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By: Julian Rose, Scalawag This story was originally published by Scalawag as a part of A Week of Writing: Stop Cop City. Click to listen to the recording of this interview, including extended audio. This essay mentions state-sanctioned murder In this interview, I speak with Bridgette Simpson, lead organizer with Barred Business, to probe her… Read more
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The struggle to Stop Cop City is not just a battle over the creation of a $90 million police urban warfare center. It’s not just a fight to protect the 381 acres of forest land, known as one of the “four lungs” of Atlanta, currently under threat of destruction. It’s not just a conflict over… Read more
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Public confidence in the More MARTA program is strained; issues with drastic reductions in scope of the project’s original sequencing plan, as well as proportionally high spending on existing routes, and significant progress delays led to MARTA and the city of Atlanta jointly hosting three update sessions to inform the public about the More MARTA program’s resequencing plan April… Read more
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A budget breakdown spreadsheet sent by email between the Atlanta Police Foundation (APF) and DaVinci Development Collaborative, the project management company hired by APF to oversee the construction of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, shows a February projection estimating the cost to build a scaled down version of the facility coming in at $81,158,744, which… Read more
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New emails between the mayor’s office and the Atlanta Police Foundation (APF) show that Cop City costs to the city increased to $33.5 million and indicate that City Council legislation will be required to approve the funding. On March 2, APF Vice President of Finance Alecia Grimes emailed an updated Cop City funding schedule to… Read more
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After cancelling its February meeting for what committee chair Alison Clark called “housekeeping” reasons, it was a surprise when the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center Community Stakeholder Advisory Committee (CSAC) cancelled it’s second consecutive monthly meeting in March. New emails reveal the committee underwent a turbulent latter half of the month, which started with one member… Read more
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The second day of the Defend the Atlanta Forest week of action, began much like the previous day ended: with a music festival on the RC Field. The lighthearted, joyful nature present the first night of the festival found itself represented by a more physical manifestation the second day in the form of a large… Read more
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On March 23, Atlanta lawyer Alex Joseph released an updated memorandum challenging the legality of the ground lease agreement between the Atlanta Police Department (APD) and the City of Atlanta. On Sept. 8, 2021, the Atlanta City Council authorized the lease, which permitted 381 forested acres of land to the Atlanta Police Foundation (APF) for the construction of a $90… Read more
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New emails show the Atlanta Police Foundation (APF) views Mayor Andre Dickens’ proposed South River Forest and Public Safety Training Center Community Task Force as a continuation of the Community Stakeholder Advisory Committee rubber stamp approach and reaffirms that corporate interests are driving the Cop City project, which the Foundation believes will open by late… Read more
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On March 16, the Georgia House passed an amended version SB140, a bill with potentially disastrous consequences for LGBTQ+ youth. The Georgia Senate, where the bill originated, is expected to vote on the amended version of the bill Tuesday. SB140 prohibits licensed healthcare facilities from performing procedures such as hormone-replacement therapy and gender-transition surgeries for minors with… Read more
