Update: Friends and family are invited to a celebration of life for Thomas Grady Cousins at noon on Thursday, August 28, 2025 at North Avenue Presbyterian Church in downtown Atlanta. The service will be followed by a reception at East Lake Golf Club from 2-4 pm. The service also is being live-streamed through this link. […]
Category: Maria’s Metro
Posted inColumns
Atlanta has much at stake to protect King’s legacy
When the federal government declassified and released the FBI files on Martin Luther King Jr. on July 21, the impact hit home in Atlanta. There is no other place in the world that has such a strong bond as Atlanta and its native son, MLK. And the reverse is true. No place stands to lose […]
Posted inColumns
A tall order: Attracting a MARTA leader to operate and build a world-class transit system
Government, community and transit leaders agree — the departure of MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood puts the transit agency at an inflection point. The following questions need to be answered: Will local, regional and state leaders coalesce around a “world-class” vision for transit in Georgia’s capital city? Will those community leaders be able to convince a […]
Posted inColumns
To TAD or not to TAD — that is the question
The Tax Allocation District (TAD) is one of the most popular economic redevelopment tools in the City of Atlanta — one that helped finance the redevelopment of Atlantic Station as well as hundreds of projects throughout the city. In December 2024, the Atlantic Station TAD was shut down because it had lived up to its […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
No easy fixes to connect passengers between International Terminal and MARTA
Last month I wrote a column about the inconvenience that arriving international passengers face when trying to access MARTA at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The column, “Atlanta can improve interconnectivity between the airport’s International Terminal and MARTA,” suggested potential ways to fix what one can best describe as a clumsy connection today. The existing Atlanta International Shuttle […]
Posted inColumns
Slow down with the wrecking ball; save the most historic Georgia Baptist hospital building
It’s so Atlanta to celebrate the demolition of history. Such was the case Monday afternoon when various VIPS, including Atlanta City Council President Doug Shipman (a stand-in for Mayor Andre Dickens) and various dignitaries with Wellstar Health System and the Integral Group, gathered at the site of the former Georgia Baptist Hospital (the now-vacant Atlanta […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
Atlanta Rotary seeking to engage people with the spirit of the ‘Atlanta Way’
The Atlanta Way took the spotlight at the June 23 meeting of the Rotary Club of Atlanta. In many ways, it was a coming home. The Atlanta Rotary has been a galvanizing force of bringing the community together for decades. It was on Sept. 20, 2021, when two Rotarians – Egbert Perry and Larry Gellerstedt […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
Atlanta can improve connectivity between airport’s International Terminal and MARTA
One of Atlanta’s greatest selling points is that MARTA has a station inside Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Collie Greenwood, MARTA’s general manager, touted the service in a recent press release discussing preparations for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup matches. “MARTA is one of the only transit systems in the world that offers direct access to the […]
Posted inColumns
Save 148 Edgewood for history’s sake
It happened once before. It can happen again. Georgia State University announced plans in 2014 to tear down the historic Bell buildings on its campus as part of its master plan to transform the area east of Woodruff Park. The plans called for turning the site along Auburn Avenue into a surface parking lot. But […]
Posted inColumns
Enough already! We need to preserve our city’s trees
It is maddening to be a tree lover in Atlanta. Everyone in leadership claims to want to protect Atlanta’s trees. But when it comes time to take a stand and actually pass a new tree protection ordinance, leaders respond by delaying or diluting a proposed tree ordinance. This is not new. Since 2014, Atlanta has […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
A $9.6 million campaign to make Chattahoochee Nature Center more inviting
The Chattahoochee Nature Center (CNC), a focal point to invite people to experience the natural environment and the Chattahoochee River, has launched a $9.6 million capital campaign to make the center even more welcoming. The campaign will fund several projects to make CNC more open and more inviting to both young people and adults. “This […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
Atlanta’s dean of global health Bill Foege celebrated for his contributions
MAP International held the annual Bill Foege Global Health Awards May 15. Much to the delight of those attending the event at the Delta Flight Museum, Bill Foege was a featured guest. Foege, 89, picked Atlanta to be his home 65 years ago because it was the home of the federal Centers for Disease Control […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
Pat Mitchell on Sundance Film Festival: “Atlanta was a serious contender”
Atlantan Pat Mitchell has been part of the Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival for decades. Mitchell joined the board in 1994 after getting to know Robert Redford when she was working on a documentary series about native Americans for Ted Turner. Redford asked her to join the Sundance board, and she served as […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
Success on Sunset: restoring historic 220 Sunset for affordable housing
It was 2019, and the demolition permit had been issued. 220 Sunset Avenue — the apartment building developed by Rev. Maynard Jackson Sr. and where his family lived — appeared destined for the scrap heap. There was such history in the red brick building. The Jackson family lived on the top floor of the building, […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
New plan to enhance Piedmont Park will need our support
What an undertaking! The Piedmont Park Conservancy unveiled its new comprehensive plan on April 24 that will guide the future growth, maintenance and use of Atlanta’s signature green space. The 28th annual Landmark Lunch provided the venue of the “Big Reveal” with a keynote speech by Thomas Woltz, senior principal of Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects. […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
David Jernigan, diagnosed with ALS, leaving BGCMA on May 1
It was Nov. 21, 2024. David Jernigan bravely posted on LinkedIn that he had made the “difficult decision” to transition out of his role as president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta (BGCMA), a job he’s held for five years. He wrote: For several months, I’ve been experiencing challenges with […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
Brian Hill says it’s his last year running the Atlanta Dogwood Festival
In the closing hour of the 2025 Atlanta Dogwood Festival, Brian Hill stood alone, watching the last musical performance of the three-day-long festival. “I’m having an emotional moment,” said Hill, while fighting back tears. “I love this festival.” Hill has been executive director of the Atlanta Dogwood Festival for 17 years — steering the event […]
Posted inColumns
The past is present in Alfred Uhry’s plays about Atlanta
What a uniquely Atlanta tale. Atlanta-born playwright Alfred Uhry was honored at the Temple on March 30 – weaving together several strands of religious and racial history and prejudice. Uhry is an acclaimed author and playwright who has won two Tonys, an Oscar and the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for dramatic writing. He is best known […]
Posted inMaria's Metro
Former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin finally getting her due
Although she was only mayor for two terms, from 2002 to 2010, Shirley Franklin has been a force in Atlanta dating from first term of Mayor Maynard Jackson, elected in 1973, when she served as his commissioner of cultural affairs. On Thursday, March 27, Franklin was honored with the naming of several blocks of Central […]
Posted inColumns
Cherry Street Energy’s unique model to sell solar power to major customers
Michael Chanin knows exactly when the seed of Cherry Street Energy was planted. It was Friday, Sept. 18, 2015. “It was the light bulb moment,” Chanin said. “That was the seminal launch.” He was meeting with attorney Steven Richman at the Cherokee Town Club for a Friday fried chicken meal. Richman asked Chanin if he […]
