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If you’re a man who has sex with other men, forget about donating blood.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has decided, once again, to not lift a decades-old policy that doesn’t allow gay men to donate blood. The policy was put in place in 1983 and has never been revised.

According to the FDA, “[Men who have sex with men] are, as a group, at increased risk for HIV, Hepatitis B and certain other infections that can be transmitted by transfusion.” Despite advances in screening tests, the FDA notes that infections can’t always be detected, especially if a person has been infected within three weeks prior to the screening.

But critics say the ban shuts out many healthy people, particularly at a time when there’s a critical need for blood donations. Even the American Red Cross has asked the FDA to reconsider their stance. So has LEAD Georgia, an emergency care training company in Atlanta.

Joseph Mendoza, chief operating officer of LEAD Georgia, says the risk of contracting HIV or hepatitis from a blood transfusion is approximately one in 2 million. The solution to the screening problem, says Chuck Obina, president of LEAD Georgia, is to exclude donors who have engaged in risky sex or used drugs for a month prior to giving blood.

“The policy adopted by the FDA is outdated and prevents potential donors from contributing to blood banks,” Obina said in a statement. “What the FDA is not considering is that refusal to lift the ban and modify policy is now discrimination against the gay community.”

Is it discrimination, or just playing it safe?

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Three more Atlanta police officers were suspended today for their involvement in the shooting death of an elderly woman in November.

According to an e-mail sent by Atlanta Police Department spokeswoman Judy Pal, “The United States Department of Justice notified the department that Investigator Holly Buchanan, Investigator Paul Vignola, and Officer Brad Burchfield are the subjects of a federal criminal investigation involving their conduct as police officers. The officers were suspended today.”

Chief Richard Pennington said in a statement that the department is fully cooperating with federal authorities. “It is important that every avenue of the Neal Street incident is fully and thoroughly explored,” he said.

To read more about the Atlanta Police Department and the aftermath of the shooting death of the elderly woman, click here.

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On June 11, Georgia prison guards abruptly confiscated all tubes of Nature Mint toothpaste after they learned it had tested positive for an ingredient that has been found in antifreeze.

The state Department of Corrections distributes the 1.5-ounce tubes of toothpaste – which say, “made in China” on the back – to inmates for free.

Jim Scott, who visits his friend Neva Veitch at Metro State Prison each week, says Veitch recently told him the gritty toothpaste had made her tongue burn.

“Then a few days later she said they came around to all the women’s lockers and got all their toothpaste samples,” Scott says. “But they wouldn’t explain why.”

DOC spokeswoman Mallie McCord said no inmates got sick from using the toothpaste.

“[The Department of Administrative Services] notified us that they tested toothpaste from China to see if it contained diethylene glycol, which may cause serious illness or death if ingested in large quantities. The test showed that it indeed had the chemical in it. All of our facilities confiscated the toothpaste on that day,” she wrote in an e-mail.

The toothpaste, according to the tube Scott obtained, is distributed by the Bob Barker company – the same detention facilities distributor that ships supplies to Guantanamo Bay.

McCord said the DOC purchased 2,000 cases of another toothpaste to temporarily fill the toothpaste void while they look for a new brand.

Looks like prisoners shouldn’t worry about dropping the soap – but brushing their teeth.

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On June 15, the state Department of Community Health announced that it will reopen enrollment for PeachCare, the health insurance program for children from low-income families. The department will let 10,000 to 15,000 children sign up starting July 12, according to Linda Lowe, a consumer health advocate.

In March, the department froze enrollment because federal money from Congress used to fund the program ran out. While the state covered some expenses for a while, there wasn’t enough money for more kids to enroll. And approximately 5,000 children were dropped from the program each month, Lowe noted in an e-mail, because of late premium payments.

Congress will reassess the funding situation and reauthorize the State Child Health Insurance Program that funds PeachCare sometime this fall, according to Lowe. In the meantime, PeachCare enrollment will be capped at 295,000 children.

Lowe wrote: “This is welcome news and a good first step!”

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LIVESTOCK: A “picket pen” at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston

You may or may not like Mayor Shirley Franklin’s effort to slow down an ordinance that would allow the city to cordon protesters off during conventions, festivals and other events. But it remains unclear exactly who’s pushing the legislation.

Councilman Jim Maddox’s proposed ordinance would allow event organizers to obtain permits that require protesters to stay in corded-off “free speech zones.” Opponents say that amounts to a violation of the First Amendment’s free-speech guarantee.

“It empowers a private citizen to … put counterprotesters in a speech penalty box, in a corral, where they are not allowed to participate in a demonstration under threat of criminal prosecution,” the American Civil Liberties Union’s Gerry Weber said at a press conference last week.

