Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport

[WSUSOM]

Originally Posted by jcmjjc

I would never leave this city because of the leadership. As I said, it's getting better and I'm optimistic about the future.




I'd love to know what they based that on.....I find it hard to be proud of anyone that can ward off huge corporations in favor of musical recording artists who employ NO ONE and create no tax base.....who can let one of the largest budget deficits completely slip their attention....who can continue to let the city infrastructer rot beneath our feet.....really something to be proud of!

As far as the airport, anyone with half a brain can keep it running but it takes great leaders to make leaps and bounds over the norm. Just because we are home to the World's busiest airport doesn't automatically give it's leader the title of World's Best Airport Manager.

How has the mayor warded off corporations, from what I hear the relationship between the private sector and the city are better than they have been for 30 or more years.

[megalopolis]

You didn't answer my question about Delta and Airtran management and why they would continue to allow a "moron" to run the Atlanta airport.

Shirley Franklin - Atlanta: Shirley Franklin isn't standard mayor material. For starters, she's a woman, which makes her the first female mayor Atlanta has ever had; in fact, she's the first black woman ever to run a big Southern city. To restore faith in the city government, which was lost under predecessor Bill Campbell, Franklin shepherded through the city council a new ethics code for municipal employees. She corralled 75 private firms to conduct studies of Atlanta's budgetary, infrastructure and homeless problems and perform a massive audit of the city government, pro bono. For her achievements Franklin was awarded the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award this year by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. She is the first sitting mayor to be so honored, TIME reports.

Here's the U.S. News and World Report article.

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/051031/31franklin.htm

How you can claim she's letting the city's infrastructure rot is beyond me. She's the one leading the charge to fix the sewer problem.

[Fiorenza]

I'm glad Shirley is fixing the sewers, how about the streets.

I like Shirley as a unifying force, she has a fantastic spirit. My main problem with the city is the bureaucracy. They have far too many employees on the payroll sucking up taxpayer money. The city is not a jobs program.

More fundamentally, Atlanta is now a diverse city...socially, economically and racially. I hope the next election will turn out voters equally from all segments and result in a government that is diverse from top to bottom. We all work better together that way. The "good old boy/girl system" doesn't cut it -- whether it be snow white, coal black, or high steppin' yellow!

[Fiorenza]

Sorry to be off-topic. I return you to the Airport...!

[jcmjjc]

Originally Posted by WSUSOM

How has the mayor warded off corporations, from what I hear the relationship between the private sector and the city are better than they have been for 30 or more years.

Specifically, UPS declined to located its corporate headquarters in the city limits, citing the Franklin Administration's errant priorities.

Originally Posted by megalopolis

You didn't answer my question about Delta and Airtran management and why they would continue to allow a "moron" to run the Atlanta airport.

They don't have much of a choice when, as I already said, those in power aren't any better. And they're not exactly hurting from the way the airport is run, from what I can see, so it's not much of a valid argument.

Originally Posted by Fiorenza

I like Shirley as a unifying force, she has a fantastic spirit. My main problem with the city is the bureaucracy. They have far too many employees on the payroll sucking up taxpayer money. The city is not a jobs program.

Correct! There are too many jobs in Atlanta government that were just created to give people jobs and that crap has to stop.

More fundamentally, Atlanta is now a diverse city...socially, economically and racially. I hope the next election will turn out voters equally from all segments and result in a government that is diverse from top to bottom. We all work better together that way. The "good old boy/girl system" doesn't cut it -- whether it be snow white, coal black, or high steppin' yellow!

Correct again! We desperately need a diverse government.

Originally Posted by megalopolis

Atlanta: Shirley Franklin isn't standard mayor material. For starters, she's a woman, which makes her the first female mayor Atlanta has ever had; in fact, she's the first black woman ever to run a big Southern city.

Megalopolis, that TIME article is crap to me. To look at Franklin's accomplishments as a woman or as a black woman is part of the problem in my opinion. They need to be viewed as her accomplishments as our mayor because that's what she is. I don't care if she's black, white, pink, man, woman or martian. Sure, we can recognize and congratulate her as our first female mayor or first female African American mayor when she makes it into office but that's about as far as it should go. To view every single aspect of her job as "the first woman to do this", "the first African American woman to do that" is just the wrong focus.



Let's take this to the Off-Topic thread for any further discussion.

[megalopolis]

Nevermind. I think I'm going to follow the advice in your quote.

[ATLonthebrain]

UPS came to Metro Atlanta in the 90's, correct? Shirley was not Mayor then. So, is there even a remote possibility that UPS actually considered leaving its specifically and specially designed HQ up GA400 (Sandy Springs, right?) for something in the city? I never heard anything about that.

