Fresh Loaf

Ben at Terminal Station tries out a new banner image that actually makes Atlanta look cool. Good posts on how Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington should examine the leadership skills of Los Angeles’ chief, who recently stepped down to become a consultant, and whether small grocery stores can survive.

Jim Walls at Atlanta Unfiltered reminds 19 state lawmakers that they need to stop playing coy and file their personal financial disclosure reports — which were due on July 1. See if your elected official is on the list.

Decatur Metro’s now bursting with headline-y goodness.

Doug Richards from Live Apartment Fire returns to the airwaves. Mrs. Live Apartment Fire notes the different ways this will change her life.

Watch this space for GriftDrift’s take on ConstableGate.

Jim Galloway has returned from his well-deserved two-week vacation. Politicians immediately wig out.

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The police chief spoke out today to reassure a frightened public after a high-profile crime.

Not Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington.

Don’t be ridiculous.

He would never do something as leadership-ish as that.

I’m talking about Decatur police Chief J.M. Booker.

A carjacking in Decatur’s Oakhurst neighborhood shortly before noon today has city residents on edge.

Chief Booker signed-in at Decatur Metro this afternoon to tell readers he recognizes how unsettling today’s incident was.

Atlantans take note: Decatur’s police chief managed to get through his entire letter without once mocking his fellow Decaturites. He didn’t tell Decaturites their fears are based on the mere perception of crime, nor did he brag about how awesome Decatur is.

He didn’t even mention baseball!

He said today’s carjacking troubled him a great deal and that he and his department are busting their collective backside to catch the people responsible.

An actual, sincere expression of concern about crime, without a hint of smug defiance or phony indignation. How about that?

You should try it sometime, Shirley and Richard.

And not just when celebrities get killed either.

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Not exactly a blog, but it deserves a shout out. Staffers at UGA’s student-run newspaper the Red and Black worked overtime to provide coverage of Saturday’s shootings. Read their follow-ups here, here and here.

Ben at Terminal Station rips into state Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine’s idea to consider privatizing MARTA.

Jim Walls of Atlanta Unfiltered uses the words “Tyler Perry,” “Tupac Shakur,” and “comp time” all in the same blog post as he delves deeper into the firing of former DeKalb Police Chief Terrell Bolton.

Christa at Pecanne Log spots the hottest trend in spring fashions during historic economic collapses! Recycled ethernet cables! Yay!

Garrett Vonk fires back at Twitta-hatas.

Jason Pye, who says he’s never taken a puff, says decriminalizing marijuana should be on the table. Also: Legalizing marijuana is now more popular than the Republican Party.

Veteran TV journalist and Live Apartment Fire blogger Doug Richards today will pull the tarp off the magical news van to pull a one-day shift in the 11 Alive newsroom. Here’s exclusive video of him training for the adventure.

Travis Fain at Lucid Idiocy wonders if lawmakers have already been forgiven for failing to make progress on transportation funding this year.

Decatur Metro. Leon’s Full Service. And late-night drunken bocce. Discuss.

FlackAttack bids adieu at Tondee’s Tavern.

Other exciting links feel free to post them in the comments.

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Decatur Metro spots an interesting tidbit in the city’s publication. The hamlet he calls home is working with business owners to help them through the economic maelstrom.

We will be focusing our efforts and our marketing and advertising budget on business retention in the coming year. We are working with our local business owners to document current rental rates and contact landlords to negotiate rent concessions to help our local business owners survive.

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Jim Galloway, proving yet again that he knows the true secrets of Georgia politics, reveals the identities of the mysterious “8 to 10 industry and government officials” who handpicked a Gold Dome transportation bill’s laundry list of people-moving projects. Damn road elves.

Decatur Metro reports on community gardens in his hamlet and annexation concerns. Also, is Decatur Mayor Bill Floyd thinking about a run for governor?

If you’re a card-carrying Young Republican, Shep at Peach Pundit recommends you not vote for Rachel Hoff to lead your organization. Also, Erick the Editor is jousting via email with one of his fellow Macon City Councilmembers.

Griftdrift gives us the rundown on the most recent episode of GPB’s “Lawmakers.” He reports that Sen. John Wiles, R-Marietta, wants to crack down on novelty ID suppliers who alter the completely innocent and never-used-for-illicit-purposes cards. (Those guys can alter the ID? I had to use nail polish remover.)

Veteran journalist Jim Walls, a 28-year veteran of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution — and the editor behind some of the paper’s finest investigative work — rolls out his new investigative journalism website. Today he’s got more details about a sealed court case involving unfortunately named Gwinnett County businessman Richard Tucker. There’s also some questions about campaign contributions to state Rep. Pam Stephenson, D-Decatur.

