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 a hill, overlooking trees in honor of his father and in tribute to his English-born mother,” according to the funeral home’s website.

The website also states that the building was designed by famous Atlanta architect Philip Shutze who wanted it to resemble an old English manor house. By 1929, three oak trees had been planted on the front lawn.

Gallatin said he doesn’t know what happened to the first of three willow oaks that adorned the property. The second went down in a storm about five years ago.

An arborist came out to trim the limbs of the last remaining oak, and Gallatin was told that it had a root fungus and that it needed to come down.

“I called in three different arborists, and they all said the same thing,” Gallatin said, adding that he went through the various stages of grieving, including denial and then acceptance. “They are like people.”

Finally, the tree was cut down this past weekend.

“I’ve been in mourning ever since,” Gallatin said, adding that two other trees that were dead in the back yard of the home also were cut down.

Marcia Bansley, founder and executive director of Trees Atlanta, said Patterson’s had received approval from the city’s head arborist, Ainsley Caldwell, to remove the three trees because they were hazardous. In that situation, there is no requirement to replace the trees.

“Even though they had permission to remove the trees, the loss of their beauty makes me sick and takes a lot of the charm away from the building,” Bansley said. “I hope they will replace the very large oak and another one this winter when it is the correct time to replant. The beautiful trees brought a lot of comfort to those whose relatives had funerals at Patterson’s. The building and the trees were an icon for Atlanta citizens, and replanting the trees will help to restore the special charm of the place.”

Gallatin said that a landscaper has been hired to look at what should be done with the land.

“We are going to replant a tree,” he said. “I just don’t know when or where.”

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 economy.

Alice Rolls, executive director of Georgia Organics, said in a statement that the findings of the study are “some of the strongest demonstrations so far of what a small change in consumer behavior could mean for farmers and for the entire state.

Rolls also said that she hopes the study will motivate state leaders to encourage “every day foods for our Southern diets growing in the fields of Georgia.”

Although agribusiness is an important part of Georgia’s economy, Georgians eat less than the national average of locally-grown food. Currently, direct farmer to consumer sales contribute 132 jobs, $4.5 million labor income and $14.4 million in sales.

The study determined that if Georgia produce farmers increased direct farm-to-consumer produce sales to the national average, it would have an overall statewide contribution of 228 jobs, $8.1 million in labor income and $25.8 million in sales.

For example, the average Georgia eats about 30 pounds of fresh lettuce per year, or about 285 million pounds statewide. But the state only grows about 245,000 pounders a year, less than one-tenth of 1 percent of the amount of lettuce that Georgians consume

There are other major gaps in what Georgians eat and what Georgia grows — apples, bell peppers, broccoli, carrots, pecans, tomatoes and watermelon.

According to the 2007 Agricultural Census, Georgia direct sales accounted for .18 percent of their total sales. By comparison, Rhode Island sold 9..5 percent of its agricultural products directly to consumers and Massachusetts sold 8.5 million through direct sales.

Kent Wolf, an agricultural economist who authored the UGA study, said farmers get to keep a larger percentage of their sales when they sell directly to stores, restaurants and consumers.

“Looking at the quantity of foods directly marketed in Georgia,” Wolfe said in statement, “there is a tremendous opportunity there.”

Click here to read the entire study.

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 evening between 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., and they will be aired live statewide on Georgia Public Broadcasting, our television/radio partner for the better part of two decades.

The four debates this Sunday will be for the U.S. Congress. We will start with the Republican run-off for the 13th Congressional District (the seat now held by Rep. David Scott (D-Georgia).

Both candidates in that race — Mike Crane and Deborah Honeycutt — have confirmed their presence.

The next race is the Republican contest for the 12th Congressional District — the seat currently held by U.S. Rep. John Barrow (D-Georgia). candidate Carl Smith has confirmed his attendance, but his opponent Ray McKinney is saying he has a conflict. We’re still hoping he’ll find a way to come. If not, he will be represented by an empty podium.

At 7 p.m. Sunday evening, we’ll hold the debate for the Republican race in the 7th Congressional District. That race is to fill the seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. John Linder.

Both candidates in that run-off — Rob Woodall and Jody Hice — have confirmed they’re coming.

Then at 7:30 p.m., we’ll hold the debate for the Republican candidates in the 9th Congressional District, the seat that had been held by Congressman Nathan Deal, who resigned to run for governor. Tom Graves, who has been elected to serve in that post until November, is in a run-off with Lee Hawkins.

