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Atlanta can meet its destiny as part of the Peace Millennium

by Teresa Johnston

By Guest Columnist JOHN NAUGLE, an advocate for declaring Atlanta — the City of Peace.

As we finish celebrating 01/01/11, we are beginning the second decade of the thousand-year period of human history called: The Peace Millennium (Years 2000-3000).

Atlanta, how will you grow in this special year and new decade? In our organization’s opinion, Atlanta is the best positioned city on Earth to excel and become a beacon of peace to the entire world. This dream, born in the birthplace of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and “I Have A Dream”, can soon enough experience reality.

As civic, government and business leaders unite to build the global peace legacy of Dr. King’s birth city it will be transformed. The City of Atlanta will fulfill its great

Posted inATL Business Chronicle

Column: Bo Young gives back with GiveLocally.net

Avatar photo by Maria Saporta

By Maria Saporta
Friday, December 17, 2010

For Andrew “Bo” Young III, the son of Atlanta’s former mayor, his new role as CEO of GiveLocally.net combines his family’s altruism with his business interests.

The for-profit website is a grass-roots philanthropic endeavor that matches generous people with individuals and families at a critical time in their lives.

Posted inMaria's Metro

Enjoy Cirque de Soleil’s Ovo performance; write a great comment on SaportaReport

Avatar photo by Maria Saporta

Special offer to SaportaReport readers — a pair of tickets to the Cirque de Soleil’s Ovo. A pair of tickets will be given to two people who write the best comments at the end of this post. See details below.

Call me a Cirque de Soleil aficionado.

When the first Cirque came to Atlanta in 1991, it was a completely novel experience. My mother, who was then executive director of the Alliance Francaise d’Atlanta, quickly became involved because the French Canadian circus was looking for as many Atlanta friends as possible.

We were invited to the opening show and the post opening night reception when we were able to mingle with all the performers and partake in this new phenomenon of an animal-less circus.

Posted inLatest News

Atlanta Life seeks buyer for HQ building on Auburn Avenue

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By Maria Saporta

The Atlanta Life Financial Group today announced plans to sell its headquarters building on Auburn Avenue.

It has retained Red Rock Global and Colliers International to privately market the building to potential buyers.

The five-story building, constructed in 1980, is owned debt-free by Atlanta Life, which would remain as the building’s anchor tenant.

“As Atlanta Life Financial Group continues its transformation into a diversified financial services company, it behooves

Posted inATL Business Chronicle

Column: Sam Nunn wins Georgia Tech’s inaugural Ivan Allen Jr. Prize

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By Maria Saporta
Friday, December 10, 2010

Destined to become one of Georgia’s most prestigious awards, Georgia Tech’s inaugural Ivan Allen Jr. Prize for Social Courage will be given to former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn.

The prize, accompanied by a $100,000 award, will be awarded at the Ivan Allen College’s Founder’s Day luncheon on March 15. The annual prize is being made possible through an endowed $2 million gift made in 2008 by the Wilbur and Hilda Glenn Family Foundation.

Posted inATL Business Chronicle

Ted Turner, David Ratcliffe: Green energy’s odd couple

Avatar photo by Maria Saporta

By Maria Saporta
Friday, December 10, 2010

“Hi partner.”

That’s the way environmentalist Ted Turner greeted David Ratcliffe, the recently retired CEO of Southern Co., at a meeting in Turner’s Atlanta office building on Dec. 6.

The two men — legends in their respective fields — had agreed to sit down for an interview to discuss how their relationship has evolved from being adversaries to being business partners in a groundbreaking solar joint venture in New Mexico.

Posted inLatest News

Caring, compassion captures the day at annual PRI event

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By Maria Saporta

It was a lunch of compassion.

When Progressive Redevelopment Inc. and CaringWorks held their annual gathering on Dec. 9 at the Atlanta Biltmore, several themes prevailed. In this time of economic suffering, it is a time to care for those less fortunate than us.

The first speaker was former Atlanta City Council President Lisa Borders, who received the inaugural “Courage to Care Award” from the two organizations.

Borders weaved a tale of how she was

Posted inATL Business Chronicle

Ted Turner builds solar project on parking lot next to his building

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By Maria Saporta
Friday, December 10, 2010

One of the most highly sought-after parking lots in downtown Atlanta is being turned into a solar energy demonstration project.

Ted Turner, one of Atlanta’s most notable business and philanthropic leaders, has built-out the first phase of the “Luckie Street Solar Project” on a 2-acre parking lot he owns adjacent to Turner’s headquarters, formerly

Posted inGuest Column

Imperial Hotel’s rich history tells us how we have treated our poor

by Teresa Johnston

By Guest Columnist BRUCE GUNTER, president of Progressive Redevelopment Inc.

