Corey lawsuit opens a window into more sketchy airport deals
You win some, you lose some. And then sometimes you learn you’ve been losing a lot more, for a lot longer, than you ever realized.
Atlanta taxpayers lost almost $3 million Monday when a federal jury found that the city in 2002 illegally steered an airport advertising contract to Clear Channel and a friend of former Mayor Maynard Jackson, Barbara Fouch. Those damages — plus some $11 million from Clear Channel and $3 million more from Fouch — were awarded to businessman Billy Corey, who also bid on the contract.
But most damning was the information that came out about the city’s poor oversight of airport contracts generally — a problem that may have cost Atlantans tens of millions of dollars over the years.
The fundamental problem with the airport advertising contract was that, once granted to Fouch and her partners in 1980, it was not opened for bidding again until 2002.
Favoritism wasn’t on display just when Clear Channel and Fouch — who, as a black woman, qualified as the “disadvantaged” business partner that Clear Channel needed in the 2002 bidding process — won what jurors found to be a rigged process. It was on display for more than two decades.
This contract and those for other major concessions at the airport were originally granted for a whopping 15 years; a two-year extension was then given to get Atlanta and the airport past the Olympics.
At that point, in 1997, the city was due a big rise in the rent paid by concessionaires if their contracts rolled over past their expiration date, unless the city formally agreed to keep the previous rates.
Yet, the city didn’t actually make such an agreement or enforce that rental increase against Clear Channel and Fouch. The increase that would have netted Atlanta some $15 million, according to Corey’s lawyers. Clear Channel disputes the claim.
Now, get this: To dispel the notion that Clear Channel and Fouch hadn’t been given undue favorable treatment, attorneys for the city argued in court that the city hadn’t raised the rent, or later demanded back rent, from any airport concessionaires, says Jeff Harris, an attorney for Corey.
“They tried to defend themselves by saying, ‘We weren’t showing favoritism to Clear Channel, we did it with everybody,” Harris says.
If that’s true — and it would require a thorough review of the airport’s dealings — more than a dozen major contracts may have been handled similarly improperly.
The cost?
“All [city officials] had to do was enforce the terms of their contracts” with all of these vendors, Harris says, “and they’d have $100 million more than they have now.”
All of this happened before Mayor Kasim Reed’s watch. But he’s the only one now who can put an end to this foolishness. His cash-strapped city can’t afford to forgo revenue or pay for any more legal losses, if it ever could.
But reversing the city’s stated intention to appeal the Corey ruling, and instead opening a new bidding process for airport advertising, won’t suffice.
As mayor today, Reed owes taxpayers a full accounting of what we’ve lost over the years and how much (or little) transparency exists in the other airport contracts. That, and a rebidding of any contracts that have expired or were also let under dubious circumstances.
Do all that, and Reed would “have the support of all the taxpayers in the city,” says no less an authority than John Sherman, head of the Fulton County Taxpayers Foundation.
At the very least, he would win over a large number of us who voted for Mary Norwood simply because she represented a break from business as usual in Atlanta.
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84 comments Add your comment
omega
July 28th, 2010
7:27 pm
alpha!
Politics to the right of Attila the Hun
July 28th, 2010
7:44 pm
Corruption in the Democratic controlled city of Atlanta. Imagine that! This business of big business teaming up with a minority who is usually just a figurehead reeks of cronyism and corruption.
on patroll
July 28th, 2010
7:46 pm
a large number of us who voted for Mary Norwood simply because she represented a break from business as usual in Atlanta.
did you just come to this city? oooh, you meant black people, my bad.
on patroll
July 28th, 2010
7:47 pm
yeah attila that’s why i am voting for deal
Dave
July 28th, 2010
9:32 pm
I’d like to hear the Mayor’s response to your demand. He’s looking for money to plug the anticipated deficit. A few mil just from making vendors live up to their current contract obligations and then maybe more than a few more mil by going back and making them cough up what they haven’t paid within the statute of limitations starts to add up. What say you Mr. Mayor?
Steel Magnolia
July 28th, 2010
9:48 pm
The next step is for every contract being administered by the city of Atlanta to be examined for similar shenanigans. It is naive to think that the airport is the only “profit center” for the corrupt.
@@
July 28th, 2010
9:50 pm
$100 million!!??!! Don’t see how the city could pass that up considering the present economic conditions. Reed would be a fool not to jump on that honey pot.
Liquid gold.
steve
July 28th, 2010
10:40 pm
Wingfield, your racism is unbelievable. Don’t you have anything positive to say about Atlanta leadership? Why don’t you start investigating State contracts where the real money is? Or is ok for your people to engage in shenanigans?
TaxpayerATL
July 29th, 2010
1:26 am
Imagine that, Corruption at Hartsfield-Jackson-Frankiln-Reed-What-eva International Airport. I can’t believe it.
MC W
July 29th, 2010
5:05 am
@steve—Your charge of racism reveals your utter inability to defend the city on ethical grounds.