We’ll then take off a weekend and return with debates on Friday, Aug. 6. and Sunday, Aug. 8.

The one run-off that we are taping as web-only debate that Friday is the one for Republicans running for the Public Service Commission’s District 2. That’s a run-off between John Douglas and Tim Echols. We do hope that the blogosphere will help us make sure the public get an opportunity to see those two candidates who want a say on our state’s energy policies and rates.

Then at 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 6, we will hold two live debates broadcast statewide on GPB. The first race will be for the Democratic contest for Secretary of State between Gail Buckner and Georganna Sinkfield.

At 7:30, we will hold the Republican run-off for Insurance Commissioner between Ralph Hudgens and Maria Sheffield.

Sunday, Aug. 8 will be our big night of the run-off series.

We will start out with a debate between the two Republicans still in the race for governor — Karen Handel and Nathan Deal. Both of those candidates already have confirmed their presence.

We will end our run-off debates with the Republican Attorney General race. Sam Olens and Preston Smith are facing each other in that run-off.

So as you can tell, we’ve been busy. We hope you’ll take the time to watch. And in case you missed our 22 primary debates, you can view them online by going to the www.atlantapressclub.org website.

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 proud to see that the Atlanta Press Club/GPB political debates have emerged as the pre-eminent ones in our state.

That point hit home for me last night when we hosted the two key primary debates — one for the Democratic race for governor and the other the Republican race for governor.

But what makes our series stand out is that we put on debates of races that most other organizations ignore — the State School Superintendent, Attorney General, Secretary of State, Insurance Commissioner, Public Service Commission as well as numerous contested congressional races.

For this primary debate season, we ended up putting on 22 political debates that showed the broad array of opinions and positions among those seeking to represent us.

And while it always feels really good to wrap up such a debate series, I couldn’t help feeling disappointed that several key candidates decided to not participate in our forums. Just to be clear, the thoughts I’m sharing with you are mine, and I’m not speaking for the APC debate committee.

The most egregious one was in the Republican debate for governor. Front-runner Karen Handel decided not to attend after she had pledged not to appear on any panel that included opponent Ray McBerry, who had been accused of (but not convicted of) an inappropriate relationship with a teenager.

By making such a pledge, Handel denied Georgia voters the opportunity of seeing how she can handle (excuse the wording) tough questions from journalists as well as her opponents in a live, televised setting.

Her absence certainly did not go unnoticed. Former front-runner John Oxendine, who serves as the state’s Insurance Commissioner, used his one question to ask former U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal: “Why do you think Karen Handel is unfit to be the next governor of the State of Georgia?”

To that, Deal questioned Handel’s conservative beliefs and then went on to say: “It’s important also for us to nominate somebody who will actually show up to televised debates such as this.”

I couldn’t agree more.

During our primary series, we had three incumbent congressmen choose to not show up to our debates: U.S. Rep. John Barrow (D- 12th Congressional District), U.S. Rep. David Scott (D-13th Congressional District), and U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson (D-4th Congressional District).

(In all fairness, all three of those congressmen and Handel have participated in our debates in other races).

This follows the disappointing decision two years ago when U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-5th Congressional District) chose not to participate in a debate when he faced two challengers.

Our policy is that when we decide to hold a debate, we invite every one on the ballot. If someone chooses to decline our invitation, then that person is represented by an empty podium. We also give candidates who do appear the opportunity to ask questions of the empty podium.

In an era where information and communication have become so fractured, our televised debates are one of the few opportunities where every one in Georgia has the ability to assess those seeking to represent us.

In order to work, our democratic society needs voters to be informed on their choices of people running for public office. The operative word here is “public” as in public servants.

When candidates make a politically-calculated choice to not appear at debates, they can only be called “politicians” rather than “public servants.”

It’s a matter of principle. If someone is running for public office, the first rule should be to face the public, the press as well as one’s opponents. It may not always be pleasant, but it’s one of the few opportunities that voters have to see how candidates think on their feet.

The good news is that there will be more opportunities for candidates to participate in our debates.

On Wednesday afternoon, the APC debate committee will meet to begin planning our run-off debates, which will begin on Sunday, July 25 with others on Friday, Aug. 6 and Sunday, Aug. 8.

We hope all the candidates will participate, and we hope you’ll tune in.

You can view all our primary debates on the www.atlantapressclub.org website.

