marta news clips 1-14-13

7/29/2019 MARTA News Clips 1-14-13

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News Clips

1-14-13

Today's Clips:

MARTA Atlanta Transportation Planning


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MARTA

The Patch 1-13-13

MARTA Bus Route No. 6 Through Emory Could See Changes

MARTA is holding public hearings Jan. 22 and Jan. 24 about possible bus routechanges.

ByPatch Staff Email the author January 13, 2013

MARTA is considering route changes that could affect Bus Route 6, which runsthrough the Emory campus and connects to the Lindbergh and InmanPark/Reynoldstown train stations.

MARTA users who want to learn more and share their feedback can attend oneof three public hearings this month. The closest hearing will be 7 p.m. Jan. 24 atMaloof Auditorium, 1300 Commerce Drive, Decatur. A community exchange willbe held 6-7 p.m.

Here's MARTA's description of the possible changes toRoute 6 Emory:

Realign services to operate a short turn alignment from Lindbergh Station to theNorth Decatur and Oxford Roads traffic circle (roundabout) and continueoperation from Lindbergh Station to Inman Park/Reynoldstown Station viaalternating trips on weekdays only. Saturday and Sunday services remainunchanged and will continue to operate between Lindbergh Station and InmanPark/Reynoldstown Station all trips.

And here's the full release from MARTA:

MARTA will hold public hearings on proposed bus service modifications at 7 p.m.on January 22 and 24, 2013, to gather input from customers and stakeholders.Modifications to bus routes 6, 15, 21, 51, 67, 86, 95, 110, 172 and 186 are being

proposed for implementation on April 20, 2013, to improve service and respondto customer and community feedback. Details regarding the proposed changesare listed below.

Prior to the start of the official public hearing, MARTA staff will be available for acommunity exchange to provide information regarding the proposed changes andanswer any questions.MARTA regularly evaluates bus route performance including scheduling, on-time
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performance, ridership and safety. Final changes will be recommended based onfeedback received from customers as well as the Authoritys service analysis.

Copies of the proposed bus service modifications are available for reviewatMARTAs Office of External Affairs, 2424 Piedmont Road, N.E. Atlanta,

Georgia 30324 during regular business hours, Monday Friday from 8:30 a.m.5:00 p.m. and on the MARTA websitewww.itsmarta.com. A summary of theproposed bus modifications can be requested by leaving a messageon MARTAs comment line, 404.848.5299. The proposed modifications will alsobe available for public inspection before each hearing.

Patrons may request information in an accessible format (free of charge) inaccordance with the ADA and Limited English Proficiency regulations bycallingMARTAs Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity at404.848.4037. For

patrons requiring further accommodations, information can be obtained by callingthe Telephone Device for the Deaf (TDD) at404.848.5665. In addition, a sign

language interpreter will be available at all hearings.

People unable to attend the hearings can provide comments regarding theproposed bus service modifications to MARTAs Office of External Affairs throughJanuary 27, 2013, by leaving a message at404.848.5299, writing to 2424Piedmont Road, NE Atlanta, Georgia 30324-3330, completing an onlinecomment card atwww.itsmarta.com, or faxing comments to 404.848.4179.

Hear ings w i l l also be h eld at the fol lowing loc at ions: Tuesday, January 22,2013

Adamsville Recreation Center 3201 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, SW 7:00PM Community Exchange from 6:30 7:00 PM Riding MARTA: Take theRoute 73 out of Hamilton E. Holmes Station

Thursday, January 24, 2013MARTA Headquarters Building 2424 Piedmont Road NE, Atlanta, 30324 7:00P.M. Community Exchange from 6 7 PM Riding MARTA: Across the streetfrom Lindbergh Center Station

Other Propos ed Service Changes

Route 15 South DeKalb/Candler Road: Realign services with an extensionalong River Road and Linecrest Road segments and discontinue the Ridgetop

