Downtown Atlanta tornado symbolizes and worsens the darkening economic skies
Compiled from InsiderAdvantage and Southern Political Report staff
March 15, 2008 —
The Ides of March came just two hours early in Atlanta, when a tornado thrashed the city’s commercial district Friday night, literally shaking the rafters in the packed Georgia Dome during a basketball game. No one is known dead, but property damage is real in the heart of downtown. The cost of clean-up and rebuilding comes at a time of financial uncertainty for the Atlanta city and Georgia state governments. The city relies heavily on tourists in many of the areas that were hit by the storm, including CNN. Grady Memorial Hospital, already under great financial stress, was also damaged. At least 27 people have been treated for injuries, mostly from flying debris. The eerily timed high winds struck on what was already a darkening Friday for American and world financial markets, which show signs of fraying at the edges. A major US securities company is apparently broke, and is being propped up by the government with dollars that are dropping rapidly in value. The Internet News Agency and the Southern Political Report on Monday will present a full analysis of the potential financial, economic and political repercussions of the Atlanta Twister of ’08.
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