Fresh Loaf

Here at CL we LOVE receiving letters. (So tangible!) But sometimes they make us sad. And Fulton County Commissioner Robb Pitts wins most depressing mailer of the day.

This morning, CL’s A&E assistant Wyatt Williams handed me a letter from the pro-gambling politico. Then he handed me a stack of about 20 more. I was delighted to discover a folded piece of paper that read “Casino Gaming Can Help!” accompanied by a bunch of headlines about foreclosures, unemployment and the current tidal wave of economic pain.

I don’t know which is more depressing — the collection of headlines or imagining Pitts’ staffers cutting every one of them out. Either way, thanks, sir! We received the memo!

More photos of Pitts’ letter after the jump.

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Architecture society DOCOMOMO’s Georgia chapter and the Young Architects Forum of AIA Atlanta will host a presentation and self-guided tour of downtown Atlanta’s central library on March 11 at 6:30 p.m.

Atlanta's central library

The library is the final work of famed Modernist architect Marcel Breuer and has been at the center of a heated preservation effort after Fulton County Commissioner Robb Pitts said he wanted to sell the building or move the library’s collection to a new facility near Centennial Olympic Park.

For more information about the event, part of the Atlanta Preservation Center’s Phoenix Files series which showcases the city’s “living landmarks,” visit the site. (The series, which includes tours of The Wren’s Nest and the Olmstead Liner Parks, is worth a look.)

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Architecture magazine Metropolis this month profiles the effort by Fulton County Commissioner Robb Pitts to raze — or is it renovate? — the historic Atlanta-Fulton County public library located downtown.

The library, completed in 1980, is the final work of famed Modernist architect Marcel Breuer and considered a masterpiece. The architecture community, enraged by the idea, wants to preserve the building.

From the magazine:

Having secured $85 million last November through a bond referendum, Pitts hopes to incorporate retail, dining, and performance space into a high-visibility property. An early choice was a site facing Centennial Olympic Park, a tourist destination bordered by such attractions as CNN Center, the Georgia Aquarium, and the World of Coca-Cola. But opening a new main branch would mean abandoning the existing one—a design that many argue is already a world-class piece of architecture.

It’s an excellent article and worth your time. Read it in full at Metropolis’ site.

To read more about or to join the preservation effort, visit local artist Max Eternity’s website.

(Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

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Fulton County Commissioner Robb Pitts — who’s got dreams of building new libraries and putting casinos downtown — says he wants to give county police officers “free” homes. He says it’s an appropriate step at a time when the county is swimming in abandoned and foreclosed homes and police are having a hard time paying and retaining officers.

There’s a catch, of course — the officers just have to promise they’ll stick around for 15 years.

From Pitts release:

Pitts said, “Since most jurisdictions cannot pay police officers what they deserve, providing free homes to them would be a substantial supplement to their salaries and a good tool for recruitment and retention.”

Under the program, police officers would have to pay a down payment of $2,500 and commit to 15 years of service with the department in order to receive a free home, and it would have to be their primary residence. At the end of 15 years they would be given the deed to the home. During the interim, they would be responsible for all taxes, insurance, utilities and maintenance.

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My colleague Mara Shalhoup wasn’t the only one who bristled upon reading a recent AJC story about Atlanta’s slumping nightlife scene.

Fulton Commissioner Robb Pitts, never one to shy away from sharing his opinion, also had a strong reaction to the AJC piece. Unlike Mara, who challenged the article’s central thesis, Pitts, in an open e-mail response, chastises the city for allowing a once-vibrant entertainment industry to dwindle – including the adult entertainment industry. Says Robb:

Atlanta has actually lost ground when it comes to adult entertainment, including the former Buckhead Entertainment District. While establishments like the Cheetah, Magic City and the former Gold Club are not for everyone, they are often magnets for convention traffic.

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According to an e-mail from the man himself, Fulton County Commissioner Robb Pitts last week sent a letter to the state lawmakers urging them to allow Georgians the right to vote whether they want gambling casinos in their communities. Pitts is a leading proponent of bringing them to downtown.

Pasted below you’ll find his plea. The all caps and bold type are a nice touch. That always helps me get my point across in AOL chatrooms.

December 4, 2008

Dear Legislator:

The financial condition of the national economy is severely impacting our local economy in ways we never dreamed possible even a year ago.

The unemployment rate in Georgia is at an all time high (7%), and our constituents should be able to depend on us to think of ways to create jobs and boost the economy. It is clear to me, in 2009, seeking new sources of revenue and creating jobs are key to moving our economy forward.

