Fresh Loaf

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

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Chicago blogger Mike Fourcher asks — and pretty much answers — a question that’s been dogging us for months, both here at CL’s Atlanta lair and at our sister papers:

What is Creative Loafing’s six-newspaper chain worth?

Is it …

A) $23 million
B) $14.9 million
C) $13.3 million
D) $3.6 million

Seeing as how there’s an equity auction in TWO WEEKS that will determine who will control the Creative Loafing empire, the correct answer could come in handy.

In related print-is-dead news, the Washington Post publilshed a compelling oral history (or was it an obit?) on Sunday about the enviably edgy, CL-owned Washington City Paper. And the Chicago Reader’s Michael Miner reported last week on an interesting conundrum plaguing Creative Loafing’s top managers.

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This year’s College Guide Student Cover Contest touts some of the best submissions we’ve seen yet. After a sleep-deprived and toilsome powwow in the CL lair, we’ve finally chosen the winning design, which will be unveiled in the Aug. 19 issue. Until then, we’re counting down with some of the fantastic submissions. Stay tuned for more!

Leading off we have Alan Hawley from SCAD.

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1. Beltline proposal near Piedmont Park prompts concerns about density (How dense is too dense at 10th and Monroe?)

2. Thoughts on passing of Atlanta LGBT rights leader Allen Thornell (Beloved activist, 38, dies after suffering a stroke.)

3. Letter to editor about Georgia reservoirs hilariously suburban (Second only to CL, the Marietta Daily Journal has some of the best letters to the editor.)

4. Oxendine attacks Obama on behalf of big donors (The Ox has to look out for his base — which, is, of course, big insurance companies.)

5. MARTA service cuts start Aug. 15 (Bus route 23 — which runs along Peachtree, linking Midtown to Buckhead — gets the axe.)

(Photo courtesy Atlanta Beltline Inc.)

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Are we missing something important? Got an idea for a post that people just might want to read? Want to enjoy the MASSIVE privileges of writing for Fresh Loaf?

Well, here’s your chance.

P.S. If you’ve got something meaningful to say about Atlanta’s arts, music or restaurant scene, the above link will help you out with that, too.

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Creative Loafing is currently on the hunt for editorial interns for the fall semester!

The best interns are assertive, ambitious and organized. Each candidate should have some journalism experience and must be working toward a degree. Additionally, candidates must be receiving credit for the internship. Do we make exceptions? NO. Students with published work preferred. We require a minimum commitment of 12-16 hours per week.

Internships are available in the following categories:

• News
• Music
• Events
• Food & Drink
• Arts & Entertainment
• Photography
• Video

To apply, please send a cover letter (explaining how the internship will fit into your course of study)  and three samples of your work to: alicia.wages@creativeloafing.com.

If you are interested in the photography and video internships, please contact taralynne.pixley@creativeloafing.com.

Deadline to apply: Aug. 21

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UPDATE: According to the St. Petersburg Times, the judge determined today that she won’t issue a decision on the rules of the CL’s equity auction until the actual auction day. Details below.

Our colleague Wayne Garcia, at our sister paper in Tampa, is keeping us in the loop on the latest hearing in the ongoing battle to determine who will be the owner of the six-newspaper Creative Loafing Inc. chain, the second-largest alt-weekly conglomerate in the country.

The battle is between current owner Ben Eason, whose family founded the chain, and Eason’s largest creditor, hedge fund Atalaya Capital Management.

Today’s hearing will was expected to finalize some important rules for the Aug. 25 equity auction, which will determine who will control the company. But the judge decided to hold off on finalizing the rules until the very day of the auction.

The St. Pete’s Times reports:

Creative Loafing, the weekly alternative newspaper chain based in Tampa, fears a bankruptcy auction of its stock next month could break up the company.

On Wednesday, representatives of Ben Eason, whose family started Creative Loafing more than 30 years ago, appealed to a judge to block its largest creditor from winning the auction….