Maddox didn’t respond to CL’s requests that he explain why the ordinance is needed. Weber said he’d heard the councilman was responding to two upcoming events. One is the June 22-24 Atlanta Pride Festival, which over the last few years has been set upon by religious hatemongers. The other is the U.S. Social Forum, which will attract more than 10,000 people from progressive groups (read: experienced protesters) to Atlanta June 27-July 1.

But Atlanta Pride Committee officials joined in Weber’s press conference to say they didn’t support Maddox’s ordinance. Hmm. Do powerful interests fear an onslaught of protests from the U.S. Social Forum? We’d be allowed to tell you … if we were in a free-speech zone.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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On Monday, a judge ordered Genarlow Wilson — the man who was imprisoned for having consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old girl when he was 17 — to be freed. But hours later, state Attorney General Thurbert Baker filed an appeal.

Wilson still sits in jail.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, prison officials won’t release Wilson until they get the go-ahead from the attorney general’s office or the original Douglas County Court, which sentenced him to 10 years for aggravated child molestation.

Matt Towery, who authored the law in 1995 that put Wilson in jail, told the AJC: “This has been just an absolute nightmare to see young people such as Genarlow go to jail — compounded by prosecutors and people lobbying — using videotapes and everything in the world — to try to keep him in jail.”

But Baker won’t budge. In an editorial he wrote: “[I]t is my responsibility to follow the laws of Georgia as they are written, not how some may wish they were written.”

Seems like Baker is holding the line to try to eviscerate any Republicans in the next election who might say he’s soft on crime.

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Number of murders in Atlanta in 2006 and 2005, respectively: 110, 90

Percentage increase of homicides in the past year in Atlanta: 2

Percentage the murder rate increased nationwide in the last year: 0.3

Percentage the murder rate increased in large cities with 1 million people or more in the last year: 6.7

Overall violent-crime percentage increase in Atlanta in the past year: 4.6

Overall violent-crime percentage decrease in New York in the past year: 5.3

Number of years that crime has declined in Atlanta, according to a Georgia State criminologist: 10

Number of murders in the first quarters of 2006 and 2007, respectively: 21, 21

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Earlier today, a judge threw out Genarlow Wilson’s sentence of 10 years in prison for having consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old girl when he was 17.

The judge also amended his conviction to a misdemeanor, not a felony, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

To read more about Wilson’s case, click here.

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Even though CL’s Andisheh Nouraee has left for his European vacation, he’s still informing us of political rumblings. Here’s the latest he heard:

“Bill Clinton is going to be at a private event tonight at Midtown Arts Cinema at 7:30P. A screening for a military-themed film. Supposedly it’s very hush-hush.”

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A Douglas County teen who was convicted of aggravated child molestation — for having consensual oral sex when he was 17 with a 15-year-old girl — goes to court today to try to get his conviction dismissed.

Genarlow Wilson told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that his 10-year prison sentence without parole is too harsh for a poor decision he made as a teen. “Just being a teenager, you know, you got to make a lot of mistakes but you have to learn from them,” he said. “I don’t feel like one mistake should cost me ten years in prison and a lifetime on the sex offender registry. I want to be able to go to school and have kids.”

Wilson’s case has nabbed national headlines and caught the attention of state lawmakers. In 2005 the General Assembly changed the “Romeo and Juliet” law to make consensual sex between two teens close in age a misdemeanor. And former President Jimmy Carter wrote a letter to Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker and called Wilson’s punishment of “disproportionate nature.”

It’s even caught the attention of hundreds of college students. On Facebook, a popular social-networking website, 3,791 individuals have joined a group called “Why is Genarlow Wilson in prison?” Here are a couple of posts from people in the group:

This is ridiculous. I am from North Carolina and the Duke lacross case just ended. Wow the Georgia judicial system needs to take a look at that case. There are so many parallels this guy is abviously inocent. Georgia needs to learn the phrase “spirit of the law”.

The D.A. is in between a rock and a hard place. Had he not sought a conviction he would’ve been accussed of not prosecuting black on black allegations of sexual abuse as severely. With that being said, let’s not cast aspersions upon Genarlow. These young women were just as culpable in this case as were the young men. They whole episode smacks of idioticy and bad judgement. The kid made a mistake, one that many people older than he was at the time make, which is mixing alcohol, sex, young women, and liquor. Nothing good ever comes out of those scenarios.

The Genarlow Wilson case demonstrates just how bad a situation can get when judicial discretion is removed and bad laws which fail to account for the situation take its place. Sonny Perdue should have this on his conscience for the rest of his life if he fails to issue a full pardon.

