1. Second chance for criminals, closed files for public.
Legislation awaiting a final vote would not only exonerate many first-time offenders, it also could do away with any public record of their cases. Defendants convicted of many non-violent crimes could ask a judge to seal court files, arrest reports, mug shots — anything revealing that a criminal conviction or even an accusation ever existed. The legislation could "conceal criminal wrongdoing in sealed records and closed police files," Hollie Manheimer, executive director of the Georgia First Amendment Foundation, said in a letter this week to Gov. Nathan Deal and legislative leaders. Read more.
The state's Board of Regents approved uniform policies Wednesday outlining how Georgia's public colleges and universities will handle sexual violence and other student-conduct violations. The new rules, which take effect July 1, provide guidelines for how investigations will be handled, the training required for investigators and other campus officials involved in adjudicating the cases, and protections for students who are either victims or accused of violations. Sexual misconduct cases will no longer be decided by a single university investigator, as had occurred on some campuses. Now at least a three-member panel will decide those. Read more.
3. Atlanta to woo young professionals at SXSW.
The Metro Atlanta Chamber, through its new ChooseATL marketing campaign, plans a two-day sales pitch next week at the famed South by Southwest festival to recruit young professionals to come to the Big Peach. The flashy effort at the music, film and technology gathering comes amid troubling signs that metro Atlanta has lost some luster with young professionals in recent years. It's far more than a booth in a convention center (though it includes that, too). ChooseATL will rent the three-floor Speakeasy lounge on Austin's Congress Avenue and load it with headliners such as rapper Killer Mike, a panel with the founders of Atlanta-based social platform Yik Yak and an event on Georgia's burgeoning television and film industry with an executive from the hit series The Walking Dead. Read more.
4. Students try to fill the gap, save charter school after alleged theft.
Students at an Atlanta charter school are donating their spare change and holding bake sales to try to raise the hundreds of thousands of dollars required to keep their school open after the alleged theft of more than $600,000 from the school. The founder of the school — Latin Academy — has been named as a suspect in the theft. Latin Academy has about 250 students, most from low-income families, in grades six through eight. Academically, it's a successful school — the state rates it higher than all but one traditional public middle school in Atlanta. But the school was put on probation this fall by both Atlanta Public Schools and the state Department of Education. On top of the alleged theft, the school wasn't contributing to the state's teachers pension fund on time or complying with laws protecting children with disabilities, according to state and district records. Read more.
5. Hartsfield-Jackson to begin $6 billion expansion plan.
Hartsfield-Jackson International will soon start work on a $6 billion expansion and makeover that will update the domestic terminal and concourses, introduce new features like a hotel and eventually add another concourse and runway to the world's busiest airport. It's part of a 20-year plan aimed at maintaining Hartsfield-Jackson's status as a leading airport, replacing aging facilities and enabling growth. It won't be easy on travelers. The plan entails a series of construction projects in different areas of the airport, which could change traffic patterns both inside and out. Read more.
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