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Posted inDavid Pendered

Smallish transportation projects advance as Sierra Club outlines thoughts on regional mobility

by David Pendered

Additional federal funding for a new bridge across I-75 in north Cobb County and a stormwater project along Ponce de Leon Avenue in DeKalb County were among six transportation projects approved Thursday in a proposed amendment to the region’s long-term transportation improvement program.

Simultaneously, the Atlanta Regional Commission has started the competition among local governments for the region’s estimated $29 million a year in federal funding for projects that reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality. The filing deadline is Sept. 27 for this new round of federal funding.

Collectively, the projects represent the type of recalibration that is surfacing a year after metro Atlanta voters rejected the 2012 transportation sales tax and its $8.5 billion in planned mobility improvements. In a sense, this approach shares similarities with “framework for transportation progress” outlined by the Georgia chapter of the Sierra Club.

Posted inATL Business Chronicle, Maria's Metro

Column: Park Pride names Michael Halicki executive director

Avatar photo by Maria Saporta

By Maria Saporta
Published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Friday, August 9, 2013

Park Pride, the nonprofit advocacy organization that seeks to expand and improve green space in Atlanta, has named a new executive director — Michael Halicki.

Halicki has served as chief operating officer of the Southface Energy Institute for nearly three years and has been involved in the Atlanta environmental community for more than 15 years.

Posted inTom Baxter

Doug Bachtel and the decline of hard data

Avatar photo by Tom Baxter

A few weeks ago I was writing a column about how Georgia’s fastest growing counties are no longer in the Atlanta Metro area, and so I emailed some questions to the go-to source on subjects like that, Doug Bachtel, the University of Georgia demographer who founded the Georgia County Guide. He answered me promptly and I put some of what he had to say in the column.

Bachtel was one of those people I’ve known and depended on for decades, but always at a distance. It was a complete surprise to learn last week that he had died of complications from multiple sclerosis. Our brief email exchange must have been among the last of many thousands of exchanges he’d had with the media during his career. On just about any subject related to broad trends in the state, he was a reliable and widely quoted source of factual data for many years.

Simply to attempt a county guide in a state with of 159 of them was an act of boldness, and over time the guide, along with the Georgia Municipal Guide and Georgia Housing Guide which he also edited, has become an invaluable source of information about the state.

Posted inDavid Pendered

Managed lanes: Region’s future freeway system being devised along I-75 in Atlanta’s northwest corridor

by David Pendered

Everyone who travels by vehicle through metro Atlanta has an interest in the managed toll lane system the state is to build in Cobb and Cherokee counties.

The system is likely to become the model of how drivers and the communities adjacent to the toll ways will interact with Georgia’s new method of expanding highway capacity in metro Atlanta. More than 150 miles of managed lanes are planned for metro Atlanta, according to the long-range transportation plan approved by the Atlanta Regional Commission.

A lot of little steps being taken just now are to lead to a new method of highway construction and travel in metro Atlanta. Agencies including the State Road and Tollway Authority, Georgia Department of Transportation, and their private sector partners are trying to devise a new paradigm.

Posted inMaria's Metro

BeltLine vision – Grant Park and Glenwood Park show power of a plan

Avatar photo by Maria Saporta

It’s amazing to witness the moment when a plan is no longer just a plan but a living document that is part of a community’s lifeblood.

That’s exactly what is happening in Southeast Atlanta with the 19-acre site on Glenwood Avenue — a pivotal piece of property that is pitting a traditional retail developer’s vision of the future with the vision that hundreds, if not thousands, of Atlantans have for how we should develop along the BeltLine corridor.

In the late 1990s, citizens in Midtown Atlanta showed their power when they killed plans for a parking garage at 10th and Peachtree streets (but more on that later).

Posted inGuest Column

Atlanta’s other secret: Our technology entrepreneurs live well and contribute

by Teresa Johnston

Editor’s Note: This is the second installment of a two-part series that advocates for metro Atlanta as a great place to start a technology company. Part One examined Atlanta’s robust community of entrepreneurs.

By Guest Columnist STEPHEN FLEMING, a Georgia Tech vice president who manages the Enterprise Innovation Institute

As previously noted, most – not all, but most – successful entrepreneurs have experience under their belt before launching into their new venture. At this stage in life, they can benefit from the quality housing and other intangibles that Atlanta can provide.

In Mountain View, you can buy this 2 bedroom, 1.5 bath, 960 square foot, 70-year-old cottage on 1/6th of an acre for $1.1 million. It's a lot better than a São Paulo favela … but, really, is that where you want to raise your kids?

Posted inEleanor Ringel Cater

‘Blue Jasmine’ — a movie unlike anything Woody Allen has done before

Avatar photo by Eleanor Ringel Cater

Woody Allen never cared much about the kindness of strangers. But Tennessee Williams, a much frailer artist, certainly did. Hence Blanche Dubois’ famous line from “A Streetcar Named Desire:” “Whoever you are, I’ve always depended on the kindness of strangers.”

