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By Guest Columnist RONNY JUST, a worker of wood My German grandfather was sometimes described as stoic and unemotional. For many years I was unable to reconcile that description with my ...
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By Guest Columnist RONNY JUST, a worker of wood My German grandfather was sometimes described as stoic and unemotional. For many years I was unable to reconcile that description with my observation of the man’s passion for shaping red cedar – from his farm outside Austin, Texas – into treasured family heirlooms.
By Guest Columnist JENNIFER OWENS, deputy director of the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute During the 2018 elections, a record number of women engaged in the political process, many for the first time. They ran for office, turned out to vote and flexed their civic engagement muscles. Nearly two-thirds of all competitive state legislative races had at least one woman on last November’s ballot.
By Guest Columnist BUZZ BROCKWAY, vice president of the Georgia Center for Opportunity Buried in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 was a provision that, if used wisely, could benefit investors, while at the same time knocking down barriers to human flourishing in struggling areas of our state. Championed by U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, of South Carolina, opportunity zones allow an investor to defer capital gains taxes for up to 10 years, if the gain is invested in a Census tract designated as a qualified opportunity zone.
By Guest Columnist, MELODY L. HARCLERODE, executive director of the Sandy Springs Conservancy Engineers from the Union Army noted a tributary in north Fulton County running into the Chattahoochee River as “Mans Cr” or “Mars Cr” on 1864 map. Now, the nonprofit Sandy Springs Conservancy is spearheading the development of the Marsh Creek Trail along Abernathy Road in partnership with the City of Sandy Springs as the initial stage of a city-wide trail system, envisioned as, “a beautiful amenity that can build physical and civic connections in Sandy Springs.”
By Guest Columnist LOLI LUCACIU, marketing and communications manager at The Woodruff Arts Center You can credit women for getting it all started. Back in 1905, a small group of women founded the Atlanta Arts Association, a forerunner organization that later became the Woodruff Arts Center.
By Christine McCauley Watts, executive director of Madison-Morgan Conservancy It sits on a little rise, Davis Crossroads does, and gives you a long view of one of Morgan County’s more bucolic landscapes. Davis descendants have farmed and cared for the land surrounding this crossroads for generations and in the last two decades have donated three conservation easements to permanently protect the scenic and agricultural conservation values found here.
By Guest Columnist MELITA EASTERS, executive director of Georgia’s WIN List Record-setting numbers of women took the oath of legislative office under Georgia’s Gold Dome last week, representing a new wave of enthusiasm and energy for progressive ideas that mirror the media “buzz” surrounding the new class of congresswomen on the national stage.
By Guest Columnist AMIR FAROKHI, who represents District 2 on the Atlanta City Council Public trust in government is historically low. At a time when voting rights are under attack, transparency the exception, and inaction on critical issues the frustrating norm, cynicism about government is at fever pitch. Yet, democratic government is well placed to reestablish public trust; city government, even more so. More nimble and less partisan than any other level of government, City Hall is where residents should have the most direct input.
By Guest Columnist KWAME JOHNSON, president and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta. One of the more under-utilized resources in metro Atlanta is the potential of our young people. In Atlanta, more than many other large cities, your ZIP code determines your life trajectory. A 2018 study from Harvard University’s Opportunity Insights showed that Atlanta and Charlotte have the lowest rates of upward mobility for children who grow up in those cities, despite very high rates of job and wage growth over the past two decades.
By Guest Columnist ROBERT A. “BOB” HOLMES, emeritus distinguished professor of political science at Clark Atlanta University and former state representative Georgia's history of racial discrimination and voter suppression has been well documented by voting rights advocate Laughlin McDonald in his book, published by Cambridge University Press, A Voting Rights Odyssey: Black Enfranchisement in Georgia. Among the many techniques used to eliminate or diminish black political presence and influence in the electoral process were: Poll taxes, literacy tests, white elections, racial gerrymandering, run-off election requirement, closure of voting precincts, purging of voter registration lists and denial of felons' right to vote.