So What's New
July 29th, 2010
5:46 am
You haven’t lived in Georgia very long if you didn’t know that Atlanta and all its businesses are beyond corrupt. Mostly everyone just talks about it, but occasionally an honest politician will force the issue. Be aware that this all continues with Bill Campbell’s replacement, Kasim Reed. Reed has got more secrets than all his predecessors combined. It’s a sad day for Atlanta and Georgia.
Churchill's MOM
July 29th, 2010
6:10 am
Kasim Reed is the Jackson Family’s boy, his main duty is taking care of the Jackson Family interest. If any of you think he will do anything to harm the Jackson Family interest you are a fool. Kasim Reed = Bill Campbell. But after Deal becomes Governor Kasim Reed will look honest.
Dave
July 29th, 2010
6:15 am
steve – congradulations you are “first” to play the race card here, but I’m sure not the last. The citizens of Atlanta are the ones who lose regardless of of their race. “Can’t we all just get along?”
Sherlock
July 29th, 2010
7:19 am
Steve doesn’t wanted to be treated like everyone else. That would be racist.
Kay
July 29th, 2010
7:42 am
What role did Ben De Costa play in this? And did Clear Channel help foot the bill for his $25,000 going away party?
Road Scholar
July 29th, 2010
7:46 am
Steve, and others who have slammed Reed: His actions to this and other issues will define him as a mayor and a man, not your opinions. Making the COA efficient and effective is a huge task, since many of the Departments have not measured up to the positive achievements of other local governments. As with the banks and industry, more oversight and enforcement of deliveables is needed to have them address their shortfalls.
UsmcDawg
July 29th, 2010
8:02 am
Folks,
This goes all the way back to “crooked” Maynard Jackson.
Maynard instituted black racist policies at the City of Atlanta and the Airport that still exist today.
How does Shirley Franklin and family have contracts at the CITY owned airport? That is a joke!
Can you say “conflict of interest”? Oh yeah, it does not translate into Ebonics.
And BROOK JACKSON, Maynard’s daughter has contracts at the airport. How does that work?
THE CITY OF ATLANTA IS RACIST AND CORRUPT- Plain and simple.
Thank You Kyle for having the courage to uncover and exploit this corruption.
One more laughable item:
If Barbara Fouch had $MILLION dollar contracts at the airport from 1980 to 2002, HOW IS SHE “DISAVANTAGED”?
Get rid of Affirmative Action. It is racist and corrupt.
Grand Forks
July 29th, 2010
8:21 am
“Wingfield, your racism is unbelievable.”
Steve has the IQ of a carrot.
No More Progressives!
July 29th, 2010
8:32 am
steve
July 28th, 2010
10:40 pm
Wingfield, your racism is unbelievable. Don’t you have anything positive to say about Atlanta leadership? Why don’t you start investigating State contracts where the real money is? Or is ok for your people to engage in shenanigans?
Who are “your people?”
You’re welcome to say something positive about Atlanta leadership.
We’re waiting.
Grand Forks
July 29th, 2010
8:35 am
I think Obama is not only the first half-breed president, he’s also the first woman president. He went on The View to cry to the overweight left wing hags about how hard it is to be president. She also wears mom jeans to baseball games and throws far worse than any girl I’ve ever seen throw a baseball.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=147zPdfNoro
Grand Forks
July 29th, 2010
8:56 am
Can we please just go ahead an impeach the man-child now.
AP survey: A bleaker outlook for economy into 2011
The U.S. economic recovery will remain slow deep into next year, held back by shoppers reluctant to spend and employers hesitant to hire, according to an Associated Press survey of leading economists.
The latest quarterly AP Economy Survey shows economists have turned gloomier in the past three months. They foresee weaker growth and higher unemployment than they did before. As a result, the economists think the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates near zero until at least next spring.
Antoine
July 29th, 2010
9:08 am
Atlanta may be the only city in the country that is COMPARABLY AS CORRUPT as New Orleans and Chicago.
The CRIMINALS running this city (into the ground) are no different than the jive-talking, Ultra-Aggressive panhandlers they enable to roam the streets and harass the citizenry unchecked.
President Obama’s so-called “Administration” is Atlanta City Government on a National Scale.
barking frog
July 29th, 2010
9:16 am
this is just the price you have to pay to acheive minority participation.
Grand Forks
July 29th, 2010
9:16 am
Bush has been vindicated. Again.
What Would Happen if the Bush Tax Cuts Expire
Much of the focus has been on the wealthy, but what will the expiration of the tax cuts mean for everyone else? Brett Arends runs the numbers.
What would it actually mean for you if they let the Bush tax cuts expire at the end of this year, and we went back to the old Bill Clinton tax rates adjusted for inflation?
This is a thought experiment, not a prediction or a recommendation.
The tax cuts, passed in 2001 and 2003, are front and center now and will be a hot issue going into the elections this fall. Unless something is done by the end of the year, they’ll expire. With the economic recovery looking shaky, expiration is particularly controversial.
Most of the attention has understandably focused on highest earners, who are likely to be most affected by whatever happens. But as the debate has gathered pace I have been wondering what it might mean for everyone else. After all, according to the IRS just 4% of Americans earn more than $200,000 a year.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703977004575393483572603148.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_personalfinance
No More Progressives!