Drive, Lincolndale Drive and Clevemont Court segments in the East Glensubdivision. Route 21 Memorial Drive: Realign services to discontinue direct service toKing Memorial Station inbound to Georgia State Station. Route 21 wouldcontinue to provide direct service to King Memorial Station outbound fromGeorgia State Station only. Route 51 Joseph E. Boone Blvd. /Dixie Hills: Realign services to maintaincurrent routing to New Jersey Avenue and Joseph E. Boone Blvd., which will be
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the new terminus for Route 51 with the exception of the selected trips thatoperate via Collier Heights Apartments. The segments along Aurora Avenue,Morehouse Drive, Morris Brown Avenue and Wadley Street will be discontinued.The segments along Anderson Avenue, Tiger Flowers Drive, Carver Drive,Hyacinth Avenue, Verbena Street and Penelope Street will be assumed by

modifications to Route 67-West End. Route 67 West End: Realign services to operate a one way loop from WestLake Station that assumes segments from Route 51 Joseph E. Boone Blvd.

/Dixie Hills and the restructure of the services currently provided by Route67. The new alignment would operate as follows from West Lake Station: Right-

Anderson Avenue, Left-Waterbury Drive, Right-Anderson Avenue, Left-TigerFlowers Drive, Left-Carver Drive, Right-Hyacinth Avenue, Left-Verbena Street,Right-Penelope Street, Left-Aaron Street, Right-Penelope Road, and Right-

Anderson Avenue returning to West Lake Station. The segment along VerbenaStreet between Waterbury Drive and Chenault Place and along Chenault Placewill be discontinued.Route 86 Fairington Road/McAfee Road: Realign services to operate a shortturn alignment from GRTA Panola Road Park and Ride Lot to the I-20 Access

Road and Old Hillandale Drive on all service days during the hours that the Mallat Stonecrest is closed. Route 95 Metropolitan Parkway/Hapeville: Discontinue operation along the S.Central Avenue and Tradeport Blvd. segments. All trips will terminate at King

Arnold Street and Sunset Avenue with the exception of the trips that providedirect service to Atlanta Technical and Atlanta Metropolitan Colleges. Route 110Peachtree Street The Peach: Realign services to providealternating trips between Five Points and Lenox Stations and Arts Center andLenox Stations during the hours of 9:00 AM - 8:00 PM on all servicedays. Service between Arts Center and Five Points Stations will be discontinuedbefore 9:00 AM and after 8:00 PM.

Route 172 Sylvan Road/Virginia Avenue: Realign services to assume the S.Central Avenue and Tradeport Blvd. segments discontinued by Route 95Metropolitan Parkway/Hapeville on selected trips on weekdays and Saturdaysonly. Service along this segment will not be provided on Sundays.

Route 186 Rainbow Drive/South DeKalb: Realign services with an extensionalong Wesley Chapel Road, Snapfinger Woods Drive, E. Wesley Chapel Roadreturning to Snapfinger Woods Drive, which will be the new terminus for Route186. Service along the Pleasant Wood Drive and Eastside Drive segments will

be provided inbound from the Snapfinger Woods Drive terminus in the AM andoutbound before terminating at Snapfinger Woods Drive in the PM until 9:00 PMon all service days.


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AJC 1-13-13

ByDaarel Burnette IIThe Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The rambunctious, feel-good partying surrounding the Georgia Dome took atimeout Sunday afternoonbut it didnt last for long.

As the Seattle Seahawks took the lead for the first time in the fourth quarter, DJsturned the music down and the burgers of tailgaters without tickets turned cold as

Falcon fans in disbelief crowded around big screen TVs propped up on their SUVtrunks.

A successful last-minute field goal pushed the Falcons into the NFCchampionship game and hundreds of thousands of fans across metro Atlantaturned the music back up this time louder and accompanied with screaming,dancing and optimism for whats ahead.

Outside the dome, hundreds of fans doing the Wobble line dance blocked theintersection of Carter Street and Northside Drive . They then boldly told a trickleof Seattle Seahawks fans to enjoy their long flights home while the thumpingsounds of Atlanta native rapper Ludacris chanting, Move, get out the way,played.

Children in the middle of a game of backyard football, ducked at the sound ofloud popping amateur fireworks.

MARTA lit up its buses with Go Falcons and its train conductors propped RiseUp signs in its windows.

Fans said the game was symptomatic of the extreme highs and lows theirhometown team has traditionally brought and the undying love they show inreturn.