It’ll be interesting to see how Wilson’s request plays out.

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Amount of money Grady Health System lost in 2006 and 2005, respectively: $20 million, $13 million

Amount consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal recommended Grady cut from its budget: $48.5 million

Total amount, over six months, Alvarez & Marsal was paid for its services: $2 million

Amount Alvarez & Marsal hoped Grady would save by offering early retirement packages to senior employees in March: $15 million

Number of Grady-operated neighborhood clinics Alvarez & Marsal recommended Grady sell: 9

Number of outpatient visits to those clinics in 2005: 888,594

Number of counties in Georgia that fly trauma patients to Grady: 14

Number of counties that contribute to Grady’s operating budget: 2

Sources: Georgia Watch, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Atlanta Business Chronicle, Grady Health System

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A study of 140,000 asylum cases in the United States has found that refugees who seek asylum in Atlanta have the lowest chance of winning their cases.

According to the study, reported in the New York Times, refugees are granted asylum only 12 percent of the time. The national average is 40 percent.

Here’s an example of the broad range of chances a refugee might have:

“The study found that someone who has fled China in fear of persecution and asks for asylum in immigration court in Orlando, Fla., has an excellent — 76 percent — chance of success, while the same refugee would have a 7 percent chance in Atlanta.”

Part of what makes Atlanta tough, according to former CL Senior Writer Steve Fennessy’s 2004 article, is this:

“The nation’s 220 immigration judges deny roughly two asylum cases for every one they grant; [Atlanta immigration judge William] Cassidy, on the other hand, rejects more than 10 asylum applications for every approval. His two colleagues in Atlanta, Paul Johnston and Mackenzie Rast, are barely any kinder. Their approval rates are a few tenths of a percentage point higher than Cassidy’s.”

No wonder those numbers are startling!

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On Wednesday, Gov. Sonny Perdue vetoed 41 bills, including one that would’ve increased the penalties for driving without a valid license.

The bill would’ve made the offense a misdemeanor with a punishment of at least two days in jail and a fine ranging from $500 to $1,000. If a person was caught three times for driving without a license, the individual would be charged with a felony on the fourth conviction.

Advocates of the legislation hoped the bill would help nab illegal immigrants, while opponents said the law could have devastating effects on individuals who may be here lawfully. The arrest of a Canadian tourist who was detained for a minor traffic violation — partly because she only had a valid Canadian passport — proved to be enough to have Perdue steer clear of any confusion the law may cause.

When he vetoed the bill, he said: “This broad provision would catch not only those who willfully drive without any valid license, but also persons who move into the state with a valid out-of-state driver’s license that have not obtained a Georgia driver’s license within 30 days of establishing residency. … I fear an unintended consequence of this legislation, as drafted, would subject persons with valid out-of-state driver’s licenses to stout criminal penalties even absent the commission of a willful act.”

It’s a small victory for the immigrant community, but as Larry Pellegrini, executive director of the Georgia Rural Urban Summit, noted in an e-mail, “Celebrate greatly but be on guard … because the anti’s won’t give up and we’ll have to fight this again.”

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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution had an interesting article today on parents who micromanage their children’s lives — even after they graduate from college. The article noted:

You might be a “helicopter parent” [super-involved parents of children born between 1982 and 2002] if you …

• Drive your son or daughter to a job interview, then try to sit in on it.
• Reschedule or set up interviews, or inquire about benefits or why your child didn’t get the job.
• Show up at any of your son’s or daughter’s student- or job-related events.
• Camp out in your son’s or daughter’s dorm room during student orientation week.
• Accompany your child to the registrar’s office and select his or her classes.
• Wind up arguing with the registrar about why your daughter can’t take an 8 a.m. economics class.

It’s a bit extreme, but a totally legitimate concern. CL has written about how the self-esteem that’s seemingly made young people more confident and ambitious has crossed over into entitlement. They expect much of life to be handed to them on a silver platter.

But this article suggests it’s not entirely the children’s fault. Instead, the parents teach children to expect certain jobs and lifestyles. And that might create a generation of young adults who aren’t that independent — and increasingly unhappy because they have unrealistic expectations.

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Two months ago, Atlanta City Council repealed a broad disorderly conduct charge that ignited controversy because it appeared to allow police to arrest a person simply for hanging out. All a person had to do was be in what an officer designated as a “known drug area.” The offense, known as “DC-6,” was last charged on April 2, according to police records.

