Fresh Loaf

Have you clicked on A&E lately? Or Events, for that matter, over on our left menu bar? Just like our new Food & Drink and News & Views sections, CL’s A&E page, which replaces the old A&E section online, allows us to have all of our content and reviews, the blog, A&E content from around the web, event listings and search capabilities, daily See & Dos, and links to archives, all in one place.

The best part about the new A&E page? It’s updated with fresh content multiple times a day: visual arts reviews, book previews, video game coverage, TV commentary, photo galleries, video and more. So, make sure you’re checking back regularly.

The new Events page makes searching for concerts, festivals, exhibits, etc., much easier. Want to know everything that’s happening today? Click on today’s date on the calendar. Wondering what plays theater critic Curt Holman recommends? Check out our critic’s picks. Trying to plan a few days in advance? Refer to our three day See & Do preview.

We’ve also modified our URLs so that they’re easier to remember. Want to bookmark A&E? Visit clatl.com/arts. Events? clatl.com/events.

We’d love to hear your feedback. You can always leave a comment here, or e-mail me at debbie.michaud@creativeloafing.com.

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CL wavered through weekend construction traffic downtown (not really, some of us took MARTA) to witness the amazing spectacle that is a Miss Klingon pageant – and everything else during this weekend’s Dragon*Con.

See all the pics at Creative Loafing’s Sideshow Atlanta photo blog.

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The Libertarian Party of Georgia is hosting “An Evening With Bob Barr and Friends” on Saturday, Aug. 23 at the Crowne Plaza Ravinia at 4355 Ashford-Dunwoody Rd.

Cocktails start at 6 p.m., seated dinner at 7 p.m. Barr, the party’s presidential candidate and former CL columnist, and entertainment are scheduled for the night.

A $100-per-plate donation is required. RSVP by Monday, Aug. 18 by calling 404-888-9468 or clicking here. More information is available here.

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The July 4th weekend looks to be a hectic one in Atlanta. PRIDE is happening, so is a road race sponsored by the monolith-that-will-not-be-named, and the normally clogged streets of our one-horse town will be even worse.

MARTA plans to reroute some buses during the race and boost service for some of the events. Here are some details courtesy of the transit agency:

Peachtree Road Race
7 a.m. – 11 a.m.
Start of Race: Buckhead or Lenox Rail Stations
End of Race: Civic Center Rail Station

4^TH of July at Lenox Square
6 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Lenox or Buckhead Rail Stations
Streets around Lenox Square will be closed starting at 6 p.m.

4^TH of July at Centennial Park
6 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Dome/GWCC/Philips Arena/CNN Center or Peachtree Center Station Customers should expect delays on routes 1 and 11.

Atlanta Pride Festival 6 p.m. – 11 p.m.
Civic Center Rail Station

Atlanta Braves Game and Fireworks
7:30 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Five Points Rail Station
Catch the Shuttle from Underground Atlanta. The Shuttle returns to that location until the seventh inning. After the seventh inning, fans are taken to the Five Points rail station.

More info can be found at MARTA’s website.

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The World Wildlife Fund has organized Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco as well as cities across the world to participate in its first global Earth Hour on March 29. For one hour at 8 p.m., major buildings and landmarks in participating cities will go dark to raise awareness about global warming and the impact our daily lives have on the environment. Essential lights, such as street lamps, will remain humming.

The list of participating businesses and landmarks in the city is long, and includes much of the city’s notable buildings such as the Bank of America Plaza and the Equitable Building. Other participants include AT&T headquarters, the Wachovia Building, 1180 Peachtree, Colony Square, Coca-Cola World Headquarters, Hyatt Regency, Turner Field, the Westin Peachtree Plaza and the Georgia Dome. (Full list of participants follows after the jump below.) Hell, even the Varsity is going dark.

Georgia Power will measure changes in the city’s energy consumption during the event and word is that NASA will be taking photos of the United States cities that have volunteered to switch off the lights. The WWF urges all residents and businesses to participate at home and turn off all non-essential lights to do their part and help raise awareness about global warming.

More than 2 million people and thousands of businesses participated in the organization’s first Earth Hour last year in Sydney, Australia. The WWF says power consumption dropped 10 percent during the event.

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Bill McKibben, author of End of Nature and Deep Economy, will speak at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 11, at the Holy Trinity Episcopal Parish in Decatur (map here). The event is co-sponsored by the Georgia Center for the Book and Georgia Interfaith Power and Light. A collection of his essays, The Bill McKibben Reader, goes on sale tomorrow. One of his more recent works, Fight Global Warming Now – The Handbook for Taking Action in Your Community, is worth a look, judging that the General Assembly this year isn’t taking any steps to address the phenomenon.

