News Clips

1-14-13

Today's Clips:

 MARTA  Transportation Planning

MARTA The Patch 1-13-13

MARTA Bus Route No. 6 Through Emory Could See Changes MARTA is holding public hearings Jan. 22 and Jan. 24 about possible bus route changes.

• By Patch Staff • Email the author • January 13, 2013

MARTA is considering route changes that could affect Bus Route 6, which runs through the Emory campus and connects to the Lindbergh and Inman Park/Reynoldstown train stations. MARTA users who want to learn more and share their feedback can attend one of three public hearings this month. The closest hearing will be 7 p.m. Jan. 24 at Maloof Auditorium, 1300 Commerce Drive, Decatur. A community exchange will be held 6-7 p.m. Here's MARTA's description of the possible changes to Route 6 – Emory: Realign services to operate a short turn alignment from Lindbergh Station to the North Decatur and Oxford Roads traffic circle (roundabout) and continue operation from Lindbergh Station to Inman Park/Reynoldstown Station via alternating trips on weekdays only. Saturday and Sunday services remain unchanged and will continue to operate between Lindbergh Station and Inman Park/Reynoldstown Station all trips. And here's the full release from MARTA: MARTA will hold public hearings on proposed bus service modifications at 7 p.m. on January 22 and 24, 2013, to gather input from customers and stakeholders. Modifications to bus routes 6, 15, 21, 51, 67, 86, 95, 110, 172 and 186 are being proposed for implementation on April 20, 2013, to improve service and respond to customer and community feedback. Details regarding the proposed changes are listed below.

Prior to the start of the official public hearing, MARTA staff will be available for a community exchange to provide information regarding the proposed changes and answer any questions. MARTA regularly evaluates bus route performance including scheduling, on-time performance, ridership and safety. Final changes will be recommended based on feedback received from customers as well as the Authority’s service analysis.

Copies of the proposed bus service modifications are available for review at MARTA’s Office of External Affairs, 2424 Piedmont Road, N.E. Atlanta, Georgia 30324 during regular business hours, Monday – Friday from 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and on the MARTA website www.itsmarta.com. A summary of the proposed bus modifications can be requested by leaving a message on MARTA’s comment line, 404.848.5299. The proposed modifications will also be available for public inspection before each hearing.

Patrons may request information in an accessible format (free of charge) in accordance with the ADA and Limited English Proficiency regulations by calling MARTA’s Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity at 404.848.4037. For patrons requiring further accommodations, information can be obtained by calling the Telephone Device for the Deaf (TDD) at 404.848.5665. In addition, a sign language interpreter will be available at all hearings.

People unable to attend the hearings can provide comments regarding the proposed bus service modifications to MARTA’s Office of External Affairs through January 27, 2013, by leaving a message at 404.848.5299, writing to 2424 Piedmont Road, NE Atlanta, Georgia 30324-3330, completing an online comment card at www.itsmarta.com, or faxing comments to 404.848.4179.