Eason fears the deep-pocketed Atalaya could blow away other bidders, including Eason himself, and begin liquidating the company for cash as early as September.

Garcia, in Tampa, characterized the courtroom proceedings as “complex, confusing and undramatic.” He also writes that Atalaya has expressed interest in investing in Creative Loafing, should the hedge fund become the newspaper chain’s owner. Garcia also points out that Atalaya has claimed it intends to run the company, not liquidate it:

Atalaya, during hearings earlier this year, also said it plans to operate the business as a news media company and has a management consultant lined up. It also said it would make an additional $1 million line of credit available to the new CL if it is the successful bidder, for operational needs. “We’ve committed some real money here,” [Atalaya’s lawyer Tyler] Brown said in court.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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1. AC Milan v. Club America (Who knows when Atlanta will get to witness such quality soccer — or such HORRIFIC traffic jams — again. Actually, there’s probably a traffic jam planned for about 15 minutes from now.)

2. BMF member arrested, Jay-Z’s ‘Death of Autotune’ gives nod to the crew (Two milestones for the infamous Black Mafia Family.)

3. Fun CL bankruptcy news! (Wednesday will be a pivotal day for the future of Creative Loafing. Stay tuned.)

4. Filthy Rich: Best of Atlanta 2009 ballot (You only have until this Friday to cast your votes for CL’s 2009 Best of Atlanta issue. After that, the opportunity will be lost forever.)

5. Atlanta at $20 per gallon of gas (A vision of armageddon.)

(Photo by Alejandro Leal)

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There is only one week left to vote for Best of Atlanta 2009, so make sure your picks are counted for by voting at clatl.com/bestofatlanta, or through Facebook before July 31. We’ll publish the results on Sept. 23.

And don’t forget about the Filthy Rich Voting Party TONIGHT at the Masquerade. The party starts at 9 p.m. and admission is only $5, with beverages and food included (while the rations last). Attractive Eighties Women and Hardy Morris of Dead Confederate are on the bill, and you can vote onsite.

Below, check out our latest poll … and vote today!

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Cast your vote on all the grit and glitz that make this town so filthy rich when Creative Loafing hosts the Best of Atlanta Voting Party tomorrow (Thurs., July 23). Dead Confederate’s Hardy Morris unveils his new side project, and Attractive Eighties Women get the party started with a set of rousing anthems that draw from equal parts Lenny Bruce impious humor-made-local, and the power-trash jams of the Replacements circa ‘83. It’ll be a night that’s sure to scuff the pages of history books in the dirty and decadent big apple of the South.

Don’t forget to vote — onsite at the party, or at clatl.com/bestofatlanta.

$5 (admission includes beverage and food samples from Ru San’s, the Real Chow Baby, Mediterranean Grill, Widmer Brother’s Beer, Ozeki Sake and more). 9 p.m. The Masquerade, 695 North Ave. 404-577-8178. masq.com.

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(UPDATE — For reasons beyond our understanding, the bankruptcy court’s next hearing date will be Wednesday, July 29, rather than Monday, as indicated below.)

Those who still care have their calendars marked for Aug. 25, the date of the Great CL Equity Auction that will determine the future ownership of our li’l old alt-media empire. But wait! There’s a new deadline looming on the horizon for the truly obsessed. That’d be July 27, this coming Monday, the fateful day when the lovely and talented bankruptcy Judge Caryl Delano in Tampa sets the rules of the aforementioned auction.

According to CL CEO Ben Eason in a new interview with Chicago Reader media critic Micheal Miner, the rules of the auction could either boost or destroy his chances of hanging on the company. That’s because Atalaya Capital Management, CL’s primary creditor, already has $31 million sunk into the company. Unless the judge places restrictions on how the bid money must be spent, Atalaya could, theoretically, bid up to $31 million to win the auction, then pay itself off and take sole ownership of the company.