July 29th, 2010
9:29 am
Antoine
July 29th, 2010
9:08 am
President Obama’s so-called “Administration” is Atlanta City Government on a National Scale.
Do you really think that King Barry can replicate the corruption of Atlanta in 18 short months? It’s taken Atlanta, what, 30 years to sink this low.
As the King himself said, “Yes we can!”
Intown
July 29th, 2010
9:48 am
If you think Mary Norwood would’ve fixed this you are smoking something. she is a nitwit.
Churchill's MOM
July 29th, 2010
9:49 am
Why do you delete my off topics & let Grand Forks post hunderds of off topics?
Kyle Wingfield
July 29th, 2010
10:03 am
Church’s: I haven’t deleted anything, and don’t see anything from you that got caught in the spam filter.
Grand Forks
July 29th, 2010
10:12 am
“Why do you delete my off topics & let Grand Forks post hunderds of off topics?’
Your math must be as bad as your spelling. I’ve only posted THREE off topic comments, ma’am. Not “hundreds” like you claim.
3 is 3 too many
July 29th, 2010
10:22 am
Grand Forks, I think I speak for the majority of sane readers… your opinions and actions are overboard and tiring. You routinely hijack this blog and bully and drool. I wish Kyle would cut you off when you take over.
j
July 29th, 2010
10:24 am
dick cheney gave haliburton a no bid contract and no one sued. this guy is a sore loser that is all.
He thought he had an airtight bid and is upset. boohoo you lost deal with it.
Kyle when are you actually going to do your job and state exactly what the city did wrong by awarding the bid to fouch.
Did they violate any law? you stated they did something illegal so what law did the city violate?
More interesting would be the reason why the rent was not increased.
I have heard of clear channel i have never heard of this corey guy.
a rigged process. It is always a rigged process when you lose.
Come on kyle why was it a rigged process? dude start earning your pay. You think the lowest bidder always wins a contract?
so where is the favoritism if all vendors did not receive an increase?
Kyle are you sure you were paying attention during your classes in college?
Who cares about mary norwood’s supporters? they lost and need to get on board or get out the way.
Middle-of-the-road
July 29th, 2010
10:28 am
The taxpayers will have to pay the bill for the Corrupt, Inept Management of Atlanta. That is sad. There needs to be oversight and accoutabiility. Enough of the family and friends plan for elected officials. Does the City of Atlanta think it is like the DeKalb County Board of Education? Oooppps! What are the similarities between the two government entities? It all needs to stop. There is too much waste. Too many programs that need funding that are cut. Why did we name the airport after Jackson with all the greed and graft taking place there during his administration. What message does that send to the world? Just because it has occured in the past does not mean the greed and graft needs to continue.
Dirty Dawg
July 29th, 2010
10:29 am
Billy Corey is as big a ‘crook’ as anybody in the outdoor business – and that’s saying a lot. Once again, I’m astounded that you, Kyle, would go after your buddies at Clear Channel…I mean since they’re the ones that run the most vile, right-wing, talk crap across the country (OK, in Atlanta that’s WSB, but pretty-much everywhere else.) I would think you’d ‘cut ‘em some slack’. Of course Clear Channel wasn’t around back when the contract was supposedly let – according to you – in ‘80, and the people that Ms. Fouch may have partnered with over the years have had a long record of handling airport advertising – unlike Mr. Corey – and they pay the airport and the City of Atlanta pretty much the ‘going rate’ as is paid across the country…but that’s not your story is. You just want to play ‘boogieman’ journalism and keep painting the right-wing strategy of claiming that Atlanta’s black politicians are more corrupt than somebody else’s white ones.
By the way, you have any idea how long certain road contractors have had ’sweetheart’ deals/contracts with the DOT in this state? Better check on that cause there’s a hellofalot more money being handed out there than in airport advertising commissions. – oh, I forgot, those are ‘all-white’ companies and require no ‘minority’ participation to bid, so you aren’t interested.
The point is that often times the nod for these things go to company that is better equipped, and financed, to do the job. The last thing those in charge want to have happen is to award a contract to somebody that’s in way over their head and fails. Of course, if I know Corey, he would have just ‘partnered’ with Clear Channel, or bought out their kiosks and other ad locations, hired their people and started channeling the money to Billy’s crooked business instead of the other ones. Is this a great country, or what?
You know, this kind of thinking – awarding no-bid contracts to companies based on the ’story’ that they are the only ones that are ‘equipped’ to handle them – is exactly why we give Halliburton billions and billions every year to help do out killing for us…along with their ‘partner’ Dick Cheney, but then the only minority he’s a member of is the multi-billionaire, gained from tapping directly into the US Treasury. club.
midtownguy
July 29th, 2010
10:48 am
Invoke the termination clause on all Atlanta Airport contracts. Put them all up for re-bid with a maximum of five years. Have each city councilman appoint a representative to a Contract Oversight Committee which must approve all contracts by a 70% vote. Problem solved. No new taxes needed.
No More Progressives!