Before it was repealed, DC-6 was the most frequent charge cited by Atlanta police. As of Dec. 18, 7,551 arrests – about 22 a day – had been made in 2006, outpacing both criminal trespass and drinking in public.

CL checked back to see how things have changed since the law was taken off the books. According to preliminary arrest records from April 3 to May 14, first-offender possession has taken the place of DC-6, totaling 423 arrests – about 10 a day. That’s followed by criminal trespass at 408 and possession at 365.

When DC-6 was repealed, Sgt. Scott Kreher, head of the local International Brotherhood of Police Officers, told CL: “As far as affecting arrest numbers, [the repeal of DC-6] would be huge.”

He’s absolutely right. The preliminary numbers show that police are making about half as many arrests since DC-6 was repealed.

That might not bode well for rank-and-file officers who say police Chief Richard Pennington has put a quota system in place to help drive arrest statistics.

This might be the beginning of a change in Pennington’s numbers game.

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Late Tuesday, Atlanta police Chief Richard Pennington announced that the entire narcotics unit will be replaced with new officers. In addition, Pennington said about 140 personnel changes will go into effect May 29.

The changes come after months of department scrutiny, which began after the shooting death of an elderly woman in November.

Initially, 14 new investigators will make up the narcotics unit. They will train for two weeks on how to obtain warrants, gather information from informants and conduct drug searches before hitting the streets. “These officers were handpicked and they’re of the highest integrity,” Pennington said.

Lt. William Trivelpiece will become the new narcotics unit head and the unit will increase to 30 officers by the year’s end.

In addition to narcotics unit changes, Maj. Welcome Harris has been moved from heading up the Office of Professional Standards, which reviews citizen complaints of, among other things, excessive force and maltreatment. CL reported last week that the office has one of the lowest rates in the nation when it comes to sustaining citizen complaints.

When asked about the changes, Pennington said he’s moving many of the commanders around so they can learn more about law enforcement. “It has to do with career development,” Pennington said. “It has to do with making sure that our leaders get experience in other areas of law enforcement.”

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It’s official: The DeKalb County Commission voted Tuesday to let developers demolish much of Emory Village to make way for four-story buildings that will combine shops with condos.

For several years, many storefronts in the Village have remained empty or switched renters frequently. Druid Hills neighbors and store owners have said that’s because the Village’s owner continually raised rent to prices that small, independent businesses couldn’t afford.

While the rezoning will hopefully revitalize the area and make it economically viable, opponents of the measure, such as the Druid Hills Civic Association, fear the village will become “supersized.” In a survey of 4,000 Druid Hills households, the association found that 80 percent of the residents opposed the revitalization plan. Their concerns include traffic congestion on an already well-traveled road and a lack of green space in the historic neighborhood.

It’ll be interesting to visit the new development in 10 years and see if anyone says, “I told you so.”

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Clark Atlanta University’s board of trustees showed some signs last week of listening to students and faculty members who want school President Walter Broadnax removed. But that wasn’t enough to stop the activists from holding yet another action on Tuesday calling for Broadnax’s ouster.

“We have been had, and we have been misled,” Diane Plummer, a professor of psychology, said at a press conference held to pressure the board to fire Broadnax. “We do not need a hood ornament … but someone who serves a vital role in fulfilling the mission of the university.”

On May 18, the board agreed to work with students and faculty, and to look into claims Broadnax has mismanaged the school’s finances and cut valuable academic programs. But it’s unclear whether board members think Broadnax, whose five-year contract is up, should go.

The board’s action came a month after six students filed a lawsuit against Clark Atlanta for breach of contract, alleging the university didn’t offer the courses they needed to graduate on time. And last month 86 percent of the school’s faculty gave Broadnax a vote of “no confidence,” while more than 800 students signed a petition to oust him.

(more…)

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Kiplinger’s Personal Finance has just released its “Best Cities for Every Stage of Your Life” 2007 edition, and Atlanta has picked up a nod as one of the best cities to live when you’re married with kids. Here’s part of their reasoning:

Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Atlanta has established itself as the business center of the South. A diverse economy, ranging from financial services to telecommunications, attracts people from across the country. North of the city, families can find large homes on wooded lots in children-friendly neighborhoods.

Other cities in that category include Green Bay, Wis.; Minneapolis, Minn.; Des Moines, Iowa and Provo, Utah.

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Last week, the World of Coca-Cola unveiled a statue of Atlanta druggist and Coke inventor John Pemberton. The statue will “welcome” visitors to the World of Coke’s new location across from Centennial Olympic Park. The museum opens May 24.

