Fresh Loaf

Number of 911 calls the Atlanta Police Department received between May 10 and July 31 of this year: 243,938

Number of calls 911 staffers kept on hold for an “unacceptable” amount of time during that time period: 30,813

Percentage of Atlanta 911 calls that were placed on hold in December 2008: 33

Longest period of time, in minutes, that WSB-TV/Channel 2 found a 911 caller was reportedly placed on hold: 38

Number of minutes a West End home burned in May before firefighters were dispatched by the 911 call center: 17

Number of minutes Rachel Wittenburg waited for a 911 operator in September while her daughter suffered a seizure: 7

Average number of seconds in which emergency calls are answered, according to former call center director Miles Butler in August: 12

Number of seconds it’s considered “acceptable” for a 911 caller to wait on hold: 40 seconds

Number of calls placed to Atlanta 911 in 2008 that were “abandoned” by the caller: 55,591

Atlanta’s 2008 crime ranking among 268 cities with more than 100,000 people: 14

Sources: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Atlanta Police Department, WSB-TV

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Veteran imbiber Tom Houck, a man I’ve never seen without a cocktail in his hand, has been e-mail blasting all of Atlanta to attend a public hearing to discuss bar hours that’s scheduled for 6 p.m. this coming Monday at City Hall.

The hearing was called to give the nightclub set its own dedicated forum to discuss the merits of a recent proposal by Councilman Kwanza “Tweeter” Hall to reconsider the city-mandated 2:30 a.m. last call, which was adopted in 2003, before Hall joined Council.

If you miss this hearing, don’t expect to be allowed to speak on the issue at the following week’s Finance Committee meeting, says Chairman Howard Shook, who called for Monday’s forum to exclusively address bar hours.

Of course, we don’t need to wait until Monday to find out what Mayor Shirley Franklin thinks of Hall’s proposal. She’s quoted in a story in today’s AJC, but here’s the entire text of her commentary, which was sent to Council members:

Hall’s proposed legislation isn’t sound public policy. It is a publicity stunt, a gimmick.

It may play well in some segments of the population but it doesn’t make sense for our city as there is greater demand for public safety services to patrol street, save lives and prevent crime. Whether there is money to be made or not, the expansion of hours will stretch Atlanta’s current public safety resources. This proposal comes from a Council member who didn’t vote in 2008 or 2009 to restore full public safety funding.

I enjoy lively nightlife as much as anyone but public safety should be the city’s top priority. Until the APD force is at least 2000 officers and Atlanta’s crime rate ranking is below the top 100 in the country, stretching the resources for a few bucks isn’t sound policy.  As I leave office my opinion remains the same. Use APD resources wisely, build the force, invest in training and leadership.

S Franklin

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Gerardo Cajamarca of SINALTRAINAL, a Colombian labor union that represents Coca-Cola workers in the South American country, joined dozens of protesters on Nov. 20 outside the World of Coke to rally against the beverage company and its alleged operations overseas.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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PEE-DITTY, PART I: An officer was patrolling the area of Courtland Avenue and Ralph McGill Boulevard, when he reported a man “behind the statues on the Northwest corner, urinating on the base of the statue.” The officer asked the man what he was doing. “He stated he was getting his food together. I then asked him what else he was doing and he admitted that he had to urinate and could not hold it in.” (The Blotter Diva googled “statue” and the relevant street names — the man allegedly peed in “Folk Art Park” near the interstate overpass. The public art installation contains works by Southern folk artists R.A Miller and Lonnie Holley, among many others.) The 51-year-old man went to jail on an indecent exposure charge.

PEE-DITTY, PART II: Around 9:45 a.m., a man allegedly started peeing into a cup, while standing on a sidewalk on Marietta Street. An officer told the man to stop — and the man asked if he could finish. The officer wrote, “[The man] advised that he didn’t feel like using the Porter [sic] Potty.” The 54-year-old man went to jail on an indecent exposure charge.