Years ago, the Atlanta Business Chronicle ran a regular series of articles entitled “The Romance of Real Estate,” which chronicled the story of the rise and fall of prominent buildings.

Located at the entrance to downtown Atlanta, on Peachtree Street at Ivan Allen Boulevard, the Imperial Hotel merits such story telling today. It has risen and fallen a number of times over the course of its 100 year history, with the latest fall currently underway due to a pending foreclosure by Fannie Mae.

Nonetheless, the Imperial has proven to be resilient over the years, and it is likely that it will emerge again under new ownership and be given a fresh start.

Posted inATL Business Chronicle

Column: Theatrical Outfit trying to secure its future

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By Maria Saporta
Friday, December 3, 2010

The future of Theatrical Outfit, one of Atlanta’s leading theater companies, has become much brighter with a conditional $500,000 gift from the Lettie Pate Evans Foundation, part of the Robert W. Woodruff family of foundations.

Theatrical Outfit is in the midst of a $1.685 million campaign that has to be completed by March to secure its future.

Posted inLatest News

Don’t shut us out, Atlanta Mayor Reed warns APS board

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By Maria Saporta

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed is keeping a close watch on developments at the Atlanta Public Schools — armed with support from the local business and civic community.

The topic of Atlanta’s Public Schools was one of the key issues discussed at Monday’s Atlanta Committee for Progress, a high-level group of business and civic leaders that work closely with the Atlanta mayor and city leaders.

The Atlanta Board of Education and the public school system have been under great scrutiny over the situation of

Posted inATL Business Chronicle

City of Atlanta renews sister city ties to the French city of Toulouse

Avatar photo by Maria Saporta

By Maria Saporta
Friday, December 3, 2010

The romantic history between Toulouse, France, and the city of Atlanta is being reignited during the France-Atlanta 2010 event taking place between Nov. 29 and Dec. 12.

The two weeks of scientific, business, cultural and humanitarian events were organized by the Consulate General of France in Atlanta and Georgia Tech.

Posted inMaria's Metro

State economic development commissioner becoming more political than professional

Avatar photo by Maria Saporta

Second to the governor, the most important position in state government should be commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development.

Ideally, the commissioner would be a seasoned economic development professional who is a master salesman of Georgia. And that person would work hand-in-hand with the governor in trying to grow the state’s economy.

So it was a bit surprising this past week when Gov.-elect Nathan Deal picked Chris Cummiskey, a former staffer for U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson and former state House Speaker Glenn Richardson as his economic development commissioner.

With this appointment, it exposes a dangerous trend — turning that job into a political rather than a professional post.

Posted inLatest News

Shirley Franklin believes she is too liberal to chair the state’s Democratic Party

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By Maria Saporta

Thanks, but no thanks (I think).

So says former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin in response to an effort to recruit her to run as chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia. The petition drive says: “We believe that SHIRLEY FRANKLIN is by far the best candidate to chair our Party.”

Actually, Franklin said she believes she is too liberal to represent the Democratic Party statewide. She also believes that she has been a controversial figure, especially in her last couple of years as

Posted inGuest Column

Imprisoned Nobel Laureate spotlights need for human rights

by Teresa Johnston

By Guest Columnist EVERETTE HARVEY THOMPSON, Southern Regional director for Amnesty International USA in Atlanta, Ga.

The plight of China’s Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo is taking place in the glare of world publicity, but his terrible situation is not uncommon. Millions worldwide suffer cruel persecution, their freedom and lives in peril, while governments deny their fundamental rights as human beings.

As we mark International Human Rights Day, people are still tortured or ill-treated in at least 111 countries; freedom of expression is restricted in at least 96 countries; and prisoners of conscience are held in at least 48 countries, according to Amnesty International’s

Posted inLatest News

Georgia tax reform council still crunching numbers, ideas

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By Maria Saporta

It was an interesting juxtaposition.

As President Obama’s bipartisan debt reduction commission was presenting its ideas on how to reduce the nation’s staggering deficit on Wednesday, Georgia’s Special Council on Tax Reform and Fairness was meeting to talk about the proliferation of tax incentives for businesses.

In both cases, one thing has become painfully clear. It sure is easy to spend and give away money, but it’s a lot harder to take away government incentives or duct back programs once they’ve been established.

That’s why the President’s commission

Posted inLatest News

House Speaker David Ralston values MARTA’s regional role

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By Maria Saporta

After giving a speech to the Atlanta Rotary Club on Monday, Georgia House Speaker David Ralston said he appreciates the role that MARTA plays in the region and the rest of the state.

“MARTA is an important part of our transportation future,” Ralston said in response to a question about how the state’s largest transit agency will be impacted by House Bill 277.

Ralston said MARTA ended up faring better in the bill than some earlier versions.

“We had to strike a very delicate balance between all the people,” the speaker

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