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 numbers are likely to keep changing before Tuesday’s primary election.

“Every one is polling,” said Matt Towery, publisher of InsiderAdvantage, a polling and research firm. “It will be different Sunday night that it is today. It will change.”

But Towery asked the other panelists their predictions, and the three felt that there would be a run-off between Oxendine and former Secretary of State Karen Handel.

“It’s been many, many years where we’ve seen such a competitive race,” said Tom Houck, a long time commentator who has his own public affairs and media company.

Dick Williams, a political journalist and observer for decades, also believed that Oxendine and Handel would be in a run-off. But he added that “John Oxendine is dropping like a stone,” largely because he spoke on his own commercials.

Finally, Tom Baxter, editor of the Southern Political Report, agreed: “The ad really was that bad.” But he still felt Oxendine would be in a run-off.

Only Towery disagreed with that consensus. “I would be shocked if Oxendine is in the run-off,” Towery said. “Those were the worst commercials ever.”

The pundits believed that Handel had the strongest base of support — the northern part of metro Atlanta, followed former U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal’s base in Northeast Georgia. Oxendine, who is from Gwinnett County, does not seem to have a particularly strong base in his home county. But he is seen as having the greatest statewide name recognition by having won his post three times, Baxter said.

Two new polls were released Thursday — a Rasmussen poll saying that Handel and Deal were tied with 25 percent of the vote and Oxendine was in third place with 20 percent; and a Georgia Newspaper Partnership poll that showed Oxendine with 31 percent of the vote, Handel with 23 percent and Deal with 18 percent.

On the Democratic side, the pundits all agreed that former Gov. Roy Barnes would win without a run-off. Most polls show him with well over 50 percent of the vote.

Theoretically, a run-off should be unavoidable in the Democratic side given that a majority of voters are African-Americans, and that Attorney General Thurbert Baker (who is polling second) could be expected to receive a majority of those votes, Williams said. But that theory is not playing out in the governor’s race.

“Barnes is running a terrific campaign,” Williams said.

So where would that leave the general election.

“Handel likely will be the nominee,” Towery said, which would lead to a Barnes versus Handel match in November.

Using a phrase from former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Towery talked about a “malaise” that exists in the state because of little progress in transportation, water and education issues. Barnes already is running a general election campaign by saying that the Republicans are corrupt and inept and have taken a crazy pill, Towery said.

“Barnes is running the best campaign for governor; he’s the best equipped to be governor from day one; he’s a brilliant man, accomplished in both business and politics,” Towery said. “Everything is going for him except the dead weight of the national Democratic party.”

President Barack Obama’s approval rating in Georgia had dropped from 47 percent in November, 2008 election to 35 percent today, Towery added.

Williams, however, said that might be offset by the fact that “there are a lot of Republican businessmen supporting Roy Barnes.

“He’ll have a ton of money,” Houck said.

But if Barnes wins in November, he challenges will have just begun. He’ll be dealing with a difficult state budget and a Republican-led General Assembly.

Plus, Williams said that Barnes’ campaign proposals are estimated to have a $2 billion price-tag, and it will be tough to get any new initiatives through given the state’s budget and a majority Republican legislature.

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. Reed said that Hartsfield-Jackson already is the dominant passenger airport in North America and the world, but that its stature in cargo is on the upswing.

For example, the new Asiana service is expected to create up to 25 jobs and produce an annual economic impact of $24 million regionally.

It was fitting that the Asiana announcement came at the same time that the city releasing its 2009 economic impact study of the airport.

Despite the national recession, the economic impact of Hartsfield-Jackson increased from $23.5 billion in 2005 to $32.6 billion in 2009 — an increase of nearly 40 percent — according to the study.

Direct airport-related employment also enjoyed a slight increase — from 56,500 in 2005 to about 58,000 in 2009.

Robert Kennedy, the interim aviation general manager, said in 2000, the airport’s direct employment was about 44,000. That was before the 9/11 disaster, which put the aviation industry in a tailspin.

“We have probably seen some of the darkest days (in the aviation industry),” Kennedy said at the press conference. “Over the last 25 years, as we’ve had downturns in the industry, Atlanta does not dive as deep as other airports.”

One of the reasons, Kennedy said, is that Hartsfield-Jackson continues to have some of the lowest landing fees in the nation, which makes it an attractive hub for airlines.

Still, the airport is in a state of flux. Ben DeCosta, who served as general manager for more than a decade, retired about two weeks ago.