The Falcons have made it to the NFC championship only twice before. Theyvebeen to one Super Bowl, which they lost.

I couldnt swallow, Kerry Smith said about the final minutes of the game.That was the most stressful, best game Ive ever seen in my life,said BrettPeach who wore knee-high black wool socks, black and red Nike tennis shoes, a
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jersey and a Falcons cap.

Others said they never lost faith.

Its not over till its over, said Antwon Anderson, 40, of Atlanta. this is just good

for the city. Atlanta got violence, young kids doing stupid stuff, a bad economy.We needed this.

This season is special, fans said.

The chemistry is just there this year, said Ronald Elder, 54, who has been aseason ticket holder for the last 20 years and a fan since 1966. Mike Smith hasspent the last five years building up the team just the way he wanted. I never letup. Falcons never give up.

It seemed that everybody in the Falcons fan zone outside the dome from the

crossing guards to the manager at Subway had a differing opinion about whythe Falcons faltered in the final moments of Sundays game and what theyneeded to do to spare them anxiety attacks on Sunday when they play the 49ersat the Dome.

But they all came to the same conclusion about whats ahead for the Falcons:Super Bowl Champions, of course.


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The Patch 1-13-13

Boxers, Panties and MARTA, Oh My!

Sunday is Go Pantless Day on MARTA. ByPralte Paul

Attention MARTA riders: Get ready for a flesh mob.

If you see groups of hipsters riding MARTA trains without pants on Jan. 13, it's allpart of the No Pants Subway Ride.

The event is part of a global No Pants Subway Ride started byImprovEverywherein New York in 2002.

Atlanta'sGobi Lumberjackshave been participating since 2009.

This year's annual No Pants Subway Ride in Atlanta starts at the white arch nearUnderground Atlanta (across Peachtree Street from the Five Points MARTAStation). Those wishing to participate are asked to meet at 3 p.m. for instructions

to be given out at 3:15 p.m.

The group is expected to ride the 3:45 p.m. northbound RED Line. They'reexpected to exit at the Civic Center, where they'll shed their pants.

After that, they plan to ride the trains to Lindbergh Station, then down to AirportStation before coming back to Five Points Station.

And in case you're wondering about indecent exposure laws, here is what thestate statute says:

16-6-8. Public indecency.

(a) A person commits the offense of public indecency when he or she performsany of the following acts in a public place:

(1) An act of sexual intercourse;

(2) A lewd exposure of the sexual organs;

(3) A lewd appearance in a state of partial or complete nudity; or
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(4) A lewd caress or indecent fondling of the body of another person.

A MARTA spokeswoman told East Atlanta Patch those riders pants or nopants will have to adhere to state and local public indecency laws.

WSB Ch 2 1-12-13

Marta is promising major changes now, after a channel 2 action newsinvestigation exposed bus drivers making hundreds of thousands of dollars inovertime. Channel 2 investigative reporter aaron diamond reports that one mainissue is whether marta bus drivers and police officers were working just too manyhours to do their jobs safely. >> I did jump to that conclusion and I will continue to

jump to that conclusion, because I think the conclusion is right. >> Reporter:members of the general assembly's marta oversite committee drilled theauthority's leaders two months after a channel 2 investigation first exposed

dozens of marta bus drivers and police officers racking up thousands of hours inovertime each, for years, some doubling their salaries or better. >> In light ofthose revelations, what steps marta is taking to address the problem. >>Reporter: a problem we uncovered by poring over payroll records through aseries of open records requests. >> I'm going to ask you to produce to meexactly what was produced to wsb. >> Reporter: members most worry abouttaxpayer costs and whether a fatigue factor from all that ot puts public safety atrisk. >> Your judgment is slower. Your reactions are slower. >> Reporter: marta'snew ceo told members changes were already happening, with more on the way.>> We don't want to be on the other side of this and say two years from now orwhatever, some catastrophic event happens and we found that the person was

working a 90-hour work week. >> Reporter: after the hearing, parker admittedmaking the most significant changes will take time. >> One of the things I don'twant to have happen is that I make a quick change, sudden change. Then as aresult, we don't have enough people to actually provide the service. >> Reporter:still, jacobs explained why the committee ordered regular progress reports. >>That it can just get swept under the rug and a year from now with regard to thenumbers that were in your initial report will still be where we were. >> Reporter:aaron diamond, channel 2 action news, sunday A.M.