Still awake? Here’s Eason’s take:

“What the issue really is is who’s going to keep their money in. Who’ll be involved in this thing for the long haul. It appears the way Atalaya is coming at this they’ll put their money in and immediately take it out. That’s part of their financial engineering, it’s a typical Wall Street hedge fund being slick with the money. But we’re looking to make sure that whoever bids at the equity auction truly wants to hold the company.”

In other words, although this isn’t made explicit in the Miner piece, Eason expects the judge to mandate that a sizable chunk, if not all, of the money represented by the winning bid must be invested directly into the company to ensure its continued viability.

And if that doesn’t happen?

“It’s over,” said Eason. “It’s the same thing as a foreclosure.”

(more…)

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Are we missing something important? Got an idea for a post that people just might want to read? Want to enjoy the MASSIVE privileges of writing for Fresh Loaf?

Well, here’s your chance.

P.S. If you’ve got something meaningful to say about Atlanta’s arts, music or restaurant scene, the above link will help you out with that, too.

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Your votes are coming in strong — nearly 2,000 in just over a week. Keep them coming! Vote today for Best of Atlanta 2009. You can vote for your favorites through July 31 at clatl.com/bestofatlanta, or vote through Facebook. We’ll publish the results on Sept. 23.

And don’t forget about the Filthy Rich Voting Party coming up next week — July 23, 9 p.m., at the Masquerade. Admission is only $5, with beverages and food included (while the rations last). Attractive Eighties Women and Hardy Morris of Dead Confederate are on the bill, and you can vote onsite.

Below, check out our latest poll … and vote today!

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1. Atlanta’s doin’ it and lovin’ it, says Trojan study (We’re No. 1 in the nation for sexual satisfaction and No. 2 for frequency of sex. Yeah, right.)

2. Washington City Paper’s Marion Barry story = gold (Speaking of surprising sex stories, the City Paper’s doozie on former mayor Barry was such a hit it crashed the paper’s website. What do you expect from the headline: “He put me out in Denver ’cause I wouldn’t suck his dick”?)

3. Filthy Rich: Best of Atlanta 2009 kicks off today (There are 18 days left to vote for the city’s best bands, restaurants, galleries, music venues, artists, shops and cultural attractions.)

4. Peachtree Streetcar vision isn’t dead yet (But it ain’t exactly called desire.)

5. GDOT, Beltline strike deal on vital track segments (City now controls roughly half of the right of way along the Beltline’s 22-mile loop.)

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Our colleague Wayne Garcia at CL’s sister paper in Tampa reports:

And it will be on Aug. 25, during a hearing in downtown Tampa that will start at 10 a.m. Federal Bankruptcy Judge Caryl E. Delano today approved a disclosure statement for Creative Loafing’s reorganization plan after a week of intensive talks between the chain’s owners, in the form of company CEO Ben Eason, and its largest creditor, Atalaya Capital Management LP.

Atalaya is the investment fund that was owed $31 million from financing CL’s 2007 pay-down of debt and purchase of the Chicago Reader and Washington City Paper. As part of the negotiations, Atalaya has agreed to write-down its promissory note to $12 million, which would be repaid at 8 percent interest-only for five years and balloon due at that point.

According to the terms of the reorganization plan and promises made in court today, all CL creditors would be paid in full with two exceptions: Atalaya and BIA Digital Partners, which provided additional lending in the 2007 deals. BIA is now part of an Eason-led equity group that will bid for ownership against Atalaya.

…

“We are on board and supportive of moving forward under this process,” Atalaya’s lawyer, Tyler Brown, told the judge via telephone during the noon hearing.

That means that Atalaya is supporting the reorganization plan and auction process. It remains, however, interested in owning the nation’s second-largest [alternative] newspaper chain and has put in what is called a “stalking horse offer” of $2 million that will be the first bid up during the Aug. 25 equity auction, at which anybody can essentially bid to own the post-bankruptcy Creative Loafing.