When asked about the status of the search for a new general manager, Reed said: “I really don’t know, which is probably a good thing.”

Then he said that he’ll be meeting with Carol Tomé, CFO of Home Depot who is chairing the search, and her committee in the next 15 days.

“I’m pushing very hard to get this done sooner rather than later,” Reed said. “Carol asked for 60 days, and I asked for 30.”

But Reed acknowledged that 30 days was probably too optimistic. Asked if there would be a new general manager by September or October, Reed said: “No question about it.”

Reed also added that in the meantime “I have a very high comfort level with Robert (the interim commissioner). I have a strong desire to get this done so people can stop asking me about it.”

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 understanding of the issues and their qualifications.

One of the big issues facing Fulton County is the “municipalization” of much of the unincorporated area of the county. In the past four years, the cities of Sandy Springs, Johns Creek, Milton and Chattahoochee Hills have all become incorporated, which has meant a significant shift in Fulton County’s revenues and operations.

Several candidates also talked about the possibility that North Fulton would break off from Fulton County and become Milton County. Other issues for this election include county’s ability to meet infrastructure needs, especially transit.

Jeff Wansley, vice president of government affairs for Equifax and the 2010 chair of CBA, said that Fulton County citizens “should be pleased that we have a strong slate of candidates this year vying for posts in county government.”

According to CBA’s scoring, a grad of 88 or higher is considered to be “excellent;” a grade of 79 to 87 is considered to be well qualified; a grade of 70 to 78 is thought to be “average;” while a grade of less than 70 is defined as “not qualified.”

Following are the scores for each candidate:

For District 1 (the chair of the commission), Republican Steve Broadbent received a score of 86 (well qualified) and Democrat incumbent John Eaves had a score of 93 (excellent).

Former Atlanta City Councilwoman Mary Norwood, who is seeking to run as an independent in this race, was not included in the interview process.

For District 2, both candidates were ranked as excellent — Republican Lori Henry, 88, and Democrat Robb Pitts, 90.

In District 3, Republican Liz Huasmann got a grad of 85 (well qualified).

Neither incumbents in Districts 4, 5 or 7 participated in the CBA process, so none of them received any score.

But in District 6 — an open seat — four people, all Democrats, are running: Joan Garner with a score of 85, which is considered well qualified; Sally Smith got an average score of 70 and Keisha Waites also received an average score of 78.

The entire voter guide, including candidates’ scores and questionnaires, is available on CBA’s web site: www.betteratlanta.org. CBA encourages local companies to distribute its results to its employees and various constituencies.

The CBA includes the following members:

100 Black Men of Atlanta

AGL Resources, Inc.

Americas Mart

Atlanta & Georgia Apartment Association

Atlanta Board of Realtors

Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors

Atlanta Business League

Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau

Atlanta Hotel Council

Atlanta Restaurant Council

Atlanta Licensed Beverage Council

Atlanta Urban League

AT&T

Bank of America

Buckhead Business Association

Buckhead Coalition

Building Owners & Managers Association

Business Wise Incorporated

Central Atlanta Progress

Council for Quality Growth

Georgia Beverage Association

Delta Air Lines

Equifax

GE Energy

Georgia-Pacific Corp.

Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association

Metro Atlanta Chamber

SunTrust Corp.

Turner Broadcasting System

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 of humor, Zaban said that if his wishes weren’t followed, “I won’t be here to scold you.”

Rabbi Sugarman read Zaban’s letter. “I want my death to be as easy as possible for you.” Then Zaban listed several instructions: “By a simple and inexpensive coffin. I won’t know the difference, and neither will you.”

Zaban requested that the service be held at the Temple and that Sugarman be the only speaker (okay, they didn’t quite fulfill that request, but the only two speakers were Sugarman and Berg).

“It should not be a short service, but a very short service,” Zaban continued, then said it should be a simple one questioning “those who are willing to waste the time” to attend.

Zaban also wrote letters to his wife, Judy; his daughters — Carol Cooper; Laura Dinerman and Sara Franco; as well as to his grand-children and great-grand-children.

In a letter to his grand-children and great-grand-children, Zaban wrote: “Don’t let money be your only goal in life. Caring and sharing is most rewarding.” He also asked them to continue the family traditions and to honor their Jewish faith.

To his wife Judy, Zaban wrote two letters — one in 1983 and one in 1996 — anticipating his passing.

