Fresh Loaf

MICHAEL PHELPS: The U.S. swimmer becomes the winningest Olympian ever with his 11th career gold medal.

RUSSIAN INTO WAR: Georgia’s government continues to accuse Russia of attacking the city of Gori despite the cease-fire, and even of moving toward the capital of Tbilisi, although confirmation is difficult.

DRINKING PROBLEM: A judge will decide whether metro Atlantans ever had the right to use Lake Lanier for drinking water.

JOSH SMITH: Interviewed on the Sporting Blog by Bethlehem Shoals following his re-signing with the Hawks.

SILVER BULLET: Transportation officials are discussing the possibility of building a 310-mph, mag-lev bullet train connecting Nashville, Chattanooga and Atlanta.

LAVONIA: Police are accusing a man of keeping his wife and four children captive for three years in a single-wide trailer.

CLAYTON: School board member Rod Johnson becomes the latest to resign. He stepped down after school system attorneys declined to represent him because he had skipped meetings where they were discussing defense strategies for upcoming administrative hearings.

ACCREDIT CHECK: North Carolina Central University’s now-defunct Atlanta satellite campus has been retroactively stripped of its accreditation by SACS, essentially nullifying the degrees earned there by 25 students.

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According to Bethlehem Shoals at the Sporting News’ the Sporting Blog, Atlanta may be about to lose its second Josh in less than three weeks. Following Josh Childress’ evacuation to Greece last month, Hawks forward Josh Smith has signed a $58 million contract offer with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Sayeth Bethlehem:

As for the Hawks, yeah, they could match, and still might. But what an utterly defeated organization. Losing Josh Childress really punked them, and the lack of enthusiasm for re-signing Smith makes it seem like they’ve been totally demoralized. How a team could not want to build on that playoff performance is beyond me, especially when they’ve been wandering the wilderness for so long. Now I guess we all get why Childress was so content to make history rather than stick around.

Atlanta has seven days to match the offer, but this still makes us wonder if things would have been different this summer without Mike Woodson at the helm, since both Joshes reportedly have had beefs with the coach.

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You could see this one coming. The Olympiakos, the Greek professional basketball team, flew Josh Childress over to Greece. They wined and dined him, and then offered him a three-year, $20 million contract In Euros. They’re even going to pay his taxes. And he signed up.
And what were the Atlanta Hawks doing during all this, and in the months leading up to this? Obviously, twittling their thumbs. In the process, they’ve lost one of the top bench players in the NBA, a firebrand of energy who seemed to have a knack for being in the right place at the right time.

Gone untold on the sports page of the AJC is the story behind why Josh Smith doesn’t want to play for the Hawks, and why Childress doesn’t want to play here. I’ve seen reports elsewhere that both players have a beef with Coach Mike Woodson.

For the long-term ramifications, check out John Hollinger’s take on ESPN.com. Writes Hollinger: “The fact that Childress didn’t think twice about leaving — and that Josh Smith seemingly would gladly pack his bags too — speaks volumes about the management. So does the fact that Atlanta is among NBA players’ favorite cities to visit, and yet nobody wants to play here.”

And just when the city was finally starting to embrace the Hawks …

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THIS TIME IT’S PERSONNEL: City Council unanimously passes an ordinance requiring the mayor to get its approval before making additions or reductions to the city’s personnel, the latest in an ongoing melodrama between the council and mayor.

DEER IN HEADLINES: A six-legged deer found in Rome, Ga., is understandably popular.

BUSH: Went down to Georgia.

CHILDRESS: Hawks’ restricted free agent is considering an offer to play in Greece.

RIGHT TO AIR ARMS? U.S. House Homeland Security Committee chairman doesn’t think we should have guns at the airport.

ROCK DRUMMERS: Require at least as much physical endurance as soccer players, according to a recent British study that used Blondie drummer Clem Burke as its test subject.

LOOKS GOOD ON PAPER: Researchers and companies like Xerox are backing away from utopian visions of a paperless society that became popular in the late 20th century, using the phrase “paper-less” instead to focus on the more pragmatic, but less glamorous, goal of simply not wasting as much paper as we do now.

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A BRIDGE TOO FAR: Study shows that many Georgia bridges deemed “structurally deficient” by inspectors still go years before being repaired, often driving up the costs.

DYLAN: Popular sea turtle is released into the wild after nine years in captivity.

