Chamber in the News
Transportation
Daily Report2/4/08
"We have to spend money on transportation. We're very encouraged the committee has said a transportation funding bill will be passed," said Sam A. Williams, president of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. "The key question is: Will voters pay to fund transportation improvements? and I think they will." More
Albany Herald2/4/08
As envisioned in a bill introduced last year, it would allow two or more adjacent counties to band together and ask their voters to approve a 1 percent regional sales tax for transportation projects.
The Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce led the fight for the legislation in 2007 and backs it again this year.
It is modeled after the highly successful special-purpose local-option sales tax (SPLOST) votes that have become a fixture in counties and school districts across Georgia. More
Florida Times Union2/4/08
Charles Tarbutton, chairman of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, which supports the plan, said some of the projects would be in the Governor's Road Improvement Program. That plan is meant to widen highways in rural Georgia to give more state residents access to multilane highways.
"It's way behind schedule," said Tarbutton, from Sandersville. "It is very important to rural communities that that program be completed." More
Atlanta Business Chronicle1/31/08
The report also endorses legislation backed by the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and other groups for a regional penny sales tax to combat congestion in the Atlanta region, where traffic is second-worst in the nation. More
Associated Press1/31/08
...If business groups were upset lawmakers didn't endorse a specific tax plan, they didn't show it.
"We have to spend money on transportation. We're very encouraged the committee has said a transportation funding bill will be passed," said Sam A. Williams, president of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. "The key question is: Will voters pay to fund transportation improvements? and I think they will." More
AJC1.31.08
... In a startling move for a Legislature often perceived as catering to rural interests, a high-powered committee Wednesday recommended allowing regions like metro Atlanta to levy a new 1 cent sales tax for transportation and spend it all on themselves.
... Chamber of Commerce Chairman Charles Tarbutton, of Sandersville, said that it is too soon to know which provisions would find statewide support. But he said "marrying the best parts" of the regional and statewide funding plans has won the support of a coalition of interest groups including his chamber.
... It's the first time the proposals for significant changes in transportation funding have arrived in the General Assembly with support from a full legislative entity, as opposed to individual legislators or interest groups. A draft of the recommendations states that support on the 10-person committee was not unanimous for every recommendation, but "a general consensus in principle was reached by the overall Committee as a whole." More
Insider Advantage1/31/08
The "Get Georgia Moving Coalition," which represents more than 50 groups across the state, lauded the recommendations.
"Today's recommendations from the study committee are the result of months of hard work and it all comes down to one conclusion - Georgia needs new and innovative funding solutions for transportation," said Charles Tarbutton, chairman of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and co-chair of the coalition. More
Atlanta Business Chronicle1/31/08
... The report also endorses legislation backed by the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and other groups for a regional penny sales tax to combat congestion in the Atlanta region, where traffic is second-worst in the nation.
... "We feel very confident that reform and funding can and should be addressed concurrently," said Charles Tarbutton, chairman of the Georgia Chamber. More
AJC1/28/08
Then came last week's pair of addresses, one to the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and a second at the Atlanta Press Club.
In each, Richardson was a pent-up symphony of impatience on the topic of traffic congestion, the subject dearest to the hearts of business leaders north and south of I-20. More
Grady Memorial Hospital
AJC2/6/08
Fortunately, metro Atlanta's business leaders -- who got involved only at the request of the Grady authority —- have created a plan to get Grady back on track. Their proposal to switch management to an independent board appears to have persuaded Gov. Sonny Perdue and leaders of the General Assembly to step up to help Grady. More
AJC1/30/08
Fulton County vice chairman Bill Edwards said his vote will depend on promised funding. An unnamed private donor has promised to give $200 million for capital improvements, through the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, which has been the most aggressive sponsor of the management change. The state Legislature is also expected to increase funding for Grady. More
AJC1/30/08
The nonprofit board is expected to be drawn from Atlanta's medical and business communities and to include former Georgia-Pacific Chief Executive Pete Correll and construction company owner Michael Russell. More
AJC1/30/08
Just one detail of the lease remains a sticking point —- who will be chair of the new board?
Retired Georgia-Pacific CEO A.D. "Pete" Correll, who was co-chair of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce task force that examined Grady's operations last year, is an excellent choice. He has been deeply involved in the negotiations in recent months and is willing to tackle what will be difficult job. As a retiree dedicated to civic causes, he also has the time to spend in a cause that will inevitably involve countless hours of unpaid labor.
Unfortunately, a fixation on racial politics complicates Correll's selection. Because he is a white businessman, a handful of self-appointed black leaders and activists have deemed him unworthy to head up the new Grady board. They claim that Correll will be insensitive to the mostly black and poor patients who depend on Grady. They have characterized his involvement as a "white takeover" of the hospital. More
AJC1/28/08
Retired Georgia-Pacific Chief Executive Pete Correll has emerged as the prominent candidate to head the new board. He was a leader in fashioning the proposed new management structure. But he is also controversial among some hospital advocates who question his commitment to the hospital's largely poor patients.
The board probably won't name the donor who, working through the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, has promised to provide $200 million in aid in exchange for the management change. More
Water
AJC1/20/08
At a Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce water summit last month, state Rep. Lynn Smith (R-Newnan), chairwoman of the House Natural Resources and Environment Committee, tried to make the region's business leaders understand how deep fear and loathing of the state's most-populated region runs in nonmetro residents, especially when the issue is water.
"Do you all have your straws with you? Straws to stick in the water around the state?" Smith asked. "If you don't realize you're the enemy, just look around, because that's how the rest of the state sees you." More
AJC1/21/08
The coalition is an outgrowth of the Quality Growth Task Force that was formed in 2004 by the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. More
Business
AJC1/27/08
"There is a concern about the board being mostly made up of creditors and people who are not that familiar with our metro Atlanta market," said Tom Bell, chairman and CEO of Cousins Properties. "But the board is going to do what's in the best economic interest of themselves and shareholders. And we feel that Richard is in a position to demonstrate that a headquarters in Atlanta would be the best economic proposition for any combination that might occur."
A mega-airline based in Atlanta could supersize that impact.
"If we have a Northwest merger, hallelujah," said Sam Williams, president of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. "We get instant access to much of Asia, Japan, India and all of the growth that comes with that." More
Members
AJC1/27/08
Q: Which Georgia companies has NACA helped?
A: BellSouth, Scientific-Atlanta and, of course later on, UPS. We also loosely helped GoldKist [and others] when they'd have Chinese businesses come here to buy poultry, feed and fertilizer. In the 1990s, China started to develop so-called small- and medium-sized businesses and a lot of those companies came to us to learn a little bit more about American businesses. We hosted a lot of those delegations, mid-level government officials from various cities and counties. We've also worked closely with the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.
http://www.ajc.com/business/content/printedition/2008/01/27/upclose0127.html
