By Maria Saporta and Dave Williams
Friday, October 8, 2010
The University of Georgia has failed to make much headway in past attempts to win permission to expand its engineering program from the state Board of Regents.
But people close to Georgia Tech, home to the fourth-ranking engineering school in the nation, are worried that this year could be different.
In fact, some Tech insiders do not believe an expected
By Guest Columnist ALEXIS CHASE, executive director, Georgia Interfaith Power & Light.
Energy efficiency and Georgia’s faith community have not always been friends. Most congregations tend to think short-term, rarely considering long-term sustainability when renovating old structures or building new ones; their eyes are fixed on cost and speed.
Fortunately, that’s changing, thanks to an innovative statewide program recently launched by Georgia Interfaith Power & Light (GIPL). It’s called Power Wise.
We received $400,000 in federal stimulus money enhanced by $200,000 from a private foundation to help Georgia’s faith communities of every religion,
By Guest Columnist MARILYN BROWN, a Georgia Tech professor of energy policy and director of Sustainability in the Science and Technology Program.
Nowhere are the stakes higher for the development of an energy policy that leads with energy efficiency than in the South.
The region, comprised of 16 states and the District of Columbia, currently has the greatest dependence on fossil fuels in the nation. With only 36 percent of the country’s population, the South accounts for 44 percent of the nation’s energy use. As the fastest growing region in the nation, increasing demands for power will force even greater dependence if steps are not taken to
By Maria Saporta
It was a power day at the monthly board meeting of the Commerce Club.
Michael Garrett, president and CEO of the Georgia Power Co., was the speaker of the private luncheon on Thursday.
After the meeting, Garrett said he gave the Commerce Club board an update on the latest in the water negotiations between Georgia, Alabama and Florida.
Garrett was named by Gov. Sonny Perdue last summer to head the efforts to reach a multi-state agreement on the allocation of water.
At that time, Georgia had just been handed a devastating ruling by a federal judge saying that the metro area did not
By Maria Saporta
Is Georgia, especially metro Atlanta, losing out economically by not promoting renewable energies?
The recent LINK trip to Phoenix by 100-plus of Atlanta’s top regional leaders made the answer seem obvious. Yes.
The Greater Phoenix area, by comparison, has seized on renewable energy technologies — solar in particular — as providing a promising path for future economic development.
Barry Broome, president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, said Arizona has passed renewable solar incentives and is encouraging the development of solar technologies and applications.
By Maria Saporta
Friday, April 9, 2010
Given the world’s focus on this year’s Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta, 25 economic development prospects picked a good year to accept the Georgia Chamber of Commerce’s invite to go on its annual Red Carpet Tour.
The Red Carpet Tour, a 51-year-old tradition, invites prospects to visit Georgia by offering them the carrot of being able to spend two days (Thursday and Saturday) watching the Masters tournament in Augusta.
By Guest Columnist BRIAN LEARY, president and CEO of Atlanta BeltLine Inc.
On a rural highway outside one of the South’s busiest ports, the largest German investment ever in the United States is on schedule and on budget to employ 2,700 employees by 2012.
ThyssenKrupp’s $3.7 billion investment is further proof that our agreeable weather and hospitality; expansive interstate, rail network and long-term prospects for growth are positive factors contributing to the ongoing interest and investment of the world’s largest and most successful companies.
Where ThyssenKrup chose to build their new steel mill shouldn’t come as a surprise. The team that brought this technologically-advanced plant from an old world
By Guest Columnist BILL FLOYD, Mayor of the City of Decatur and president of the Georgia Municipal Association
There are a number of interesting conversations going on nationally about the role of cities.
The common theme among the various discussions is that cities matter. They are seen as critical elements in our economic recovery, and they are considered to be core components in tackling any number of critical issues facing our society.
But in Georgia the discussion about cities doesn’t reflect the national conversation. Too often cities are painted, along with counties and local schools, as ineffective and not representing the needs of their citizens.
When it comes to political muscle in Washington, D.C., Georgia has almost no pull.
The days of the late Sen. Richard B. Russell or the now-retired Sen. Sam Nunn are a distant memory. The days of a President Jimmy Carter and a Georgia mafia running Washington, D.C. is for the history books.
Today, we are the state that didn’t get invited to the national dance. With a Republican governor, a Republican-dominated legislature, two Republican United States senators, we have little pull with a Democratically-controlled White House and a Democratically-controlled Congress.
So we sit back and watch our neighboring states receive hundreds of millions of dollars, if not billions, from the federal government to finance their grand plans for high-speed rail and an upgraded infrastructure.
Oddly enough, we were in a similar spot back in late 2000 (just
By Maria Saporta
Friday, January 29, 2010
Longtime Atlanta developer Tom Cousins is selling his prized Nonami Plantation near Albany, Ga., to legendary media mogul and environmentalist Ted Turner.
