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By Maria Saporta

A Fair Share for Transit Rally attracted more than a hundred leaders and citizens from a couple dozen organizations and governments on Tuesday evening at the Georgia Railroad Freight Depot.

The bottom line — the 2012 referendum for a new regional transportation sales tax should have a fair share for transit and not be dominated by funding for roads.

But what is a fair share?

That was the question I asked numerous people attending the reception.

The first person I asked was Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed.

“I’m not going to say,” said Reed, who is a member of the Atlanta Regional Roundtable,

By Maria Saporta

Georgia can become a “poster child” for balancing environmental and economic interests, according to Allen Barnes, director of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Environmental Protection Division.

Barnes was the keynote speaker at Friday morning’s Environmental Awards presented by the Atlanta Business Chronicle at the Georgia Aquarium.

“Environmental sustainability and economic sustainability can and must co-exist,” Barnes told the breakfast gathering. “Georgia can be the poster child of that principle.”

Barnes added that Georgia has a great concentration of Fortune 500 companies that

By Maria Saporta

Gov. Nathan Deal hinted that progress is being made in the private water negotiations with Alabama and Florida, during a “Meet and Greet” event Wednesday evening at the Georgian Club in Cobb County.

“I’m working diligently,” Deal told the gathering elected and civic leaders invited by the Council for Quality Growth. “This is the kind of thing you can’t even tell your wife about, and I can’t tell you either. I think you are going to be pleased by what we are going to produce.”

Deal said he was encouraged by the latest court hearing on the appeal of Judge Paul Magnuson’s ruling that would drastically reduce the amount of water metro Atlanta can withdraw from Lake Lanier in July 2012 if an agreement is not reached. But Deal said Georgia can’t rely on the possibility of a

By Maria Saporta

At a pivotal moment for metro Atlanta, a major transition in leadership is underway.

Chick Krautler, director of the Atlanta Regional Commission, announced today his plan to retire on June 30 after 11 years with the planning agency.

Krautler’s retirement follows the departure of two other key members of the Atlanta Regional Commission’s senior team — Tom Weyandt, the agency’s director of comprehensive planning; and Tony Landers, ARC’s director of community services.

At the same time, ARC is playing an integral role in helping put together a list of projects that would be included in the regional transportation sales tax referendum scheduled for August, 2012. The project list must be approved in October.

By Maria Saporta

The Mayor of Midtown has left us.

Larry Steven Collins was the man who knew everybody’s name when they walked in the door at the Sig Samuels drycleaner at the corner of Monroe Drive and Eighth Street.

Collins, 54, passed away on Wednesday, March 16 after two years of fighting ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease.

It’s hard to describe what a vital community role Sig Samuels and the Collins family have played in Midtown. It has been the unofficial gathering spot and meeting ground for people picking up or dropping off their laundry.

The windows of the historic looking storefront often are plastered with all kinds of community notices and election posters.

By Maria Saporta

Georgia Tech pulled out all the stops when it honored former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn with the inaugural Ivan Allen Prize for Social Courage on Tuesday.

Not only was Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed present to give a talk saying that both former Mayor Allen and Sen. Nunn had served as an inspiration for him.

Then both of Georgia’s U.S. senators — Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss — gave their good wishes to Nunn via a pre-taped video.

And then President Barack Obama appeared on screen thanking Nunn “on a very personal level” for being available when the president sought his advice and vision.

“I’m overwhelmed,” Nunn said in a speech

By Maria Saporta

Morehouse School of Medicine has named Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice as dean and executive vice president effective June 1.

In her new role, Dr. Montgomery Rice will oversee the school’s “academic enterprise and guide the continued advancement of the school’s patient care, research, community health, and education and training programs,” according to a news release.

Montgomery Rice currently is director of the Center for Women’s Health Research and professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the Division Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Meharry Medical College in Nashville.

She is a nationally-renowned reproductive endocrinologist and infertility specialist.

“Dr. Montgomery Rice is a dynamic leader

By Maria Saporta

Egbert Perry made history Tuesday morning.

Perry — founder, chairman and CEO of the Integral Group — became the first African-American to chair Central Atlanta Progress in its 70-year history.

Perry succeeds Taylor Glover, president and CEO of Turner Enterprises, who served a two-year term of the downtown business organization.

“I hope this is a lesson,” Perry said at CAP’s annual breakfast meeting held in the Peter Pan entertainment tent at Pemberton Place. “All I did was miss one nominating committee meeting, and I got a call to serve as chairman.”

Perry then dead-panned, saying that he was

By Maria Saporta

For former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn, Monday was a “this is your life” experience.

The setting was the Founder’s Day Allen Prize Symposium presented by Georgia Tech’s Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts. Nunn is the first recipient of the Allen Prize, which is named after former Atlanta Mayor Ivan Allen Jr.

The two-day event began Monday with several sessions based on Nunn’s interests and past experiences — from his days as chairman of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee to his current role as co-chairman and CEO of the Nuclear Threat Initiative.

A highlight was when Bob Schieffer, CBS News Chief and host of Face the Nation, interviewed Nunn about current events as well as how Washington, D.C. has changed