ATLANTA BRIEFING February 2005

News this month

Taking action

After years of discussing tort reform, Georgia's state legislators seem poised to act. On February 14th, the state senate passed a bill aimed at reducing the size and number of medical malpractice lawsuits. The bill would cap non-economic damages at $350,000 ($1.05m if more than one defendant is found liable). It also includes a provision that requires a patient suing over emergency care to provide “clear and convincing evidence” of “gross negligence”—a heavier burden of proof.

Patient-safety advocates have opposed the bill, despite a provision requiring an investigation of any doctor who pays three or more malpractice claims. But doctors and businesses have backed it, and Sonny Perdue, Georgia’s Republican governor, is expected to sign it.

A high note

A stunning design was unveiled for the Atlanta Symphony Centre, which will become the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's permanent home after its scheduled completion in 2011. The soaring, biomorphic structure will feature an in-the-round performance hall with a movable ceiling, and be capped by a steel arch. It was designed by Santiago Calatrava, a Spanish architect whose other works include the Olympic Sports Complex in Athens; Valencia's opera house and the new World Trade Centre Transportation Hub and 80 South Street Tower in New York.

The orchestra, long trapped in the bland and acoustically deficient Woodruff Arts Centre complex, is delighted. But where will the money come from? Initial estimates put the cost of the building at $300m; the orchestra has managed to raise $100m and is looking for another $100m from the state, despite its typical reluctance to commit large amounts of money to arts projects.

Above average

Georgia residents are used to their state getting low marks in national surveys, from education to poverty. So Governing Magazine’s most recent annual survey of state government performance, released in early February, was a pleasant surprise: it gave Georgia a solid “B”, with only five states scoring higher. Noting that Mr Perdue had declared a goal to make Georgia “the best-managed state in the nation” by 2007, the magazine called the state’s human-resources system “likely the best in the country”. But it admitted that Georgia, like many states, had used “dubious budgeting gimmicks” in years past and that the state is not sure of its total assets. In December, Mr Perdue demanded a full inventory of state-run properties.

More problems

Fulton County’s school system, which has 75,000 students and comprises most of the metro Atlanta area, continues to lurch from crisis to crisis. On February 10th Michael Vanairsdale, a retired army colonel who had been named superintendent in January 2004, offered his resignation; his predecessor had only served six months on the job. Mr Vanairsdale resigned during an investigation into cost over-runs: construction of Alpharetta High School, which opened in August 2004, went $4m over budget, and another high school not set to open until August 2005 is nearly $5m over budget. In January the school board set a moratorium on school construction.

In 2002, Fulton County enacted a temporary 1% sales-tax increase, which will last until 2007 and is expected to eventually raise $739m. Where the money is going is up for grabs, though Mr Vanairsdale may have some idea. Although his resignation is effective this March 1st, he will remain on the county’s payroll until March 2006, at a salary of nearly $139,000.

A good beat

Atlanta-born performers are dominating the hip-hop music scene, if the 47th annual Grammy awards, America's highest music honour, can be trusted. Usher, a native crooner with a bombastic Romeo persona, won Best Contemporary R&B Album for “Confessions”. A hit song from that album, “Yeah!” featuring Lil’ Jon, another Atlanta-based performer, and Ludacris, an Atlanta radio-deejay turned rapper, also won for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. In 2004 OutKast, an innovative duo who met as children in Atlanta, won Best Rap Album. Flaunting the city's range, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra also went home with an award this year, for Best Choral Performance.

Atlanta has been a talent hot-house for some time. It is a home of “crunk” music, a rowdy type of hip-hop epitomised by Lil' Jon. The music industry has noticed. On January 24th, Jermaine Dupri, a local hip-hop mogul, signed a contract to fold his So So Def record label into Virgin Records. Mr Dupri (who produced “Confessions”) reportedly received $20m for the move. He will head the new Virgin Urban label, and is expected to keep Atlanta as his home base.

Catch if you can

March 2005

The Art of Romare Bearden

February 5th-April 24th 2005

Perhaps the premier painter of the Harlem Renaissance, Bearden is known for his vivid collages of African-American life. These beguiling works are deceptively simple: more careful examination surfaces references to Bearden's mainstream contemporaries, cubism and some old masters. His taste for vibrant colours and bopping compositions has spawned many followers.
Bearden also created nearly abstract watercolours and celebratory public murals. This travelling retrospective, organised by the National Gallery of Art, has already made stops in San Francisco, Dallas and New York (at the Whitney Museum) before coming here. It includes more than 130 works, including book illustrations, sculptures and stage sets.

High Museum of Art, 1280 Peachtree St, Atlanta GA 30309. Tel: +1 (404) 733-4400. Open: Tues–Sat 10am–5pm, Sun noon–5pm. Tickets: $10. See the museum’s website.