Author: Admin

Metro Atlanta President at United Community Bank Doug Higgins talks about the growth strategy of UCB in metro Atlanta. UCB has the services of a large bank, but with the approach of a community bank.

GEICO is hiring 200 Customer Service Representatives, Sales Representatives, Claims Service Representatives and Emergency Roadside Service Representatives at its Macon regional offices over the next two months. Companywide, the insurer has announced plans to hire 3,000 new associates by the end of the year.  

Applications are being accepted now at GEICO.jobs/macon.

With GEICO’s 7,000 Macon associates working from home, all interviewing, hiring, onboarding and training will be done virtually. New hires will also work remotely until the company transitions associates back to offices.  

GEICO, a member of the Berkshire Hathaway family of companies, was founded more than 80 years ago and has steadily risen to become the nation’s second-largest auto insurer. President and CEO Todd Combs welcomes candidates to consider joining GEICO and helping the company continue to offer the quality service customers have come to expect.  

“We are incredibly proud to be able to offer career opportunities at a time when many Americans have had their livelihoods taken away by the pandemic,” Combs said. “We are fortunate to be a stable company committed to serving our customers, developing associates and supporting our local communities during this challenging time.” 

GEICO—one of Comparably’s 2019 “Top 50 Large Companies for Perks & Benefits” and Indeed.com’s “10 Highest-Rated Workplaces for Compensation and Benefits”—offers full-time associates its Total Rewards Program, with a wide range of benefits, including health, dental and vision coverage, paid vacation and holidays, parental leave, continuing education and tuition reimbursement. GEICO is a promote-from-within company that offers career growth, a supportive environment and community engagement opportunities. 

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) Board of Directors today adopted the Authority’s fiscal year 2021 Operating and Capital Budget. The nearly $1.2 billion budget includes $557.9 million in operating funds and $599 million for capital programming.

Recognizing that transit will be an integral part of the post-pandemic economic recovery of this country, Congress provided a lifeline in May by including $25 billion in the CARES Act for transit, $298.6 million of which will flow to MARTA. MARTA used $83 million to shore up COVID-related losses in 2020, has earmarked $150 million of those funds for fiscal 2021, and held $65.6 million for fiscal 2022. Any surpluses will be placed in a sales tax reserve, which is expected to reach $272.5 million at the end of fiscal 2021. These reserves will help offset potential deficits through 2025, giving the economy and ridership time to recover.

“This has been an extraordinarily difficult time for transit. We’ve provided safe, essential service while experiencing unprecedented revenue losses,” said MARTA General Manager & CEO Jeffrey Parker. “This budget delivers on the promises in the 15^th Amendment and reflects MARTA’s commitment to state of good repair and expansion while being mindful of future financial impacts of COVID-19.”

Notably, MARTA avoids laying off any employees and will not increase fares in fiscal 2021. MARTA’s almost 3,000 represented employees will receive 3 percent raises as negotiated. Also, in the budget, a $20 million contingency fund to pay for any COVID-related expenses over the next year such as more personal protection equipment and emergency sick leave. As measures of fiscal prudence, MARTA has suspended merit increases for non-represented employees, eliminated vacant positions, and re-doubled efforts to reduce overtime.

“MARTA acted quickly to tighten its belt when the pandemic hit, allowing us to remain fully staffed and operational,” said MARTA Board of Directors Chair Freda Hardage. “Years of sound fiscal decisions, combined with a strong three quarters of fiscal 2019 have allowed us to not only weather this fourth quarter but to make good on our promise to taxpayers eager for current system upgrades and expansion of service and amenities. I am proud to serve with board members who made themselves available to work through this challenging time.”

The MARTA 2040 (previously More MARTA) expansion program will continue to advance. The Authority will invest $20 million in new natural gas-powered and electric buses, new bus transit centers and bus shelters in DeKalb and Clayton Counties and upgraded GPS and computer-aided bus dispatch equipment. MARTA is using the lessons learned from reducing bus routes during the pandemic to evaluate the overall bus network and look for ways to optimize service.

MARTA is finalizing the service plan for bus rapid transit (BRT) on North Avenue, will enter the environmental assessment phase for high-capacity transit in Clayton County, and complete early design work on Summerhill BRT. MARTA will also conduct alignment work on the Campbellton Corridor and Streetcar East Extension projects, along with starting the procurement process for a formal design team to oversee the transformation of Five Points station.

