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The Atlanta Police Department made 64 arrests during Sunday night’s George Floyd protests, bringing the weekend total to 292.

Bolstered by National Guard troops and Georgia State Patrol officers, APD made quick work clearing the streets on Sunday night to enforce the 9 p.m. curfew issued by Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.

Protesters shot fireworks and smoke bombs at police officers and used construction fencing and other debris to erect barricades along Centennial Park Drive. However, law enforcement deployed tear gas, made arrests, and moved in formation to mostly disperse the crowds by midnight.

APD spokesman Sgt. John Chaffee released this statement: “As of midnight, we made 64 arrests during Sunday’s protests and there were no major incidents. While we are pleased with the progress made today, we will remain ready for more issues as we enter into the workweek.”

Two APD officers were terminated on Sunday after using excessive force to arrest two college students Downtown, while Motors Officer Maximilian Brewer, who was on duty during the protests in Downtown on May 30, is recovering in ICU at Grady Hospital after being struck by an ATV. The driver of the ATV has been identified as Avery Goggans, 42 He has been charged with DUI, serious injury by vehicle, reckless driving, possession of marijuana and several other traffic charges.

One big question that remains is who exactly were the “disruptors,” “agitators,” and “anarchists” that this weekend’s looting, vandalism, arson, and violence was blamed on by law enforcement, officials, and the media?

Mayor Bottoms said the weekend’s violence was not protest, but chaos orchestrated by “disruptors” and “anarchists” who came to “destroy this city.”

Similarly, APD Chief Erika Shields called those who incited violence a “highly calculated terrorist organization” embedded inside peaceful protests.

“We know the organizers of protests in the city, but we didn’t know these people and the organizers didn’t know them either. These people weren’t here to fight for civil rights, they were here to destroy Atlanta.”

Former Ambassador Andrew Young said in an interview with WSB-TV on Sunday that agitators from white supremacist groups, far-right extremists, and ANTIFA (now labeled a domestic terror organization by the United States) had come to the city to create chaos and division. “The destruction I saw are not people from Atlanta,” Young said. “They have to be run out of town.”

Media on the ground witnessed protesters arriving and leaving flashpoints with out-of-state or obscured license plates. Social media was buzzing, not only in Atlanta but around the country, that agitators were embedding themselves into peaceful protests then committing many of the acts of looting, vandalism, and arson. Loud fireworks and incendiary devices launched into crowds and at police appeared designed to scare and agitate the situation.

Comments on INtown’s own social media platforms suggested that many of the agitators were white people dressed in black and wearing face coverings.

Around 150 to 200 vehicles — many with obscured or out-of-state license plates — were peacefully “escorted” by police away from Perimeter Mall area early on May 30 as rioters looted malls and shopping centers in Buckhead.

Dunwoody Police spokesperson Sgt. Robert Parsons said many of the vehicles were “packed with multiple occupants” and had covered-up or missing license plates. Among the vehicles with visible tags, “almost all of them were from out of state,” Parsons said.

Minnesota officials blamed outsiders for the violent protests in Minneapolis, where George Floyd was murdered, but later walked back the statements after it was shown most of those arrested were from Minnesota.

The post Police arrest 64 during Sunday protests as questions linger about ‘agitators’ and ‘disruptors’ appeared first on Atlanta INtown Paper.

On Wednesday, the Cumberland Community Improvement District (CID) and the Town Center CID received notice Zagster will no longer be providing services to their markets. Based in Boston, Zagster managed and operated both of the CIDs’ bike-share programs.

According to an email from Zagster, the closure is due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on business.

Zagster will remove all bikes and stations from both areas between May 28 and June 12. Zagster stated they plan to communicate more information to members via their app and social media platforms this week. There are currently six stations in Cumberland and six stations in Town Center.

“We were surprised by this news and are exploring the implications of this decision for our bike-share users,” said Tracy Rathbone Styf, Executive Director of the Town Center CID. “At this time, Zagster has not responded to our requests for more information, but we know that this pandemic has hit many businesses hard. We plan to share additional information as it is becomes available.”

While Zagster’s decision is beyond the control of the CIDs, both organizations are committed to providing valuable mobility options for their communities. Thousands of members have recorded hundreds of rides every week in each CID bike-share program.

“Bike-share programs have been extremely successful in the Cumberland and Town Center communities,” said Kim Menefee, Executive Director of the Cumberland CID. “Our shared goal will always be to improve our communities as we continue to strengthen our partnerships and regional connectivity.”

