"That's what this project is all about. To honor Tyler. To honor all those who've gone before," said Maj. Gen. Jerry White (retired) of the National Infantry Foundation.
1st Lt. Tyler Hall Brown, son of Buckhead Rotarian Carey Brown, was killed in Iraq in September 2004. In this podcast, Brown is inducted into the Order of Saint Maurice, the highest honor given by the foundation.
The foundation is building the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center at Patriot Park, a $91 million privately funded project being built in Columbus, Georgia, near Fort Benning, where infantrymen are trained.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Water, traffic, and property taxes to dominate 2008 Georgia legislative session
One is a Republican, one a democrat. One is in the House, the other the Senate. But both Rep. Edward Lindsey (R) and Senator Kasim Reed (D) represent metro-Atlanta districts, and they agree on several major issues affecting the metro area.
Water – The long-delayed plan to build reservoirs to capture and store water must move forward during this session. It is critical to stopping Atlanta’s national brand from eroding further.
Transportation – Atlanta can’t build or widen its roads much more, so Atlanta needs funding for creative solutions to improve the way we use our roads. Senator Reed favors a bill to allow two or more counties to create a regional sales tax to fund transportation projects specific to those counties. He prefers this approach to a state-wide one-cent sales tax, which he believes does not have enough support and would get bogged down in rural versus urban politics anyway.
Property taxes – Both support a plan to set a cap on how much the assessed value of your home can increase each year. Neither supports a freeze.
In this podcast, hear about these plus other issues including a revamping of education funding in the state and how the state might help save Grady Hospital.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Chamber chief: Racial reconciliation bred ATL business boom
While other Southern cities such as Birmingham and New Orleans suffered highly-publicized racial conflicts during the civil rights era of the 1960’s, Atlanta integrated its restaurants and schools with relative peace.
“No one knew which of these three cities was going to win the economic battle of the South,” said Sam Williams, president of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. “But an important source of Atlanta’s ultimate victory came out of the leadership of this biracial business community.”
Williams addressed the Buckhead Rotary Club as it presented its annual Robert Ross Johnson Humanitarian Award to Jesse Hill, who was instrumental in the peaceful integration Williams credits with Atlanta’s economic boom.
As an executive and later CEO of Atlanta Life Insurance and leader in the NAACP, Hill acted as intermediary between other civil rights leaders and wary white businessmen. He also advised President Lyndon Johnson, Martin Luther King Jr., and many of the South’s first black elected officials.
In this podcast, Williams explains how white business leaders came to understand “the civil rights movement was about customers, employees and making money.” Introduction by Jim Breedlove.
“No one knew which of these three cities was going to win the economic battle of the South,” said Sam Williams, president of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. “But an important source of Atlanta’s ultimate victory came out of the leadership of this biracial business community.”
Williams addressed the Buckhead Rotary Club as it presented its annual Robert Ross Johnson Humanitarian Award to Jesse Hill, who was instrumental in the peaceful integration Williams credits with Atlanta’s economic boom.
As an executive and later CEO of Atlanta Life Insurance and leader in the NAACP, Hill acted as intermediary between other civil rights leaders and wary white businessmen. He also advised President Lyndon Johnson, Martin Luther King Jr., and many of the South’s first black elected officials.
In this podcast, Williams explains how white business leaders came to understand “the civil rights movement was about customers, employees and making money.” Introduction by Jim Breedlove.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Public Broadcasting Atlanta GM: Want more WABE news? Go HD
WABE bills itself as “Home of the Classics and NPR News.” Audiences who like each want more of one and less of the other. John Weatherford, senior vice president and general manager of Public Broadcasting Atlanta, which holds the licenses for WABE radio (90.1 FM) and WPBA TV (Channel 30), says the solution is “HD Radio,” a digital signal that “rides on the back” of the analog broadcast signal, but enables WABE to split the signal into three channels, one each for news and classical music and a third for a mix. It’s all free once you buy an HD Radio (less than $100). WABE is also working to make all locally produced content available on the Web.
On the TV side, Weatherford has struck a deal with GPB (seen locally on Channel 8) to reduce the duplication of programming between them. He says the result is a 22% jump in ratings.
Weatherford says technology isn’t the only thing changing in broadcasting, and that public broadcasting performs an increasingly important service.
In this podcast, Weatherford also laments the change in standards among commercial stations owned by media giants, who he says have lost focus on the original mission of broadcast media.
“Broadcasters are still in the business of being issued licenses on behalf of the federal government,” Weatherford says, “on behalf of you, the communities that we serve, to provide something important to you. And if we’re not doing that, then we deserve not to be around.”
Public Broadcasting Atlanta is controlled by Atlanta Public Schools and is not to be confused with Georgia Public Broadcasting, a network of stations across the state, seen locally on Channel 8.
On the TV side, Weatherford has struck a deal with GPB (seen locally on Channel 8) to reduce the duplication of programming between them. He says the result is a 22% jump in ratings.
Weatherford says technology isn’t the only thing changing in broadcasting, and that public broadcasting performs an increasingly important service.
