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Posted inGuest Column

Metro Atlanta falls short on New Starts transit funding — for the fifth year in a row

by Teresa Johnston

By Guest Columnist WYATT KENDALL, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center who specializes in land use and transportation

Earlier this month, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) awarded $1.6 billion worth of New Starts Program grants to 27 transit projects nationwide.

The program is the primary federal source of capital funds for big-ticket transit projects like subways, light rail lines, and bus rapid transit systems. Dallas, Denver, Houston, Minneapolis, and Salt Lake City were all among the cities who cashed in.

Atlanta stood on the sidelines for the fifth year in a row.

Posted inATL Business Chronicle

How the business community dealt with the scandal at Atlanta’s public schools

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By Maria Saporta
Friday, July 15, 2011

During the course of the cheating scandal within the Atlanta Public Schools, a myriad of accusations have been leveled against the Atlanta business community for its role in the ordeal.

Business leaders have been accused of supporting former Superintendent Beverly Hall unconditionally, for believing in the extraordinary academic improvements under way at the Atlanta Public Schools, for having direct business interests in the school system’s affairs, for orchestrating the community’s response to the investigation before all the results were known, and for caring more about Atlanta’s brand and reputation than students.

But after conducting interviews with more than a dozen key business and civic leaders, a far more complex, and much less sinister, picture emerges.

In fact, the story could be a case study of how the Atlanta business community deals with issues and addresses conflict — often preferring to keep its harshest criticism within private meetings while presenting a non-confrontational demeanor in public.

Posted inDavid Pendered

State Tollway Authority helping to relocate Amtrak Station to Atlantic Station, GDOT board member says

by David Pendered

By David Pendered

The state’s tollway authority is negotiating the planned relocation of Amtrak’s train station from Buckhead to Atlantic Station, the mini city on the western edge of Midtown.

The station’s proposed relocation was to be the first item discussed at a meeting convened today by Emory McClinton, a member of the state transportation board. The matter never came up.

“Gena [Evans] is negotiating it. That ‘s all I can say,” McClinton said after the meeting.

Evans is executive director of the State Road and Tollway Authority. The agency is best known for collecting tollsa long Ga. 400.

Posted inATL Business Chronicle

Column: Aaron’s Loudermilk to get Four Pillar Award

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By Maria Saporta
Friday, June 17, 2011

R. Charles Loudermilk Sr., founder of Aarons Inc., will receive one of the premier awards of the year.

The Council for Quality Growth will give Loudermilk its 2011 Four Pillar Award on Oct. 6 at a dinner at the Georgia World Congress Center. The award is given to people who have excelled in these four pillars: quality, responsibility, vision and integrity.

“That’s Charlie Loudermilk,” said John Portman, Atlanta’s well-known architect and developer. “He scores out of sight on all of those things.”

Posted inDavid Pendered

Why not a park? Ideas abound for redeveloping Fort McPherson

by David Pendered

By David Pendered

Atlanta faces a tough challenge as it prepares to absorb Fort McPherson on Sept. 15.

For starters, there are all kinds of strings attached once the military vacates the property – from federal requirements that it provide housing for the homeless to the immediate need for its protection by Atlanta police and fire.

Moreover, the city has to devise and adopt a master plan for this 488-acre tract amidst a fundamental shift in the economy. Atlanta and the state are supposed to woo redevelopment partners for the property at a time the region’s commercial and residential markets are moribund and showing few signs of recovery.

No wonder one fellow has suggested turning Fort McPherson into a park with a Civil Rights theme, according to Michael Dobbins, a former Atlanta planning commissioner.

Posted inLatest News

Erroll Davis being proposed as interim superintendent of Atlanta’s public schools

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By Maria Saporta

The name of Erroll Davis Jr., former Chancellor of the Georgia Board of Regents, is being put forth to be the interim superintendent for the Atlanta Public Schools.

Among the organizations supporting Davis for the sensitive position is 100 Black Men of Atlanta.

Gregory Hawkins, chairman of 100 Black Men of Atlanta, sent a letter to the search firm involved in helping select the leadership for APS strongly recommending Davis for the interim post.