For additional questions regarding Zagster’s closure plan, please contact partner_questions@zagster.com.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is pleased to announce that She Leads, his office’s women’s investor education program, will be hosting another tele-town hall titled, “Making Money Moves.” The hour long event will take place on Wednesday, June 3^rd at 11 am.

Making Money Moves is a conversation about optimally managing finances through banking, debt management, and investment practices. This event is free and open to all Georgians.

“As a father and small business owner, I understand the financial responsibilities that come with having a family and a business,” said Secretary Raffensperger. “Since a growing number of Georgia women are in business owners, I want to empower them to take the lead on investment and money management.”

She Leads is partnering with The Investor Protection Trust (ITP) and The Investor Protection Institute (IPI) to present the Making Money Moves tele-town hall. The June teleconference will feature some of Georgia’s brightest financial leaders who will be ready to answer attendees’ top investment and debt management questions.

“I am proud of our She Leads initiative. Now more than ever, Georgia’s business women should take advantage of She Leads,” said Deputy Secretary of State Jordan Fuchs. “I encourage all women, regardless of where you are in life, to use this incredible financial resource.”

Speakers for the event include Shardea M. Ages, CFP, Partner and Wealth Advisor at Greenwood Wealth Management, Kristin M. Pugh, CFP and Senior Wealth Advisor at TrueWealth, LLC, and Dawnita McCain, Managing Director of Corporate Banking, Credit Products, Enterprise Valuation, and Lending at Regions Bank. Making Money Moves will be hosted by GPB Lawmakers’ Donna Lowry.

She Leads is a women’s financial empowerment seminar series hosted by Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger as part of his multi-faceted financial literacy platform administered through the Securities and Charities Division. These free tele-town halls feature industry leaders to help increase attendees’ knowledge about money, their own personal relationship to money, and financial issues and strategies for growing their wealth.

The office of the Secretary of State invites all Georgia women to attend this free and informational event.

To learn more about She Leads, click HERE.

To register for this free event, click HERE.

To stay informed on all things She Leads, follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter by using the handle, @SheLeadsGA

Welcome to a new edition of Partners Update Digest from the Atlanta Fed. This edition includes articles that reveal recent findings from the Federal Reserve’s national survey on COVID-19’s impact on communities, highlight a new data tool that shares timely, comprehensive insight on unemployment insurance claims, provide perspective on protecting vulnerable communities from COVID-19, and consider the potential financial assistance that a hypothetical laid-off worker would receive in two cities in the Southeast.

How has COVID-19 affected community-based organizations?
Nearly 4,000 people working in low-income communities tell us that COVID-19 disruption is significant, and recovery will take over a year. Two-thirds of these community organizations are seeing increased demand for their services; at the same time, over half noted a corresponding decrease in their ability to provide needed services. These are pressing issues challenging the economic resilience of communities. Tracking and sharing information about these challenges is the intent of a new Federal Reserve System survey. Perspectives from Main Street: The Impact of COVID-19 on Communities and the Entities Serving Them is the first report summarizing findings from this survey of nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and other community organizations. The survey will be conducted every eight weeks, with findings released soon after. To learn more, contact Karen Leone de Nie.
 
Understanding unemployment insurance claims
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unparalleled economic slowdown and record numbers of layoffs. Even casual economic observers have seen reports of millions of workers filing claims for unemployment insurance, but what exactly does this mean for unemployment? To explore this question, the Atlanta Fed’s Center for Workforce and Economic created the Unemployment Claims Monitor. This data tool allows users to better track who has filed unemployment insurance claims and the geographic, demographic, and industrial concentrations of job losses. Updated weekly with U.S. Department of Labor data, the tool provides timely, comprehensive insight on trends in unemployment. For more information, contact Stuart Andreason or Mels de Zeeuw.
 
Protecting vulnerable communities from COVID-19
COVID-19 is having disproportionate health and economic impacts on racial and ethnic minority, low-income, low-wealth, and rural residents. Data from the Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that almost 41 percent of all adults (16 million) in states within the Atlanta Fed’s District are at risk of complications from an infection due to preexisting health conditions, a higher share than the United States at large (38 percent). A recent Partners Update article examines research on tracking the virus’s spread to explore the practices and policies that might mitigate the financial and health risks to disadvantaged populations. For more information, contact Ann Carpenter.
 
Amid the COVID-19 crisis, a tale of two southeastern cities
Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act)and other legislation to help workers who have lost their jobs during the pandemic. This Partners Update article shows how this new assistance supplements the preexisting social safety net. Specifically, the authors ask how the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCR Act), the CARES Act, and the social safety net financially support a hypothetical displaced restaurant worker. The authors present a case study in two locations: Birmingham, Alabama, and Miami, Florida. For more information, contact Alexander Ruder.
 
