Fresh Loaf

Georgia roadbuilders — well, Marietta, Ga.-based C.W. Matthews, in particular — had something to smile about yesterday. Gov. Sonny Perdue, flanked by newly elected Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Vance Smith and U.S. Deputy Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari, made the smoggy skies rain with Obamabucks on Tuesday as he kicked off the Peach State’s first foray into stimulus spending.

On Tuesday state and federal transportation officials gathered in Hapeville to celebrate the first stimulus-funded road project to go under construction in metro Atlanta, a repaving expected to pump $940,841 into the Georgia economy.

The project is to pave 4.2 miles of Ga. Hwy. 3, a commercial corridor in Clayton and Fulton counties near Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Contractors said work is scheduled to begin Monday night.

C.W. Matthews scored the project because it is God.

Now, you can argue about the stimulus all day long. Hard truth though is that it’s here, so you best spend it wisely. And a new study by self-explanatory think tank Smart Growth America and its partners says, whoa, Georgia’s made some good choices in how it spends the cash.

The rest of the country? Meh.

(more…)

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The site, which lets residents view how stimulus funds are doled out and spent by Georgia agencies, is different than the state Department of Transportation’s, which focuses on people-moving projects and bridges.

Says Gov. Sonny Perdue via press release:

“The accountability website will allow all Georgians to hold their state government responsible for how we spend their tax dollars,” said Governor Perdue. “I want to be able to point to concrete results when my grandchildren ask me how we spent stimulus money.”

Residents can also use the site to report fraud or waste.

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The Georgia Department of Transportation has unveiled a website to allow residents to track projects that are part of President Barack Obama’s stimulus program.

From the department:

Visitors to the site will find links to topics including Georgia’s stimulus transportation funding chart, project categories, the Department’s current efforts, links to other sites and resources, frequently asked questions and much more. The Web site will be closely monitored and periodic updates will be added continually.

The department’s December call for transportation project proposals generated more than 850 responses from Georgia cities and counties. The president’s $787 billion plan allocated $932 million for transportation projects in the Peach State.

The department says it’s combing through the cities and counties’ wishlists — which totaled more than $1 billion — and will post information about projects once they are approved. That could be as early as Friday or Monday.

(Photo courtesy the gubment)

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STIMULATE THIS: 'Stan,' from Matt Haffner's Serial City project

Earlier last month, critic Jonathan Jones of The Guardian joined several other journalists and arts aficionados in calling for a stimulus for public art in his native UK. But instead of simply parroting what we’ve already heard, Jones makes an inspired, though unorthodox spin on the argument: Why not fund genres outside of the mainstream, including graffiti?

We are primed as a nation for public art. All over Britain, a huge variety of imagery has been erected in the boom years. There must be more funding for public art, not less – but obviously the money can’t just go to famous individual artists. Instead, it has to be redirected to provide creative work for the young unemployed. And so, the state should pay the young to graffiti our streets.

(Let’s not forget that the UK is the home of Banksy, arguably the world’s most daring street artist, whose work now fetches record prices at international auctions.)

Atlantans feel strongly about their graffiti — both for and against. Mara Shalhoup’s story in CL last summer, for instance, received a lot more comments than you’d expect. Local artists such as Matt Haffner (featured on the cover of The Atlantan’s Arts and Power issue in December) work in traditional fine art circles as well as on the street. And Haffner is no stranger to grant funding: His work was chosen for ACP’s very first public art project. So, could you imagine seeing new, large-scale graffiti works by Haffner or other Atlantans — financed by grant money?

Of course the funds wouldn’t necessarily come from tax dollars. Last week’s groundbreaking Artadia announcement shows that there are still foundations out there willing to invest in Atlanta art. Coupled with ACP’s public art announcement, I wonder: Have foundations like Artadia considered street art as a grant-worthy alternative?

(Photo courtesy Wooster Collective)

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Maybe Gov. Sonny Perdue, in Washington, D.C. this weekend for the National Governors Association’s winter conference, has the flu. If so, get better and come home soon, sir! We wanna talk to you about this whole might-not-take-some-of-that-stimulus-money thingy.

From the Huffington Post’s frontpage (photo by Charles Dharapak of the Associated Press):

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Remember those Georgia Republican Congressmen who bellyached about President Barack Obama’s $787 billion stimulus plan? Their constituents might see most of its benefits.

From Jim Galloway at the AJC:

Not surprisingly, according to the White House, the stimulus will be the greatest boon in north metro Atlanta congressional districts whose Republican representatives opposed it.

The package will create or save about 9,900 jobs in Georgia’s 7th congressional district, represented by John Linder of Duluth.

Another 9,200 jobs will be created or saved in Georgia’s 6th District, which is represented by Republican Tom Price of Roswell.

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This afternoon, Gov. Perdue announced he had some good news and some bad news.

First the bad news: The latest state revenue figures have come in and they indicate Georgia will be bringing in nearly half a billion dollars less than previously thought.

