Public Affairs

The longest government shutdown in history continues, and Atlanta is not immune to the repercussions. Many historic sites are closed to the public, such as Martin Luther King Jr.’s childhood home and Ebenezer Baptist Church. Both closures were noticeable during the recent holiday. Other areas, such as Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, are open but do not have services available.

A new political era is upon us in Georgia after a new governor and hundreds of other lawmakers were sworn into office on Jan. 14.

In the March 1980 Republican primaries, George Bush had already lost what he called his “Big Mo” to Ronald Reagan. He bounded off his campaign plane in conservative Augusta, Georgia, for another obligatory meeting with local reporters.

Such an important time is upon us. I write this as we’re set to rock the vote for the 2018 midterm elections. And while this will be published after we know the outcome of these elections, the point is that we get to vote.

Networking is important to successful business dealings. Whether it is making an impression on your CEO or reaching out to an acquaintance to explore mutual business opportunities, it matters who you know and who knows you.

Last year, white supremacists marching in Charlottesville shouted, “Jews will not replace us.” Saturday, a kindred hater massacred 11 Jews in a Pittsburgh synagogue.

When my great-grandfather Jack Spalding and partner Alex King opened their Atlanta law firm in 1885, they alternated lugging coal up flights of stairs to heat their Atlanta office. What seemed like advanced technology then, coal contributed to unhealthy offices, dingy skies and darkened buildings.

Sixty years ago, tribal hate blew a hole in the walls of Atlanta’s Hebrew Benevolent Congregation Temple on Peachtree Street. I slept unaware next door. The bombing followed The Temple’s rabbi’s calls for integration and awakened our city to the hate seething below our community’s surface.

Early Christians, unsure if a stranger was a believer or persecutor, drew a line in the sand. If the stranger drew a corresponding line, forming a fish, conversation flowed. If not, they’d part.

Lunch with a former client and longtime friend was going well until conversation drifted toward macro topics. I proffered my biggest concern was the environment and what kind of world we’re leaving future generations – whether children will be able to play outdoors in future centuries.

Women have been talking amongst ourselves for years about the obstacles we face in our careers. That’s a major reason the #MeToo movement has exploded. Not every woman has been sexually assaulted at work – but every woman knows how it feels to be marginalized, ignored and disrespected.

CBS’ Steve Hartman goes On the Road with Kayla McKeon, Manager of Grassroots Advocacy for the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) and the first registered lobbyist with Down syndrome. Kayla lobby’s U.S. Congress advocating for the passage of laws that would give individuals with disabilities the opportunity to earn fair and equal wages.

I used to think it unfortunate that Atlanta’s suburbs rushed to incorporate into individual cities, boxing in our city’s limits. However, as we suffer the weekly drip of financial misappropriations from the detritus of former Mayor Kasim Reed’s terms, I’m beginning to wonder if we shouldn’t be smaller.

I’ve worked for six daily newspapers, in small and big towns. They were important checks on local governments and set the agenda for community discussion. Recent events are accelerating their demise.

Traditionally for 4th of July, I quote Thomas Jefferson in this space. Given our nation’s hardening polarization, I thought it more appropriate this year to quote Abraham Lincoln.

Despite my lifetime interest in politics, I avoid conflict. Relationships are more important than winning arguments, but with America’s drift towards tribalism it’s becoming increasingly challenging – particularly with Facebook.

One thing not trending this June? “Dad bods.” June is National Men’s Health Month, and because it’s never too early to be proactive about your health, here are some ways you can take charge:

Democrat Stacey Abrams can rest easy after winning Tuesday’s “Battle of the Staceys” during the Georgia Primary Elections. Her next challenge? Attempting to become the first black female governor in US history. Opponent Stacey Evans was quick to offer support in hopes of turning Georgia into a blue state.

A couple years ago, I asked a journalist friend who had just taken a job with then Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed about news stories of the mayor’s blaring of blue lights and sirens to avoid traffic.

Growing up a block from Peachtree, I loved turning over rocks in our front yard creek to find snakes, salamanders and crawdads, as we called them. Then our city allowed builders and developers to have their way, polluting creeks and destroying our wildlife habitat.

Although it’s easy to be concerned by how polarized America appears to be today, perhaps now is the perfect time for counterbalancing compromises in Congress.

With a daily subscription to The Washington Post, I was an outlier in my first-year college dorm. I found its content more interesting than textbooks on which I perhaps should have focused. Then, I didn’t appreciate the courage of owner Katharine Graham, perfectly profiled by Meryl Streep in “The Post.”

Hi, my name is Chris. It’s been a year since I watched.

Our country veers deeper each day into a chasm of divisiveness. We don’t need to assess blame here (Gingrich, Clinton, Trump, media, etc.), because we are evenly divided on the origins of our disorder.

No one is immune to the firestorm of political controversies sweeping the country of late – opinions surrounding race, patriotism and more, resulting in many water cooler debates.

It’s painful to watch venerable Atlanta financial firm Equifax stumble down an all-too-familiar and faulty PR path: not coming clean with its many errors immediately. Instead, Equifax will learn the simplest PR lesson few ever seem to heed: It’s not the crime, it’s the cover-up.

A Trust for Public Land donor has offered a $20,000 matching gift for Rodney Cook Sr. Park, opening the floodgates for the next few days of fundraising.

I don’t sweat small stuff. With my granddaughter joining our planet, I worry about long-term issues – climate change and nuclear war.

A reporter once said to me, “Georgia’s Plant Vogtle is what’s left of the nuclear renaissance that never happened.” The world will soon look to nations like China and Russia for nuclear technology if the U.S. gives up. That in itself is good reason to persist and complete construction of Vogtle Units 3 and 4.

I was to fly into Charlottesville this week to repair a brick walkway I built 40 years ago at my alma mater and to call on potential clients, but after this past weekend’s tragedy, I canceled.