Category: Latest News

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.

By Maria Saporta

The Committee for a Better Atlanta has weighed in on the candidates running for the Fulton County Commission, and most of the ones interviewed received scores of either well qualified or excellent.

Four of the 12 candidates running for the Fulton County Commission, however, did not participate in the questionnaires or interviews done by the Committee for a Better Atlanta, which includes executives from local companies and business organizations.

The CBA Voter Guide actually gives each candidate a score based on their

By Maria Saporta

It almost felt as though Erwin Zaban was speaking at his own funeral.

The service for the legendary Atlanta businessman and philanthropist Wednesday afternoon at the Temple had an unusual twist.

The two rabbis who officiated during the service —Alvin Sugarman, rabbi emeritus; and Peter Berg, the senior rabbi — actually read from several letters that Zaban had written to his family and friends about his thoughts of life and love as well as his wishes for his own funeral.

Of course, with his customary sense

By Maria Saporta

It’s the end of era.

I just found out this afternoon that Erwin Zaban, a pillar in the Atlanta business community, has passed away.

The service for Zaban will be at the Temple on Wednesday, July 7 at 2:30 p.m.

How does one begin to explain what an important and enduring role Zaban played in both the Atlanta business community and the Jewish community.

Zaban was instrumental in building one of Atlanta’s iconic public companies — National Service Industries — which at

By Maria Saporta

When Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed made the official announcement Thursday of the Midtown Festival of the Arts, it appeared that a significant shift was underway.

All indications at the press conference showed that the City of Atlanta is welcoming an arts festival rather than putting up obstacles to prevent it from happening.

Reed told organizers of the Midtown Festival that he was pleased to lend his support and encouragement to the community-led initiative. The annual debut of the festival will be Sept. 25

By Maria Saporta

Thanks to a gift from leading entertainment attorney Joel Katz, Kennesaw State University announced today that it will launch an Entertainment and Music Management Certificate Program in the fall 2010.

Katz said he was willing to underwrite the program because he would like to see more people enter the entertainment business in metro Atlanta.

“I think this will help grow the business in Atlanta,” Katz said. “One of the problems is finding people to do the business side

By Maria Saporta

Persistence and compassionate dedication describe former First Lady Rosalynn Carter’s tireless efforts on mental issues in our state and nation.

Carter, who spoke Wednesday at the Atlanta Press Club luncheon at the Commerce Club, has now documented all that she has done to support the treatment of mental illnesses as well as to reduce the stigma related to mental health issues.

More importantly, in her new book — “Within our Reach: Ending the Mental Health Crisis” — Carter presents solutions

By Maria Saporta

Walking into the new Buckhead Theatre with Charlie Loudermilk is like walking back in time.

Loudermilk, 82, has invested $6 million in renovating the former Roxy in the heart of Buckhead, and that doesn’t include the $2 million he paid to buy the historic theater and the land it sits on.

Back when he was growing up, Loudermilk said that as a kid, he used to go to see Westerns for a nickel. He also remembered when African-Americans could only sit in the balcony because of segregation.

By Maria Saporta

The sun has set on the longest day of the year — the Summer Solstice.

Southface, the Atlanta-based organization that promotes green building practices, held its annual ice cream party this evening to celebrate the changing of the seasons and the sunniest day of the year.

With temperatures in the mid-90s, there was no question that summer had arrived and that the sun was burning bright. That’s where the ice cream came in.

This year, there were a couple of special

By Maria Saporta

Note to readers: SaportaReport had some technical issues this past week, but now we’re back up and running.

When Bill Bolling and I got together for lunch on Friday, he wanted to talk about diapers.

Bolling, the founder and executive director of the Atlanta Community Food Bank, had just come from a press conference at his agency’s headquarters announcing that Kimberly-Clark and Huggies was donating two million diapers nationwide.

Of those, the Atlanta Community Food

By Maria Saporta

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed today announced a nine-member search committee to select a new airport general manager.

Reed also announced that the city is working with the search firm of Heidrick & Struggles to interview and recommend candidates for the post. The firm is conducting the search on a pro-bono basis.

Ben DeCosta, who has been general manager of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport since 1998, is leaving the post at the end of this month.

By Maria Saporta

Eleven metro nonprofits are in celebration mode.

The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta has awarded 11 grants totaling $765,000 to nonprofits for general operating support in helping those organizations make a difference in the community.

The “Common Good Funds” are unrestricted, giving the nonprofit organizations maximum flexibility to spend those dollars where they are most needed.

“These investments are needed in our region during a time when nonprofits are

By Maria Saporta

Georgia Tech’s Center for Quality Growth and Regional development has received a $143,747 grant to assess the health impact of the planned Aerotropolis Atlanta Brownfield Redevelopment Project.

The grant was one of six awarded through a collaboration of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Pew Charitable Trusts.

It will permit Georgia Tech researchers to objectively evaluate the potential health consequences of the plan and implementation strategy to convert the

By Maria Saporta

Memories die hard.

Longtime Atlanta political journalist Bill Shipp is donating all his papers to the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies at the University of Georgia.

As a gesture of appreciation, the University of Georgia Libraries held a lunch this week at the Blue Ridge Grill celebrating Shipp’s commitment to donate his collection of papers.

The lunch stirred up memories of when Shipp attended UGA in the early 1950s.

Shipp became managing editor of the

By Maria Saporta

For the City of Atlanta to have a balanced budget with at least $27 million in reserves, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed is counting on reaching a sale-lease agreement with Fulton County on the city jail.

Reed told Atlanta business leaders this week that the transaction on the jail is instrumental for the city to operate in the black.

Speaking to members of the Atlanta Committee for Progress, Reed told the business leaders that he could use their help in securing at least four votes on the Fulton County Commission in favor of the

By Maria Saporta

There was little fanfare for CNN’s 30th birthday on June 1.

Phil Kent, CEO of Turner Broadcasting System — parent company of CNN, said the low-key recognition was intentional.

“Instead of throwing ourselves parties and having lots of hoopla, we decided on a charitable approach,” Kent said. “To me, anniversaries are an opportunity to focus on the task at hand.”

So the 30th anniversary celebration was turned into “Give 30 for 30.”

Turner was allocating $30 for every one of its employees — CNN plus all the other

By Maria Saporta

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed has tapped Carol Tomé to chair the search committee for a new general manager of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Tomé, chief financial officer for the Home Depot, is one of the most powerful women executives in the country and the highest-ranking Home Depot executive who has worked for every leadership team at the home improvement company, starting in 1995 working for co-founders Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank.

Reed announced that Tomé would lead

By Maria Saporta

There was some preaching going on at the Tabernacle this week.

But the preaching had nothing to do with God.

Instead, the sermons all had a theme — our cities would be healthier if we relied more on two wheels and two feet than driving around on four wheels.

David Byrne, the front man for Talking Heads, likes to the see the world from a bicycle. When the band is touring, Byrne makes a point of riding his bicycle around the cities he’s visiting.

The end result? A book called: “Bicycle

By Maria Saporta

Closing Peachtree Street could become contagious — in a good way.

Plans are underway to launch the Midtown Festival of the Arts during the weekend of September 25 and September 26.

The festival is scheduled to take place on Peachtree Street between Fifth Street and Tenth Street, and it already has lined up a variety of offerings — about 100 visual artists, stages for the performing arts, literary events as well as culinary arts area that will feature chef demonstrations and local restaurants.

Sounds great, right?