Fresh Loaf

Tomorrow night marks the 26th annual National Night Out, which is being celebrated at several locations across metro Atlanta.

No, I’d never heard of it, either.

Apparently, it’s some kind of family-friendly community get-together that’s billed as a crime- and drug-prevention event — presumably because if you’re out at a community get-together with your family, you’re not breaking into houses or carjacking councilmen. (Frankly, I always get a chuckle when anti-crime events are sponsored by Target, but maybe that’s just me.)

Anyway, a number of communities are taking part in the festivities, including:

• Castleberry Hill, where the thrills include a tour of Fire House #1 and a flashlit walk down Peters Street.
• Midtown, where participants will be treated to snacks, children’s entertainment and a meet-and-greet with neighborhood patrol officers.
• Sandy Springs, which is pulling out all the stops with information on how to sign up for or start a Neighborhood Watch program; the Fire Safety House, which provides a hands-on learning environment; fire trucks and police cars; meeting police officers and firefighters; and information on how to be safe in an emergency.

Woowee! For added excitement, you can wear a plaid bow tie and volunteer to be a designated driver.

(more…)

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In unveiling his new “Blueprint for Restoring Public Safety in Atlanta,” state Sen. Kasim Reed brought out the big guns — in the form of Evander Holyfield’s right and left arms. While bringing a well-known heavyweight boxing champ to a campaign press conference might initially sound like a publicity stunt, there was actually a relevant connection: Holyfield was a friend and mentor to Vernon Forrest, the welterweight boxing champion who was murdered at a Castleberry Hill gas station this past Saturday night after he confronted a mugger.

Reed’s plan, which will now go toe-to-toe with the patented Mary Norwood 12-Point Public Safety Program, is titled “Securing Atlanta.” Here’s the campaign blurb:

Securing Atlanta is a comprehensive plan to tackle the growing problem of crime in the city. The plan includes increasing the existing size of our police force with 750 additional police officers, establishing a dedicated revenue stream for public safety, updating our technology such as adding more surveillance cameras, improving officer retention by restoring step increments and making salaries more competitive. Securing Atlanta also takes a holistic approach to reducing crime by addressing other contributing factors such as the importance of revitalizing our neighborhoods, giving our young people greater opportunities and addressing the escalation in gang activity.

Unlike Norwood’s plan, Reed’s proposal includes a funding method, the above-mentioned “dedicated revenue stream for public safety,” which he has said would be in the form of a special tax district whose residents (that’s us) would foot the additional cost.

Can we now expect Lisa Borders to roll out her own splashy public-safety initiative, perhaps called, “Kicking Butt and Taking Names: Fighting Crime in the ATL?” Apparently not, judging from her most recent campaign release, headlined: Borders Calls For End To Public Safety Rhetoric.

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Owning a dog in a dense urban area, especially one like downtown Atlanta, can be a pain in the ass. Some area residents are trying to solve that problem.

On Friday at 6:30 p.m., residents will gather at the corner of Piedmont Avenue and Renaissance Parkway — with leashed canines in tow — for “Critical Mutts.” If it sounds similar to “Critical Mass,” the monthly cycling event where velocipede lovers take to the streets en masse, it’s because it is.

According to a blog post on the Atlanta Downtown Neighborhood Association’s blog, Friday’s gathering will be a moment for SoNo residents to make their case for an off-leash dog park in the area. Drinks and a dog-friendly deck at Midtown Tavern will be enjoyed after the event. (If you’re a cyclist, keep in mind that Critical Mass will also be held around that same time on Friday. Riders gather at Woodruff Park around 6 p.m.)

In Castleberry Hill, residents are trying to raise funds to revamp a vacant lot into an off-leash dog park. On Sunday, June 28, residents are holding a fundraiser at the Glenn Hotel’s roof-top lounge from 2-5 p.m. For $20 you get appetizers, a drink ticket and entrance into the fete. All funds will go toward cleaning up and outfitting the proposed dog park location with the necessities.

For more information, check out the post on the ADNA’s blog.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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OUT OF CONTEXT: Meg Aubrey's "Trash Day," 2008

Meg Aubrey’s MFA thesis show, I Just Live Here, at Gallery Stokes is like a debutante ball: Both serve up white, southern womanhood with a saccharine aftertaste to feed mythologies of place and time.