COVID-19 resources and events
For the full set of related resources from the Atlanta Fed, visit our new hub where you can learn about monetary policy actions, how to avoid scams, and more. The page is updated regularly with new information, so check back often.

We want this Digest to stimulate and work for you, so please give us feedback by emailing Digest editor Jen Staley.

Georgia Power remains committed to providing its 2.6 million customers safe and reliable service, while offering important safety tips and storm resources as the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season arrives amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The official start of hurricane season is June 1, and while the National Weather Service predicts an above average storm season, it only takes one major storm to disrupt daily activities and cause extensive damage to communities.     

Georgia Power reminds customers to keep safety first during hurricane season and offers the following storm tips:   

• Before a Storm:  Know your risks of storm surge and tropical storm or hurricane strength winds. Check your emergency kit, unplug major appliances and charge cell phones in case you lose power.

• During a Storm: Have several ways to receive emergency notifications and weather updates. If your area is under an evacuation order, follow safety orders from local officials immediately.

• After a Storm: Never touch any downed or low-hanging wire, including telephone or TV wires that touch a power line. Never pull tree limbs off power lines or enter areas with debris or downed trees as downed power lines may be buried in wreckage. Additionally, do not walk or drive through standing water as it may conceal live wires brought down by the storm. 

Before severe weather strikes, customers are encouraged to become familiar with Georgia Power’s Outage Map onwww.georgiapower.com that makes tracking and reporting outage information on the go even easier. The Outage Map automatically adjusts to function on any desktop, handheld or mobile device and has direct access to Georgia Power’s social media channels for quick engagement with customer service representatives. Additionally, users have greater search capabilities with concise alert information relating to their specific outage. 

Additional Georgia Power Tools You Can Use

• Outage Alerts: Subscribe to the free Georgia Power Outage Alert service to receive personalized notifications and updates via text message.

• Outage & Storm Center: At www.georgiapower.com/storm, customers can sign up for Outage Alerts, report and check the status of outages, and access useful safety tips and information. Customers can also report and check the status of an outage 24 hours a day by contacting Georgia Power at 888-891-0938.

• Georgia Power Mobile App: Download the Georgia Power mobile app for Apple and Android devices to access storm and outage information on the go.

• @GeorgiaPower on Twitter: Follow @GeorgiaPower on Twitter for storm tips, outage updates, customer service and more.

Storm Response Pandemic Preparations

Georgia Power constantly monitors changing weather conditions and is prepared to respond to service interruptions that might occur because of severe weather while taking proactive actions including special “distancing” and other precautions to help protect customers and employees from the spread of the virus.

The company’s investments in Smart Grid technology and increased automation in recent years mean an increased ability to more quickly isolate outages to smaller numbers of customers and reroute power remotely for improved reliability. In addition, the company’s comprehensive pandemic plans help ensure readiness of the critical personnel and facilities necessary to continue providing the safe and reliable energy customers expect and deserve. 

In the field, the power restoration process includes these key steps:

• Assessing Conditions – Responding crews – or in major storms, damage assessment teams – work to identify trouble spots and the resources needed to fix them, which could involve coming onto customers’ property. Crews will employ appropriate distancing efforts and customers are asked to keep children and pets indoors and maintain safe distances from crew members as well.

• Making Repairs – Georgia Power crews focus on repairs that return power to the greatest number of customers in the least amount of time.

Ways you can help keep workers safe while they work in the field:

• If you see utility crews, please stay back a minimum of six feet – much more if they are working.

• Please, no cookies or treats for workers during this time. Give a wave or thumbs up to workers you see. They’ll understand your gratitude as they work to keep the lights on.

• Don’t touch utility trucks or equipment. Electric providers are operating under modified conditions to keep workers safe, which includes additional cleaning and sanitation of tools and equipment.

 

EarthLink, a leading provider of internet and online services, is ranked as the top internet service provider in Customer Satisfaction according to HighSpeedInternet.com’s recent customer survey. EarthLink earned the 2020 highest customer satisfaction scores overall and in six of the eight categories surveyed. 

Poll results for overall customer satisfaction, service installation and setup, billing, technical support, mobile apps, and provider equipment ranked EarthLink higher than the other 14 ISPs in the survey. 

