Tag Archives: Atlanta

Healthcare town hall in Atlanta tomorrow

Jane Osborn points out this Healthcare Facility Regulation Division Invites you to an Informal Town Hall Meeting on June 22, 2011:
The Department of Community Health (DCH), Healthcare Facility Regulation Division (HFRD) invites you to attend a Town Hall Meeting on the topic, “Establishing Meaningful Distinctions for Levels of Care in Licensed Personal Care Homes, Assisted Living Communities and Nursing Homes”. The Town Hall Meeting will be held in the DCH Board Room, 5th Floor, 2 Peachtree Street, NW on Wednesday, June 22, 2011 at 11:30 a.m.

The purpose of this Town Hall Meeting is to provide a forum where interested consumers, providers, advocates, stakeholders and regulators may discuss the topic informally. This informal dialogue will assist the DCH in its development of proposed rules for personal care homes and assisted living communities as a result of the passage of SB 178 which creates a licensure category called assisted living communities. Of course, any rules that the DCH ultimately develops would be taken through an informal rules advisory group process and the public rule-making process. If you are unable to attend the Town Hall Meeting, but would like to provide input on this topic, please feel free to send your input electronically to DCH staff using the following email address: sedoughe@dhr.state.ga.us.

That web page also includes some questions for which DCH wants public input.

-jsq

Solar conference in Birmingham, U.K.

Birmingham lures solar conference from London. Maybe soon we’ll read Valdosta lures solar conference from Atlanta.

Solar Power UK wrote 15 December 2010, Sun Shines on Birmingham’s Solar Industry:

Birmingham is to host the annual Solar Power UK Conference and Exhibitionin October 2011. Over 3000 solar industry participants, 30% of which will be overseas visitors, are due to descend on the city during the conference following sell out events in Munich and London in 2010, generating a predicted £4.15m for the city.
That’s about $6.7 million U.S. dollars.
It is the only time the event has been hosted outside of London in the UK and the first time the conference will be lighting up the city. The decision comes as Birmingham is increasingly recognised as a hub for the developing UK solar industry…
So becoming a leader in solar netted Birmingham a major conference, which brings income in addition to the jobs and energy generated directly by the solar projects.

Continuing: Continue reading →

Last day for advance rate at Solar Summit

The Georgia Solar Energy Association (GSEA) is holding a conference Friday a week from today in Atlanta, and you can still sign up at the advance rate today. Sounds like a good place for networking potential projects.

Announcing Solar Summit 2011! Join utilities and policy experts from around the country as we present a full day of panel discussions and presentations on solar renewables. With the theme, “Solar Works in Georgia” GSEA will layout the roadmap for success in Georgia.
Where: GTRI Conference Center- 250 14th Street, Atlanta, GA 30318
When: Friday, June 24th 8a-4p
How: Tickets on sale now
What: $79 before June 15th — EXTENDED TO FRIDAY, 6/17 $99 at the door
Coffee starts at 7:45 AM, with the Welcome session at 8:15 and keynote speaker Col. Dan Nolan (USArmy Ret.) speaking at 8:30 on “The Military’s integration of Green Energy”.

Another panel asks the question, “Will military and institutional adoption lead the way?” Hm, maybe municipalities should help pioneer solar with financing from banks and power companies.

Another panel notes, “A recent ASU study ranked Georgia 3rd in the nation for solar development potential.” That would be this study.

A wide range of speakers come from industry, military, finance, and government. Sounds like a networking opportunity. Maybe even a good place to pitch a municipal solar project.

-jsq

Bright flight visualized

Lanier County gained more than 30% in children under 18. Lanier looks like the exurbs around Atlanta, except it’s even more striking. Also visible on the map is Hamilton, County, Tennessee, home of Chattanooga, CUEE’s favorite example of school unification: Hamilton County showed a loss of children while just across the state line Catoosa County, Georgia gained 15-30%. If school unification doesn’t cause bright flight, it doesn’t seem to stop it.

Haya El Nasser and Paul Overberg wrote in USA Today 3 June 2011, Census reveals plummeting U.S. birthrates

Because families with children tend to live near each other,

the result is an increasingly patchy landscape of communities teeming with kids, and others with very few.

…

Even in counties where the percentage of children grew, only 49 gained more than 1 percentage point — many of them suburbs on the outer edge of metropolitan areas such as Forsyth, Whitfield and Newton outside Atlanta and Cabarrus and Union outside Charlotte.

So that makes Lanier County one of only 49 Continue reading →

“It’s an anti-American law” —Carlos Santana in Georgia

Carroll Rogers wrote in the AJC 15 May 2011, Santana blasts Georgia immigration bill before Braves game:
Legendary rock guitarist Carlos Santana, in town to be honored for a “Beacon of Change” award at Sunday’s MLB Civil Rights Game at Turner Field, called the state’s new immigration law “anti-American.”