The Nonami Plantation, which is about 8,800 acres, is considered one of the best quail hunting spots in Georgia.
Just when I’m ready to give up on Georgia, something gives me hope.
In this case, it’s two budding initiatives aimed at making the case for passenger rail travel and public transit throughout our state.
Of course, just to keep it real, if our state leaders were more enlightened about the need to invest and develop in rail and public transit, these organizations probably wouldn’t be necessary.
But here we are — a state that continues to lose ground when it comes to rail and transit.
Fortunately, there’s a large cadre of Georgia business and civic leaders who are not satisfied with the status quo. They have a vision that Georgia can regain its reputation as a leader in transportation.
The first is the organization — Georgians for Passenger Rail.
By Maria Saporta
Two of Georgia’s most notorious figures were inducted today to Georgia Trend’s Most Influential Georgians Hall of Fame — enlivening the lunch with their uniquely seasoned personalities.
What other way can one describe longtime political journalist Bill Shipp and Civil Rights leader and activist Rev. Joseph Lowery.
First Shipp was introduced by Georgia Trend Publisher Neely Young, who called Shipp a “franchise.”
After receiving a standing ovation, Shipp spoke from a wheelchair while sitting at one of the front tables in the the Ritz
By Maria Saporta
Friday, January 8, 2010
For Suzanne Sitherwood, being the first, or only, woman in a business environment is nothing new.
When she joined Atlanta Gas Light Co. in 1980, her first job was working out of one of the gas trucks doing maintenance.
What a week.
It started off with U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood telling Georgia that it needs to get its act together when it comes to high-speed rail and transit.
Although LaHood didn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know, it’s always reaffirming to have the most powerful transportation official in the country tell state leaders that they’ve been asleep at the switch.
“There has to be a commitment by state government that transit is important,” LaHood, one of the key Republicans in President Barack Obama’s administration, said in an interview with Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Jay Bookman.
As we all know, the state of Georgia does not invest in MARTA,
By Maria Saporta
Friday, September 4, 2009
After five years, David Ratcliffe stepped down as chairman of the Georgia Research Alliance at the organization’s quarterly board meeting on Sept. 2. Ratcliffe is chairman and CEO of Southern Co.
He was succeeded by Bill Linginfelter, area president for Georgia and South Carolina for Regions Bank, who has been serving as vice chairman.
John Rice, vice chairman of General Electric Co., was elected as the new vice chairman.
By Guest Columnist JOHN SIBLEY, program director of the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance and former president of the Georgia Conservancy
Last week, the Georgia Public Service Commission, by unanimous vote, tripled the amount of solar power in Georgia Power’s green energy program. This very positive action enables developers of solar energy to take advantage of federal stimulus incentives that must be claimed in the next several months. The state’s solar industry just got a big booster shot.
The PSC’s action also helps Georgia get ready for pending federal policies. It’s a near certainty that federal legislation will require utilities to sell more renewable energy.
By Maria Saporta
Atlanta Business Chronicle
Friday, August 7, 2009
At 9 a.m. on July 23, the phone rang in Mike Garrett’s office.
It was Gov. Sonny Perdue. Would Garrett, president and CEO of Georgia Power Co., be willing to serve as the “quarterback” of the state’s efforts to get congressional authorization to use Lake Lanier for drinking water and help resolve the dispute between Georgia, Alabama and Florida over water allocation?
By Maria Saporta
Alternative, renewal energy sources appear to be gaining steam in Georgia.
At Friday morning’s Sustainable Atlanta Roundtable, a panel focused on the environmental issues facing the Georgia coast.
In his presentation, Tybee Island City Councilman Paul Wolff talked about a wind energy study that was done by Georgia Tech and Georgia Power.
“We could generate half of our energy
After years of being on the outs, cities now believe they have a friend in the White House.
“In some ways, we have elected our first urban president,” said Georgia Sen. David Adelman, who chairs the state Senate’s urban affairs committee.
President Barack Obama has spent most of life in cities — Honolulu, Jakarta, Los Angeles, New York, Boston and Chicago.
“He has embraced his urban roots,” added Adelman, citing the fact that in his first couple of months in office, Obama established the Office of Urban Affairs. And the top leaders in his administration are “people who have direct experience
Georgia Research Alliance finds itself in a delicate spot when the issue of restricting stem cell research arises at the state legislature.
This past year, a bill restricting research was held in committee, a perfect place for it to stay for those who are responsible for nurturing Georgia’s bioscience industry.
But what if the issue re-emerges next year (as many on the board believe it will)?
Emory University President Jim Wagner brought up that question at
