Monthly Archives: April 2010

Water stewardship act a strong first step, more green steps needed

Date: April 25th, 2010, 11:53 pm

By Guest Columnist WILL WINGATE, vice president of advocacy and land conservation for the Georgia Conservancy

As the 2010 Georgia General Assembly draws to a close, one of the success stories of the session is the near unanimous passage of the Senate Bill 370, also known as the “Water Stewardship Act.”

This groundbreaking legislation sets forth a “culture of conservation” when dealing with Georgia’s water resources.

While the conservation measures set forth in the legislation are important, the willingness of the environmental and business communities to sit down and work together towards a common purpose will set Continue reading →

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Column: Liane Levetan’s daughter might cure diabetes

Date: April 23rd, 2010, 6:00 pm

By Maria Saporta
Friday, April 16, 2010

Few mothers are as proud of their daughters as Liane Levetan is of her daughter Claresa “Resa” Levetan.

“It’s a story of a local girl does well,” former DeKalb County CEO Levetan said. “This will change the world.”

Since graduating from Emory University School of Medicine in 1983, Resa has become a leading endocrinologist specializing in the field of diabetes. Continue reading →

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Welcome home Coca-Cola; but come closer for annual meet

Date: April 21st, 2010, 6:38 pm

By Maria Saporta

After years of holding most of its annual meeting in Wilmington, Del., the Coca-Cola Co. has moved its gathering for shareholders to metro Atlanta for the last two year.

It’s wonderful to have the Coca-Cola annual meeting in our town.

After all, the soft drink company’s roots run deep in our city. The secret formula was born here. The drink was first sold in Atlanta. And Coca-Cola has had its operating headquarters in Atlanta from the beginning.

At Wednesday morning’s annual meeting, Coca-Cola Chairman and CEO Muhtar Kent acknowledged the importance of the Continue reading →

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Former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young stays one step ahead of the devil

Date: April 20th, 2010, 9:42 pm

By Maria Saporta
Friday, April 16, 2010

He’s everywhere. Former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young is as busy as he’s been in years.

Just consider a sampling of what he’s been doing this month:

On Wednesday, April 7, he served on a panel discussion at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta with John Hope Bryant, an author who is founder of Operation Hope.
Continue reading →

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Atlanta Hawks make it to the playoffs playing as a team

Date: April 19th, 2010, 6:33 pm

By Maria Saporta

Just in case y’all haven’t noticed, the Atlanta Hawks have a really strong basketball team this year.

And the first playoff game of the season showed just how strong the Atlanta Hawks really are. At the Saturday evening playoff game, the Atlanta Hawks beat the Milwaukee Bucks —102 to 92. In fact, the Hawks led the entire game.

Now I don’t claim to be a sports writer, but I’ve been a longtime fan of the Atlanta Hawks going back at least 30 years.

The beauty of this year’s Atlanta Hawks is the depth of talent and the ability for the players to play as a team. There is Continue reading →

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Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond may run for U.S. Senate against Isakson

Date: , 1:55 am

By Maria Saporta and Dave Williams
Friday, April 16, 2010

Georgia Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond, a Democrat, is said to be strongly considering a run for the U.S. Senate, according to people who are close to him.

That means that Thurmond, who has been elected statewide three times, would be running against incumbent Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., in the November election. So far, no other serious politicians Continue reading →

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Renewable energy is all about jobs, jobs, jobs

Date: , 1:38 am

By Guest Columnist BETH BOND, editor and managing partner of Southeast Green.

There is a vortex of activity revolving around renewable energy here in the state of Georgia. Can you feel it?

These past couple of weeks have been monumental for Atlanta. We had two of the leading minds on carbon and renewable energy in the country, if not the world, speak separately and yet with the same voice several times to local audiences.

Who were they? Dr. Richard Sandor the chairman of the Chicago Climate Exchange; and Jigar Shah the chief executive director of the Carbon War Room, a non-profit started by Sir Richard Branson to help produce solutions for businesses that are interested in reducing Continue reading →

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Georgia is trying hard to be dead last among 50 states in financial support for the arts

Date: , 1:20 am

Update: Georgia Senate Appropriations Committee restored funding for the Georgia Council for the Arts on Tuesday. The budget now has to be approved by the full Senate and by the House-Senate conference committee before going to Gov. Sonny Perdue for his signature.

“Georgia is in a race for the bottom.”

So said a community leader during a panel discussion this past week.

Although the topic of the discussion was not the arts, it might as well have been.

Last week, the Georgia House of Representatives passed a $17.8 billion state budget that would totally eliminate the Georgia Council for the Arts. That would give Georgia the dubious distinction of being the only state in the country without a council for the arts.
Continue reading →

Posted in Maria's Metro | 22 Comments

Democrats need a seat at the table to pass a state transportation funding bill

Date: April 16th, 2010, 11:05 am

By Maria Saporta

As we wind down to the last couple of weeks of the legislative session, it feels like déjà vu, all over again, when it comes to a transportation funding bill.

Once again, despite outward appearances of unity early in the session from Gov. Sonny Perdue, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and House Speaker David Ralston, the various branches of government can’t seem to agree on which way to go.

When it was clear that the governor wasn’t going to get the transportation bill that the he had proposed and that the amended bill was not something he could live with, legislators had to move to a Continue reading →

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Column: Red Carpet Tour always a winner for Georgia

Date: , 10:25 am

By Maria Saporta
Friday, April 9, 2010

Given the world’s focus on this year’s Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta, 25 economic development prospects picked a good year to accept the Georgia Chamber of Commerce’s invite to go on its annual Red Carpet Tour.

The Red Carpet Tour, a 51-year-old tradition, invites prospects to visit Georgia by offering them the carrot of being able to spend two days (Thursday and Saturday) watching the Masters tournament in Augusta. Continue reading →

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