ATLDOT making slow progress on Moving Atlanta Forward initiative, audit finds
ATLANTA - A recent audit shows the Atlanta Department of Transportation is moving at a snail's pace when it comes to completing projects for the Moving Atlanta Forward initiative.
What they're saying
"If you're in a wheelchair, you'd struggle to get through these sections. More broken sidewalks that we see here," said Jeremiah Jones from Propel ATL as he showed FOX 5 the disrepair on sidewalks along West Lake Avenue.
"This is a hazard in and of itself, even walking, if you're not paying attention you'll trip on that ... then we have this missing section of the sidewalk," he continued.
He says this sidewalk is supposedly one of the Atlanta Department of Transportation's priorities.
"Westlake Ave ranks No. 1 on Atlanta DOT's list for most needed improvements for sidewalks," Jones said. "And we have yet to get any of those sidewalks replaced, repaired, or fixed."
What we know
An audit by the Atlanta City Auditor's Office shows Atlanta DOT is moving extremely slowly when it comes to the Moving Atlanta Forward initiative funded by a voter-approved T-SPLOST in 2022.
It is meant to make major sidewalk repairs to streets like West Lake Avenue, among a slew of other improvement projects.
The audit shows the city has spent only 10% of the project's more than $600 million in the past three years.
"It's disturbing to see that we've only spent 10% of our taxpayers' dollars and that 10% that's being spent is being spent in the most affluent areas of the city," Jones said.
The audit showed that "the districts with the least spending have higher poverty levels."
The audit also shows project managers are overloaded, with seven project manager roles still vacant.
"We don't have enough project managers at the city, we have a shortage," Jones said.
The other side
FOX 5 asked Atlanta city leaders for an interview about the lack of progress and other issues.
Instead, they pointed us to an Atlanta Transportation Committee meeting recorded on Jan. 29.
In this meeting, Atlanta's Chief Operating Officer LaChandra Burks addressed the audit findings and promised to follow its recommendations.
"We accepted all the recommendations, while we partially accepted recommendation No. 6," Burks said.
At that meeting, some City Council members expressed frustration at Atlanta DOT's lack of progress.
"It's the most demoralizing aspect of this job," said Councilmember Amir Farokhi.
Burks explained how they plan to follow the audit's recommendations, like hiring key positions they currently lack.
"We are close to identifying who will report directly to me, and they will serve as the coordinator for Moving Atlanta Forward," Burks said.
She said they've also hired two outside consulting firms to help them get projects back on track.
The Source
Information for this story came from an audit done by the Atlanta City Auditor's Office, Propel ATL and a Jan. 29, 2025 meeting of the Atlanta City Council's Transportation Committee.
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USA Today
10 hours ago
- USA Today
Summer kicks off with a new corporate perk aimed to ease employees' stress
Summer kicks off with a new corporate perk aimed to ease employees' stress Companies looking to ease employees' stress over the summer are offering a new perk -- discounted summer camp and childcare. Show Caption Hide Caption More men are becoming family caregivers Men face a unique set of challenges when it comes to stepping into the role of a caregiver. Kids might be excited about the end of the school year and for summer to begin, but many working parents who don't know how to fill their kids' long summer days may be feeling some dread right about now. AT&T is trying to change that. The third largest U.S. wireless carrier is launching an onsite summer camp at its Dallas, Texas, headquarters in June to give its employees more convenient options for reliable childcare during the school break. Childcare outranked any other perk including mental health support, paid maternity/paternity leave and tuition reimbursements as a benefit employers aimed to offer their workers last year, according to a survey of corporate-suite and human resource leaders. One in 5 employees said they had left a job because their employer didn't provide family care benefits, and a lack of childcare benefits topped the list of reasons they sought another job. 'The summer camp was in response to specific asks and pain points our employees had,' said Matt Phillips, AT&T assistant vice president of benefits. But childcare isn't the only caregiving people ask for nowadays, he said. People want help caring for every important person, or sometimes pet, in their lives, he said. What's different about summer? 