Atlanta

KNOWN AS THE GATEWAY TO THE SOUTH, ATLANTA IS A BUSTLING, MODERN METROpolitan mecca set in the heart of Georgia that attracts new residents from all over the country. Several new projects slated for completion this year may help lure even more people to the city, both tourists and transplants. Among them, the Georgia Aquarium, set to open Nov. 23, is the cornerstone of the city's downtown revitalization efforts. The aquarium, situated across from Centennial Olympic Park and the Georgia World Congress Center, is expected to attract more than 2 million visitors in the first year and create more than 200 jobs.

The aquarium will be one of the largest in the world, hoxising more than 55,000 creatures in 5 million gallons of fresh and marine water. The grand facility, which will even feature a ballroom, is the result of a $200 million gift from Bernie Marcus, co-founder of Atlanta-based The Home Depot.

Another downtown initiative is a $300 million office and hotel development project called Allen Plaza, named in honor of late Atlanta mayor Ivan Allen Jr. Accounting firm Ernst & Young will be the anchor tenant, occupying nearly half of one of three planned buildings. A 250-room hotel will be built on the site, along with the new headquarters for Southern Co., one of the largest electricity distributors in the United States.

Atlanta is also trying to deal proactively with a problem that has plagued the city for years-homeless people, who are often seen milling about downtown. A new $4.3 million homeless facility called The Gateway Center is set to open this summer.

Earlier this year, the city was besieged by a gunman on the lam, a story that consumed local media and drew international attention. Coverage of the all-out manhunt and eventual capture of Brian Nichols following his brazen courthouse shooting spree generated countless hours of coverage on local television news outlets in the market, ranked ninth in the country with 2.06 million TV households.

ABC affiliate WSB-TV, owned by Atlanta-based Cox Broadcasting, is the market's long-time leader, winning all local news time periods. WSB also has as its early-news lead-in The Oprah Winfrey Shaw, a ratings juggernaut. It is the highest-rated daytime non-news program in the market, earning a 9.8 rating...