Fresh Loaf

Creative Loafing’s newest columnist, Michael Alvear, aka the Sexorcist, comes to the aid of a girl in Stockdale about the eternal issue of condom-or-no-condom:

Dear Sexorcist:
Condoms sometimes make my boyfriend go limp the second he puts them on, so he’s insisting I go on the pill. I’m like, no way. Why should I take something that’s going to fuck up my hormones, make me gain weight and possibly put me at risk for cancer just because he can’t get used to a little rubber? He’s pissed off that we’re not having much sex and I’m resentful that all of the burden falls on me. On top of that, he thinks he’s being fair and balanced. How do we settle this?
— Stumped in Stockdale

Read how Alvear answers S.I.S. in his latest column.

No stranger to sticky subjects, Alvear will answer all your sex and relationship questions, which you can submit anonymously at clatl.com/sex. And meet the Sexorcist in person at CL’s Very Sexy Holiday Party at Halo Lounge this Friday! (Facebook invitation here)

Happy sexing!

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Are you a current student with a passion for journalism? Would you like to gain real-world experience at the Southeast’s leading alternative weekly? Will you receive school credit for your internship?

If so, we want YOU.

Creative Loafing is currently seeking interns for the upcoming spring semester (mid-December through late May).

For more information about our internship program, please visit clatl.com/intern or e-mail alicia.wages@creativeloafing.com.

(Photo by Jeff Riley)

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1. Police raid gay leather bar Atlanta Eagle (Patrons allegedly were cuffed and ordered to lie on the floor. If you’ve seen the Eagle’s floor, you’d know that’s cruel and unusual punishment.)

2. Mayor, City Council qualifying ends … here’s the list (More than 50 candidates are vying for 17 seats. Is your district’s seat up for grabs?)

3. Atlanta’s largest homeless shelter sues City Hall (Lawsuit claims the city conspired to shutter the controversial Peachtree-Pine shelter.)

4. Trees — yes, trees — stolen along the Beltline (Seriously?)

5. Kyle Keyser’s social media skills pay off in mayoral fundraising (The community activist and mayoral candidate got his Facebook and Twitter followers to help him raise the $4,425 needed to qualify.)

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1. In the auction for Creative Loafing, the winning bidder is … (… these guys. Hey, they seem pretty OK!)

2. The mayoral ‘machine’ goes haywire, Reed fires back (Memo urges Atlanta’s black leaders to rally behind a single black mayoral candidate — to keep a white candidate out of office.)

3. Wendy Whitaker, symbol of flawed sex offender law, rearrested (When she was 17, Whitaker gave one of the most regrettable blow jobs ever.)

4. Sen. Jeff Chapman’s views on water conservation, water wars (Chapman’s one of the Gold Dome’s greatest enigmas — one of the few Republicans who doesn’t march in lockstep with his fellow pachyderms.)

5. Oxendine: Build an interstate through East Atlanta? Let’s talk! (Um, no.)

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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CL’s Chanté LaGon and Thomas Wheatley discuss the equity auction that took place on Tues., Aug. 25, where Atalaya Capital Management gained ownership of Creative Loafing Inc. from former CEO Ben Eason. Wheatley goes into detail about what took place at the auction as well as the events that led up to Creative Loafing Inc. filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2008.

Air Loaf is broadcast weekdays on 1690 WMLB-AM at approximately 8:10 a.m., 12:20 p.m. and 6:20 p.m.

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Ben Eason

(Updates below, with additional reporting by Thomas Wheatley.)

… Atalaya Capital Management.

The auction, which began this morning, determined who will control Creative Loafing Inc.’s six newspapers, which compose the nation’s second-largest altweekly chain. It also marks the end of CLI’s yearlong bankruptcy.

Outgoing CEO Ben Eason lost control of the company his parents founded in 1972 to the New York hedge fund from whom he borrowed $30 million to buy the Chicago Reader and Washington City Paper.

Atalaya won the auction with a $5 million cash bid. Eason’s highest offer was a $2.3 million bid, nearly $1.5 million of which was “in-kind contributions.” Had Eason won, he also would have had to repay Atalaya at least $12 million.

Reporters, CLI managers, and Eason family members filled the courtroom to capacity.