'When planning vacations and summer activities, there may be days sporadically that fall throughout the summer when people need some childcare,' Phillips said. To help ease worries of what to do with kids on those days, AT&T employees can register their children ages 4-12 for the 10-week onsite camp that runs weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Families have the flexibility to book one or multiple days whenever they'd like throughout the summer. There's no weekly sessions or commitments required. If employees use their backup care benefits, a day of camp would cost $15 for one child or $25 for two or more children. AT&T backup care allow workers up to 10 days of subsidized childcare if their primary care option is unavailable, and they can't take time off. They can choose center care for $15 per day or in-home care with a Bright Horizons caregiver for $4 an hour. Bright Horizons runs childcare centers and early education services nationwide. Additional days of summer camp can be bought at a discounted rate. Tell us: The caregiving crisis is real. USA TODAY wants to hear from you about how to solve it. What are other types of caregiving? Caregiving has typically meant childcare, but the COVID-19 pandemic, an aging population and rising costs have expanded the definition to include siblings, parents, grandparents and even pets. Gen Z through Gen X and even some of the youngest members of the Baby Boomers who expect to retire soon are demanding personalized benefits beyond retirement funds, salary and vacation days. Job seekers, even those fresh out of school, now have a 'holistic outlook,' said Blayre Riley, 22. 'We're not just looking at salary.' Riley doesn't have kids, but she has a 6-year-old kid brother. Her job benefits allow her to use so-called caregiver days, which are paid hours she can use to take care of a sick friend, relative or other loved one or take them to appointments, for example. With these benefits, if her little brother 'has a class party, I can go in the morning and come back to work in the afternoon, and it doesn't feel like a burden to my team,' Riley said. 'Or if he has a day off school and my parents work, I can spend time with him.' 'My dad always talks about when I was younger, his job didn't have this flexibility and when my mom was sick, he couldn't take her to doctor's appointments,' she added. 'Now, my job has it, and it can exist for everyone.' Education help: College applications are stressful. Here's how more companies are helping. New perks: Some workers are job hopping for fertility benefits. Employers are trying to keep up. What's at stake? The lack of available childcare alone costs the economy $122 billion every year, according to a 2023 study from the bipartisan Council for a Strong America. Yet, just 12% of all U.S. workers have access to childcare benefits through their employer, and only 6% of those who work part-time or in the lowest income quartile do, according to a Boston Consulting Group study published last year. Family caregivers ages 50 and older who leave the workforce to care for a parent lost $303,880, on average, in income and benefits over a caregiver's lifetime, according to a 2016 Families Caring for an Aging America study. The breakdown was as follows: $115,900 in lost wages, $137,980 in lost Social Security benefits, and conservatively $50,000 in lost pension benefits. Still, only 13% of companies offer eldercare referral services, and just 1% of companies offer employees subsidies for eldercare, according to SHRM's 2024 Employee Benefits Survey. Lack of support leads to caregiver burnout. Half of caregivers said caregiving increased their level of emotional stress, while 37% said it impacted their physical feelings of stress according to a 2023 AARP survey. What can companies do? Companies 'must address new needs, particularly around things like caregiving benefits, absence and leave benefits, and wellness benefits in all forms, as well as personalizing/customizing benefits to keep their workers happy,' said Bryan Hodgens, head of research at Life Insurance Management Research Association, or LIMRA, in a report. Comprehensive caregiving benefits like flexible work arrangements, paid leave, financial support, and access to education, consultations, resources, and digital caregiving platforms can improve workers' wellbeing and boost businesses. BCG found that childcare benefits alone deliver returns of up to 425% of their cost for companies across the U.S. Aside from caregiving, it's imperative companies also offer employees opportunities for self-care. Healthier habits help keep healthcare costs down for both employees and employers. AT&T, for example, offers a Wellbeing Choice Account to reward employees for healthy habits. Employees and their partners or spouses can each earn up to $750 annually for completing wellness activities like getting their annual physical. They can then use that money to go towards fitness classes, an exercise bike, student loan repayment, massages and facials, and healthy meal kits. 'It's like free money because you're getting paid to do things you should be doing anyway,' said Ryan Stafford, an AT&T employee who used his rewards to buy a nicer bike than he would have been able to afford. 'l had no guilt spending a little more,' he said. Medora Lee is a money, markets, and personal finance reporter at USA TODAY. You can reach her at mjlee@ and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday.
Business Insider
a day ago
- Business Insider
T-Mobile review: Packed with perks, but is it worth the price?
