ATLANTA -- With Georgia's unemployment rate remaining in double digits, 11Alive journalists are busy digging into three programs that promised to create jobs.

One of them is the federal stimulus program.

According to the state's Stimulus Accountability website, the federal government has granted Georgia approximately $3.2 billion in stimulus funds. Georgia's unemployment rate was around 8.8 percent just prior to the start of the stimulus program. Two years later, unemployment has risen to the current rate of 10.1 percent.

Where are the stimulus jobs?

In Paulding County, the stimulus program is getting mixed reviews.

Paulding County has received approximately $46 million in federal stimulus funds. The unemployment rate there was 6 percent in 2008 before the stimulus program. Unemployment in Paulding has risen to its current rate of 10.6 percent.

Personally having the opportunity to walk inside several upgraded and renovated Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) homes in the City of Atlanta, one thing is clear to me.  The properties are phenomenal.  Everything inside is new (if it’s not, it certainly is in great condition).  Fresh paint.  Stainless steel appliances. Hardwood floors (in some units) or new carpets.  Fenced-in back yards and/or covered front porches.  These are just a few of the upgrades attracting buyers to the City.  But renters have a great selection of upgraded units too.  Some have granite counters and other amenities I just mentioned.  NSP properties are a great choice for singles, families and college grads who want to live in the City.  If you are in the market to buy and you want to live in the City, I would not pass up the opportunities NSP offers you.   

ATLANTA -- It may be to the state Capitol what Area 51 is to the Nevada desert -- a place shrouded in mystery, with red letters warning against entry, and black curtains blocking the glass.

It's next to the reapportionment committee office. It's the room where the maps are made.

"They've got computers in there, a lot of equipment and stuff," said Rep. Roger Lane, chairman of the House Reapportionment Committee. Lane couldn't explain why the windows were blacked out, though. "I didn't do it. I don't know."

The maps are the legislative boundaries, redrawn during a special session of the legislature based on 2010 census data. The process, behind the glass, is touted by Republicans as "transparent."

"It's been the most transparency I've seen in the system in twenty years," said Sen. Don Balfour, Republican chairman of the Rules Committee.