PolitiFact looks at Tyler Perry’s jobs plan and pet deaths aboard Delta

To fact-check a claim, reporters first contact the speaker to verify the statement. Next, the research begins. Reporters consult a variety of sources, including industry and academic experts. This research can take hours or a few days or even longer, depending on the claim. Reporters then compile the research into story form and include a recommended Truth-O-Meter ruling.

The fact check then moves on to a panel of veteran editors who debate the statement and the reporter’s recommended Truth-O-Meter ruling. The panel votes on a final ruling; majority prevails.

A jobs claim about Tyler Perry’s proposed new Atlanta studios. An opponent of Georgia’s plan to fund transportation. And a claim about pet deaths aboard Delta Air Lines.

They all took a ride on the AJC Truth-O-Meter this week, courtesy of PolitiFact Georgia.

Abbreviated versions of our fact checks are below.

Full versions can be found at www.politifact.com/georgia/.

Want to comment on our rulings or suggest one of your own? Just go to our Facebook page (

).

You can also follow us on Twitter (

).

Debbie Dooley on Tuesday, March 31st, 2015 in a Twitter post

The recently passed transportation funding bill is a billion-dollar tax increase for Georgians.

The Legislature made good on its promise to take the lead on transportation this year with House Bill 170. Awaiting the governor’s signature, the measure is projected to raise nearly $670 million in transportation funding next year, by moving the state from a series of sales and excise taxes on gasoline to a single excise tax.

That plus a mix of new fees for drivers of electric car and heavy trucks, the end of a popular tax credit for electric cars and a $5 per-night fee on hotel/motel stays, is expected to generate close to $1 billion a year to tackle the state’s backlog of transportation projects.

Not that everyone was on board. Sen. Mike Crane, R-Newnan called the bill a “midnight run” on taxpayers.

Debbie Dooley, who led part of the opposition to the 2012 sales tax referendum as chairman of the Atlanta Tea Party, echoed that language on her Twitter page.

“GA Republicans just pulled a midnight run on taxpayers and passed a billion-dollar tax increase with a rushed vote giving only 2 hours,” Dooley posted on March 31.

Is that right? Does the long-awaited transportation plan translate into a massive tax hike?

At least in the short term, people will pay slightly less, or about the same, on the tax that is the biggest piece of the funding overhaul.

But over time, the experts agree that the burden on taxpayers will increase.

The distinction between a tax and a fee brings it down a notch.

We rated Dooley’s statement about a “billion dollar tax increase” Mostly True.

Bloomberg.com on Tuesday, March 31st, 2015 in a news report

Delta has had the most animal deaths among U.S. carriers in the past five years.

A new tracking device available to pets being transported in the cargo hold was supposed to calm passengers about flying with Fido on Delta Air Lines.

But coverage of gadget to monitor temperature and crate positioning also included some data that may have had the opposite effect.

“Delta has had the most animal deaths among U.S. carriers in the past five years, with 51, though it has had only 6 since 2013,” according to a Bloomberg.com news report on March 31, 2015.

Reaction on social media was less measured, at one point calling the Atlanta-based airline “responsible” for the most pet deaths on U.S. carriers.

So PolitiFact Georgia decided to look at the statistics to see how Delta measures up when it comes to ferrying our furry friends.

PolitiFact Georgia reviewed annual tallies of the animal incidents and found Bloomberg was correct on the numbers: 51 for Delta, 142 for seven carriers in the five years. But Delta, as one of the nation’s largest carriers, cannot be compared to significantly smaller airlines that may have higher pet deaths per miles flown. That’s missing context that makes the numbers misleading.

Therefore, we rated the statement Half True.

Tyler Perry’s plan to turn a majority of the former Fort McPherson into a film and television studio is expected “to add over 8,000 new jobs to Atlanta.”

City of Atlanta press release on Aug. 8th, 2014

Atlanta officials say they are likely only weeks away from closing the deal on the largest business investment to take place on Atlanta’s southside in decades.

By mid-May, they hope to make official the sale of 330 acres at the Army’s former Fort McPherson to actor and filmmaker Tyler Perry.

Perry, a multimillionaire and long-term Atlanta resident, is ready to pay $30 million for the property, which he plans to redevelop into a television and film studio.

According to the city, he has already invested about $200 million in various entertainment ventures in Georgia, most notably Tyler Perry Studios in southwest Atlanta.

The project could mean “over 8,000 new jobs, including the relocation of 350 jobs,” according a city press on Aug. 8, 2014, announcing a tentative agreement between Perry and a government agency overseeing the post’s redevelopment.

That 8.000 jobs forecast has been repeated frequently and across all media platforms and has sometimes been attributed to Atlanta Mayor Reed. The mayor, however, has parsed his words more carefully, saying the project will create “hundreds” of jobs and has the potential to enhance the area culturally and economically.

PolitiFact decided the projections warranted a closer look.

A report shows that between 3,900 and 8,300 jobs will be created by the project. Of those, at best only about 800 are expected to be permanent jobs. And 350 are already filled by executive staff at the current Tyler Perry Studios in southwest Atlanta.

The vast majority of the remaining jobs are short-term, associated with either construction of the studio or the many film and television productions that will be developed at the former Army post.

That’s important and missing context that doesn’t diminish the project but shortchanges the reader.

We rated the statement Half True.

Georgia Department of Transportation

“Distracted driving such as texting behind the wheel is behind a rise in traffic deaths on Georgia roadways this year.”

The Georgia Department of Transportation is trying to draw attention to the number of traffic fatalities statewide and the driver behavior behind the deaths.

“GEORGIA ROADWAY FATALITIES THIS YEAR: 388,” flashed a DOT over I-75 in Cobb County last week. “STAY ALERT. STAY ALIVE.”

The implication of the sign suggests that driver behavior is contributing to those fatalities.

Terri Pope, a DOT spokeswoman, said that, so far in 2015, traffic deaths are up 25 percent from last year.

The state is averaging 100 deaths a month on its roadways, putting it on track for 1,200 fatalities by year’s end. If that happens, it will be a 4.6 percent increase from 2014 numbers – and the first year-to-year increase in nine years.

Even worse, of the year’s roadway deaths so far, only 38 percent of drivers were wearing seat belts and 69 percent failed to maintain their lane – behaviors that experts say save lives behind the wheel, Pope said.

And, 60 percent of the fatalities were single-car crashes where the vehicle hit a tree, culvert or bridge or drifted into another lane.

“Those statistics show that drivers, now more than ever, are driving distracted or are driving impaired,” Pope wrote in an email.

The number of fatal crashes in which distracted driving was a factor jumped nearly 64 percent in five years, state figures show.

With a busy summer season of driving ahead, that is the message transportation officials hope gets through the numbers.

The state DOT has begun flashing messages on Georgia roadways, indicating driver behavior is causing an increase in traffic fatalities.

The numbers bear out that increase. And the kind of crashes, and data from previous years, indicates driving while distracted with texting and phone use is likewise on the rise.

We rated the DOT’s claim True.