July 29th, 2010
10:52 am
KBR (Haliburton) to Get No-Bid Army Work as U.S. Alleges Kickbacks
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-05-06/kbr-to-get-no-bid-army-work-as-u-s-alleges-kickbacks-update1-.html
May 06, 2010, 11:27 AM EDT
From your pure current administration.
Kyle Wingfield
July 29th, 2010
10:57 am
j: Try reading some of what I’ve written before: http://bit.ly/bEUij7
Or you could read some of the news coverage the AJC has had on this case. But something tells me you’re not really interested in answers.
Dirty Dawg: Since lots of readers like to accuse me of protecting/shilling for the kind of people you say I’m now “going after,” I’ll take (part of) your comment as a compliment…
As for whether Corey wasn’t well-equipped to carry out the contract: If that’s really why the city declined Corey’s bid, it could have docked Corey for competence on the original scoring. If it should have done so and didn’t, I take that as another sign of a flawed process.
luangtom
July 29th, 2010
11:05 am
Yer a day late and a dollar short in your reporting this. CBSatlanta reported this and current lack of payment for airport advertising amounting to the City of Atlanta being shorted close to $23-million during Ben DeCosta and Shirley Franklin’s watch. Neither would give answers to the questions posed as to why favoritism was shown in ad-space and lack of funds to the city.It is not a new subject. Now, besides the recent award of $3-million that Atlanta is to pay out, they still have to account for the lack of funds received amounting to the other $23-million. Update yourself, please.
booger
July 29th, 2010
11:09 am
For all the Halliburton haters. All of the no bid contract investigations were done years ago and in the end the reason Halliburton got the contracts was that they were the only company who could do the work required from day one. Other than a very few large oilfield service organizations there are no other companies in the world who have a standing infrastructure throughout the middle east. When you are in a war, you do not have the time to let a company build this infrastructure. Halliburton had existing offices throughout the middle east capable of purchasing, distributing and providing services whereever and whenever. The few other companies capable of doing this choose for a number of reasons not to bid.
j
July 29th, 2010
11:16 am
Yet, Corey claims he actually should have beaten Clear Channel by 12 points because Fouch should not have qualified as a DBE because she’s neither disadvantaged nor a business operator; a judge’s order in the case notes that Fouch’s own DBE application to the city stated that her company owned no business equipment. Curious, huh?
—–
Hey kyle you can’t be serious. I think the problem we have here is people who have no knowledge of how businesses operate.
Just because your business doesn’t own equipment doesn’t mean you aren’t a real business. Have you not ever heard of leasing?
You stated that she had a contract for several years with the city. Was she not operating a business during this time? Did she not file tax returns? Isn’t this operating a business?
How is fouch not a disadvantaged businesswoman? I thought you said she was a black woman. Did she develop vitiligo?
The guy is just a sore loser.
Once again what did the city do that was illegal as you have stated? Answer the question Kyle?
midtownguy
July 29th, 2010
11:21 am
j’s thinking is the perfect example of what is wrong with Atlanta. As an Atlanta taxpayer of no small portion, I am not concerned about legalities (although a judge seemed to be). I want the city to award contracts for the least amount possible, garner the greatest income, and tax me less. If you are not a significant atlanta taxpayer (let’s say over $5,000 a year in property taxes) your opinion doesn’t matter on this issue.
booger
July 29th, 2010
11:22 am
My brother-in-law owns a nice well run construction business in the metro are several years ago he decided he would try to get some wok in the city of Atlanta. He had a discussion with officials and was told it was no use to bid unless he had a minority partner. Of course the officials were happy to give him a list of approved partners, non of which had ever been in the construction business. Also as it turns out, their only duty was to show up for their checks. Being an ethical and honest business owner, he decided not to do business with the city.
I worked over seas for many years and this is exactly how business is done in most third world countries. Of course over there it’s called bribary.
Kyle Wingfield
July 29th, 2010
11:28 am
From the jury’s verdict, j:
Question 1: Did the City of Atlanta intentionally violate Corey’s equal protection rights by unequally applying a facially neutral ordinance to select Clear Channel as the most responsive proponent of the airport advertising contract in 2002?
Jury’s answer: Yes
Question 2: If the answer to Question 1 was “YES” — was the violation the result of a custom of the City of Atlanta?
Jury’s answer: Yes
Question 3: If the answer to Question 2 was “YES” — was the violation of Corey’s equal protection rights of the City of Atlanta the proximate cause of money damages suffered by Corey?
Jury’s answer: Yes
Question 4: Did Clear Channel conspire with the City of Atlanta to deprive Corey of its equal protection rights?
Jury’s answer: Yes
Question 5: Did Barbara Fouch conspire with the City of Atlanta to deprive Corey of its equal protection rights?
Jury’s answer: Yes
Question 6: If the answer to Question 4 OR 5 was “YES” — did Corey suffer money damages as a direct result of a conspiracy to deprive Corey of its equal protection rights?
Jury’s answer: Yes
Question 7: Did Corey suffer money damages for lost profits from 2002 to 2007 (the 5 year term of the contract)?