Hearings will also be held at the following locations: Tuesday, January 22, 2013 Adamsville Recreation Center 3201 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, SW 7:00 PM Community Exchange from 6:30 – 7:00 PM Riding MARTA: Take the Route 73 out of Hamilton E. Holmes Station Thursday, January 24, 2013 MARTA Headquarters Building 2424 Piedmont Road NE, Atlanta, 30324 7:00 P.M. Community Exchange from 6 – 7 PM Riding MARTA: Across the street from Other Proposed Service Changes Route 15 – South DeKalb/Candler Road: Realign services with an extension along River Road and Linecrest Road segments and discontinue the Ridgetop Drive, Lincolndale Drive and Clevemont Court segments in the East Glen subdivision. Route 21 – Memorial Drive: Realign services to discontinue direct service to inbound to Georgia State Station. Route 21 would continue to provide direct service to King Memorial Station outbound from Georgia State Station only. Route 51 – Joseph E. Boone Blvd. /Dixie Hills: Realign services to maintain current routing to New Jersey Avenue and Joseph E. Boone Blvd., which will be the new terminus for Route 51 with the exception of the selected trips that operate via Collier Heights Apartments. The segments along Aurora Avenue, Morehouse Drive, Morris Brown Avenue and Wadley Street will be discontinued. The segments along Anderson Avenue, Tiger Flowers Drive, Carver Drive, Hyacinth Avenue, Verbena Street and Penelope Street will be assumed by modifications to Route 67-West End. Route 67 – West End: Realign services to operate a one way loop from West Lake Station that assumes segments from Route 51 – Joseph E. Boone Blvd. /Dixie Hills and the restructure of the services currently provided by Route 67. The new alignment would operate as follows from West Lake Station: Right- Anderson Avenue, Left-Waterbury Drive, Right-Anderson Avenue, Left-Tiger Flowers Drive, Left-Carver Drive, Right-Hyacinth Avenue, Left-Verbena Street, Right-Penelope Street, Left-Aaron Street, Right-Penelope Road, and Right- Anderson Avenue returning to West Lake Station. The segment along Verbena Street between Waterbury Drive and Chenault Place and along Chenault Place will be discontinued. Route 86 – Fairington Road/McAfee Road: Realign services to operate a short turn alignment from GRTA Panola Road Park and Ride Lot to the I-20 Access Road and Old Hillandale Drive on all service days during the hours that the Mall at Stonecrest is closed. Route 95 – Metropolitan Parkway/Hapeville: Discontinue operation along the S. Central Avenue and Tradeport Blvd. segments. All trips will terminate at King Arnold Street and Sunset Avenue with the exception of the trips that provide direct service to Atlanta Technical and Atlanta Metropolitan Colleges. Route 110 – Peachtree Street “The Peach”: Realign services to provide alternating trips between Five Points and Lenox Stations and Arts Center and Lenox Stations during the hours of 9:00 AM - 8:00 PM on all service days. Service between Arts Center and Five Points Stations will be discontinued before 9:00 AM and after 8:00 PM. Route 172 – Sylvan Road/Virginia Avenue: Realign services to assume the S. Central Avenue and Tradeport Blvd. segments discontinued by Route 95 – Metropolitan Parkway/Hapeville on selected trips on weekdays and Saturdays only. Service along this segment will not be provided on Sundays. Route 186 – Rainbow Drive/South DeKalb: Realign services with an extension along Wesley Chapel Road, Snapfinger Woods Drive, E. Wesley Chapel Road returning to Snapfinger Woods Drive, which will be the new terminus for Route 186. Service along the Pleasant Wood Drive and Eastside Drive segments will be provided inbound from the Snapfinger Woods Drive terminus in the AM and outbound before terminating at Snapfinger Woods Drive in the PM until 9:00 PM on all service days.

AJC 1-13-13

By Daarel Burnette II The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The rambunctious, feel-good partying surrounding the Georgia Dome took a timeout Sunday afternoon—but it didn‘t last for long.

As the Seattle Seahawks took the lead for the first time in the fourth quarter, DJs turned the music down and the burgers of tailgaters without tickets turned cold as Falcon fans in disbelief crowded around big screen TVs propped up on their SUV trunks.

A successful last-minute field goal pushed the Falcons into the NFC championship game and hundreds of thousands of fans across metro Atlanta turned the music back up — this time louder and accompanied with screaming, dancing and optimism for what‘s ahead.

Outside the dome, hundreds of fans doing the ―Wobble‖ line dance blocked the intersection of Carter Street and Northside Drive . They then boldly told a trickle of Seattle Seahawks fans to enjoy their long flights home while the thumping sounds of Atlanta native rapper Ludacris chanting, ―Move, get out the way,‖ played.

Children in the middle of a game of backyard football, ducked at the sound of loud popping amateur fireworks.

MARTA lit up its buses with ―Go Falcons‖ and its train conductors propped ―Rise Up‖ signs in its windows.

Fans said the game was symptomatic of the extreme highs and lows their hometown team has traditionally brought and the undying love they show in return.

The Falcons have made it to the NFC championship only twice before. They‘ve been to one Super Bowl, which they lost.