There’s much more on the Internetz, buckos. If you came across something local that’s worth scoping out, post it below in the comments.

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Decatur Metro has the news!

On Thursday April 16th, New Urbanist extraordinare, Andres Duany, will open his three day SmartCode workshop in Decatur with a free talk about Smart Growth principles from 5:30p-8p at Holy Trinity Parish (515 E. Ponce de Leon Ave).

A book signing will follow the event.

Duany never disappoints, so come see what’s sure to be an entertaining romp through the principles and benefits of smart growth.

Entertaining, indeed. Duany recently envisioned five “senior living” sites in metro Atlanta as part of the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Lifelong Communities Initiative. In typical Duany fashion, the acclaimed New Urbanist ended up re-imagining not just the sites, but the surrounding areas, as well. (He even threw a gentle jab at the walkable wonderland east of Atlanta.)

If you can attend this event, it’s worth it. All the details are at Decatur Metro’s site.

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Decatur Metro has a great conversation about my colleague Scott Henry’s news that the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newsroom is bracing for yet another round of job cuts.

Commenters weigh in on what’s to blame for the quickening, whether it’s the Internet, liberal bias, or other factors. (For what it’s worth, Whet Moser, an excellent writer at CL’s sister paper The Chicago Reader, has an excellent piece that nails the various factors at play in journalism.)

One commenter who claims to be an AJC journalist added some firsthand experience to the discussion. This part stood out:

You print lovers need to brace yourself. I think there’s a real possibility that the print version of the AJC may be gone by the end of next year. Yes, I’m serious.

Not good.

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Christa at Pecanne Log says I say someone else says Bill Murray is loose in Atlanta. One night he’s at Loca Luna buying drinks for strangers. Another night he’s watching the Hawks play the Cleveland Cavaliers. Supposedly, he’s filming this flick. I’m still waiting for him to get a pedicure with me.

Buzz Brockway at Peach Pundit says the site’s bloggers won’t retaliate against state lawmakers who voted for Senate Bill 31, a controversial piece of legislation they adamantly opposed. The complex bill would allow Georgia Power to recover financing costs in advance for two proposed nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle. The Punditeers got into a tiff with the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, a free-market think tank, about the issue. No hard feelings, the bloggers say, but they’d still like a clear explanation of the foundation’s stance on the issue. (Just one more: Jason Shepard at the site finds Georgia’s facebook page shows an unexpected “friend.”

Remember #atlgas? Grift links to a Nightline report in which the Twitter hashtag that saved Atlanta’s ass is mentioned.

Decatur’s wi-fi cloud is “complete,” Decatur Metro reports.

Jim Galloway at the AJC’s Political Insider sneaks a peek at preliminary numbers which show Georgia’s rush of newcomers — aka the growth industry, the state’s bread and butter — might be slowing. He writes a powerful post about the subject.

Want solid political commentary recorded here in Atlanta? The new Kudzu Vine podcast is posted and available for download.

Doug at Live Apartment Fire points us to a recent piece by Tom Jones, the WSB-TV reporter who won’t work for nobody but you. Jones covered the search for a man who’s allegedly been flashing children in the Grant Park area. The suspect’s ripped a page from afterschool specials and is offering candy to the tykes.

Travis Fain wants the old Speaker Glenn Richardson back. I second that.

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Back by popular demand!

• Pecanne Log’s Christa, who’s been on fire the last few weeks, documents the mysterious senior citizen daredevils who putter around the city on what seem to be Segways — with seats! What are these baffling people movers and where can I purchase one?

• The deadline for the Urban Land Institute’s Urban Design competition was last week. Ben at Terminal Station was part of a Georgia Tech team that submitted a redevelopment vision for Denver. I had the opportunity to review his group’s proposal — a multi-phase smart-growth model — and it’s awesome. He’s posted photos and info about his team’s submission.

• Grift continues his hilarious live-blogging series of Georgia Public Broadcasting’s Lawmakers, the daily rundown of state Legislature news. So far we’ve seen talk of taxes, Sunday booze, Minoo! and transportation. Pretty soon, they’ll get to the boll weevil. Fingers crossed, folks.

• ATLMalcontent points us to a video about Elwin Wilson, a South Carolina man who in 1961 attacked a young Civil Rights activist — and future U.S. Representative — named John Lewis. Wilson, beset with remorse over the incident, recently visited Lewis’ office in Washington, D.C. to apologize. According to the Associated Press, Lewis “offered forgiveness without hesitation.”