MARTA’s state of good repair capital budget includes over $200 million for improvement projects on the rail system. Sixty-two million will be spent on a systemwide Station Rehabilitation Program that ranges from transformative construction work to restorative touches such as paint, tile, and lighting. The fourth iteration of the Track Renovation Program (TR-IV) in which large sections of aging tracks and track equipment are repaired and replaced is underway. Other rail system projects include a systemwide Elevator and Escalator Rehabilitation Program, tunnel ventilation, Train Control System upgrade, and the first installment of new rail cars.

MARTA will continue to prioritize improving the customer experience as ridership begins to recover after pandemic-related declines of up to 80 percent on rail and 50 percent on bus. This month marked the first meeting of MARTA’s inaugural Riders’ Advisory Council, a 26-member volunteer group that will offer feedback on improving the overall transit experience. Led by MARTA’s first-ever Chief Customer Experience Officer, the council will provide their viewpoints on potential customer impacts of budgeted projects such as rail station enhancements, design of new railcars, and the rollout of digital signage

Other customer-focused initiatives will be introduced, such as Uber vouchers for patrons during planned and unplanned service disruptions. Technology upgrades that will make it easier to use the system, including mobile fare payment and the new audio/video announcement system will be launched. MARTA will also build on its Homeless Outreach Initiative with the creation of dedicated outreach teams comprised of MARTA employees and social service workers to respectfully engage unsheltered individuals on the system and connect them with resources.

Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms held a press conference in the City Hall atrium on June 15 to discuss the murder of three homeless people and to announce she was signing an administrative order to reform the Atlanta Police Department’s use of force policy.

Three homeless people have been shot to death on the streets of Atlanta in the last two week, possibly by the same subject.

The latest victim was a homeless woman found shot to death inside a tent near Pryor and Rawson streets on Monday morning. Witnesses described the suspect as a black male, approximately 5’10 to 6 feet tall, 170 to 200 pounds, wearing a dark ball cap, dark jeans and long-sleeved white t-shirt.

On June 12, the body of a homeless man was found shot to death under the I-20 overpass in the 300 block of Ted Turner Drive. On June 1, another homeless man was found dead from gunshot wounds on the Baker Highland Connector in Old Fourth Ward.

“We believe the first two incidents are linked and we suspect the third is related,” Bottoms said.

Bottoms said the public was being asked to come forward if they have any information or possible surveillance footage from the areas of the shootings. She said organizations and agencies are warning the homeless to be on “high alert.”

The mayor also announced that she was signing two administrative orders in the wake of the June 12 shooting and killing of Rayshard Brooks by an Atlanta Police Department officer.

The first order addresses APD’s use of force policy and will provide guidance on responding to resistance by a detainee, de-escalating a situation prior to the use of deadly force, and requiring other officers to intervene if they witness another officer using excessive force.

The mayor had already convened a task force to examine APD’s use of force, but said the issue must be addressed immediately. She said police officers should be “guardians not warriors in our communities.”

“It is clear we do not have another day, another hour, another minute to waste,” Bottoms said, reiterating Dr. Martin Luther King’s words that “there is a fierce urgency of now.”

The task force was created just a week ago after a challenge issued by former President Barrack Obama for cities to take a proactive look at use of force policies by their law enforcement agencies. Bottoms said final recommendations from the panel were expected in 45 days.

The mayor also signed another order calling for the creation of a human rights task force for the city “to begin succinctly articulating our grievances” and finding solutions.

Bottoms once again expressed condolences to the family of Rayshard Brooks, who earlier in the day appeared at a news conference to express their grief and urge changes at APD.

“We must all agree to one fact: he was killed by the Atlanta Police Department,” said Brooks’ cousin Tiara Brooks. “The trust that we have with the police force is broken. The only way to heal some of these wounds is through a conviction and a drastic change with the police department.”

Brooks’ widow, Tomika Miller, thanked the community for their support, but asked that demonstrators to keep protests peaceful. “We want to keep his name positive and great,” she said.

Her call for peaceful demonstrations came after protesters burned down the Wendy’s where the shooting took place.

“That was a minority owned Wendy’s,” Mayor Bottoms said. “Forty people are out of a job and it’s food desert, so it was one of the few places in the area where you could get a sandwich or salad.”

The APD has issued a $10,000 reward for information of a woman dressed in black and wearing a face-covering who they believe started the blaze that destroyed the Wendy’s.

Bottoms became emotional when asked by a reporter about Brooks’ death.

“He probably didn’t want to get locked up over the weekend for something stupid with his daughter’s birthday coming up,” she said. “It didn’t have to end that way. It pissed me off, it makes me sad, and I’m frustrated.”