However, Allen has always known good material when he sees it, so perhaps it shouldn’t be such a surprise that he’s created his own Bernie Madoff parable by shrewdly borrowing from “Streetcar.”

Posted inATL Business Chronicle, Maria's Metro

Column: Downtown’s historic Olympia building for sale — again

Avatar photo by Maria Saporta

By Maria Saporta
Published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Friday, August 2, 2013

Maybe the third time will be the charm.

The Georgia State Properties Commission is putting the historic Olympia building at Five Points up for bid — again.

The bids for the triangular two-story building in the heart of downtown must be submitted by 2 p.m. on Aug. 20, and the process is a request for qualifications — giving the state some leeway in deciding who might end up being the new owner of the building.

Posted inDavid Pendered

Atlanta’s $200 million for Falcons stadium now bottled up in committee

by David Pendered

Atlanta City Council President Ceasar Mitchell applied the brakes Wednesday to efforts to hurry the city into providing $200 million in construction financing for the new Falcons stadium.

Mitchell’s action seems to bolster Atlanta’s bargaining position in the negotiations to have the stadium built on the south site – the location preferred by the city. The Falcons organization said July 30 it is focusing on the north site because the south site was not on track by Aug. 1 to be acquired from two churches.

Mitchell’s action makes it unlikely that Atlanta will be in a position to provide any of the $200 million anytime soon, and certainly not during the November timeframe that seemed possible just last month. It’s not clear when the Falcons need the money from Atlanta to continue with design and development.

Posted inATL Business Chronicle, Maria's Metro

Georgia Oak provides dough to grow personal pizza chain Your Pie

Avatar photo by Maria Saporta

By Amy Wenk and Maria Saporta
Published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on August 2, 2013

An Atlanta company intends to fuel the franchise growth of a Georgia pizza chain.

Private equity firm Georgia Oak Partners LLC has announced it will make a “significant” investment in Your Pie, a fast-casual concept out of Athens that lets pizza lovers customize everything that goes on their personal pies, from the dough to the cheese.

Posted inDavid Pendered

Georgia taxes: New report contends “Fair Tax” would hurt hurt – not help – families, businesses, economy

by David Pendered

A report released today on Georgia’s tax structure fuels a debate over proposed tax reform that advocates are increasingly pushing for the 2014 session of the state Legislature.

The Georgia Budget and Policy Institute issued a tax analysis that contends the proposed “Fair Tax” reform would raise taxes on and hurt Georgia’s “families, businesses, communities and the economy.”

The report follows a promise made last month by an advocacy group that said it would help convince Georgia voters to approve a fair tax. The campaign would be similar to the one it waged in favor of 2012 charter school amendment, according to Americans for Prosperity.

Posted inDavid Pendered

Cobb, Cherokee counties so densely developed that I-75 managed lanes project won’t impact environment

by David Pendered

The I-75 corridor in Cobb and Cherokee counties is so densely developed that the 30-mile, two-lane toll road to be built in the corridor will have few negative environmental or social impacts.

This is the conclusion of the environmental impact study of the project completed by the Georgia Department of Transportation. While there’s no surprise in the result, the lack of impact on critters and land emphasizes the magnitude of the existing highway and development in Atlanta’s northwestern suburbs.

“This project is defined as the marginal addition of concrete to a 15-lane road,” said Brian Gist, a lawyer with the Southern Environmental Law Center. “When defined that way, it’s easy to come to the conclusion that it will have no effect.”

Posted inTom Baxter

Ted Cruz, Ralph Hudgens and the Copperheads

Avatar photo by Tom Baxter

Last week, Politico reports, longtime conservative activist Richard Viguerie gave a rave notice to a movie about a Democratic, anti-war civil liberties advocate.

“Copperhead,” a film about northern opponents of the Civil War and the abuse they suffered, “will hit close to home for every conservative fighting to preserve our Constitution and our American way of life,” Viguerie emailed his followers. “Copperhead is about standing up for faith, for America, and for what’s right, just like you and I are doing today.”

The connection may seem a little odd, but it comes at a time when Copperheadism is very much alive in the Party of Lincoln. The Obama presidency, and in particular, the long battle against the Affordable Health Care Act, has quickened the already thumping pulse of anti-government dissent on the right. Moreover, the Copperheads’ mistrust of Yankee meddlers could well strike a sympathetic chord among today’s Tea Party activists.

Posted inColumns, Michelle Hiskey, Michelle Hiskey & Ben Smith

Atlanta’s Makers and the Next Industrial Revolution

by Ben Smith

In metro Atlanta and across the country, a revolution appears to be underway in libraries, recreation centers and workspaces. Amid the mass marketng from big box stores and online retailers and other forces that tell us what we need and how to order it, some people with skills are assembling for change.