GINGREY DISCOVERS WATER: State Rep. Phil Gingrey took part in the Lake Allatoona Preservation Authority’s congressional cruise Monday, noting that the lake is “a real treasure” and has made him appreciate the importance of water: “After being in a level-four drought, you look at water the same way you look at gasoline.” True. The only difference is we couldn’t live without gasoline, silly.

TAKE YOUR GUNS TO TOWN: And on MARTA, to your business lunch and at the wildlife refuge, starting today. That’s still not enough for state Rep. Tim Bearden, though, who’s filing a federal lawsuit to prevent the city of Atlanta from banning guns at Hartsfield-Jackson, where he says he’ll be packing heat today when he goes to pick up his family.

NOT READY FOR MARTA: Clayton County Commission Chairman Eldrin Bell injures his hand firing a gun at a strip club owner’s family outing.

JOSHES: Hawks want and need to keep them, but they won’t come cheap.

OBAMA AND THE SOUTH: In a NYT op-ed today, Thomas Schaller writes that Obama can’t win Mississippi, Georgia or North Carolina, but maybe can win Virginia and Florida.

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NBA FINALS: Doc Rivers’ Celtics beat the Lakers in Game 6 of the Finals, demolishing L.A. by five more points than they demolished Atlanta in that first-round Game 7.

DROPPING OUT LIKE IT’S HOT: In Georgia, where the graduation rate is 12 percentage points below the national average, class of 2008 dropouts will cost the state economy about $15.5 billion during their lifetimes.

GOLDEN RETRIEVEE: A Gainesville family’s golden retriever is returned to them after going missing five years ago, when they lived in Powder Springs.

A ROUNDABOUT SOLUTION: Roundabouts like the one at North Decatur and Lullwater keep traffic moving at busy intersections, resulting in less wasted gas from idling and saving drivers time.

ATLANTA TRAFFIC NO. 10: But we were just told we’re the worst.

TAKING SURCHARGE: Atlanta City Council passes a resolution, similar to one recently passed in Holly Springs, that would allow a $10-$15 gas surcharge to traffic ticket fines and could help offset the budget shortfall.

JIMMY WILLIAMS: Cut by the Falcons.

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HAWKS’ WOODSON TO RE-SIGN: Damn that hyphen!

HAPE SPRINGS ETERNAL: Ford sells its Hapeville assembly plant to Jacoby Development, which is going to build an “aerotropolis” there.

TOMATOES: Salmonella wave spreads to Georgia; Mexico’s tomato industry, which supplies 80 percent of U.S. imports, is in limbo.

WEEDY SEA DRAGONS: Reproduce at the Georgia Aquarium, only the third time that’s ever happened in a U.S. aquarium.

STREET SMARTS: Google Maps adds Atlanta to its Street View feature, so Atlantans can finally experience driving around town without being stuck in gridlock.

FIRE RISK HIGH: Conditions are once again ripe for wildfires in South Georgia.

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LEAVING ONLY FOOTPRINTS: Cityfolk have smaller carbon footprints than residents of more rural areas, according to a study released today by the Brookings Institution. But the lower carbon output is tied to density, meaning Atlanta is on the low end of the ecofriendliness.

UNCONVENTIONAL: Dems’ rules committee will meet Saturday to decide what to do with precocious Florida and Michigan and their convention-hungry delegates.

SUND RISES: The Hawks hire former SuperSonics GM Rick Sund, who faces an offseason with no draft picks, two players with expiring contracts and a head coach whose contract is up in a month. His hiring has flustered some fans, including this Bleacher Report writer who was driven to mix metaphors (”I don’t trust this guy with a ten foot pole”), not to mention write a headline I can’t bring myself to repeat here.

WALK IT OUT: Rookie cops begin foot patrols in two Atlanta police zones, per the recommendation of City Councilman Ceasar Mitchell.

UNION DON’TS: Not enough Delta flight attendants vote to unionize.

CHANGE WE CAN COMMUTE IN: DOT Director Gena Abraham promises innovation and change in metro Atlanta’s transportation quagmire while addressing the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce Wednesday.

DRUG MULE: Sentenced to 25 years in prison for driving with a kilo of cocaine and a gun, which she says she didn’t know were in the car. Her lawyer says the sentence, which is the mandatory minimum, is too high even if she had known.