The mayor said it was up to Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard on whether or not to bring charges against former APD officer Garrett Rolfe, who fired the fatal shots that killed Brooks.

Rolfe was terminated and Police Chief Erika Shields resigned over the weekend. Chief Rodney Bryant will serve as the interim chief while the city launches a national search for new leadership.

“I’ve encouraged the DA to look at all the other cases of excessive force sitting on his desk to offer finality to those families as well,” she said.

Brooks, who was father of three young daughters and a stepson, will have his funeral service paid for by movie mogul Tyler Perry.

The post Mayor Bottoms holds press conference on homeless murders, signs order on police use of force appeared first on Atlanta INtown Paper.

It is a fact that real estate agents play a key role in the process of buying or selling a home. Recent statistics from the National Association of Realtors show…

The Dallas housing market is one of the most recognizable and buzzworthy in the US. For many years in a row, it has been ranking on lists of best cities…

Thousands marched from the Richard B. Russell Federal Building to the State Capitol in the March on Georgia organized by the Georgia NAACP. Coinciding with the reconvening of the General Assembly, which cancelled the session due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the march was in support of repealing the “Citizens Arrest” law, which has been on the books since 1863 and designed to recapture emancipated slaves; repealing the “Stand Your Ground” law; and improving Georgia’s elections.

The Atlanta Police Department arrested 42 people over the weekend in connection with protests against the officer-involved shooting of Rayshard Brooks outside a Wendy’s restaurant on University Avenue on June 12. APD made 36 arrests on Saturday night, the same evening hundreds of protesters blocked traffic on the Downtown Connector and the Wendy’s was set ablaze. On Sunday night, protesters fanned out across the city, including University Avenue, outside the police precinct in Grant Park and on Capitol Avenue, Hank Aaron Drive in the Summerhill neighborhood.

The Atlanta City Council will hold a public listening session on the Fiscal Year 2021 proposed budget Tuesday, June 16, from 10 a.m. to noon. The listening session will be held remotely and provide Atlanta residents, business leaders and other stakeholders an opportunity to provide public comment about the City of Atlanta’s proposed budget. Public comment about the budget can be submitted through voicemail up to one hour before the start of the meeting. The public may leave comment by dialing (404) 330-6090 and leaving a message not to exceed two minutes. The public can access and listen to the session using the conference bridge by dialing (877) 499-2930 and entering ID number 3995242 or 4237466. The meeting will also be simulcast on the Council’s website, YouTube channel, Facebook and Twitter pages, and on Channel 26.

The landmark ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court protecting LGBTQ workers against job discrimination has a metro Atlanta connection. Doraville resident Gerald Bostock was a lead plaintiffs in the case after being fired from his job in Clayton County because he is gay. According to the AJC, Bostock asked the court to find that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects millions of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people across the country from discrimination in the workplace.

The post News Briefs: March on Georgia; 42 arrests during protests; city budget session; SCOTUS protects LGBTQ workers appeared first on Atlanta INtown Paper.

Thinking of expanding your real estate portfolio? Consider investing in senior housing. The increasing demand for senior housing is attributed to ‘Baby Boomers’ (people born between 1946 and 1964). According…

Governor Brian P. Kemp announced that Georgia has received its 12th Shovel Award – its 11th consecutive such award – recognizing the state’s excellence in attracting investment and creating jobs. Georgia’s Silver Shovel Award is presented by Area Development, the leading executive magazine covering corporate site selection and relocation.

“It’s an honor to accept this award on behalf of all of the hardworking Georgians who consistently create opportunities in their communities,” said Governor Kemp. “For eleven years in a row, Georgia has earned this recognition thanks to our pro-business environment, unmatched workforce, world-renowned logistics, and longstanding commitment to attracting jobs to every corner of the state. I want to thank our state’s economic development team and our local partners for their tireless work to promote prosperity throughout the Peach State.”

Area Development’s annual Shovel Awards give recognition to state and local economic development agencies that leverage innovative policies, workforce development, and logistics hubs to drive investment and job creation. All states were invited to submit information to Area Development on major groundbreakings, investments, and business expansions occurring in 2019.

“This award recognizing jobs and investment in Georgia represents more than a decade of Georgia’s unwavering support for economic development,” said Georgia Department of Economic Development Commissioner Pat Wilson. “It represents strong relationships and leadership at every level of our state. I thank Governor Kemp, our legislature, our state economic development team, and all of our partners across the state for helping us establish such a solid framework of diverse industries that will keep Georgia on the path of growth.”

A report on the 2020 Shovel Award Winners is published in the Q2/2020 issue of Area Development online here.