For former Atlanta City Council president and onetime mayoral candidate Lisa Borders, just days into replacing the iconic Ingrid Saunders Jones as Vice-President of Global Community Connections and Coca-Cola Foundation chair, Monday night’s screening of Girl Rising should have been an easy assignment. But the documentary, focusing on the stories of nine girls from across the globe who are beaten, raped, and sold into slavery as they bravely battle to get educations, is anything but easy. The film, produced by the Intel Corporation and distributed by CNN Films, features narration by Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Alicia Keys, and Selena Gomez. It is equally empowering, educational, and at points, harrowing to watch. Read More

Stephanie Blank has a secret. No, not that. Even TMZ has reported on the ridiculously civilized parting of the ways between the veteran Atlanta charitable fundraiser and her husband of 16 years, Home Depot co-founder and Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank. We’re talking about a real secret here. Read More

The honorees being feted and fed at Monday’s sixth annual Women of Style & Substance luncheon benefit for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at the St. Regis hotel in Buckhead could rightfully be lauded for their philanthropic endeavors. But these same eight women also possess the ability to effortlessly glide down a fashion runway in fabulous frocks (and dangerously high heels) in front of a sold-out crowd consisting of hundreds of the city’s most high profile women. This was, of course, after they braved a hellacious valet line that snaked down West Paces Ferry and threatened to collide with oncoming traffic on Peachtree Road (Note to St. Regis management: When your ballroom guests use “Did you park across the street at Whole Foods and run across West Paces Ferry too?!” as a luncheon conversation ice breaker, it may be time to re-evaluate your current valet parking set up). Read More

Well, you can’t really top news about a $1 billion stadium with a fancy roof, but there was another big-money announcement about a Downtown project yesterday. The National Center for Civil and Human Rights got $24 million in funding thanks to a creative deal put together by Invest Atlanta and PNC bank. Read More

Last year the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies declared Georgia second-to-last in the nation in terms of public arts financing. That number forty-nine ranking (six cents per capita, compared with $5.77 in first-place Minnesota) may shock some Atlantans, but it surprises no one involved with the arts. Read More