―I couldn‘t swallow,‖ Kerry Smith said about the final minutes of the game. ―That was the most stressful, best game I‘ve ever seen in my life,‖said Brett Peach who wore knee-high black wool socks, black and red Nike tennis shoes, a jersey and a Falcons cap.

Others said they never lost faith.

―It‘s not over ‗till it‘s over,‖ said Antwon Anderson, 40, of Atlanta. ―this is just good for the city. Atlanta got violence, young kids doing stupid stuff, a bad economy. We needed this.‖

This season is special, fans said.

―The chemistry is just there this year,‖ said Ronald Elder, 54, who has been a season ticket holder for the last 20 years and a fan since 1966. ―Mike Smith has spent the last five years building up the team just the way he wanted. I never let up. Falcons never give up.‖

It seemed that everybody in the Falcons‘ ―fan zone‖ outside the dome— from the crossing guards to the manager at Subway— had a differing opinion about why the Falcons faltered in the final moments of Sunday‘s game and what they needed to do to spare them anxiety attacks on Sunday when they play the 49ers at the Dome.

But they all came to the same conclusion about what‘s ahead for the Falcons: Super Bowl Champions, of course.

The Patch 1-13-13

Boxers, Panties and MARTA, Oh My! Sunday is Go Pantless Day on MARTA. • By Péralte Paul

Attention MARTA riders: Get ready for a flesh mob. If you see groups of hipsters riding MARTA trains without pants on Jan. 13, it's all part of the No Pants Subway Ride. The event is part of a global No Pants Subway Ride started by Improv Everywhere in New York in 2002. Atlanta's Gobi Lumberjacks have been participating since 2009. This year's annual No Pants Subway Ride in Atlanta starts at the white arch near Underground Atlanta (across Peachtree Street from the Five Points MARTA Station). Those wishing to participate are asked to meet at 3 p.m. for instructions to be given out at 3:15 p.m. The group is expected to ride the 3:45 p.m. northbound RED Line. They're expected to exit at the Civic Center, where they'll shed their pants. After that, they plan to ride the trains to Lindbergh Station, then down to Airport Station before coming back to . And in case you're wondering about indecent exposure laws, here is what the state statute says: 16-6-8. Public indecency. (a) A person commits the offense of public indecency when he or she performs any of the following acts in a public place: (1) An act of sexual intercourse; (2) A lewd exposure of the sexual organs; (3) A lewd appearance in a state of partial or complete nudity; or (4) A lewd caress or indecent fondling of the body of another person. A MARTA spokeswoman told East Atlanta Patch those riders — pants or no pants — will have to adhere to state and local public indecency laws.

WSB Ch 2 1-12-13

Marta is promising major changes now, after a channel 2 action news investigation exposed bus drivers making hundreds of thousands of dollars in overtime. Channel 2 investigative reporter aaron diamond reports that one main issue is whether marta bus drivers and police officers were working just too many hours to do their jobs safely. >> I did jump to that conclusion and I will continue to jump to that conclusion, because I think the conclusion is right. >> Reporter: members of the general assembly's marta oversite committee drilled the authority's leaders two months after a channel 2 investigation first exposed dozens of marta bus drivers and police officers racking up thousands of hours in overtime each, for years, some doubling their salaries or better. >> In light of those revelations, what steps marta is taking to address the problem. >> Reporter: a problem we uncovered by poring over payroll records through a series of open records requests. >> I'm going to ask you to produce to me exactly what was produced to wsb. >> Reporter: members most worry about taxpayer costs and whether a fatigue factor from all that ot puts public safety at risk. >> Your judgment is slower. Your reactions are slower. >> Reporter: marta's new ceo told members changes were already happening, with more on the way. >> We don't want to be on the other side of this and say two years from now or whatever, some catastrophic event happens and we found that the person was working a 90-hour work week. >> Reporter: after the hearing, parker admitted making the most significant changes will take time. >> One of the things I don't want to have happen is that I make a quick change, sudden change. Then as a result, we don't have enough people to actually provide the service. >> Reporter: still, jacobs explained why the committee ordered regular progress reports. >> That it can just get swept under the rug and a year from now with regard to the numbers that were in your initial report will still be where we were. >> Reporter: aaron diamond, channel 2 action news, sunday A.M.