Continue reading “Bankruptcy judge sets auction date for ownership of Creative Loafing alt-weekly chain” …

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How can you be down with the Filthy Rich? Vote today for Best of Atlanta 2009! That’s right, voting starts today at clatl.com/bestofatlanta, and you can vote for your favorites through July 31. We’ll publish the results in September.

Now, you don’t have to be Filthy Rich to join us July 23, 9 p.m., at the Masquerade for a Best of Atlanta 2009 party! Admission is only $5, with beverages and food included (while the rations last). Attractive Eighties Women and Hardy Morris of Dead Confederate are on the bill, and you can vote onsite.

We’ve got some newfangled additions to this year’s ballot, too: You’ll be able to save and come back to your ballot, and you can vote through Facebook and share your experience with your Facebook friends.

To get you warmed up, take this quick poll on what you love most about the Best of Atlanta issue. Check back here and on our other blogs for more fast ways to get your voice heard. And vote today!

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1. Video: Midtown Atlanta parking deck collapse aftermath (Weirdly, this ain’t the first collapse tied to Hardin Construction.)

2. Inman Park Properties implosion leaves neighborhood landmarks in limbo (UPDATE: Foreclosure of Inman-owned Clermont Hotel has been delayed.)

3. Profile: Matthew Cardinale, editor of Atlanta Progressive News (Cardinale isn’t one to shy away from controversy. Just read the comments to this post …)

4. Atlanta tax hikes: Profiles in cowardice (Best chocolate eclair analogy ever.)

5. Tiffany Brown joins mayoral race! (We heart ironic punctuation — and mediocre GPAs!)

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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1. Congress debates, votes on cap-and-trade energy bill (Good news: The House passed the monumental energy-conversation bill. Bad news: Georgia Congressman Paul Broun has embarrassed the entire state.)

2. Clermont foreclosure is tip of the iceberg (The plot thickens.)

3. Michael Jackson tributes in Atlanta (Atlanta celebrates the King of Pop. Twitter crashes. And Perez Hilton weeps.)

4. Coolest contest ever: Redesign the Clermont Hotel (The contest would have been a lot cooler if the seedy hotel wasn’t in danger of foreclosure. See No. 2.)

5. Peachtree-Pine homeless shelter told to vacate building (In the end, surprisingly, the homeless prevailed.)

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Thomas Wheatley’s kick-ass cover story about his battle with alcoholism, “Sober,” was named the second-best feature story in the country at the Association of Alternative Newsweekly’s annual conference this past weekend. Yay Thomas!

The AAN awards are the most prestigious for the nation’s altweeklies.

The other winners in the Feature Story category for 2008 were Westword’s “The Good Soldier” (first place), Westword’s “Father of Invention” (third place), Houston Press’s “Mental Anguish” (honorable mention), and L.A. Weekly’s “From Silver Lake to Suicide” (honorable mention).

Our sister papers Washington City Paper and Chicago Reader took home a whopping five and two AAN awards, respectively. Congrats, guys!

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Sure, Creative Loafing’s got desks of award-winning designers, but we also know that Atlanta’s got talent. So we’re asking Georgia students to submit their cover designs for CL’s 2009 College Guide.

The first-place winner receives $200 cash, prizes and the coveted cover spot.

Start sketching; the deadline is midnight, Fri., July 10.

For more info and to submit your design, visit clatl.com/collegeguide.

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How can you be down with the Filthy Rich? Check out this year’s Best of Atlanta ballot, which you’ll find July 8 only at clatl.com/bestofatlanta.

Why all the glam talk in such glum economic times? After all, times are tight. We want it, but we hesitate to buy it. A trip to the mall? Please, we’re just window shopping. Stocking up on groceries for meals at home — instead of fancy feasts at our favorite restaurants — have become our saving grace.

