In 1923 a quiet and withdrawn 21-year-old college dropout rode his motorcycle from Florida to Sumter County, Georgia, just outside Americus. He had a dream to purchase a biplane, which were being sold in crates as surplus left over from World War I.
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Posted inTom Baxter
Shortened calendar for 2014 races has time for surprises
Generally speaking, shortening the calendar would be viewed as a way to make a race more interesting. The Republican state officials who went one better on a federal court order and got next year’s primary date moved all the way back to May 20 had just the opposite in mind, however.
By moving the primary date back into the school year and holding the runoff in July, they reasoned, a broader turnout will be guaranteed. That reduces the chance that the party nominates someone so far to the right that they’re vulnerable to Democrat Michelle Nunn in the U.S. Senate race. Moving up the calendar also gives incumbent Gov. Nathan Deal’s rivals in the party less time to pester him.
Here’s one instance in which political calculation and good government end up in pretty much the same place. Whatever the short-term implications of the calendar changes, holding elections at a time when a broader number of voters will participate is probably, in the long run, a good thing.
Posted inDavid Pendered
Falcons stadium: Local hiring plan still to be addressed in discussions of community benefits deal
The issue of how to harness the economic power of the future Falcons stadium in order to create jobs for lower income residents of nearby neighborhoods has received scant attention in the discussion to date.
Now the jobs forecast is in: 1,300 new jobs are predicted in the city’s redevelopment plan that covers English Avenue and Vine City, but not Castleberry Hill – which is supposed to be part of the deal. Of these jobs, 47 appear to be temporary construction-related jobs; 891 appear to be permanent jobs in retail shops and a hotel; and the tasks associated with 362 jobs are not specified in the plan.
There has yet to be a significant discussion of the creation of local hiring program to give nearby residents a first crack at these jobs – let alone jobs building the stadium. Yet such a program is not new ground, because Atlanta has established provisions relating to jobs in previous community benefits deals.
Posted inColumns, Michelle Hiskey & Ben Smith
Searching for the poet James Dickey, finding beauty in the grotesque
Searching for a column topic while on vacation in the small beach community of Pawleys Island, S.C., I learned that the poet and novelist James Dickey (1923-1997) was buried here.
Dickey, a one-time United States Poet Laureate and author of “Deliverance” was a native Atlantan, a graduate of North Fulton High School. Even better, a complete anthology of his poetry had been released a few months earlier. The new book made him topical.
After multiple efforts turned up nothing and the idea fell to the wayside, one of the names on Dickey's tombstone appeared a month later at the Decatur Book Festival. Bronwen Dickey's memories contrasted sharply with the popularized image of him as an outrageous alcohol-swamped fabulist depicted in unflattering biographies and exaggerated tales.
Posted inHome Mortgages, Thought Leader
Introducing The Cal-Culator: Atlanta Residential Real Estate Index
I am pleased to introduce The Cal-Culator: Atlanta’s Residential Mortgage Index.
Posted inLive Healthy, Atlanta!, Thought Leader
Increase Your Health Care Literacy with Two Guides
By David Martin, President and CEO of VeinInnovations When pressed, can you explain what coinsurance is? Can you describe an in-network Out of Pocket maximum? Do you know the difference between copays and deductibles? If you’re not sure what any of those terms mean, you’re in the majority, according to a blog post on WashingtonPost.com today. […]
Posted inLatest News
Martin Luther King III: ‘I’m committed to getting this resolved; and I would hope it would not be in court’
By Maria Saporta
In his first comments since the latest legal dispute among his siblings, Martin Luther King III said his “sole focus now is resolving this issue.”
King III and his brother, Dexter King, filed a legal action against their sister, Bernice King, CEO of the King Center, on Aug. 28. That was the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington when their father made his most famous — “I Have A Dream” speech.
“I'm encouraged by the dialogue between the parties,” King III said in a telephone interview. “I'm speaking with Dexter, and I'm encouraged there's going to be dialogue with everyone involved. I know that Bernice wants to get this resolved. I'm committed to getting this resolved, and I would hope it would not be in court.”