From the survey recap – “This is the first time EarthLink has appeared in our customer satisfaction survey, and the ISP crushed it. Customers ranked it above every other provider in six of our eight categories—EarthLink came in third for both speed and reliability. There are a few reasons why customers might be particularly satisfied with EarthLink internet service. For one, the ISP doesn’t have “teaser” rates at the beginning of your contract, only to raise prices later. And EarthLink doesn’t have any data caps.”

“This survey is a testament to the hard work and dedication of every member of the EarthLink team to deliver intentional customer experiences,” said EarthLink CEO Glenn Goad. “Customer recognition is the highest honor, and it’s wonderful to be acknowledged for how we treat and communicate with customers.”

“Results like this are possible because of EarthLink’s Customer Engagement Platform,” continued Goad. “Our intentional customer experience is built on three key principles: engaging customers quickly and ahead of an issue, matching the customer with a knowledgeable EarthLink employee who can resolve the issue with one conversation, and making sure every engagement is memorable.” 

HighSpeedInternet.com surveyed more than 2,800 people across the US—between 100 and 200 customers for each of 15 internet service providers—and asked them to rank their satisfaction with their internet service.

The full survey results can be found at EarthLink.net – HighSpeedInternet.com 2020’s Best Internet Providers in Customer Satisfaction

It has always been said that the three most crucial things to consider when purchasing investment property are location, location, location! However, location alone is not a guarantee that your…

Highlights from this real estate report: A housing forecast named Phoenix one of the strongest markets in the country. Current market dynamics in the area could sustain home prices in 2020. Steady population growth and limited housing supply are key factors. The Phoenix real estate market is stronger today than during the last recession. We […]

The post Phoenix, AZ Housing Market Forecast: Spring 2020 Update appeared first on MetroDepth.

Thousands of protesters returned to Downtown Atlanta on Sunday afternoon ahead of a 9 p.m. curfew imposed for a second night by Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.

MARTA announced it would suspend all rail, bus, streetcar and paratransit services at 9 p.m. on Sunday as part of the curfew extension. Riders should board their last train by 8:30 p.m.; all 38 rail stations will close at 9 p.m.

Sparked by the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, peaceful protests on Friday and Saturday night ended in violence, looting, arson, and vandalism in Downtown and Buckhead.

The Georgia National Guard and Georgia State Patrol joined Atlanta Police officers to patrol the streets again on Sunday following a “zero tolerance” order by Chief Erika Shields. Atlanta Police made 157 arrests on Saturday night alone.

Gov. Brian Kemp issued a state of emergency declaration for the entire state, calling up 3,000 National Guard troops to deploy not only to Atlanta, but Athens, Savannah, and Macon ahead of expected protests.

On Sunday evening, there was a heavy law enforcement presence Downtown and in Buckhead, where there were social media rumors of more protests at Lenox Square. The National Guard has been using the Lenox parking lot as a staging area.

Bottoms and Atlanta Police Department Chief Erika Shields held a press conference just after 6 p.m. to discuss the curfew and announce that two APD officers had been fired for using excessive force during an arrest of two students on Saturday night.

Bottoms said an officer struck by a protester riding an ATV on Saturday night was still in critical condition and hoped he would be able to walk again. The ATV driver was taken into custody.

The mayor said she wanted to remind Atlanta of why the protests were happening, because the message was being lost in the media coverage of the violence. “Our country is in upheaval because of the killing of African Americans by law enforcement across the country.”

The post Thousands of protesters gather for a third night in Downtown ahead of 9 p.m. curfew appeared first on Atlanta INtown Paper.

The Atlanta Police Department has fired two officers who used excessive force in arresting two college students during Saturday night’s protests in Downtown.

The incident was caught on video widely circulated on social media that showed five officers tasing a Morehouse and a Spelman student in their car. The other three officers have been assigned desk duty pending further disciplinary action.

Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields spent Sunday afternoon reviewing the officers’ body cameras before making the decision to terminate the two officers.

Bottoms said in a 6 p.m. press conference that the bodycam images were “awful” and ordered charges dropped against the two students. “Excessive force is never acceptable,” Bottoms said.

Shields said she was “shocked” by the bodycam footage. “We have a responsibility not to escalate and cause harm or injury. I was shocked by the  video of how these college students were manhandled in their car. I knew there was only one option and that was to terminate these officers. I apologize to both of the students and how we behaved as an agency. It was unacceptable.”

APD said it would release the bodycam footage and detailed report on the incident to the media this evening. Check back for updates.

The post APD fires two officers after college students ‘manhandled’ during Saturday protest appeared first on Atlanta INtown Paper.