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The Examiner 1-13-13

Best of MARTA: College Park Station

COLLEGE PARK MARTA STATION

JANUARY 13, 2013 BY: SARA CHESHIRE

TheCollege Park MARTA stationis smaller than most and in a relatively quietpart of the Atlanta metro area. One stop away from the airport, it makes a quickpit stop for travelers who don't want to eat airport food and a destination for urbanadventurers. Read on to learn some of the best nearby destinations. A reminderto use caution after dark and be aware of your surroundings -- the area isn't assafe as other parts of the city.

Feed Store Right across from the station is a higher-end Southern/Americanrestaurant open Monday-Saturday. Good for a date night, the menu includesfried chicken, pork chops, shrimp and grits and a veggie plate. After leaving the

station, cross the street at the stoplight.

The PecanAlso across the street from the station and a short walk down MainStreet (turn right after crossing the street in front of the station), the Pecan is alsoa Southern-inspired eatery. If you need brunch, they have it.

Hotel Indigo Atlanta Airport This hotel is one of the closest to a MARTAstation with its location next to the MARTA parking lot. The long-term parkingarea is currently fenced in, so be sure to take the Main Street exit out of thestation, turn right and walk around the front of the station to get to the hotel a halfblock up on Harvard Avenue (turn right on Harvard).

Conley Recreation Center The Conley Recreation Center and neighboringsports fields offer plenty of athletic activities for adults and children. A highlight istheKiDsGyM USAprogram. Basketball, football, baseball and tennis are someof the available sports. Take the Main Street exit and cross the street at thestoplight in front of the station. Turn right on Main Street then left on Princeton

Avenue.
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Peter Pan Park The Peter Pan Park provides additional tennis courts, baseballfields and a playground. Take the Main Street exit out of the station and turnright. Walk about two blocks to Temple Avenue and turn right again and walkabout 10 minutes.

U.S. Federal Aviation AdministrationAs one of the closest employers toMARTA, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration building is right behind the

MARTA station. Take the exit marked Taxis/Buses when exiting the station andwalk straight through the parking lot toward the MARTA police precinct building.The office building is just beyond on the left.

Enterprise Rent a Car One of the closest rental car companies to a MARTAstation is across the street from the College Park station on Main Street. Aftercrossing the railroad tracks, turn left.

MARTA Long-term Parking College Park is one of the stations that offersovernight parking in a parking garage for $8/day. Enter the parking area from LeeStreet.
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AJC 1-12-13

Taking up where we left off at Gold Dome

9:00 am January 12, 2013, by Andre Jackson, Editorial Editor

The Georgia General Assembly comes to order Monday. Considering the

landscape both ahead of and behind us, its tempting for lawmakers and citizensto both want to take a breather in 2013. Thats understandable after a raucous 2012 that saw multiple major issuesbefore the Legislature, among them a thorny budget, tax reform andtransportation matters.

Not to mention last years landmark elections. By comparison, issues likely tocome before this body in 2013 largely carry a lower profile. They are no lessimportant to the future of this region and state, however. Lawmakers should notforget that.

And they should summon up the wisdom and courage to act decisively andwisely on the business now at hand.As a curtain-raiser of the next 40 legislativedays, here is our starter list of challenges that stand in need ofsolutions: Ethics In coming weeks, we will hear much talk for another yearrunning about the constitutionally mandated necessity of Georgia living within theprudent means of a balanced budget.

Thats a valid point, true enough. Its equally true that one of the biggest,cheapest fixes the General Assembly can adopt this year is to, finally, heed thewill of the people and end the current anything goes, show-the-love-with-no-limits

lobbying of lawmakers.

A recent poll conducted for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution confirms thecommon-sense sentiment that voters have had enough of the antics at the GoldDome. It found that 71 percent of 694 Georgians polled said lawmakers shouldnot be allowed to accept gifts from lobbyists.