I will say it again. If the airport was/is being mismanaged, it would/will come to light. ATL is key to so much of the economic growth of the Metro Area and beyond. If there was even an inkling that it was on a path of destruction or just lingering and not moving forward, making change would become priority. And if that's not how the community down there works, then there is a problem. The days of Ira Jackson are over, and with Bill Campbell doing time or wherever he is now, it is far better off. Starting with Angela Gittens, it seems improvements began to happen for ATL. I'd like to think the same is true for Ben DeCosta, though he was tapped to step in only because of Campbell's personal gripe and dislike for Angela and her management of the airport (looking out for its best interest vs his best interest).

jcmjjc, I'm glad to at least hear you are optimistic about the future and some of the changes you are seeing. Let's hope it keeps moving in the right direction.

Looking forward to my next visit. Might need to have an a.net meet again!

[atlantaguy]

Originally Posted by jcmjjc

Specifically, UPS declined to located its corporate headquarters in the city limits, citing the Franklin Administration's errant priorities.

This is just a flat-out lie, and you should know better than to repeat such garbage. Shirley wasn't even a thought for Mayor when UPS relocated from CT. UPS bigwigs were being toured around North Atlanta by helicopter and pointed to the specific site they later built on because "it looks just like Connecticut." The final two cities that made the cut for the new HQ's were here and Dallas, and they choose Atlanta because of the airport and the fact that it reminded them of home. They never even entertained the idea of moving into the City.

Sounds like you didn't get to enjoy the Bill Campbell years like the rest of us did, otherwise I think you would have quite a different perspective on things here.

Hey Bryant (ATLonthebrain)! I agree with you about Angela Gittens. I still get pretty pissed when I think about the way Campbell dumped her. Do you know if she is still in Miami?

[Harry Cane]

Well, I'm not Bryant but I think Miss Gittens is no longer at Miami. As corrupt as the Campbell administration was and as much as it used ATL for favors, it was child's play with the stuff I've read about MIA.

[Fiorenza]

Gittens had some problem in Miami, but I don't know the specifics. You could Google it.

[ATLonthebrain]

Which is exactly why Angela Gittens was recruited to head the Miami-Dade Aviation Department in the first place. So much of her allure was directly related to what she had done in ATL, quite frankly, to try to clean things up and put the focus back on the airport itself and tighten up the faucets flowing funds from airport to city (which is illegal).

Keep in mind that she stepped into one big embarassing mess @ ATL after the Ira Jackson, Paradies Shops bribe debacle. And then there were the various instances involving either Campbell or his buddies and playing favorites on awarding contracts. Her decision to notify the FAA of serious concerns over the 5th Runway Dirt Deal is what led to Campbell's decision not to reappoint her. She was basically calling him out, and if she had not, it may have been her downfall if it had been discovered that she knew yet chose not to disclose it.

Unfortunately, it seems that her honeymoon was quickly over in MIA. Perhaps those close to MIA really didn't want much change afterall. There were various issues, many of which existed prior to her arrival. She was released by the county a couple of years ago, and apparently the corruption remains alive and well down there. Perhaps there is no longer hope for change and improvement. That said, Angela is doing just fine and is still very much in the aviation industry, though not with an airport. She is now Vice-President, Airport Business Services for HNTB Corporation.

[jcmjjc]

Originally Posted by atlantaguy

This is just a flat-out lie, and you should know better than to repeat such garbage. Shirley wasn't even a thought for Mayor when UPS relocated from CT. UPS bigwigs were being toured around North Atlanta by helicopter and pointed to the specific site they later built on because "it looks just like Connecticut." The final two cities that made the cut for the new HQ's were here and Dallas, and they choose Atlanta because of the airport and the fact that it reminded them of home. They never even entertained the idea of moving into the City.

Sounds like you didn't get to enjoy the Bill Campbell years like the rest of us did, otherwise I think you would have quite a different perspective on things here.

Hey Bryant (ATLonthebrain)! I agree with you about Angela Gittens. I still get pretty pissed when I think about the way Campbell dumped her. Do you know if she is still in Miami?

I've been here for 25 years and know and acknowledge the distinct differences between Campbell and our current mayor.

I'm NOT a liar. A top UPS exec was on the news and the words that came out of his mouth were UPS would not locate it's corporate headquarters within the city limits of Atlanta because of the Franklin Administration's errant priorities. This WAS DEFINITELY during Franklin's term and was not during the time they were relocating from CT. I don't care if UPS wasn't entertaining the idea of moving it's headquarters at that time. It was said and I know plenty of folks that heard it and have strong opinions about it. Forgive me for not putting a tape recorder up to the tv and making an mp3 file to replay for you. Don't believe it if you don't want to. I don't really care. I never said MY reasoning for MY opinion of the administration was supposed to dictate your or anyone elses opinions. It would have never been said if I was not asked about it.

Again, if you want to continue this discussion, either PM me or let's take it to the discussion thread.

[atlantaguy]

Originally Posted by ATLonthebrain

Which is exactly why Angela Gittens was recruited to head the Miami-Dade Aviation Department in the first place. So much of her allure was directly related to what she had done in ATL, quite frankly, to try to clean things up and put the focus back on the airport itself and tighten up the faucets flowing funds from airport to city (which is illegal).

