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Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said in an afternoon interview with The Washington Post Live that Georgia is going in the “opposite direction” when it comes to social distancing measures to combat the coronavirus outbreak.

“Our numbers are continuing to rise,” Bottoms said, noting that the latest figures show the state has 24,615 confirmed cases and 1,026 related deaths. “We are lifting our foot off the pedal and we’re not out of the woods.”

Bottoms said over the last three days, Grady Hospital has seen an increase in the number of people coming in and testing positive for coronavirus.

Bottoms said states like New York and Washington had COVID-19 figures trending in the right direction thanks to social distancing measures. “We’re going in the opposite direction,” the mayor said about Georgia.

While Atlanta has the bed capacity for COVID-19 patients, the mayor said it defied logic – and health experts – that those beds would be used by people who got sick because they were bored and wanted to go a bowling alley.

Bottoms was referencing Gov. Brian Kemp’s decision to begin reopening businesses like bowling alleys, hair salons, barbershops, massage parlors, tattoo parlors, restaurant dining rooms, and movie theaters. Bottoms said she and other Georgia mayors were not consulted by Kemp and his order to reopen businesses cannot be countermanded at the local level.

“My options and powers are limited against Gov. Kemp’s move, but I do have the authority to use my voice and encourage people to stay home,” Bottoms said as the governor’s shelter-in-place order is set to expire on April 30.

Bottoms said she understood “people who are dealing with whether or not to go back to work to put food on their table, but I don’t understand people going to a movie theater or bowling alley because they’re bored.”

“Some people are just tired of being in the house and they want to go back to life as normal – getting their nails done and a haircut,” she said. “People are making tough economic decision to stay at home and preserve their health. It’s a very difficult dynamic people are having to choose.”

Asked about the racial disparity in access to testing in Atlanta, Bottoms said there were now testing facilities in predominantly African-American communities, but the issue is the racial disparity that is impacting the state as a whole. She cited a story in the Washington Post that said African Americans accounted for more than 50 percent of Georgia’s deaths, despite making up about 30 percent of the state’s 10.6 million people.

“This virus is discriminating against people of color, because African-American communities have a higher rate of infection with underlying conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure,” Bottoms said.

The post Atlanta Mayor: State is going in the “opposite direction” on social distancing to combat COVID-19 appeared first on Atlanta INtown Paper.

Atlanta’s local roads now have a default speed limit of 25 miles per hour  after the City Council formally adopted the Vision Zero plan on April 20, which focuses on eliminating traffic deaths and reducing crashes and serious injuries.

The default speed limit applies to any city road without another speed limit expressly posted.

According to data from the city, speed contributed to 52 percent of the 73 traffic fatalities recorded in 2019. Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said the new city ordinance lowering the speed limit will improve safety of all travelers, including children, the elderly, minorities and low-income persons, pedestrians, cyclists, and those using scooters and other mobility devices.

Bottoms said Vision Zero is a key pillar of her One Atlanta Strategic Transportation Plan, which was released in November 2019 during the establishment of the Atlanta Department of Transportation (ATLDOT).

In the six months since the formation of the ATLDOT, the city has been tackling safety issues and moving on key transportation projects, including the Action Plan for Safer Streets, which focuses on implementing a complete network of connected and protected bike lanes through quick-build projects.

The post Default speed limit lowered to 25 mph on Atlanta roads as part of Vision Zero plan appeared first on Atlanta INtown Paper.

As states begin to loosen coronavirus business closure orders, Simon Property Group announced it will reopen 49 of its malls and outlet centers around the U.S. beginning  Friday, May 1, including Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza in Buckhead.

According to a report by CNBC, business hours at the malls will be limited to 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. This will give crews a chance to clean the malls overnight, and Simon said there would be regular sanitizing of high-touch areas like food court tables, escalators, door knobs and electronic directories. Simon is encouraging its retailers to do the same in their stores.

Simon is leaving it up to individual retailers if they want to reopen. Stores like Macy’s, Victoria’s Secret and American Eagle have furloughed staff, so it may take time for them to bring employees back and resume operations.

The malls will limit the number of entrances at each property and use traffic measuring technology to make sure occupancy does not exceed one person per 50 square feet of space.

Stores will have free temperature testing for customers using infrared thermometers. Masks and hand-sanitizing packets will also be available free of charge. Employees are being required to wear masks and take breaks for frequent handwashing.

The malls will also be enforcing social distancing rules including limiting food court seating, closing drinking fountains, and directing traffic flow. Stores are also being encouraged to make contactless transactions like Apple Pay.

Per the memo, Simon is also encouraging retailers and other tenants to use technology, such as Apple Pay, that allows for contactless transactions.

