Fresh Loaf

NPR and MSNBC, citing anonymous sources, both report Supreme Court Justice David Souter has notified the White House that he plans to retire at the end of the current court term. (The Supreme Court declined to comment on the reports.)

The reports say Souter would remain on the bench until President Barack Obama’s nominee to replace him is confirmed. It would be the first Supreme Court Justice pick by the president. NPR says most observers expect the president to make his first appointment to the court a woman.

Since Obama was elected, many Peach State political observers have pointed toward Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears as a worthy nominee if a vacancy appears on the bench. Sears announced her retirement from the highest court in the state last October. She steps down on June 30.

Bookmark It

From the Southern Voice:

Phillip Rush, a longtime LGBT rights activist in Atlanta, died suddenly April 28 of a pulmonary embolism, according to his close friend, Doug Carl. Rush was 55.

“I think his passion in life surrounded community building — not just for the gay community, but for the entire community,” Carl said. “That was his life’s work.”

…

In almost 15 years as a program officer with the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, Rush helped provide funding, support and encouragement to a variety of non-profit organizations. His role included work on the agency’s Common Good Funds and leading the “Managing For Excellence” awards, according to a biography of Rush still posted on the foundation’s website.

Rush’s work included a variety of causes and issues, including serving on grant-making boards for United Way and FEMA. He also helped direct funding to gay causes. From 1994-1999, he led the Community Foundation’s Lesbian & Gay Funding Initiative for Youth, described by the agency as “Georgia’s first institutional response to the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth.” From 1994 to 2005, he worked on the National Lesbian & Gay Community Funding Partnership Advisory Committee.

Maria Saporta has memories of Rush here. Project Q Atlanta has a tribute here. Friends, family members and supporters have been signing Rush’s Facebook wall to pay tribute. While no funeral or memorial service will be held, FROGS Cantina in Midtown will hold a “gathering” tomorrow at 6 p.m. to remember him. The Southern Voice reports loved ones have already begun laying flowers beside Rush’s favorite barstool at the restaurant.

(Photo courtesy the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta)

Bookmark It

Twitter does not have a theme song.

I think it should.

Bookmark It

ACE OF CAKES: A Yorkie cake from Highland Bakery

Grazing: Chicharrones at Taqueria El Sori (Cliff is beside himself with the chicharrones at the taqueria inside Fiesta Foods on Buford Highway. Hint: They’re not on the menu.)

Review: Craftbar (Besha makes a trip to Tom Colicchio’s less formal downstairs’ companion to Craft.)

Lunch at Varasano’s (Cliff heads back to the much-hyped pizzeria and decides once and for all that it definitely doesn’t suck.)

Birth of a dining critic (Cooper Drose, a sixth grade student at Pace Academy, shares his thoughts about Rumi’s Kitchen for a recent class assignment.)

Forgiveness: sweeter than revenge (”When you screw up and annoy people, just give them free ice cream.”)

Read more from Omnivore

(Photo courtesy Highland Bakery)

Bookmark It

Shirley aims to raise taxes

As we blogged on Tuesday, Mayor Shirley Franklin appeared before the City Council this morning to propose a 3-mill tax increase for the city’s 2010 budget, which kicks in on July 1. If approved as proposed, the unpopular furloughs for the police and fire department would end in three months.

How much is 3 mills? Franklin told the Council it was roughly a 7-percent increase for taxpayers. According to her, the way it would work out that if you own a $200,000 house, you’ll pay an additional $200 this fall. For anyone with a $1 million home, the hit is closer to $1,200.

The mayor is actually proposing less spending than was approved in the current budget — $541 million, compared to $573 million. That’s because city revenues have been steadily falling. Unfortunately, budget projections suggest the city will only collect about $485 million next year — hence, the proposed tax hike.

Last year, the Council voted unanimously to reject a much smaller tax increase, asking Franklin to instead cut personnel and services. The result was the furloughs. It’s already quite clear that this time around, it’s a whole new ball game.

(more…)

Bookmark It

How many CEOs in the 1970s really had a putting green in their offices? How many still do?

Here’s a good look at the federal government’s vaccination program that was rolled out when the last — first? — swine flu outbreak occurred in that glorious year. Here’s a review of the program released by the CDC.

Bookmark It

It’s time once again for the highly coveted annual Creative Loafing music issue. This year we’re offering up an honest-to-goodness old fashioned 12-inch vinyl LP compilation that features cuts from several of our favorite local artists.

Dubbed The Mixt A Vol. 1, the record includes 10 songs from the likes of Predator, Grip Playaz, the Balkans, the N.E.C., A. Leon Craft, Anna Kramer & the Lost Cause, Mums F.P., Stanza, Carnivores and Zoroaster featuring Brent Hinds from Mastodon.

