Category: ATL Business Chronicle

By Maria Saporta
Friday, February 25, 2011

With several metro Atlanta public school systems seeking new superintendents, community leaders sought answers from national education experts during a panel discussion hosted by The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation on Feb. 21.

Several questions were asked. Should a board be elected or appointed? Should a superintendent be an education professional or a nontraditional executive? Should a local school system be under the mayor’s control, should it be under the governor’s control or should it be independent?

By Maria Saporta
Friday, February 25, 2011

Waste Management Inc. is increasing its presence in metro Atlanta.

After considering several locations in the Carolinas and Georgia, the Houston-based company (NYSE: WM) selected Cobb County’s One Parkway Center to house its South Atlantic Area’s newly consolidated area office and call center.

The 20,000-square-foot facility is being called the Grand Central Station for Waste Management’s customer service and operations business in the three-state South Atlantic area.

By Maria Saporta
Friday, February 18, 2011

A public-private partnership wants metro companies to put Atlantans back to work.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed announced the new metrowide initiative — Hire One Atlanta — aimed at challenging employers to hire at least one new employee this year.

In return, Atlanta Business Chronicle will spotlight all companies that have hired a new employee in a special ad that will run every week in its publication throughout the year.

“Hire One Atlanta is a campaign

By Maria Saporta
Friday, February 18, 2011

The fate of the historic Crum & Forster building at 771 Spring St. in Midtown is looking a bit brighter.

The Georgia Tech Foundation, which has been unsuccessful in getting a demolition permit for the 1928 building, has just gained ownership of the SunTrust Banks Inc. branch on the same block.

“Now that we have obtained the SunTrust property, we are in the process of pursuing a mutually agreeable resolution to the future of the Crum & Forster building,” said John Carter, president of the Georgia Tech Foundation.

By Maria Saporta
Friday, February 18, 2011

Building a new open-air stadium for the Atlanta Falcons on Georgia World Congress Center land is a feasible solution, according to a consultant’s report to be released Feb. 22.

The study by Kansas City, Mo.-based Populous will focus on the GWCC’s truck marshalling yard along Northside Drive and Simpson Street, just north of the convention center, according to several people familiar with the report.

GWCC officials said they could not discuss details of the report until it is presented to its board at its Feb. 22 meeting. “It is not appropriate for me to comment until the report has been presented to the board,”

By Maria Saporta
Friday, February 11, 2011

The Metro Atlanta business community is organizing a political campaign to sell the regional transportation sales tax to voters for the August 2012 referendum.

An initial pitch was made during the Commerce Club’s monthly board meeting earlier this month in a quest to raise at least several million dollars for the effort.

“I shared with them the importance of this effort,” said Post Properties Inc. CEO Dave Stockert, who is chairing the Metro Atlanta Chamber’s transportation committee

By Maria Saporta
Friday, February 11, 2011

Georgia State University’s recent purchase of a key downtown block came down to a 35-year friendship between two men — property owner Peter Blum and businessman J. Mack Robinson.

Blum first started assembling the land at John Wesley Dobbs Avenue and Park Place, between Georgia-Pacific Center and Robert W. Woodruff Park, in 1966.

Nearly a decade ago, GSU leaders began inquiring whether Blum would sell the 2.45-acre site so the university could expand its downtown campus. He ended up selling the property to GSU late last year for $17.8 million in a “partial gift, partial cash”

By Maria Saporta
Friday, February 4, 2011

Up until the last days of his administration, former Gov. Sonny Perdue had hoped to reach an agreement between Georgia and Alabama on their water disputes.

Assisting the governor in that effort was Michael Garrett, president and CEO of Georgia Power Co. Garrett, with deep ties in Alabama, had been asked to “quarterback” those negotiations and keep them on track.

Then Garrett retired at the end of last year, and Perdue left office in early January. But Gov. Nathan Deal wants to make sure those negotiations don’t lose any momentum. On Jan. 31, Deal invited Garrett’s successor — Paul Bowers —to meet with him in the governor’s office.

By Maria Saporta
Friday, February 4, 2011

As the restructuring officer for American International Group Inc. in 2008 and 2009, former Atlantan Paula Rosput Reynolds had a front-row seat to the largest corporate bailout ever and the inner workings of Wall Street.

Reynolds has now had a year to reflect on her AIG experience. During a visit to Atlanta Jan. 31 that included a speech to the Rotary Club of Atlanta, she summarized her thoughts about AIG.

“First, regulators were asleep at the wheel,” she said.

Second, Reynolds said that when the government intervenes in rescues or

By Maria Saporta
Friday, January 28,2011

Leadership at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta is in transition.