Jury’s answer: Yes
Question 8: What is the amount of damages Corey has proven it suffered as a result of the violation of its equal protection rights?
Jury’s answer: $8,500,000
Question 9: Do you find that Clear Channel Outdoor, Inc. and/or Barbara Fouch acted willfully and maliciously in the violation of Corey’s equal protection rights or acted intentionally with gross disregard for Corey’s equal protection rights, so as to entitle Corey to punitive damages?
Jury’s answer: Yes to both
j
July 29th, 2010
11:29 am
hey booger why was your in-law chasing government contracts? private work too tough for the sob?
please go to the library find a dictionary and look up the definition of bribery.
Your in-law was being told the rules of doing business with the city. the city did not ask him for money to obtain a contract.
Grand Forks
July 29th, 2010
11:31 am
“Grand Forks, I think I speak for the majority of sane readers… your opinions and actions are overboard and tiring. You routinely hijack this blog and bully and drool. I wish Kyle would cut you off when you take over.”
1: You don’t speak for anyone.
2: The only people who want other people banned are whinny little left wingers.
3: Why do you hate free speech?
No More Progressives!
July 29th, 2010
11:35 am
Thank you, booger. Many, many people don’t realize how unique Haliburton is. Coincidentally, these same people who villify Haliburton are the same people who villify Dick Cheney on a daily basis.
Grand Forks
July 29th, 2010
11:40 am
No More Progressives!
Left wingers don’t know anything about companies in the first place. How would you ever think that they know anything about Halliburton? Most left wingers throw that name out there because Bill Maher and Keith Olbermann told them to.
Grand Forks
July 29th, 2010
11:42 am
Left wingers have a new hero.
Woman charged in France over babies’ bodies
French prosecutors said Thursday they charged a woman with murder after she admitted giving birth to and smothering eight babies over a 17-year period in northern France.
The woman, Dominique Cottrez, said she hid the pregnancies and deaths from her husband, who said he had no idea what she had done, prosecutor Eric Vaillant told reporters. Cottrez is overweight and was able to conceal the pregnancies, he said.
Cottrez told investigators the reason she killed the babies was that she did not want to have any more children and did not want to see doctors for contraceptives, Vaillant said.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/07/29/france.dead.babies/index.html?hpt=T1
Dirty Dawg
July 29th, 2010
11:43 am
So Kyle, you ‘take it as a compliment’ that I seemed to be criticizing you for criticizing Atlanta’s ‘black’ political leaders? And that you’ve been criticized by others for ‘not’ criticizing them in the past? I’d like to see that one, cause I’ve never noticed it and it certainly seems out of character and contrary to why the AJC added you to their ‘mix’ in the first place.
As for Atlanta ‘requiring’ a minority partner for doing business with the City, guess when the political power structure changed colors, the strategy of ‘not’ considering minority contractors changed as well. Maybe it’s high time that the practice was changed, but the fact is municipalities and counties all over the State have, or don’t have, minority-participation requirements based on who’s in charge.
midtownguy
July 29th, 2010
11:51 am
Booger: Actually, if the city actually told your brother-in-law that he had to have a minority partner, he should have reported that to Federal Officials if any federal money was involved in the contract. The presence of a minority partner gives you additional points on the RFP grading but it cannot be required. The “approved” list of minority partners is also forbidden (I wonder how many Hispanic and Disabled individuals were on the list as minorities). Seriously, he might get a few mil himself, provided any of this was in writing from the city where it could not be denied.
No More Progressives!
July 29th, 2010
11:51 am
j
July 29th, 2010
11:29 am
Your in-law was being told the rules of doing business with the city. the city did not ask him for money to obtain a contract.
You have no concept of what doing business with SBA 8(a)set-aside is like, do you? Not a bloody clue, methinks.
j
July 29th, 2010
11:53 am
booger
July 29th, 2010
11:09 am
For all the Halliburton haters. All of the no bid contract investigations were done years ago and in the end the reason Halliburton got the contracts was that they were the only company who could do the work required from day one.
——-
If you are the only game in town a bidding process should be a slam dunk, unless of course you aren’t the only game in town and your former CEO is looking out for your interest.
—-
http://www.halliburtonwatch.org/home.html
j
July 29th, 2010
11:56 am
No More Progressives!
July 29th, 2010
11:51 am
j
July 29th, 2010
11:29 am
Your in-law was being told the rules of doing business with the city. the city did not ask him for money to obtain a contract.
You have no concept of what doing business with SBA 8(a)set-aside is like, do you? Not a bloody clue, methinks.
Link Report this comment
—–
what does your comment have to do with bribery? you are way off topic.
sba only applies to federal government contracts. this is the city of atlanta. get it together.
3 is 3 too many
July 29th, 2010
12:02 pm
Grand Forks, you defend yourself like a 6 year-old left wing girl.
I am far from a left-winger, but I do believe you get what you pay for… your free speech isn’t a value.
Stay on topic.
No More Progressives!