The Examiner 1-13-13

Best of MARTA: College Park Station

COLLEGE PARK MARTA STATION

JANUARY 13, 2013 BY: SARA CHESHIRE

The College Park MARTA station is smaller than most and in a relatively quiet part of the Atlanta metro area. One stop away from the airport, it makes a quick pit stop for travelers who don't want to eat airport food and a destination for urban adventurers. Read on to learn some of the best nearby destinations. A reminder to use caution after dark and be aware of your surroundings -- the area isn't as safe as other parts of the city.

Feed Store Right across from the station is a higher-end Southern/American restaurant open Monday-Saturday. Good for a date night, the menu includes fried chicken, pork chops, shrimp and grits and a veggie plate. After leaving the station, cross the street at the stoplight.

The Pecan Also across the street from the station and a short walk down Main Street (turn right after crossing the street in front of the station), the Pecan is also a Southern-inspired eatery. If you need brunch, they have it.

Hotel Indigo Atlanta Airport This hotel is one of the closest to a MARTA station with its location next to the MARTA parking lot. The long-term parking area is currently fenced in, so be sure to take the Main Street exit out of the station, turn right and walk around the front of the station to get to the hotel a half block up on Harvard Avenue (turn right on Harvard).

Conley Recreation Center The Conley Recreation Center and neighboring sports fields offer plenty of athletic activities for adults and children. A highlight is the KiDsGyM USA program. Basketball, football, baseball and tennis are some of the available sports. Take the Main Street exit and cross the street at the stoplight in front of the station. Turn right on Main Street then left on Princeton Avenue. Peter Pan Park The Peter Pan Park provides additional tennis courts, baseball fields and a playground. Take the Main Street exit out of the station and turn right. Walk about two blocks to Temple Avenue and turn right again and walk about 10 minutes.

U.S. Federal Aviation Administration As one of the closest employers to MARTA, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration building is right behind the MARTA station. Take the exit marked Taxis/Buses when exiting the station and walk straight through the parking lot toward the MARTA police precinct building. The office building is just beyond on the left.

Enterprise Rent a Car One of the closest rental car companies to a MARTA station is across the street from the College Park station on Main Street. After crossing the railroad tracks, turn left.

MARTA Long-term Parking College Park is one of the stations that offers overnight parking in a parking garage for $8/day. Enter the parking area from Lee Street.

AJC 1-12-13

Taking up where we left off at Gold Dome 9:00 am January 12, 2013, by Andre Jackson, Editorial Editor

The Georgia General Assembly comes to order Monday. Considering the landscape both ahead of and behind us, it‘s tempting for lawmakers and citizens to both want to take a breather in 2013.

That‘s understandable after a raucous 2012 that saw multiple major issues before the Legislature, among them a thorny budget, tax reform and transportation matters.

Not to mention last year‘s landmark elections. By comparison, issues likely to come before this body in 2013 largely carry a lower profile. They are no less important to the future of this region and state, however. Lawmakers should not forget that.

And they should summon up the wisdom and courage to act decisively and wisely on the business now at hand. As a curtain-raiser of the next 40 legislative days, here is our starter list of challenges that stand in need of solutions: Ethics In coming weeks, we will hear much talk for another year running about the constitutionally mandated necessity of Georgia living within the prudent means of a balanced budget.

That‘s a valid point, true enough. It‘s equally true that one of the biggest, cheapest fixes the General Assembly can adopt this year is to, finally, heed the will of the people and end the current anything goes, show-the-love-with-no-limits lobbying of lawmakers.

A recent poll conducted for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution confirms the common-sense sentiment that voters have had enough of the antics at the Gold Dome. It found that 71 percent of 694 Georgians polled said lawmakers should not be allowed to accept gifts from lobbyists.

Another 14.7 percent thought a $100 gift limit was reasonable. Education Charter school proponents won a large victory in November when voters approved a measure calling for reinstatement of the state charter schools commission.

