Atlanta
Breakfast to benefit police foundation
The 9th annual Crime is Toast Breakfast, sponsored by the Atlanta Police Foundation, will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in the Thomas Murphy Ballroom at the Georgia World Congress Center, 285 International Blvd. N.W.
Mayor Kasim Reed, Police Chief George N. Turner and APF President Dave Wilkinson will be the featured speakers.
Tickets are $65 and can be purchased by phone until Monday at 404-213-4239. Proceeds will go to benefit the initiatives of the foundation.
Information: www.atlantapolicefoundation.org.
Kenneth Musisi
Patent system changes shown at ‘roadshow’
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will sponsor the America Invents Act Roadshow 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday at the Georgia Institute of Technology Library, Student Center Theater, 350 Ferst Drive N.W.
Commissioner of Patents Peggy Focarino will discuss changes to the U.S. patent system and what they mean for Atlanta’s inventor community. The event is free.
Information: uspto.gov/americainventsact.
Kenneth Musisi
Fulton
No new appeal rights for courts employees
A proposal to give Fulton County courts employees the right to appeal disciplinary actions if they advance up the ladder couldn’t get enough votes from county commissioners to pass.
Commissioner Bill Edwards asked that Superior Court, State Court and Superior Court Clerk’s Office workers who get promoted not lose their right to appeal to the personnel board should they be fired, demoted or suspended.
The vote was 3-1, and it takes four votes to pass.
After hearing complaints of lackluster employees being impossible to fire, the commission voted in June to make new hires in those departments unclassified, meaning they have no appeal rights.
The policy would also affect currently-employed classified workers who get promoted to higher positions.
Johnny Edwards
No homestead exemption crackdown
The Fulton County tax assessors office proposed hiring a firm to hunt down undeserved homestead exemptions on county properties, but no commissioner would offer a motion to approve.
Under the terms, Atlanta-based ACS Enterprise Solutions would have taken a maximum cut of 19 percent of any back taxes collected.
Fulton taxpayers can get a $30,000 reduction in their homes’ taxable value if they reside there. The high exemption has been cited as one reason why the county faces a $37.1 million shortfall next year.
Johnny Edwards
DeKalb
Emory center names new director
Dr. Gregory S. Martin has been named director of Emory University’s Center for Health Discovery and Well Being.
Martin is an associate professor of medicine in Emory University School of Medicine and associate division director for critical care in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care.
The center, part of the Emory-Georgia Tech Predictive Health Institute, uses a multi-pronged approach to help people learn more about their health, stay healthy and avoid their personal health risks.
A search is underway for director of the Predictive Health Institute.
Shelia M. Poole