The letter stated that Davis “has a proven track record in the education and academic arena serving in his former position since early 2006.”

Posted inATL Business Chronicle

Regions Bank moving to Midtown tower

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By Maria Saporta
Friday, June 10, 2011

Atlanta’s sixth-largest bank will move to Midtown’s Atlantic Center Plaza, where it will put its name across the top of the 24-story tower — instantly raising its profile.

Regions Financial Corp. plans to consolidate employees from several offices across North Atlanta where its leases are expiring. It wanted to bring its staff under one roof, make its real estate footprint more efficient and save costs, said Bill Linginfelter, the bank’s area president for Georgia and South Carolina.

The biggest advantage, though, might be visibility. The Downtown Connector cuts through Midtown and it’s lined with some of Atlanta’s most prominent office towers.

It’s the same advantage that has drawn banks from other parts of the city to Midtown, including Citizens & Southern

Posted inDavid Pendered

Corporate campaign contributions would be cut to $250 per candidate every four years if Common Cause prevails in Atlanta

by David Pendered

By David Pendered

The complete breadth of the campaign finance reform Common Cause is seeking from Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed became clear at the group’s media conference this morning.

If enacted, all companies that do business with Atlanta would be limited to a contribution limit of $250 over the course of four years for each candidate and office holder, according to Common Cause of Georgia.

The push for campaign finance reform by Common Cause is timed to coincide with the city’s pending award of contracts for all the food and beverage concessionaires at Atlanta’s airport. The amount of space up for grabs in contracts that will last at least a decade is about 191,000 square feet, which is equal in size to almost two average Wal-Mart stores.

Posted inATL Business Chronicle

Column: City opening center for women entrepreneurs

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By Maria Saporta
Friday, May 20, 2011

The city of Atlanta will open a Center for Women Entrepreneurship in the former home of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution at 72 Marietta St. N.W. downtown, Mayor Kasim Reed announced at the “CEO Luncheon” of the Atlanta Business League on May 17.

Reed was named the 2011 CEO of the Year by the 78-year-old organization that promotes economic opportunity for Atlanta’s African-American businesses.

Reed said the idea behind the Center for Women Entrepreneurship is a “very simple” one.

Posted inGuest Column

Wind energy a viable option for Southern Co.’s portfolio

by Teresa Johnston

By Guest Columnist COLLEEN KIERNAN, director of the Georgia chapter of the Sierra Club

It’s May here in Georgia, which means the pollen has washed away, the Braves are digging themselves out of their April hole, and Southern Co.’s annual shareholders meeting is right around the corner.

For years, the company has used the gathering to make a proud presentation of their accomplishments; environmental advocates have brought a litany of grievances forward; and then everyone went home.

This year feels a little different. Two years ago, Southern Co. claimed “Renewable energy sources like wind and solar are not really an option for us in the Southeast.”

Posted inDavid Pendered

Colorado politicians, consultant share ideas on metro Atlanta’s 2012 transportation sales tax vote

by David Pendered

By David Pendered

The Colorado governor headlined an entourage that met Friday with local elected officials who are working to win passage of a 1-percent sales tax to pay for road and transit projects.

The Denver delegation advised their Atlanta-area counterparts to run a transparent process, educate voters, and campaign with persistence. They said that was their formula for success with a 2004 transportation sales tax referendum.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper predicted metro Atlanta voters will approve the proposed sales tax by a 55-45 margin.

Posted inLatest News

Sen. Johnny Isakson says U.S. debt is our biggest challenge

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By Maria Saporta

The country’s central problem today is its debt, according to U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Georgia).

Isakson, who spoke Monday at the annual luncheon of the Georgia Council on Economic Education at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, said the issue was finally coming to a head over having to raise the nation’s $14.2 trillion debt limit.

“Eventually, you have got to pay the piper,” Isakson said. “We’ve probably got 60 days to deal with the problem of raising the debt limit.”

Isakson, however said that the limit should not be raised without “consequential commitments on behalf of the administration and Congress” to limit the debt through spending cuts and changes in entitlements.

