ADW ATLANTA DAILY WORLD
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Volume 85 Issue 39
Dr. Ben Carson in Atlanta Page 3
World Mission Volunteers Page 5
Fiesta Atlanta Celebrates Pages 7
Women of Color and Finances Page 8
May 2 - 8, 2013
Obama Picks Charlotte mayor anthony Foxx for New secretary of Transportation Compiled by ADW Staff
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
President Barack Obama announces Mayor Anthony Foxx, of Charlotte, N.C., as his nominee for secretary of transportation in the East Room of the White House on April 29. Outgoing Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood applauds at right.
President Barack Obama has announced his nomination of Anthony Foxx, the mayor of Charlotte, N.C., to be his new secretary of transportation. Anthony Foxx became mayor of Charlotte in 2009, three years before the city hosted the Democratic National Convention, which formally nominated Obama for a second term. He gave the welcoming speech at that convention. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Foxx would become the first African-American nominee for Obama's second cabinet. He would join Attorney General Eric Holder, another African American who has served since Obama began his presidency in 2009. The president's selection of Foxx goes some way to answer critics, including members of the Congressional Black Caucus, who faulted Obama for a lack of diversity in cabinet selections since his re-election. Obama made no mention of this in remarks praising Foxx, who was Charlotte's youngest elected mayor and only the city's second African-American mayor. In Atlanta, leaders lauded Foxx’s nomination. “I applaud President Barack Obama’s decision to nominate Mayor Anthony Foxx as the U.S. Secretary of Transportation,” said Mayor Kasim Reed. “A committed public servant, Mayor Foxx worked tirelessly to improve infrastructure and foster manufacturing and economic development in his hometown.” MARTA GM/CEO Keith Parker was the assistant city manager for Charlotte when Anthony Foxx was serving on the city council, before he was elected mayor. “I was always very impressed by him personally and professionally, and I think he will make a wonderful secretary of transportation,” Parker said. “He is cerebral. He’s a fact-based decision-maker and he’s fair. He also understands the way you build great cities is by building great neighborhoods.
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street Vendors Continue to Protest City’s recent Crackdown By James Pressley ADW Staff A small group of sidewalk vendors gathered outside Atlanta City Hall Tuesday to protest a recent crackdown on them selling their wares on city streets. About 15 people demonstrated — most wearing red T-shirts with the slogan "Let Us Vend" — to urge the mayor and city council to relax restrictions and let them get back to selling their goods. The event was a continuation of months of back and forth between the City of Atlanta and the city’s street vendors. The vendors say that the city’s new policy of not renewing street vending permits is preventing them from making a living in order to “take care of our children and families.” The previous administration required vendors to contract with a single company to sell items in public spaces. The company provided colorful kiosks for the vendors but required a rental fee and regulated the merchandise for sale. A Fulton County Superior Court judge in December struck down that policy, leaving the city with no ordinance under which to
issue permits. Police started enforcing the prohibition on public vending in late March, shortly before the NCAA Final Four tournament was held at the Georgia Dome. They went into streets and parks downtown and areas around Turner Field to let vendors know they would no longer be able to sell there. “Vendors can still enter into agreements with private property owners to sell their goods on those spaces,” mayor's office spokesman Carlos Campos said. “But they can't sell on city sidewalks or other public places.” "We will continue to look at other city programs nationwide to see if there are some best practices we might adopt in the event we decide to move forward with a public property vending program," Campos told the Daily World. Some of the vendors who demonstrated said they've been selling goods on the sidewalk for years. The recent crackdown has left them with no way to earn a living, they noted.
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