In the letters, he wrote: “Do not mourn my death over any extended period of time. You are a beautiful person. Make a new life for yourself…. Live your remaining years to the fullest. You my love deserve the very best. Even in death I will always be devotedly Erwin.”

To his daughters, he wrote a letter dated 1990: “The material things that you will inherit from me have no permanence…. An important part of your lives must be service to others, to those less fortunate…. Unlike me, never seek perfection in everything.”

Then he went on to write: “I was an ordinary man, one of ordinary hopes and ordinary dreams, and yes, new ordinary fears. Now like others before me, I have found my resting place.”

For the past couple of decades, Zaban had several close calls with death through various illnesses, and it’s not surprising that he often contemplated his passing.

But sitting in the balcony at the Temple Wednesday looking at the coffin (hopefully it wasn’t too expensive) and hearing the rabbis read his letters, I couldn’t help but feel that Zaban was still there — having figured out how to use words to travel in time and live beyond his death.

In closing, Sugarman recited his own letter back to Zaban.

“How dare you call yourself ordinary,” Sugarman said through his tears. “ You were extraordinary to the full degree.”

Another Erwin Zaban tribute:

Stephen Berman, who owns his own accounting firm, wrote the following eulogy. His office gave me permission to run excerpts on SaportaReport. Unfortunately, Steve and his wife, Candy, were unable to attend Zaban’s service because they were out of town, returning to Atlanta one day too late.

Erwin Zaban

Although I mention his last name now, Erwin Zaban did not have a last name. People would often call me and say, “Have you talked to Erwin recently? Is Erwin in town? How does he feel?” In fact, I have been accused of knowing more about Erwin and his whereabouts than Judy and his family.

And that was the special relationship that we shared. I was privileged and blessed to be allowed into his inner circle of business associates and friends. Not a native Atlantan, having no family here, and only five years removed from graduate school, I was taken under his wings in 1977. To be precise, July of 1977.

It is no coincidence that Erwin’s birthday and that of my father fell on the same day, And, Erwin was a true father to me. He taught me “community” and what it means to “give back.” He allowed me to join his buddies, whose names grace many institutions and programs in Atlanta today. He inspired me and even scolded me…and, best of all, he began to do the same for my son. He taught me the value of family. Judy and his daughters Carol, Laura, and Sara, their respective spouses and children serve as role models for our children and for many in this community.

When we opened the new William Breman Jewish Home in 1999, I compared Erwin Zaban to Robert Woodruff. Whereas Robert Woodruff was the architect of 20th century Atlanta, Erwin was the architect of the 20th century Atlanta Jewish community. Nothing got done without his blessing, insight, and business acumen.

We are all time bound. I believe that being a good spouse, a parent, a child, business person, or professional is a given. It is how we spend the remaining time that really counts or as Kafka wrote: “The meaning of life is that it ends.” We can choose to be givers, or we can choose to be takers. And although the leaders of Erwin’s generation and of the 20th century are almost all gone now, I am personally most thankful for the one lesson that Erwin taught me so well . . . it is much better to be a giver than a taker. I can only honor his memory by choosing to be a giver because I cannot bear the thought of spending precious time just taking up space.

Erwin, your job is done now. I am forever grateful for the lessons you taught me. You will be forever missed.

Amen.

By Maria Saporta

It’s the end of era.

I just found out this afternoon that Erwin Zaban, a pillar in the Atlanta business community, has passed away.

The service for Zaban will be at the Temple on Wednesday, July 7 at 2:30 p.m.

How does one begin to explain what an important and enduring role Zaban played in both the Atlanta business community and the Jewish community.

Zaban was instrumental in building one of Atlanta’s iconic public companies — National Service Industries — which at one time including Zep Inc., Selig Chemicals, National Linen Service, Lithonia Lighting, Atlantic Envelope Co., as well as a host of others.

NSI’s corporate board was like no other. Zaban took great pride in having directors who were top executives at major Atlanta and Southeastern companies — Delta Air Lines, Home Depot, Coca-Cola, Wachovia, H.J. Russell & Co.

In the center of it all was Zaban, a frail-looking man who had more stamina and strength than many half his age.

Zaban, who was one month shy of his 89th birthday when he passed away this week, began working for Zep when he was only 24 years old. He spent 58 years with the company, before retiring for a second time in 1994.

The conglomerate, which was traded on the New York Stock Exchange, grew by acquiring family-owned companies in various service industries.

