Maria Saporta, executive editor, is a longtime Atlanta business, civic and urban affairs journalist with a deep knowledge of our city, our region and state. From 2008 to 2020, she wrote weekly columns and news stories for the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Prior to that, she spent 27 years with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, becoming its business columnist in 1991. Maria received her Master’s degree in urban studies from Georgia State and her Bachelor’s degree in journalism from Boston University. Maria was born in Atlanta to European parents and has two young adult children. She launched SaportaReport in February 2009.
Last week marked the end of my tenure with the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
It’s a strange time to be in transition. The world as we know it has changed as we try to figure out how we can survive during the Coronavirus outbreak, and none of us know what will happen and how we will be impacted.
Key members of Atlanta’s business and civic community met with Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms Friday morning to develop strategies on how best to respond to the coronavirus.
Penelope “Penny” McPhee, the president of the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation since 2004, today announced her intention to retire by the end of 2020.
World-renowned conductor Yoel Levi – an Atlanta resident who has performed all over the world – spoke to the Rotary Club of Atlanta Monday about the complexities of his craft.
The coronavirus has thrown me for a loop.
What are we supposed to do? Not shake hands? No hugs? No kisses on the cheek?
What a journey!
Our 2020 Leadership Atlanta class on Saturday traveled to Montgomery and Selma to confront the more sordid aspects of our nation’s shameful past and present – while asking ourselves the question civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. asked 53 years ago: “Where do we go from here?”
Update: The Atlanta Housing Authority met on Feb. 26 after this column had been published, and it voted unanimously to approve an amended settlement with Integral and its partners. After the vote, AHA Chair Chris Edwards said: “Hopefully we’ll get out of the lawsuit business. It stops millions of dollars currently being spent on expensive litigation.”
Atlanta-based Blackhall Studios is going international.
Blackhall announced Tuesday that it would be investing about $200 million to build 1.2 million square feet of studio space in Reading, a city west of London.
Bashing business has become a popular sport these days.
And some of that bashing is well deserved.
But we also must celebrate companies when they act in the best interests of their employees, stakeholders, their communities and the world.
By Maria Saporta Last week, Leadership Atlanta alums presented several “Big Ideas” for the region to kick off the organization’s 50th anniversary. The “Big Ideas” covered a spectrum – from teaching inmates the plays of William Shakespeare to nonprofit journalism to tracking health disparities. All the ideas stimulated thought and introspection. But one idea sparked […]
Emory University and the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation have agreed to collaborate on an initiative to serve Georgians with addiction issues.
More than 150 Atlanta leaders attended a dinner at the Cherokee Town Club Wednesday night to learn more about the proposed collaboration and explore the next steps needed to create a comprehensive center to treat people suffering from addiction.
My favorite Anne Cox Chambers story dates back to the presidential campaign of 2008.
Her close friend, Veronica Biggins, told me how Chambers and a small group of Atlantans had gone knocking door to door for then-candidate Barack Obama in Ohio, South Georgia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Florida, Louisiana and Texas.
Sam Massell – the “mayor” of Buckhead – made a surprise announcement at Wednesday’s annual Buckhead Coalition meeting at 103 West in Buckhead.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta has named David Jernigan as its new president and CEO.
Jernigan, deputy superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools, will begin his new role on May 4. Jernigan will oversee the strategic direction and operation for the nonprofit, which operates in more than 20 locations in 10 counties in metro Atlanta.
What a mess.
Back in November, I wrote a column about a couple dozen of high visibility trees in Midtown that were in danger of being cut down.
A historic building on Atlanta’s Westside will be preserved thanks to a deal between the King Center and Westside Future Fund.
The Wells Fargo Foundation is giving a $2.8 million grant to ACE (Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs) in an effort spark small business growth, especially in minority communities.
After its annual meeting in April, Coca-Cola will for the first time ever have nobody from Atlanta on its board of directors.
By Maria Saporta “The Dream Continues” That was one of the placards carried by one of the marchers at the 2020 King Week Holiday March on Monday afternoon. The King Holiday provides us all an opportunity to check in with the values and messages that Martin Luther King Jr. shared with us during his too […]
Life can be so fleeting.
That was the first thought that came to mind when Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Meria Carstarphen called me early Saturday afternoon to tell me Alvah Hardy had been killed in car accident Friday night.
Hardy was the executive director of facilities services for APS, and he was responsible for all the capital improvements underway at numerous schools across the city.