July 29th, 2010
12:04 pm
“The SBA is committed to ensuring that only eligible participants are reaping the benefits of the 8(a) Business Development (BD) Program.”
http://www.sba.gov/aboutsba/sbaprograms/8abd/index.html
Show me where it says Federal Govt. contracts only.
It doesn’t.
Kyle Wingfield
July 29th, 2010
12:07 pm
For the record, this is what I was referring to, Dirty Dawg:
“Once again, I’m astounded that you, Kyle, would go after your buddies at Clear Channel…I mean since they’re the ones that run the most vile, right-wing, talk crap across the country (OK, in Atlanta that’s WSB, but pretty-much everywhere else.) I would think you’d ‘cut ‘em some slack’. ”
I usually get accused of sycophancy with right-wing talk radio, so that’s why this part of your comment jumped out at me.
No More Progressives!
July 29th, 2010
12:11 pm
“…….only eligible participants……”
I forgot to add that eligible participants means that 1) your skin tone is anything but white, and 2) you come with ovaries as original equipment.
In a civilized society, that’s called discrimination.
Grand Forks
July 29th, 2010
12:14 pm
“I am far from a left-winger, but I do believe you get what you pay for… your free speech isn’t a value.”
Sure thing, mystery meat.
j
July 29th, 2010
12:19 pm
No More Progressives!
July 29th, 2010
12:11 pm
“…….only eligible participants……”
I forgot to add that eligible participants means that 1) your skin tone is anything but white, and 2) you come with ovaries as original equipment.
In a civilized society, that’s called discrimination.
Link Report this comment
—-
Dude you need to stop posting because each time you post you are simply discrediting yourelf.
you forgot handicapped individuals. white women are the biggest beneficiary of affirmative action so what are you griping about?
Is griping your ambition in life?
Did you ever stop to think about why this program was implemented to begin with?
in a civilized society it is called addressing injustice.
No More Progressives!
July 29th, 2010
12:21 pm
Dude you need to stop posting because each time you post you are simply discrediting yourelf.
Credo quia absurdum.
No More Progressives!
July 29th, 2010
12:30 pm
Show me where it says Federal Govt. contracts only.
booger
July 29th, 2010
12:49 pm
j,
My brother in law is not an sob. He in fact did not bid on the Atlanta job because he would have to pay a bribe to a partner which a city official chooze. He is doing very well in private industry, and sleeps better I’m sure than had he gotten involved with the corrupt bidding process.
On Halliburton, I have worked in the middle east. Very few US companies have a presence there on a large scale which is necessary in a war. There was no one else willing to bid who could do the job, so Halliburton got the work. This was investigated by congress several yeaars ago and no wrong doing was found.
Please do not bother to respond if the smartest thing you can come up with is to call someone an sob.
DW
July 29th, 2010
12:52 pm
Hopefully, Mayor Reed can do so without earning the ire of the Jackson family.
scott
July 29th, 2010
12:57 pm
Kyle…you’re chasing windmills here. What you are saying is nothing new to any resident of Atlanta. Its been going on and been universally swept under a rug for decades now. The problem is that nobody really cares enough to do anything about it and there is no real public outrage over it. Maynard Jackson…corrupt as hell, probably, but he got results…big results. I blame most of the ills facing Atlanta now squarely on the shoulders of BILL CAMPBELL. Everything from the mistrust in the legislature, lack of funding for Atlanta projects…you name it. Bill Campbell was the poster child of cronyism and corruption without results…at least good ones. He played the race card ad nauseum, had unqualified poker buddies running the city government, was hostile to State government, and awarded airport contracts to those who contributed to him. This mess currently is his creation. If not for Angela Gittens little would be proven in court. Shirley Franklin started cleaning up his mess, but its a whole lot of mess, and rebuilding of trust, that has to occur. When people are losing jobs and seeing dysfunctional state government, bogus airport contracts are just another thing wrong…we’ve been desensitized I think to the whole idea of corruption
j
July 29th, 2010
12:58 pm
https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=list&tab=list
j
July 29th, 2010
1:11 pm
hey snotty nose, aka booger, you need to crawl back under whatever trailer park you were unleashed from and clean up your act.
chooze? seriously.
Drama played out
July 29th, 2010
1:27 pm
Question 1: Did the City of Atlanta intentionally violate Corey’s equal protection rights by unequally applying a facially neutral ordinance to select Clear Channel as the most responsive proponent of the airport advertising contract in 2002?
Deliberations: Equal protection, hell! We’ve decided he hasn’t yet paid for all the INEQUALITIES perpetrated on minorities in the past.
Verdict: NO!
[snip]
Question 4: Did Clear Channel conspire with the City of Atlanta to deprive Corey of its equal protection rights?
Deliberations: NO, we’ve already discussed that…Corey hasn’t earned his equal protections yet!!!! It’s gonna require more sacrifice on his part. We’ll get back to him once he has. It’s up to us to decide so he shouldn’t call us, we’ll call him.
Verdict: NO
Question 5: Did Barbara Fouch conspire with the City of Atlanta to deprive Corey of its equal protection rights?
Deliberations: Ms. Fouch had every right to conspire with the City of Atlanta. She’s just trying to get back what was owed her great-grandparents.