Santana took his turn at the podium on the field in a pre-game ceremony before the Braves-Phillies game to criticize the immigration bill just signed into law by Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal Friday.

“I represent the human race,” the Mexican-born Carlos Santana said. “The people of Arizona, the people of Atlanta, Georgia, you should be ashamed of yourselves.”

The Georgia immigration law, HB 87, cracks down on illegal immigration by increasing enforcement powers and requiring many employers to check the immigration status of new hires.

And this is just the start of what’s going to happen to Georgia as long as that law is in effect.

But what do you really think, Carlos? Continue reading →

Want to be like Atlanta?

I ran across some interesting information at The American Lung Association web site about the state of air quality.

There were several things that jumped out at me right away.

  • First, Lowndes County doesn’t even have a device for monitoring ozone levels. We need to get one.
  • Second, on particulate emissions, Lowndes County gets a “B”. Fulton County gets an “F”, Dekalb gets an “F”, Cobb gets “D” and Clayton gets “C”. Horrifyingly, Douglas, Fayette, Henry and Rockdale Counties don’t even have particulate monitors.
  • Third, over one third of the population of Lowndes County falls into the two vulnerable categories of “Over 65” or “Under 18”.

Do the leaders of our area really want us to be like the Atlanta area? Do we want to poison our children, our parents and our grandparents with dirty air? Dirty air leads to both lung and cardiovascular disease.

What are a few of things we could do to keep our air clean?

  • We could transition to clean energy sources like solar.
  • We could develop public transportation.
  • We could become active in our community and attend public meetings to let our leaders know what issues are important to us and that we want to be involved in decisions regarding development, industry and environmental stewardship.

-Gretchen

When politicians vote for the interests of rich Atlanta investors —Leigh Touchton

Leigh Touchton posted this yesterday as a comment on Dr. Mark George’s remarks to Valdosta City Council and Sonny Vickers’ response. -jsq
It’s really unfortunate when City Councilmen like Vickers and Wright don’t care that:
  1. The black infant mortality rate in Valdosta is twice as high for black babies as for white babies
  2. The asthma rate nationally for African-Americans is 3 times higher than for white Americans
  3. The death to asthma rate nationally for African-Americans is 5 times higher than for white Americans.
  4. 75% of the biomass incinerators in Georgia have been proposed for black communities, and the rest for poor white communities.
When politicians vote for the interests of rich Atlanta investors
Continue reading →

The Quitman 10 at the Georgia capitol

George Rhynes writes about the Quitman Ten, On Georgia State Capital Steps, Standing Strong for Georgians Right to VOTE!
I traveled to the Georgia State Capital February 22, 2011; in support of the Quitman Ten. These brave, courageous freedom fightes stood and are standing strong on behalf of Georgia Voter’s right to vote. This is a short preview of what will be posted here as a reflection of what took place at this meeting and historical event. As a concerned citizens from the South Georgia, I commend the Georgia citizens that stood in support of the Quitman Ten as they received rewards for their courage and perhaps being forced to bring South Georgia into the 21st Century along with other cities.
He reminds us of the not-so-distant past: Continue reading →

Citizens can video police in Atlanta

Ride your bicycle, have to show a drivers’ license, get your camera stolen by police? Not in Atlanta any longer!

Bill Rankin writes some good news in the AJC, APD won’t hinder citizens who videotape cops,

Faced with complaints from a citizen watchdog group, Atlanta police will stop interfering with people who videotape officers performing their duties in public, an agreement reached with the city Thursday says.

The settlement, which also calls for the city to pay $40,000 in damages, requires city council approval.

The agreement resolves a complaint filed by Marlon Kautz and Copwatch of East Atlanta, a group that films police activity with cell phones and hand-held cameras. The group has volunteers who go out on patrols and begin videotaping police activity when they come across it.

That’s Copwatch of East Atlanta; here’s their press release, including video of the incident. Continue reading →

Solar Parking Lots

One objection I’ve heard to solar power in Georgia is that it would take an area the size of metro Atlanta to power metro Atlanta. Well, why not use metro Atlanta do do that? Put solar panels on housetops and business rooftops. And use parking lots:

Lin Edwards writes in physorg.com about Parking lots could become ‘solar groves’ (w/ Video):

Architect Robert Noble, who specializes in sustainable design has come up with the idea of turning parking lots into “solar groves” that shade the vehicles, generate electricity, and serve as recharging stations for electric vehicles.
Or forget Atlanta. Hahira or Valdosta could do this just as easily.

-jsq