardt. (APN) ATLANTA — The Georgia General Assembly wrapped up the 2015 legislative session on Thursday, April 02, 2015. There were a few progressive highlights in the majority-Republican Legislature, including a solar power lease agreement bill; a limited medical cannabis bill; and more flexibility for MARTA […]

Georgia Legislature Approves Solar Power Financing Bill

April 2, 2015 GLORIA TATUM One comment

(APN) ATLANTA — The Solar Power Free Market Financing Act of 2015, HB 57, was passed by the House by a vote of 165 yeas and 0 nay on February 09, 2015. It passed the Senate by a vote of 51 yeas and 0 nays on March 27, 2015. It now waits Gov. Nathan Deal’s signature. The bill was […]

Medical Cannabis Oil Bill Headed to Gov. Deal’s Desk

April 1, 2015 GLORIA TATUM 8 comments

(APN) ATLANTA — On Tuesday, March 24, 2015 the Georgia Senate passed HB 1, Haleigh’s Hope Act, by a vote of 48 to 6. On Wednesday, March 25, the Georgia House passed HB 1 by a vote of 160 to 1. Gov. Nathan Deal signed an executive order on Friday, March 27, directing state agencies to begin preparing for […]

Georgia School Takeover Plan Passes despite Protests

March 28, 2015 ANNA SIMONTON Leave a comment

With additional reporting Allie McCullen, Special to Atlanta Progressive News (APN) ATLANTA — In 2016, Georgia voters will be asked whether to amend the state constitution “to allow the state to intervene in chronically failing public schools in order to improve student performance.” That’s the ballot language codified by SR 287, one of two pieces of legislation that […]

Teachers, Parents Challenge Deal’s School Takeover Plan Ahead of House Committee Vote

March 22, 2015 ANNA SIMONTON 3 comments

(APN) ATLANTA — The House Education Committee will soon decide whether to advance Gov. Nathan Deal’s controversial proposal to allow the state to take over and privatize struggling schools. At a hearing on Wednesday March 18, 2015, State Representatives and members of the public expressed both deep concern and some enthusiasm over the proposal, which, as Atlanta Progressive News […]

State Senate Committee Passes Improved Cannabis Oil Legislation

March 21, 2015 GLORIA TATUM 28 comments

(APN) ATLANTA — The Georgia Senate Health and Human Services Committee, after over four hours of testimony, finally passed an amended Senate version, similar to HB 1, with bipartisan support. The bill provides immunity from prosecution in the State of Georgia for patients who use cannabis oil, up to five percent THC in the oil, who received a doctor’s […]

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