Congressman Wants Firings at Atlanta VA Medical Center

Gwinnett Rep. Phil Gingrey sent a frusrated letter to the veterans hospital this week.

A local congressman wants someone – or some people – fired at Atlanta VA Medical Center on Clairmont Road following a federal report that links mismanagement to several patient deaths. Gwinnett Rep. Phil Gingrey sent a letter to the North Decatur veterans hospital this week demanding details about what the center has done in response to the report last month, according to wsbtv.com. From the story: But when a team of powerful Washington lawmakers came to Atlanta earlier this month to get specifics, the executive staff didn't tell them about a troubling fourth suicide, later uncovered by Channel 2 Action News. Joseph Petit's death inside the hospital last September went unnoticed for 24 hours. "How do you forget a death, particularly in …

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PCIDs Commit $10.5 Million to I-285/Ga. 400 Improvements

The PCIDs will fund the improvement project. Gov. Nathan Deal called it a project of statewide significance. The PCIDs include Sandy Springs, Dunwoody and Brookhaven. The I-285/Ga. 400 partnerships also include Chamblee and Doraville.

Last January, Yvonne Williams, President and CEO of the Perimeter Community Improvement Districts, said that despite the failed TSPLOST measure last summer, the PCIDS was still pursuing improvements to the Ga. 400/I-285 interchange. “We’ve got to keep the needle on this project and see how we can start forwarding its agenda,” said Williams to Rotary Club of Sandy Springs members, in January. “It’s been put on the Atlanta Regional Commission as a new project.”  On Wednesday, Gov. Nathan Deal announced that the PCIDS has committed $10.5 million to I-285/Ga. 400 Interchange improvements. Deal called it a project of statewide significance. The funds are seed money toward the $450 million project. A press statement said the PCIDs boards will …

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Another Legislator: Only GOP-Backed Cityhood Bills Will Be Considered

Dunwoody state Rep. Tom Taylor also said Monday most of the cityhood bills submitted in March lack "legal sufficiency" because they don't have enough detail.

If a bill for the creation of a new city in the North Druid Hills-Briarcliff area is to be considered by the state legislature next year, it's likely going to be the one written and submitted on behalf of the Lakeside City Alliance, a Dunwoody legislator said Monday night. And that bill's Republican support will be key, said Dunwoody state Rep. Tom Taylor. "None of these are even going to get a hearing except for [the Lakeside City Alliance's]," Taylor said after an alliance meeting before roughly 70 residents from the Evansdale Elementary School area. Taylor, a Republican, was instrumental in the creation of city of Dunwoody and served on its city council until he resigned to run for his House seat in 2010. The Lakeside City Alliance's …

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Tom Doolittle

11:27 am on Friday, May 24, 2013

You're "disturbed" because I don't see the legislative process is easily adaptable to making new cities? I apologize for the disturbance. City-making is done many different ways in different states, but in no state I've reviewed do they facilitate various stakeholders in the same area to present different city-making proposals to the state legislature and have a legislative committee sort them …   more ›

Atlanta VA Hospital Presents New Director

Leslie Wiggins comes on board as the hospital addresses several citations from an independent accrediting agency.

Leslie Wiggins is the new director of the Atlanta VA Medical Center. Wiggins' background includes serving as chief operating officer at the Detroit VA Medical Center, as VA Deputy Assistant Secretary for Labor-Management Relations and as a nurse executive, according to CBS Atlanta. Wiggins has her work cut out for her. An independent accrediting agency in March cited the hospital for a number of problems related to patient safety and procedures. Wiggins, according to the news outlet, told reporters at a news conference today: "Veterans can be confident they will get the care they deserve. I already have the ball rolling." Read also:

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Patch Politics

Obama Rocks Morehouse in the Rain

The live coverage is over, but replay the live blog to see what all the hype was about.

President Barack Obama gave the 129th commencement address speech on a wet and rainy Sunday afternoon, May 19th, at Morehouse College. Obama began his remarks to an excited yet wet crowd,most of whom had been seated as early as 6 am. at approximately 11:30 am. The sky opened just before the speech began, and the crowd was treated to a steady downpour throughout. Obama quipped that, “I would be out there with you, but the Secret Service gets nervous.” Obama was greeted with a big cheer when he emerged from a building adjacent to the stage with Morehouse College president John Silvanus Wilson, a former White House aide. The invocation was given by Rev. Raphael Warnock of Ebenezer Baptist Church, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous church. …

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DeKalb Wants Resident Input on Zoning Code Update

Comments can be made online.

DeKalb county wants to know residents' thoughts about the zoning code update. The update "is to implement the policies of the DeKalb County 2015 Comprehensive Plan. Its goal is to create a user-friendly document and to balance greater design standards," the DeKalb County Planning & Sustainability website states.  According to the Medlock Area Neighborhood Association, the DeKalb Board of Commissioners will vote on the update on May 28, and it goes into effect  August 2013. There is plenty to review about the update on the site, from public drafts to proposed districts and more. You can leave a comment online about the zoning code update.

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Animal Advocates Continue Pressure for New Shelter Near Airport

A group of residents want DeKalb County to put a new animal shelter on a site near DeKalb Peachtree Airport.

DeKalb County animal advocates continue to pressure county government to open a new animal shelter on a site near DeKalb Peachtree Airport. Advocates for DeKalb Animals, a group of residents, went before the county's board of commissioners Tuesday, demanding they approve $2.75 million in federal stimulus money to build a new shelter on a 5-acre parcel adjacent to the airport, according to myfoxatlanta.com. From the story: The group claims that the current shelter off Memorial Drive, is killing extremely high numbers of animals. They specifically cite that over 3,000 animals were killed at the shelter last year alone. They say a newer, bigger facility would reduce that number. Some commissioners in the past have voiced concern over the …

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County Breaks Ground on Kittredge Park Renovations

Big improvements, including a new bridge re-establishing access to the park's south side, are coming for the park.

DeKalb County officials and a group of local residents who have been cleaning and clearing Kittredge Park off North Druid Hills Road for the last several years broke ground last week on the park's county-funded renovation. The group, which included county Commissioner Kathie Gannon and members of Friends of Kittredge Park, gathered around a ceremonial tree planting at 6 p.m. Thursday to mark the moment. Alan Pinsker, a member of the group, filled Patch in last week on what's been done and what's in store for the park: Friends of Kittredge Park, comprised of residents from several surrounding homeowners' associations, has been diligently working in the park virtually every month over the past 4 years to remove literally tons of invasive …

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Lakeside City Alliance Nears $30K Fundraising Goal

The cityhood group has scheduled a second public fundraiser at Oak Grove's Taqueria El Vecino on June 4.

The Lakeside City Alliance is quickly nearing its $30,000 fundraising goal, the cityhood study group said last week. The group, which has held several fundraisers since it announced its formation in February, has more than $20,000 in its coffers, according to a posting on its Facebook page Friday. The group also plans to hold a second public fundraiser at Taqueria El Vecino in Oak Grove from 6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m. on June 4. It expects to reach its $30,000 goal by June 30. The money will go toward a study by the University of Georgia or Georgia State University that will determine the feasibility of the alliance's proposed city, which reaches from North Druid Hills north to Northlake and east to parts of northern Tucker. For more information …

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Roberto

3:10 pm on Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Best looking because of the amount of male cow droppings being spread around.   more ›