Monthly Archives: July 2010

Atlanta Press Club debates show who’s in the running and who are the no-shows

Date: July 19th, 2010, 2:06 pm

By Maria Saporta

Twenty-two debates later.

One of the many hats I wear is chair of the Atlanta Press Club debate committee, a position I’ve held for so long (about 18 years) that I’ve kind of lost track of time.

The Atlanta Press Club partnership with Georgia Public Broadcasting goes back to the days when the studio was on Stewart Avenue (yes, before Stewart Avenue became Metropolitan Parkway).

The relationship and partnership has grown over the years, and now I’m Continue reading →

Posted in Latest Reports | 9 Comments

Metro Atlanta transportation sales tax campaign needs to focus on transit projects

Date: , 2:37 am

At this past week’s Regional Transit Committee meeting, the Atlanta Regional Commission’s David Emory made an interesting presentation.

A total of eight light rail projects are included in the Concept 3 plan. They would cost about $8 billion to build, and they would have an annual operating cost of $200 million.

Coincidentally, if metro Atlanta voters pass a regional sales tax for transportation, it would raise about $8 billion over 10 years.

I couldn’t help myself. I began to think about how wonderful it would be if the Atlanta region would spend most, if not all, of the new sales tax revenue on transit projects.

The eight light rail projects in the Concept 3 Plan actually would
Continue reading →

Posted in Maria's Metro | 27 Comments

Federal investment in Atlanta communities has made a difference

Date: July 18th, 2010, 9:48 pm

By Guest Columnist CLARA HAYLEY AXAM, former director of the Atlanta Office Enterprise Community Partners who currently is president of Clarification & Mediation Inc., a management consulting firm.

There is a well-quoted adage that implies that if something is free, it is probably not worth having. Whether you believe there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow that is yours for the taking or in working hard, spending judiciously and saving for a rainy day, dreams of pots of someone else’s money to fix all of our woes are just that – dreams.

In 2002 Atlanta was designated as a federal Renewal Community (RC) in accordance with the 2000 Community Renewal Tax Relief Act targeting revitalization in designated census tracts with pervasive Continue reading →

Posted in Guest Columns | 1 Comment

Column: Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta campaign raises $15.35 million

Date: July 15th, 2010, 11:14 am

By Maria Saporta
Friday, July 9, 2010

The Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta considers its 2010 campaign a victory.

The organization raised $15.35 million in its campaign that began last fall and ended June 30 — a decrease of less than 2 percent from the previous year.

The funds raised by the Jewish Federation are Continue reading →

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Governor’s race on GOP side changing daily, pundits say

Date: , 11:08 am

By Maria Saporta

Political pundits in Georgia agree — John Oxendine, GOP gubernatorial candidate and current insurance commissioner, should not star in his own television commercials.

Oxendine, who has been the front-runner in the highly-contested GOP race for governor, has seen his numbers slip in recent polls, and some are even saying that he may not even make the run-off.

But political pundits (their label) acknowledged, in a panel discussion Wednesday evening at the law offices of McKenna Long & Aldridge, that the race is in a state of flux and that the polling Continue reading →

Posted in Latest Reports | 8 Comments

Hartsfield-Jackson attracts new cargo service; economic impact increases at airport

Date: July 13th, 2010, 1:46 pm

By Maria Saporta

Another international cargo carrier will begin serving Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Asiana Airlines plans to operate a Boeing 747-400 freighter with four flights a week to Seoul, South Korea beginning Sept. 13. Asiana will be the 14th all-cargo carrier to operate out of the Atlanta airport, reflecting the growth of air freight out of Hartsfield-Jackson.

“We are noticing a steady increase in year over year cargo volume,” Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said Tuesday morning at a press conference at the airport. Continue reading →

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Atlanta-based Primerica celebrates its new independence

Date: , 1:11 pm

By Maria Saporta
Friday, July 9, 2010

Never has Primerica Inc.’s slogan — Freedom Lives Here — been more true for the Duluth, Ga.-based company that sells term life insurance and other financial services through its sales force of 100,000 people.

On April 1, Primerica struck out on its own in what has been called the most successful initial public offering in Continue reading →

Posted in ABC Articles | 1 Comment

Committee for a Better Atlanta ranks candidates for Fulton County Commission

Date: July 12th, 2010, 5:35 pm

By Maria Saporta

The Committee for a Better Atlanta has weighed in on the candidates running for the Fulton County Commission, and most of the ones interviewed received scores of either well qualified or excellent.

Four of the 12 candidates running for the Fulton County Commission, however, did not participate in the questionnaires or interviews done by the Committee for a Better Atlanta, which includes executives from local companies and business organizations.

The CBA Voter Guide actually gives each candidate a score based on their
Continue reading →

Posted in Latest Reports | 2 Comments

Building community bit by bit along the Atlanta Beltline

Date: , 4:31 pm

By Guest Columnist ANGEL LUIS POVENTUD, a renegade community activist and believer in Atlanta.

Community. I’ve always had it. I was born in 1971 in a Miami neighborhood where my aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents all lived just three blocks apart, and my elementary school was just down the street. My parents are Puerto Rican who grew up in New York City.

My mom worked as an executive secretary, and my dad worked as a printer for Eastern Airlines, so we were able to travel the world until about the time I turned 15.

After I graduated from high school, I tried going to college for architecture and toyed with the idea of becoming a city planner. But then I left school to go Continue reading →

Posted in Guest Columns | 4 Comments

Through letters, Erwin Zaban is present at his own funeral

Date: July 8th, 2010, 11:17 pm

By Maria Saporta

It almost felt as though Erwin Zaban was speaking at his own funeral.

The service for the legendary Atlanta businessman and philanthropist Wednesday afternoon at the Temple had an unusual twist.

The two rabbis who officiated during the service —Alvin Sugarman, rabbi emeritus; and Peter Berg, the senior rabbi — actually read from several letters that Zaban had written to his family and friends about his thoughts of life and love as well as his wishes for his own funeral.

Of course, with his customary sense Continue reading →

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