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.
As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Dec. 8, 2017
A far-reaching land-use plan for the Westside received an important boost when it was unanimously adopted by the Atlanta City Council on Dec. 4.
The Westside Land Use Framework Plan — more than two years in the making — emerged after an unprecedented number of community meetings with more than a thousand participants.
By Maria Saporta The CF Foundation, which spearheaded the revitalization of the Villages of East Lake community 20 years ago, has been unable to get the Atlanta Housing Authority to vote on refinancing the development to allow for the renovation of the property. Lillian Giornelli, president of the CF Foundation, has sent a letter to […]
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms expressed strong support for Delta Air Lines Wednesday during the annual awards luncheon of the regional chapter of the Anti-Defamation League.
“We are grateful for the partnership we have with Delta,” Bottoms said in an impromptu interview. “So much of what we do in Atlanta is with the corporate community, including Delta. Atlanta will remain a city that’s welcoming, inclusive and diverse.”
Roswell’s Mimosa Hall on Monday night got the green light to go green.
“The Roswell City Council has just unanimously passed a resolution to approve the installation of solar panels in the replacement roof for Mimosa Hall,” wrote an excited Steve Gibson in an email.
Gibson is the president of Friends of Mimosa Hall & Gardens, which helped put together a proposal to make the historic home into the oldest “net zero” house in the country.
The Atlanta Public Schools is seeking to cut down 60 trees on a key piece of property in the center of the city.
The trees have been growing on the land that surrounds the former David T. Howard Elementary School from the days when Martin Luther King Jr. attended the elementary school – only a few blocks away from his birth home.
Former Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens is starting a new chapter in his life – joining Dentons, the largest law firm in the world.
Before joining Denton’s, Olens served a relatively brief stint as president of Kennesaw State University, a role he held for about year before he resigned under pressure last December.
U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) plans to run for re-election in 2022.
Isakson was the luncheon speaker for the Atlanta Press Club’s newsmaker series on Tuesday when he addressed a variety of topics – from school shootings, mental illness, immigration and the political climate in Washington, D.C.
When he was asked whether he planned to run for re-election, Isakson quickly answered: “Of course.”
Repurposing pavement has a nice ring to it.
That was the message at the Feb. 13th annual meeting of the Midtown Alliance.
A person delivering the message was Janette Sadik-Khan, who changed many of the streets in New York City from being focused on cars to streets for everyone – including pedestrians and cyclists.
The Commerce Club Foundation, the nonprofit arm of Atlanta’s historic business and civic club, has donated $200,000 to Georgia State University’s WomenLead program to expand and formalize its Atlanta Civic Leadership Initiative.
The Initiative is a program that connects students with influential civic leaders for educational and mentorship opportunities.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta has Kwame Johnson as its new president and CEO, succeeding Janice McKenzie-Crayton, who retired last fall after more than 25 years with the organization.
Johnson currently serves as the director of the Greater Atlanta Region for PowerMyLearning. Big Brothers Big Sisters is known for leveraging the power of mentors on behalf of metro Atlanta’s youth.
History is being made in Roswell thanks to a cutting edge proposal to preserve the historic Mimosa Hall and Gardens.
The City of Roswell purchased Mimosa Hall, initially built around 1840, as well as its 9 acres of gardens and woods last August for $2.95 million – partly because of a citizen-led effort to save Mimosa Hall and its grounds from being redeveloped.
As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Dec. 1, 2017
A new initiative by civic-minded business leaders is being launched Dec. 1 as a way to make corporate generosity more visible and encourage other companies to give back to communities.
The goBeyondProfit initiative was founded by Jackson Healthcare, and a dozen or more business ambassadors have joined the effort to encourage business owners and company leaders to sigh the goBeyondProfit pledge.
The High Museum of Art has selected Georgia native Amy Sherald as the 2018 recipient of the prestigious David C. Driskell Prize in recognition of her contributions to the field of African-American art, the museum announced on Thursday.
Among her notable achievements, Sherald received the commission to paint former first lady Michelle Obama’s official portrait for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, which will be unveiled on Feb. 12.
If you want to find Atlanta’s heart – our zero mile post – good luck.
It is buried beneath a downtown parking deck in a state-owned building surrounded by chain-link fences in addition to spiked metal bars topped with barbed wires.
The Westside Future Fund unveiled its first property acquisition on Friday – a 35-unit vacant apartment building at 395 James P. Brawley Dr. NW.
The acquisition marked the beginning of a tangible effort to provide affordable housing to the legacy residents in the English Avenue and Vine City neighborhoods.
Atlanta-based Mori Luggage & Gifts, a family based retail chain, was bought by Bergman Luggage on Thursday.
“We had 46 wonderful years,” said Jean Mori, who started the company in 1971 with his wife, Betty, when they opened their first store at Northlake Mall. “But the last couple of years have been a little tough.”
Cristo Rey Atlanta on Tuesday officially dedicated its signature building on the city’s skyline.
Top dignitaries – Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms among others – attended the “miracle” of Cristo Rey Atlanta – a Jesuit high school that will graduate its first class in May.
One of the most complicated intersections in Atlanta – where the BeltLine intersects with 10th Street and Monroe Drive – will face even more challenges with a new proposed development on an adjacent 4-acre site.
The plans for the redevelopment became public in December when the Invest Atlanta board approved a memo-of-understanding to sell a 1.47 acre strip of land along the BeltLine to a joint venture of Jim Kegley and Jeff Fuqua for $2.5 million.
Update: The Urban Design Commission, at its Jan. 24 meeting, deferred action on this designation until its meeting on Feb. 14 at the request of the owner. The protections will remain in place during this period.
An Atlanta landmark built to serve the dead will soon get a new lease on life.
The City of Atlanta is seeking to give the H.M. Patterson Funeral Home on Spring Street near 10th Street landmark status – a move that will protect the unique building from being demolished for new development.
A placard at the Latin American Association on Buford Highway says it all.
“Help us rally support for legislation to protect DACA recipients!”
DACA stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals – an American immigration policy that has allowed individuals who entered the country illegally as minors to receive deferred action from deportation and be eligible to work.
