Rethinking a crucial road
Moderated by Tom Sabulis
Brainstorming ways to relieve gridlock continues in the classroom and the conference room. Georgia Tech students are looking at ways to improve Northside Drive from I-20 to I-75, turning an eyesore into a grand boulevard for buses, bicycles and drivers looking to escape the Downtown Connector. A transportation official applauds the vision but points to the state’s own evolving and inclusive policies.
Commenting is open below Gerald Ross’ column.
By Michael Dobbins
You would think that a street that connects Cobb County to Atlantic Station, Georgia Tech, the Georgia World Congress Center, the Georgia Dome, the Atlanta University Center, West End and points south would get a little respect. But Northside Drive, the west frame of Atlanta’s downtown/Midtown core, is a ragtag, shabby and confusing street that fulfills neither its development potential nor adequately meets its transportation purpose. Though Despite the fact that it provides access to …
EDITORIAL: Vote “No” on Amendment One
We don’t oppose charter schools, but we do urge voters to say “No” to the proposed amendment to Georgia’s Constitution that would create a legal way for the state to circumvent local school boards to create and fund charter schools.
While we have some concerns about the implications to local decision-making when it comes to schools, the strongest argument against Amendment One is simply that the state can’t afford it.
Given that Georgia’s existing public schools are so pitifully underfunded, we find it unconscionable to ask voters to divert precious tax dollars to benefit a relative few.
So-called “austerity cuts” and other reductions have sliced away state support for K-12 education for a decade. Georgia Department of Education figures put the total funding formula shortfall at $5.7 billion.
Yet big numbers make for sterile statistics. What do years of state cuts in support look like? They meant 2 of 3 Georgia districts cut school days. In the 2011-2012 …
ANOTHER VIEW: Charter amendment gives options
By Nathan Deal
Georgia parents enjoy a multitude of choices when shopping for a pair of jeans, a car or a bag of potato chips.
And when it’s time to go off to college, their children can choose a campus that fits them best.
The diversity of options in the marketplace shows that competition and choices drive innovation and improvement. It demonstrates that one size does not, in fact, fit all.
We would abandon a grocery store that didn’t give us options, so why don’t we demand the same from the public education system?
All parents want their children to do better than they did, but that can’t happen if they don’t have access to high-performing public schools.
When they go to the polls this November, Georgia voters have a chance to assure that parents can choose what’s best for their family and child.
Too many school districts in Georgia offer nothing but mediocre or even failing schools. In those situations, parents deserve the chance to demand something new, but …
Continue reading ANOTHER VIEW: Charter amendment gives options »
Amendment Two
Moderated by Rick Badie
Many Georgia voters probably know about Amendment One, the high-profile ballot question which, if approved Nov. 6, gives the state the power to overrule local school boards and to approve and fund charter schools. But are you aware of Amendment Two, which asks us to give the state the option to execute long-term leases for government offices? Today, we explore the issue.
Long-term leases make sense for state
By Casey Cagle
On Nov. 6, Georgia citizens will consider how to vote for candidates from president of the United States down to city leaders. In the midst of all we hear about candidates, some Georgians may not be aware that they will find two constitutional amendments on the ballot. Amendment Two will allow the state to enter into multi-year leases and save taxpayers millions over the next 10 years.
When the public thinks about government spending, several big-ticket items, such as education, transportation and public health, come to mind. However, …
Eateries facing a plate of health care issues
Moderated by Rick Badie
Higher menu prices. Fewer work hours and jobs. Zero expansion and possible closings. This, writes a local franchiser, will be the potential impact in the restaurant industry of health mandates under the Affordable Care Act. But the co-founder of a workers’ advocacy group suggests that businesses can profit by taking care of personnel.
Repeal Obamacare
By Aziz Hashim
More than three years into our jobless “recovery,” 12.1 million Americans are still out of work. Nearly 23 million have stopped looking or can’t find full-time work.
The labor participation rate is 63.6 percent, the same level we saw in 1981. Employers are only adding slightly more jobs per month needed to keep pace with normal labor-force expansion.
So why did the unemployment rate go down below 8 percent last month? In large part, due to an increase in part-time work. While the drop in unemployment may seem completely positive, there is an underlying problem for small business …
Continue reading Eateries facing a plate of health care issues »
Why take MARTA private?