They are techno-geeks, artists and craftspeople. They wield computers, 3D printers, laser cutters, transistors, glue guns, canvasses, acrylic paints, embroidery hoops and a wide range of other tools. They can be hobbyists, inventors or entrepreneurs.

The revolution is called the “Makers Movement,” a growing grass roots do-it-ourselves culture seeking to reinvent their pockets of consumer society, and the third annual Atlanta Mini Maker Faire featuring workshops and exhibits on robotics, electric vehicles, computing, 3D printing, green technology, among other topics, is scheduled Oct. 26 at Georgia Tech.

Posted inMaria's Metro

Reflections on Sunday morning as two black churches ponder their future

Avatar photo by Maria Saporta

Two black Baptist churches face each other across Martin Luther King Jr. Drive — symbolizing a great divide mixed with a great opportunity — not only for themselves but for the community at large.

Both churches are in the middle of one of the biggest stories of the year — the proposed $1 billion retractable roof Atlanta Falcons football stadium

It’s Sunday morning at 10 a.m. as members of Friendship Baptist Church gather for Communion Sunday. The theme on the church bulletin states: “Remembering our heritage; Embracing our future: (John 3:1-8; Revelation 21:1-7).

The congregation includes respected Atlanta leaders — many of whom have a multi-generational history with Friendship — a church that was established in 1862 and organized in 1866.

Posted inDavid Pendered

Coke meets with human rights advocates who seek new practices for giving, diversity in Brazil

by David Pendered

The Coca-Cola Co. has agreed to continue discussions with an Atlanta-based human rights group, led by veteran advocate Joe Beasley, to consider expanding Coke’s philanthropic and diversity practices in Brazil, advocates said Sunday.

Top Coke officials met with the advocates Friday and agreed to convene a tele-conference this week, advocates said Sunday. The Coke representatives who attended Friday’s meeting reportedly included Alexander Cummings, chief administrative officer, and Lisa Borders, chair of The Coca-Cola Foundation. Coke did not respond to a request for comment that was submitted Friday.

“We’re calling for Coke to have a reciprocal relationship with its most loyal consumers in Brazil,” Beasley said in a statement, referring to Brazil’s population of nearly 100 million Afro-descendants.

Posted inATL Business Chronicle, Maria's Metro

Impact study: Atlanta Braves a $100 million home run for state economy

Avatar photo by Maria Saporta

By Maria Saporta and Amy Wenk
Published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on August 2, 2013

The Atlanta Braves have an annual economic impact of more than $100 million — paying $8.6 million in state and local taxes each year.

That’s according to a new study that measures the team’s contribution to the Georgia economy. The findings are being released just as the Braves begin efforts to renegotiate their lease of Turner Field. The current lease expires Dec. 31, 2016.

Posted inGuest Column

Atlanta’s little secret; our technology entrepreneurs may have gray hair

by Teresa Johnston

Editor’s Note: This is the first installment of a two-part series that advocates for metro Atlanta as a great place to start a technology company.

By Guest Columnist STEPHEN FLEMING, a Georgia Tech vice president who manages the Enterprise Innovation Institute

Last month, Sarah Lacy of Pando Daily posted an article titled, “Memo to non-Valley, non-NYC ecosystems: No one you want cares about the cost of living.” Lacy opined:

“There's a reason I never talk up taxes or cost of living as reasons other startup ecosystems will take off: Because none of the people who really matter give a [redacted] about these things ….

Posted inEleanor Ringel Cater

‘Girl Most Likely’ – Kristen Wiig in film of nutty family with tone-deaf script

Avatar photo by Eleanor Ringel Cater

If anyone had asked me, I would’ve voted Kristen Wiig the SNL alum most likely to break the movie curse that has afflicted every female former SNL-er from Gilda Radnor to, well, even Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.

Granted Fey and Poehler have become small-screen queens, with long-running hit shows and an unforgettable stint as the double-hosts of this year’s. Golden Globes. And Radnor had a hit show on Broadway. But overall…

Posted inDavid Pendered

New DCA commissioner brings 15 years of experience in economic development, foreign trade

by David Pendered

A new commissioner took charge Thursday of the state department that oversees a number of programs that influence local planning and economic development.

Gretchen Corbin replaces Mike Beatty as commissioner for the Department of Community Affairs. Corbin served most recently in the state’s Department of Economic Development – where she worked on teams that convinced Caterpillar and Baxter International to open manufacturing facilities in Georgia. Beatty will lead a non-profit organization engaged in workforce development.

DCA’s most recent work in Atlanta was to create an Opportunity Zone in sections of the Cleveland Avenue/Metropolitan Parkway area. The designation aims to spur businesses to hire by providing a tax credit for each job created, provided that at least two jobs are created.

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