Aubrey’s 10 medium-size oil paintings pursue a cast of female characters through prosperity-era, suburban America. In “New Tree,” two women sit facing each other in spindly patio chairs at a stiff little cafe table. The painting is keyed-up so that the light has an overexposed, sun-drenched quality. We might imagine a shopping center parking lot or mini-mall courtyard behind them, but such context has been removed. Instead, a flat wash of solid sky blue fills the background and middle distance. Just off to the right in the midst of this arid environment, an impossible little tree grows, artificially tied down in an artificial circle of artificially manicured grass.

All the women in Aubrey’s paintings inhabit similar deserts of suburban precision. (more…)

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That’s what the AJC claims in a story posted today, quoting officials in the “hospitality industry.”

The article cites the shuttering of Buckhead Village and the death of downtown clubs as the reason why Atlanta lost its party-town status — as if the Buckhead bar scene was something to be proud of.

According to the story:

Moves to curtail hours and efforts to revitalize Buckhead with high-end development have effectively killed its party reputation. … [D]owntown, where most of the conventions take place, is missing the after-hours component.

But is Atlanta nightlife really that big of a downer? It seems to me that the Midtown clubs have picked up Buckhead’s slack, and that East Atlanta and the Highlands are alive and well. And when did people ever go downtown to party anyway? Clubs such as Karma and the Royal were always something of an exception. The canned Underground Atlanta scene has historically ebbed and flowed. And after Castleberry Hill became a decent, if not rowdy, party district, look what happened in that downtown ‘hood.

The story’s implication is that touristy nightlife is dead. My questions to you, tried-and-true Atlanta partiers, is this: Who cares if that sector of nightlife shrivels up and dies? If it does, perhaps our more authentic nightlife scene will have a better chance of survival.

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1) Comedian Daniel Tosh drops by the Tabernacle.

2) The Latin American Film Festival continues at the High Museum of Art with a screening of The 12 Labors.

3) Castleberry Hill hosts Le Flash, an evening of free public and performance art.

4) The Weir opens at Onstage Atlanta.

5) CunninLynguists play Lenny’s Bar.

(Photo courtesy Daniel Tosh)

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Southern English is chock-full-o-enjoyable euphemisms designed to protect delicate ears from abrasive truths.

Package store = liquor store
Nice to see you = I wanted to say nice to meet you, but we may have already met
That’s interesting = I hate it
Bless his heart = What a loser

With the help of a Castleberry Hill resident, the AJC invented a great new Southernism last weekend:

But down the block, Erica Pines sits in her condo and stews. She frets that her neighborhood, known for its hip lofts and trendy art galleries, is turning into Party Central.

“We’re becoming the new Buckhead,” she said. “It’s awful. It’s just awful.”

Pines, 36, president of the Castleberry Hill Neighborhood Association, runs through a litany of problems: Noise blares at all hours of the night; cruisers have taken over the streets; crime is up; discarded fliers and other debris litter the sidewalks.

The new Buckhead = Well to do, predominantly white neighborhood whose residents are upset because young black people hang out there at night.

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The Atlanta Business Chronicle reports City Council member Ceasar Mitchell is proposing bars in the city stay open past 3 a.m. if they pay an “impact fee” to cover additional safety and sanitation services.

So sayeth Mitchell:

“My objective at this point is to find a way to embrace night life as one of those things that makes Atlanta a great city,” he said. “Something that makes Atlanta attractive to visitors and those who live here but at the same time not make it something that is a burden on folks that live and work here.”

Mitchell says the city is losing convention and tourist dollars to other cities who have a more vibrant nightlife.

There’s a little commotion about his proposal. Residents in Buckhead, who fought their own bitter battle to roll back the hours in 2003, and the increasingly popular Castleberry Hill neighborhood who were interviewed for the story think it’s a bad idea.

The article also says Mitchell would like to extend the pouring hours at Underground Atlanta, which already can serve booze until 4 a.m. Now if we can just get going on Fulton County Commissioner Robb Pitts’ casino idea, we’d be well on our way to a New Orleans lifestyle.

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