Moderated by Tom Sabulis
The MARTA privatization debate continues today. The president of the local union criticizes management and says that going private means sending public dollars overseas and contributing to sweatshop conditions. But a think-tank executive believes that competition will add jobs, fix absenteeism, cut losses and, ultimately, save metro Atlanta’s transit agency.
Commenting is open below Benita Dodd’s column.
By Curtis Howard
Some lucky billionaire is about to get an early Christmas present if the board of directors of MARTA follows through on proposed plans to privatize a public transit system that belongs to the taxpayers.
The billionaire might be from the French-based Veolia Transportation or the Scotland-based First Transit, so we know one thing for sure: The fares we pay will not be returned to help the economy of Atlanta. They will be shipped overseas while transit users get less service — especially night and weekend service — and see corners …
Sunday issue: Political appointments
A hiring practice that needs work
By the AJC Editorial Board
Some key appointments by Gov. Nathan Deal indicate he values loyalty over specific expertise. Making hires this way lessens Georgia’s chances of consistently gaining world-class talent to lead key agencies. Our troubled times demand a better approach.
Just because someone can do a job doesn’t necessarily make them the best person for the post. Discerning that difference is what great leaders and managers do.
Making great hires influences whether results are mediocre, off-the-charts stellar — or somewhere between — at both public- and private-sector organizations.
Which leads us to Gov. Nathan Deal and a number of appointments he’s made to important leadership positions.
We believe Deal’s hiring pattern thus far shows an over-reliance on personal familiarity and loyalty and an under-reliance on job-specific expertise. That should change. Georgia has worked too hard to claw out a prominent place in the …
Streetcar projects needs proper bike lanes
Moderated by Tom Sabulis
The Atlanta streetcar project is skimping on bike lanes in order to protect some metered parking spaces, writes a local bicycle activist. That makes riding bikes along a redeveloped Auburn Avenue a much more dangerous proposition, and a shortsighted one, too. The city says it’s a necessary compromise. It would like to nurture our growing cycling community — and plans to double the mileage of city bike lanes by 2016 — but it also recognizes that businesses will need at least some limited on-street parking.
Commenting is open below Tom Weyandt’s column.
By Rebecca Serna
Once completed, the Atlanta Streetcar project has the potential to transform downtown Atlanta and the Sweet Auburn neighborhoods. Projected to carry 2,500 riders a day, the streetcar project promises new life and new investment along Auburn and Edgewood avenues.
Just blocks away, the Beltline’s Eastside Trail is already booming. Even before the official opening last week, the …
Continue reading Streetcar projects needs proper bike lanes »
State leaders: Where’s the vision?
Moderated by Rick Badie
Vision matters when it comes to implementing the best policies and practices to serve the greater good. Today, a former Democratic state representative suggests current leaders lack the vision to return greatness to Georgia. The chairwoman of the Georgia Republican Party offers a counterpoint: The state, she writes, rests in capable hands.
State needs vision, not just care-taking
By Wyc Orr
Charles A. Reich’s 1970 book, “The Greening of America,” a paean to 1960s liberalism, never much took root in conservative Georgia. Yet the converse of its title describes Georgia government today: “The Browning of Georgia.”
“Browning” in the sense of fading growth. For decades there was a “greening” of Georgia, beginning with those same 1960s, precipitated by the progressive policies of governors Ernest Vandiver and Carl Sanders, Atlanta mayors William Hartsfield, Ivan Allen Jr. and Maynard Jackson, and continued under moderate, pro-growth …
Good time to start a business?
Moderated by Rick Badie
Your business plan is gathering dust. You feel like you’re ready, but a question lingers: Is now a good time to start a business? Data show more businesses are started during and after recessions than in prosperous times. So go for it, writes a motivational speaker and owner of a web development firm. An economic expert says it’s unwise to fixate on start-up cycles.
Commenting is open below.
By Marianne Carlson
Starting a new business is not for the faint of heart. For those who possess the entrepreneurial spirit, though, now might be the perfect time to begin a venture.
In the midst of the worst recession in decades and the most dismal recovery since the Great Depression, it might seem prudent to postpone a business launch. But there are some compelling reasons why now is actually a really good time to start a new business.
Beginning a business venture in lean times will force the entrepreneur to pay very close attention to planning, market …
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