In this podcast, Weatherford also laments the change in standards among commercial stations owned by media giants, who he says have lost focus on the original mission of broadcast media.
“Broadcasters are still in the business of being issued licenses on behalf of the federal government,” Weatherford says, “on behalf of you, the communities that we serve, to provide something important to you. And if we’re not doing that, then we deserve not to be around.”
Public Broadcasting Atlanta is controlled by Atlanta Public Schools and is not to be confused with Georgia Public Broadcasting, a network of stations across the state, seen locally on Channel 8.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Atlanta Hawks and Thrashers sell entertainment, not wins
The owners of the Atlanta Hawks and Thrashers sell entertainment, not wins. Bernie Mullin, president and CEO of Atlanta Spirit LLC, says trying to sell wins is a losing proposition because you can't guarantee them.
"We provide a complete entertainment package inside and outside the white lines," Mullin told Buckhead Rotary this week.
Mullin says Atlanta Spirit, which also owns Philips Arena, is collectively losing money on the three entities, but moving toward profitability. Philips Arena makes money. The Thrashers lose about $20 million a year. The Hawks break even, the difference mainly due to more money from revenue sharing and taxes from other NBA teams that exceed the league salary cap.
In this podcast, Mullin also predicts hard times for the Atlanta Braves, figuring Liberty Media bought into Major League Baseball for a tax break and will not invest enough in salaries to generate a strong team.
"We provide a complete entertainment package inside and outside the white lines," Mullin told Buckhead Rotary this week.
Mullin says Atlanta Spirit, which also owns Philips Arena, is collectively losing money on the three entities, but moving toward profitability. Philips Arena makes money. The Thrashers lose about $20 million a year. The Hawks break even, the difference mainly due to more money from revenue sharing and taxes from other NBA teams that exceed the league salary cap.
In this podcast, Mullin also predicts hard times for the Atlanta Braves, figuring Liberty Media bought into Major League Baseball for a tax break and will not invest enough in salaries to generate a strong team.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Mayor Franklin: Save water or lose the argument
Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin acknowledges the push to conserve water will have minimal impact on the flow of the Chattahoochee, our main water source. Speaking to Buckhead Rotary on Monday, Mayor Franklin said we must at least try to conserve in order to have a strong bargaining position in our 18-year water war with Alabama and Florida. The governors of all three states are in Washington this week to work out a temporary plan for how they will share what's left of the water in Lake Lanier.
"If we cut our water usage by 50%," Mayor Franklin said, "it will only have a four-percent impact on the Chattahoochee." However, she said we must wage an aggressive conservation campaign, else have a weak bargaining position with the other states, which accuse Georgia of failing to conserve.
Alabama Governor Bob Riley recently told a newspaper, "Atlanta can’t spend all summer during a drought watering their lawns and flowers and then expect someone else to bail them out."
In this week's podcast, Mayor Franklin makes a case for restricting water use, even discouraging the capture of "grey water" from showers for watering plants, but rather taking quick showers and sending all water down the drain and back to the Chattahoochee.
"If we cut our water usage by 50%," Mayor Franklin said, "it will only have a four-percent impact on the Chattahoochee." However, she said we must wage an aggressive conservation campaign, else have a weak bargaining position with the other states, which accuse Georgia of failing to conserve.
Alabama Governor Bob Riley recently told a newspaper, "Atlanta can’t spend all summer during a drought watering their lawns and flowers and then expect someone else to bail them out."
In this week's podcast, Mayor Franklin makes a case for restricting water use, even discouraging the capture of "grey water" from showers for watering plants, but rather taking quick showers and sending all water down the drain and back to the Chattahoochee.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
UGA AD: Women's lacrosse next NCAA sport, men's soccer must wait
UGA's next NCAA sport will likely be women's Lacrosse, says Athletic Director Damon Evans.
"We do need to add another female sport at the University of Georgia," Evans told the Buckhead Rotary Club this week. "Lacrosse is a sport that is getting great consideration."
UGA already has organized men's and women's lacrosse teams, but they are "club sports" along with paintball, karate and dozens more.
Evans said men's soccer will have to wait due to Title IX (UGA has a women's soccer team), which requires universities to try to provide athletic opportunities proportionate to the gender make up of the student body.
In this podcast, Evans explains what's next for UGA's athletics program including stronger efforts to play far flung teams like Oklahoma and Notre Dame.
Introduction by Jim Breedlove.
"We do need to add another female sport at the University of Georgia," Evans told the Buckhead Rotary Club this week. "Lacrosse is a sport that is getting great consideration."
UGA already has organized men's and women's lacrosse teams, but they are "club sports" along with paintball, karate and dozens more.
Evans said men's soccer will have to wait due to Title IX (UGA has a women's soccer team), which requires universities to try to provide athletic opportunities proportionate to the gender make up of the student body.
In this podcast, Evans explains what's next for UGA's athletics program including stronger efforts to play far flung teams like Oklahoma and Notre Dame.
Introduction by Jim Breedlove.
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