Jury’s answer: NO
[snip]
Question 7: Did Corey suffer money damages for lost profits from 2002 to 2007 (the 5 year term of the contract)?
Deliberations: Who cares? He’s got money–he can afford it.
Jury’s answer: NO
Question 8: What is the amount of damages Corey has proven it suffered as a result of the violation of its equal protection rights?
Deliberations: Corey doesn’t know the meaning of the word, suffered.
Jury’s answer: BIG FAT ZERO
Question 9: Do you find that Clear Channel Outdoor, Inc. and/or Barbara Fouch acted willfully and maliciously in the violation of Corey’s equal protection rights or acted intentionally with gross disregard for Corey’s equal protection rights, so as to entitle Corey to punitive damages?
Deliberations: What goes around comes around. He got what he deserved.
Jury’s answer: NO to both
Congratulations to Mr. Corey! The times they are a changing.
No More Progressives!
July 29th, 2010
1:27 pm
Show me where it says Federal Govt. contracts only.
Still waiting.
booger
July 29th, 2010
1:29 pm
j,
unleashed from? seriously
That would be from where you were unleashed.
Terrence
July 29th, 2010
1:44 pm
This belongs over here, Kyle. It’s from Wooten’s “Right Thinking.”
In the DeKalb school board’s race-based law firm decision, one voice deserves commendation. It is that of board member Pamela Speaks, a black female, who refused to be bullied when other board members pushed her to vote race. “We attempted to save the taxpayers $1 million,” she said. “We have those on the board suggest we ignore that fact just so we can have an African-American attorney. I would like them to defend that to taxpayers.”
There is no defense for racial preference when it comes from a diverse pool of taxpaying citizens.
Live and learn.
No More Progressives!
July 29th, 2010
1:52 pm
Terrence
July 29th, 2010
1:44 pm
Terrence:
You should send that to Ben Jealous at the NAACP. Shoot, he might even read it.
j
July 29th, 2010
2:08 pm
Terrence
July 29th, 2010
1:44 pm
This belongs over here, Kyle. It’s from Wooten’s “Right Thinking.”
In the DeKalb school board’s race-based law firm decision, one voice deserves commendation. It is that of board member Pamela Speaks, a black female, who refused to be bullied when other board members pushed her to vote race. “We attempted to save the taxpayers $1 million,” she said. “We have those on the board suggest we ignore that fact just so we can have an African-American attorney. I would like them to defend that to taxpayers.”
There is no defense for racial preference when it comes from a diverse pool of taxpaying citizens.
———————————–
who said dekalb is diverse?
that place is like the South Bronx.
Terrence
July 29th, 2010
2:39 pm
j, in other words, blacks are failing DeKalb County by wasting their taxpayer’s money on racial preferences.
Got it.
David S
July 29th, 2010
2:48 pm
Just another reason why government should not perform any service, operate any business, or have control over any industry. Government is nothing but force and monopoly.
Dirty Dawg
July 29th, 2010
3:51 pm
Sorry Kyle. My comment was based on my thinking that the ‘folks’ you were ‘going after’ was Atlanta’s black leadership, not Clear Channel, but I’m not surprised that you would be seen as a ’servile, self-seeking flatterer’ of the Right-wing Scream Machine…after all there’s money to be made with prejudice and bigotry – at least there’s a huge audience for it – particularly here in Georgia.
And ‘booger’, the thing about Haliburton being the only company large enough to handle those big jobs, the question here is as old as the hills, ‘What comes first, the size of the company or the rigged contracts that gave ‘em the money to get that big?’ Of course, the simple fact is, our military was that big and handled much of what a Republican-led Administration turned over to ‘the private sector’ who, in turn, got itself permanently attached to one or more of the US Treasury’s teats and have been sucking it dry ever since – and we all know who was, largely, the ‘attachee’. As for your brother having to pay a ‘bribe’ to his designated ‘minority’ partner. government contracts, at least the Federal ones, have required minority participation – that means a financial stake – from bidders for decades. All Atlanta was doing was extending the practice. I mean, if your brother couldn’t provide a minority partner – doubt if he could call one of his neighbors or co-workers – then they offered to provide him one…sounds like they were bending over backward to give him a shot at the 90% deal he was seeking – seems to me that the minority participation only required a 10% role. Corey had, and has had, minority partners for example.
booger
July 29th, 2010
4:25 pm
Dirty Dawg,
And this is what is better known as bribary. Your comments on Haliburton are hypothetical so not really worth a response.
Dirty Dawg
July 29th, 2010
4:41 pm
Hey ‘booger’…you’re saying that any requirement to include minority partnership as a condition for placing a bid is ‘brib-e-ry’? Seems to me that’s a rather prejudiced viewpoint. Also, nothing ‘hypothetical’ about Haliburton’s growth over the years due to government contracts, or the role that Dick Cheney played making it happen. Plus, I don’t care if you respond or not.
