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Marches, rallies, and demonstrations continue to happen daily in Atlanta as the demands for an end to racial injustice grow in the wake of the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and Rayshard Brooks. On Tuesday, June 16, a march were held in Downtown from Centennial Park to the Martin Luther King Jr. Historic District, while another demonstration was held outside the burned out Wendy’s where Brooks was shot and killed by police on June 12.

Beacon Hill Black Alliance for Human Rights will hold a rally, Take It Down – No More Monuments to White Supremacy, on the Decatur Square on Wednesday, June 17, at 6:30 p.m. The demand is to remove Confederate and Jim Crow-era monuments erected to preserve white supremacy located around the area of the DeKalb County courthouse. Encouraged by a court order from Judge Clarence Seeliger to remove the “Lost Cause” Confederate obelisk by June 26, the Beacon Hill Black Alliance for Human Rights is holding the gathering to show support for the actions of the city of Decatur in filing the complaint and to urge DeKalb County to move ahead swiftly with the removal plans of a “nuisance” which is “manifestly injurious to the public health or safety.”

The reward has increased to $20,000 for information on two women suspected in the arson that destroyed the Wendy’s restaurant at 125 University Avenue during protests against the police shooting of Rayshard Brook on June 13. “We don’t want to allow peaceful voices and focus to be overshadowed by events such as this.” Atlanta Fire Chief Randall Slaughter said during at June 16 press conference. There are currently multiple suspects in the arson investigation, but there are only clear photos of two of the subjects, who both appear to be white females. Anyone with information is asked to call the Atlanta Fire Department at (404) 546-7000. Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said during a press conference on June 15 that the Wendy’s was minority-owned and 40 people were out of job.

OneRace Movement will host March on Atlanta on Friday, June 19, starting at 9 a.m. in Centennial Olympic Park in Downtown. The march will head to the State Capitol then return to the park for music and special remarks. More details are available at oneracemovement.com/marchonatlanta.

A large group of Black Lives Matter protesters marched from Buckhead to Downtown and back June 14 to spotlight racism and police brutality. The “Walk for Justice” drew more than 300 people, according to organizer Victoria Williams, and traveled a route symbolizing the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota, which triggered nationwide and local protests. “I organized an 8.46-mile walk for the 8.46 minutes the officer knelt on the neck of George Floyd,” Williams said in a text message. Read more and see photos at our sister publication, Reporter Newspapers.

The post Protest Update: Decatur rally against ‘Lost Cause’ monument; $20k reward for Wendy’s arsonists; more marches appeared first on Atlanta INtown Paper.

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As Atlanta Public Schools plans to start the new school year Aug. 10 in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, it is holding two town halls for input on what form reopening should take: virtual, in-person attendance or a hybrid of both.

The town halls are scheduled for June 18, noon, and June 22, 6 p.m. The June 18 town hall will be held in English and the June 22 town hall in both English and Spanish. Both will be held via Facebook Live video on the APS Facebook page at facebook.com/AtlantaPublicSchools.

Participants will include Lisa Herring, who starts as APS’s new superintendent on July 1, and members of the district’s COVID-19 Task Force.

APS says it intends to announce a reopening plan in mid-July.

The post Atlanta Public Schools to hold virtual town halls on reopening strategy appeared first on Atlanta INtown Paper.

Monday’s virtual Atlanta City Council meeting took place over a period of 11 hours and 45 minutes. As part of the meeting, 499 public comments were submitted, which were played and listened to by the council.

The Atlanta City Council approved legislation Monday, June 15, to add $88.4 million to the Fiscal Year 2020 budget as part of funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (Legislative Reference No. 20-O-1362). The funds will be used to cover costs that are necessary expenditures incurred due to the COVID-19 public health emergency.

Other items approved Monday include:

* An ordinance to set the rate schedule for monthly water and sewer rates and charges at the current rates through June 30, 2024 (Legislative Reference No. 20-O-1372). The legislation also authorizes the City to continue applying Municipal Optional Sales Tax (MOST) revenue to water and sewer projects and costs.

• An ordinance to amend the levy provisions of the Code of Ordinances for the purpose of changing the ad valorem tax rates for personal property, bond indebtedness, parks, school operations/debt and special tax districts, and provide that those rates remain fixed for one year in compliance with the City Code (Legislative Reference No. 20-O-1318). The millage rate remains the same as the previous year until the receipt of the final tax digest.

