Author: Neely Young

The Metro Atlanta Chamber of Com-merce recently released a detailed study that proposes a shift in focus for future economic development. Called “The New Economy,” the report was issued by a task force made up of leaders from business and…

Many intelligent readers of Georgia Trend have been confused or upset at the dizzying array of terms used to explain the current economic crisis. Here is an incomplete education on some of the many investment schemes that have turned everyone’s…

I just flew in from two of the most beautiful cities in one of the most beautiful states I have ever visited – Minneapolis and St. Paul in Minnesota. Each spring for the last 14 years, Atlanta region representatives have…

“Our Georgia state legislature is an embarrassment, completely unreliable.” This was a comment I made during the annual LINK trip last month to Minneapolis-St. Paul. Every spring for the last 14 years, Metro Atlanta area community leaders have visited other…

Last November, at the Classic Center in Athens, the board of trustees of the Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication welcomed 65 individuals as inaugural members of the Grady Fellowship. They were chosen by virtue of their…

In 1958, the much-heralded Cedartown Bulldogs of famous coach Howard “Doc” Ayers came to Blakely/Early County’s Kolomoki Mounds State Park for summer football camp. I was on the team as a guard. Cedartown was a powerhouse and a few years…

When Sonny Perdue upset Gov. Roy Barnes in the race for Governor a few years ago a friend of mine from Florida called to say: “This is a strange Republican party you have in Georgia, where the GOP candidate sided…

With all the items on the agenda in this year’s legislative session, including the economy and transportation, one important issue should not be overlooked. We shouldn’t wait for a major crisis to try and solve our water problems. Without growth,…

“The budget should be balanced, the treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again…

Last December my column was a Christmas message in which I was sharing my hobby of collecting quips, those one- or two-liners that show a little bit of wisdom and truth. Since that time many readers have sent me their…

A few months ago Georgia Trend published our annual Economic Yearbook, a region by region look at Georgia’s economy in the year 2008. It indicated that while things are not going well in other parts of the nation, our state…

How much lower can America’s banking system fall? Listen to this tale of woe from John Smith (the names are changed to protect the innocent). He’s a customer dealing with a bank he has been doing business with for 20…

Glenn Richardson, speaker of Georgia’s House of Representatives, is being challenged for his leadership post by House member David Ralston, a Republican from Blue Ridge. The challenge from within the GOP majority will be decided after the November elections and…

The history of agriculture in Georgia is reflected in the history of my family farm located at Youngs Station, south of Cedartown. Five generations of Youngs, Georgia pioneers and leaders, are buried in a cemetery there. Stories similar to that…

We were so excited that the carpet on the floor we stood on almost caught fire,” said State Rep. Vance Smith, referring to a wrap-up meeting Atlanta community leaders held after a recent “LINK” trip to Denver. Colorado’s capital city…

Last winter’s Georgia Supreme Court ruling could have a billion-dollar negative impact on redevelopment efforts of Georgia cities and counties. In recent years, communities statewide have seen a revolution in revitalization of downtowns and blighted areas. But in mid-February, Georgia’s…

Georgia’s GOP-dominated legislature left the 2008 session under a hail of criticism for doing nothing. Here’s a sample of what newspapers across the state had to say: “Lipstick this pig any way you wish. It [the legislative session] was a…

This issue contains our annual Economic Yearbook, a region-by-region look at how Georgia’s economy is surviving and thriving in the year 2008. While things aren’t looking so good in other parts of the country, our state seems to be holding…

After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the breakup of the Soviet Union many predicted that democracy would soon sweep the world. It didn’t, and this is why. While many regions of the old Soviet Union have turned to…

The “R” word, recession, has been used to characterize the U.S. economy for 2008. Yet for Georgia, two economic forecasters, Robert Sumichrast and Albert Niemi, predict sub-par growth rather than an outright recession. Before we get to their observations, I…

Once criticized for being a “do-nothing governor,” Sonny Perdue has recently risen like a phoenix to become the leader he was meant to be. For this he has been chosen as “Georgian of the Year” by our magazine. In our…