Bankruptcy Judge Caryl E. Delano opened the equity auction with CLI’s bid. Tyler Brown, representing Atalaya, asked the judge if bids needed to be entered in increments of $50,000, to which Delano replied they did. People who might have been prepared for a game of one-upmanship were then disappointed, as Brown submitted Atalaya’s bid of $5 million in cash.

CLI’s lawyers asked for a brief recess.

When the recess ended and Delano returned to the bench, CLI’s lawyers asked her to close the auction. They wanted to argue that Atalaya’s bid might have been the “highest,” but it wasn’t necessarily the “best.” If Atalaya gained control of the company, they said, there was no guarantee that the hedge fund wouldn’t split the company into pieces and sell off the papers.

(more…)

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UPDATE: We have a winner.

In case you haven’t heard, today is equity auction day!

Creative Loafing reporter extraordinaire Thomas Wheatley is in sunny Tampa to cover what might be the final chapter in Creative Loafing Inc.’s yearlong bankruptcy saga. Wheatley’s first update is posted a little further down — hold on! — and he will continue to offer dispatches throughout the day.

First, to bring you up to speed: The auction pits current CLI CEO Ben Eason, whose family founded Creative Loafing 37 years ago, against Eason’s biggest creditor, Atalaya Capital Management, from whom Eason borrowed $30 million to buy the Chicago Reader and Washington City Paper in 2007. Eason has said the burden of the loan forced him to seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last year.

If Eason prevails, he will have to pay Atalaya back at least $12 million (on top of any amount exceeding a bid of $2.5 million or higher). The remainder of the $18 million owed Atalaya — if there is any — will be written off.

Wheatley reports that Eason’s opening bid is $2.3 million, including $825,000 cash and the remainder in “in-kind contributions.” Yesterday, Atalaya filed a motion contesting the contributions, but the judge ruled this morning that they were admissible. Atalaya then reserved the right to challenge them later today.

Following Eason’s opening bid, Wheatley reports, Atalaya upped the ante: $5 million cash, on top of including the $2 million cash and $1 million line of credit it already promised in its own opening bid.

Eason’s attorney then asked for a brief break.

(more…)

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UPDATE: The auction is now underway.

On the eve of the Aug. 25 equity auction that will determine who controls Creative Loafing Inc., Creative Loafing’s biggest creditor is trying to disqualify current CL CEO Ben Eason’s bid. If the creditor, Atalaya Capital Management, is successful, it will automatically win control of the company.

Either way, the rightful owner of the six-newspaper chain will almost certainly be determined tomorrow in a federal courtroom in Tampa, the culmination of a yearlong bankruptcy-court battle that pitted Eason against Atalaya, the investment firm from whom he borrowed $30 million to purchase the Chicago Reader and Washington City Paper in 2007.

This showdown is heating up!

Atalaya’s objection offers a glimpse of Eason’s bid, which it calls “facially incomprehensible.” Neither Atalaya’s nor Eason’s bid — the only two that were accepted by the court — has been made public.

The rules of the auction state that prospective bidders must match Atalaya’s opening bid amount of $2.2 million. Bids can be a combination of cash and “in-kind contributions.” Basically, Atalaya is contesting the contributions portion of Eason’s bid.

If Eason prevails, he will have to pay Atalaya at least $12 million (on top of any amount exceeding a $2.5 million bid at auction). The remainder of the original $30 million loan will be written off.

Here’s Atalaya’s objection to Eason’s bid:

(more…)

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1. AJC moving to metro Atlanta’s real downtown (The daily will be abandoning its intown digs for a new, OTP office. Yep.)

2. Lisa Borders up in latest mayoral poll (Though Councilwoman Mary Norwood still holds the lead, Council Prez Borders appears to be making progress. Someone’s pissed.)

3. Creative Loafing Inc. and its largest creditor will duke it out next week (The fate of the six-newspaper chain will be determined at an equity auction TOMORROW. Stay tuned.)

4. Threesome assault defense, ‘Ah jest wanted to watch’ (Total weirdness.)

5. Troy Davis deserves hearing, says Supremes (Somebody — the U.S. Supreme Court, no less! — is finally granting the longtime death row inmate a hearing on his innocence claims.)

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Only two bidders will compete in next week’s equity auction that will determine who controls Creative Loafing Inc.’s six newspapers: a team headed by current Creative Loafing CEO Ben Eason, and the New York hedge fund to whom Eason owes $30 million, Atalaya Capital Management.

