Monthly Archives: April 2009

What a welcome change.

The new secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development is in Atlanta, participating in the 2009 Urban Land Institute Spring Council Forum.
What a welcome change.

The new secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development is in Atlanta, participating in the 2009 Urban Land Institute Spring Council Forum.

Shaun Donovan, President Barack Obama’s pick for HUD secretary, spoke to the congregation of planners, developers, builders and others interested in the future of cities.

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Bringing the annual Coca-Cola Co. shareholders meeting back to Atlanta (after more than a decade) is symbiotic of the company’s vision for growth.

Let me explain. Most years, Coca-Cola holds its annual meeting in Wilmington, Delaware where about 250 to 300 people usually attend.

The meeting held Wednesday in Atlanta (actually Gwinnett Center) attracted 550, partly because this is Coca-Cola’s hometown with the largest concentration of employees and shareowners.

But metro Atlanta also is a much larger Continue reading →

Note to readers: It’s been a busy day, and several posts will follow. This item had to be cut from my next Atlanta Business Chronicle column, but I thought y’all might enjoy reading it.

Atlanta was the site of M&A International’s spring conference, bringing dozens of merger and acquisition specialists from around the world to the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead on April 16.

The event — Growing Opportunities in a Shrinking World — was co-sponsored by the Atlanta Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth.
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Southern Co. CEO David Ratcliffe is on his way to Washington D.C. to represent the power company’s point of view on the proposed Waxman-Markey bill on energy and climate change.

Starting today, there will be four days of hearings on the draft 648-page bill. The bill is far-reaching and would begin to frame a program on a mandatory cap on greenhouse gas emissions.

In the past, Ratcliffe has voiced his opposition to the establishment of carbon fees as a way to reduce emissions. Continue reading →

It seemed as though Gwen Ifill was in a room full of friends.

Speaking at an Atlanta Press Club luncheon today, the moderator and managing editor of “Washington Week” and a senior correspondent for “the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer,” actually was among colleagues and friends.

A couple of interesting comments from her luncheon talk at the Commerce Club downtown….

Whe was asked why President Barack Obama, whose father was African-American and whose mother was white, was considered black rather Continue reading →

What a joy it is to have the Atlanta Dogwood Festival back in its rightful home — Piedmont Park.

And we need the city of Atlanta to do everything it can to protect and nurture the festival for years and years to come.

The Atlanta Dogwood Festival helps mark the coming of spring — an annual ritual that breathes life back in the city and kicks off our festival season — Inman Park Festival, the Atlanta Jazz Festival, the Virginia-Highlands Festival, the National Black Arts Festival, and of course, the Peachtree Road Race.
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It was a moment when eyebrows went up.

At Wednesday’s annual luncheon meeting of the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin took the podium as the last time in her current role.

“I want to congratulate you for hanging tough in tough in tough times,” Franklin told the hospitality community.

And when she acknowledged the presence of Continue reading →

Atlanta business leaders had a brainstorming meeting this morning on a strategy to get more accountable state elected officials.

The executive committee of the Metro Atlanta Chamber spent its enire monthly meeting talking about the breakdown during this year’s legislative session and how to prevent that from happening again.

For Sam Williams, president of the Metro Atlanta Chamber, the meeting demonstrated the level of frustration that exists in the business community. Continue reading →