Fresh Loaf

A new AP report on census figures shows Atlanta is among the 25 fastest growing cities in the U.S.

The bureau found the population shifted from 520,368 persons in July 2007 to 537,958 in July 2008, about 3.4 percent.

We’re all so accustomed to gridlocked traffic and construction cranes that “Atlanta is growing” doesn’t seem like news.

It is.

Remember, despite the metro area’s half century of uninterrupted rapid growth, City of Atlanta lost population from the 1970s until the 1990s.

Also of noted: Last week the Atlanta Regional Commission released a report showing metro Atlanta is the second fastest-growing metro area in the country this decade after Dallas. By 2040, metro Atlanta is expected to be home to 8.3 million people.

Good thing local and state leaders are working so well together to meet our transportation and water needs.

(Correction: A previous version of this post incorrectly stated the 2000 U.S. Census showed a decline in Atlanta population from 1990. Here are the correct numbers.)

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As Thomas “gluten-free” Wheatley and others noted earlier, Democrat Roy Barnes is running for governor.

Barnes held the governorship from 1999 to 2003. His re-election bid was thwarted in 2002 by a then-obscure raindancing fisherman from central Georgia named George Perdue. Please, call him Sonny.

Metro Atlantans have some good reasons to be excited about Barnes.

He’s smart. He’s experienced. He’s won statewide office already.

And perhaps most importantly, he’s more likely than anyone seeking the governorship to break the militant, city-hatin’ Georgia GOP’s chokehold on metro Atlanta.

But before we get our hopes up too much, let’s remember: Barnes four-year governorship wasn’t just bad. It was tragic.

Barnes began his governorship with astonishing promise.

From consumer-friendly healthcare reform, tax cuts, open-government rules, Roy had it goin’ on.

The most impressive of his early accomplishments was the creation of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority, a metro-wide agency that promised to at last impose sanity on Georgia’s unsustainable, sprawling growth.

Here’s what the Economist said in July 1999:

No other governor in the country has anything approaching [GRTA]—but then few cities have built new roads with anything approaching Atlanta’s abandon.

Under the GRTA (widely translated as “Give Roy Total Authority”), Mr Barnes can exercise complete control over transport and development in the 20 counties that make up the Atlanta metropolitan area, as well as in any other part of the state that falls out of compliance with anti-pollution requirements. This bill also contains a political masterstroke: it gives the governor the right to veto actions by the state Department of Transportation, which has been a law unto itself for much of this century.

So what happened?

Like in any good tragedy, it was Barnes’ strength that did him in. He over-reached.

(more…)

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Polish your Glocks, licensed firearm carriers. On July 1, your lifelong dream to legally carry a pistol on the city’s public-transit system will be realized. In uneasy anticipation of the event, MARTA’s trying to get the word out.

So sayeth the people-moving machine:

Georgia law prohibits the carrying of a pistol, revolver or other firearm on public transit unless a person has a valid firearms license to carry a gun. This license must be carried at any time that an individual is carrying a firearm on MARTA. MARTA police will strictly enforce all provisions of this law. Any individual found to be carrying a firearm without a permit will have it confiscated and will be issued a citation pursuant to Georgia law.

Ya hear that? You gotta have a license.

MARTA’s work rules strictly prohibit all employees, whether licensed or not, from the possession of any type of firearm while on MARTA property. This prohibition applies to employees’ vehicles while vehicles are parked on any Authority property designated as a secured employee parking area.

If you work for MARTA, no dice.

When taking MARTA to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, customers need to be aware that firearms laws governing the Airport are different from those governing MARTA. Please see the Airport’s website to review their firearms regulations.

If you see something creepy, MARTA advises you to discreetly contact a staff member, press the emergency call button, or dial (404) 848-4911 or by pressing #MPD on any AT&T, Verizon, or Sprint/Nextel cellular phone. Blackberry users can press #673.

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FEE FOR ALL: Atlanta City Councilman Jim Maddox proposes taxing $1 for tickets to pro sporting events and major concerts in the city to help soften the looming $140 million budget shortfall.

14TH STREET BRIDGE: Dead to us.

GET OUT OF MY CAR: Between March 2007 and March 2008, American driving dropped at the steepest rate since record keeping began in 1942.

ABATED BREATH: Beginning next year, asthma sufferers will have to switch to the more expensive CFC-free inhalers for environmental reasons, good for ozone but a blow to Atlantans who already live in an asthma-unfriendly city.

YOU GOT CONSERVED: As utilities start raising rates to make up for reduced usage, the dark side of conservation is rearing its head across the Southeast.

ONE FLU OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST: Study released Monday says strains of bird flu are getting closer to conditions that could lead to a human pandemic.

GETTING BROWSY: The “browser wars” of the mid-’90s are heating back up, as Mozilla readies Firefox 3.0 for release in June and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 8 is due later this year.

FRIGHTENING IN A BOTTLE: Orlando man sells bottles that he claims have ghosts in them.

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Expect Monday traffic to be especially lousy in and around Downtown as crews continue working on downed power lines, damaged traffic signals, and debris removal.

If you can, city officials advise you to use MARTA. If not, be patient and prepared. Below are traffic details from the city.

From a release:

Traffic will be severely limited in an area bordered by: Andrew Young International Blvd., Phillips Drive NW, Centennial Olympic Parkway Dr. NW, Marietta Street NW/Decatur Street SE, and Peachtree Center. Consider planning a route that does not travel through downtown and plan extra time to get to work.

Police advise motorists coming to the city from the south, who work north of Harris Street, to continue on 75/85 past downtown and double back in to avoid the worst-hit areas. Those living north of the city, and working south of Marietta Street should plan to travel past the downtown exits and travel back. Exits to avoid off the 75/85 are Edgewood and Andrew Young International.

The following street closures are still in effect as of 5:30 pm:

Jessie Hill from Coca Cola to Armstrong
Auburn Ave from Bell Street to Jesse Hill
Coca Cola Pl. from Jesse Hill to Pratt Street
Boulevard – Gartrell to Memorial
Jackson – Gartrell to Todd Streets
Park Pl – Edgewood to Auburn Streets
Marietta St – Peachtree to Fairlie – westbound only
Luckie St – Peachtree to Forsyth
Peachtree – Marietta to Harris St
Andrew Young International Blvd – Peachtree to Spring Street
Harris St. – Spring to Peachtree
Marietta Street – Centennial Olympic Parkway to Andrew Young International Blvd
Spring Street – ML King to Walton

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