Oh yeah, meant to ask, is your name ‘booger’ supposed to be short for ‘bogeyman’ or are you just a piece of dried nose mucus?
booger
July 29th, 2010
6:00 pm
Dirty,
I’m saying when a list of partners are presented who know nothing about construction, and who really aren’t expected to do anything but take a minimum of 10% of your revenue, it’s bribary. Haliburton’s relative market share in their core businesses remain about the same as they did 10 years ago.
Churchill's MOM
July 30th, 2010
7:55 am
Doesn’t Nathan Deal’s no bid contract and strong arm tactics to keep it remind you of Maynard Jackson and the Atlanta Airport. The common thread between both parties is corruption. Georgia has the choice of electing a HONEST woman or a Corrupt Washington Insider. Get your friends out to vote for a honest woman, Karen Handel.
Dirty Dawg
July 30th, 2010
9:23 am
Booger…in my experience, if you come to the table with your own ‘minority partner’ – and that partner isn’t on the ‘no fly’ or the ‘ten most wanted’ lists or something, and you meet certain other requirements for bidding – by the way, virtually every major company these days – and the government’s had it forever, it seems – has an approved contractor/service provider/printer/ et.al. list that you have to ‘qualify’ for in order to even be in the running. If you’re saying that your brother was given a list of ‘partners’ to choose from and no others would be accepted, that’s not what I have experienced and not what I’ve been told by others that are, and have been, doing business with the airport and City of Atlanta for years.
Interesting that you would say Haliburton’s, ‘relative’, market share ‘in it’s core business’ – please explain just what that core business is, cause it seems that they’re involved in a bit of everything that the government is willing to hire them to do – has remained flat over the past ten years. What’s interesting about it is that in earlier posts you said that they were the only one’s large enough to handle the job(s). Does that mean they were already – under the leadership of Dick (we call him Darth) Cheney – sucking billions out of the Treasury and have simply made more and more? Was their ’share’ already so big that the Government had no choice? Come on now, with the money the US alone has thrown at this ‘privatization/outsourcing thing over those years you could have built a dozen Haliburtons, so somebody must be doing them favors…somebody that’s received boo-coop bucks over the years from Haliburton lobbiests. Don’t try to defend Haliburton – we all know they only have their interests at heart and the customer (us) be damned – ‘electrocutions provided with every shower’ could be their slogan. By the way, have they actually followed through with their announced intent to move their headquarters to Dubai? Probably only have to do that on paper in order to get the ‘tax dodge’, but since you know so much about ‘em, I thought I’d ask.
And, finally, I thought I had given you a enough of a hint as to how you spell ‘bribery’…the fist time perhaps, I assumed it was a typo and/or your spell-check was down, but since you insist on continuing to get it wrong I guess you just know any better.
Michael Steele, Chairman
July 30th, 2010
9:30 am
I’m glad to see Kyle doing the GOP’s work here.
By focusing on the airport run by “those” people, he is keeping everyone’s mind off the poor job that God’s Own Party (GOP) have accomplished here in Georgia for the last 8 years. No progress on transportation, no progress on education, no progress on long-term water planning. See, if a politician makes “progress” someone may call him a “progressive” … can’t have that. Might as well use the “L” world.
So keep up the good work Kyle. Don’t let anyone bring up the enron-style accounting,corruption and incompetence at DOT, don’t focus on how Sonny has made millions on land deals and special tax breaks from the legislature. That would make the sheep, I mean the chosen, stray off the course of gay-bashing and latino-hating. Can’t have that, that’s how elections are won in Georgia.
Oh, and keep blaming the democrats for everything that is wrong in Georgia. Its only been 8 years since they’ve been gone; and keep up the good work by making sure that Obama cannot blame George Bush for the economy or the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Obama has been President for almost two-years, surely, everything is his fault now.
After all, Obama chose to fight those wars, everyone know only an idiot would start a land war in Asia.
Thank your for your support,
Michael Steele, Chairman
Republican National Committee
Horrible Horrace
July 30th, 2010
9:33 am
The City of Atlanta is chock full of incompetent boobs posing as reverends, good guys, caring adults etc. Dont believe a word they udder.
Rename the Airport…Manure Jackson HellHole.
Jan O
July 30th, 2010
9:48 am
Kyle: You are spot on with this one. But will someone answer me why the city is spending soo much money and effort in protecting Clear Channel’s interests? Aren’t they the company bilking taxpayers out of millions?
Big O
July 30th, 2010
4:18 pm
Yea, Yea, Yea….The Airport is an enterprise fund so the award to Corey will be paid from the Airport and not the City. Any review of lost income and any reimbursement will only go to the Airport and not the City. the City only realizes income form licenses and perimts for the Airport all other income is wasted by the Airport for the Airport.
Leonvang
August 3rd, 2010
1:08 pm
Kyle- Nice editorial but verysuperficial. Why no mention about Kassim Reed’s brother (see Lisa Borders campaign statements) -ten years minority contract supervisor for the city. How much money did he raise to get Shirley and Kaseem elected? Why no interview of him for comments and his failure to correct the corruption under his sontrol? Or is the current administration and Shirley Franklin off limits for such in depth analysis? You think between him and Shirley’s family having airport contracts there is no dirt under the rug? when will it end?