Category: Sections

By Maria Saporta

It’s the governor’s prerogative to change his mind.

Between 8 a.m. Friday morning and early afternoon, Gov. Nathan Deal went from saying that he was undecided about signing the controversial immigration reform bill to saying he would sign it.

After speaking to the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Pacesetter breakfast at the Cobb Galleria, Deal said he wanted to take a close look at the bill before deciding whether he was going to sign the bill that passed at the very end of the 2011 session.

“It was so jumbled at the end as to what was added and what was taken out,” Deal said. “We are going to look at it very

By Maria Saporta

Gov. Nathan Deal said Friday morning that he has not yet decided whether he will sign or veto the controversial immigration bill that passed the General Assembly Thursday night just before the end of the 2011 session.

“It was so jumbled at the end as to what was added and what was taken out,” Deal said. “We are going to look at it very carefully.”

The bill would require many Georgia businesses to check for illegal workers among their new hires. It passed the House of Representatives by 112-59; and passed the Georgia Senate by 37-19.

By Maria Saporta

In his second term as Georgia’s senior senator, Republican Saxby Chambliss has emerged into a rare breed in Washington, D.C. He’s become bi-partisan.

This evolved Saxby Chambliss demonstrated his ability to work across the aisle when he insisted that U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Virginia) appear with him on Monday at the Rotary Club of Atlanta.

Chambliss and Warner have teamed up to

By Maria Saporta

April in Atlanta. Dogwoods. Azaleas. Warm days. Cool nights.

It’s no wonder why we celebrate our place on earth during the month of April.

So the speech that the Right Honourable John Gummer, Lord Deben of the British House of Lords gave at Southface’s Visionary Dinner at the 200 Peachtree building on March 31 keeps playing in my

By Maria Saporta

A Georgia passenger rail advocacy organization is moving its headquarters from Atlanta to Macon.

Georgians for Passenger Rail, founded in 2009, has been promoting the development of rail travel throughout the state.

But the organization has been focusing most of its efforts on creating passenger rail

By Maria Saporta

A long-time parks and green space advocate — Margaret Gray Connelly — is bringing new life to Park Pride, the leading Atlanta-based nonprofit focused on our region’s public

By Maria Saporta

A Fair Share for Transit Rally attracted more than a hundred leaders and citizens from a couple dozen organizations and governments on Tuesday evening at the Georgia Railroad Freight Depot.

The bottom line — the 2012 referendum for a new regional transportation sales tax should have a fair share for transit and not be dominated by funding for roads.

But what is a fair share?

That was the question I asked numerous people attending the reception.

The first person I asked was Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed.

“I’m not going to say,” said Reed, who is a member of the Atlanta Regional Roundtable,

By Maria Saporta

Georgia can become a “poster child” for balancing environmental and economic interests, according to Allen Barnes, director of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Environmental Protection Division.

Barnes was the keynote speaker at Friday morning’s Environmental Awards presented by the Atlanta Business Chronicle at the Georgia Aquarium.

“Environmental sustainability and economic sustainability can and must co-exist,” Barnes told the breakfast gathering. “Georgia can be the poster child of that principle.”

Barnes added that Georgia has a great concentration of Fortune 500 companies that

By Maria Saporta

Gov. Nathan Deal hinted that progress is being made in the private water negotiations with Alabama and Florida, during a “Meet and Greet” event Wednesday evening at the Georgian Club in Cobb County.

“I’m working diligently,” Deal told the gathering elected and civic leaders invited by the Council for Quality Growth. “This is the kind of thing you can’t even tell your wife about, and I can’t tell you either. I think you are going to be pleased by what we are going to produce.”

Deal said he was encouraged by the latest court hearing on the appeal of Judge Paul Magnuson’s ruling that would drastically reduce the amount of water metro Atlanta can withdraw from Lake Lanier in July 2012 if an agreement is not reached. But Deal said Georgia can’t rely on the possibility of a

By Maria Saporta

At a pivotal moment for metro Atlanta, a major transition in leadership is underway.

Chick Krautler, director of the Atlanta Regional Commission, announced today his plan to retire on June 30 after 11 years with the planning agency.

Krautler’s retirement follows the departure of two other key members of the Atlanta Regional Commission’s senior team — Tom Weyandt, the agency’s director of comprehensive planning; and Tony Landers, ARC’s director of community services.

At the same time, ARC is playing an integral role in helping put together a list of projects that would be included in the regional transportation sales tax referendum scheduled for August, 2012. The project list must be approved in October.

By Maria Saporta

The Mayor of Midtown has left us.

Larry Steven Collins was the man who knew everybody’s name when they walked in the door at the Sig Samuels drycleaner at the corner of Monroe Drive and Eighth Street.

Collins, 54, passed away on Wednesday, March 16 after two years of fighting ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease.

It’s hard to describe what a vital community role Sig Samuels and the Collins family have played in Midtown. It has been the unofficial gathering spot and meeting ground for people picking up or dropping off their laundry.

The windows of the historic looking storefront often are plastered with all kinds of community notices and election posters.

By Maria Saporta

Georgia Tech pulled out all the stops when it honored former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn with the inaugural Ivan Allen Prize for Social Courage on Tuesday.

Not only was Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed present to give a talk saying that both former Mayor Allen and Sen. Nunn had served as an inspiration for him.

Then both of Georgia’s U.S. senators — Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss — gave their good wishes to Nunn via a pre-taped video.

And then President Barack Obama appeared on screen thanking Nunn “on a very personal level” for being available when the president sought his advice and vision.

“I’m overwhelmed,” Nunn said in a speech