The record is strictly limited to 500 copies that will be available at not one, but two record release shows. The first show happens at Eyedrum on Thurs., May 7. The $10 cover gets you into the show as well as a copy of the record. The N.E.C., Grip Playaz, the Balkans and A.Leon Craft are all scheduled to perform. Doors open at 7 p.m. Music starts at 8 p.m.

The second record release party goes down at Criminal Records on the afternoon of Sun., May 10. The Carnivores, Stanza, Mums F.P. and Predator are on the bill. There is no cover charge to attend the show. LPs will be on sale at the store for $10 and the music starts at 3:30 p.m.

In addition to the 10 songs on the LP, dozens of bonus tracks will be included in a free online download that includes songs by Abby Go Go, All Night Drug Prowling Wolves, Batata Doce, the 4th Ward Afro-Klezmer Orchestra, the Coathangers, Danny!, Pill and many more.

Go to clatl.com/music for more info.

Bookmark It

What do you give a dog for her 10th birthday?

Extra food?

Belly rubs?

Distemper vaccine?

A gimp squirrel she can actually catch?

Bookmark It

Well, that’s no fun.

From WSB-TV:

The CDC confirmed a case of swine flu Thursday at West Georgia Medical System Hospital in LaGrange in Troup County.

Troup County health officials said Wednesday night during a public meeting that a sample from a patient at the hospital was sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for testing. The sample came back possible for swine flu.

The patient, a 30-year-old female, is from out of state. CDC officials said she has a history of traveling to Cancun, Mexico.

More info at WSB.

Bookmark It

>> As much as even mentioning the pig-related viral infection pains me, you should probably know that the World Health Organization has raised the “threat level” to pink 5. Whatever that means.

>> He said it! Waterboarding is torture. So there. And then Obama talked about all manner of key issues like Pakistan, why you should wash your hands, his stance on abortion and why he is not a Socialist.

>> Britain begins to pull out of Iraq after six years and the deaths of 179 servicemen. Seven hundred of its troops are moving into Afghanistan, though, with a date for a pull-out already set (2010). Amazing.

>> The word “unexpectedly” has been showing up in economy-related headlines with concerning frequency. Here’s a thought — stop guessing.

>> HUH?: Rihanna will get back $1.4 million worth of borrowed jewelry she was wearing the night of her alleged attack. Apparently, the prosecution was holding on to it for “evidence.”

>> If you cheer the “effectiveness” of torture certain interrogation policies, here’s an opinion from inside those torture interrogations — against it.

>> The UGA professor accused in the Athens, GA triple murder is one of “America’s Most Wanted.”

Bookmark It

Politico today rehashes an Insider Advantage article that reports U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal, R-Ga., plans to run for governor. The news site — famous for WINNING THE AFTERNOON! — included a picture of this “Nathan Deal” character, who looks eerily similar to … holy shit.

Gov. Sonny Perdue, you must respect the state Constitution and bow out at the end of your term, sir! The citizens of Georgia will not sit idly by as you try to hoodwink us into another eight years!

Thanks to Jason Pye, this egregious powergrab was caught before it gained momentum.

(Screenshot from Politico.com)

Bookmark It

Today’s New York Times features a story by Shaila Dewan about Atlantic Station’s Millenium Arch.

Because the arch was near a large blue and yellow furniture store, some people nicknamed it the Arc d’Ikea.

All this time I thought they called it that because it was shipped flat and assembled with a hex wrench.

Bookmark It

THROWING MONEY AROUND: A 19-year-old woman from Rex said she went through a toll booth on Ga. 400 one evening. She said her passenger (a 19-year-old man) got out of the car, put 50 cents in the toll basket and they drove on. A little farther down the road, the male passenger “noticed that the $7,649 was missing, so they got off at Exit 4/Glenridge Connector and turned around and went back to the toll booth,” an officer wrote. According to a toll-booth employee, a woman in a white car said there was money on the ground — and she showed him the money and drove away. He said, “some of the money was in one pile and that some more of the money was blowing around and that he picked up some of the money, but the female never gave him any money. [He] then turned the money in to his boss.”
The woman got $4,520 back — but she’s still missing $3,129. An officer wrote, “When I asked if they could review the security camera [a manager] stated that he was unable to review then and they would have to wait til the day shift manager came in.”

Continue reading The Blotter.

(Illustration by Tray Butler)

Bookmark It

1) Tradin’ Paint continues at Theatre in the Square.

2) George Jones performs at Fox Theatre.

3) Vinyl hosts the Superhero Showdown.

4) Jessica Handler discusses Invisible Sisters, a memoir about the loss of her two sisters to rare disease, at Opal Gallery.

5) Charis Circle screens the fifth episode of Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?

