A vote by the Atlanta City Council on the future use of the city jail will be delayed for at least a few more weeks, according to a report in the AJC. Two competing plans for the detention center stalled during a March 8 meeting of the council’s public safety committee. One of the plans is to close the nearly-empty facility and transform it into a “center for equity,” as proposed by Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ administration. The other plan would see the facility sold to Fulton County to help ease overcrowding in the county lockup. The mayor is expected to meet soon with Fulton Commission Chair Rob Pitts to discuss partnership opportunities.
On International Women’s Day, Mayor Bottoms announced a partnership with The Carter Center for their Inform Women, Transform Lives campaign to increase awareness of women’s right to information and connect women to available city services and programs. “Atlanta’s efforts will focus on increasing access to information among women of color, whose health and economic vulnerabilities have increased due to COVID 19,” Bottoms said. Connecting women to economic mobility resources, housing assistance, food access programs, intimate partner violence support and mental health services will be the main focuses of Atlanta’s partnership. For more information, visit atlstrong.org and cartercenter.org/info4women.
Sameday Health is opening a second COVID-19 testing site in Atlanta at 516 Ponce de Leon Ave., across from Ponce City Market. The site will offer results in 12 hours on a nasal swab test and 12 minutes for rapid antigen testing. The site will also offer travel certification for domestic travelers. Sameday Health also operates a testing location on Roswell Road in Buckhead.