Economist.com Cities Guide: Atlanta Briefing - June 2005

News this month

Stunning

Controversy over Taser stun-guns has hit Atlanta, after a grand jury saw parts of a videotape of a Taser being used on Frederick Williams, a 31-year-old man who died in Gwinnett County police custody in May 2004. The tape showed Williams, who was handcuffed, being prodded with the Taser five times in 43 seconds; he lost consciousness and died two days later.

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a civil-rights group, plans to lead protests in Gwinnett County, which is north-east of the city proper. This follows their “heated” meeting with Danny Porter, the local district attorney, who has refused to convene a special grand jury into the case, to determine whether indictments should be brought. In the meantime, Gwinnett’s sheriff has quietly changed the rules to limit Taser use on handcuffed suspects and ban it altogether if there are enough deputies to subdue a suspect in custody. Eleven deputies were in the room with Williams when the Taser was used.

Breaking loose

Sandy Springs, a wealthy suburb north of Atlanta, may vote to incorporate and become an independent city. This means it may refrain from sharing its police and fire services with Fulton County (which includes most of the city of Atlanta). Early voting on the referendum began on June 14th; the full vote will be held on June 21st. Officials expect a 58% turnout in the community of 85,000. The incorporation, if it succeeds, could see Sandy Springs lose $21m worth of services from Fulton County, but gain $50m in property taxes. Those in favour frequently cite dissatisfaction with the services received from Fulton County, in exchange for the property taxes they pay. But some wonder where this sensibility will leave Fulton County's poorer residents.

A minor bump

Things are looking up for Georgia’s economy: the state gained 50,600 jobs in 2004, a weak dollar has helped exports and the construction sector is booming. Rajeev Dhawan, director of the Economic Forecasting Centre at Georgia State University, says Atlanta's total wages will dip slightly in 2006—less than $1 billion, from $160 billion overall—with the scheduled closing of several local military sites, including Fort McPherson south of the city. But the economy should pick up again as alternate uses for the bases’ land are found. Mr Dhawan predicts that the Atlanta area will gain 42,800 new jobs in 2005 and 48,000 in 2006, although there are potential pitfalls, mainly in the form of rising oil prices and uncertainty over the future of Delta Air Lines, the troubled Atlanta-based carrier.

Meanwhile, the number of millionaires living in Atlanta grew steadily to 46,926 in 2004, a 7.7% increase on 2003. Claritas, a market-research firm, believes that regional millionaire households will increase by 68% in the next five years, with the overall number of households growing by only 12%.

Scrushy motives

Atlanta eyes have been looking west towards Birmingham, Alabama, where the jury in the trial of Richard Scrushy, the former chief executive of HealthSouth, has been deliberating since June 1st. Mr Scrushy is the first executive to be charged under the Sarbanes-Oxley law governing corporate accounting. He is accused of securities fraud, money laundering, making false statements and conspiracy in a scandal that led to HealthSouth faking $2.7 billion in profits between 1996 and mid-2002.

Mr Scrushy faces a total of 36 criminal counts and ten counts of money laundering. Mr Scrushy’s defence team blamed his ex-employees, 15 of whom have already pleaded guilty on related charges, and claimed that Mr Scrushy, worth $179m when the scheme allegedly began, was simply too rich to resort to fraud.

Bring an umbrella

Weather forecasters are predicting a busy hurricane season this year, which could disrupt travel throughout the south-east. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) expects between 12 and 15 tropical storms during the hurricane season, which typically lasts from June to November. Of these storms, seven to nine are expected to become hurricanes, three to five of which may be severe. Atlanta itself is typically not a target—Hurricane Opal, which hit in 1995, was an exception—but the city's airports are often backed up because of storms in Florida, which delay air traffic to and from the state. In such cases, passengers making connections in Atlanta often get stranded.

Catch if you can

July 2005

National Black Arts Festival

July 15th-24th 2005

Although it struggles to earn publicity, the National Black Arts Festival is a significant local event. In its 17th year, it brings together a rich variety of African-American art, music and culture. Among this year's highlights is an appearance by Maya Angelou (pictured)—best known for her poignant memoir “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”—together with her son, Guy Johnson, on July 19th.

Among the other events, look out for “Flyin’ West”, a play by Pearl Cleage, a native Atlantan, about the lives of black settlers living in Kansas under the 1898 Homestead Act. There will also be a series of jazz performances; a free concert by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra at Ebenezer Baptist Church (where Martin Luther King, Jr, and his father served as ministers); a dance performance choreographed by Ronald K. Brown; and a show by the Neville Brothers, a long-standing, New Orleans-based staple of the R&B scene, together with Odetta, a renowned folk singer.

Various venues, including the Woodruff Arts Centre. Events range in price; some are free. For more information, including a schedule, see the festival’s website.

More from the Atlanta cultural calendar