Economist.com Cities Guide: Atlanta Briefing - October 2005

News this month

Après le déluge

More than a month after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, the effects of the storm continue to resonate. One indirect victim was Austin Leslie, a famed New Orleans chef whose restaurant inspired a 1980s television show called “Frank's Place”. He died in Atlanta on September 29th, having developed a fever after being evacuated from his New Orleans home during the flooding. (Atlanta still hosts thousands of evacuees.) He was 71. Mr Leslie’s death led to the first “jazz funeral” procession in New Orleans since the hurricane struck.

Local authorities also announced that the Sugar Bowl, a prestigious American football game, would be played in Atlanta’s Georgia Dome on January 2nd. The annual college game has been held in New Orleans since 1935 (first in the Tulane Stadium, then the Superdome), but the Superdome, which housed many Katrina refugees and which suffered storm damage, will not be ready in time to host the game. While New Orleans officials ponder the costs of rebuilding the stadium, Sonny Perdue, Georgia’s Republican governor, said that the Sugar Bowl would return to New Orleans in 2007.

No fuel, no school

Mr Perdue got a mixed reaction when he asked public schools to close on September 26th and 27th. After learning that a pipeline that supplies fuel to Georgia had been temporarily shut down, Mr Perdue asked the schools to take two early “snow days” to conserve petrol that would otherwise be used by school buses. He also banned all non-essential travel by state employees. All but three of the state’s 181 school districts complied.

Mr Perdue’s Democratic rivals, including Cathy Cox, the secretary of state and an early candidate in next year’s gubernatorial race, dismissed the move as a stunt. Many parents also complained that they received notice of the cancellation too late to arrange for day care, and so had to take days off work.

Reed between the lines

Tensions are growing within Georgia's Republican party as members question whether Ralph Reed, the former head of the Christian Coalition, a politically conservative organisation, is the party’s best candidate for lieutenant governor. (In Georgia, races for governor and lieutenant governor are held on different tickets; the latter, subordinate position, has never been held by a Republican.) Mr Reed, who has already declared his candidacy, is the front-runner. But some Republicans fear he is tainted by ties to Jack Abramoff, a Washington lobbyist who is being investigated for his part in two political scandals. Three Republican state senators have circulated a memo doubting Mr Reed’s “electability”; all three support Mr Reed’s biggest rival, Casey Cagle, a state senator from Gainesville in north-eastern Georgia.

Delta minus

Having filed for bankruptcy on September 14th, Delta Air Lines was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange on October 13th, as its stock had traded below $1 for a 30-day period. The Atlanta-based airline made no protest. Its assets of $21.6 billion make its bankruptcy the ninth largest in American history.

Delta received a rare piece of good news on October 6th, though, when a judge approved a $1.9 billion package of loans and allowed it to sell Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA), a regional carrier, to Skywest for an additional $125m. Passengers were also relieved on October 7th when the carrier finally resumed its full flight schedule, after heavy disruptions from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Unprepared

Georgia’s medical costs look certain to rise as the number of uninsured people in the state mounts, reaching 1.5m in 2004 (out of a total population of 8.8m)—up from 1.4m in 2003. According to a new study by Georgia State University, employees of small firms were the group least likely to have insurance, and 33% of people aged between 18 and 24 lacked health insurance. The AFL-CIO, America's labour federation, puts the annual cost to the state of these uninsured people at $1.3 billion.

Catch if you can

October 2005

Annie Leibovitz: American Music

Until October 22nd 2005

Ms Leibovitz, a lauded celebrity photographer, has taken hundreds of photographs for Rolling Stone, a music magazine, serving as its chief photographer in the 1970s. Some pictures in this exhibit date from that era; most, however, were taken in 1999-2001 and capture contemporary American musicians. She has trained her lens on a wide range of subjects, often affectionately: from Mary J. Blige, a hip-hop artist, to the late Johnny Cash, playing guitar with his daughter.

Jackson Fine Art, 3115 East Shadowlawn Ave, Atlanta, GA 30305. Tel: +1 (404) 233-3739. Open: Tues–Sat 10am–5pm. For more information, see the gallery’s website.

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