Search results

By Michelle Hiskey

Friday is 11-11-11. If that’s just trivia to you, read on. There’s much more to this number 11 than meets the eye.

Eleven is a powerful number on my family calendar. Both my children were born (unscheduled) on the 11th. On that day of the month, my husband was diagnosed with diabetes, and his mother died. And then there’s Sept. 11, and the Japan earthquake on March 11.

So yes, when it comes to the number 11, I do have confirmation bias.

“That’s when you start to notice something you think is special and then you notice more of it,” said Emory University mathematician Michelangelo

By Maria Saporta

The Atlanta Women’s Foundation’s annual “Numbers Too Big to Ignore” luncheon on Thursday was exactly that.

The keynote speaker was Muhtar Kent, chairman and CEO of the Coca-Cola Co., who spoke about women being the economic drivers of the 21st Century.

And then in a most dramatic fashion, at the end of his talk, Kent announced that the Coca-Cola was giving $500,000 to the Atlanta Women’s Foundation — half as a grant to help empower women and girls and the other half as a challenge grant — a challenge that the hundreds of women attending the lunch at the Georgia World Congress Center seemed more than willing to meet.

By Michelle Hiskey

The “Occupy Atlanta” protesters have set up in a downtown green space they call “Troy Davis Park.” For them, the recently executed Georgia man symbolizes how the strong oppress the weak.

But for a more creative, stronger message, they should play up their site’s name. Woodruff Park was named for a rich, powerful Georgia man who used his wealth to empower the weak – and the rich and powerful today could use a role model like Robert Winship Woodruff.

Robert Winship Woodruff’s name is on our main arts center, all over Emory University (including the main library and the Health Sciences Center) and his money seeded the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

By Maria Saporta

Update: A celebration of John Aderhold’s life will be held at Peachtree Presbyterian Church, 3434 Roswell Road, Atlanta, on Monday, August 15, 2011, at 11:00 AM. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be sent to the Carlyle Fraser Heart Center at Emory Hospital Midtown.

One of Atlanta’s business anchors — John Aderhold — passed away Wednesday afternoon after a long illness.

Aderhold helped shape Atlanta in several ways. He was instrumental in the development of the Georgia Dome, serving as chairman of the Georgia World Congress Center when the deal was being put together and the facility was built.

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.