(APN) ATLANTA — In a December 15, 2011, ruling, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Cynthia Wright put the City of Atlanta on notice that there are problems with the City’s procurement code which make it impossible for bidders who lose contracts at the airport, or anywhere else, to appeal in a timely fashion. Travelex Currency Services, a UK-based company which […]
Read more(APN) ATLANTA — At the Wednesday, December 14, 2011, meeting of the Transportation Committee of the City Council of Atlanta, Councilwoman Felicia Moore (District 9) took issue with yet even more secretive information related to the new concessions contracts for the Atlanta Hartsfield- Jackson International Airport: this time related to the scores assigned to each bidder by the City […]
Read more(APN) ATLANTA — A number of high-profile campaign contributors to Mayor Kasim Reed have received airport contracts, raising concerns about possible pay-to-play, even while Reed’s Administration guards all aspects of the bidding process with great secrecy. At stake is who will benefit from tens of millions of dollars in revenue from one of the nation’s busiest airports. Over 250,000 […]
Read more(APN) ATLANTA — Joe Beasley, a veteran activist of the Civil Rights Movement, is organizing an effort to recall Mayor Kasim Reed, after several heated exchanges yesterday between Reed and the Occupy Atlanta Movement. Since declaring his intent yesterday, Beasley told Atlanta Progressive News, “There’s interest, put it that way.” “We expressed our intention to recall, and I’ve got […]
Read more(APN) ATLANTA — Attorney General Sam Olens and the Georgia First Amendment Foundation have filed amicus briefs in the case, S11G1047, currently before the Supreme Court of Georgia, and brought by the News Editor of Atlanta Progressive News–the present writer–against the City of Atlanta, regarding the City Council’s secret vote of February 2010. Oral arguments will be held in the […]
Read more(APN) ATLANTA — Senior Assistant City Attorney Kristen Denius defended two closed-door meetings involving the Atlanta Police Department LGBT Advisory Board, Mayor Reed and his staff, and APD, in a memo prepared for Glen Paul Freedman, Chair of the Board, dated Monday, August 22, 2011. In this memo, Denius advised Freedman, in the opinion of the City of Atlanta […]
Read more(APN) ATLANTA — The City of Atlanta Law Department has requested that Atlanta Progressive News return four memoranda to their offices, after APN obtained the controversial memos and published their contents earlier this week. One memo, dated April 04, 2011, authored by Kristen Denius, Assistant City Attorney, and sent to all Council Members and Council staff, admits that Council Members […]
Read more(APN) ATLANTA — The City Council of Atlanta is considering a written reprimand for Municipal Clerk Rhonda Dauphin Johnson for misuse of City property; however, the reprimand inexplicably fails to address a number of findings involving Johnson, Atlanta Progressive News has learned. Because there were only eight Council Members at Monday’s Full Council meeting, on July 18, 2011, making […]
Read more(APN) ATLANTA — Today the City Council of Atlanta is likely to consider the nomination of Jo Ann Macrina as Commissioner of the Department of Watershed Management. After being nominated by Mayor Kasim Reed in April 2011, she is already serving as Interim Commissioner. She previously worked as Deputy Director of the Watershed Protection Division for DeKalb County’s Department […]
Read more(APN) ATLANTA — A fourth member of the Ethics Commission of the Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education, David Dorsey, has resigned, Atlanta Progressive News has learned. In Dorsey’s letter of resignation, he writes that APS BOE Chairman Khaatim El appears to be guilty of violating Board policies, but that Dorsey would rather resign than find him guilty because he […]
Read more(APN) ATLANTA — Three members of the Ethics Commission for the Atlanta Public School Board of Education have resigned, Atlanta Progressive News has learned, causing pending investigations and hearings to come to a screeching halt. Two of the Members, Julia Neighbors and Karen Woodward, were among the three who recently voted that Courtney English had deceived the public [technically, they […]
Read more(APN) ATLANTA — The Ethics Commission of the Atlanta Public School Board voted 4-3 against a final determination that APS Board of Education Member Courtney English failed to communicate honestly and openly with stakeholders, during a six hour hearing that began at 7pm, Wednesday, March 30, 2011, and did not end until almost 1am. The three voting no, or that, […]
Read more(APN) ATLANTA — On Friday, March 18, 2011, a group of Atlanta Public Schools parents called Step Up or Step Down–which was formed after AdvancED/SACS CASI put APS on probation in January 2011–called upon Board of Education Chairman Khaatim El to step down as Chair. Among their concerns are recent revelations that El flipped Board Member Lachandra Butler-Burks the […]
Read more(APN) ATLANTA — The Ethics Commission of the Atlanta Public Schools voted in a meeting today, Wednesday, March 16, 2011, to open three investigations into complaints against Board of Education Members Courtney English, Yolanda Johnson, and Nancy Meister. The complaints were filed by Janet Kishbaugh, an Atlanta parent. While the details of each are slightly different, the general nature of […]
Read moreAPS Ethics Panel: Evidence Mr. English Not Truthful By Matthew Cardinale (APN) ATLANTA — The Ethics Commission of Atlanta Public Schools announced its initial findings in the ethics case involving Atlanta Board of Education Member Courtney English’s deceptive statements to the public, according to a copy to Mr. English dated March 01, 2011, obtained by Atlanta Progressive News. “The […]
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