Fresh Loaf

Danielle Barbee, legal heroine

Yes, you read that right. The state Supreme Court today announced a unanimous verdict in favor of five Cheetah dancers who had challenged an Atlanta city ordinance that would’ve cost them their jobs because they were not yet 21.

Here’s the backstory: In late 2007, the city adopted a broadly worded ordinance that would’ve made bars, nightclubs and strip clubs off-limits to anyone under the age of 21. You may have assumed that was already the rule, but state law allows youngsters from 18-21 to work as exotic dancers, club DJs and even bartenders — they just can’t drink.

The city planned to deny an adult-entertainment license to anyone 21, a group that included 19-year-old Cheetah dancer Danielle Barbee and several of her co-workers, who were already dancing legally at the club. Their attorney, Alan Begner, was able to get a Fulton Superior Court judge to issue an injunction allowing the girls to keep dancing under the ordinances they’d already been issued, but the judge ruled against the young strippers.

In overturning the Fulton decision today, the Supremes ruled that the city cannot impose a minimum age for dancers that contravenes existing state law, Begner explains. Therefore, because Georgia allows 18-year-old strippers, Atlanta must follow suit.

I think that’s logic we can all agree with.

But there’s a twist! Begner says his initial reading of the Court’s ruling suggests that, not only can teens work in bars and nightclubs, but they can also patronize these establishments — although, of course, they can’t be served alcohol.

If this is so, it would re-open the door for 18-and-over nightclubs, a type of business outlawed by the city back in 2001.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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1. The Cheetah, one of Atlanta’s favorite strip joints, is a patriot (More patriotic than the National Museum of Patriotism? Maybe.)

2. Georgia is South Korea (At least when it comes to sizing up human development. And yes, Georgia ranks above Mississippi and Alabama — and even Florida!)

3. CL’s Thomas Wheatley is a finalist for national journalism award (Wheatly’s on the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies’ shortlist for “Sober.” Hooray!)

4. Ga. GOP primary: A sad and soul-crushing spectacle (State Rep. Austin Scott apes McCain at the state GOP convention.)

5. Huey Lewis — err, Mike Evans — calls for Pelosi’s resignation (Congressional wannabe issues unexpected and hilarious press release. U.S. House Speaker doesn’t blink.)

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Yes, this is the only photo of The Cheetah we have in our database

So Monday’s Memorial Day, and everybody’s trying to tie up loose ends and meet early deadlines so they can take the day off work to light sparklers, eat barbecue, and watch Short Circuit on ABC Family.

Turns out we’re not the only ones.

Atlanta’s most beloved family-entertainment megaplex, The Cheetah on Spring Street, has issued a press release to inform field-trip coordinators, sex-positive patriots and wayward frat boys that it too will be closed on Monday.

The National Museum of Patriotism on Baker Street,  however, will be open.

Dancing resumes Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. No cover before 4 p.m. and we’re told the lunch menu is actually quite fantastic.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Yellow nails? She must be a smoker!

Amount Georgia lawmakers want to raise the price of cigarettes to offset a $2.4 billion deficit: $1

Georgia’s current tax on cigarettes: 39 cents

Nation’s average cigarette tax: $1.19

Estimated revenue the proposed cigarette tax would generate for the state: $350 million

Estimated tax revenue that would be raised if Sunday alcohol sales were allowed: $4.8 million

Number of signatures on an online petition calling for alcohol to be sold in stores on the Sabbath: 52,070

Dollar amount of a proposed “pole tax” that state lawmakers want strip club patrons to pay at the door: $5

Price of admission after 10 p.m. on a regular night at the Cheetah: $10

Minimum estimated revenue that could be generated if casinos were built in Atlanta and along the Georgia coast: $600 million

Sources: AJC, Associated Press, Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, PetitionOnline.com, TheCheetah.com, 11Alive.com

(Photo courtesy of Photos.com)

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I’ve been surprised by the unprecedented level of interest in the Fulton County Superior Court race between incumbent Judge T. Jackson Bedford and his challenger, Atlanta Magistrate Court Judge Keisha Lance Bottoms. Normally, judicial races attract little attention from the public and the news media, but this one is different, probably because some of T-Jack’s actions – such as chaining Fulton DA Paul Howard to a radiator – have brought him a measure of notoriety.

We sort of wussed out in our Voter Guide description of the race by not taking a definite stand:

We aren’t convinced Bottoms has the necessary legal background to replace Bedford, but we’re concerned about his temperament.

But now I have to say I’m concerned about the tone Bottoms’ campaign has taken. Her latest flier reads like a political hit piece on Bedford and contains some dubious claims. First off, she claims T-Jack is “under investigation for ethics violations,” and she cites your friends here at CL. Unfortunately, this statement isn’t true and we didn’t say it. What my colleague Thomas reported was that an ethics complaint had been filed against Bedford by political instigator George Anderson, whose track record with ethics filings is long and shaky. There’s a big difference between a complaint and an investigation, and an attorney like Bottoms should know it. What her flier says is patently false.

Another spurious, CL-related claim on the flier is that Bedford “allows underage strippers,” citing an article I wrote in July. This statement is misleading. Last fall, the Atlanta City Council passed an ordinance aimed at stopping women under the age of 21 from working in strip clubs. But the way the measure was written, it bars anyone under 21 from entering a nightclub for any reason – including bar workers, janitors and even members of bands booked to play there.

(more…)

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