Words matter. What better place to find that out than in the board room of the Central Library of the Atlanta Fulton County Library System.
At Wednesday’s Library System board meeting, 25 people – primarily young downtown residents – spoke out against the demolition of the Downtown library that was designed by internationally-acclaimed Marcel Breuer, a follower of the Bauhaus movement.
By Maria Saporta In announcing $75 million for 11 transit projects in nine communities across the state on Wednesday, Gov. Nathan Deal recognized the historic nature of the announcement. “The awards demonstrate the recognition of transit as an important part of major urban transportation systems,” Deal said. “They improve mobility and support economic development through […]
Work is progressing on the renovation of Atlanta’s beloved Manuel’s Tavern.
Every effort is being made for Manuel’s to be open in time to celebrate its 60th anniversary on Aug. 6. Manuel’s communication guy – Angelo Fuster – said it is on schedule to reopen by that day.
William “Sonny” Walker, a cheerful leader involved in a host of Atlanta civic causes, passed away on June 14 after a brief illness, according to family members.
Walker, 82 was a civil rights activist, educator, nonprofit executive, entrepreneur and mentor to many.
By Maria Saporta
As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on June 17, 2016
After years of stops and starts, plans are moving forward to build a new park — one that will be bigger than Centennial Olympic Park — in the heart of Vine City, just west of the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Starting in September, Emory University welcomes its first female president, Claire Sterk. She served as Emory’s provost since 2013.
She succeeds Jim Wagner, who has been Emory’s president for 13 years.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and key members of the business community favor asking voters for a full penny sales tax for transportation later this year – a half-penny going to MARTA and another half-penny going toward other transportation projects.
By Maria Saporta As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on June 10, 2016 The sixth annual Clinton Global Initiative America will be held in Atlanta June 12 to 14, bringing together national leaders in business, philanthropy, government and nonprofits. A highlight of this year’s meeting will be a special one-on-one conversation between two former […]
By Maria Saporta
As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on June 10, 2016
The Atlanta region likes to boast of being a hub of Fortune 500 company headquarters – bragging that it has the third-highest concentration in the country – an assertion included in the video shown in the city’s presentation that helped it recently win the 2019 Super Bowl.
But that’s an overstatement at best.
In fact, Atlanta’s high watermark as a Fortune 500 company region may have come in 2015 when there were 18 companies in the prestigious list.
Atlanta hosted a historic conversation Tuesday afternoon between two former U.S. presidents – Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.
The venue was the Clinton Global Initiative America meeting at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis, where nearly 1,000 leaders from around the country have been convening since Sunday.
Original post on WABE by Maria Saporta The Koch brothers have a national reputation for funding Republican candidates and conservative causes. But in Georgia, there is another side to the Koch family. Koch Industries bought Georgia-Pacific in 2005. One year later, Charles Koch’s wife, Elizabeth Koch, started Youth Entrepreneurs Georgia to help spark an entrepreneurial spirit among […]
Twenty-five Atlanta-based LGBT and allied organizations sent out a joint press release in response to the shooting at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando.
And they announced that they will hold a vigil Tuesday evening at the Center for Civil and Human Rights “in memory of those who were killed in Orlando and a call to action to prevent this terrible violence from happening again in the future.”
Former President Bill Clinton kicked off the Clinton Global Initiative America meeting Monday morning in Atlanta by taking a moment of silence to reflect on the massacre that happened in a gay nightclub in Orlando early Sunday morning.
In talking about the numerous challenges that the country is facing, Clinton said: “We can present an alternative view for the future…, a road map for how we can succeed.”
NEW YORK – Pilots from Delta Air Lines lined up in front of the elegant offices of Cravath, Swaine & Moore, where the Atlanta-based airline was holding its annual meeting Friday morning.
They were holding placards saying: “First Class Airline. First Class Contract” and “Labor Risk…. Back on the Table?”
By Maria Saporta
As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on June 3, 2016
When Jenny Pruitt got the call saying she had been selected as the 2016 Four Pillar honoree by the Council for Quality Growth, her first reaction was they had called the wrong person.
“I’m humbled and excited,” Pruitt said of the honor, which will be presented on Oct. 13 at the 27th annual Four Pillar Tribute at the Georgia World Congress Center.
Pruitt, a third-generation Atlantan, is the only the third woman to make the esteemed list (Gwinnett County’s Louise Radloff received it in 2000, and Atlanta’s Shirley Franklin received it in 2009.
Was Atlanta airport general manager Miguel Southwell fired because he wouldn’t award contracts to “companies other than the highest-ranked bidder”?
That’s the suggestion of a May 31 letter to the city from Southwell’s attorney, Lee Parks, seeking documents related to the sudden May 20 firing by Mayor Kasim Reed of the chief of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
The incoming president of Emory University wants to DeKalb County institution of higher learning to have a much closer relationship with the City of Atlanta and the rest of the region.
In a couple of brief conversations after Claire Sterk was named the next president of Emory on June 3, it was readily apparent that she wants the university to be externally focused on community issues outside the walls of what is often viewed as an Ivy League school in the South.
Fortune made it official Monday morning.
Georgia has a new Fortune 500 company – Veritiv – giving the state a total of 18 companies on the list.
And for the first time ever, Georgia has a woman at the helm of a Georgia-based Fortune 500 – Mary Laschinger, Veritiv’s CEO.
By Maria Saporta
As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on June 3, 2016
When Mike Thurmond won the Democratic primary election on May 24 for CEO of DeKalb County with 72 percent of the vote against two opponents, he drew support from all parts of the county.
That’s how he can conclude a 90-minute exclusive interview with Atlanta Business Chronicle that focused on some of the most contentious issues dividing DeKalb with an expression of hope.
“I’m so excited and optimistic about the future of DeKalb County,” Thurmond said. “We will be recognized as a national model of local governance. We are going to figure it out. We are the land of opportunity in the metro area.”
By Maria Saporta
As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on May 27, 2016
State business leaders are being asked to join the Chairman’s Circle of Youth Entrepreneurs Georgia – a nonprofit started by Elizabeth Koch in 2006.
Liz Koch is the wife of billionaire Charles Koch, an owner of Koch Industries, which bought Georgia-Pacific in 2005.
The Chairman’s Circle was launched May 19 at a reception at the Center for Civil and Human Rights. The goal of YE Georgia is to make entrepreneurship an educational priority for public schools. So far, YE Georgia operates in public schools in Atlanta, DeKalb, Cobb and Gwinnett. “We’re in 13 schools, and we are serving 360 students,” Mrs. Koch said at the reception. It started in two Atlanta schools serving only 38 students. Since it started, YE Georgia has reached about 2,000 students.