Another 14.7 percent thought a $100 gift limit was


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reasonable. Education Charter school proponents won a large victory inNovember when voters approved a measure calling for reinstatement of the statecharter schools commission.

The resurrection of a state-based channel for approving and funding charter

schools comes even as Georgia continues to struggle to pay its share of cost forthe traditional public schools that educate nine in 10 children here. In recentyears, local districts have seen the ratio of state/local funding shift more towardlocal districts, even as counties struggled with declining property tax revenue.

Lawmakers should keep foremost in mind their constitutionally mandatedobligation to provide an adequate public education for each child and not stokefunding for new charters at the expense of existing schools. Transportation Its likely that the word transportation will rarely be uttered inlegislative chambers this year, given the nearly 2-to-1 defeat of the T-SPLOST in

metro Atlanta and a similar result in most other districts statewide. Its even moreunlikely that lawmakers will brook any consideration of the Plan B that T -SPLOST foes urged. Be that as it may, there is substantial work that lawmakers can do this year to setthe stage for the future. Beginning a productive working relationship with newMARTA CEO Keith Parker is a good place to begin.

With Parker and the MARTA board having a new template for improving financialperformance courtesy of consultant KPMG, lawmakers may be tempted tocontinue scoring political points by injecting themselves into MARTAs finances at

every opportunity. While everyone agrees that MARTA should become a more-efficient transit operator, lawmakers should allow MARTA a reasonable time toeffect fixes before climbing back onto the political grandstand to demand this orthat.

And members of the MARTA legislative oversight committee should keep in mindthat when and it must be a when, not an if MARTA gets its fiscaloperation in order, whats next?

The primary stated reason for the state not funding mass transit will have beeneliminated. Be careful what you wish for, MARTOC. Lawmakers will also befaced with a decision on the future of GRTAs XPress suburban bus service.Ongoing funding for the rush-hour transit operation had been included in the T-SPLOST.

The state should now find a way to pay for the buses that take 9,000 riders offcrowded highways each day. Lastly, any calls to repeal the TransportationInvestment Act that created the T-SPLOST should go unheeded. To tinker with amechanism that three regions approved last year would be problematic from


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fiscal and legal standpoints. It would also further erode already-shopworn citizenconfidence in government.

Andre Jackson, for the Editorial Board.

WXIA Ch 11 1-12-13

If you don't want to spend your time sitting in traffic and missing the start, leaveseveral hours ahead of kickoff. 3) Take Marta. Avoid traffic completely. The blueor yellow line will take you directly to the dome. Find a Marta station with freeparking and leave early to avoid packed trains.


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Crossroads News 1-12-13

CEO to discuss MARTAs agenda

Keith T. Parker, MARTAs new CEO and general manager, will speak to DeKalbbusiness people on Jan. 23 about the transit authoritys 2013 agenda and otherinitiatives.

The speech will kick off the DeKalb Chambers Executive Speaker Series,formerly known as First Monday Lunch.

It takes place from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Perimeter, 4386Chamblee Dunwoody Road in Atlanta. Tickets purchased by Jan. 18 are $35 formembers and $45 for nonmembers.

Parker took the helm of the nations ninth-largest transit system, which includesheavy rail, bus and paratransit services, on Dec. 10.

Under his leadership, the authority is focused on working with employees,customers, transit stakeholders and the community to provide safe, efficient andhigh-quality transit services to the Atlanta region.

MARTA provides nearly 420,000 passenger boardings a day.

Parker was most recently president and CEO of VIA transit in San Antonio. Hesigned a five-year contract with MARTA that includes a $320,000 base salary

with automatic, one-year renewable options. He has a bachelors degree inpolitical science, a masters in urban and regional planning, and an M.B.A.

For more information, call 404-378-8000 or visit www.Dekalbchamber.org.

Read more:CrossRoadsNews - CEO to discuss MARTAs agenda
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WGCL Ch 46 1-11-13

New MARTA general manager talks improvements to system

Keith Parker, the new Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority generalmanager, sat down with CBS Atlanta News to discuss the plans he has toimprove the transportation system.

"The MARTA system has a pretty good reputation nationally. I think the bones of

this organization are very, very solid," Parker said.

