Improperly paid city bonuses need to be returned
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and the City Council paid $800,000 in bonuses to employees. A report stated the bonuses violated the state constitution and city charter. Reed and three top officials under him pointed fingers at each other over who initiated the bonuses. Each of these three top officials received substantial bonuses themselves. Bonuses were "grossed up" so that taxpayers would pay the taxes and not the recipients. No one consulted the city attorney who is the expert on employment matters. These are all documented facts from the report. How does Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms respond? She wants to "make sure any future bonus payments are fully compliant." What? The correct response is to address the illegal payments first and then ensure future compliance. Get the illegally paid taxpayer money back now. The new mayor needs to show she is different – and better.
RUSTY RUSHTON, MABLETON
Social media’s no way to watch a game, fan says
My husband and I tried to find the Atlanta Braves game on television. The Braves were supposed to be aired on Fox Sports Southeast. But, after 10 or 15 minutes of fruitlessly trying to find the game anywhere, we gave up and turned on the radio. Later, my husband stumbled on the game – on Facebook. What is this fascination with Facebook and its sisters? I do not use Facebook. I do not Tweet. I do not even use “ET, phone home,” nor any of the myriad pipelines. I just wanted to watch a baseball game on my TV. The game, as presented by Facebook, was like watching a home movie. The look was grainy and ugly, the announcers were amateurish – there was no sense of the personal involvement we are used to hearing from our hometown announcers – and did I actually hear a female giggling in the background? Please, no more Facebook.
KATHERINE E. HALBERT, ROSWELL
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