Metro Atlanta counties still need “hundreds of poll workers” as Tuesday’s primary fast approaches
Voters cast their ballots at a polling precinct in Fulton CountyEmilia Weinrobe for Atlanta Civic Circle. Many of Georgia’s largest county election offices face a serious shortage of poll workers as they head into Election Day for Tuesday’s primary.
Read full storyGeorgia Elections Board dismisses “ballot harvesting” cases
The State Elections Board on Tuesday voted unanimously to dismiss three ballot-fraud claims brought by right-wing activists–judging their allegation to be false that fraudulent actors illegally stuffed large batches of absentee ballots in drop boxes during the 2020 presidential election.
Read full storyAs housing affordability worsens, what will it take for Atlanta to better use residential space?
A Place Properties home being dropped onto a foundation in English Avenue.(Credit: Lydia Mayfield Photography) When Atlanta Civic Circle reported on metro housing leaders’ visions for denser, more diverse, and, therefore, more affordable residential communities this time last year, it gave public officials plenty of food for thought—and even some explicit legislative proposals.
Read full storyVoting rights group: Donation bans on elections offices undermine elections
Voting rights group: Donation bans on elections offices undermine elections(Credit: Unsplash, via Sharon McCutcheon) Ongoing efforts by state legislatures in Georgia and elsewhere to ban private donations to local election offices could cripple America’s elections process, warned one voting advocacy group, Democracy Docket.
Read full storyAs mayor crosses 100-day mark, Atlanta Housing head confident in job security
Sarah Kirsch, left, and Eugene Jones discuss the future of affordable housing police at an event hosted by WABE and Atlanta Civic Circle.Britton Edwards, Atlanta Civic Circle. As Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens crosses his 100th day on the job, some top city officials will be headed back to the job market. But Atlanta Housing CEO Eugene Jones said he’s confident he’ll be asked to stick around the city’s newly rejuvenated housing authority.
Read full storyRemedies to better protect election workers
The federal government is not doing enough to protect election workers from a growing barrage of threats and intimidation, according to a recent national poll of local election officials.
Read full storyElection workers on their own when facing threats, accusations of misconduct
At the Park Tavern location in Midtown on the corner of Monroe and Eighth St.Photo credit: Emilia Weinrobe. Early last year, Fulton County election officials dispatched a series of internal emails to top county executives asking for police protection for some election workers dealing with a barrage of threats and harassment sparked by the 2020 presidential election’s outcome.
Read full storyAfter surprise withdrawal, Fulton elections director finalist shares his thoughts about the embattled office
Durham County N.C. Election Director Derek Bowens, left, talks to Donald Palmer of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.Screen grab by Tammy Joyner. Derek Bowens is no stranger to election problems, public attacks and federal investigations. The veteran elections administrator set in motion a turnaround plan to rescue Durham County, N.C.’s elections operation soon after becoming its election director in 2017.
Read full storyAs meetings with Forest Cove renters begin, where they’ll relocate still unclear
Sean KeenanForest Cove has been falling apart for years. Forest Cove property owner Millennia Housing Management began meeting with the condemned complex’s tenants Wednesday about a relocation plan—but it may not succeed in moving all 211 households before the July 15 target date set by the Atlanta mayor’s office.
Read full storyElection officials warn of GBI’s impending insertion in election process
A newly passed bill that gives Georgia’s top law enforcement agency unfettered power to pursue any allegations of election fraud sets a troubling precedent for future elections, some election administration officials contend.
Read full storyMilitary vets fight a new war: Political misinformation
Participants at recent Veterans Organizing Institute retreat in Atlanta, Ga.Atlanta Civic Circle. After 20 years in the military organizing troops, Gloria Hamilton is now using her military training to get more involved in causes in her community – including the upcoming election.
Read full storyWill Forest Cove residents finally be relocated?
Print Forest Cove has been falling apart for years.Sean Keenan. Forest Cove’s residents finally seem close to moving out of the Southside apartment complex that was condemned in December. Now, it’s up to city of Atlanta leaders and property owner Millennia Housing Management to make good on their promise to relocate the 211 households still living there by mid-July.
Read full storyLegislature’s effort to encumber upzoning falters, but city reform plans still unclear
A statewide zoning bill that would have further encumbered local efforts to increase residential density failed to cross the finish line when the Georgia General Assembly wrapped up the legislative session on Monday.
Read full storyDickens lays out his vision for Atlanta in his first State of The City address
Atlanta is “one city with one bright future,” Mayor Andre Dicken told the region’s top business leaders, lawmakers, and dignitaries Monday at his first State of the City address.
Read full storyCity, property owner devise plan to relocate Forest Cove tenants by mid-July
Broken and boarded-up windows are a common sight at Forest Cove.Sean Keenan. The 211 households living in squalor at southside Atlanta’s condemned Forest Cove apartments could be moved out by July 15, thanks to a deal orchestrated this week by Mayor Andre Dickens’ office and the property owner, Millennia Housing Management, city officials told Atlanta Civic Circle Thursday.
Read full storyExclusive: Departing Fulton election director blasts lawmakers for playing “Old South” politics
Fulton County elections director Rick BarronAtlanta Civic Circle. Rick Barron is leaving the building – but not before he gets a few things off of his chest. After nine years heading Georgia’s largest elections operation, Barron has weathered enough criticism, controversy, and procedural changes to give him a full, unvarnished understanding of the political landscape.
Read full storyAtlanta Housing signs off on plan for nearly 1,000 affordable units in FY 2023
Atlanta Housing's downtown headquarters.Maggie Lee, via SaportaReport. Atlanta’s public housing authority anticipates producing up to 958 new affordable homes in the 2023 fiscal year, which starts July 1, according to projections the agency approved last week.
Read full storyLand donation tees up affordable homeownership in East Lake
An architectural rendering of the Trust at East Lake.Atlanta Land Trust. A two-acre land donation from the CF Foundation positions the Atlanta Land Trust (ALT) to build 40 townhomes for purchase — half deemed affordable for moderate-income Atlantans — in East Lake.
Read full storyMinority undercount in census will likely lead to lower political representation, big federal funding losses
The federal census shows Georgia is more ethnically and racially diverse than a decade ago.Photo by Enayet Raheem, Unsplash. The U.S. Census Bureau undercounted Blacks, Latinos, and Native Americans for the 2020 census, new government data shows – an omission likely to affect political representation and federal funding for minority communities for years to come.
Read full storyAtlanta Housing wants to sell affordably priced homes at long-vacant Westside properties
Where Perry Homes used to be, before its 1999 demolition.Google Maps. Atlanta Housing (AH) leaders on Wednesday voted to add homeownership units to the development plan for the former Perry Homes site and two neighboring Westside properties, earmarking almost a third as affordable.
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