Note: The session is offered twice in an attempt to accommodate varying schedules for parents. There are different links for each session. Topic: Community Conversations Equity 101: Telling Your Story
State Farm Arena is an official early voting location for all residents of Fulton County only for the General Primary Runoff, Non-Partisan General Runoff, and Special Runoff Election for Local and State Offices, July 20-August 7 and the Presidential General Election and Special Election, October 12-30.
Any Fulton County Registered Voter will be able to vote early at State Farm Arena during the following hours:
Due to a reduced workforce caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic, crews from the Office of Solid Waste Services have been unable to collect yard trimmings since Friday, July 10. Please leave containerized yard trimmings at the curb and crews will collect as soon as possible with no fines being accumulated during this time. Thanks for your patience and if you have questions, please contact ATL311 during normal business hours.
Atlanta students will begin the school year with virtual instruction, according to a plan released Friday.
Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Lisa Herring will present the reopening strategy to the school board at a 5 p.m. Monday meeting. It calls for APS to do virtual learning for at least the first nine weeks of the school year, or until there is a minimal or moderate spread of coronavirus.
The Atlanta City Council approved several items aimed at reforming public safety during Monday’s remote Council meeting that continued into Tuesday.
The Council approved legislation to adopt the “8 Can’t Wait” principles and amend the Atlanta Police Department’s standard operating procedures to incorporate use of force alternatives (Legislative Reference No. 20-O-1449). The “8 Can’t Wait” platform is part of Campaign Zero, a police reform initiative. The reforms in the legislation aim to improve community interactions with the police and reduce the number of violent encounters through the following principles: • Banning chokeholds and strangleholds
• Requiring de-escalation strategies
• Requiring a warning before shooting
• Exhausting all alternatives before shooting
• Duty to intervene (from other officers)
• Banning shooting at moving vehicles
• Requiring use of force continuum
• Requiring comprehensive reporting involving use of force against civilians.
The Council also approved legislation that will add two members from youth-serving organizations to the Atlanta Citizen Review Board and expand the board’s investigative authority (Legislative Reference No. 20-O-1445).
Other items approved during the meeting include:
• An ordinance to designate Juneteenth as a City paid holiday (Legislative Reference No. 20-O-1454).
• 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 (Legislative Reference No. 20-R-4067).
• A resolution to create a participatory engagement process with the community to select a street where a permanent “Black Lives Matter” mural can be installed in Atlanta (Legislative Reference No. 20-R-4061).
• An ordinance to provide a one-year application fee waiver for right-of-way dining permits (Legislative Reference No. 20-O-1366). The legislation is aimed at promoting social distancing and providing financial relief to restaurant owners.
• An ordinance ratifying Executive Order 2020-106, ordering the implementation of a process by which City of Atlanta boards, authorities, commissions, committees, or other similar bodies may begin remote meetings in accordance with the Georgia Open Meetings Act (Legislative Reference No. 20-O-1455). The Council immediately adopted the following personal papers:
• A resolution to establish guidelines for receiving and accepting public comment for all remote meetings of the Council and remote meetings of the standing committees of the Council. The legislation outlines that remarks from the public for all remote meetings of the Council and standing committees will be accepted between 4-7 p.m. on the day before the scheduled meeting. The Council heard 1,251 public comments during this week’s full council meeting, totaling approximately 18 hours.
• A resolution authorizing the mayor or her designee to enter into Amendment No. 1 of an emergency procurement agreement with FG Management LLC for temporary housing for high-risk unsheltered people experiencing homelessness due to the COVID-19 pandemic in order to extend the term of the agreement on a month-to-month basis beginning Aug. 31, 2020 through Dec. 31, 2020 and to add additional funding in an amount not to exceed $3 million. Several items were also introduced to be considered in committee next week, including:
• An ordinance authorizing the chief financial officer to amend the Fiscal Year 2021 general fund budget to transfer $73.3 million from various departments in the general fund to a trust fund account to grant time for the Council to receive the report on “recommendations for systemic changes, reinventing the culture of operations in our city and being a model for cities across the nation” authorized by 20-R-4068 and allowing the chief financial officer to create the appropriate trust fund account necessary for such actions.
• An ordinance to amend the City’s charter to add the Atlanta Citizen Review Board as a charter-mandated board.
• An ordinance authorizing the Atlanta Police Department, Department of Finance, and Mayor’s Office of Constituent Services to conduct a study on expanding the Atlanta Police Department to include a crisis intervention division or other specialized unit as a social service component of the police department.
• A resolution supporting a study to be conducted by the People’s Uprising Taskforce examining opportunities to expand the City of Atlanta’s workforce through the development of a comprehensive workforce development program to identify and create middle-wage jobs for residents in underserved, low-income communities.
• An ordinance requiring the Atlanta Police Department provide information and cooperate with the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office as necessary to facilitate, improve the efficiency, and enhance the transparency of investigations involving officer involved shootings, incidents of serious bodily injury, and accusations of sexual misconduct.
• A resolution requesting the Atlanta Police Department explore alternative non-lethal methods of crowd control and consider utilizing a malodorant chemical compound (stink bomb), wrapping apparatus, laser dazzler, or other methods available.
• A resolution requesting that the mayor or her designee create a process to apply for and to receive temporary alcoholic beverage licenses during the COVID-19 city emergency.
There are a lot of amazing conversations and events taking place online. Here are a couple on our radar. Know of any other upcoming events we should call out? Email us at community@civicatlanta.org
Weekly, Tuesdays at 12:00pm: the Wellbeing Project is hosting a weekly WELLbinar series called “Wellbeing for Changemakers” which focuses on self-care for changemakers during these unprecedented times: Register here.
