For the past 12 years, Area Development Magazine has ranked Georgia the No. 1 state for business. Now economic developers in the state are concerned that Georgia’s business-friendly reputation could be at stake after the General Assembly eliminated about a dozen tax incentives and tax credits used to attract investment to the state. Among the […]
Category: Maria’s Metro
Posted inMaria's Metro
Coca-Cola’s new CEO Henrique Braun: ‘Atlanta is my hometown’
Henrique Braun, who has been CEO of Coca-Cola Co. for less than two months, already is making his presence felt in Atlanta. Braun welcomed Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens to Coca-Cola’s headquarters on May 14 to be part of the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour and to highlight Atlanta as one […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
Atlanta, please give Ted Turner his due
For years, Ted Turner called me Marcia. Finally, one evening I got the courage to tell him my name was Maria. It was the night Ted told the world, while sitting next to then-Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell at an event in Buckhead, that he was not going to let his Atlanta Hawks leave downtown Atlanta, […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
Seeking equity in Atlanta’s economic development strategies
When Eloisa Klementich started writing a book about equitable economic development five years ago, “equity” was not yet a dirty word. Klementich, president and CEO of Invest Atlanta, , the city’s economic development agency, wrote a book based on her observations of how government and civic entities can ensure their programs and policies foster greater […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
Let’s protect Piedmont Park’s green space while hosting special events
As a Midtown resident who has lived within two blocks of Piedmont Park for more than 50 years, I’ve seen it all. That includes the beloved legacy Atlanta Arts Festival (now defunct), Music Midtown (now Shaky Knees), the Peachtree Road Race, the Atlanta Jazz Festival, the Atlanta Dogwood Festival and countless other events large and […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
Mayor Andre Dickens on ACP Chair Andrew Schlossberg: ‘He’s all in’
The influential Atlanta Committee for Progress (ACP) held its April 10 meeting at Invesco’s headquarters in the Midtown Union development. The location was not a coincidence. It was the first ACP meeting to be chaired by Andrew Schlossberg, CEO of Atlanta-based Invesco, and it was the public-private group’s first quarterly meeting of 2026. ACP consists […]
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The Carters live on through Habitat International’s Carter Work Project in Atlanta
Habitat for Humanity International is 50 years old this year, the same year of the 40th Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project. “How appropriate for our 50th year to come back to Atlanta, as we were born in Georgia,” said Jonathan Reckford, president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity International. “Obviously there’s no replacing President and Mrs. […]
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Let people design public spaces
Some truths are self-evident. Spaces work best when they are designed for the people, by the people. I was reminded of this simple (but not often followed) truth when I attended the March 23 Parks & Greenspace Conference, organized by Park Pride each year. Please read the article my colleague – Delaney Tarr – wrote […]
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Georgia legislature first in nation to link arts and mental health
Wait a minute. We’re first? Georgia is the first state in the nation to pass a statewide legislative measure linking the arts to improved mental health outcomes. Usually, Georgia ranks at the bottom when it comes to per-capita funding for the arts – an embarrassing fact for a state that enjoys promoting itself as a […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
Stuck in reverse: An anti-transit climate persists at the Georgia legislature
As congestion in our region gets worse, some Republican state legislators are proposing bills to limit the expansion of transit in metro Atlanta. Specifically, two bills that have been percolating in this year’s General Assembly are clearly anti-transit. One of them, HB 1377, sponsored by Rep. John Carson (R-Cobb County), would have put an eight-year […]
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Atlanta’s Jewish leaders can draw from city’s civil rights history
The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival’s mission calls for cultural understanding and using film to promote dialogue and bridge gaps between different cultural, ethnic and religious communities. The mission draws on Atlanta’s history as the cradle of the civil rights movement and a place that has championed human rights around the world. Unfortunately, right in the […]
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Raphael Bostic: ‘The work is not done’
Raphael Bostic moved to Atlanta in 2017 to become president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta – breaking norms as the first Black and first openly gay president of one of the 12 Federal Reserve banks. Bostic, 59, stepped down at the end of February from what he called “the best job” he’s ever […]
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The sad saga of the historic Paschal’s hotel and restaurant
For more than 20 years, one of Atlanta’s most notable civil rights venues has sat vacant – waiting for new life. It’s hard to overstate the role Paschal’s has played in Atlanta’s civil rights movement. Two brothers, Robert Paschal and James Paschal, began operating as a sandwich spot in 1947. Then, in 1959, the two […]
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Atlanta Opera: Melding history with future; art with nature
The Atlanta Opera broke ground Monday afternoon on the Molly Blank Center for Opera and the Arts at the historic Bobby Jones Golf Course Clubhouse along Woodward Way in Buckhead. The project celebrates Atlanta’s history with the renovation of the Bobby Jones Clubhouse, designed in a neoclassical style, which opened in 1941. On the back […]
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New study says Georgia can lead in brain health innovation
Georgia can dominate as a hub for brain health and neuroscience. That’s according to an extensive nine-month-long study conducted by the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) and Deloitte. The study examined the academic and research assets that currently exist in Georgia, how the state compares to other states and how Georgia can move forward to leverage […]
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Raj Chetty: Transforming communities key to improving economic mobility
Place matters. So says Raj Chetty, the economic mobility guru of Harvard University. Chetty’s Opportunity Insights just released a comprehensive study on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s HOPE VI program — a model that was first designed and developed in Atlanta by Egbert Perry, the chairman and founder of the Integral Group, […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
Mayor Andre Dickens open to revisiting decision on Beltline rail
Now is an opportune moment to take a fresh look at putting rail on the Beltline’s Eastside trail. The case to move forward with rail on the Eastside trail is as strong as ever. It is the one corridor that makes the most sense for transit, given the density of development on the Eastside. It […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
ARC’s Anna Roach on economic mobility: ‘It is time for action’
Momentum is building to address metro Atlanta’s dismal ranking of 50th out of 50 cities when it comes to economic mobility. On Jan. 13, the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation invited Harvard Professor Raj Chetty to come to Atlanta’s Mercedes Benz Stadium to talk about his research on economic mobility, with a focus on the […]
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Vision for Midtown Jewish cultural center lives on
Key local leaders remain dedicated to developing an intown Jewish cultural center that would include the Breman museum and other cultural offerings, such as the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival. The future of an intown Jewish cultural center came into question when the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta moved its offices from Spring Street in Midtown to Sandy […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
Woodruff Foundation invests a record $4 million in Park Pride
For Park Pride, equity is not a dirty word. Quite the opposite. With backing from the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation and several other major foundations, Park Pride has been doubling down on making grants in Atlanta’s historically disinvested communities. Park Pride, founded the same year as the Piedmont Park Conservancy, celebrated its 35th anniversary last […]