The resurrection of a state-based channel for approving and funding charter schools comes even as Georgia continues to struggle to pay its share of cost for the traditional public schools that educate nine in 10 children here. In recent years, local districts have seen the ratio of state/local funding shift more toward local districts, even as counties struggled with declining property tax revenue.

Lawmakers should keep foremost in mind their constitutionally mandated obligation to provide an ―adequate public education‖ for each child and not stoke funding for new charters at the expense of existing schools.

Transportation It‘s likely that the word ―transportation‖ will rarely be uttered in legislative chambers this year, given the nearly 2-to-1 defeat of the T-SPLOST in metro Atlanta and a similar result in most other districts statewide. It‘s even more unlikely that lawmakers will brook any consideration of the ―Plan B‖ that T- SPLOST foes urged.

Be that as it may, there is substantial work that lawmakers can do this year to set the stage for the future. Beginning a productive working relationship with new MARTA CEO Keith Parker is a good place to begin.

With Parker and the MARTA board having a new template for improving financial performance courtesy of consultant KPMG, lawmakers may be tempted to continue scoring political points by injecting themselves into MARTA‘s finances at every opportunity. While everyone agrees that MARTA should become a more- efficient transit operator, lawmakers should allow MARTA a reasonable time to effect fixes before climbing back onto the political grandstand to demand this or that.

And members of the MARTA legislative oversight committee should keep in mind that when — and it must be a ―when,‖ not an ―if‖ — MARTA gets its fiscal operation in order, what‘s next?

The primary stated reason for the state not funding mass transit will have been eliminated. Be careful what you wish for, MARTOC. Lawmakers will also be faced with a decision on the future of GRTA‘s XPress suburban bus service. Ongoing funding for the rush-hour transit operation had been included in the T- SPLOST.

The state should now find a way to pay for the buses that take 9,000 riders off crowded highways each day. Lastly, any calls to repeal the Transportation Investment Act that created the T-SPLOST should go unheeded. To tinker with a mechanism that three regions approved last year would be problematic from fiscal and legal standpoints. It would also further erode already-shopworn citizen confidence in government.

Andre Jackson, for the Editorial Board.

WXIA Ch 11 1-12-13 If you don't want to spend your time sitting in traffic and missing the start, leave several hours ahead of kickoff. 3) Take Marta. Avoid traffic completely. The blue or yellow line will take you directly to the dome. Find a Marta station with free parking and leave early to avoid packed trains.

Crossroads News 1-12-13

CEO to discuss MARTA’s agenda

Keith T. Parker, MARTA‘s new CEO and general manager, will speak to DeKalb business people on Jan. 23 about the transit authority‘s 2013 agenda and other initiatives.

The speech will kick off the DeKalb Chamber‘s Executive Speaker Series, formerly known as First Monday Lunch.

It takes place from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Perimeter, 4386 Chamblee Dunwoody Road in Atlanta. Tickets purchased by Jan. 18 are $35 for members and $45 for nonmembers.

Parker took the helm of the nation‘s ninth-largest transit system, which includes heavy rail, bus and paratransit services, on Dec. 10.

Under his leadership, the authority is focused on working with employees, customers, transit stakeholders and the community to provide safe, efficient and high-quality transit services to the Atlanta region.

MARTA provides nearly 420,000 passenger boardings a day.

Parker was most recently president and CEO of VIA transit in San Antonio. He signed a five-year contract with MARTA that includes a $320,000 base salary with automatic, one-year renewable options. He has a bachelor‘s degree in political science, a master‘s in urban and regional planning, and an M.B.A.

For more information, call 404-378-8000 or visit www.Dekalbchamber.org.

Read more: CrossRoadsNews - CEO to discuss MARTA‘s agenda

WGCL Ch 46 1-11-13 New MARTA general manager talks improvements to system

Keith Parker, the new Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority general manager, sat down with CBS Atlanta News to discuss the plans he has to improve the transportation system.