The former head of public transportation systems in San Antonio, TX,and Charlotte, NC, said he wants to make MARTA bigger and better.

"Right now we carry a lot of people who no matter how lousy a job we do, theywill ride with us," Parker said. "My job is to make sure those people get a moredignified ride every day and a more customer-friendly ride, while at the sametime doing the things that we can to attract more and more folks."

Parker said simple low-cost improvements that worked in San Antonio andCharlotte can also work in Atlanta.

"From any bus stop you can text the transit system and 30 seconds later you canknow real time where the next bus will be arriving," Parker said. "It cost us just afew thousand bucks, really. We added reclining seats, overhead storage,individual reading lights and individual air controls in the buses."

Parker said he also wants riders to have access to Wi-Fi and he wants more railservice in more places, which traditionally has been a tough sell.

But he acknowledged that before any of that happens, MARTA needs to get itsfinancial house in order.

In 2012, an audit found MARTA was spending $50 million more than the nationalaverage on its employee healthcare, retirement and worker compensationpackages.

Parker said he's the man to fix that.

"The benefits side may be too high, but the wage component may be a bit too


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low for us to continue to attract and contain the highest-level employees, so partof what we will be doing is looking at how we can balance those two thingstogether," Parker said.

But MARTA's union said the audit is an attack on its members. Itsleadership pushed back against plans to cut benefits and outsource services tosave money. Parker said he's ready for what many expect to be contentiousnegotiations.

"My sense is as we lay out solid information, we will be able to mutually agree ona path forward," Parker said.

On Friday, the state committee that oversees MARTA peppered Parker withquestions about MARTA's financial situation and indicated help will be providedwhen results are produced.

"The findings in the KPMG audit are significant and of great concern and

obviously they require action by MARTA. So we are waiting to see what plan ofattack MARTA comes up with," said State Rep. Mike Jacob, R-Brookhaven.

Parker said tough choices would have to be made.

"You can't just wish away a $30 million operating budget. We are going to haveto work on those," Parker said.

Parker said positive change is coming, but asked riders to be patient.


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AJC 1-11-13

MARTA chief promises to address overtime

BySteve VisserThe Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionMARTAs new general manager told a joint legislative oversight committee Friday

that he plans to curb the excessive overtime paid to certain police officers andbus drivers because it represents a potential safety hazard.

The overtime which allowed some officers and drivers to double and tripletheir pay by working double shifts raised serious concerns about drivers orpolice officers being too exhausted to safely do their jobs, members of thecommittee said. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Channel 2 Action Newsdocumented the practice last fall.

Based on my experience, and I spent 21 years in the military, fatigue does affectjudgment, and excessive fatigue affects the ability to perform critical tasks,

said state Rep. Tom Miller, R-Dunwoody. Top national experts on sleepdeprivation expressed similar views in interviews with the AJC.

About 130 police officers and 90 bus drivers boosted their salaries by 50 percentduring a 12-month period ending in June, according to records obtained by the

AJC. A handful made more in overtime than in regular pay. The chairman of thecommittee, state Rep. Mike Jacobs, R-Atlanta, saidMARTAs police did a good

job overall and the agency had a relatively good public-safety record, but he stillfound the excessive overtime a problem and he expectsMARTAto address it.General Manager Keith Parker, who became the agencys top administrator lastmonth, said the excessive overtime had not yet produced any safety hazards andthat an examination of bus drivers did not show any correlation betweenaccidents or complaints and work hours. But he acknowledged that the numberof hours in itself raised a concern and could put the agency at greater risk inlitigation.

Parker said federal highway rules prevent semi-truck operators from driving morethan 10 hours in a maximum 15-hour workday.MARTArules allow officers andbus drivers to drive or patrol 16 hours a day if they have eight hours off between
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shifts. Bus drivers get hourly breaks.

MARTApolice have reinstituted a rule limiting overtime to 32 hours a week.Deputy Chief Joseph Dorsey said the department is also doing a better job ofspreading out overtime among officers. Overtime issues involving bus drivers,

who unlike police are part of a union, will be negotiated with union leaders,Parker said.

