Archive for January, 2011

Atlanta Dream owner Kathy Betty will announce Tuesday that she will be joined by two new owners who are investing a total of $1 million in the WNBA team.

The new owner-investors are Mary Brock, a philanthropist and wife of Coca-Cola Enterprises chief John Brock, and Kelly Loeffler, vice president of investor relations and corporate communications at Atlanta-based IntercontinentalExchange.

Betty told the AJC she will go from being the sole owner to managing partner of the all-female ownership group.

In looking for investors, Betty said, “I focused on what would take the Dream and professional sports for women to the next level.” Brock and Loeffler “are about the mission and the vision of the Atlanta Dream — inspiring young girls to play sports,” she said.

That mission can get undermined by the financial realities of pro women’s sports. When Betty bought the team 15 months ago, it was losing about $3 million. But during her first year as owner, aided by a team that made it to …

Continue reading Two new owner-investors buy into Atlanta Dream »

Criminal charges involving the head of Marietta-based Cobb EMC are fueling a new push to change state law on electric co-ops in Georgia, AJC reporter Margaret Newkirk writes.

Advocacy groups Common Cause and Georgia Watch say Georgia’s 42 co-ops, which serve about 4 million customers statewide and nearly 1 million in suburban Atlanta, aren’t as transparent as they should be, Newkirk reports.

They’re pushing a package of changes they say will clarify that Georgia law allows co-op customers — who are also co-op owners — to view co-op books and records, Newkirk writes.

They say the Jan. 5 criminal charges against Cobb EMC head Dwight Brown drive home the need for member access to information: “The situation in Cobb is a classic example of the fact that certain EMCS are operating in a somewhat inbred manner,” said Jim Kulstad, a spokesman for Common Cause.

Also in the AJC:

• City, state reassess their responses to the storm
• MARTA’s storm response leaves passengers in …

Continue reading Power Breakfast: Criminal charges for power exec fuel transparency push, storm response, muni bonds »

How much money have you lost because of the storm?

If you’re a worker, have you been stuck at home, suffering financially as a result? While some office workers can work from home, many cannot. And most factory and service workers can’t either.

If you’re a business owner, what has been the cost to your operation? Are you covered by insurance for any of it?

Continue reading How much has the storm cost you? »

You will be able to ask your credit and debt questions next week, too.

The storm has many people preoccupied with other things. So, next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday you’ll be able to pose questions on your financial situation to the experts.

Then, during the following week, credit counselors from CredAbility, an Atlanta-based nonprofit, will answer many of them on this blog. Stay tuned and be careful out there!

Continue reading Credit and debt questions will be taken next week »

Everyone has a price. What’s yours to give up your seat on an overbooked Delta flight?

Delta is turning its voluntary bumping system into an auction that starts online with travelers’ bids, AJC reporter Kelly Yamanouchi writes.

If a flight is overbooked, travelers checking in at an airport kiosk or online see a screen asking them if they’d like to submit a bid for the value of a travel voucher as an exchange for getting bumped, Yamanouchi reports. Customers enter a dollar amount. Delta makes clear that it accepts lower bids first.

Delta previously asked for volunteers by offering a specific amount in vouchers — say, $200, Yamanouchi writes.

What do you think of this new idea? Will you participate? What’s your price?

- Henry Unger, The Biz Beat

For instant updates, follow me on Twitter.

Continue reading What’s your price to give up your airline seat? »

Atlanta prides itself on its logistics industry. But the storm left behind a patchwork truck-train distribution system, empty store shelves and a bruised logistics system that lost time, money and prestige, AJC reporters Dan Chapman and Arielle Kass write.

By Wednesday’s end, the interstates in and around Atlanta had cleared and most truckers went cautiously on their way delivering groceries, chemicals, clothing and more to Orlando, Raleigh and Knoxville, and beyond, the reproters write.

But trucking company executives said it’ll be days, possibly next week, before long-delayed deliveries are made. Millions of dollars in perishable goods, unpaid wages and canceled contracts were lost, the reporters found.

“Atlanta really is the transportation hub for the Southeast [because of] the confluence of the interstate system, the rail yards and even the pipelines,” said Ed Crowell, president of the Georgia Motor Trucking Association. “Georgia’s economy will suffer millions and …

Continue reading Power Breakfast: Metro logistics industry battered by storm, new governor, foreclosures, U.S. debt, GM »

Have you been working from home over the last few days, like many metro Atlantans?

How has it been going? Getting a lot accomplished — more, less or the same than if you were at the office?

Has your company made any special accommodations? Or is it something you’ve done many times before?

If this is new to you, and you like it, do you think you can convince your company to consider it for more than just a crisis?

Any recommendations for making it better?

- Henry Unger, The Biz Beat

For instant updates, follow me on Twitter.

Continue reading Has the storm forced you to work from home? »

Continue reading Have a credit or debt question? »

Two pillars of Atlanta’s economy – hospitality and logistics – were hit hard by this week’s storm, and, while both will recover, the icy blast will likely cost the region millions of dollars, AJC reporters Dan Chapman and Leon Stafford write.

Small businesses, which comprise the bulk of the region’s revenue and jobs, also suffered gravely. Restaurateurs and shop owners from Decatur to Dahlonega shuttered doors, shoveled ice and tallied lost receipts, the reporters write.

Atlanta’s post-recession economy, with its stubborn 10.3 percent unemployment rate, can ill afford any setback. It can also do without yet another blemish on its national reputation. The snowstorm adds to the bad national press Atlanta has already received for traffic, water and educational woes, the reporters write.

“In 11 years it’s the first time we’ve had to close,” said Kelly Seo, who owns a food mart on the square in Decatur. “For me, it’s a disaster. We’ll lose a whole week’s worth of …

Continue reading Power Breakfast: Storm costing businesses millions, working at home, MySpace vs. Facebook, Home Depot »

Continue reading Do you have a credit or debt question? »