(Photo by MJ Conboy)

Bookmark It

Effective immediately, companies wishing to do business with the state of Georgia — and be paid with your tax dollars — best not have ties with Sudan.

Gov. Sonny Perdue today signed a bill that prohibits the state from contracting with companies that conduct business or have ties to the African country’s oil, power, mineral and military sectors. Profits from the sectors are widely believed to help perpetrate genocide in the nation’s southern region of Darfur.

Since 2003, more than 400,000 people have been killed and 2.3 million displaced by genocide in the African nation’s southern region of Darfur. The atrocities, which have been condemned by the United States, are carried out by militias funded by the Sudanese government.

“What this says is very simple,” state Sen. David Adelman, D-Decatur, the bill’s sponsor, said after its signing. “If your business or any of its affiliates are engaged in any business activities with the government of Sudan, you cannot do business with the state of Georgia.”

Companies that plan to do business with Georgia state agencies are now required to disclose international business contracts during the Request for Proposal, or RFP, process. If a company falsifies or fails to accurately disclose its ties with Sudan, it could be fined $250,000 or double the bid it submitted to the state, whichever is greater. The company could also lose the contract and be ineligible to bid on state projects for three years.

(more…)

Bookmark It

I hope they got a good deal, because those lawyer fees are gonna be outrageous.

(Screenshot from ajc.com)

Bookmark It

On April 16, President Barack Obama gave rail lovers some long-awaited good news: As part of the president’s stimulus plan, he offered $8 billion to begin linking major U.S. cities with high-speed rail lines — and an additional $5 billion more to improve rail service over the next four years.

“We need high-speed rail,” Obama said. “It’s happening right now. It’s been happening for decades. The problem is, it’s been happening elsewhere, not here.”

By “elsewhere,” the president was referring to Europe and Asia. But he could just as easily have been talking about Southeastern states other than Georgia. Thanks to a lack of vision, little to no funding, and an almost cartoonish addiction to roads, the Peach State’s far behind many of its neighbors when it comes to rail.

Transit and transportation advocates say if the state’s leadership doesn’t work to catch up, Georgia could miss out on a nationwide rail renaissance.

Click here to continue reading this story.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

Bookmark It

William Mize, the white supremacist convicted in 1995 of killing Eddie Tucker of Hull, Ga., last night was denied a stay of execution and request for appeal by the Georgia Supreme Court.

He’s scheduled to be executed by lethal injection tonight at 7 p.m.

Bookmark It

Remember when your license plate choices were limited to plain or with extra wildlife? Nowadays, of course, Georgia offers dozens of specialty license plates. Your options range from plates identifying you as a Former POW or Korean War Coast Guard Veteran, to plates recognizing Stroke Awareness and Brain-Related Disorders, to plates celebrating Beautification Projects in Cobb County and Municipal Clerks of Georgia. Honestly?

Then there are the plates that signal, through carefully chosen buzz phrases, the driver’s apparent political leanings and/or social outlook. These include AIDS Survival Project, Support Our Troops and the infamous  Choose Life, as well as the subtle Thanks Mom and Dad (presumably for not aborting your ass).

But Georgia is surprisingly restrained when compared to Florida, whose legislature just approved a vanity plate for morbid Christians. Behold:

Can anyone explain why Jesus is gray, like he’s been dead for several days? I’d love to see a judge rule that, in order to ensure fairness to all religions, the state would have to issue a commemorative plate for the Church of Satan.

Bookmark It

When Texas Republican Gov. Rick Perry earlier this month insinuated Texas might attempt to secede from the United States, it was the most extreme expression so far of the Republican Party’s juvenile sore loserdom. They’ve been so thoroughly rejected by voters in two straight elections, the GOP is basically saying “Nevermind, we quit.”

Honestly, my first thought upon seeing the words “Texas” and “secede” in a headline this month was “good riddance.”

I don’t want the U.S. to break up, but it makes me smile to imagine a new USA, liberated from the millions of staunch Republicans who think the solutions to all society’s ills can be found in Leviticus.

The New Yorker’s Hendrik Hertzberg had a similar thought, only he’s smarter and a superior writer.

In his latest column, he imagines the win-win resulting from Texas and the rest of the Republican south splitting from the rest of the U.S.

The leftover United States, he says, would ”briskly enact sensible gun control, universal health insurance, and ample support for the arts, the humanities, and the sciences.”

And the new Confederacy?

“[It] could get on with the business of protecting the sanctity of marriage, mandating organized prayer sessions and the teaching of creationism in schools, and giving the theory that eliminating taxes increases government revenues a fair test. Although Texas and the other likely [secessionist] states already conduct some eighty-six per cent of executions, their death rows remain clogged with thousands of prisoners kept alive by meddling judges. These would be rapidly cleared out, providing more prison space for abortion providers.”