Overtime will be an issue in a civil lawsuit against the agency involving theshooting death of an Atlanta man by aMARTAofficer in October 2012, saidlawyer Greg Feagle, who represents the mans family. While Officer RobertWaldo was not found criminally liable in the killing of 19-year-old JoetaviusStafford, records showed Waldo was at the end of a double shift when theshooting occurred and had worked 37 hours of overtime that week.

Witnesses had seen Stafford firing a gun shortly before he fled police, but no gun

was found by Staffords body. Waldo said he fired when he saw Stafford make anaggressive move. Other witnesses said Stafford was surrendering.

A recent management audit foundMARTAs $26 million in overtime costs for allworkers was about 5 percent higher than average for private companies andabout 7 percent higher for public agencies in 2011.

The audit blamed excessive absenteeism for the overtime. But others contendthat, too often, the driving force is saving money by hiring fewer workers. Theagencys overall laborcost was about 3.5 percent lower than average, the auditfound.
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Atlanta Transportation Planning

Creative Loafing 1-10-13

Mayor talks transportation, Hillary Clinton, and filmmaking at Atlanta PressClubPosted byMax Blau@maxblau

Mayor Kasim Reed spoke to the Atlanta Press Club this afternoon at an eventheld at the Commerce Club downtown. Over the course of approximately 40minutes he recapped some of the past year's highlights and shed light on somepotential initiatives in 2013.

His recent accomplishments are well-documented, but in brief the mayoremphasized economic development and the expansion of the Atlanta Policeforce, among other achievements. He also touched on the city's sound fiscalstate,amassing $126 million in its reserves, including $107 million in"unencumbered" funds that can be invested back into the city."You can't help other people when you're broke yourself," the mayor told theaudience of journalists and other media professionals.Reed touched on several plans throughout his speech that could materialize in2013. Now that Atlanta has been given an extension by the federal governmentto complete the $4 billion overhaul of its sewer system, Reed said, the city willfocus on making as much as $300 million dollars in improvements"abovethe ground" that would include "roads, bridges, [and] streetscape." Funding forthe projects would come from a bond package and not require raising taxes."How a city looks and feels, the experience of a city, and the beauty of a citymatters a great deal," Reed said. "So that's what we're going to do next. We'regoing to have the largest capital investment above ground we've had in moderntimes."One of the highlights from the Q&A portion was a wry comment that alluded totheAJCPolitifact's report calling Reed a "full flop"on the issue of same-sexmarriage. The mayor didn't specifically address the article, but when one personincorrectly asked Reed about his time as a boy scout, he responded that it was
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actually his brother that participated in the organization. Before the man couldapologize, Reed chimed in: "It's no problem, but you've got to watch these factsthese days."When asked about the future of Atlanta's entertainment industry, Reed said thatmore than "$1 billion in TV and motion pictures" had been produced in the city.

That's up from $300 million six years ago, he said, thanks to a "solidified" motionpicture tax credit that will be around for another four years."I think Atlanta will be no. 3 in the United States of America within the next twoyears in terms of where television and motion picture entertainment is created,"Reed said. "We're in the top five right now."Regarding Georgia's political future, the mayorpredictedthat Hillary Clintonwould run as a presidential candidate in 2016 - and, thanks in part to a potentialdemographic shift,would contend for the state's electoral votes."I think Georgia is on a irreversible path to a democratic majority," Reed told theaudience. "It's going to be bipartisan because of the way the districts areshaped."

On his own political ambitions, Reed repeatedly stated that he would be aroundas mayor for "five more years." He did clearly sidestep a barrage of questionsdirectly asking if he would run for a statewide office."I want to finish being mayor and then I've got some other plans for myself,"Reed said. "I do want be a part of building... you're really making me blush. I'munder the weather [laughs]. I want to help build a party though...It's a good thingthat when I blush, you can't tell [laughs]."Reed discussed a slew of other issues as well, including the Savannah Port, thenew stadium -he thinks a deal will happen- and potentially a Major LeagueSoccer team.You can see more of his comments on my Twitter feed. Werecorded his entire talk for your listening pleasure. Check out the mayor's entirespeech and Q&A via the embedded player below.
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marta news clips 1-14-13

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