Posted inContributors, David Pendered

Martin Luther King Jr.’s home and its street to receive historic designation from Atlanta

by David Pendered

By David Pendered

The street where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. moved his family in 1965 is slated to become Atlanta’s newest historic district.

The Sunset Avenue Historic District would protect all houses on the street, including the King home, from developments and alterations that are not in keeping with the community’s historic nature. Other dwellings were home to civil rights leaders and some of the city’s earliest European settlers.

“This will bolster tourism traffic and trade in the area, and it will memorialize the giants who put their life on the line, and their families who sacrificed so much,” said Atlanta Councilman Ivory Lee Young Jr.

Posted inATL Business Chronicle

Southern Co. CEO committed to nuclear despite Japan disaster

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By Maria Saporta
Friday, April 8, 2011

The leading flag bearer for “new nuclear” in the United States — Atlanta-based Southern Co. — is as committed as ever to a nuclear renaissance.

That is despite the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 10 — an event that is leading many utility companies and foreign governments to put their nuclear plans on hold.

But not Southern Co., which is moving forward with its plans to build two new nuclear units (Units 3 and 4) at Plant Vogtle near Augusta — the first new nuclear projects in the United States in three

Posted inATL Business Chronicle

Column: New downtown garden near Atlanta Mission will feed the homeless

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By Maria Saporta
Friday, March 25, 2011

A partnership between a builder, a developer, a public relations executive and a homeless shelter is growing great rewards — literally.

Downtown Atlanta unveiled its first community garden March 23 in a what will be a unique way to provide healthy food, job training and therapy to more than 500 homeless and recovering men currently served at the Atlanta Mission.

The Atlanta Urban Garden is located on a 2.36-acre property, managed by The Integral Group LLC, has sat vacant waiting to be sold and redeveloped. The land sits across Centennial Olympic Park Drive from the

Posted inATL Business Chronicle

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed must act to save schools — business, foundation, faith leaders say

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By Maria Saporta
Friday, March 18, 2011

A broad-based coalition of business, civic and community leaders are urging Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed to do everything he can to prevent the Atlanta Public Schools from losing its accreditation.

The blue-ribbon Atlanta Committee for Progress (ACP) told Reed March 14 that the school system must become his top priority and that he should explore every avenue available — including state involvement — to break the governance logjam that currently exists on the Atlanta Board of Education.

While leaders fell short of calling for a state

Posted inGuest Column

Ivan Allen Jr. and Sam Nunn — excellent models of social courage

by Teresa Johnston

By Guest Columnist BILL TODD, president of the Georgia Cancer Coalition and former chairman of the Georgia Tech Alumni Association

As time has gone by since the announcement that former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn had been selected as the inaugural winner of the Ivan Allen, Jr. Prize for Social Courage, it has become more and more apparent that he was the ideal

Posted inMaria's Metro

Charlotte Nash’s victory brings a woman’s touch to Gwinnett, region

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It’s no secret that women took a “shellacking” in 2010 November elections in Georgia.

No woman won a statewide elected office although several women were in the running. And that followed the 2009 local elections when we witnessed a transition in the City of Atlanta from a woman Mayor and a woman City Council President to men holding both those positions.

So the special election in Gwinnett County on Tuesday, March 15 was a welcome development when Charlotte Nash won decisively in a race against three male opponents.

What’s even more interesting is that Gwinnett now has a majority of female commissioners — three out of the five. In

Posted inLatest News

Former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn receives inaugural Allen Prize

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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

Posted inATL Business Chronicle

CEO Frank Blake talks about his four-year tenure at Home Depot

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By Maria Saporta
Friday, March 11, 2011

It was Jan. 3, 2007. Frank Blake, a relatively unknown executive at The Home Depot Inc., had just been named CEO following the sudden departure of the controversial Bob Nardelli.

Blake’s appointment caught many by surprise. Although he had been promoted to Home Depot’s vice chairman several months before, Blake had little retail experience and had never run a major public company.

Even Blake was caught off guard. When board members told him he had the job

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