Latest Reports

By Maria Saporta

Former Coca-Cola Chairman and CEO Neville Isdell and his wife Pamela Isdell have donated $3 million to the World Wildlife Fund and the Nature Conservancy to support conservation in Zambia and Namibia.

“We were brought up in Zambia, and we have lived more of our lives in Africa than anywhere else,” Neville Isdell said in a telephone interview late Tuesday evening. “We really wanted to give back to Zambia.”

Isdell also said his family wanted to support the efforts of the Fund and the Nature Conservancy to “bring about reform” in the areas of conservation and game management in Africa.
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By Maria Saporta

The Georgia Port Authority’s executive director is optimistic that federal funding to deepen the Savannah Port will be in place in the next couple of years.

Curtis Foltz, executive director of the Georgia Port Authority, spoke at the Cobb Chamber of Commerce’s Chairman’s Club luncheon Tuesday at the Cobb Energy Center for the Performing Arts.

“We strongly believe that the federal government will step up to the plate in a big way in the Fiscal Year 2015 budget,” Foltz said in response to a question. “We believe it will bubble up to the top.” Continue reading →

By Maria Saporta

An initiative to convene Atlanta-based global health organizations tackled the issue of world hunger Monday at an all-day summit at the J.W. Marriott in Buckhead.

In the second annual “Global Health Summit,” a host of government, nonprofit and business entities embraced a new approach to combat global hunger and malnutrition. Last year’s summit focused on global health and water.
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By Maria Saporta

A rain-soaked crowd of thousands had been waiting hours when Morehouse College President John Wilson and U.S. President Barack Obama emerged from a side door of a building to enter onto Century Campus for the 129th Commencement of one of the nation’s most prestigious black colleges.

An enthusiastic cheer greeted the two presidents and the official start of the graduation ceremonies as they tried to ignore the return of the dark clouds and the rain. The thousands of people in attendance heard inspirational stories about the Salutatorian Ernest James Nelson from Albany, Ga. who will be going to the Medical College Georgia at Georgia Regent University; and Emmanuel Denyo Yao Adanu, a dual-degree graduate from Morehouse and Georgia Tech with a 4.0 GPA. Continue reading →

By Maria Saporta

HOUSTON — The largest city in Texas proudly claims to be the most diverse city in the United States — based on having the most even distribution of Anglos, Latinos, African-Americans and Asians.

But when one looks at the long-term implications of that diversity, it exposes some alarming issues for Houston. And those problems only foreshadow the challenges that the entire nation, including metro Atlanta, will face not too many years down the road.

That was the message that the 2013 LINK delegation of about 110 metro Atlanta leaders heard during their visit to Houston Wednesday and Thursday.
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By Maria Saporta

HOUSTON – As mayor of the fourth largest city in the United States, Annise Parker said she is judged by what she brings to the table rather than by who she is.

Parker, now in her second term, is nationally recognized for being the first openly gay mayor of a major U.S. city.

But when Parker addressed a group of about 110 leaders from metro Atlanta Wednesday night on the 17th annual LINK trip at the Asia Society Texas Center, she was much more focused on how she has been able to lead the city of 2.2 million people. Continue reading →

By Maria Saporta

It’s become a mantra — educate women and girls, and you can change the world.

That is the theme of a relatively new documentary —Girl Rising — directed by Academy Award nominee Richard Robbins about nine girls from nine countries in their quest to transform their lives by getting an education.

A special showing of the film was held Monday evening at the Landmark Midtown Cinema with one of its key partners — Atlanta-based CARE USA.

A shorter film by Rhett Turner, son of Ted Turner, also was presented that recounted the story of three girls who have been helped by CARE’s efforts around the world.

Among international human services organizations, it’s become evident that the way to have the greatest impact on global poverty is to focus on women and girls.
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By Maria Saporta

Julie Ralston, a mainstay at the Atlanta Regional Commission for 28 years, is taking on an enhanced role as director of the organization’s new Center for Strategic Relations.

The new center will focus on building stronger networks for regional action and progress through community engagement, communications and marketing, governmental affairs and strategic initiatives.

Ralston is well positioned to be the founding director of the new center because she has served as ARC’s communications director for 28 years. She also has coordinated the ARC’s annual State of Region breakfast, organized a quarterly public affairs television show and developed the Model Atlanta Regional Commission youth leadership program, which has graduated some 750 10th and 11th graders during the last 15 years.
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By Maria Saporta

The board of Atlanta BeltLine Inc. (ABI) met Wednesday morning, going into executive session, to discuss who will be its next CEO among the five already disclosed finalists.

But once they called the public back in the room, it became quickly obvious that little new information would be shared.

The Atlanta BeltLine board, however, did take action on four resolutions that could determine the future streetcar projects for the city.

As for the search, ABI Chairman John Somerhalder, who is CEO of AGL Resources, said the process is continuing.

“We have five good candidates,” Somerhalder said after the meeting. “We agreed on a process to finalize the information we need to make a final decision, and we will have to do that in an open session We don’t have a defined time (to make that decision).”
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By Maria Saporta

The Coca-Cola Co. Wednesday morning pledged $3.8 million in grants to help fight the obesity epidemic in Georgia.

In a press conference at the World of Coca-Cola with Gov. Nathan Deal and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent said: “We are inspiring our hometown of Atlanta and home state of Georgia to be active.”

The effort is part of Kent’s belief in the “golden triangle” of government, business and civil society working together to work on community issues.

“Golden triangle efforts like these and others in Colorado, Chicago and San Antonio amplify the active role we must all take in helping to tackle the complex issue of obesity,” Kent said. “We can only succeed with the collaboration of local governments, community leaders and other willing partners.”
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