Author: Susan Percy

Georgia’s entertainment industry has come a long way since the days of good-old-boy celebration movies like Smokey and The Bandit. So long, Burt Reynolds. Hello, vampires and zombies.

It’s not hard for legislators to lose touch with the real world of Georgia citizens when everyone coming their way seems to be full of flattery and money.

Paschal’s Restaurant, which Herman Russell revived at a new location, serves good Southern cooking with a generous side of Atlanta history.

This is a real wake-up-and-smell-the-coffee moment, gents. The world is becoming less male-centric and more inclusive.

Budget cuts are a reality in higher education, but we are dealing with people, not just numbers. Here’s hoping the human factor

There is something very nourishing about the observances and ceremonies that enrich and enliven friendships and nudge good intentions into action.

There is a line between spirited political exchange and mindless verbal assaults that must be respected. Trouble is, that blasted line keeps moving.

The notion that there’s always room for one or two more in a classroom is as unrealistic as the idea that budget cuts and increased class sizes won’t affect educational quality.

Transportation was on everyone’s mind as LINK travelers were unabashedly looking ahead to the July 31 statewide referendum.

It’s a little unsettling, knowing that house-hunting strangers are walking through the place, smirking at the pink tile in the bathroom.

The boys’ club at the Capitol has really done it this time. A lot of women are mad. Really mad.

Between planning conferences and evaluation sessions, there often wasn’t much time to actually work.

It’s sad that ignorant people choose to blame their tough circumstances on other ethnic groups. If there is comfort to be taken, it is that ignorance is curable.

Even if you are comfortable with the loss of a civil liberty or two, think how much mandatory testing for welfare applicants would cost the state.

When big banks tried to add big monthly debit card use fees, consumers got the uncomfortable feeling they were being gouged.

Budget cuts and changes to Georgia’s system of public education must not have the effect of discouraging students who want an education.

Hunger is a problem that can be alleviated. There is no food shortage in our country or our state. Individuals can do something.

Time to back away from a long, hot, cranky summer and embrace cool breezes, autumn leaves, SEC football and maybe even a little civility.

Everybody was ready for a good success story when Atlanta Public Schools started rolling out impressive statistics over the last few years – much-improved test scores, higher graduation rates.   It was a regular feel-good fest. Children rising to their…

Nancy Drew, this is all your fault. You with your snappy little blue roadster and your loyal sidekicks and your convenient and undemanding boyfriend and your perfect life. And, of course, that teenage sleuthing savvy that guaranteed you could solve…

If you had a dollar for every time you’ve heard the phrase “creating jobs,” you’d probably have enough cash to start your own company, employ a few people and make a dent in Georgia’s troublingly high unemployment rate. Everything from…

The first clue, which I missed completely, came when the moderator of a media panel for a local leadership group assured participating journalists that the audience would go easy on us. It seems a few of the folks had some…

So State Rep. Bobby Franklin from Marietta introduced yet another version this year of his annual attempt to criminalize abortion. What else is new? Well, HB 1 would not only prohibit abortion, but would require any woman who suffers a…

I read Charlayne Hunter-Gault’s wise and generous speech sitting home alone at my computer, snowbound, rather than hearing it in Athens. But her words were powerful enough to transcend the mundane setting in which I absorbed them. I had tears…

Psssst. Listen up, Georgia lawmakers and budget experts. Here’s a hot investment tip for you. Two words: Higher education. That’s where you need to put your money – and mine and other taxpayers’. I understand that it’s a tough budget…

Remember the drill sergeant-inspired grade-school teacher who would come charging into an unruly classroom and punish everybody? She – more often she than he in my experience – didn’t have time to sort out the instigators from the unwilling participants…

It’s hard to say why one story out of all the hundreds we read about or hear about reaches out and grabs us. But the story of the young man, the student at Rutgers, who killed himself after two classmates…

Even though we know better, I suspect a lot of us are secretly hoping to wake up one morning and learn that the recession is not just “officially” over but that everything is back to normal. Our houses have re-appreciated…

So has anybody in Atlanta or DeKalb checked on the children lately? You know, those young people that public school districts and their board members and administrators exist to serve, educate and nurture? The ones who populate the classrooms and…