Sculptor Russ Faxon says the statue, which stands about 6 feet 4 inches tall, weighs around 800 pounds. As of now, there’s no plaque attached to bronze behemoth, but Faxon hopes they’ll “wind up doing something.”

Part of Pemberton’s world-famous concoction was made from the coca leaf, the same plant that produces cocaine. When CL asked the company about the use of coca leaves in Coke, here’s the response we received from a spokesman:

Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation on the Internet, and, even in the media regarding the history of Coca-Cola. Rumors about cocaine in Coca-Cola when it was invented in 1886 still circulate today. Neither Coca-Cola nor any other product of The Coca-Cola Company has ever used cocaine as an added ingredient.

We never asked about cocaine. Just coca leaves.

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Next week, Corporate Accountability International, a watchdog group for dangerous corporate practices, will launch a “Hall of Shame” competition. Among the eight companies nominated is Atlanta’s very own Coca-Cola.

Coke has been nominated for accusations that the company has drained local water supplies in India, and its alleged role in the murders of union workers in Colombia. To read more about the complaints, check out this story written by CL’s Scott Henry.

In the nomination, Corporate Accountability International wrote that Coke has, in the United States, “worked to undermine public confidence in local water utilities through the marketing of its bottled water products, even though their water comes from municipal sources that they then mark up hundreds of times the original cost.”

Feel this way about Coke? Then voice your opinion, starting May 16, by voting the company into the “Hall of Shame.” To vote, click on this link, which will go live next week: www.stopcorporateabuse.org/cms/page1490.cfm.

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Marietta-based anti-illegal-immigration activist D.A. King energized a GOP meeting in Newton, Ga., in late April. According to the Rockdale Citizen, he was thanked by state lawmakers for his efforts and displayed a Mexican government ID card with the name “Al Qada Gonzalez.”

“They’re not here to mow your lawn — they’re here to blow up your buildings and kill your children, and you, and me.”
— King at the Newton GOP meeting

Among King’s other recent statements:

“Labeling illegal aliens as ‘immigrant’ is the ultimate immigrant bashing.”
— in a May 1 CNN interview with Anderson Cooper

“Anyone with a different agenda against skin color or national origin, you are not welcome … and you will not be tolerated.”
— at a rally across from the White House earlier in April

“It is not an overstatement to observe that the federal government has abandoned the American people and we teeter on the brink of national suicide.”
— on his blog

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Right as Gov. Sonny Perdue announced there wouldn’t be a special session to try to negotiate the state’s budget, Mayor Shirley Franklin put forth her requests for the city’s 2008 budget proposal of $645.3 million.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the mayor has asked for, among other things, money to hire 50 more police officers.

Her request is a sharp turn from her comments at a press conference last week, where she vigorously backed police Chief Richard Pennington’s leadership of the department and denied the need for more officers. For more details on Franklin’s staunch support of Pennington, read CL Senior Editor John Sugg’s column that hits streets (and the Web) May 10.

City Council will begin the debate over the budget this week and welcomes the public’s input. Interested individuals can voice their opinions May 10 at the Civic Center at 7 p.m. and May 17 at City Hall at 7 p.m.

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Oklahoma passed a comprehensive immigration law Thursday that’s very similar to the one passed in Georgia last year. Georgia’s law, which goes into effect in July, will, among other things, deny social services to illegal immigrants and prohibit government contractors from hiring undocumented workers.

According to state Sen. Chip Rogers, R-Woodstock, the lead sponsor of the law, the Oklahoma Legislature took its law one step further by requiring every employer in the state to verify his or her legal status. Georgia’s law only requires public employers to go through a verification process.

Colorado, which passed a handful of immigration laws last year, was the first state to follow Georgia’s steps. Rogers says Indiana also may be looking into legislation that’s modeled after Georgia’s law. If more states follow the precedent, it’ll be interesting to see if that will affect potential legislation at the federal level.

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The New York Times featured a great article Monday on the use of the video game Dance Dance Revolution in physical education classes in West Virginia’s public school system.

To play Dance Dance a person steps on different arrows on a mat by watching what arrows pop up on a screen in front of her. The arrows are synchronized to a song. School officials hope the game can help kids battle obesity while having fun.

The implementation of Dance Dance into public school systems is a positive sign that a new realm of video games can help society. CL wrote about the new genre, dubbed “serious games” or “reality games,” in a recent cover story.

If Dance Dance won over public school administrators, who often view video games as brain-draining flights of fantasy, it’s likely that other video games could offer kids many more lessons. Already, games such as Ayiti, The Cost of Life and Revolution allow kids to budget a Haitian family’s finances and simulate the American Revolution in a virtual world, respectively.

And who knows what they’ll think of next.

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