MONKEY THINK, MONKEY DO: A new study advances the teaching-animals-to-control-robotic-arms-with-just-their-brains research, as two macaques have apparently adopted a robotic arm as their own, improvising and reacting to stimuli in real time.

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CRITICS AT BAY: Florida Sen. Bill Nelson tours the Apalachicola Bay to survey the effects of retaining more water in Lake Lanier, and says he’ll push for a National Academy of Sciences study of how low flows affect the river ecosystem.

LIGHT AT THE END OF THE FUNNEL: 2008 could be a record year for U.S. tornadoes, and while meteorologists aren’t sure why this year has been so tornadically prolific — including the twister that caused $40 million in damage in north metro Atlanta last week — the good news is that tornado season usually starts sputtering out in June.

BORDERS SKIRMISH: City Council President Lisa Borders writes a letter to her councilmates asking them to be nicer to the mayor.

HAWKS GM SEARCH: As is becoming typical of front-office searches in Atlanta pro sports, Cleveland’s Chris Grant withdraws himself from consideration after being offered the general manager job.

UGA EXPANDING IN GWINNETT: With the Brain Train struggling to gain traction, UGA just starts filling the gaps between Athens and Atlanta with itself.

ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL: Piedmont Park may soon install wells for water independence, pending a decision by the state Environmental Protection Division.

CAUGHT LEAD-HANDED: Two studies link children’s lead exposure 25 years ago and increased impulsive and criminal behavior in adulthood.

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RAGING ELECTION: Both candidates win a state and both claim momentum, but Obama gets more delegates. Remaining primaries are: W.Va. (May 13), Ky. (May 20), Ore. (May 20), Mont. (June 3), S.D. (June 3) and P.R. (June 7).

KNIGHT OUT: Hawks GM Billy Knight steps down.

BEE MINUS: Survey released Tuesday shows that more than a third of the nation’s honeybees have been lost since last year. As Thomas reported Monday, air pollution is one likely factor; UGA entomologists studying colony collapse disorder also point to shrinking food supply, parasitic mites and the recently identified Israeli acute paralysis virus.

DEATH PENALTY: Back in action, as William Early Lynd was killed last night.

CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN: First-ever Georgia Climate Change Summit, hosted by Georgia Tech Tuesday, brings together scientists and policy experts in the hope of starting an action plan to address global warming in the state. Georgia’s currently one of 12 states that not only doesn’t have such a plan, but isn’t even working on one.

‘FLAT LINE’: Apalachicola Riverkeeper hosts a two-day tour of the Chattahoochee Basin’s terminus to draw attention to what Florida officials contend is an Atlanta- and Georgia-first policy of water use and watershed management.

GIVING UP THE GHOST: Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, the musical by Stephen King and John Mellencamp scheduled for an April 2009 opening at the Alliance, has been postponed.

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The year before the Boston Red Sox won their first World Series in nearly a century, I got to see a game at Fenway Park. Afterward, punkish kids were hawking the coolest T-shirts: “Get yo ‘You can take your 26 rings and shove ‘em up your ass’ T-shirts, right hee. $10.”

I almost bought one — loved the way Red Sox fans were sticking it to the hated Yankees for winning the Series with sickening regularity while the lovable Sox always blew it.

Well, pardon me Celtics fans, but — at least this week — you get me sick in the same way. You can take your 16 NBA trophies and shove ‘em up yo’ ass.

If anybody prints that T-shirt, lemme know. You can sell your “take your 16 NBA trophies and shove ‘em up your ass” T-shirts, right here.

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THE DEPARTED: Just two days after upsetting the Celtics in Atlanta to force Game 7, the Hawks get eviscerated 99-65 to end their season.

SAPELO ISLAND: The once-isolated Georgia barrier islanders are being boxed out by wealthy land prospectors and vacationers.

CATCH AND RELEASE AND CATCH: An Alpharetta man who was accidentally released from prison in Tennessee is captured at his father’s house in Atlanta.

WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE: In a clever strategy to confuse the water gods by doing the last thing they would expect during an extreme drought, the Atlanta Regional Commission will consider the proposed water park in Buford.

PROTON THERAPY: Emory is studying the prospects of building a $150 million proton-therapy cancer-treatment facility, which is similar to radiation treatment but less destructive to cells.

OBAMA: Wins Guam caucuses by just seven votes; North Carolina and Indiana vote tomorrow.