By David Pendered MARTA’s revenues from fares are at an historic low as remote work remains a norm. MARTA’s not alone. Investors are watching this emerging trend at other transit systems, a New York-based bond researcher said last week. Howard Cure didn’t name MARTA when he spoke in a panel discussion hosted Jan. 19 by […]
Short Takes
Downtown Streetcar to Ponce? A RecantationBy Mike Dobbins Jan. 12 – I first rode the Downtown Streetcar back in 2014, soon after the full loop had been completed. I live downtown, and a friend who occasionally rode the streetcar to the Auburn Curb Market suggested I give it a try. I boarded at the Peachtree and Ellis stop with the […]
Short Takes
Reshaping the BeltLineBy Mike Dobbins Jan. 10 – The BeltLIne trail on the east side has become a treasured community asset. It is likely to gain in popularity as other segments underway hook up with it. Its very popularity, however, has brought stresses not anticipated in the BeltLine’s current long-term plan. Trail functionality, along with safety and […]
Short Takes
Streetcars on the BeltLineBy Mike Dobbins Jan. 2 –There remain a few people who believe that streetcar transit will actually, finally, someday, somehow, arrive on the Atlanta BeltLIne. Their beliefs are well-intended, and their persistence, if not their numbers, is impressive, to the extent that politicians and agencies are loath to deliver the inevitable eventual flat-out no. The […]
Short Takes
Georgia’s budgets prepared for ongoing inflationBy David Pendered Dec. 7 – Gov. Brian Kemp is preparing Georgia’s government to face ongoing inflation, according to an Aug. 10 letter from his chief budget writer to agency leaders. Kemp has ordered state agencies to hold spending to current levels in the requests they’ve sent him to consider as part of the budgets he’ll […]
Short Takes
Buckhead cityhood: Poison pill in $409 million bond packageBy David Pendered Nov. 27 – The Buckhead cityhood movement is challenged by a poison pill provision Atlanta included in a $409 million bond offerings that closed Nov. 3. Terms of the bonds state that if Buckhead leaves the city, its property taxpayers would have less than two years to pay off Buckhead’s projected share of […]
Short Takes
The Queen’s sheepBy David Pendered Sept. 10 – Jill Taylor loved the monarchy and Queen Elizabeth II. Jill must have loved me, too. Or she’d have brained me for speaking ill of the Queen’s sheep. Jill and her husband, Doug Taylor, lived in the West Midlands of England. They were proud of their hometown and its melodic […]
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Right to choose: Sofia TalvikBy David Pendered Aug. 6 – Swedish indie artist Sofia Talvik has added her voice to the pro-choice side of the post-Roe debate. America’s Deep South figures prominently in her new single, Too Many Churches. “I am of the opinion that if you have a voice you should use it. I am using mine now,” Talvik […]
Short Takes
Back-to-school smilesBy David Pendered Aug. 12 – This gallery of smiling faces of parents and children celebrates this year’s annual back-to-school party hosted in Clarkston by the Islamic Circle of North America Relief. Clarkston Mayor Beverly Burks was in the crowd gathered Aug. 8 for the celebration at Masjid Al Mumineen. Also joining in the festivities […]
Short Takes
Cancer Moonshot, food desertsBy David Pendered Aug. 10 – The Biden administration talked Wednesday about research that aims to devise and produce foods so nutritious they can help prevent cancer and lower health care costs. A related challenge to improve diets involves overcoming food deserts. The U.S. Department of Agriculture named Wednesday as a Day of Action in its […]
