Atlanta Police Release Year-in-Review on Anniversary of Neal Street Shooting
In recognition of the one-year anniversary of English Avenue resident Kathryn Johnston’s death, Mayor Shirley Franklin joined Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington at City Hall East to provide a report card of the APD’s efforts over the last 365 days to restore community trust, specifically with the implementation of a new Narcotics Unit.
“Ms. Johnston’s death, and the incidents surrounding the tragedy, tore at the heart of our community and shocked and saddened this department,” said Chief Pennington. “We owe the English Avenue Community, and residents of Atlanta, an accounting of what our police department has done in the past year to ensure that every precaution is in place to prevent a similar tragedy.”
When reviewing the Narcotics Unit, Chief Pennington started from the ground up. He replaced all former unit members, increased the squad from 15 officers to 30, and put in place a new unit leader, Lt. William Trivelpiece.
New staff received hundreds of hours of best-in-class training from the FBI, GBI, DEA, the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference) and HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area). Major revisions were made to four standard operating procedures: Search and Seizure; Undercover Operations; Confidential Sources; and Confidential Sources. The new unit became active on October 1, 2007. For Stats, Please Visit www.atlantapd.org.
Additionally, creation of an impartial Citizen’s Review Board (CRB) was approved by the Atlanta City Council to provide an additional community voice. The CRB will provide additional checks and balances by reviewing resident complaints against APD and the Department of Corrections. CRB members are appointed by the Mayor, Atlanta City Council or NPUs; there are currently 11 on the board. The CRB is currently developing its complaint procedures and bylaws, to be completed by 2008.
“This is a healing process”, said Mayor Franklin. “The City of Atlanta and the Atlanta Police Department needed to take stock of all that we are doing to restore credibility with the community and it was important that we recognize this anniversary.”
APD and the English Avenue Neighborhood Association will host a candlelight service in honor of Ms. Johnston tomorrow evening at 6:30 p.m. at the Lindsay Street Baptist Church.
For More Information On The Atlanta Police Department, Please Visit www.AtlantaPD.org.
Mayor Shirley Franklin joins Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington and City Councilmember Cleta Winslow (District 4) to provide a year in review of the APD. |
(top)
Water Efficiency Workshop for Large Customers Available Online
To help businesses reduce their average monthly water consumption by 10 percent, yesterday the Department of Watershed Management (DWM) hosted a conservation workshop for the 50 largest commercial and industrial water customers in Atlanta.
Commercial, industrial and institutional facilities can still view the workshop online. All handouts from the workshop are also available online in downloadable format.
There were 82 representatives of Atlanta’s biggest water customers in attendance, including the Atlanta Braves, Georgia Tech, Sunny Delight, Georgia Power, American Golf Corp., Cousins Properties and numerous hotels. The workshop featured case studies of successful water conservation efforts by Delta Air Lines, Emory University, the Dublin Veterans Administration Hospital and Melaver, Inc.
The workshop is just one of a number of initiatives, including water audits, that the City is offering to help its biggest users conserve water resources. Training was facilitated by DWM and the Georgia Environmental Partnership, which includes the State Pollution Prevention Assistance Division (P²AD), the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech.
For More Information on the City of Atlanta’s Water Conservation Efforts, visit www.atlantawatershed.org.
(top)
Mayor Announces New Environmental Initiatives at Atlanta Recycles Day
Mayor Shirley Franklin has announced three new environmental initiatives – including an incentivized recycling program – under the City of Atlanta’s long-term Sustainability Initiative.
Atlanta’s Sustainability Initiative encompasses water conservation, green building, parks and greenspace and recycling programs that foster a community dedicated to a healthy and vibrant Atlanta for generations to come. Recycling helps to conserve water and electricity and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
Mayor Franklin announced the City’s newest recycling programs at the first-ever Atlanta Recycles Day, held at Isabel Gates Webster Park in the Peyton Forest Community. Atlanta Recycles included a 5k Mayor-thon, a fun run/walk for families and an educational recycling parade. City representatives and environmental stakeholders were on-hand to answer questions and provide information on how preserve the environment.
New City of Atlanta Recycling Initiatives:
- CurbCycle, a one-year, incentivized pilot recycling program, will begin in 2008. Participants will receive larger recycling bins from the Department of Watershed Management (DWM) to encourage higher recycling rates. Customers collect rewards from CurbCycle sponsors based on the weight of their recyclables. Atlanta is one of the first American cities to introduce this type of program.
- The track at Isabel Gates Webster Park will be replaced with a recycled, rubberized model, using old tires collected from residents and stakeholders at the Arms Around Atlanta Earth Day celebration, held in April 2007.
- An additional 100 recycling bins will be placed throughout the city to encourage residents and visitors to recycle while they are away from home.
