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By Maria Saporta

The lead consultant hired to help pass the regional transportation sales tax in metro Atlanta has resigned.

Glenn Totten, CEO of Totten Communications based in Alexandria, Va., resigned late last week in a mutual agreement with the rest of the campaign team.

“At the end of the day, it was mutually agreed to due to the time commitment involved,” said Paul Bennecke, principal of Red Clay Strategies, one of the other consultants on the team.

By Maria Saporta

It was a big day in the decade-long history of the Drew Charter School in East Lake.

First, Comcast used the school as the platform to announce it Internet Essentials program in metro Atlanta — a program designed to help bridge the digital divide for those less fortunate.

Gov. Nathan Deal, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams and U.S. Rep. John Lewis all showed up for that event.

And as soon as that was over, a group of dignitaries went to one of the conference rooms at the school for a special announcement.

By Maria Saporta

People will soon be able to fly to Cuba from Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

Marazul, the oldest and most experienced charter and travel agency serving Cuba in the United States, has entered into an agreement with Delta Air Lines to begin direct charter flights from Atlanta to Havana.

Both Marazul and Delta have received all the necessary approvals in Cuba and the United States to begin this service.

“We’re excited to be partnering with Marazul on flights between Atlanta and Cuba,” said Trebor Banstetter, a Delta spokesman. “It reinforces Atlanta’s status as Delta’s global gateway, where we currently offer flights to more than 70 international destinations in 47 countries.”

By Maria Saporta

SunTrust Banks has entered into premier status with United Way Worldwide — announcing Wednesday that it has become a United Way Global Corporate Leadership Partner.

The Atlanta-based bank in 2010 gave a total of $8.4 million to United Way nationally, including $3.1 million to the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta through both the employee and corporate giving.

Of that, the SunTrust Foundation gave a total of $2.88 million in 2010. A supersized check of $2.88 million decorated the SunTrust board room during the announcement.

By Maria Saporta

An outside review of the official lists floating around on the possible transportation projects that will be part of the regional referendum has determined two disturbing trends.

First, it appears that “roads are faring much better than transit on the official short lists” presented by the staff of the Atlanta Regional Commission — even the list that is considered to favor transit.

And two, the projects that are on “those short lists are lopsided in favor of serving counties that don’t pay for MARTA.”

Those observations have been made by Ken Edelstein, editor of the GreenBuildingChronicle, who said that he has been pouring over the numbers in the various project list options and realized that “the vast majority of transit projects have essentially been pushed off the scenarios.”

By Maria Saporta

Little did we know that the Savannah Port really could be known as Atlanta’s port.

That’s what Curtis Foltz, executive director of the Georgia Ports Authority, told members of the Rotary Club of Atlanta on Monday.

Of the $15.2 billion of trade that went through the port in 2010, “ 60 percent of it — $8.1 billion — came from metro Atlanta,” Foltz said.

“We are almost branded as an Atlanta port,” Foltz said to the gathering of Atlantans.

By Maria Saporta

It was regional transportation day in Cobb County.

Tad Leithead, chairman of the Atlanta Regional Commission and a former chairman of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce, gave the keynote speech at the First Monday breakfast on the upcoming transportation sales tax referendum in 2012.

During the question-and-answer period, Leithead was asked whether Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed’s desire to move the date of the referendum from the special primary date of July 31 to the general election on Nov. 6 would be successful.

“The momentum is moving towards delaying the referendum to November,” Leithead said. “The July primary day would have a lower turn out. And you don’t get a broad base of voters to the polls.”

By Maria Saporta

Georgians for Passenger Rail has analyzed cost projections for a commuter rail line between Atlanta and Griffin, and it has determined that the cost would be several hundred million dollars less than the estimates provided by the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority.

Gordon Kenna, executive director of Georgians for Passenger Rail, had a meeting with GRTA officials, who provided a breakdown of the various costs — construction, development and operations — for the pilot project.

GRTA’s has estimated that the project’s capital cost would be $463 million, including 30 percent for unallocated contingency costs.