Continue Reading “The Blotter“

(Photo Illustration by Tray Butler)

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Danny: I didn’t like any of the candidates in the first one. It’s probably peer pressure, people telling you that you should vote and I have a close friend that works for Mary Norwood and she gave me the scoop on her, and I liked what I heard and I got a chance to meet Mary Norwood recently and I like her. That was a big turnaround. I’m planning to vote [in] this one ’cause I made promises to people to vote this time. I don’t know much about Reed but there’s something that don’t flow right with me about him.

Mike: I was out of town on business and didn’t have the foresight to get an absentee ballot. I was hoping for a runoff. I felt like a moron because this was an important election. I felt like a jerk, I really did. There’s no more important thing that we do than vote. I’m voting for Kasim Reed. He knows how to negotiate and get things done. Mary Norwood is just a jackhammer. She’s going to poke away at people. I don’t see her being as effective as she is enthusiastic about her job.

Danielle: I did not vote in the first part because I went to Target instead. I meant to when I got back but didn’t. My mother called to make sure I voted. She works for a Board of Elections in a county in Florida. She called to make sure I did my civic duty and I lied. I’m sure she doesn’t read [Creative Loafing].  So I’m going to make up for my lack of civic duty and vote and won’t have to feel so awful about lying to my mother. I’m not 100 percent sold on either one, but I’m leaning towards Mary.

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1) The Mountain Goats play at the Variety Playhouse.

2) Browse through local, handmade wares at the Indie Craft Experience at Ambient Plus Studio.

3) Tellabration! extols the art of storytelling at the Jimmy Carter Library.

4) Anton Chekhov meets the undead in The Cherry Orchard with Zombies at Eyedrum.

5) Sweetwater Brewery gets cooking with Primal.

See more Atlanta events.

(Photo by Chrissy Piper)

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Laura Douglas-Brown, former editor of recently shuttered LGBT publication Southern Voice, issued a statement on SoVo’s Facebook page minutes ago about the status of upcoming LGBT media projects.

She revealed what is in store after talks with former SoVo owner (and founder) Chris Cash all week:

Which brings me to where we stand now. Chris Cash, the original founder of Southern Voice, and I have been talking intensely all week. She sold the paper in 1997, had wanted to buy it back as Window Media fell apart, and didn’t get the chance. Now we want to work together to make sure our community’s Voice — many voices, really — is not silenced.

As of today, we have a mailbox, a bank account, and a domain name — www.savesovo.com — that mark the official public start of our efforts.

We know we can’t really save SoVo — that name now belongs to a bankruptcy court and lienholders — but we can save SoVo’s mission. We want to try.

We’ll have a website up in the next few days, where you can give us your contact information to receive updates; tell us how you may be able or willing to help; keep up-to-date on our efforts; and if you feel able, even donate to help fund the initial stages of this project.

It won’t be tax deductible, but please know that we are volunteering our time — any money we raise will simply help offset startup costs, like web hosting, incorporation and initial printing when we get to that stage — that we are currently paying out of pocket.

Continue reading “Former SoVo editor talks about plans in the works” »

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I’m not sure why I care, but did you know Cherokee County has the lowest percentage of diabetic residents of any county in the state, followed closely by Cobb and Gordon counties?

Well, now you do.

Did you also know that diabetes and diabeetus are actually the same disease?

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Georgia is one of the least eco-friendly states in the country, so we went to the Enviro Expo USA at the Georgia World Congress Center to take a look at the latest in green products.

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Longtime LGBT nightlife magazine David (along with Southern Voice) shut down on Monday but there was still one David issue left on the computers ready to hit the streets. What to do?

How about calling in the Red Dog Unit and raiding the building Eagle-style?!

Okay well it wasn’t that dramatic, but Project Q Atlanta has the real story:

Staffers at David had already put their Nov. 19 issue to bed, meaning it was produced and ready to print in advance of hitting the street Thursday. As we now know, it never made it.

