Reader TTS

Happy birthday to the late, great Richard W. Penniman, better known as Little Richard. The architect of rock n’ roll was born in Macon on Dec. 5, 1932. Also, it’s still election season,

which includes the runoffs for Georgia’s two U.S. Senate seats. Registered Georgia voters who want to vote by mail in the Jan. 5 election can request an absentee ballot via web, fax, mail or

in person. On to other happenings in metro Atlanta: FEDS PUBLISH LIST OF PPP LOAN RECIPIENTS; LOTS OF QUESTIONS IN THE DATA After months of legal pressure from media, a court forced the

federal government to publish the full list of companies that got small Paycheck Protection Program loans. Previously, the feds only published the larger recipients. Plenty of small

businesses say PPP forgivable loans helped them keep the doors open during COVID-19. But yet there are already plenty of indictments for misuse of the money, which lending institutions

handed out with little public oversight. Take this Small Business Administration data with a big grain of salt — it’s full of head-scratchers. There are almost 170,000 entries for Georgia

companies. About 23,000 of those loan recipients reported “0” under number of jobs preserved due to the loan. Preserving paychecks is the point of the program, but the Wall Street Journal

reports that the Small Business Administration did not require borrowers to report any number of jobs preserved. Plenty of data is missing, like accurate company addresses — many entries

list a bank address instead. And several loan amounts seem too small to do anything, less than $100. Have a look for yourself: Direct from the Small Business Administration, “120120 Paycheck

Protection Program Data,” split into six large files Other ways to read the same data: Investigative Reporting Workshop’s state-by-state files, and its Accountability Project name and

address search. -By Maggie Lee 300TH MILE OF PATH TRAIL The 300th mile of the the PATH Foundation’s metro Atlanta multi-use trail will lay on the west side of Atlanta, part of what will

eventually be a 11-mile trail from Centennial Olympic Park to the Silver Comet Trail. “As we get ready to cut the ribbon on our 300th mile, I can tell you there hasn’t been an easy mile yet.

The PATH team has persevered when many would have achieved less,” said Ed McBrayer, a PATH founder, who recently stepped down as executive director, making way for Greta DeMayo, a landscape

architect who has worked on PATH trails. It’s also a year of turnover for another major alt-mobility group. Larissa Bradburn recently became interim executive director of PEDS, where she’s

been director of finance and operations since 2016. -By Maggie Lee PANTHER COMMUNITY, WHAT DO YOU WANT IN A GSU PRESIDENT? Georgia’s biggest four-year college by enrollment is going to get a

new president, and the state wants help finding that person. Georgia State University’s presidential search team will have its ears open at upcoming online listening sessions, and has got a

written survey open. The comments they collect will help a search committee track down a new top panther. Check out the listening schedule and survey. -By Maggie Lee NEW, FAMILIAR FOLKS FOR

MARTA BOARD OF DIRECTORS Atlanta attorney Robert Ashe is set to rejoin the board of directors of metro Atlanta’s transit agency. He’s set to be joined by fellow attorney Reggie Snyder.

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms nominated Ashe for a four-year reappointment to MARTA’s board. Atlanta City Council President Felicia Moore nominated Snyder. Both terms last for four

years, and both got unanimous approval by Council’s Transportation Committee on Wednesday.  The expected full Council confirmation could come as early as Monday. _RELATED POSTS_