Today's moderator: Rick Badie

Rick Badie joined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution as an education reporter in 1997. A South Georgia native, he’s covered the region’s immigrant communities, was a feature obituary writer and opinion columnist for the AJC’s Gwinnett edition. He is a moderator of conversations on the AJC's Atlanta Forward page.

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Abandoned and derelict houses are a neighborhood and community blight. Today, the commander of Atlanta's code enforcement section explains the tedious process to rein in negligent property owners. Meanwhile, a state official writes about the Georgia Ready for Accelerated Development program, which certifies shovel-ready industrial sites for companies to locate. To comment, go to: http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-forward/

Today's columnists:

GRAD sites good for state by Tom Croteau

Blighted properties plague city by Cerelyn Davis

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Members of the conversion crew take a break as the main scoreboard is lowered to the floor to be worked on as the arena gets ready for the next concert at State Farm Arena, Thursday, October 2, 2025, in Atlanta. The crew was working on creating a stage for the Friday, Oct. 3 Maxwell concert. (Jason Getz/AJC)

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com