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Southern Co.’s Tom Fanning: Decision on Vogtle expansion likely to be made in August

CALLAWAY GARDENS – More than a dozen shareholders participated in a question-and-answer session with Southern Co. CEO Tom Fanning during the annual meeting that lasted two hours.

And most of the questions centered around the company’s efforts to adopt more renewable energy, vocally support the Paris Climate Accord and to become a more vocal industry leader addressing global warming and climate change.

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Agnes Scott President Elizabeth Kiss to step down June 2018

Agnes Scott College President Elizabeth Kiss sent an email to the institution’s alumnae announcing her intention to resign on June 30, 2018 – completing a dozen years at the helm of the liberal arts women’s college.

“Agnes Scott is a magical place, and I feel so blessed to have had the privilege of serving as your president for the past 11 years,” Kiss wrote in her email.

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Dan Cathy and Arthur Blank, in a joint appearance, reaffirm commitment to Westside

The Gathering Spot at Northyards was jam-packed Friday morning to hear a conversation between Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank and Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy as part of the regular Transform Westside Summit meetings.

Both successful businessmen have made a personal and professional commitment to improve the lives of people living in the neighborhoods west of the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in some of the most historically-significant communities in Atlanta.

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Column: Atlanta nonprofit group Literacy Action begins a new chapter

By Maria Saporta
As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on May 5, 2017

A change of leadership is underway at Literacy Action, a 50-year old Atlanta nonprofit that focuses on the issues related to adult literacy.

Austin Dickson, executive director of Literacy Action since October, 2012, is resigning effective May 12 to move back to Texas so he can be closer to his family.

Dickson, a Texas native, is moving to the San Antonio area where he will serve as the executive director of the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country, the principal grant-maker in four Central Texas counties.

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Atlanta hotel launched modern Hyatt brand

As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on May 5, 2017

The Hyatt Regency Atlanta, with its iconic blue-domed revolving restaurant, has long defined the downtown skyline.

But the city’s second-largest hotel also turned the tide for what today is a giant hotel brand.

The 1,260-room hotel on Peachtree Street this week celebrated its 50th anniversary. Top hotel executives were in town to mark the occasion with two days of events, including Mark Hoplamazian, president and CEO of Hyatt Hotels Corp.

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Mattress-maker Serta Simmons may tuck its headquarters into Assembly

By Dougals Sams and Maria Saporta
As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on May 5, 2017

Mattress maker Serta Simmons Bedding LLC will move into a new consolidated Atlanta headquarters in 2019.

The company, which has been exploring options for a new campus for the past year, did not name the site in a statement released May 2 to Atlanta Business Chronicle. But, the Serta Simmons headquarters is widely expected to help launch the first phase of Assembly, the proposed $2 billion redevelopment of the former Doraville General Motors plant.

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Column: Genuine Parts looks back on a year of big changes

As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on April 28, 2017

What a year of change for Genuine Parts Co.

In the past year, the company has moved its corporate headquarters from 2999 Circle 75 Parkway – right next to the new Atlanta Braves Stadium at SunTrust Park — to a little more than one mile east to 2999 Wildwood Parkway where it built a new headquarters. It had been at its former location since 1979.

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Committee for Better Atlanta hears from candidates running for mayor and council president

The Committee for a Better Atlanta held its version of political “speed dating” Thursday with four different forums with candidates running for Atlanta mayor and president of the Atlanta City Council.

But most of the buzz in the room circled around the one mayoral candidate who did not attend – Atlanta City Councilwoman Mary Norwood, who is ahead in the polls.

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New transit oriented development underway at Chamblee MARTA Station

The City of Chamblee got another development boost Wednesday when MARTA held the official ground-breaking ceremony for the $25 million Trackside Project.

Parkside Partners, under the leadership of Kyle Jenks, is developing an office building with 80,000 square feet of office space and 13,000 square feet of retail. The first phase will house the headquarters of Pattillo Industrial Real Estate.

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Hundreds of AT&T executives leaving Atlanta

As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on April 28, 2017

Big changes are underway for Atlanta’s fourth-largest employer.

AT&T plans to relocate hundreds of its executives from Atlanta to its operations hub in Dallas and its entertainment hub in Los Angeles. About 300 jobs will leave Atlanta, including most leadership in the entertainment division. Atlanta Business Chronicle first reported the news on April 25.

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New Coca-Cola CEO faces fast-changing world

As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on April 28, 2017

As James Quincey becomes CEO of The Coca-Cola Co. on May 1, he faces a multitude of challenges — an embattled signature brand, stagnant growth of its market cap, consumers who want healthier beverages, and even the possibility that the company could be acquired by another global enterprise such as Belgium’s Anheuser Busch InBev NV.

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Atlantans visiting Detroit discover a city rising from the ashes in unpredictable ways

DETROIT – Despite all the turmoil experienced by the biggest city in Michigan in recent years, a fierce pride of place shines through among members of the community.

Yes Detroit recently went through the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. Yes, one of its recent mayors – Kwame Kilpatrick – resides in federal prison after being convicted on 24 federal felony counts, including fraud and racketeering. And yes, the City of Detroit has be losing jobs and population for 60 years.

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PBS CEO Paula Kerger says federal funding for public broadcasting is critical

The continuation of federal funding for public broadcasting is a matter of survival for several stations across the nation, according to Paula Kerger, president and CEO of the Public Broadcasting Service.

Kerger was the keynote speaker at the Rotary Club of Atlanta Monday, and she gave a special shout out to the two major public broadcasting entities in Georgia – Georgia Public Broadcasting and Public Broadcasting Atlanta.

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New Atlanta City Studio opens in Cascade Heights – seeks public engagement

The new Atlanta City Studio location opened Saturday morning in the heart of Cascade Heights – welcoming community residents, engaged citizens and several people running for public office.

The studio – which invites people to weigh in on how Atlanta should grow – is now in its second home. It had been based in northeast Atlanta at the Ponce City Market.

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