Posted inMaria's Metro
50th anniversary of Alliance Francaise school a time to honor my mother
My mother — Nora Saporta — moved to the United States a couple of years after World War II barely knowing English. As many Europeans, she was multilingual — fluent in French, Greek, Spanish and Italian — and then having to learn German the hard way.
But French was the language of her heart and soul.
It’s probably not surprising that 50 years ago — in the fall of 1963 —she co-founded the Ecole de l’Alliance Française d’Atlanta with her friend Jean Lardon.
Posted inATL Business Chronicle, Maria's Metro
Column: New (co)lab event seeks to inspire regional collaboration
By Maria Saporta
Published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on September 6, 2013,
After 40 years of nurturing leaders in Atlanta, Leadership Atlanta believed it needed to harness the opportunities in the region by engaging a broader coalition to participate in a first-of-its-kind event.
Posted inEleanor Ringel Cater
‘Austenland’ — not even Kerri Russell can save the movie from itself
The biggest surprise — may I venture, the only surprise— in the wretched new movie, “Austenland” comes in the very first scene: yes, that’s Jane Seymour playing the Edwardian dowager-monstress who runs the fantasy getaway which gives the movie its title.
Based on a 2007 novel, “Austenland” has a premise not unlike “Westworld” or “Jurassic Park.”
Namely, beware the perfect-seeming theme-park vacation.
The usually unsinkable Kerri Russell plays Jane Hayes who is an out-and-out Jane Austen nut. Or perhaps nut case would be more accurate.
Posted inGuest Column
Teleworking in Georgia offers real life benefits of a virtual office
By Guest Columnist BOB MURPHY, call center manager at Georgia 811, a nonprofit entity dedicated to protecting Georgia’s underground utilities
A number of metro Atlanta’s top employers, including Coca-Cola, AT&T Mobility, SunTrust, Georgia 811 and Chico’s, showed their support for Georgia Telework Week in mid August.
As metro Atlanta businesses and organizations try to navigate the challenges of today’s economy, more and more employers like these are finding that telework — allowing employees to work from home — offers significant potential when utilized correctly.
Posted inDavid Pendered
Poverty grows to Atlanta’s suburbs as researchers show it “taxes the brain”
Discussion of poverty and the lack of mobility in U.S. suburbs, particularly in Atlanta’s suburbs, seems to be hitting a new high.
Just last week, a speaker from the Brookings Institution named three primary causes of the spike in poverty rates in Atlanta’s close-in suburbs: The foreclosure crisis; shortage of transit in the suburbs; and housing vouchers that facilitated a move from the inner city to communities with smaller safety nets.
For Kim Anderson, the CEO of Families First who was on the panel with Alan Berube, of Brookings, the spread of poverty raises one troubling question: “Are we going to repeat what we did in the urban community in the suburban communities?”
Posted inLatest News
Morris Brown College tells bankruptcy judge it is working on two financial plans; discloses possible new buyer
By Maria Saporta
Morris Brown College is working on two different financial plans that would provide secure its future, its representatives told U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Barbara Ellis-Monro Friday.
Morris Brown lawyers said they were working until 11 p.m. Thursday night on a “consensual” plan with the bondholders holding the college’s debt. Morris Brown filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August, 2012 because it had accumulated more than $30 million in debt.
But if the consensual plan does not materialize, Morris Brown attorney John Moore said the college had alternative plan in the works.
Posted inDavid Pendered
Falcons stadium: Residents question $15 million city had earmarked before deal reached among city, state, team
The $15 million offered by Atlanta to fix up neighborhoods around the planned Falcons stadium is the subject of an emerging controversy.
The money had already been earmarked for the neighborhoods before the stadium deal was announced in March, according to an Invest Atlanta official. A planning firm had already been hired to recommend how the money be spent.
In that case, the sum shouldn’t be counted toward efforts to help mitigate stadium-related issues such as traffic and storm water runoff, according to neighborhood leaders who serve on the committee that’s guiding the stadium-related community benefits deal.