According to a document filed today in federal bankruptcy court in Tampa, where Eason filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last year:

Creative Loafing, Inc. and affiliated debtors … hereby file for in camera review …  the documents comprising the respective bid packages received from Atalaya … and Creative Loafing Management, LLC (“CLM”), which are the only bidders identified as Qualified Bidders pursuant to the Bidding Procedures Order.

The deadline for bidders to join the Aug. 25 auction was 4 p.m. yesterday.

Details of the bids have not been filed in bankruptcy court, though past documents state that Atalaya will present the opening bid of $2.2 million. If Eason prevails, he will have to pay Atalaya at least $12 million (on top of any amount exceeding a $2.5 million bid at auction). The remainder of the original $30 million loan will be written off.

UPDATE: Our colleague Wayne Garcia, at Creative Loafing Tampa, attended a hearing related to the case this afternoon and has this to report:

(more…)

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CL’s Chanté LaGon, Amber Robinson and Alicia Wages chat about this year’s College Guide. The Creative Loafing interns helmed this year’s issue which features top 5 lists, volunteer and internship opportunities, cheap eats, artistic endeavours and more.

Air Loaf is broadcast weekdays on 1690 WMLB-AM at approximately 8:10 a.m., 12:20 p.m. and 6:20 p.m.

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Check out the whole shebang, including our Q&A with this year’s Student Cover Contest winner Sam Parker.

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The countdown to this year’s College Guide continues with Georgia State University’s Jim O’Donnell. Stay tuned for more! The winner will be unveiled in tomorrow’s issue.

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The countdown to this year’s College Guide continues with Georgia State University’s Naomi Prindiville. Stay tuned for more! The winner will be unveiled in tomorrow’s issue.

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The countdown to this year’s College Guide continues with Georgia State University’s Joe Buckel. Stay tuned for more! The winner will be unveiled in tomorrow’s issue.

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The countdown to this year’s College Guide continues with Georgia State University’s Tani Person. Stay tuned for more! The winner will be unveiled in the issue Aug. 19.

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1. Hundreds of fish die in Piedmont Park’s Lake Clara Meer (Turns out it was more like thousands of fish that perished, reportedly from dissolved oxygen. Who knows what Sir Paul thought?)

2. AJC may abandon Marietta Street (Today we learned the paper’s new HQ will be in the action-packed ‘burbs come next June.)

3. Why I want a public option (Andisheh Nouraee clearly states why there needs to be an alternative to private health insurance.)

4. Columnist’s solution to gay sex in parks? Attack dogs. (Marietta Daily Journal resident curmudgeon enlightens us with his wonderful idea of how Marietta City Council should send gays “back to Atlanta where they belong.”)

5. Fulton, Forsyth ban chaining your dog (Beginning Sept. 4, dogs in Fulton County cannot be chained or tethered to a fixed object unless held by an attendant or by the owner.)

(Photo by Thomas Wheatley)

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The countdown to this year’s College Guide continues with SCAD’s Rachel Goldstein. Stay tuned for more! The winner will be unveiled in the issue Aug. 19.

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The countdown to this year’s College Guide continues with the Art Institute of Atlanta’s Nhiani Halim. Stay tuned for more! The winner will be unveiled in the issue Aug. 19.

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The countdown to this year’s College Guide continues with SCAD’s Doug Dabbs. Stay tuned for more! The winner will be unveiled in the issue Aug. 19.

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The countdown to this year’s College Guide continues with the Art Institute of Atlanta’s Brandon Gibson. Stay tuned for more! The winner will be unveiled in the issue Aug. 19.

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The countdown to this year’s College Guide continues with SCAD’s Holly Hickman. Stay tuned for more! The winner will be unveiled in the issue Aug. 19.

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The countdown to this year’s College Guide continues with Georgia State University’s Naomi Prindiville. Stay tuned for more! The winner will be unveiled in the issue Aug. 19.

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The countdown to this year’s College Guide continues with SCAD’s Shannon Kellman. Stay tuned for more! The winner will be unveiled in the issue Aug. 19.

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The countdown to this year’s College Guide continues with the Art Institute of Atlanta’s Tatiana Landazabal. Stay tuned for more! The winner will be unveiled in the issue Aug. 19.

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