But former employees recovered the files on Wednesday when the company allowed them back into the office to remove their personal belongings. And they posted them to David’s Facebook page, allowing a look at the lost issue of the magazine.

Check out the final columns, articles, Seen@’s and one last bitch here.

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The lawyer hired by Gov. Sonny Perdue to file appeals, injunctions, motions and whatever else barristers do for Georgia in its ongoing “water war” with Florida and Alabama will be paid $855 an hour.

The AJC reports:

Seth Waxman, a former U.S. solicitor general in the Clinton administration, was tapped this week to replace Paul Clement, a King & Spalding attorney who withdrew because of a possible conflict of interest. Waxman’s hourly rate is a 10 percent discount off his normal rate of $950 an hour, a spokesman for the governor’s office said Friday.

Thanks for the discount, Mr. Waxman!

OK, $855 an hour. That’s $14.25 a minute. If I charged $855 an hour, I could earn my monthly rent in just 49 minutes. I’d only have to put in seven hours of work at the office to buy this rip-roarin’ jet ski. (Maybe an amphibious car?) If I wanted to purchase the entire Bob Ross DVD collection, I’d only have to toil for 48 minutes.

We are all in the wrong line of work.

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OPRAH WINFREY: The Big O is downsizing

>> UC Berkeley students took over a campus building this morning in protest of the university’s decision to raise tuition by 32 percent. The Birkenstock-clad students were upset that their parents would have to pay more for tuition, leaving less money to pay for their trips to South America to find themselves. (San Francisco Gate Chronicle)

>> The European Union elected Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy as the new president, though many European leaders felt disappointed that the weak personality (unlike another president I know) would represent the EU on the world stage. Obama: 1. Van Rompuy: 0. (Voice of America News)

>> Speaking of world leaders: The U.S. Embassy is working to get the Chinese government to change the official translation of Obama phonetically from Ao Ba Ma to Ou Ba Ma. However the first translation became popular initially, so it’s unlikely to change. Asian governments have confirmed that they’ll say his name right once Obama learns how to bow correctly. (New Yorker)

>> To the shock and sadness to housewives everywhere, Oprah Winfrey announced yesterday that she will end her “Oprah Winfrey Show” in its 25th season in 2011. The O plans to transform her program into something “small and different” on her own network, but I worry, how will she be able to elect our next president with a smaller show? (Deadline.com)

>> And finally: A coalition of Christian leaders, mostly conservative evangelicals and Roman Catholics, issued a declaration urging the White House to strike down any of the Senate’s health care reform that allows abortion coverage. Missing from the declaration is mandatory electronic holy water dispensers. (Fox News)

(Photo Courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

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Visual artist Boscco takes a very close look at the artwork of the 8th Annual Off-the-Wall Pin-Up Show and Sale at MOCA GA on Nov. 19.

Check out more photos from the art show.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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1) Radio City Christmas Spectacular continues at Fox Theatre.

2) CL hosts a Very Sexy Pre-Holiday Party at Halo.

3) Camera Obscura performs at Variety Playhouse.

4) Professional bull riders compete at the Arena at Gwinnett Center.

5) Van Hunt performs at Andrew’s Upstairs.

See more Atlanta events.

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President Barack Obama today named state Sen. David Adelman, D-Atlanta, as his pick to become the next U.S. ambassador to Singapore.

Adelman’s served four terms under the Gold Dome and has a well-earned reputation as one of the more progressive — and politically savvy — politicos. He wasn’t able to talk about the nomination on the record, instead referring us to the White House press release, which reads thusly:

David Adelman, Nominee for Ambassador to the Republic of Singapore
David Adelman has been a member of the State of Georgia Senate since being elected in 2002.  He serves as Minority Whip and Chairman of the Urban Affairs Committee.

Senator Adelman is an equity partner in the firm Sutherland Asbill and Brennan LLP where he has practiced law since 1993 representing energy and communications companies.  Prior to entering private practice, Senator Adelman was an Assistant Attorney General in Georgia for three years.  In addition to his commercial practice, for many years Senator Adelman has represented veterans pro bono before the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.