For more information on the Atlanta Sustainability Initiative, visit here.
Mayor Shirley Franklin accepts a $50,000 donation from Pratt Industries on behalf of the City of Atlanta Greener Atlanta Sustainability Initiative. Pratt Industries was one of the sponsors for the first-ever Atlanta Recycles Day.
Residents participate in the 5K Mayor-thon.
Tree-planting and mulching demonstrations help to reduce the carbon imprint left by the Atlanta Recycles Day event. |
(top)
America Looks to the World’s Busiest Airport for Holiday Travel Tips
The Today Show cameras converged on Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (HJAIA) this morning to air tips for convenient and safe holiday travel from the world’s busiest airport.
This Thanksgiving, HJAIA officials are expecting 1,854,859 passengers to come through the airport. This is a 4.6 percent increase over last year’s numbers. Please remember the following tips when traveling this holiday season.
Officials from HJAIA, TSA (Transportation Security Administration) and airport airlines provided the following tips for travelers.
- Remember the “3-1-1” rule. All liquids, gels and aerosols must be in travel-sized containers weighing 3-ounces or less. Containers must be placed in a 1 quart-sized, clear, plastic, zip-top bag. Only 1 bag is permitted per traveler. It must be removed from your carry-on and placed in the security bin for x-ray screening.
- Prescription medications, baby formula and milk are allowed in quantities exceeding three ounces and are not required to be in the zip-top bag. Declare these items for inspection at the checkpoint.
- Domestic travelers should arrive at least 90 minutes prior to departure. International travelers should arrive up to 2 hours prior to departure.
- Register at www.atlanta-airport.com for continuous updates on wait times at the security checkpoint using the free online Trak-A-Line service. Users can have information forwarded to their PDA, cell phone or pager.
- Call 1-877-ATL-PARK to get the status of road conditions and availability of parking before arriving at the Airport.
- Motorists within a 10-mile radius of the facility can tune their car stereo to AM 830, the Airport’s radio station for current pricing information.
- Call ahead to your respective airline to request special arrangements as necessary for young children, the elderly and pets.
To review the complete list of prohibited items, logon to www.tsa.gov For more travel tips and information on Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, visit www.atlanta-airport.com.
(top)
The holidays - traditionally filled with lots of cooking and entertaining - can take a big toll on your drain and the city's sewer system in the form of fats, oils and grease or FOG. Click Here to go to our video on demand (VOD) page to view the FOG Fighter video for tips on protecting your drains.
(top)
Rave Reviews!
- Last week the Atlanta Development Authority (ADA) received the "2007 Exceptional Merit Award for Transit Oriented Development and Affordable Housing" Award from the Atlanta Regional Commission. ADA received the award for TWELVE Centennial Park, a recently opened condo/hotel project in downtown Atlanta. As a City incentivized project, (it is a project that received TAD funding), 20 percent of the units are affordable workforce housing units. ADA's TAD team partnered with the Atlanta Neighborhoods Development Partnership (ANDP) and the developer, Novare, to create and implement a project that provides homeownership opportunities to persons who earn up to 80 percent of our region's median income, or roughly, $55,000.
- Kelvin J. Cochran, chief of the Shreveport, LA Fire Department has been named new Chief of Atlanta’s Fire Rescue (AFR) Department and is expected to begin his new post in January 2008. Cochran is a 26-year veteran of the Shreveport Police Department, earning promotions from firefighter in 1982 to Chief in 1999. He currently serves as the second vice president of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), and will be promoted to president in 2008. Cochran holds a Bachelor’s of Science in organizational management from Wiley College in Texas and a Master’s degree in industrial organizational psychology from Louisiana Tech University. Cochran assumes the position left vacant by former AFR Chief Dennis L. Rubin. Interim Atlanta Fire Chief Harold Miller has been serving in the position since April 2007.
(top)
Upcoming Events & Volunteer Opportunities
- In Atlanta, Every Day is An Opening Day … Holiday Events. Every year beginning around Thanksgiving, metro Atlanta lights up with holiday-themed fun for residents and visitors. Familiar events include the Lighting of the Great Tree at Lenox Square, Holiday in Lights at Centennial Olympic Park, and a Stone Mountain Christmas. For more information on holiday events, visit www.atlanta.net.
(top)
Job Announcements
With the City of Atlanta’s online application system, you are able to create an account and select a Username and Password and then log in to your account.
After your account has been established, you can create an application by clicking on the “Build Job Application” link. Once your application is completed, it will be stored in the system and can be used to apply for future job openings. To get started by viewing current open positions, click here.
(top)
Weekly Features
Email us at citynewsbytes@atlantaga.gov to provide your feedback about this newsletter or to nominate someone you know for Stakeholder Spotlight.