Simon said it would also open its other Georgia properties on Friday, including Town Center at Cobb, Mall of Georgia and Sugarloaf Mills.

The post Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza to reopen May 1 with masks, temperature tests, social distancing measures appeared first on Atlanta INtown Paper.

Georgia residents can begin Airbnb’ing their properties again on May 1 after Gov. Brian Kemp said a statewide ban on short-term home rentals will be allowed to expire on April 30.

Kemp had instituted the suspension of short-term rentals beginning April 9 to combat the coronavirus outbreak. It applies to home rentals of 30 days or less, with exceptions for hotels, motels, campgrounds, commercial leasing and rentals intended as the lessee’s primary place of residence.

Kemp said the suspension will be allowed to expire as scheduled at 11:59 p.m. on April 30 without a renewal. He wrote that the decision is “based on favorable data and stakeholder input.”

A statewide shelter-in-place order is also scheduled to expire on April 30 unless Kemp extends it. His pandemic emergency powers currently run through May 30.

The post Gov. Kemp won’t renew short-term rentals ban after April 30 appeared first on Atlanta INtown Paper.

Governor Brian P. Kemp announced that Amazon will further expand its Georgia presence with a new fulfillment center planned in Appling, Georgia. The new, multi-level operations facility will feature innovative Amazon robotics technology and create 800 new, full-time jobs.

“Amazon’s continued investments in Georgia are a testament to all that our state can offer, including the logistics and top-notch workforce needed for their growing global business,” said Governor Kemp. “I could not be more proud to welcome them to the Central Savannah River Area, and I am excited for the hardworking Georgians who will benefit from this new operation.”

“We are proud to continue our investment in Georgia with great jobs and a new, state-of-the-art fulfillment center in Columbia County to serve our customers across the state,” said Robert Packett, regional director of Amazon operations. “The Peach State and its incredible workforce have been vital to our ability to provide great selection, competitive prices and the Prime services we know our customers love. We are excited to create 800 new full-time jobs, with industry leading pay and benefits on day one, in the community.”

Amazon employees at the Appling location at White Oak Business Park will work alongside Amazon’s innovative robotics technology to pick, pack, and ship smaller customer orders, such as books, toys, and small household goods.

“Amazon’s announcement represents the single-largest project announcement ever in Columbia County, both for job creation and capital investment. We are thankful and excited to welcome Amazon and the jobs they are bringing to our community and White Oak Business Park at I-20,” said Columbia County Board of Commissioners Chairman Doug Duncan. “I commend the effort and support of Governor Kemp, the Georgia Department of Economic Development, the Development Authority of Columbia County, and Columbia County’s staff. Thank you Amazon, for selecting Columbia County.”

Amazon currently employs more than 3,500 full-time employees in Georgia and has existing operations facilities in Jefferson, Braselton, Lithia Springs, East Point, Kennesaw, Macon, and Union City. The company expects to add an additional 1,000 jobs at its new fulfillment center in Stone Mountain and 500 new jobs at its Newnan fulfillment center, which was announced in January. The company also has two Prime Now Hubs and one Tech Hub in Atlanta, and several Whole Foods store locations across the state.

“Amazon jobs are great jobs with great benefits,” said Packett. “On top of our industry-leading $15 minimum wage, the company offers full-time employees comprehensive benefits including full medical, vision, and dental insurance, and 401(k) with 50% company match, all starting on day one. All associates go through hours of safety training and have access to continuing education opportunities through Amazon’s Career Choice program, in which the company will pre-pay up to 95% of tuition for courses related to in-demand fields, regardless of whether the skills are relevant to a career at Amazon.”

Since 2010, Amazon has invested more than $3.6 billion in Georgia through its local fulfillment center and cloud infrastructure, research facilities, and compensation to thousands of employees. Amazon’s investments in Georgia contributed an additional $1.2 billion into the economy, and using methodology developed by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the company estimates its investments in the state have created an additional 5,000 indirect jobs on top of Amazon’s 3,500 direct hires.

Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) Assistant Director Hank Evans represented the Global Commerce Division on this competitive project in partnership with Georgia EMC and the Development Authority of Columbia County.

“This is exciting news for our state, and we thank Amazon for their continued investment in Georgia,” said GDEcD Commissioner Pat Wilson. “Especially now, during COVID-19, we are proud of our team’s hard work to continuously meet the needs of world-renowned companies like Amazon. We are also grateful for our economic development partners in Columbia County and the region, who again have shown their strong commitment throughout this project.”

People’s experience with the financial services industry lags behind the experience they receive elsewhere, and the shortcomings are even more apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic, new research from MMR LIVE shows.
 