He has been active in his community on domestic violence issues and served on the Board of the Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority.  Senator Adelman graduated from the University of Georgia with a B.A. and received an M.P.A. from Georgia State University and a J.D. from the Emory University School of Law.

We assume this means Adelman’s on his way to the Malay Peninsula. After all, one simply doesn’t turn down ambassadorships and this one’s a plum. Singapore, the world’s largest city-state (the other ones are Monaco and the Vatican) is also the business hub of Southeast Asia and a strategically important U.S. ally.

Singapore is also home to the world-famous Raffles Hotel, a luxurious holdover from British colonial days and also the place where the Singapore Sling cocktail was invented, appropriately enough. Enjoy one for us, David.

(H/T to the AJC’s Aaron Gould Sheinin)

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Last night, mayoral candidate Mary Norwood threw a well-attended wing-ding at Amsterdam Atlanta, a popular gay bar in Morningside. I missed her speech, but caught up with former City Council President Cathy Woolard, who’d stopped by to check out the festivities.

Woolard isn’t publicly backing either Norwood or opponent Kasim Reed, but she believes Reed’s stance on gay marriage — he favors civil unions — has hurt his appeal among gay voters. This could be a significant factor in the election because, as we noted in a news article this week, the contentious race for Council District 6 is likely to turn out a large number of gay votes.

It seems a bit odd that a candidate’s position on a non-local issue such as gay marriage — or Jewish settlements, global warming, immigration policy, etc. — would have much bearing on a municipal election. Frankly, if you’re looking for a litmus-test to help determine whether a candidate is supportive of your interests, there are many others that would be more relevant.

Continue reading “Norwood goes for the gay vote” »

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Please just go and read their post. It’s good.

UPDATE: Christa from Pecanne Log writes and says that she checked Google Maps to see if there is a “Mountains, Ga.” There isn’t. Why is Saxby Chambliss lying to us and the readers of National Geographic?

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Errin Vuley, a longtime activist for women’s causes, was killed Tuesday morning in a multi-car crash in DeKalb County.

Vuley, 35, had been a familiar face at the State Capitol for several years, working for the Feminist Women’s Health Center and GARAL, the pre-cursor to Georgia NARAL Pro-Choice America, before serving as executive director for Georgians for Choice from 2001-2006.

Most recently, Vuley had been interim CEO for GOAL — A Girl’s Journey of Growth, a Decatur-based non-profit that helps adolescent girls build self-esteem.

According to the AJC, Vuley was killed when her mini-van was struck by a Ford Explorer on Memorial Drive. Police were looking for another vehicle they believe caused the crash.

“Errin was one of the most passionate, dedicated people I know, deeply committed to social justice,” said Sara Totonchi, a lobbyist with the Southern Center for Human Rights who was close friends with Vuley.

Continue reading “Longtime pro-choice activist killed in crash” »

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CLARK HOWARD No match for Mickey Mouse

On Nov. 3, thousands of Fulton County residents cast their votes for candidates who weren’t even on the ballot. Courtesy of the county’s election gurus, we present the more interesting write-in results:

• Clark Howard: The city’s penny-pinching guru earned 33 votes in nearly every Atlanta race, including mayor, City Council president and Atlanta school board.

• Musicians: Voters placed their trust in Frank Zappa, Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine, Jello Biafra, Jerry Garcia, Henry Rollins, Ted Nugent, David Lee Roth and Mick Jagger.

• Conservative icons: Glenn Beck led the crowded pack of right-minded write-in candidates. Others: George W. Bush, Sarah Palin, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Neal Boortz, Karl Rove, Ronald Reagan, Joe the Plumber, Cain, Chuck Norris and Joe “You Lie!” Wilson.

• Karl Marx: The long-dead father of communism was a write-in for the Atlanta school board and Atlanta City Council District 7.