"The MARTA system has a pretty good reputation nationally. I think the bones of this organization are very, very solid," Parker said.

The former head of public transportation systems in San Antonio, TX, and Charlotte, NC, said he wants to make MARTA bigger and better.

"Right now we carry a lot of people who no matter how lousy a job we do, they will ride with us," Parker said. "My job is to make sure those people get a more dignified ride every day and a more customer-friendly ride, while at the same time doing the things that we can to attract more and more folks."

Parker said simple low-cost improvements that worked in San Antonio and Charlotte can also work in Atlanta.

"From any bus stop you can text the transit system and 30 seconds later you can know real time where the next bus will be arriving," Parker said. "It cost us just a few thousand bucks, really. We added reclining seats, overhead storage, individual reading lights and individual air controls in the buses."

Parker said he also wants riders to have access to Wi-Fi and he wants more rail service in more places, which traditionally has been a tough sell.

But he acknowledged that before any of that happens, MARTA needs to get its financial house in order.

In 2012, an audit found MARTA was spending $50 million more than the national average on its employee healthcare, retirement and worker compensation packages.

Parker said he's the man to fix that.

"The benefits side may be too high, but the wage component may be a bit too low for us to continue to attract and contain the highest-level employees, so part of what we will be doing is looking at how we can balance those two things together," Parker said.

But MARTA's union said the audit is an attack on its members. Its leadership pushed back against plans to cut benefits and outsource services to save money. Parker said he's ready for what many expect to be contentious negotiations.

"My sense is as we lay out solid information, we will be able to mutually agree on a path forward," Parker said.

On Friday, the state committee that oversees MARTA peppered Parker with questions about MARTA's financial situation and indicated help will be provided when results are produced.

"The findings in the KPMG audit are significant and of great concern and obviously they require action by MARTA. So we are waiting to see what plan of attack MARTA comes up with," said State Rep. Mike Jacob, R-Brookhaven.

Parker said tough choices would have to be made.

"You can't just wish away a $30 million operating budget. We are going to have to work on those," Parker said.

Parker said positive change is coming, but asked riders to be patient.

AJC 1-11-13 MARTA chief promises to address overtime

By Steve Visser The Atlanta Journal-Constitution MARTA‘s new general manager told a joint legislative oversight committee Friday that he plans to curb the excessive overtime paid to certain police officers and bus drivers because it represents a potential safety hazard.

The overtime — which allowed some officers and drivers to double and triple their pay by working double shifts — raised serious concerns about drivers or police officers being too exhausted to safely do their jobs, members of the committee said. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Channel 2 Action News documented the practice last fall.

―Based on my experience, and I spent 21 years in the military, fatigue does affect judgment, and excessive fatigue … affects the ability to perform critical tasks,‖ said state Rep. Tom Miller, R-Dunwoody. Top national experts on sleep deprivation expressed similar views in interviews with the AJC.

About 130 police officers and 90 bus drivers boosted their salaries by 50 percent during a 12-month period ending in June, according to records obtained by the AJC. A handful made more in overtime than in regular pay. The chairman of the committee, state Rep. Mike Jacobs, R-Atlanta, said MARTA‘s police did a good job overall and the agency had a relatively good public-safety record, but he still found the excessive overtime a ―problem‖ and he expects MARTA to address it. General Manager Keith Parker, who became the agency‘s top administrator last month, said the excessive overtime had not yet produced any safety hazards and that an examination of bus drivers did not show any correlation between accidents or complaints and work hours. But he acknowledged that the number of hours in itself raised a concern and could put the agency at greater risk in litigation.

Parker said federal highway rules prevent semi-truck operators from driving more than 10 hours in a maximum 15-hour workday. MARTA rules allow officers and bus drivers to drive or patrol 16 hours a day if they have eight hours off between shifts. Bus drivers get hourly breaks.

MARTA police have reinstituted a rule limiting overtime to 32 hours a week. Deputy Chief Joseph Dorsey said the department is also doing a better job of spreading out overtime among officers. Overtime issues involving bus drivers, who unlike police are part of a union, will be negotiated with union leaders, Parker said.