• Leon’s Full Service, a new Decatur pub from the same owners who brought you the Brick Store, pours its first brew today at 5 p.m. Decatur Metro has the details, including a blow-by-blow account of the eBay auction for that first beer that’s raised more than $2,500 for employees of Trackside and 5th Earl.

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Decatur Metro reports that the developer of 315 W. Ponce de Leon Avenue, a mixed-use project that’s caused some nearby residents to question its size and potential impact, has altered its plans for the project. A building that was proposed along Ponce de Leon Avenue has been scuttled, Decaturite says.

Well, the developer made [a reduction in units] by eliminating the building that originally was to be squeezed in along Ponce between the existing office building and the street, while retaining the rear building that would be built within the existing parking lot, with a parking deck situated behind Fairview and courtyards along Montgomery (view above is along Ponce Place). Livable Growth has the full plans here [pdf available at Decatur Metro].

…

Next step is for this new plan to go before the Planning Commission this Thursday at 7:30p.   If all goes according to schedule, they will make a recommendation to the city commission, which will vote yea or nay on the project next Monday (Dec 15th) at 7:30p, along with some other issue regarding annexation.

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Decatur Metro reports Fellini’s pizza in Decatur was robbed by an armed group of people during the dinner rush last night. Details are scant thus far — hence the question mark in the headline.

One of D.M.’s commenters says no one was hurt. I hope that’s the case.

I thought busy restaurants only got robbed in the movies.

We’ll post more info as we learn it.

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To survive the recession, a second Decatur small business has adopted Wall Street and Detroit’s new business model: begging.

In August, the owner of Wordsmiths books in Decatur asked the community for donations to help keep the store open.

It appears to have worked. Last time I walked through Decatur’s town square, Wordsmiths was still open.

Today, CL’s Besha Rodell and Decatur Metro report Calavino’s Italian restaurant in Oakhurst is soliciting donations to stay open.

The strangest part of the Calavino’s plea: they’re not actually asking people to dine at the restaurant. They’re only asking for money.

In related news: PayPal me $20 and I’ll cook you dinner at my house. PayPal me $25 and I’ll give you beer, wine or liquor with your meal.

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Decatur Metro notes yesterday’s AJC article about Nadege Adam and Jude Valles, a couple who’ve overextended themselves when it comes to home ownership. With credit now tight and the housing market in disarray, the couple now faces skyhigh payments.

Here’s what Decaturite noticed:

But the number that caught my eye in the article wasn’t their $419,000 Smyrna home that costs $100,000 less than it did a few years ago. Suburb declines are well documented at this point. Personally, I was struck by the condo at “Twelve” Atlantic Station, which was purchased for $387,000 in 2005-6 and is now worth $150,000 less.

This is the Atlantic Station that everyone (including the AJC) touted as the new wave of smart growth development. Massive, single developer cities that could do no wrong as long as they threw a bunch of residential and commercial in the same general vicinity. Atlantic Station was so awesome because it had its own zip code and organized mommy stroller walks. Yeah well, the economy may have played a part in exacerbating this problem, but a 39% decline in home values is nothing short of damning market critique of this project, which shows that all smart growth (just like everything else) isn’t created equal. You can’t cut corners, you can’t overestimate demand, and I personally believe you can’t build a town from scratch and expect it to compete with areas that have developed over time.

Well put. Be sure to check out the comments as well. (On Decatur Metro, I mean — the comments on the AJC’s article are, as usual, mostly just displays of ignorance and racism.)

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Remember Decatur Court? The mixed-use development proposed for the Wachovia building near downtown Decatur? The one that concerned nearby residents because they feared it would tower over their properties and not have enough parking to handle the new residents and workers?

Our dear friend Decaturite brings word that a consultant brought in to mediate talks between the developer and residents is giving it another look on Wednesday, Dec. 3 from 6:30-8:30 at City Hall. The development’s also shrunk a wee bit.

In an e-mail from Otis White of Civic Strategies that Decaturite posted:

We are convening a meeting about the 315 W. Ponce project on Wednesday, Dec. 3 from 6:30 to 8:30 at Decatur City Hall. The meeting will be in the City Commission Room.

Background: A group of neighbors has been in direct talks with the 315 W. Ponce developer since our Oct. 15 meeting, and these talks are continuing. The developer presented a revised plan to this group in response to issues identified at the Oct. 15 meeting. While neighbors recognized the concessions being made by the developer, they identified problems with the new proposal. In response, the developer revised the original site plan that reduced the number of units from 218 to 160 units and eliminated the need for a parking variance.

Emphasis added. To check out the rest of White’s e-mail, head over to Decatur Metro.

(Screenshot from JLB Partners)

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