Fresh Loaf

Note to lawmakers: Perhaps using one of the metro region’s most important assets as a bargaining chip isn’t that great of an idea? Maybe?

From Friday’s Atlanta Business Chronicle:

If Atlanta’s rapid transit system is forced to eliminate a day of service, business leaders say, it will be a severe economic blow to a city already stung by a deepening recession.

…

“It would be devastating for the Atlanta economy and therefore the state of Georgia’s economy if MARTA has to restrict services on any day,” said A.J. Robinson, president of Central Atlanta Progress, the alliance of downtown businesses. He called the state’s failure to resolve the problem a “travesty.”

…

“If MARTA has to furlough its trains and buses for one day a week, the ripple effect would be tremendous,” Metro Atlanta Chamber President Sam Williams said. “I’ve talked to several big employers who say their businesses would be drastically affected. This would certainly send a message nationwide that Georgia has another problem and can’t solve it.”

The paper also quotes officials from AT&T, UPS and BellSouth — all of whom say MARTA service cuts could impact their workers. There’s also a good list of statistics outlining the role MARTA plays in shuttling residents and visitors around the region.

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AT&T might not be eager to share this information, but the company is required by the Federal Communications Commission to offer $10-per-month DSL service.

Potential subscribers have more than a year — until Dec. 31, 2009 — to sign up. The only requirements: You can’t have been an AT&T DSL customer at any time over the past year, and you have to have (or sign up for) a home phone.

According to a reminder circulated last week by the Georgia Public Service Commission:

AT&T has notified the PSC that this is an online offer available at www.att.com. To order the service, go to the residential internet section of AT&T’s website, and click on ‘view internet plans’. On the next screen click in the box labeled ‘DSL at even a lower price!’. Customers who do not currently have any access to the internet can call 1-888-757-6500 for assistance.

To get the discounted rate, you must sign a yearlong commitment with a $50 termination fee. The fee will be waived if you decide to sign up for a higher-speed DSL service.

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