Week in review for Oct. 14

Statewide

Changes in law to let Georgia net more sales tax from online purchases

With tax law changes that took effect last week, the state now collects sales tax from online retailers.

The amount of money people spend online is growing steadily and shows no signs of abating. In Georgia alone, a 2009 University of Tennessee estimate projected the state would lose as much as $455.5 million in uncollected sales tax from online purchases in 2012.

Corps changes course on Chattahoochee locks

Backing off a plan to save $1 million a year, the government said Wednesday it will keep locks along the Chattahoochee River open to boats and barges after a wave of criticism from politicians and boaters who feared a decision to severely limit operations would lead to a “landlocked” Columbus.

Although commercial vessels haven’t powered up and down the Chattahoochee River in years - Columbus’s port hasn’t handled a barge since 2000 - and only a few hundred recreation boats each year ply the stretch between Columbus and the Gulf of Mexico, the Army Corps of Engineers will staff the locks only four days a week starting this winter.

Metro Atlanta

MARTA spent $144,000 on help for top management

MARTA’s board of directors had such concerns about leadership at the transit agency two years ago that it spent $144,000 for 13-month-long outside evaluation of General Manager Beverly Scott and her executive team.

The board in 2010 hired a Marietta firm, The Business Psychology Company, to scrutinize the way Scott and her top staff were operating during a tough stretch of budget woes, fare hikes and service cutbacks.

Archdiocese files suit over birth control mandate

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta has joined dozens of other religious institutions to have filed lawsuits seeking to overturn the so-called birth control mandate in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

The archdiocese’s suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, said the institution seeks to vindicate one of the country’s most fundamental freedoms — the right to practice one’s religion without governmental interference. The government is trying to penalize all Catholic entities that refuse to pay for or facilitate access to abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization and contraception, the suit said.

Atlanta

Carter’s to bring 200 jobs to Atlanta

The children’s clothing company Carter’s is bringing 200 professional jobs to Atlanta, closing a Connecticut office that employed 175. The positions are primarily in store operations, finance and information technology.

Both the city and the state were said to have provided incentives to bring the Carter’s jobs here. The company may qualify for Quality Job Tax Credits and has been recommended for a business assistance grant.

State: No plans to take over N. Atlanta High

North Atlanta High was not in danger of landing under state control when six of the school’s administrators — including the principal — were abruptly removed last week, sparking an outcry from parents and a walkout Wednesday by hundreds of students, a state official said.

At a community meeting Tuesday night attended by hundreds, Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Erroll Davis told North Atlanta High parents that under the state’s old accountability system the Buckhead school could have been “seized” by officials because of failure to meet academic goals. That system was ditched this year in favor of a new system of evaluating schools, which shows North Atlanta High is in good standing.

Beltline adopts tougher expense policy

The Atlanta Beltline’s board on Wednesday adopted a strict new expense policy after reports about inappropriate use of taxpayer dollars for items such as alcohol, laundry costs, in-room meals at hotels and parking citations.

It comes after Beltline director Brian Leary was forced out of the agency in August after an Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation revealed Beltline staffers charged taxpayers for wedding gifts, a parking ticket and other items that frustrated supporters and infuriated watchdog groups.

DeKalb County

DeKalb schools switch to “balanced” calendar despite parent opposition

The “balanced” calendar the DeKalb County school board adopted Monday has school starting Aug. 5, a week earlier than the traditional calendar, and ending on May 29, six days after it. That snips nearly two weeks off summer break and distributes the vacation days in fall and winter.

Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson favors the new calendar, saying it’s better academically because students forget too much over the long summer break. Surveys showed parents opposed the idea but two-thirds of teachers liked it.

Fulton County

Ethics questioned in Fulton chairman's youth group trips

Fulton County Commission Chairman John Eaves has come under fire for taking trips overseas funded by companies doing business with the county.

The trips weren’t personal vacations, but educational travels with groups of high school students to China, Brazil, Turkey, Germany and South Africa. Eaves created the Fulton County Global Youth Leadership Program in 2008 to expose politically-minded youths to the governments and cultures of foreign nations.