Next, the good news: Although it breaks his heart to do it, Sonny will refrain from vetoing the Legislature’s efforts to honor the Homeowner Tax Relief Grant one last time. This means Georgia homeowners will not be forced to shell out another $200 to $300 to cover a $428 million gap in last year’s property tax collections. Perdue sincerely wanted to put the screws to taxpayers, but the Obama stimulus bill has robbed the old Scrooge of any decent excuse he may have thought he had to stiff us.

(more…)

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Nuke this!

>> Secretary of State Hilary Clinton chose Asia for her first stately trip and wagged a finger at North Korea, warning against any shenanigans.

>> COMEUPPANCE: Halliburton’s exclusive contract with the U.S. military is guaranteed no more.

>> Chris Brown makes a public statement about being sad, becoming a better man, getting help from God, and blah, blah, blah.

>> The stimulus bill retained the $50 million allotted for the National Endowment for the Arts. Yes, people — artists need jobs too.

>> ‘CAR CZAR’ OUT: Obama decides fixing the car industry is not a job for just one man.

>> Things that don’t go together — pedestrians and highways. This is why.

>> Lance Armstrong’s time-trial bike, worth more than $10K, was stolen. Since he only finished fifth in the race he was using it for, it doesn’t appear to have magical powers like the bikes he used for his seven Tours.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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We got cows here!

>> YELLOW BOVINE?: Yum, cow urine. Thanks India! Can’t be worse than that “bull bile” we love to drink.

>> Space nerds’ worst fears confirmed — humans have managed to pollute space.

>> TAKE FROM THE POOR, GIVE TO THE RICH: In the final rounds of stimulus plan massaging, Washington still refuses to change its tone. Tax credits for lower income households were reduced but $70 billion was put towards sheltering high-income tax payers.

>> In case you cared, here’s a handy roundup of all things Chrisanna (Did she give him an STD?! Did he strangle her?! Oh my!)

>> UH, OK?: Apparently, gays are somehow more capable of surviving recessions in style than non-gays. Not really getting the correlation. But it’s happened before, so it must be true, right?

>> If you needed evidence that American policies are creating resentment (and potential new terrorists) in the MIddle East…

>> SCARY: Another young Florida girl has gone missing. The 5-year-old’s father’s girlfriend awoke to find her gone from the bed they’d both been sleeping in.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Current amount, in dollars, of President Obama’s stimulus plan aimed to create jobs and spur the economy: 827 billion

Amount, in dollars, Mayor Shirley Franklin recently requested for Atlanta projects: 1.88 billion

Estimated number of city jobs Franklin says the federal stimulus plan could create: 40,000

Number of police officers Franklin wants to add with stimulus money: 200

Dollar value of sewer projects the city wants to build using stimulus funds: 801 million

Amount, in dollars, the city requested to build the International Terminal at Jackson-Hartsfield International Airport: 500 million

Number of federal dollars Franklin says would go to offset the city’s budget deficit: 0

Amount, in dollars, the Georgia Department of Transportation has requested for state projects: 3.4 billion

Estimated number of jobs Georgia could gain because of the stimulus package: 143,000

Sources: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, U.S. Conference of Mayors

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Hey! Not so fast!

And then come back in June! Woo hoo!

Aaron Gould Sheinin of the AJC reports:

The state House just voted unanimously to split the 40-day legislative session into two parts, which lawmakers hope will give them flexibility to deal with whatever economic stimulus package comes from Washington.

The House voted 165-0 to meet three days a week through March 25 and then return in late June. The General Assembly is constitutionally required to meet for no more than 40 days a year, although those 40 days do not have to run consecutively.

House Majority Leader Jerry Keen (R-St. Simons) said Senate leaders have also agreed to the change, although that body must approve the adjournment resolution before it takes effect.

This, Keen said, allows the Legislature to be “responsive to things that may or may not come down from Washington.”

Sheinin has more details at the link above.

(Photo by li’l ole me from last session’s Sine Die liveblog)

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Critics of the not-yet-passed-as-I’m-writing-this economic stimulus package complain it’s packed with wasteful spending that won’t do anything to defibrillate the U.S. economy.

Among the spending singled-out as wasteful by critics: $25 million to improve trails for all-terrain vehicles, $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts, and $335 million to help fight the spread of STDs. As someone whose lifelong dream it is to film ironic, noir-ish sex-ed videos in remote corners of national parks for screening on PBS, I’m feeling pretty good right about now.

As luck would have it, the big stimulus bill working its way through D.C. isn’t the only economic lifeline being tossed my way by Team Obama. The Feds are also offering a generous subsidy to foreign policy columnists.

Unlike the stimulus, this subsidy is not being offered as a cash payment. Rather, the Obama administration’s war strategy in Afghanistan is so unclear, newspapers have no choice but to keep paying people like me to help explain it. With unemployment in my home state at a 26-year high, all I can say is WOO-HOO! Yes we can!

In fairness, Obama didn’t create the current mess and his White House may well soon emerge with a smart, sane, clear mission statement for Afghanistan.

But that doesn’t change the fact that, as of right now, Obama has committed an additional 20,000 U.S. troops to a battle without any obvious goals. (more…)

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