Macon receiving federal housing money

Federal dollars will help Macon tear down blighted homes and get foreclosed properties off the market.
In 2008 Congress passed the Housing and Economic Recovery Act. Four-billion dollars of the money was doled out to states hit hard by the foreclosure crisis.
Cities like Augusta, Atlanta, Columbus and Savannah qualified to receive part of those funds, but Macon did not, according to the Director of Neighborhood Stabilization for the City of Macon, Jesse Gerwig-Moore.

"The state received in total from HUD about 155-million. About half of that amount, around 74-million or so, went directly to the entitlement communities who already received community development block grant funds and that's where Macon fell below the 2-million dollar threshold."

The city remained undeterred and applied for a 4-million dollar grant from HUD. They were approved this week. The city will use the money to tear down blighted homes and provide down payment assistance to those who purchase foreclosed properties.

Macon celebrates the inauguration

Across the state people gathered to watch the inauguration. In Macon more than a hundred people turned out at the Tubman African American Museum to witness history together.
The crowd at the Tubman Museum cheered when President Barack Obama finished taking the oath of office. Many of the older people in the crowd said this moment seemed unreal.
65-year old Marguerite Farley said she hopes the new president will inspire a generation of young people.

"It makes them realize that there's a ceiling that can be broken, that they can go through that ceiling. They can achieve anything, and it gives them hope. It gives them hope that, my goodness, you know they can go as high as they want to."

Many of those in attendance wiped tears. The crowd of more than a hundred was a cross section of the community and included young and old, black and white.

President Bush to visit Georgia

President George Bush is coming to Georgia tomorrow. He's coming to Atlanta to raise money for congressional hopeful Rick Goddard. Goddard, a Republican, is trying to oust Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Marshall in central Georgia's 8th Congressional District. It's been almost two years since Bush last visited Georgia.

Gilmer County breaks smog standard

Gilmer County in north Georgia county recorded the state's worst smog yesterday – the first day of smog season. Gilmer County, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, broke federal ozone standards. A spokesperson says it's because Atlanta's air pollution blows north. Other Georgia counties have been caught with high levels of ground-level ozone this year. On April 17th, Augusta, Macon, Athens and the town of Dawsonville violated the limit.

Lawmakers continue special ed meetings

State lawmakers will travel to Macon on Thursday to continue a series of town hall meetings designed to encourage parents to take advantage of a program designed to help special needs students.

Earlier this year, the state legislature enacted the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Act. Under the program, public school students with disabilities can get up to fifteen thousand dollars a year to attend private school. But, lawmakers say too few families know about the voucher program.

Republican state representative David Casas teaches in Cobb County and is one of those who will be in Macon. He says the meetings are about letting parents know they have choices.

“When we give people the freedom to seek education elsewhere, I think that it motivates the schools to provide the services that the child needs. And, I think that it empowers the parent to take control, take further control, of their child's education.”

According to the Georgia Department of Education, nearly two hundred thousand students are eligible for the scholarships. But, less than one thousand families have asked for and received the vouchers.

Educators say part of the reason may be the cost of private school tuition. Parents must pay out of pocket the difference between what they state will pay and the school’s tuition.

For more information, visit http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/sb10.aspx.