• An ordinance to restrict the use of the Building Permit Fee Waiver Program to the growth areas as designated by the Atlanta City Design, a planning framework outlined in the City’s charter to accommodate desired population growth and employment in the city. The legislation is aimed at ensuring that growth is beneficial to Atlanta’s residents (Legislative Reference No. 20-O-1427).

•  A resolution authorizing the mayor or her designee to accept the donation by the Atlanta Police Foundation of a study to be performed by the Georgia Institute of Technology concerning the feasibility of adding one or more zones to the City’s public safety coverage to ensure the safety of Atlanta residents (Legislative Reference No. 20-R-4011).

The Council also immediately approved:

• A resolution urging the City of Atlanta and the Georgia General Assembly to adopt policies to implement comprehensive police reform.

• A resolution that the Atlanta City Council respectfully request the Georgia General Assembly to enact House Bill 426 – the “Georgia Hate Crimes Act” – within the state of Georgia.

An item was introduced to be considered during a special called meeting scheduled for Friday, June 19 at 11 a.m. to consider and adopt the City of Atlanta’s 2021 Fiscal Year budget:

• A resolution declaring the intention of the Atlanta City Council to create the Public Safety and Community Support Restricted Fund and requesting that the chief operating officer produce a report of recommendations regarding the City’s approach to public safety, including recommendations for systematic changes in police policies, reinventing the culture of policing in the city and being a model for public safety for cities across the nation, to be provided to the Atlanta City Council by no later than Dec. 1, 2020.

Several items were also introduced to be considered in committee next, including:

• An ordinance to amend the City’s code of ordinances to increase membership and expand the authority of the Atlanta Citizen Review Board.

• An ordinance to amend the City’s code of ordinances to decriminalize victimless minor offenses.

• An ordinance prohibiting the Atlanta Police Department from using military-style vehicles and ban the use of rubber bullets and stun grenades to disperse protesters.

• An ordinance to amend the Atlanta Police Department’s standard operating procedures to incorporate procedural changes regarding alternatives to the use of force.

• A resolution requesting the Department of Transportation Commissioner create a participatory engagement process with the community to select a street where a permanent “Black Lives Matter” mural commissioned by members of the Atlanta City Council may be installed to commemorate the “Black Lives Matter” movement in the city of Atlanta.

• A resolution approving a deployment plan for funds allocated for rental assistance through the consumer grant program in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

The post Marathon Atlanta City Council meeting covers police reform, COVID-19, and 499 public comments appeared first on Atlanta INtown Paper.

Atlanta chefs, bakers and restaurant owners are banding together on June 21 to host a bake sale fundraiser in honor of George Floyd and to continue raising awareness for racial justice in Atlanta.

The event is the result of a collaboration – Southern Restaurants for Racial Justice – between chefs Lisa Maria Donovan (Nashville), Cheryl Day (Savannah), and Sarah O’Brien (Atlanta) on ways the restaurant community can provide support and help amplify black-led organizations who are actively working to dismantle systemic racism and oppression.

The Atlanta bake sale, spearheaded by chef-owner Anne Quatrano, will take place on Sunday, June 21, at Ponce City Market’s Central Food Hall where guests can purchase $5 (pre-sealed) boxes of baked goods (bagels, cupcakes, cookies, cakes, tarts, rolls, biscuits, and more) and products from their favorite local chefs and purveyors with 100 percent of proceeds benefitting Color of Change.

Pre-orders and more details are available at this link.

Here’s the current list of participants:

• Aria
• Aziza
• Babs Midtown/Pookie Enterprises
• Bacchanalia
• Bantam + Biddy
• Bar Mercado
• Biltong Bar
• Bread & Butterfly
• Buttermilk Kitchen
• Chick-a-Biddy
• Colletta
• Cooks & Soldiers
• Cremalosa
• Double Zero
• El Ponce
• El Super Pan
• Electric Hospitality
• El Tesoro
• Empire State South
• Evergreen Butcher + Baker
• Fifth Group Restaurants
• Floataway Café
• Forza Storico
• Georgetown Cupcake (Buckhead)
• Hampton + Hudson
• Hen Mother Cookhouse
• Honeysuckle Gelato
• Hopkins & Co.
• Just Add Honey Tea Company
• Kimball House
• King of Pops
• Lazy Betty
• Legendary Events
• Little Tart Bakery
• Lyla Lila
• Miller Union
• Mission + Market
• Nina & Rafi
• O-Ku
• Oak Steakhouse
• Pancake Social
• Petit Chou
• Proof Bakeshop
• Proof of the Pudding
• Queen of Cream
• Recess
• Revival
• Rocket Farm Restaurants
• Ruby Chow’s
• Southern Belle
• Southern Proper Hospitality
• Spiller Park
• St. Germain French Bakery
• Staplehouse
• Star Provisions Market & Café
• Storico Fresco
• Sugo
• Sweet Auburn BBQ
• Taqueria del Sol
• The Expat (Athens)
• The General Muir
• The Iberian Pig Buckhead
• The Iberian Pig Decatur
• The Roof at Ponce City Market
• Tiny Lou’s
• Tip Top canned cocktails
• Ton Ton
• Umi
• W.H. Stiles Fish Camp
• Yen Jing Chinese Restaurant
• Yumbii

The post Local restaurants collaborate on June 21 bake sale event to benefit racial justice nonprofit appeared first on Atlanta INtown Paper.

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Atlanta History Center has cancelled its Juneteenth program, but has prepared special online content for the commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States.

Juneteenth refers to June 19, 1865 — the date that the last enslaved African Americans in the United States learned that they were free after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.

The Atlanta History Center has organized a 2020 virtual program filled with resources for all ages to mark the occasion. Online visitors are invited to explore themes of struggle, freedom and family history through the specially prepared content on the Museum at Home page at this link.

The blog post Juneteenth: A Celebration for a New Age, written by Atlanta History Center Vice President of Historical Interpretation and Community Partnerships Dr. Calinda Lee, traces the remarkable twists and turns in the history of the observance. Dr. Lee writes that though Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, few people were immediately freed. The Civil War was ongoing and “’rebellious states’ were in no mood to play heed to Lincoln’s order.”

Even after the war’s official end on April 2, 1865, some troops continued fight for a full two months. “Slave holders were loath to respect the change in law,” Dr. Lee explains. “And enslaved people, often isolated and illiterate, had limited access to information. A full two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation and two long months after Richmond fell, the last enslaved African Americans in Texas were pronounced free people. That momentous date, June 19, 1865, has been proclaimed Juneteenth and celebrated annually ever since.”

Atlanta History Center’s Juneteenth 2020 online content will also include

—Spotlighting five major Civil War Engagements of United States Colored Troops (USCT). Following the Militia Act of 1862, the United States Army accepted African American troops. They were formed into segregated regiments known as the United States Colored Troops (USCT). In 1862, approximately 1 percent of the Northern population was black. However, by 1865 nearly 12 percent of U.S. troops were African American. Interactive images will highlight USCT’S participation during the Fall of Richmond and Appomattox, the Second Battle of Fort Wagner, the Battle of Fort Pillow, the Battle of Olustee, and the Battle of the Crater. Includes historic maps and newspaper clippings, summaries about the conflicts, audio performances of USCT soldier accounts, and information about related artifacts in Atlanta History Center’s collections.

–Emma Davis-Hamilton in a prerecorded session about finding your African American roots. Georgia Genealogical Society board member and Past President of the Atlanta chapter, Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, Emma Davis-Hamilton will cover finding and using Freedmen’s Bureau records, a rich resource for documenting African American life in the post-Civil War and Reconstruction eras. Established in 1865, the Freedmen’s Bureau helped formerly enslaved people in many ways, including locating family members, legalizing marriages, finding employment and investigating racial confrontations. The documents the bureau generated include local censuses, marriage records, and medical records that provide freedpeople’s full names and the names of their former slaveholders.

—A suggested reading list of books celebrating African American heritage and culture for all age groups. Curated by Charis Books & More, the focus is on primary sources/own voices and African American authors. Selections include, for young children, Juneteeth for Mazie by Floyd Cooper; for middle grades/teenagers, Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi; and for adults, Finding Your Roots: The Official Companion to the PBS Series by Henry Louis Gates. Those interested can purchase the books from Charis via a direct link.

—Super Spies, an animated comic. Using hand-drawn illustrations, historical photographs, and fantastic storytelling, the comic explores the history of Harriet Tubman, Elizabeth Van Lew, and Mary Bowser during the American Civil War. The comic also includes an activity in which students can create ciphers to decode secret messages. The story is by Atlanta History Center Director of Performance-Based Interpretation Addae Moon, with hand-drawn illustrations by historical interpreter Shay Stewart.