William Lampley, who became CEO and president of the organization about two years ago, has decided to return to the real estate industry because of some entrepreneurial opportunities.

His last official day was Jan. 27. But Lampley will continue to be involved with the organization, according to Brent Wilson, a partner with employment law firm Elarbee, Thompson, Sapp & Wilson LLP, who chairs the board of Atlanta’s Boys & Girls Clubs.

By Maria Saporta
Friday, January 28, 2011

Before the Nov. 2 election, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce was leading the charge to get more pro-business leaders elected to Congress — spending millions of dollars to successfully elect dozens of new congressional representatives.

At the time, the chamber — chaired by Atlanta’s Tom Bell — was railing against the anti-business sentiment that it believed existed in the administration of President Barack Obama.

But much has changed in the past two months.

“It’s a love fest,” joked Bell, former CEO

By Maria Saporta and Urvaksh Karkaria
Friday, January 28, 2011

The Georgia Research Alliance, a 20-year-old initiative that has made the state a model for bringing cutting-edge scientific research into the commercial marketplace, is being threatened with a massive budget cut as Georgia lawmakers look to plug an up to $2 billion shortfall.

Gov. Nathan Deal’s budget calls for GRA funding to crater nearly 75 percent — from about $17 million currently to $4.5 million in fiscal 2012.

The public-private partnership between Georgia’s six research universities, businesses and state government is charged with transforming university breakthroughs

By Maria Saporta
Friday, January 21, 2011

Nov. 15, 1864 — Gen. William Sherman began his march of destruction in Georgia.

Dec. 7, 1946 — The historic Winecoff Hotel in Atlanta burns to the ground, killing 119 people.

Oct. 14, 1964 — Martin Luther King Jr. wins the Nobel Peace Prize.

Jan. 29, 1977 — Andrew Young is named U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.

July 19, 1996 — The Summer Olympic Games begin in Atlanta.

Such moments soon will be immortalized as part of the “Today in Georgia History”

By Maria Saporta , Staff Writer
Date: Friday, January 14, 2011

After a nearly passing last year’s Georgia General Assembly, a bill will be reintroduced early in this session to allow local communities to pass a fraction of a penny sales tax for economic development and the arts.

A coalition of cities, counties, and arts and cultural organizations, known as Georgia Communities for Growth, is pushing for a bill that would give communities unprecedented flexibility for a new revenue stream.

by Dave Williams and Maria Saporta
Date: Friday, January 14, 2011

Atlanta’s airport is seeking bids for its lucrative food and beverage concessions for the first time since before the Olympics came to town.

Promising a fair and transparent process, city officials have invited potential bidders to a daylong Industry Day, an information session set for Jan. 19 at the Georgia International Convention Center adjacent to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

By Maria Saporta
Friday, January 7, 2011

In mid-December, a delegation from the Georgia Chamber of Commerce had a chance to visit with Gov.-elect Nathan Deal to talk about the organization’s agenda.

“It was like sitting down with someone over a cup of coffee at a local café,” said Doug Carter, president of Don Carter Realty in Gainesville and chair-elect of the Georgia Chamber. “He’s an everyday person who just happens to be our next governor.”

By Maria Saporta
Friday, January 7, 2011

From Ghana and Senegal to the Netherland Antilles, travelers can now fly nonstop from Atlanta to each of these destinations on Delta Air Lines Inc. And starting Jan. 20, you can add Luanda, Angola, to the list.

Delta’s international growth out of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in the past five years has helped transform the global profile of metro Atlanta. And Delta and Hartsfield-Jackson are showing no signs of slowing their international growth.

Quite the contrary.

By Maria Saporta
Friday, December 31, 2010

Georgia could lose hundreds of millions of dollars if it were to adopt an Arizona-type immigration bill, according to leaders in the Hispanic and international communities.

But those leaders are concerned that state leaders are moving toward adopting such a bill without considering the economic ramifications.

The Joint Legislative Committee on Immigration Reform has been meeting to consider new Georgia legislation, and Gov.-elect Nathan Deal said during the campaign

By Maria Saporta
Friday, December 31, 2010

When it comes to transportation, metro Atlanta is at a tipping point.

So believes Jim Durrett, who was elected as the new MARTA board chairman on Dec. 28, succeeding attorney Michael Tyler, who rotated off the board.

Durrett also understands that the role MARTA will play

By Maria Saporta
Friday, December 17, 2010

For Andrew “Bo” Young III, the son of Atlanta’s former mayor, his new role as CEO of GiveLocally.net combines his family’s altruism with his business interests.

The for-profit website is a grass-roots philanthropic endeavor that matches generous people with individuals and families at a critical time in their lives.