Overtime will be an issue in a civil lawsuit against the agency involving the shooting death of an Atlanta man by a MARTA officer in October 2012, said lawyer Greg Feagle, who represents the man‘s family. While Officer Robert Waldo was not found criminally liable in the killing of 19-year-old Joetavius Stafford, records showed Waldo was at the end of a double shift when the shooting occurred and had worked 37 hours of overtime that week.

Witnesses had seen Stafford firing a gun shortly before he fled police, but no gun was found by Stafford‘s body. Waldo said he fired when he saw Stafford make an aggressive move. Other witnesses said Stafford was surrendering.

A recent management audit found MARTA‘s $26 million in overtime costs for all workers was about 5 percent higher than average for private companies and about 7 percent higher for public agencies in 2011.

The audit blamed excessive absenteeism for the overtime. But others contend that, too often, the driving force is saving money by hiring fewer workers. The agency‘s overall labor cost was about 3.5 percent lower than average, the audit found.

Atlanta Transportation Planning

Creative Loafing 1-10-13

Mayor talks transportation, Hillary Clinton, and filmmaking at Atlanta Press Club Posted by Max Blau @maxblau • Mayor Kasim Reed spoke to the Atlanta Press Club this afternoon at an event held at the Commerce Club downtown. Over the course of approximately 40 minutes he recapped some of the past year's highlights and shed light on some potential initiatives in 2013.

His recent accomplishments are well-documented, but in brief the mayor emphasized economic development and the expansion of the Atlanta Police force, among other achievements. He also touched on the city's sound fiscal state, amassing $126 million in its reserves, including $107 million in "unencumbered" funds that can be invested back into the city. "You can't help other people when you're broke yourself," the mayor told the audience of journalists and other media professionals. Reed touched on several plans throughout his speech that could materialize in 2013. Now that Atlanta has been given an extension by the federal government to complete the $4 billion overhaul of its sewer system, Reed said, the city will focus on making as much as $300 million dollars in improvements "above the ground" that would include "roads, bridges, [and] streetscape." Funding for the projects would come from a bond package and not require raising taxes. "How a city looks and feels, the experience of a city, and the beauty of a city matters a great deal," Reed said. "So that's what we're going to do next. We're going to have the largest capital investment above ground we've had in modern times." One of the highlights from the Q&A portion was a wry comment that alluded to the AJC Politifact's report calling Reed a "full flop" on the issue of same-sex marriage. The mayor didn't specifically address the article, but when one person incorrectly asked Reed about his time as a boy scout, he responded that it was actually his brother that participated in the organization. Before the man could apologize, Reed chimed in: "It's no problem, but you've got to watch these facts these days." When asked about the future of Atlanta's entertainment industry, Reed said that more than "$1 billion in TV and motion pictures" had been produced in the city. That's up from $300 million six years ago, he said, thanks to a "solidified" motion picture tax credit that will be around for another four years. "I think Atlanta will be no. 3 in the United States of America within the next two years in terms of where television and motion picture entertainment is created," Reed said. "We're in the top five right now." Regarding Georgia's political future, the mayor predicted that Hillary Clinton would run as a presidential candidate in 2016 - and, thanks in part to a potential demographic shift, would contend for the state's electoral votes. "I think Georgia is on a irreversible path to a democratic majority," Reed told the audience. "It's going to be bipartisan because of the way the districts are shaped." On his own political ambitions, Reed repeatedly stated that he would be around as mayor for "five more years." He did clearly sidestep a barrage of questions directly asking if he would run for a statewide office. "I want to finish being mayor and then I've got some other plans for myself," Reed said. "I do want be a part of building... you're really making me blush. I'm under the weather [laughs]. I want to help build a party though...It's a good thing that when I blush, you can't tell [laughs]." Reed discussed a slew of other issues as well, including the Savannah Port, the new stadium - he thinks a deal will happen - and potentially a Major League Soccer team. You can see more of his comments on my Twitter feed. We recorded his entire talk for your listening pleasure. Check out the mayor's entire speech and Q&A via the embedded player below.