Category: Sections

By Maria Saporta

The two black churches standing on the preferred site of the new Atlanta Falcons stadium are expected to vote in the next 10 days on whether to accept offers to sell their properties.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed announced on Aug. 6 that he had reached a $19.5 million deal with Friendship Baptist Church, but the church’s boards of deacons and trustees have not yet voted to approve the offer partly because of vacations and holidays.

But those boards are expected to vote in the coming week, according to Lloyd Hawk, chairman of the board of trustees. Then the recommendation would go to the full congregation.

“We know that for scheduling reasons we won’t be able to vote on it this Sunday,” Hawk said. “But I’m shooting for us to have a vote the following Sunday (Sept. 22). We certainly want to have the vote before the end of the month.”

By Maria Saporta

In his first comments since the latest legal dispute among his siblings, Martin Luther King III said his “sole focus now is resolving this issue.”

King III and his brother, Dexter King, filed a legal action against their sister, Bernice King, CEO of the King Center, on Aug. 28. That was the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington when their father made his most famous — “I Have A Dream” speech.

“I'm encouraged by the dialogue between the parties,” King III said in a telephone interview. “I'm speaking with Dexter, and I'm encouraged there's going to be dialogue with everyone involved. I know that Bernice wants to get this resolved. I'm committed to getting this resolved, and I would hope it would not be in court.”

By Maria Saporta

Morris Brown College is working on two different financial plans that would provide secure its future, its representatives told U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Barbara Ellis-Monro Friday.

Morris Brown lawyers said they were working until 11 p.m. Thursday night on a “consensual” plan with the bondholders holding the college’s debt. Morris Brown filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August, 2012 because it had accumulated more than $30 million in debt.

But if the consensual plan does not materialize, Morris Brown attorney John Moore said the college had alternative plan in the works.

By Maria Saporta

The Fox Theatre Institute has awarded grants to help in the restoration of two theaters — the Plaza Theatre in Atlanta and the President Theatre in Manchester.

The grants are part of the Fox Theatre Institute’s initiative to help preserve historic buildings, revitalize arts programs and strengthen local economies.

There will be a formal announcement of the two grants at an event at the Plaza Theatre on Ponce de Leon Avenue on Sept. 23 from 10 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.

“We are very excited to work with these deserving recipients throughout Georgia and right here in Atlanta,” said Molly Fortune, director of restoration at the Fox Theatre. “Our goal is to restore vitality to their historic theatres as well as the communities that they serve.”

By Maria Saporta

By dragging her removal by a couple of years, the Atlanta Housing Authority ended up paying its departing president and CEO Renee Glover substantially less than earlier estimates.

Glover’s separation agreement, which was released Tuesday evening, included her base salary for one year — $325,000 plus three months of a consultancy retainer — valued at $89,600. She also was to receive up to $20,000 in legal expenses that she incurred because of her separation discussions with AHA; and up to $5,000 in expenses during this transition period.

The total value of the separation agreement is well under previous estimates, some of which had totaled more than a million dollars given the number of years remaining on her five-year, $1.5 million contract.

By Maria Saporta

Renee Glover, the nationally-acclaimed CEO of the Atlanta Housing Authority, is leaving her post after a three-year political struggle with City Hall.

The AHA board on Tuesday accepted Glover’s resignation, and a release announcing the move said she had “done an outstanding job over the past 19 years and the entire board wishes her will in her future endeavors.”

The resignation was effective immediately, but Glover has agreed to be available to assist AHA during a 90-day transition period, which is supposed to end Nov. 30, 2013.

By Maria Saporta

The founder and executive director of Southface — Dennis Creech — is receiving a prestigious award for his contributions to environmentally-friendly housing.

Creech is the 2013 winner of the Hanley Award for Vision and Leadership in Sustainable Housing — an award that comes with a $50,000 prize.

The award is considered to be the industry’s premier award that recognizes achievements in environmental building, and it is sponsored by the Hanley Foundation, Hanley Wood and ECOHOME and BUILDER magazines.

By Maria Saporta

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The leaders who stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial Wednesday delivered a similar theme — we’ve come a long way in the past 50 years, but we still have a long way to go.

And so many of the leaders delivering that message were our own homegrown Atlantans — people who helped shape and build the Civil Rights movement 50 years ago and those who now have been given the mantle of leadership to continue the fight for economic and racial justice in today’s disparate environment.

The role that Atlanta’s leaders have played and continue to play is undeniable.

By Maria Saporta

Just hours after qualifying for re-election, Mayor Kasim Reed delivered an upbeat talk to the Rotary Club of Atlanta saying the city was reclaiming its place as the capital of the Southeast.

Reed acknowledged that Atlanta had been particularly hard hit during the Great Recession, because of the city’s reliance on development and construction industries — two sectors that were particularly hard hit in the past few years.

“We are going to become one of the most successful cities in the United States, and we have reasserted our dominance in the Southeast,” Reed said. “You haven’t heard much about Charlotte recently, have you?”

By Maria Saporta

A federal bankruptcy judge on Monday afternoon gave Morris Brown College until Sept. 6 to file a new financial plan to restructure all of its debts.

That plan is expected to involve the property where the College has had operations along both sides of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard just a few short blocks west of Northside Drive.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Barbara Ellis-Monro also gave Morris Brown the right to borrow $300,000 from the African Methodist Episcopal Church — a move that will keep the College open at least through Sept. 16.

The AME Church had offered Morris Brown a $1.5 million loan that would help the college pay some of its post-bankruptcy interest payments as well as administrative expenses through the end of the year. But Ellis-Monro on Monday only allowed the College to borrow $300,000 of that new loan.

By Maria Saporta

The legal proceedings of Morris Brown College’s bankruptcy will resume Monday in the courtroom of U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Barbara Ellis-Monro.

According to legal filings submitted to the court last week, Morris Brown will be seeking to stay open for the foreseeable future thanks to a new $1.5 million loan that the African Methodist Episcopal Church is willing to provide.

Morris Brown College filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August 2012 to prevent going into foreclosure due to being an estimated $30 million in debt to multiple creditors.

Since then, Morris Brown has been trying to put together various financial plans to wipe away its debt and to be able to stay open.

By Maria Saporta

Newly-installed U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, after visiting with several local executives and entrepreneurs, said Atlanta had a “vibrant ecosystem” with a “great sense of optimism.”

Pritzer was in Atlanta as part of her first 100-day nationwide listening tour to engage with business, academic and thought leaders to hear concerns and ideas on how the public and private sectors can work together to strengthen the economy.

While in Atlanta, Pritzker had dinner Thursday night with Mayor Kasim Reed, when they discussed business opportunities in the city as well as plans to build a new stadium for the Atanta Falcons.

By Maria Saporta

It’s in the Atlanta air.

As the calendar nears Aug. 28, the anticipation is growing the 50^th anniversary of the March on Washington — the day that Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his powerful “I Have A Dream” speech on the National Mall.

On Thursday, WXIA-TV invited key Atlanta dignitaries to preview a special documentary “Share the Journey” to showcase the march, the speech and other world-changing events that occurred in 1963.

By Maria Saporta

The business community will need to take a leadership role for true immigration reform to occur during the next six months.

That was the sentiment that former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell and former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour shared Monday with the Rotary Club of Atlanta.

Both statesmen are co-chairing the Immigration Task Force of the Bipartisan Policy Center — urging the U.S. Congress to take action on meaningful immigration reform for the good of domestic economy.