The findings are included in the forthcoming ExperienceBuilt™ Brand Index from Atlanta-based MMR LIVE. The Index looked at how brands delivered against MMR LIVE’s Eight Principles of Experience Design.
 
The findings are supported by new research from parent company MMR Research Associates, which found the COVID-19 pandemic is hastening a shift toward digital banking, one that is likely to continue after the outbreak subsides. The research also found that roughly two-thirds of consumers expect to increase their reliance on digital banking following the pandemic.
 
“The survey data clearly shows more people are willing to go digital with their banking experiences,” said Patricia Houston, Founder and COO of MMR LIVE, an experience design group. “They just needed the extra push to do so, and COVID-19 gave them that reason. Moving forward, banks should look at how they can expand and enhance their digital offerings without sacrificing the customer experience.”
 
While some branch visits have continued during the COVID-19 pandemic, a majority have involved ATM transactions rather than interactions with bank tellers. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the use of digital banking has increased during COVID-19, along with monitoring accounts for fraud.
 
Even during COVID-19-imposed restrictions, 24 percent of respondents to the survey said they have visited a bank and used the ATM (including 33 percent of those who usually visit a bank). Furthermore, 14 percent said they visited a bank and interacted with a representative or a teller (including 23 percent of those who ordinarily visit a bank).
 
But, the survey of 1,004 total respondents found a clear shift to digital banking during the outbreak. More than four in 10 (41 percent) of those who typically visit or call a bank said they have used their bank’s website or its mobile app.
 
The survey also found 33 percent of those who usually visit a bank plan to use manual online bill pay during the pandemic, while 29 percent said they plan to use online check deposits. Additionally, 24 percent said they will take advantage of online chat functionality to talk with a bank representative, while 20 percent will use a digital offering to submit documents for verification.
 
After the pandemic subsides, nearly one in three customers (30 percent) who regularly visit a bank plan to use online options to manually pay bills, while almost half (49 percent) plan to use online offerings to check account balances. Just one-third of respondents who typically visit a bank say they foresee no change in their banking habits.
 
“Even before the outbreak of COVID-19, the shift toward digital banking was widely documented as younger customers were changing the parameters of the traditional banking-customer relationship,” Houston said. “New generations, in particular, are driving meaningful service innovations that put customers in the driver’s seat of their own banking experience.”

For more information, visit MMR.LIVE.

David Pollack was a three-time All-American standout on defense for the University of Georgia and is currently an analysist for ESPN.  That’s the network where we used to watch sporting events before we became stuck in the present.

Pollack has always been a motivational leader, even during the time when his NFL career was cut short due to injury.  He’s now using his platform for an “Every Day Counts” challenge, which began years ago asking his followers to run, jog, or walk a mile every day from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day.

The point is to do a minimal amount of exercise each day.  There are three holidays in the original time period, but every day means every day.  There are no excuses.

I decided I would adapt this approach a little over a year ago to my own exercise.  I was out of shape, had gained way too much weight over a three-year period after tweaking my knees during my last commitment to fitness. 

A bad diet, a lot of excuses, and empty pledges to start back “next week” turned days into weeks, weeks into years, and inertia into pounds.  My habit was to rest, and I remained at rest.

On April 5^th 2019 I decided I would go to the gym.  In addition, I decided that I would do at least 30 minutes of exercise for thirty days.  There would be no excuses.

The important thing about committing to anything over thirty to forty days is that it establishes a habit.  A rule of thumb I’ve always observed is that it takes three weeks to turn practice into habit, whether intentionally or not.

It’s a bit harder if it is something you don’t want to do.  I don’t like to exercise, but I do like to eat.  A lot.  Life is often a series of tradeoffs. Exercise, especially at my age and with my family medical history, is the ticket to good eating.

A couple of weeks into my new habit I saw the opportunity to take a spur of the moment 10-hour drive to Miami.  I got up at 5am to hit the gym before I departed.  On the way home, I found an aquatic center that allowed day guests so that I could squeeze in some lap swimming.

Thirty days came and went, as did forty.  I had fulfilled the commitment to myself and to exercise, but I had no reason to stop.  So I kept going.

My 8,000-mile road trip from last summer? A lot of municipal aquatic centers, hotel gyms, and an occasional jog outside were checked off. Every day.

I’ve been members of three different gyms over the last year, and am still trying to find one that works for me.  But even on the days I didn’t want to go, I found a way to get at least 30 minutes of cardio in.

Quarantine closed the gyms?  No excuses.  I’ve taken up jogging again, often having to have a long talk with my knees about their responsibilities to hold up their end of this bargain.

Rainy days?  No excuses.  With an Apple watch keeping me honest, I can jog a 5K inside my house without the aid of exercise equipment, exceeding my exercise minute minimum and hitting my burned calories goal daily.

