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 […]
Category: Maria’s Metro
Posted inColumns
Anne Cox Chambers, 100, enhanced Atlanta in her own quiet way
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.
Posted inColumns
It shouldn’t be this easy to cut down healthy trees in 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.
Posted inColumns
Honoring MLK, Yolanda and Bernice during the King holiday
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 […]
Posted inColumns, Maria's Metro
With sudden death Alvah Hardy, APS and Atlanta lose a true public servant
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.
Posted inColumns
Time to revive Atlanta’s New Year’s Eve tradition at the Coke sign
World-class cities have world-class New Year’s Eve celebrations – free events in public places where people can celebrate – out with the old and in with the new.
Sadly, Atlanta was absent this year as we saw the calendar turn from 2019 to 2020.
Posted inColumns
Richard Jewell saga a teaching moment for us in journalism
By Maria Saporta For the past several weeks, I’ve been absorbed with the story of Richard Jewell – thanks to a book and movie that have resurfaced controversial memories of more than 23 years ago. Jewell was the security guard at Centennial Olympic Park the night of the bombing that caused the death of two […]
Posted inColumns
Richard Jewell saga a teaching moment for us in journalism
By Maria Saporta For the past several weeks, I’ve been absorbed with the story of Richard Jewell – thanks to a book and movie that have resurfaced controversial memories of more than 23 years ago. Jewell was the security guard at Centennial Olympic Park the night of the bombing that caused the death of two […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
WarnerMedia’s honor of Ted Turner: ‘It’s not enough’
Plain and simple. Ted Turner deserves more.
On Dec. 6, WarnerMedia brought its top brass to Atlanta to dedicate the media company’s Techwood campus to Ted Turner. They also unveiled a mural and a plaque describing Turner as “the original maverick pioneer in the media industry” and as a “champion of the environment.”
Posted inMaria's Metro
Preserving lives and buildings along MLK corridor can revive ‘Main Street’
It’s a story of rebirth – the human kind and the physical kind.
A benefit concert for the Westside Singing Ambassadors on Nov. 29 at 960 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard provided a symbolic spark of what once was and what could be again.
Posted inMaria's Metro
Giving thanks for the uplifting moments in our lives
Recently it has felt as though I’ve been spending too much of my energies complaining and worrying about the current state of affairs.
So, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I began to count our blessings, and I realized there are so many that they won’t all fit in one column.
Posted inMaria's Metro
Mayor Ivan Allen Jr., a bridge builder, to be honored with a bridge and walking museum
The tapestry of Atlanta’s civil rights history is getting a colorful new thread with the addition of the new Ivan Allen Jr. Legacy Bridge.
An official dedication of the bridge will be held on Monday, Nov. 25, and it will highlight the contributions of one of Atlanta’s greatest mayors. Allen served as Atlanta’s mayor between 1962 and 1970, one of the most tumultuous times in the city’s history.
Posted inMaria's Metro
Public speaks out on behalf of Atlanta’s trees
Atlanta residents are speaking loud and clear. Trees matter.
For nearly two years, the city and its consultants have been working on a new tree ordinance. Countless community meetings have been held. And the public has been promised draft legislation of a new ordinance since June.
Posted inMaria's Metro
Mourning the loss of dozens of trees along Peachtree in Midtown
It is not a good time to be a tree in Midtown Atlanta.
Trees are being cut down at three high-profile sites along Peachtree Street – and what’s most amazing is that in each of these cases, these trees have been in public hands – either the city of Atlanta or the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
Posted inColumns
As we wait for high-speed rail, please bring back the AMTRAK station bus stop
Here we go again.
The Georgia Department of Transportation on Oct. 22 hosted a public presentation to present three possible corridors for high-speed rail service between Atlanta and Charlotte.
Posted inColumns
Atlanta’s ‘can do’ spirit fading into ‘dysfunction junction’
Some days living in Atlanta is depressing.
Last Thursday (Oct. 17), was one of those days – marked by two events back-to-back.
Posted inColumns
Making Atlanta proud – Purpose Built Communities
Atlanta-based Purpose Built Communities is gaining traction with a $6 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and a total of seven new community members in its network.
Those two significant developments were announced at Purpose Built Communities 10th annual conference, meeting in Atlanta Monday through Wednesday at the Loew’s Atlanta Hotel in Midtown.
Posted inColumns
Getting to know Tyler Perry – a personal tale
Ever since former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed first gave Tyler Perry the opportunity of buying 330 acres at Fort McPherson five years ago, I have criticized the deal.
My greatest concern was a fear Perry would seal off this incredible public treasure and create a fort inside a fort.
Posted inColumns
Sally Flocks passes the PEDS baton to Cathy Tyler
A significant leadership transition has occurred at PEDS, the top advocacy organization for pedestrians in metro Atlanta.
Sally Flocks who founded PEDS in 1996, officially stepped down as its top executive in September.
Posted inColumns
Atlanta needs collective action to gain greater economic opportunity
The struggle continues.
Two different Sundays in two different churches reinforced the fact that we still have so much more work to do to make sure that Atlanta is a place where everyone can thrive.