It's hard to go wrong with T-Mobile. It offers some of the best plans and value among the big three carriers in the US. Admittedly, more so if you're taking out multiple lines. Like AT&T and Verizon, T-Mobile is an ideal option for multi-line plans thanks to its multi-line discounts, especially those with three or more lines. Those with fewer lines can still enjoy T-Mobile and all its benefits, like in-person customer support at physical locations, and depending on the plan, comprehensive international features and discounts on popular streaming services. However, we'd recommend that single or dual-line accounts consider mobile-virtual-network-operator (MVNO) options, which are significantly less expensive than T-Mobile's plans, and dominate our cheap cell phone plans guide. The only way you could go wrong is if you pick T-Mobile in an area with weak coverage. This isn't a dig at T-Mobile's coverage; the same word of caution applies to all carriers, as they all have varying coverage in different parts of the country. With that said, T-Mobile has one major drawback relative to other major carriers that bears consideration — it doesn't let you mix-and-match plans (picking different plans for different lines). That could lead to unnecessarily higher monthly plan costs if other users in your account have different needs. Plans T-Mobile has three main postpaid plans — the basic Essentials (including the Essentials Saver plan), the mid-range Experience More, and the high-end Experience Beyond plans. The Essentials plan offers T-Mobile's best value with all the data most people need, even if the network may temporarily become artificially slower when it is congested (more on that in the coverage and data speeds section below). However, T-Mobile's Essentials plan lacks additional features found in the Experience plan that some may need, like high-speed mobile hotspot, satellite messaging when you're out of coverage areas, and extended international features. Experience plans also include discounts on popular streaming services and smartwatch or tablet plans, which are nice bonuses. You can get included Apple TV+ and ad-supported Netflix subscriptions on Experience More, and the Experience Beyond tier also throws in ad-supported Hulu. Prices are guaranteed for five years on both Experience plans as well. Other benefits on all three tiers include free in-flight WiFi, free months of service to SiriusXM and Pandora Streaming, and an MLS season pass (offers rotate regularly). Plus, there's T-Mobile Tuesdays to regularly mix things up by providing free Slurpees, pizza, $5 movie tickets, discounted fuel, cashback at restaurants, and more. If you've been reconsidering your home internet options lately, you'll get extra savings on T-Mobile's internet packages if you're on one of these plans. We're testing one of their 5G home internet plans right now and will have a review soon - it's pretty impressive so far. You can find plan details on T-Mobile's website, and we've included them below for your convenience: Plan features Essentials Experience More Experience Beyond Premium data 50GB Unlimited Unlimited Mobile hotspot Unlimited at 3G speeds (slow) 60GB high-speed Unlimited high-speed (capped at 250GB, then hotspot data is slow 3G speeds) Satellite messaging Beta included until July 2025 $10 per month optional extra Beta included until July 2025 $10 per month optional extra Included Smartwatch and tablet plans Optional extra, starts at $12/month Optional extra, starts at $12/month Discounted to $5/month per line Max savings of $22/month Streaming service discounts None Free Apple TV Plus and Netflix Standard with ads Savings with both subscriptions: $17.98/month Free Apple TV Plus, Netflix Standard with ads, Hulu with ads Max savings of: $27.97/month Device upgrades Can't upgrade before 24 months if bought with a deal from T-Mobile. Every two years Every year (you can trade in your phone after six or more months to upgrade) International features In Canada and Mexico: Unlimited talk, text, 128Kbps data (essentially unusably slow) Abroad: Unlimited texting in 215+ countries and destinations In Canada and Mexico: Unlimited talk, text, 15GB high-speed data Abroad: Unlimited text, 5GB high-speed data in 215+ countries and destinations Full flight texting and WiFi with streaming where available (mostly domestic US flights) In Canada and Mexico: Unlimited talk, text, 30GB high-speed data Abroad: Unlimited text, 15GB high-speed data in 215+ countries and destinations Full flight texting and WiFi with streaming where available (mostly domestic US flights) At the time of writing, T-Mobile also has a limited-time promotion for its plans where you can get a third line free (the same price as two lines). It also has the limited-time Essentials 4 Line offer for $100 per month. These promotions are outrageously good value for families or friend groups with three or more lines. Lines Essentials (including Essentials Saver, 3rd line free, and 4-line offer) Experience More (including 3rd line free offer) Experience Beyond (including 3rd line free offer) 1 $50/month $85/month $100/month 2 $40 per line ($80 total)/month $70 per line ($140 total)/month $85 per line ($170 total)/month 3 $30 per line ($90 total)/month $46.60 per line ($140 total)/month $56.60 per line ($170 total)/month 4 $25 per line ($100 total)/month $42.50 per line ($170 total)/month $53.75 per line ($215 total)/month 5 $24 per line ($120 total)/month $40 per line ($200 total)/month $52 per line ($260 total)/month T-Mobile Experience More plan T-Mobile's Experience More plan is an excellent for most people with good T-Mobile coverage, as it comes with unlimited premium data, a generous 60GB of mobile hotspot data, tempting discounts on popular streaming services like Netflix and Apple