Category: Sections

By Maria Saporta

It’s official. The fares for the Xpress bus service are going up.

The board of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority held its board meeting Wednesday afternoon and voted unanimously for a fare increase beginning in October.

People will now be charged based on the distance they travel, which translates into some fares going from $3 a ride to $4. Riders also will no longer have the ability to travel on MARTA for that one fare price. (See Maria’s Metro column).

The reciprocal fare agreement between

By Maria Saporta

If approved by voters in 2012, it is expected that the sales tax would generate about $7 billion over its 10-year life span. So the big test will be how those $7 billion will be invested.

The framework for making those decisions is beginning to come light.

On Thursday, Todd Long, director of planning for the Georgia Department of Transportation, released the “draft” criteria that will be considered in coming up with the project list.

By Maria Saporta

In an effort to focus on the issues rather than prickly politics, the Metro Atlanta Chamber had a Republican gubernatorial forum Tuesday morning and made sure there wasn’t an opportunity for the two run-off candidates to confront each other.

First on stage was former U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal, who was interviewed by Bill Nigut, a former WSB-TV political journalist who is now the Southeast Regional director of the Anti-Defamation League.

After about 35 minutes of Deal answering

By Maria Saporta

And now for another side of the story.

Last week, a federal jury awareded $17.5 million in damages to Corey Advertising, which had argued that the City of Atlanta and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport illegally awarded an indoor advertising contract to a politically-connected competitor.

But Ben DeCosta, who was general manager of Hartsfield-Jackson when Corey was seeking the advertising contract, sent me an email Monday

By Maria Saporta

On Saturday, a majestic tree on the front lawn of the H.M. Patterson & Sons – Spring Hill Chapel funeral home was cut down — causing grief to those who usually are there to console.

“My heart is aching,” said John Gallatin, funeral director and location manager for H.M. Patterson. “It was one of the three original trees that had been planted in 1928.”

After his father died in 1923, Fred Patterson inherited the business and decided “to construct a funeral home on

By Maria Saporta

The bottom line for Georgia — grow your own.

A new study by the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development documents how buying Georgia-grown produce contributes to our economy.

If each of the 3.7 million households in Georgia devoted $10 a week to buying produce grown in the state, it would pump $1.9 billion into Georgia’s

By Maria Saporta

The run-offs are here, and the Atlanta Press Club is ready.

The debate committee met Wednesday to map out a series of nine run-off debates between now and Aug. 8, which is two days before the run-off vote. As a reminder, I chair the APC debate committee.

For those of you who are political junkies and/or believe in being an informed voter, here is our line up.

We will hold four debates this Sunday

By Maria Saporta

Twenty-two debates later.

One of the many hats I wear is chair of the Atlanta Press Club debate committee, a position I’ve held for so long (about 18 years) that I’ve kind of lost track of time.

The Atlanta Press Club partnership with Georgia Public Broadcasting goes back to the days when the studio was on Stewart Avenue (yes, before Stewart Avenue became Metropolitan Parkway).

The relationship and partnership has grown over the years, and now I’m

By Maria Saporta

Political pundits in Georgia agree — John Oxendine, GOP gubernatorial candidate and current insurance commissioner, should not star in his own television commercials.

Oxendine, who has been the front-runner in the highly-contested GOP race for governor, has seen his numbers slip in recent polls, and some are even saying that he may not even make the run-off.

But political pundits (their label) acknowledged, in a panel discussion Wednesday evening at the law offices of McKenna Long & Aldridge, that the race is in a state of flux and that the polling

By Maria Saporta

Another international cargo carrier will begin serving Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Asiana Airlines plans to operate a Boeing 747-400 freighter with four flights a week to Seoul, South Korea beginning Sept. 13. Asiana will be the 14th all-cargo carrier to operate out of the Atlanta airport, reflecting the growth of air freight out of Hartsfield-Jackson.

“We are noticing a steady increase in year over year cargo volume,” Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said Tuesday morning at a press conference at the airport.