By early next month, Georgia lawmakers will publish a plan to deepen cooperation among and increase spending on metro Atlanta’s public transit agencies. They’ve got a big job, looking for a way to unify a region and minimize difficulties in an always-expensive, now fragmented, and sometimes contentious area of public policy.
Category: Maria Saporta
Articles by Maria Saporta
Posted inLatest News
City of Atlanta moves to protect the Patterson-Spring Hill funeral home in Midtown
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.
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Opening of new Chick-fil-A on the Westside brings together top CEOs and residents
The eve before the opening of the new Chick-fil-A restaurant on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive was a night unlike any other in Atlanta’s history.
The “haves” and the “have nots” huddled indoors and ate dinner in the warmth of a new Chick-fil-A restaurant on the Westside of downtown on Wednesday night braving below-freezing temperatures and ice-covered streets.
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Agnes Scott’s Elizabeth Kiss to become first woman to head the Rhodes Trust
Agnes Scott College President Elizabeth Kiss has been selected to become the new warden and CEO of the Rhodes Trust, the first woman to ever head the organization.
In a telephone conversation on Wednesday, Kiss described what an impact the Rhodes Trust has had on her life and how this is a perfect next step for her career.
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Mayor Bottoms and APS reach agreement on property deeds
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has forged a working relationship with Meria Carstarphen, superintendent of the Atlanta Public Schools.
During a speech before the Kiwanis Club of Atlanta on Tuesday, Bottoms said the Atlanta City Council at its meeting later in the day would be considering her proposal to transfer the deeds of 50 properties from the City to APS without restriction or condition.
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Salute to Greatness dinner features San Juan Mayor Cruz and U.S. Sen. Booker
Although he didn’t attend the Salute to Greatness dinner on Jan. 13, President Donald Trump was certainly on the menu.
The Salute is the major fundraising event for the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change (better known as the King Center), and it is held every year at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta.
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State Sen. Chuck Hufstelter questions financial plan for Plant Vogtle
At Friday morning’s Sustainable Atlanta Roundtable (SART), State Sen. Chuck Hufstetler (R-Rome) strongly criticized the financial plan to pay for the two new nuclear power plants at Plant Vogtle.
Hufstetler, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, openily criticized Senate Bill 31 that passed in 2009 that approved the financial plan for Plant Vogtle. It was called the Georgia Nuclear Energy Financing Act, which permitted the utility to begin recovering the costs of financing the construction of the new nuclear plants from consumers before they came on line.
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Atlanta Mayor Bottoms names 38-member transition team
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms Thursday announced a 38-member transition team that includes the CEOs of Delta Air Lines and UPS as well as Killer Mike and rapper T.I.
“The 38-strong transition team represents a tremendous amount of diversity and depth,” said Bottoms, who was flanked by her two transition co-chairs – Vicki Palmer, a retired executive from CCE; and Larry Gellerstedt III, CEO of Cousins Properties.
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King Center celebrates holiday week with the King District becoming a National Park
Bernice King, CEO of the King Center, on Tuesday evening kicked off the series of events honoring her late father – Martin Luther King Jr. – during his birthday week.
It is a most important week taking place during a most important year – the 50th anniversary of King’s assassination, which will be on April 4.
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Agnes Scott College names Leocadia Zak as its next president
Agnes Scott College has selected its next president – Leocadia “Lee” I. Zak – who recently served as director of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency under President Barack Obama.
Zak will be the ninth president of Agnes Scott, succeeding current President Elizabeth Kiss, who is stepping down at the end of June. Zak will begin her duties on July 1.
Zak’s appointment comes after an eight-month search with the board of trustees looking for a bold and inspiring leader with a commitment to institutional excellence.
Posted inATL Business Chronicle
Grady Hospital gets $50 million Woodruff gift to fund expansion
As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Dec. 1, 2017
Thanks to a new $50 million gift from the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation, Grady Health System is within $10 million of reaching its $165 million goal to fund two capital projects that will enable the hospital to become more financially sustainable.
The $50 million is in addition to the $200 million the Woodruff Foundation gave 10 years ago when the public safety net hospital was in dire financial straits. That $200 million was the catalyst in a $325 million private fundraising effort that saved the hospital from going under.
