http://clatl.com/freshloaf/archives/2012/08/15/beltline-officials-paying-back-inappropriate-expenses Comments On: Beltline officials paying back 'inappropriate' expenses by Thomas Wheatley en-us Copyright 2013 Creative Loafing Atlanta. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, Creative Loafing Atlanta readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact Creative Loafing Atlanta. wil@desert.net (Creative Loafing Atlanta Webmaster) Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:01 -0400 Thu, 23 May 2013 19:15:00 -0400 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss
I DON'T expect construction to go faster than it can, and I don't have the background to know how long it should take to build this kind of trail.
Posted by JoeInAtlanta]]> Thu, 16 Aug 2012 19:45:49 -0400 Creative Loafing Atlanta Posted by JoeInAtlanta]]> Thu, 16 Aug 2012 19:28:05 -0400 Creative Loafing Atlanta Posted by What's up with the accounts?]]> Thu, 16 Aug 2012 18:17:41 -0400 Creative Loafing Atlanta Posted by wesleywhatwhat]]> Thu, 16 Aug 2012 18:08:57 -0400 Creative Loafing Atlanta
I would like to speak to a few of the points in your feeding frenzy.

"refuses to share any progress metrics with its stakeholders,"

I have not seen you at quarterly briefings (metric sharing sessions) for some time.

"constantly acts as a collection bucket for tax, grant, and charity funds while producing almost nothing in return except empty promises"

Really, a master planning process with community engagement nearing completion, 49% of ROW acquired, five new or upgraded parks, two new bridges, and seven miles of trails or interim trails.
In the northeast quad, environmental and geotechnical studies completed plus the entire infrastructure (bridges, retaining walls, conduits for fiber and other utilities) to support transit is being built at the same time as the trail.

"Hatred for Atlanta Beltline was firmly on the rise ..."

Really, I never noticed it.
Posted by Chris Koch]]> Thu, 16 Aug 2012 17:45:08 -0400 Creative Loafing Atlanta
From what I understand ABI controls nearly half the ROW. It owns the Northeast Segment, which stretches from the Ansley Park area/I-85 to DeKalb Avenue.
Posted by ThomasWheatley]]> Thu, 16 Aug 2012 17:41:38 -0400 Creative Loafing Atlanta Posted by InAtl]]> Thu, 16 Aug 2012 16:58:52 -0400 Creative Loafing Atlanta
Hint -- it rhymes with "teven mundred fillion" annually.
Posted by NadVertising]]> Thu, 16 Aug 2012 16:43:48 -0400 Creative Loafing Atlanta
Don't people who work for nonprofits and the government have publicly posted salaries?
Posted by Cassie]]> Thu, 16 Aug 2012 16:27:36 -0400 Creative Loafing Atlanta Posted by MrT]]> Thu, 16 Aug 2012 14:25:46 -0400 Creative Loafing Atlanta
"A project spokesman says the trail would open to walkers and cyclists next summer."

http://clatl.com/freshloaf/archives/2010/06/19/1534336-beltline-gets-5-million-for-piedmont-park-dekalb-ave-bike-trail
Posted by Not impressed]]> Thu, 16 Aug 2012 14:03:22 -0400 Creative Loafing Atlanta (A) an organization that gets a little sloppy with money, but otherwise delivers quality projects on time with full transparency, and
(B) an organization that gets a little sloppy with money, repeatedly misses deadlines that were internally established by this same organization, refuses to share any progress metrics with its stakeholders, and constantly acts as a collection bucket for tax, grant, and charity funds while producing almost nothing in return except empty promises.

Hatred for Atlanta Beltline was firmly on the rise well before these financial mismanagement issues came to light. The recent news just gives people something to focus on.

So yeah, they need to be dismantled top to bottom, and replaced with a group that (A) knows what it's doing and (B) feels a genuine commitment to keeping people informed about progress, delays, challenges, and risks.
Posted by JoeInAtlanta]]> Thu, 16 Aug 2012 12:02:58 -0400 Creative Loafing Atlanta
-public officials misuse literally tens of taxpayer dollars

-a city audit picks up the shady expenses, the local outrage rag runs with it

-the city officials pay the money back

-this prompts multiple people to write multiple paragraphs about governmental corruption and call to dismantle the organization from top to bottom

ok sure whatever


Posted by eric pfeifer]]> Thu, 16 Aug 2012 11:08:03 -0400 Creative Loafing Atlanta
That one $2,100 night at the Braves game would have paid for over 3 weeks of full time construction labor using the Bureau of Labor Statistics current average hourly rate.
Posted by Not impressed]]> Thu, 16 Aug 2012 10:01:00 -0400 Creative Loafing Atlanta Posted by seriously underwhelmed]]> Thu, 16 Aug 2012 09:06:06 -0400 Creative Loafing Atlanta Posted by Cassie]]> Thu, 16 Aug 2012 08:40:46 -0400 Creative Loafing Atlanta
The VAT is a terrible idea unless it replaces the income tax.
Posted by oydave]]> Thu, 16 Aug 2012 07:51:20 -0400 Creative Loafing Atlanta Posted by John Rose]]> Thu, 16 Aug 2012 06:50:08 -0400 Creative Loafing Atlanta Posted by Not impressed]]> Thu, 16 Aug 2012 06:45:50 -0400 Creative Loafing Atlanta Posted by What's up with the accounts?]]> Thu, 16 Aug 2012 05:18:57 -0400 Creative Loafing Atlanta Posted by Mark from Atlanta]]> Thu, 16 Aug 2012 01:33:47 -0400 Creative Loafing Atlanta
Not excusing illegal dealing with scuzzballs, but that's a separate issue. The point here is that tax incentives are not the same as giving away money.
Posted by oydave]]> Wed, 15 Aug 2012 23:50:06 -0400 Creative Loafing Atlanta Posted by What's up with the accounts?]]> Wed, 15 Aug 2012 22:00:53 -0400 Creative Loafing Atlanta Posted by rico from tampico]]> Wed, 15 Aug 2012 19:43:10 -0400 Creative Loafing Atlanta
The Beltline is a fantastic concept that could make both thriving and rundown neighborhoods better. I think streetcars on downtown streets is a terrible idea, but those beautiful blue babies whizzing around the Beltline would be fabulous.
Posted by oydave]]> Wed, 15 Aug 2012 19:10:49 -0400 Creative Loafing Atlanta