I have long enjoyed collecting quips, those one- or two-liners that show a little bit of whimsy and truth. I learned this habit from the late Jimmy Townsend, from Jasper, Ga., who was an author and columnist for many Georgia…

Robert E. Lee, commanding general of the Confederate army in 1865, would approve of the heroic actions of journalists in the civil rights era, told in great detail by Hank Klibanoff in his Pulitzer Prize winning book The Race Beat.…

One critic calls Glenn Richardson’s tax proposal the “antithesis” of basic Republican concepts and says it might just as well have come from Ted Kennedy.

Some of Georgia’s best coaches – Doc Ayers, Escue Rogers, Wright Bazemore and Vince Dooley among them – have excelled at teaching lessons that apply to life off the field.

Glenn Richardson wants to change the constitutional system for collecting taxes in Georgia. This would greatly increase the power of his office.

Vancouver: Thinking Upward

Migration As History

Georgia’s rapid growth is threatening our water supply. We are still 15 or 20 years away from a crisis situation, but time is running out. To make matters worse, our state does not fully control its own water resources. Desalination…

Georgia’s giant carpet manufacturing industry could have moved to Mexico, but industry leaders in Dalton put hometown loyalty ahead of Wall Street’s demands and decided to stay put.

Wisdom of the ages from the 50 volumes of the Harvard Classics – and some thoughts from England’s Winston Churchill, the 20th century’s greatest leader.

It is critical that Georgia's leaders take steps soon to make our state's energy producers safe for the future

As a result of the wall Perdue has built between himself and the media, very few members of the public will hear of the marvelous cultural change in state government. This is a wall Perdue could easily breach - to his benefit.

Studies show that Americans in general are disappointed with both the Republican and Democratic Parties. Someone recently suggested that if the old Whig Party put up a candidate they might win.

To those who say the governor is playing politics by waiting until his fourth year in office to focus on education, we say, "So what?" We just want it done.

Limits to Growth is a small book with a giant idea — outlining a doomsday forecast for our planet.

Not long ago I was standing in the atrium of Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta when I heard loud cheering and applause. I was getting ready to go through the long check-in line before I was scheduled to leave on a trip to Little Rock, Ark. But I stepped away and ran over to see what all the fuss was about.

The recent court cases made it appear that "the media" won a great victory and Georgia's economic development community lost a major tool for attracting new industry. No one won or lost anything.

Work harder than those around you, earn the respect of those higher and lower on the food chain, help your co-workers in their time of need. Never, never get involved in office gossip or backstabbing. Keep a positive attitude.

The ARC's eighth annual LINK trip gave leaders a chance to visit Miami and South Florida, which saw the same growth in the ethnic population in the 1990s that Atlanta and other parts of Georgia are now experiencing.

Georgia faces some tough issues relating to prisons, high school dropouts and drugs. It's time for some new solutions, not just business as usual.

Four 20th-century French philosophers have helped lead the world away from noble ideas into despair and concern. What we need now are new thinkers to help us unite.

Now is the time to put more dollars back into the educational system. The governor will probably use recent revenues to build back reserves. The legislature doesn't have education on its radar.

Georgia's school superintendent has her say on the state's SAT results and how schools are handling reduced financing.

Speaker Glenn Richardson wants to build his dream house on accreted land on St. Simons.

Why do we give the SAT to so many students — 76 percent of them vs. 47 percent nationally — many of whom are not planning to go to college? Why don't we just give this test to the college-bound seniors?

Publishing a magazine in a vibrant, growing state such as we have is a great experience, and, quite frankly, a lot of fun. We are in the people business, and without you as readers, we have no purpose.

How about renaming Georgia the Welcome State? Come to Georgia, all you who are weary and carrying heavy tax burdens, we will give you rest.

Voters will go along with raising taxes if they are convinced it's necessary. What could be more important than restoring the $750 million cut from Georgia's education system?

We want to start a movement among our state leaders to make education the number one item on the agenda for the 2006 legislative session.