Posted inATL Business Chronicle
Column: Ben Franklin Academy raises almost $2 million for expansion
As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Nov. 24, 2017
The Ben Franklin Academy, an independent, small college-prep high school near Emory University, has raised nearly $2 million to complete an expansion of its campus.
“We finished everything without any debt,” said Dr. Martha Burdette, Ben Franklin Academy’s head of school. “Our goal was $1.75 million, and we raised almost $2 million.
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Architect John Portman ‘turned the world into a cathedral’ – Andrew Young
By Maria Saporta Family and friends bid farewell Friday to Atlanta’s most iconic architect and developer – John C. Portman Jr. The venue was the atrium of AmericasMart 3, one of Portman’s many creations. The setting displayed Portman’s unique design style – the glass elevators, the hollowed out interior of the building, the magical play […]
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Renowned Atlanta architect John Portman dies at 93
Updated with memorial service information.
Legendary Atlanta architect and developer John Portman passed away late Friday evening – capping a remarkable life that left its imprint all over the world – including Asia, Europe and the United States.
Despite his global reach, Portman was rooted in Atlanta. His headquarters were located in the 14-block Peachtree Center area of downtown Atlanta that he designed and developed over the span of his illustrious career.
Posted inATL Business Chronicle
Atlanta scouting CEOs discuss impact of historic change
As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Nov. 24, 2017
A move by the Boy Scouts of America to start admitting girls has triggered a national backlash by the Girl Scouts of America.
And the national battle between the two national organizations may possibly strain what has been a strong collaborative relationship between the Atlanta Area Council of the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta Council.
Posted inATL Business Chronicle
Morehouse School of Medicine plans $50 million expansion
As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Nov. 24, 2017
Morehouse School of Medicine is planning a more than $50 million expansion adjacent to its southwest Atlanta campus.
The school’s new “living, learning and health care campus” will include its first-ever student housing, an ambulatory health-care center and a retail component.
Real estate developer Carter USA won the bidding process to develop the first phase of the project, which MSM is calling the Lee Street Campus. BDR/Mandl and Co. was the owner’s representative for the school’s request for proposals.
Posted inATL Business Chronicle
Column: Atlanta school gets an ‘A’ for landing jobs for its students
As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on November 17, 2017
The Cristo Rey Atlanta Jesuit High School is quickly becoming a national model among the 32 Cristo Rey schools in the United States.
“We are the only Cristo Rey school in the country that has every student in a paying job,” said Bill Garrett, president of Atlanta’s Cristo Rey. “We have 137 corporate work student partners.”
Cristo Rey Atlanta, a Catholic learning community that educates young people of limited economic means and of any faith, will graduate its first senior class in 2018. It now has 535 students, and every student carries a full load of classes and works five full days a month in a corporate work setting.
Posted inATL Business Chronicle
Column: Cousins’ Gellerstedt worried some Americans are losing hope
As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on November 10, 2017
When Larry Gellerstedt, CEO of Cousins Properties Inc., received the American Jewish Committee’s National Human Relations Award on Oct. 30 at the Loew’s Atlanta Hotel, he sounded an alarm over the prejudice and hate in our society today.
Gellerstedt explained he is a lover of history – especially European history between World War I and World War II.
Posted inATL Business Chronicle
Column: Wesley Woods to honor three for their impact in metro Atlanta
As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on November 3, 2017
Three prominent Georgians will be honored with the Heroes, Saints & Legends awards by the Foundation of Wesley Woods on April 19 at Flourish.
Civil rights leader the Rev. Joseph E. Lowery will be honored along with his late wife, Evelyn Lowery.
Also, philanthropist Merritt Steed Bond and attorney Edward “Jack” Hardin, a homeless advocate, also will be honored at the annual event that celebrates Georgians who have made significant contributions to the community through their leadership, service and philanthropy.
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Atlanta Committee for Progress key in transition of Mayor Reed to Mayor-elect Bottoms
By Maria Saporta The high-powered Atlanta Committee for Progress witnessed the transition of leadership Friday morning when Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed passed a symbolic baton to his successor – Mayor-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms. The quarterly board meeting of ACP had planned for this meeting to be a time when it could meet with Atlanta’s next […]
