Transportation Investment Referendum Fast Approaching

Everyone agrees - metro Atlanta has a serious traffic problem. It costs the average commuter $924 per year in wasted fuel and loss time. Gas tax revenue, our primary source of transportation funding, is steadily declining as vehicles become more fuel efficient and the influx of new residents begin looking for alternative modes of travel. This leaves us little room for transportation expansion and improvements. By 2040, our region will have added an additional 3 million people --roughly the size of Denver.

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Civic Center Showcases Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge

Last fall, Mayor Kasim Reed, together with Michelle Moore of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, A.J. Robinson, President of Central Atlanta Progress (CAP), and other leading business and community organizations kicked off the Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge. The goal of the challenge is to reduce energy and water consumption by at least 20 percent in participating buildings across Atlanta by 2020 with a primary focus on the city’s downtown business district. It is part of an initiative that President Barack Obama launched in 2011 to encourage private sector investment in commercial building upgrades and innovative clean energy technologies that save money and improve productivity.

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• Drought Grips Georgia (5/17/12) GPB.org: As a drought continues to grip Georgia, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has already begun to conserve water in four federal reservoirs
• Georgia Energy Regulators Approve Rate Cut (5/16/12) Atlanta Business Chronicle: The Georgia Public Service Commission ordered Georgia Power Company to reduce its fuel-cost recovery rate one month ahead of schedule
• Chattahoochee Makes 'Most Endangered' List (5/15/12) The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: A national environmental group has listed the Chattahoochee as one of the nation's 10 most endangered rivers, although the presumed threats do not yet exist
• By Choice or Chance? Many Transportation Projects Unveiled as July 31 Sales Tax Vote Nears (5/14/12) Saporta Report: Whether by choice or chance, state and regional transportation officials have announced a slew of new projects in the four months leading up to the July 31 vote on the proposed 1 percent sales tax for transportation
• Reservoirs Dominate Funding Requests (5/11/12) Atlanta Business Chronicle: A dozen cities and counties across Georgia are vying for $120 million in state grants and loans to build reservoirs and other water supply projects