As of this writing I’m 389 days into this habit that is now a borderline obsession.  There’s 50 pounds less of me as a result.  The conversation with my doctor at my last physical was actually civil.

We’re now well beyond three weeks into our Great Timeout, and a lot of us have established new habits.  Some are likely good, some are not.

Things are not as we would like them right now, but each day is a gift for us to choose how to use it.  The shock of this pandemic has mostly worn off.  We now question when we will be able to move forward.

While the example here is about exercise, it’s really about making conscious decisions to move forward, and committing to a plan to do that – with no excuses.  If you’ve found yourself creeping into bad habits, or just burning each day waiting for something to change, then do a self-assessment.

We each get the same 24 hours.  You have to decide what points you want to put on your scoreboard. Every day counts.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) and the National Retail Federation (NRF) released a Blueprint for Shopping Safe today outlining a phased-in approach to reopening retail. The plan urges governors to issue uniform, statewide protocols for retailers to adopt as they reopen stores and work to keep employees and customers safe.

“As conversations turn to the reopening of the economy, retailers are uniquely situated to provide input, because we’ve been on both sides of the stay at home orders,” said Brian Dodge, RILA president. “Groceries, pharmacies and other retailers that have remained open have implemented practices and protocols that are keeping employees and communities safe. The Blueprint released today builds off those successful operating practices. Our goal is for the safe reopen of retail, and we want everyone, policymakers, employees and our customers to know that the industry is ready to Shop Safe.”

“Retailers’ number one priority is customer safety, employee safety, and store and facility environment safety,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “Since the onset of the pandemic, retailers have been following the guidance of CDC and other public health experts and are taking additional measures to keep their employees and customers safe.”

The Blueprint was developed in accordance with CDC guidelines and benchmarking by leading retailers with a focus on ensuring the health and wellness of employees and customers. Retailers have been learning from each other throughout this crisis, sharing leading practices and protocols to keep stores clean and sanitized, and keeping customers and employees as safe as possible.

The Blueprint details three phases for reopening retail:

Phase 1 – Allow E-commerce, Contactless Curbside Pickup & In-Home Delivery

Phase 2 – Re-Open Stores to the Public, with Social Distancing Protocols & Reduced Occupancy

Phase 3 – Establish Protection, Then Lift All Restrictions

“Consistent guidelines – without overburdensome regulatory schemes – across all levels of government is critical,” Shay said. “As an industry, we are committed to working with the Administration, Congressional and state leaders, and the professional medical community to help all families Shop Safe.”

“As governors and state health departments evaluate conditions, we want them to have confidence that retailers are adopting the social distancing, hygiene, and sanitization practices necessary to keep customers, employees, and the entire community safe,” said Dodge.  

Kelly Stephens, managing broker of Engel & Völkers Buckhead Atlanta and Engel & Völkers Atlanta North Fulton, has tracked residential real estate contracts signed in the 11-county Greater Atlanta area this January-April and compared those numbers to the same timeframe last year, along with the number of reported COVID-19 cases in metro Atlanta January – April.  She used data from the First Multiple Listing Service (FMLS) and the Georgia Department of Health to create the attached chart.

Not surprisingly, real estate contracts dropped as the COVID-19 cases rose, beginning in week 10 (March 1-7) when the Georgia COVID-19 cases totaled 22.  Until around March 8, signed contracts for 2020 were ahead of the same time period in 2019.  However, Stephens points out some positive news.  First, the residential real estate market has remained quite strong in metro Atlanta and this April’s numbers should only fall around 15% from last year’s figures.  She has tracked contracts signed, not just homes listed.  She also notes that as the COVID-19 numbers began to fall around April 5, signed contracts increased about a week later, around April 12.  She believes this increase is due to consumer confidence in the gradual re-opening of the economy and the expected lifting of the shelter at home guidelines soon, based on President Trump’s remarks the week of April 12.

Another reason the market has remained healthy, according to Stephens, is that the residential real estate industry was deemed an essential service, and quickly put new procedures and tools in place to allow buyers and sellers to safely conduct real estate transactions.  Online home sales information was already available, but real estate professionals augmented and strengthened online information, and buyers were advised to begin their home search virtually.  Sellers were advised how to best showcase their homes’ features via video, drone footage and professional photos.  Agents made sure the homes they represented were thoroughly disinfected before and after every showing, and often, turned lights on and off and opened doors for their clients to further safeguard the spreading of germs.  Contract signing can be done with social distancing and client-agent conversations are easy to accomplish by phone or teleconferencing.  The numbers show that buyers continue to feel confident as they look for homes and sellers feel confident putting their homes on the market.