Tuesday, July 7 at 8:00pm: The Talk: Race in America tackles the issue of young people of color and their uneasy encounters with law enforcement hosted by Georgia Public Broadcasting. Register here.
Wednesday, July 8 at 5:00pm: General Assembly is hosting Creatives for Black Lives which will feature a panel discussion with leaders who are connecting creative talent with those fighting for the Black Lives Matter Movement. Register here.
Tuesday, July 14 at 8:00pm: Let’s Talk Food! is hosting a discussion on the intersection of food and racial justice. Ricardo Rocha, founder of Bondadosa.org, will be speaking followed by breakout discussion groups. Register here.
Tuesday, July 21 at 6:00pm: Next Generation Men & Women is hosting the Atlanta Education Stakeholder Summit (ESS). This will be a great chance to connect and hear from local students, parents, and amazing education organizations about their thoughts and work leading up to the start of the new school year. RSVP here: RSVP Atlanta Education Stakeholder Summit!
Tuesday, July 28 at 10:00am: Atlanta Business Chronicle is hosting a panel discussion on The Future of Higher Education which will focus on how universities in Georgia are seeking to move forward in the midst of COVID-19. Register here.
Policy Updates:
A full debrief of policy updates from CCI are available here: CCI Policy Updates
The Atlanta City Council is meeting today to, amongst other things, vote on legislation to increase the membership and expand the authority of the Atlanta Citizen Review Board (20-O-1445) and request changes to APD’s standard operating procedures regarding use of force in alignment with the #8CANTWAIT campaign (20-O-1449). However, the Council received over 1,000 public comments in advance of today’s meeting so they will reconvene tomorrow at 10:00AM to finish their agenda.
Dr. Lisa Herring was sworn in as the superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools last week (blog post / video), and tomorrow a special committee meets to discuss the possibility of renaming Grady High School. (notice / news)
NPU Overview:
Tuning in to your NPU meeting is an awesome way to stay connected to what’s happening in your community — this week, Neighborhood Planning Units (NPUs) A, B, C, E, H, P, and T will meet remotely (see the agendas here). Don’t know your NPU? Find your NPU here! NPUs typically meet in-person on a monthly basis, but many of them have now shifted to meeting virtually.
Do you know about NPU University? Last year the City of Atlanta started a community engagement curriculum to educate, empower, and equip community leaders with training to help solve the challenges neighborhoods face. Check out the course catalog for upcoming classes. And you can watch videos of the previous classes, too.
Active Financial Opportunities:
Monday, July 6: The Metro Atlanta Chamber and the CareSource Foundation have teamed up for the RESTORE ATL Fund for small & medium sized black-owned businesses in the metro Atlanta area who have been adversely affected by COVID-19.
Wednesday, July 15: Buy from a Black Woman has created the Black Women Relief Fund to provide resources to black women business owners who have been impacted by COVID-19.
Rolling Submission: SoftBank Group announced a $100 million venture fund for Latinx, Black and Native American entrepreneurs who are “at the seed, venture, and growth stages that use technology to reimagine traditional business models and create new ones”.
Rolling Submission until September 25: Apply for grants up to $50,000 to support business growth, including $10,000 emergency COVID-19 Business for All Grants to help small businesses in crisis. $10,000 COVID-19 Business for All Grants are awarded on a rolling basis. General Business for All Grant applications are due September 25.
Rolling Submission: Atlanta Artist Relief Fund is delivering free home-cooked, nutritious meals to the doorsteps of artists who are unable to leave their home or out of work.
Fulton County Arts & Culture is currently undergoing a comprehensive update of its Public Art Master Plan, and we wish to invite residents to participate in the development of recommendations and strategic priorities.
Under normal circumstances, community engagement for such a process would involve face-to-face gatherings and workshops. However, the Department is currently directing engagement opportunities through an online community survey. The outcome of the process will be a 10-year roadmap for the Public Art Program, including key initiatives that address the artistic needs of our community.
A new report out from the Safe Routes Partnership and the YMCA of the USA, Making Strides: 2020 State Report Cards on Support for Walking, Bicycling, and Active Kids and Communities, analyzes state policy in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia to provide a snapshot of each state’s support for walking, biking, and physical activity. The report cards were generated by evaluating each state across a total of 28 indicator areas spanning four core topic areas: Complete Streets and Active Transportation Policy and Planning; Federal and State Active Transportation Funding; Safe Routes to School Funding and Supportive Practices; and Active Neighborhoods and Schools.In each of these topic areas, states have the opportunity to play a significant role—through policies, funding, and other support—in increasing the number of youth and adults walking, bicycling, and being physically active.
Used in conjunction with the state report cards developed in 2016 and 2018, they allow us to see where progress has been made, where each state is doing well, and where there continue to be opportunities for improvement. The 2020 report cards add some additional areas of coverage to the 2018 edition, including a new subtopic focused on state funding of active transportation, and additional considerations for Safe Routes to School supportive practices.
The findings show that while states are continuing to take important steps, more needs to be done. In comparison to 2016 and 2018, there has been a slight downward shift in overall scores with 13 states falling into the lowest category, Lacing Up; the vast majority of states falling into the next category, Warming Up; 11 states in the Making Strides category; and only two states in the highest category, Building Speed. The overall average score across the 50 states and DC also shifted downward from 2018 to 2020. Part of this downward trend may be attributed to assessing new and different indicators.
States can play a significant role in each of these areas to help increase the number of youth and adults walking, bicycling, and being physically active. Advocates and practitioners can use these report cards to help make the case for increased funding and support for programs that improve health and well-being for our communities.
For a deeper dive into the state report cards and more information about how to use your state’s report card to inspire change, access the full report here.
NPU-W - City of Atlanta 