Category: Sections

By Maria Saporta

Former Atlanta journalist and communications professional Ann Wead Kimbrough is the new dean for the Florida A&M University School of Journalism and Graphic Communication.

The appointment, which goes into effect on Aug. 13, was made by FAMU’s interim president, Larry Robinson.

By Maria Saporta

Gov. Nathan Deal began his day Thursday morning stopping by the Metro Atlanta Chamber board meeting to thank the business organization for its efforts to get the regional transportation sales tax passed on July 31.

“My meeting with the board this morning was simply to thank them,” Deal said later Thursday morning. “Their efforts and support should be recognized and appreciated.”

By Maria Saporta

Transit is now taking center stage in the effort to pass the regional transportation sales tax.

Advocates for the July 31 referendum unveiled the beginning of “Mass Transit Week” from July 18 to July 27 (which is actually 10 days).

The campaign has organized teams that will be at the various transit stations throughout metro Atlanta to appeal to regular riders of MARTA, the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority’s Xpress buses as well as Cobb County Transit.

By Maria Saporta

If voters approve the one-percent regional transportation sales tax on July 31, the amount families will pay will vary based on income and age.

An analysis of who would pay how much was done by Georgia State University’s Fiscal Research Center at the Andrew Young School of Public Policy. The analysis was done for the Atlanta Regional Commission.

By Maria Saporta

It’s the small touches that make a city special.

And on Tuesday morning, downtown Atlanta unveiled two special places — a restored Margaret Mitchell Square and a new ATL playscape at Woodruff Park.

Thanks to a host of community partners and two major corporate donors — Norfolk-Southern and Bank of America — downtown Atlanta’s beautification continues.

Note to Readers: Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and his administration wanted an opportunity to respond to my Maria’s Metro column this week. In the interest of fairness, I am running the city’s response in full.

By Tom Weyandt, senior policy advisor for transportation for Mayor Kasim Reed

With two critical weeks until the July 31 transportation referendum, Maria Saporta has decided to lead the pack among her journalism cohorts and pen a column that already assigns blame for the initiative’s defeat. As senior policy advisor for Transportation for Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, I disagree with Ms. Saporta’s assertion that he is at fault because the project list didn’t include enough money for rail, particularly in South DeKalb County.

By Maria Saporta

If the Atlanta region wants to get federal transportation funds, it needs to pass the regional referendum on July 31.

That was the bottom line delivered by U.S. Rep. John Mica, chairman of the U.S. House Transportation Committee, on Friday at a program co-sponsored by the Council for Quality Growth and the Urban Land Institute – Atlanta at the Cobb Galleria.

By Maria Saporta

On of metro Atlanta’s most popular leaders — Bucky Johnson — is taking on a new role.

Johnson, who is mayor of the City of Norcross, is now the new chairman of the Metro Atlanta Mayors Association (MAMA).

He is succeeding Mike Bodker, the mayor of Johns Creek, in that role. At the annual conference of the Georgia Municipal Association in June in Savannah, Bodker became the third vice president of GMA.

By Maria Saporta

Atlanta-based Art Papers has tapped Saskia Benjamin as its new executive director.

Benjamin is leaving her post as director of institutional advancement at the Atlanta Contemporary Arts Center to join Art Papers, a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to the “examination, development and definition of art and culture in the world today,” according to the organization’s website.

By Maria Saporta

No matter who wins, the 2012 presidential election will be historic.

That’s what national pollster Peter Hart told the Rotary Club of Atlanta at its luncheon meeting on Monday.

Ordinarily, given the sluggish economy and the fact that a majority of Americans believe the country is going in the wrong direction, an incumbent president would be in trouble. At least that has been true in just about every incumbent presidential election for decades.

By Maria Saporta

At its First Monday breakfast meeting, the Cobb Chamber of Commerce put together a like-minded panel to discuss the merits of voting for the regional transportation referendum on July 31.

Unlike a host of other panels that have included diverse views on whether the referendum is a good or bad idea, the Cobb Chamber panel, by design, was unanimous in its support for the one-percent sales tax.

By Maria Saporta

When Tech High, an Atlanta charter school, opened its doors in 2004, the business, academic and technology leaders were thrilled.

The Tech High partnership’s goal was to help train and graduate students attending the Atlanta public high school — preparing them preparing them for careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

By Maria Saporta

Atlanta leaders are not giving up on the possibility of becoming a regional location for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

But there was widespread disappointment that Atlanta was not among the four cities that already have been designated to become regional patent offices.

By Maria Saporta

A new transportation center for downtown Atlanta is moving from the idea stage to the design stage.

On July 11, the Georgia MultiModal Passenger Terminal team will provide the “first look” at the three alternative sites under consideration for the location of the proposed multimodal station.

The team will present different design sketches for the station, including elevations and street crossings at the public meeting, which will be held at 6 p.m. at the City of Atlanta’s Department of Watershed Management at 72 Marietta St. NW (the former home of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution), which is adjacent to where the station would be located.