TV Plus, and comprehensive international features. Check price at T-Mobile No mix-and-match plans with T-Mobile Unlike other carriers, T-Mobile doesn't let you add differing plans under one multi-line account — every line in the account must have the same plan. That inflexibility can be somewhat mitigated by T-Mobile's 3rd-line-free promotion, but all the users in an account are still beholden to the cost of the highest-tier plan in the account. For example, if one person in an account needs the Experience Beyond plan, but the others only need the Essentials plan, everyone has to get the Experience Beyond plan and pay more than they would if they could mix and match plans. When it makes sense to get the Essentials plan If you do not need mobile hotspot data If you do not need built-in international features When it makes sense to upgrade to the Experience More plan If you need up to 60GB of fast mobile hotspot data If you need some international connectivity When it makes sense to get the Experience Beyond plan If you need up to 250GB of fast mobile hotspot data If you need lots of international connectivity You're sometimes or often off the grid and would benefit from satellite messaging, emergency services included. Note that Apple includes free Emergency SOS via satellite and Messaging via satellite free for two years after activating an iPhone 14 series or newer. The iPhone 14 is over two years old at this point, and Apple has yet to release a pricing structure for its satellite services. Don't upgrade to an Experience plan just for the streaming service and watch/tablet line discounts The maximum savings from the streaming service discounts on the Experience More plan is around $18, and up to $28 on the Experience Beyond plan. Even with all the discounts on the Experience Beyond plan combined, including streaming services and watch/tablet lines, the maximum savings amount to $50. Those discounts won't offset the added cost of the Experience plans if all you need is the Essentials plan. They are nice benefits if you also need the core features included in the Experience plans that aren't included in the Essentials plan, like fast (usable) hotspot data and extended international features. T-Mobile offers the plans with discounts for members of the military and veterans, first responders, and customers aged 55 or older. T-Mobile also offers prepaid plans, but they are poor value compared to mobile-virtual-network-operator (MVNO) options, many of which run on T-Mobile's network. MVNOs tend to offer the same amount or more data than T-Mobile's prepaid plans for lower monthly costs. The first MVNO alternative to T-Mobile's prepaid plans that comes to mind is Mint Mobile, which T-Mobile purchased back in 2024, and tops our list in our guide for the best cheap cell phone plans. Coverage T-Mobile has typically excellent coverage in many urban and suburban areas, and its rural coverage is expanding quickly. It can even serve certain areas better than other major carriers. To be sure, the opposite can be true for other areas. I can't say whether T-Mobile's coverage works for you and your area, and while T-Mobile's coverage map can give you an idea, no carrier coverage map is truly accurate. The best way to determine if T-Mobile works well in your area is to ask local friends, family, and neighbors. You can also check local groups on social media channels, like Facebook and If someone says T-Mobile's coverage isn't good, ask which carrier works for them. You might find that no carrier works well in that area, as is the case around my home. I fully realize the irony that someone writing a carrier review has poor coverage from every major carrier. Don't worry, I venture out to various spots in and out of town to test signal strength and data speeds. Data speeds T-Mobile advertises data speeds between 79 and 357 Mbps on its Essentials plans, and between 89 and 418 Mbps on its Beyond plans. Our speed tests varied wildly, regardless of plans — as high as 902 Mbps in busy parts of town, to as low as 0.97 Mbps in leafy residential areas not too far away from the busy section. Interestingly, I saw fast speeds up to 303 Mbps in sparsely populated "back-country" parts of my area. To be sure, T-Mobile data speeds will differ nationwide, and even in different parts of my town. Data speed differences between the two plans Unlike data speeds in my test areas, the difference in data speeds between the Essentials plan and the Experience Beyond plan can be translated to almost anyone across the country. T-Mobile's website has a fine-print clause beneath its plan offerings stating that the Essentials plan may deliver slower data speeds than higher-tier plans. My tests confirm that this is true. Still, while measurable, the difference in data download speeds isn't dramatic — the Essentials plan recorded 19% slower speeds on average than the Experience Beyond plan across 31 tests in various parts of town, including busy commercial areas, residential zones, parks, and backcountry. To put that into perspective, the average download speed on the Essentials plan was 220 Mbps in my tests, and 263 Mbps on the Experience Beyond plan. Both speeds are easily fast enough for most people, and the experience of using apps was identical on both the Essentials and Experience Beyond plans, whether I was in an area with slow or fast speeds. This means that those leaning toward the more affordable Essentials plan shouldn't be concerned about slower speeds or a meaningfully different experience compared to the higher-tier plans. Speeds Essentials Saver Experience Beyond Percentage difference Average download speeds (Mbps) 220 263 19% Average upload speeds (Mbps) 17 18 5% Additionally, the fastest speed test we recorded was 902 Mbps on the Essentials plan. The