Next time a Republican “leader” hints at secession, don’t mock him. Encourage him.

Bookmark It

• Don’t mean to cause a panic, but when is it OK to panic?… First U.S. death from swine flu confirmed… don’t panic yet, no cases in Georgia.
• U.S. economy in second straight quarter of steep decline… so is it OK now?
• Supreme Court to hear arguments from a small Texas district that is seeking to abolish Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.
• Not sure about you, but Arlen Specter joining the Democratic party seems a bit gimmicky… as in advancing one’s political career gimmicky.
• What’s 5 grams nowadays: Justice department official wants the disparity between cocaine and crack-cocaine possession sentencing to end.
• Icing on the cake: Iran’s defense minister travels to Venezuela to meet with officials about strengthening military ties between the two nations.

Bookmark It

Atlanta City Councilwoman Anne Fauver’s unexpected exit from the District 6 race yesterday took nearly everyone in the politically active and tight-knit neighborhoods she serves by surprise.

In a Tuesday interview with CL, Fauver said the decision, which she’s wrestled with for the last two months, largely came down to two things: frustration with city politics and the desire to try something new.

“[Atlanta] once had a strong council and a weak mayor,” Fauver said. “That’s been reversed. That can be very frustrating because council is supposed to determine policy…As of now, we don’t.”

Fauver added that it’s difficult to juggle a career and serve in City Hall. The job of a councilmember, which pays $39,000 a year and is supposed to be a part-time gig, is more like a round-the-clock position.

“It’s four years,” she said, referring to another term. “Four years on top of eight years is a little bit longer than I want to do it. I’m frankly looking forward to a new challenge and I don’t know what that will be.”

(more…)

Bookmark It

1) The Italian Film Festival continues at the Rialto Center.

2) Olympic gold medalist Dara Torres discusses Age Is Just a Number: Achieve Your Dreams at Any Stage of Your Life at the Carter Center.

3) The Felice Brothers and Willy Mason play Smith’s Olde Bar.

4) Lake Cochiti and Birds continue at Naomi Silva Gallery.

5) Food 101 hosts a Widespread Panic tribute dinner.

(Photo © 2008 Parlami d’Amore)

Bookmark It

Mayor Shirley Franklin is expected to deliver a proposed 2010 budget to Council members tomorrow that includes a 3-mill tax increase. The tax hike is designed to end the police and fire department furloughs and cover an anticipated $40 million shortfall for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. The budget needs to be approved by the Council by the end of June.

I haven’t heard back from the mayor’s spokespeople, but this all seems quite credible. I’ve also been told that Franklin is confident that she can get the eight Council votes needed to pass her budget — a turnaround from last year, when the Council rejected her call for a much smaller tax increase and unanimously approved a budget that actually included a microscopic property tax cut.

Does she really have the votes? Well, earlier today my colleague Thomas Wheatley was interviewing Councilwoman Anne Fauver about her decision not to run for re-election. He asked if she had any regrets.

Answered Fauver: “Had I been better educated by the administration about the financial state of the city, I would’ve voted for a small tax increase last year to help cover the pending budget shortfall and the impact of changes in the pension system. I was not fully educated and I would’ve gone along with a small tax increase if I had known all there was to know.”

Young Thomas then asked if there was any chance she might get to revisit that decision this year.

Said Fauver: “There is.”

The public-safety furloughs have taken a huge political toll on the denizens of City Hall over the last year. Groups like Atlantans Together Against Crime, which yesterday held a rally attended by the top three candidates for mayor, have put a great deal of pressure on the Council to find a way to return cops and firefighters to work.

In other words, the opposition to a tax increase is certainly weakening. It remains to be seen if it’s weakened enough to give Franklin the eight votes she needs.

Bookmark It

David Schaengold of the Witherspoon Institute published a thought-provoking essay this month titled “Why Conservatives Should Care About Transit.”

Schaengold says ‘mass transit vs. more roads’ became a ‘Democrats vs Republicans’ battle during the 1970s:

This association can be traced to the ’70s, when cities became associated with social dysfunction and suburbs remained bastions of ‘normalcy.’

Schaengold argues that the Republican Party’s love of asphalt undermines core conservative values:

Pro-highway, anti-transit, anti-pedestrian policies work against the core beliefs of American conservatives in another and even more important way: they create social environments that are hostile to real community . . . [d]ense, walkable settlements are not just a pleasant lifestyle choice. They are a precondition of the strong, inter-connected communities that social conservatives desire.

Are you listening, Jerry Keen?

(I would tip my hat to Andrew Sullivan for the link, but someone on MARTA stole it. I’m pressing charges.)

Bookmark It