NYTimes column on Doraville GM plant, bail outs and brand loyalty
October 26, 2009 at 1:38 pm by Thomas Wheatley in NewsMarc Fitten, the editor of The Chattahoochee Review, had an op-ed column in Saturday’s New York Times about parting ways with his old Honda and purchasing a new car.
The piece is about much more, actually. Namely, the shuttered General Motors plant in Doraville, the 1,200 former workers who lost their jobs, and how the overgrown site’s convinced Fitten that he won’t be purchasing a Chevy anytime soon. Not until the bailed-out company “has responsibly sold every empty plant across this country to the benefit of every American town that had its back for the last hundred years.”
(You’ll recall that DeKalb County’s been exploring how to redevelop the site, possibly through a public-private partnership. There have been talks about it becoming a new stadium for the Atlanta Falcons. Atlanta Unfiltered’s Jim Walls, who’s been all over the story, recently reported that the Doraville City Council doesn’t like the idea.)
Take a look at Fitten’s column.
October 26th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
Nice piece. Definitely makes you wonder if our money is being well spent with these bailouts. But what I’m really glad to read is that the Falcons won’t be having a stadium on the old site. Traffic around Spaghetti Junction is horrible enough without throwing a stadium into the mix. And Georgia Dome is only 15 years old? Is it even paid off yet? Poor, pitiful Falcons, how can they show their faces playing in such a decrepit building. Seriously, if they start winning and bringing in money, then MAYBE they can consider moving to a newer location.