fastest speed test recorded on the Experience Beyond plan was 856 Mbps. Phone deals Like most major carriers in the US, T-Mobile has tempting deals for new phones. Deals differ for different phones, so you'll need to check the specific deals for the one you'd like. Still, it's possible to get even a high-end $1,000 iPhone 16 Pro for free with various condition combinations, like trading in a phone, signing up for a specific plan, or switching to T-Mobile from a different carrier. The trade-in value of your old phone depends on its generational age. For example, an iPhone 13 has a higher trade-in value than the iPhone 12. There are deals with varying conditions for almost every phone on T-Mobile, many get you a new phone for free, and some aren't even dependent on signing up for a pricey high-end plan. You generally get a better deal when signing up for higher-tier plans. The overarching phone deal condition with T-Mobile is that you must keep the phone for 24 months (two years) before you can upgrade to a new one. The exception is the Experience Beyond plan, which lets you upgrade yearly. At these times, you'll also have access to the same deals as new customers. To be sure, T-Mobile offers a shorter window before you can upgrade phones than Verizon and AT&T, which don't let you upgrade for 36 months (or three years). Should you sign up for T-Mobile? T-Mobile's plans propose some of the best value among major carriers, especially the Essentials and Experience More plans. As with most major carriers, you get better value with more lines on your account, generally around three or more lines. We recommend that those with less than three lines look at MVNOs, including Mint Mobile, which T-Mobile acquired. MVNO options often have similar features and data as the basic postpaid plans from major carriers for a lower monthly bill. For more information, take a look at our roundups of the latest Mint Mobile plans and Visible mobile deals. Still, T-Mobile's physical locations are a major benefit. They can offer superior in-person support than the phone and online-based support MVNOs offer. If you'd rather go to a physical location for anything related to your cell service, whether setting up your plan on your phone or troubleshooting an issue, you'll be better off with T-Mobile. Only rule out T-Mobile if you find it has poor coverage in your area. After all, value doesn't matter if you can't use the service. T-Mobile Essentials Plans T-Mobile's Essentials and Essentials Saver plans constitute the most affordable premium plans among the major carriers. It's a downright bargain with four or five lines on a single plan and includes 50GB of premium monthly data per line before T-Mobile slows down your data speeds. Just note that Essentials users may experience slower speeds than higher-paying T-Mobile customers during heavy network congestion. Check price at T-Mobile Shop all T-Mobile deals
Miami Herald
a day ago
- Miami Herald
AI company's offputting ads declare ‘Stop Hiring Humans'
By Jake Meeus-Jones Commuters fear losing their jobs after an artificial intelligence company launched "gross" billboards around London, encouraging companies to "stop hiring humans." Artisan, an AI startup founded in 2023, recently acquired $25M in funding in its quest to build a company powered by AI-employees called Artisans. Their viral billboard campaigns have been seen across US cities and they have now popped up around the London Underground. The head-turning billboards have not gone down well with many who work in the industry, though some say they are "well-staged." Another of the billboards shows an AI employee front and centre with text that reads 'Artisans won't WFH in Ibiza next week', causing outrage. Jamie Vaughan, a managing director at marketing firm Signifly, said in a LinkedIn post that he believes these ads are "everything that's wrong with the current tech discourse around AI and work." He added in the post: "Here's a company literally advertising the elimination of human collaboration and creativity - the very things that make work meaningful and productive. "The idea that we should celebrate replacing 'artisans' (actual skilled humans) with AI "employees" is antithetical to everything I believe about business success. "Real innovation comes from humans working together, challenging each other, and building on each other's ideas. "It is also entirely possible for great work to be done from home or remotely. "We should be using AI to enhance human creativity and collaboration, not replace it entirely. "Hard pass on this dystopian vision of work." In response, many LinkedIn users disagreed with Jamie's post and claimed that their campaign had worked. One user said, "Yet, it triggered you. Well-staged ad by Artisan." A co-founder of a customer experience agency added: "This is the exact reaction they want!!! I'd argue the ad is doing exactly what it's intended to do…get the humanoids worked up on LinkedIn." A third said: "The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about - you're only helping them." A fourth reluctantly said, "Actually gross. But sadly, it did its job." But many felt the idea of 'any attention is still attention' has been pushed too far with this campaign. A senior product designer said: "I know some people agree with 'negative attention is still attention', but this is a personal and professional pet peeve of mine - is the hate worth it? "I would rather be talked about the good work we are doing rather than counting on rage bait…" Another added: "While provocative, rage baiting seems to have worked every time on a lot of posts here, but in all honesty, is it worth the risk?" The post AI company's offputting ads declare 'Stop Hiring Humans' appeared first on Talker. Copyright Talker News. All Rights Reserved.