Posted inLatest News
Fox Theatre Institute awards two grants including one to Plaza Theatre
By Maria Saporta
The Fox Theatre Institute has awarded grants to help in the restoration of two theaters — the Plaza Theatre in Atlanta and the President Theatre in Manchester.
The grants are part of the Fox Theatre Institute’s initiative to help preserve historic buildings, revitalize arts programs and strengthen local economies.
There will be a formal announcement of the two grants at an event at the Plaza Theatre on Ponce de Leon Avenue on Sept. 23 from 10 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.
“We are very excited to work with these deserving recipients throughout Georgia and right here in Atlanta,” said Molly Fortune, director of restoration at the Fox Theatre. “Our goal is to restore vitality to their historic theatres as well as the communities that they serve.”
Posted inDavid Pendered
Suburban poverty calls for regional approach; MARTA ridership affected by quest for affordable housing
In a region still wracked by the lingering recession, metro Atlanta leaders are escalating the conversation about poverty in the suburbs.
At the Atlanta Regional Housing Forum’s quarterly meeting Wednesday, a senior fellow with the Brookings Institution drew a bright line under a grim statement reported by the ARC in February: “Metro Atlanta had the highest percentage-point increase in suburban poverty among the 20 most populous metro areas in the nation.”
On a related point, MARTA GM Keith Parker said last week that the dip in MARTA ridership has coincided with the quest for affordable housing that has prompted long-time transit riders to move from the urban core to the suburbs. Once there, the former transit riders find other means of transportation, Parker said at an Aug. 30 meeting of Georgia Stand-Up.
Posted inLatest News
Settlement agreement with AHA’s Renee Glover less than expected
By Maria Saporta
By dragging her removal by a couple of years, the Atlanta Housing Authority ended up paying its departing president and CEO Renee Glover substantially less than earlier estimates.
Glover’s separation agreement, which was released Tuesday evening, included her base salary for one year — $325,000 plus three months of a consultancy retainer — valued at $89,600. She also was to receive up to $20,000 in legal expenses that she incurred because of her separation discussions with AHA; and up to $5,000 in expenses during this transition period.
The total value of the separation agreement is well under previous estimates, some of which had totaled more than a million dollars given the number of years remaining on her five-year, $1.5 million contract.
Posted inLatest News
AHA board and CEO Renee Glover reach separation agreement
By Maria Saporta
Renee Glover, the nationally-acclaimed CEO of the Atlanta Housing Authority, is leaving her post after a three-year political struggle with City Hall.
The AHA board on Tuesday accepted Glover’s resignation, and a release announcing the move said she had “done an outstanding job over the past 19 years and the entire board wishes her will in her future endeavors.”
The resignation was effective immediately, but Glover has agreed to be available to assist AHA during a 90-day transition period, which is supposed to end Nov. 30, 2013.
Posted inUncategorized
A Hinge of Modern World History?: The Atlanta Campaign, 1864
When Sherman began the Atlanta Campaign in the spring of 1864, his goal was to drive deep into the South and, in accordance with Union general Ulysses Grant’s instructions, engage Confederate general Joseph Johnston’s army. Grant's orders were “to break it up and to get into the interior of the enemy’s country as far as you can, inflicting all the damage you can against their war resources.”
Posted inDavid Pendered
Stadium deal: Clock ticks as city, neighborhoods deal on jobs, public safety, other community benefits
To get a sense of the complexity of providing assistance to neighborhoods near the future Falcons stadium, consider the case of just one house built under a benefits program created when the Georgia Dome was built.
The house at 221 Maple St. was built with a $79,000 construction loan from the $8 million Vine City Trust Fund. Vine City Housing Ministry, Inc. sold the house in 2002 for $118,000. Today the house is valued by Fulton County at $28,900 and the trust fund is owed just over $59,000 of the $76,100 in mortgage financing it provided the buyer, according to records of Invest Atlanta and Fulton County’s tax assessor.
Multiply this type of dynamic across multiple issues – job creation, environmental mitigation, public health and safety, historic preservation, and green space – and the task of finalizing a community benefits deal in the next four weeks of September takes on a whole new perspective.