Keep in mind that she stepped into one big embarassing mess @ ATL after the Ira Jackson, Paradies Shops bribe debacle. And then there were the various instances involving either Campbell or his buddies and playing favorites on awarding contracts. Her decision to notify the FAA of serious concerns over the 5th Runway Dirt Deal is what led to Campbell's decision not to reappoint her. She was basically calling him out, and if she had not, it may have been her downfall if it had been discovered that she knew yet chose not to disclose it.

Unfortunately, it seems that her honeymoon was quickly over in MIA. Perhaps those close to MIA really didn't want much change afterall. There were various issues, many of which existed prior to her arrival. She was released by the county a couple of years ago, and apparently the corruption remains alive and well down there. Perhaps there is no longer hope for change and improvement. That said, Angela is doing just fine and is still very much in the aviation industry, though not with an airport. She is now Vice-President, Airport Business Services for HNTB Corporation.

WONDERFUL news about Angela! Thanks for your insightful comments and good memory Bryant.

[atlantaguy]

Originally Posted by jcmjjc

I've been here for 25 years and know and acknowledge the distinct differences between Campbell and our current mayor.

I'm NOT a liar. A top UPS exec was on the news and the words that came out of his mouth were UPS would not locate it's corporate headquarters within the city limits of Atlanta because of the Franklin Administration's errant priorities. This WAS DEFINITELY during Franklin's term and was not during the time they were relocating from CT. I don't care if UPS wasn't entertaining the idea of moving it's headquarters at that time. It was said and I know plenty of folks that heard it and have strong opinions about it. Forgive me for not putting a tape recorder up to the tv and making an mp3 file to replay for you. Don't believe it if you don't want to. I don't really care. I never said MY reasoning for MY opinion of the administration was supposed to dictate your or anyone elses opinions. It would have never been said if I was not asked about it.

Again, if you want to continue this discussion, either PM me or let's take it to the discussion thread.

This is the last I'll say about this because it IS off-topic.

Sorry, but I'm calling pure BS on this. T H I S N E V E R H A P P E N E D!

I just did an exhaustive search and ended up calling a buddy of mine at UPS HQ's. After laughing his ass off, he told me that it is pretty much verbotten to EVER get quoted in the media for anything that is not positive company related spin. As a corporate pillar of this community, to do what you claim happened would be one of the most idiotic moves any exec could make around here. If you've been here for 25 years, you should know that corporate mouthpieces have been praising Shirley for the last 7+ years. What you claim is simply unheard of, particularly with a measured, conservative outfit like UPS. If this were true, the guy probably would have been canned the same day.

This sounds like nothing more than old urban legend type crap oft-repeated in certain um, circles that like to bash the City.

[megalopolis]

Thanks for the fact checking, atlantaguy.

So to get back on-topic, any recent news on the DL/NW merger?

[ATLonthebrain]

Not directly related, but likely fueled by DL's merger efforts, is that the Flight Attendants are going to vote yet again on whether to unionize. That is happening on Thu. Wonder if it'll go through this time. It's probably the best chance they have of getting it to pass, quite frankly, with this merger talk swirling all around at the moment. And, though there are different unions to represent FA's, this is the same union that represents NW.

[john3eblover]

gotta say, i'm really looking forward to seeing this! Man I hope it happens!!!

http://www.cardatabase.net/modifiedairlinerphotos/search/photo_search.php?id=00009040

[ATLonthebrain]

Angela has shown a strong resilience in this industry she has been a part of for a little more than 20 years. She's gone from Hospital Administration (Finance) to starting her aviation career in SFO, then ATL, AGI (managing North America operations with the exception of ATL's Conc. E due to obvious conflict of interest), MIA, and now HNTB. I am in touch with her periodically, and see her at industry conferences with regularity. In fact, we're both attending the same conference in DFW later this month, and it's a certainty our paths will cross.

[ATLonthebrain]

THAT is incredible! I'd be seeing several of them a day just across the airfield if this merger actually happens. Wow! Thanks for posting the link, john...I wouldn't be seeing them today, though, one because they've all left for Asia, and two because the snow is limiting visibility and I can barely see the McNamara Terminal right now.

[MarketsWork]

Originally Posted by john3eblover

gotta say, i'm really looking forward to seeing this! Man I hope it happens!!!

http://www.cardatabase.net/modifiedairlinerphotos/search/photo_search.php?id=00009040

Great link, john3eblover! I know a lot of Delta pilots, and to a man each of them has long dreamed of flying the B747. Northworst's dominant culture -- reflecting the heavily unionized Farm Labor socialism which seems to run in Nordic blood -- presents a huge labor relations obstacle to a DL-NW merger. But the complementary route maps suggest a perfect match for a strong global airline -- and the Delta pilots would finally get their coveted new/old toy. My fingers are crossed...