• Sid Mashburn: The Howell Mill Road haberdasher who can magically turn Atlanta’s slobs into dapper dons garnered one vote for the Post 1 At-Large seat won by Michael Julian Bond.

• Cartoons: Jesus, what is with people and Mickey Mouse? The squeaky-voiced rodent garnered 34 votes. Other pen-and-ink candidates: Donald Duck, Bugs Bunny, Goofy, Elmer Fudd, Foghorn Leghorn, Scooby Doo, Mr. Magoo, Porky Pig, Homer Simpson and Garfield.

• Hilariously generic “people”: “A Christian name person,” “Reasonable person,” “No lawyers,” “Indie rock elitist,” “Dirt road repairman” and “Cracker fuck.”

• Reptilians: When Norm Coleman and Al Franken quibbled over votes in their 2008 congressional race, much ado was made about write-in votes for “Lizard King.” “Hail the Lizard King” and “Lizard King 4 USA,” you had a friend on Nov. 3.

Click here to download an Excel document listing the full write-in results for all municipal and Gold Dome races in Fulton County.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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GAY MARRIAGE: All or nothing, Texas!

>> Canadian Parliament member Michelle Simson of the Liberals tweeted during a committee meeting that heavy-set conservative Dean Del Mastro “should grow up (not out)” after being frustrated with his behavior. They were all sitting at the same table, and Del Mastro stood up in front of hundreds of legislators to ask Simson for an apology. Simson apologized, and then probably updated her Facebook status with something rude since neither of them are Facebook friends. (Reuters)

>> A Houston lawyer thinks the Texas’ amendment banning gay marriage inadvertently “eliminated marriage in Texas” between straight couples too when it declares, “The state or a political subdivision of this state may not recognize any legal status identical or similar to marriage.” Lets see if straight Texan couples act like the law doesn’t apply to them now. (McClatchy)

>> More out of the South: Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour is proposing a new budget where the state’s three public black colleges merge into one black college and the Mississippi University for Women merge into Mississippi State University. Many financially-draining programs would be eliminated as well. Nothing like cutting back on educational opportunities for minorities and women to help your state out in a financial crisis! (InsideHigherEd.com via Gawker)

>> The White House has told Fox News that President Obama will not announce a decision about his Afghanistan war strategy until after Thanksgiving. It’s a fitting time to debate sending 40,000 additional troops to fight in Afghanistan during the anniversary of our forefathers destroying Native Americans, though I bet a lot of the early Americans would not be too pleased with an African-American president. (Fox News)

>> And finally, a group of HIV-positive ladies in Epworth, one of the poorest towns in Zimbabwe, have started their own soccer team and every time they win a match, they march through the clinic cheering. HIV-positive women are especially stigmatized in Zimbabwe, a country where females don’t play soccer. Every now and then, Morning Newsdome needs an uplifting story, and I’m not ashamed of it. Are you listening Disney? (CNN.com)

(Photo by Dustin Chambers)

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(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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1) Marc Maron performs at Laughing Skull Lounge.

2) Wynton Marsalis and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra tag-team at Symphony Hall for “Blues Symphony.”

3) Emory Dance Company presents Muscle Memory at Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts.

4) Emotional Management opens at Solomon Projects.

5) Urban Nutcracker opens at Ferst Center for the Arts.

See more Atlanta events.

(Photo courtesy marcmaron.com)

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The AJC is reporting that the state Legislature’s “Special Equine Study Committee” voted this morning to propose a public referendum to legalize horse racing in Georgia — and, it goes without saying, gambling on horse racing.

Thirty-two states now have at least one horse track and many of those also have off-track betting parlors. Even our nearest neighbor, Alabama, has three dog tracks. Stay classy, ‘Bama.

I can’t say I’m an advocate of horse racing, but my hometown in Indiana boasted its own second-tier track, Ellis Park, so I grew up listening to the day’s race results on the local sportscast. It never seemed to me that the Daily Racing Form was the Devil’s own newsletter.