—Interactive presentation on the regimental battle flag of the 127^th United States Colored Troops in Atlanta History Center’s collections. History Center Senior Military Historian Gordon Jones provides audio interpretation about the flag, one of fewer than 25 known examples carried by African American regiments during the Civil War. The presentation includes an activity tied to its creator David Bustill Bowser (1820-1890), a Philadelphia sign-painter, portraitist and anti-slavery activist.

—Juneteenth Jamboree, a curated music playlist. The playlist includes classic songs such as Louis Armstrong’s Go Down Moses (1958) and jazz by John Coltrane to more contemporary tunes by Beyonce and the Carolina Chocolate Drops.

—Story time with National Center for Civil and Human Rights. Our partners at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights will read Henry’s Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad by Ellen Levine. Henry’s Freedom Box recounts the story of a young boy who grows into a man under the harsh conditions of slavery, all the time yearning to be free. After he is separated from his family for the second time, Henry comes up with the idea of mailing himself to freedom in the north. Prior to the reading, Jasmine Page, NCCHR Education Programs Coordinator, provides a brief discussion about self-liberation, how this form of resistance influenced the Civil Rights Movement, and how we can see this work being done today. Audience: elementary school-aged children.

 

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On June 20 – the summer solstice and the day with the most light – Coastal Georgia residents will join thousands of advocates across the world to participate in The Longest Day^® to fight the darkness of Alzheimer’s through an activity of their choice. Together, participants will use their creativity and passion to raise funds and awareness to advance Alzheimer’s Association^® care, support and research programs. The Longest Day coincides with Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month^® in June.

This year, given the COVID-19 crisis, many The Longest Day participants will choose to support the event “virtually” through “at-home” and “social-distance” activities – biking, hiking, playing bridge, knitting and more – to shine a light on the more than 5 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease and the more than 16 million family members and friends providing care and support. In Georgia alone, there are more than 150,000 people living with Alzheimer’s and more than 540,000 family members and friends caring for them.  

Visit alz.org/thelongestday for more information and to register. 

The Providence Service Corporation (“Providence” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: PRSC), the nation’s largest provider of non-emergency medical transportation (“NEMT”) programs and holder of a minority interest in Matrix Medical Network, today announced that the Company has entered into a strategic Conversion Agreement with Coliseum Capital Management, LLC (“Coliseum”), providing initially for the conversion of 738,240 shares of the Company’s 5.5%/8.5% Series A convertible preferred stock held by Coliseum into cash totaling approximately $80.7 million plus approximately 925,600 shares of Providence common stock. Coliseum owns approximately 96.5% of the Company’s preferred stock, or 765,916 preferred shares.

After the initial conversion of Coliseum’s preferred shares, which is expected to occur on June 11, 2020, the Company plans to file a proxy statement to allow for the redemption of the remaining preferred shares, including those held by minority holders.

Pro forma for the conversion of Coliseum’s preferred shares on June 11, 2020, Coliseum will own approximately 13.0% of the Company’s outstanding common shares. The common shares currently owned by Coliseum as well as those issued to Coliseum from the preferred conversion will be subject to a 120 day lock up, after which Coliseum will be permitted to transfer up to 25% of its common shares, per quarter (on a cumulative basis). This transaction is expected to be accretive to Providence’s earnings.

Daniel E. Greenleaf, President and Chief Executive Officer of Providence, commented, “We are extremely pleased to announce this conversion agreement with Coliseum Capital. The conversion of our preferred stock simplifies our capital structure, which will consist of common equity and a manageable level of debt. Additionally, this transaction creates alignment among our stakeholders, removes restrictive covenants, enhances cash flow, addresses a perceived overhang among many of our shareholders and positions us to build greater common share liquidity in an orderly way.” 

Mr. Greenleaf concluded, “We would like to thank Coliseum for a great partnership, which has contributed meaningfully to the Company’s value creation over the last eight years, and we are grateful for Coliseum’s continued support and vote of confidence in our strategy to grow, innovate and lead the nation’s non-emergency medical transportation industry.”

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. acted as exclusive financial advisor to the Company for this transaction. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is acting as legal counsel to the Company.