Monthly Archives: July 2010

Column: UPS marks 48-year support of Urban League

By Maria Saporta
Friday, July 23, 2010

As a way to mark a 48-year relationship, United Parcel Service Inc. has pledged to give the National Urban League a three-year, $3.3 million gift for the organization’s Centennial Development Campaign.

UPS’ partnership with the Urban League stands out both in its longevity and its breadth.

With the exception of its United Way relationship, “the Continue reading

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John Portman art exhibit opening in China

By Maria Saporta
Friday, July 23, 2010

First Atlanta. Then the world.

That describes the career of John Portman, the Atlanta native who is an internationally renowned architect and developer.

It also describes the exhibit — “John Portman: Art & Architecture” — on display at the High Museum of Art from Oct. 17, 2009, to April 18 this year.
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Southern Co. to promote Thomas Fanning to chairman, president and CEO

By Maria Saporta
Contributing Writer

David M. Ratcliffe, chairman, president and CEO of the Southern Co., announced Tuesday he will retire Dec. 1, and his successor will be Thomas A. Fanning, currently the company’s chief operating officer.

On Aug. 1, Fanning, 53, will become president of Atlanta-based Southern Co. (NYSE: SO), and then he will become the company’s chairman and CEO on Dec. Continue reading

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Death of trees causes grief to Patterson’s funeral home

By Maria Saporta

On Saturday, a majestic tree on the front lawn of the H.M. Patterson & Sons – Spring Hill Chapel funeral home was cut down — causing grief to those who usually are there to console.

“My heart is aching,” said John Gallatin, funeral director and location manager for H.M. Patterson. “It was one of the three original trees that had been planted in 1928.”

After his father died in 1923, Fred Patterson inherited the business and decided “to construct a funeral home on Continue reading

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The recent deaths of friends a reminder we’re losing part of what made Atlanta special

Too many of my contemporaries are dying, years too young.

Debra Halpern Bernes, my high school classmate, passed away last week after fighting cancer for two years. The synagogue was full of family, friends and associates who marveled at how she had been able to keep an infectious upbeat attitude despite her pain.

For those of us who attended Grady High School 40 years ago, it was another one of those unpleasant reunions. After the service, a group of us gathered to outside the Ahavath Achim Synagogue for hugs and even a group photo. Another one of our classmates had left us.

One of the last times we had gathered was in May, 2007 when Continue reading

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Georgia’s water woes a critical issue in current gubernatorial campaign

By Guest Columnist ALLISON KELLY, senior vice president of the Georgia Conservancy.

For decades, Georgia’s environmental community has urged the state’s top elected officials to take water issues seriously.

In the 2009 state legislature, water yet again took a back seat to matters deemed more critical, such as the economy, education and immigration.

All that changed last summer, when federal judge Paul Magnuson ruled that metro Atlanta has no legal authority to draw drinking water from Lake Lanier. It was a shot across the bow that catapulted water from the sidelines to center stage among those now running to replace Sonny Perdue for governor.
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Growing our own produce will grow our own economy

By Maria Saporta

The bottom line for Georgia — grow your own.

A new study by the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development documents how buying Georgia-grown produce contributes to our economy.

If each of the 3.7 million households in Georgia devoted $10 a week to buying produce grown in the state, it would pump $1.9 billion into Georgia’s Continue reading

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Column: Low-profile nonprofit has huge global impact

By Maria Saporta
Friday, July 16, 2010

It is well known that CARE, the Carter Center and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention all are based in Atlanta. But few people are aware that another major global nonprofit — MAP International — has made Atlanta home.

MAP International was founded in 1954 in Chicago, to Continue reading

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Atlanta Press Club and GPB will air run-off debates on July 25, Aug. 6 and Aug. 8

By Maria Saporta

The run-offs are here, and the Atlanta Press Club is ready.

The debate committee met Wednesday to map out a series of nine run-off debates between now and Aug. 8, which is two days before the run-off vote. As a reminder, I chair the APC debate committee.

For those of you who are political junkies and/or believe in being an informed voter, here is our line up.

We will hold four debates this Sunday Continue reading

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Southface adds staff as it grows

By Maria Saporta
Friday, July 16, 2010

Southface, ahead of its time for several decades, now is hitting its stride as the Atlanta region and the nation invest in green buildings that are as energy- efficient as possible.

In the past couple of years, the Southface Energy Institute has seen its budget increase by $1.5 million to $5.5 million, thanks to federal stimulus funds and Continue reading

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