Thing is, there’s an abundance of riches among Atlanta’s people, places and things. We are truly rich with options on where to go and what to do — so much so, it can be downright dirty. Sure, there’s the shiny, swanky side of Atlanta, but there’s the gritty, hidden and cheap side, too. Help us shine a light on both!

In addition to Critics Picks that highlight ways you can wrap yourself in luxury — in both authentic and untraditional ways — we want to hear from you. Your Readers Picks will uncover new gems and remind us of the perennial favorites. And after you vote, we want you to answer the big question everyone loves to fantasize about: What would you do if you were filthy rich? We’ll have quick online polls on our blogs, and new this year — a Facebook application that allows you to share the wealth.

So cash in on July 8 and make sure to look for the Best of Atlanta ballot!

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A Georgia Department of Natural Resources meeting

1. Atlanta city infrastructure best in country? (The list-generating business consultants at Mercer say Atlanta has the best city infrastructure in the United States. Um, what?)

2. Blog: Rep. Bearden, R-Glock, paid by Carrollton — but for what? (Carrollton city manager told CL that the lawmaker often leads programs and initiatives and assists with some matters “you can’t talk about.” Well, that settles it.)

3. TEAM COVERAGE: Piedmont Park pool poo spill lead story on AJC.com (Atlanta’s daily newspaper: No. 1 for No. 2 news!)

4. Parking scofflaws, your free ride will soon be over (Illegally parked cars with unpaid parking tickets will soon be booted. Oh crap.)

5. Coyle makes Atlanta City Council bid official (Neighborhood activist who fought to preserve the integrity of the Beltline makes a go at politics.)

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1. Mayor’s rebuttal of Atlanta crime rankings misleading and incomplete (How’s that for a thorough headline! No wonder this post was so popular.)

2. Suspected Holocaust museum shooter identified as Holocaust denier James Von Brunn (Octogenarian authored idiotic prose, including the book, Kill The Best Gentiles!)

3. Ga. drought ‘is over,’ water restrictions eased (Environmentalists hope residents will continue conserving water. Unfortunately, Georgians have very short memories.)

4. Atlanta schools, ADA strike deal over TAD funds (Atlanta Development Authority will return $18 million to the cash-strapped school system.)

5. Buckhead coalition pushing for end to Ga. 400 toll (Two-decade-old promise vowed to shut down the cash-cow toll booth in 2011.)

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1. The word is a ‘ghetto’ (We posed a question to readers — Is the word “ghetto” so off limits it’s become, um, ghettoized? — and y’all had some interesting things to say. Thanks!)

2. Atlanta: America’s ’second least safe city’? (The stats suggest that could be the case, but some aren’t so sure.)

3. Roy Barnes: Tanned, rested and ready (Barnes is baaaaaaaack! And the governor’s race is about to get a helluva lot more interesting.)

4. Biden to Perdue on rail funding: ‘Georgia gets nothing’ (VP: Just joshin’, Sonny!)

5. Less-than-fond memories of Barnes’ first term (Not everyone is enamored of the former guv and his bid to get his old job back.)

*This blog post has been edited to correct an error.

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1. Injured cops video Shirley probably doesn’t want you to watch (What’s going on in the video made one man so mad, he said he wanted to hit Mayor Shirley Franklin with a baseball bat. Bad idea.)

2. Brenda Lee forcibly removed from Obama press area (Macon reporter — and not the ’60s songstress — makes a spectacle of herself while being dragged away from Air Force One.)

3. Perception of Crime watch (According to the mayor and police chief, Atlanta isn’t experiencing a crime wave — it’s experiencing a perception of crime wave. Have you been a victim of a perception of crime? If so, please fill out this form.)

4. Vindictive, thin-skinned mayor acting vindictive, thin-skinned (Franklin wants the feds to investigate the police union president who made the bat statement. See No. 1.)

5. State Sen. John Wiles confuses MARTA with car wash (Lawmaker so frustrated with transit agency, he says he wouldn’t let them wash his wheels.)

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