Live Nation Atlanta kicked off its first Legacy Lunch on Feb. 5 at its relatively new headquarters in the Atlanta Dairies complex on North Avenue. The guests were two former mayors of Atlanta — Andrew Young and Bill Campbell. Peter Conlon, chairman of Live Nation Georgia – U.S. Concerts, moderated a conversation between both former […]
Author Archives: Maria Saporta
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.
Posted inColumns, Maria's Metro
Another seamless transition underway at the Woodruff Foundation
Few organizations in Atlanta rival the impact and influence of the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation and its related family of foundations. But if foundation leaders have their way, people will barely notice that Erik Johnson, 48, became the new president of the Woodruff Foundation on Feb. 1 following the Jan. 31 retirement of Russ Hardin, […]
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Riley Blount named as the new president of AT&T Georgia
AT&T has selected Riley Blount as the new president of its Georgia operations. She is succeeding Venessa Harrison, who is retiring after for decades of service with the telecommunications company. “We are thrilled to have Riley take on the role as president of AT&T Georgia,” Harrison said in a release. “With her extensive experience in […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
Rail transit key to Downtown revitalization
Atlanta has a strategic opportunity to embrace Downtown revitalization efforts by fueling new and improved transit service. In conversations with about a dozen business and civic leaders, it has become obvious that our city is at a pivotal juncture when it comes to Downtown and transit. First, stars are aligned to bring new life to […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
Norfolk Southern’s Ed Elkins becomes 2025 chair of the Georgia Chamber
For the first time in its 110-year history, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce has an executive of a major railroad as its chair. Ed Elkins, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Norfolk Southern Corp., became chair of the Georgia Chamber at its Eggs & Issues breakfast on Jan. 14. On everyone’s chair at […]
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Rabbi Alvin Sugarman: ‘Be thou a blessing to every life you touch’
Walking into Atlanta’s historic synagogue, the Temple, on Sunday felt like entering a Looney Tunes episode. An illuminated sign flashed: “That’s all folks!” Those were the parting words Rabbi Alvin Marx Sugarman wanted to share with the world. Sugarman, who served as the senior rabbi of the Temple from 1974 to 2008, died Jan. 17 […]
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Wellstar’s Candice L. Saunders to retire as CEO June 30
Candice L. Saunders, who has been CEO of Marietta-based Wellstar Health System since July 2015, announced today her intention to retire on June 30. Saunders, who began her career as a critical care nurse, joined Wellstar in March 2007 as president of Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center. In May 2013, she was promoted to executive […]
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Gov. Brian Kemp proud of Georgia’s business rankings
The Rotary Club of Atlanta warmly welcomed Gov. Brian Kemp on Jan. 13 — the first day of the 2025 legislative session — by the Rotary Club of Atlanta. Before his introductory remarks, Kemp laughed about being happy to speak to Rotary so he could get away from the legislative session. “Only 39 more days […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
ArtsCapital|Atlanta: $100 million needed to stabilize regional arts groups
The Atlanta arts community can relate to the phoenix rising from the ashes as its symbol — just like our namesake city. Over the last couple of years, the arts community has had two key events to drive home that theme. On March 7, 2023, the Atlanta Lyric Theatre abruptly announced it was closing its […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
Saying goodbye to Jimmy Carter: He left the world — and Atlanta — a better place
Former President Jimmy Carter defied the odds in life. On Aug. 20, 2015, Carter held a news conference to announce how melanoma had spread to his brain. For ordinary human beings, that would have been a death sentence. But Carter was no ordinary human being. Thanks to receiving treatment with a ground-breaking immunotherapy drug, Carter […]
Posted inColumns
Remembering Steve Mensch, 62, a thrill seeker and film industry leader
The Sunday before he died in a small plane he had built, Steve Mensch was honored by the Atlanta Falcons as a tribute to all he had done to support Georgia’s film industry. Mensch, 62, was president and general manager of studio operations at Tyler Perry Studios. Mensch was so much more than his title. […]
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Annual HOPE Global Forum focuses on the future, AI and fighting poverty
It’s hard to overstate what happens every year during the HOPE Global Forum, and the 10th annual meeting did not disappoint. John Hope Bryant, the founder of Operation HOPE and the Global HOPE Forum, has turned it into a multifaceted event that looks at the latest developments in society, business, technology, mental health, AI, financial literacy, […]
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Tides Center picks Ayesha Khanna of Atlanta to be its top executive
Long-time Atlanta civic leader Ayesha Khanna is the new executive director of the Tides Center, a national philanthropic organization dedicated to advancing social justice. San Francisco-based Tides, founded nearly 50 years ago, is the “mother” organization of Tides Foundation, which has about $1 billion in assets through donor-advised funds and initiatives, and Tides Center, which […]
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Learn4Life’s annual report on metro Atlanta education a mixed bag
When it comes to public education in metro Atlanta, the outcomes are mixed. For the past seven years, Learn4Life has been tracking key education metrics among students in the five-county Atlanta metro area — a region that encompasses eight school districts. Learn4Life, founded in 2016, has been tracking six key indicators — kindergarten readiness, 3rd-grade […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
Mayor Andre Dickens says fixing MARTA will be a ‘big push’ in 2025
The Atlanta business community and Mayor Andre Dickens expressed concern about the state of MARTA, and they vowed that the transit agency would be a top priority in 2025. MARTA was a focus of the Dec. 13 meeting of the highly influential Atlanta Committee for Progress (ACP), an organization that includes top business, civic and […]
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A $2.5 million campaign will honor Kenny Blank’s vision for AJFF
The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival (AJFF) is celebrating its 25-year history by launching a $2.5 million fundraising campaign in honor of Kenny Blank, its executive and artistic director. AJFF announced Thursday morning its plan for the “Kenny Blank Vision Initiative” to grow and expand the film festival’s impact into a yearlong hub for cultural engagement, […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
Celebrating John C. Portman Jr. – an Atlanta icon – on his 100th birthday
Renowned architect and developer John C. Portman Jr. did not live to see his 100th birthday. But it wasn’t for lack of trying. “The only person who is not here and was determined to be is my dad,” said Jana Portman, one of Portman Jr.’s children at a celebration of her father’s life on Dec. 4. […]
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AT&T’s Venessa Harrison announces January retirement
After 45 years with AT&T, Venessa Harrison announced plans to retire at the end of January. Harrison moved to Atlanta in 2018 to serve as president of AT&T Georgia. Then, in 2022, she was given greater responsibility when she was named as president of AT&T Southeast Coastal States — a territory that includes Georgia, North […]
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Tom Bell, Camille Love and Carter to receive CAP awards
Central Atlanta Progress will bestow its top awards to longtime civic players in downtown and the city at its Jan. 28 annual meeting. CAP’s annual meeting, along with the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District, will be held at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta during lunch. The awards program has been part of the CAP/ADID annual meeting for […]
Posted inColumns
Andre Dickens: ‘I just want to be mayor’
At the Monday luncheon meeting of the Rotary Club of Atlanta, Mayor Andre Dickens made a pitch for his top priorities — affordable housing, early childhood education, housing the homeless, public safety and water infrastructure. Dickens will be running for a second term as mayor in less than a year. Monday’s Rotary meeting was a […]