We, as elected officials, cannot just sit back and wait for things to get better. We must lead with foresight instead of hindsight. You, as a member of the Georgia General Assembly, can make a difference. Let’s be courageous and allow the citizens of Georgia to vote the issue of legalizing CASINO GAMBLING up or down!

Once again, please, LET THE PEOPLE DECIDE!

Sincerely,

Robb Pitts

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There’s a parlor game going on these days down at Atlanta City Hall. Here’s how you play: Imagine that President-elect Obama invites Mayor Shirley Franklin to join his administration; then figure out who might move over to take her place, and who’d take that person’s place, and who’d take that person’s place, and so on.

I’d heard about this swirl of speculation a couple weeks back, but decided it would be irresponsible to write about because it’s so, well, speculative. But I’ve changed my mind because: 1) polls are predicting an Obama victory; 2) City Hall is still buzzing with this talk; and 3) the AJC has already jumped on board the speculation train.

So here goes: If Shirley heads to Washington next spring, then a special election would have to be called to replace her. The collective assumption is that City Council President Lisa Borders – who abandoned her campaign for mayor for personal reasons in mid-August – would get back into the race. In a campaign cycle lasting only a few weeks, Borders would have to be considered the front-runner due to high name recognition.

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Atlanta City Council President Lisa Borders is expected to announce shortly that she will discontinue her campaign for mayor. Borders, one of the favorites in an already-crowded field of hopeful successors to Shirley Franklin, became the first declared candidate in April 2007.

No, her decision has nothing to do with the Atlanta Dream’s terrible WNBA record (she’s a team advisor), or her rumored fling with ex-presidential candidate John “Loverboy” Edwards (OK, we made that part up).

Actually, if we may be serious for a moment, we’re told Borders is stepping aside to spend more time with her ailing parents, Dr. William H. and Gloria T. Borders.

Last December, Borders left her position as senior vice president of marketing and communications at real-estate giant Cousins Properties to head her own consulting firm, LMB LLC and concentrate on her mayoral campaign. She will continue her term as Council president. No word yet on whether she plans to run for re-election or rejoin Cousins.

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Last month, CL’s Scott Henry reported on Fulton County at-large Commissioner Robb Pitts’ ambition to replace downtown’s central library with a new facility near Centennial Park. Today Pitts sent out a mass e-mail titled “Atlanta’s Opportunity To Have A World Class Central Library.”

The e-mail includes photos of architecturally pleasing central libraries in other American cities, but does not mention anything about the cost of replacing the current library with a new one.

According to Scott’s report on this last month, a county bond referendum on the November ballot would provide $150 million for the Atlanta-Fulton library system, $40 million of which would be set-aside to renovate the current library.

But an architecturally significant library, like the ones Pitts shared photos of, would cost a lot more than $40 million.

The central library in Denver, included in Pitts’ slide show, was paid for with a $92 million dollar bond issue approved in 1990. Seattle’s public library, also on the Pitts’ list, was paid for with a $196 million bond issue approved by Seattle voters in 1998 (plus $20 million in spare change from Bill Gates).

Call me Gloomy Gus, but there’s too much intra-county ill-feeling in Fulton for me to imagine suburban Fulton voters saying yes to an eight-or-nine-digit bond issue to pay for a trophy library in the middle of Atlanta.

The full text of Pitts’ e-mail follows . . . (more…)

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Add one Jesse Spikes to the long list of folks planning to run for Atlanta mayor next year.

No, we weren’t familiar with Mr. Spikes, either, so we gave him a call. Spikes, 57, is a former Rhodes Scholar and a senior partner with McKenna Long & Aldridge, one of the city’s largest law firms. Although he served for a time as Evander Holyfield’s business attorney, he is not a well-known figure in Atlanta – but he does have an interesting back story.

Born on a farm in Henry County, the youngest of 13 children, to parents who never went to high school, Spikes’ future seemed understandably limited. But he was sent to school in New England by A Better Chance, a private educational foundation. Spikes went on to attend Dartmouth College, Harvard Law School and, courtesy of a Rhodes Scholarship, Oxford University.

Spikes, who specializes in business law, says he’d always expected to go to work in the public sector to give back to society, but hadn’t found the right opportunity. He now believes he’s found that chance.

“I think I’m the manager the city needs,” he says. “I’m someone who intends to focus on the nuts and bolts, day-in-day-out job of running the city.”

As someone who’s never run for public office, Spikes has his work cut out for him. So far, the field of mayoral candidates looks to include a number of seasoned political veterans: Council President Lisa Borders; State Sen. Kasim Reed; Council members Caesar Mitchell and Mary Norwood; and Fulton County Commissioner Robb Pitts.

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