After Zaban retired, the company had various executives, and NSI was dismantled piece by piece. It was a situation that pained Zaban greatly — to see an entity that he had built get carved into pieces.

But instead of focusing on the trials and tribulations of NSI, Zaban put his energy in philanthropic endeavors — primarily in the Jewish community.

He and his family have been a major benefactors to the Marcus Jewish Community Center at Zaban Park and the Jewish Home in Buckhead where there stands the Zaban Tower.

“It has really been more rewarding to me than business — not monetarily but mentally,” Zaban told me in an interview back in 2001. “It did get my mind off of NSI to a certain extent.”

The Marcus Jewish Community Center in Dunwoody also benefitted greatly by Zaban’s largess. He bought the first 50 acres for the property for a Jewish day camp nearly 40 years ago in memory of his parents. About 20 years ago, he bought another five acres so the Jewish Community Center could move from Peachtree Street to what had become Zaban Park.

Another amazing angle to Zaban was how he seemed to defy death time and time again.

Twenty-plus years ago, Zaban survived four operations to treat melanoma cancer. He then had recurrence of cancer in 2001, and Zaban told me he had almost died when he had a negative reaction to chemotherapy.

For Atlanta, one of Zaban’s greatest contributions was his role as a wise leader and mentor for others.

Robert Arogeti, chairman of the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, said Zaban was one of the last of Atlanta’s elder statesmen in the Jewish community — a link to a time when a few influential leaders held sway on the key issues in our region.

At the end of our lengthy interview nine years ago, Zaban talked about his future in this way: “If I live and don’t go broke, there’s a lot more I’ve got to do.”

Atlanta will miss Erwin Zaban for decades to come.

By Maria Saporta

When Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed made the official announcement Thursday of the Midtown Festival of the Arts, it appeared that a significant shift was underway.

All indications at the press conference showed that the City of Atlanta is welcoming an arts festival rather than putting up obstacles to prevent it from happening.

Reed told organizers of the Midtown Festival that he was pleased to lend his support and encouragement to the community-led initiative. The annual debut of the festival will be Sept. 25 to 26. Peachtree Street will be closed between Fifth and 10th streets to make way for artists, performers and pedestrians.

“I’m glad to be here as a partner,” Reed said during the press conference at the new Loews Atlanta Hotel. “We get to boost an idea that’s not our own. Not every idea has to be an idea of the city. Once you have vetted it, made sure it’s safe, you have to get out of the way and get behind it.”

In the past decade, organizers of festivals and major events had experienced just the opposite from city officials. An onerous festival ordinance passed with a host of regulations that significantly increased the costs of putting on events.

Music Midtown was one example of a major festival that ended up going out of business because it was losing money, partly because of the city’s increased security and clean-up requirements for areas blocks away from the event.

Other festivals also found themselves fighting the city in trying to get permits well in advance of their events — a necessity for planning and for getting sponsors.

After the press conference, I asked Reed if he would seek to improve the festival ordinance.

“I don’t think the festival is as much a hindrance as having an administration wanting to facilitate having a successful festival,” Reed said. “We are action-oriented. We want to try new things. Fundamentally, a festival must be safe. Once our concerns regarding safety are met, we want to be supportive. Sometimes the city has to get out of the way.”

Leslie Johnson, president of the Midtown Festival of the Arts, said the effort has been underway for about two years. Today, the festival has secured $100,000 in sponsorships, including having Audi as the presenting sponsor.

Festival organizers did first encounter resistance at City Hall, according to City Councilman Kwanza Hall. “It was a difficult thing initially to break the paradigm,” Hall said, adding that the city “can raise the caliber” in the hosting of events.

Reed has written a letter on behalf of the festival, and he said that closing Peachtree Street would bring a little of Times Square to Atlanta by creating “an amazing human vista.”

Another significant player present at the press conference was Joe Bankoff, president of the Woodruff Arts Center. Festival organizers went to him early on, and he enthusiastically embraced the idea because it would bring more arts to Midtown.

“Great cities have great art,” Reed said. “Every time we see something that’s worthy, something that lifts the human spirit…, we need to embrace it. Midtown Atlanta is going to be the heart of the arts in Atlanta. I’m for you.”

Reed also said that because of the down economy, “Atlanta needs energy right now.” Introducing a new festival that’s free to public can help lift the spirits of Atlantans.

As Reed said: “These activities give the city a soul.”