My only reservation is the same one I have for casino gambling: Let’s do it upscale or not at all. Georgia already has serious image problems. We don’t need truckstop Keno parlors and we don’t need a tawdry, fly-by-night racetrack in Riverdale.

A few weeks ago, my wife and I joined some friends at the Keeneland race track in Lexington, KY, the epicenter of horse-breeding in America. We dressed up, sipped mint julips, lunched on hot browns, placed a few small bets and had a perfectly genteel day.

If Georgia can’t manage do horse-racing in a tasteful manner, then all bets are off.

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I took this picture Nov. 16 as I was walking down Luckie Street. This group of people were outside the Tabernacle and they were there to see Monday’s AFI (A Fire Inside) show. I spoke with Katie Cannon, 20,  (far right on steps) about her experience.

“The show started at 8:00 p.m. We got there at 8:30 a.m. so that we could be the first people inside. We had just come from their concert in Myrtle Beach the night before. We drove it straight through to Atlanta. We started in Greenville, SC where I live, we left there at 4 a.m. on Sunday morning and drove straight through to Myrtle Beach for their show there Sunday night. It was amazing! After the show in Myrtle Beach, S.C., we drove all night directly to the Tabernacle. We got there at 8:30 a.m. and started waiting in line for the 8:00 p.m. show,” said Cannon.

Continue reading “Time and Place: Dedicated” »

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Matthew Cardinale, editor of Atlanta Progressive News, took issue with a blog post I wrote that criticized articles on his website concerning candidates in the mayor’s race. I admit I was somewhat harsh, but I feel my points were valid. Still, in the spirit of journalistic goodwill, we’re giving Cardinale the opportunity to respond. (For the record, we’ve trimmed his letter for the sake of space and relevance — and I added my own annotations.) Enjoy:

In a post entitled, “Where’s Mary, indeed?,” writer Scott Henry makes a number of false, unsubstantiated, defamatory, unprofessional and vicious statements regarding me and my publication, the Atlanta Progressive News.

The relevant text is as follows:

“The latest negative tidbit to surface is a weird piece of innuendo proffered by the Atlanta Progressive News, which is something of a far-left blog masquerading as a media outlet. Acting as an apparent proxy for the Norwood campaign, APN has cluttered e-mail inboxes with a piece insinuating that (Kasim) Reed, in his capacity as an attorney, once battled the NAACP on behalf of Cracker Barrel restaurants.

The ‘article,’ like much of APN’s output — including several attack pieces previously written about Lisa Borders — falls so far short of basic journalistic standards that it scarcely bears notice. Still, another local blogger who also works as an attorney was so offended by the lousy legal analysis she found in the APN piece that she felt compelled to post a point-by-point rebuttal.”

Let me go through and respond to his statements individually.

1. First of all, APN’s article was not innuendo, it was factual. If anything, it’s Henry’s post (and previous posts he’s written on other topics) that are characterized by innuendo. It is a fact that Reed, in his capacity as an attorney, once battled the NAACP on behalf of Cracker Barrel restaurants.

According to the federal database, PACER, Reed absolutely was an attorney, did represent Cracker Barrel, and on the other side was the NAACP, which both filed amicus briefs on behalf of a class of workers and helped organize this and a series of legal cases pursued against Cracker Barrel at the same time.

Now, some could argue that Cracker Barrel is entitled to a legal defense, or that Reed was just doing his job, etc., but that does not change the fact that he “in his capacity as an attorney, once battled the NAACP on behalf of Cracker Barrel.” Henry’s failure to back up his statement also means that his comment is the one that is innuendo, but it is also false.

[From Scott: I described the article as “innuendo” because, in referencing a 1999 case in which Reed was one of many attorneys working on behalf of Cracker Barrel, Cardinale points out that the restaurant chain “historically would neither serve Black customers nor employ homosexuals.” But the case in question had nothing to do with alleged civil rights violations; it was a worker’s comp case dealing with employee overtime.]

Continue reading “Atlanta Progressive News responds to attack” »

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