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The Beltline study groups have a special place in my heart. They were the first community events I reported here at CL, and are true showings of not only people who care about their communities, but planners who have been working diligently with few resources to make a massive project — even if it is 25 years into the future — a reality. These events are to transit wonks what gun shows are to suburban commandos.

So it is with a skipped beat in my heart that I’m proud to announce the Beltline study groups will start another round of public workshops, the first of which is set for this Thursday, Jan. 10, 6:30 p.m., at the ARC Building on the Zoo Atlanta grounds. Park off Cherokee Avenue near the southern end of the lot, enter through the back gate — say hello to the security guard, she’s a gem — and follow the trail to the building.

It will be an open house meeting, meaning that people can come and go, review the materials, and chat with some of the Southeast section’s project planners.

Other dates follow after the jump. We’ll post them a couple of days ahead of the other meetings as well to remind you.

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At the Oct. 2 Southeast/Southwest Beltline Study Group meeting at Atlanta Metropolitan College, a real sore spot for residents was that the group’s next meeting would be held on Jan. 15 — the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. Residents in attendance were visibly angry about the mix-up and bristled that it wasn’t taken into account by planners. Terri Montague, Atlanta Beltline Inc. CEO, addressed the crowd and promised something would be done.

Something has: The Southeast/Southwest Study Group has been rescheduled to Jan. 29. It will take place at the same location as previous meetings. Click the file below for a revised study group schedule.

Southeast/Southwest Beltline Study Group Update

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From today until Oct. 7 there is a tax-free holiday on appliances with the “Energy Star” label on them. Gov. Perdue encourages all of us to drive alone in a giant Hummer to the stores farthest away from us, leave our cars idling while we shop and then keep the appliances running all the time. While we spray aerosol cans all over our apartments. And pour gasoline and organic sewage down our sinks.

No, he doesn’t really want us to do that. Cynicism aside, it’s a good opportunity to venture out and save some loot on an item that at least meets some energy-consumption standards.

And with this possibly on the horizon, it might not be a bad idea.

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Listed below are the Beltline-related meetings scheduled for this month. Also, the Atlanta Beltline Partnership and several other organizations are hosting a Beltline clean-up Oct. 20 in West End. Go here for more information and to register.

BELTLINE FOURTH QUARTER BRIEFING
Oct. 11: 6-8 p.m., Atlanta Public Schools, Auditorium, 130 Trinity Ave.

STUDY GROUPS (all meetings 6:30-8:30 p.m.)

SOUTHEAST & SOUTHWEST
Tonight: Atlanta Metropolitan College, Academic Building, Room A-210,1630 Metropolitan Parkway

WESTSIDE STUDY GROUP
Oct. 25: Hands on Atlanta, Training Room A, 600 Means St.

NORTHSIDE STUDY GROUP
Oct. 30: Peachtree Hills Recreation Center, Gymnasium, 308 Peachtree Hills Road

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Citizens for Progressive Transit, an Atlanta-based transit-advocacy group, unveiled a helpful tool Saturday to plan car-free trips by using public transit, biking or walking. To see how you can make it to work without burning up gas and cash — and maybe even getting some exercise from it — click here.

The group is always putting out interesting work — check out its grand vision for a transit system that could actually inspire me move to Douglasville.

Also on tap this week for the group: Happy Hour on Tuesday at the Raging Burrito in Decatur and a Peachtree Corridor Task Force presentation Wednesday at the Fulton County Public Library’s Central Branch. Click on the links for times and other info.

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Several citizen-coordinated BeltLine study groups will be held in September to answer questions, give updates, and take ideas about the city’s light-rail project. Listed below are upcoming events:

Southeast and Soutwest Study Groups - Sept. 11, 6:30-8:30 pm, Atlanta Metropolitan College, Academic Building, Room A-210 (1630 Metropolitan Parkway, Atlanta, GA 30310) 

Southeast Study Group - Sept. 20, 6:30-8:30 pm, Zoo Atlanta, ARC Building (800 Cherokee Ave. SE, Atlanta, GA 30315)

Northside Study Group - Sept. 25, 6:30-8:30 pm, Peachtree Hills Rec. Center, Gymnasium (308 Peachtree Hills Rd. NE, Atlanta, GA 30305)

Northeast Study Group - Sept. 26, 6:30-8:30 pm, MLK Recreation Center, 2nd Floor Meeting Room, 90 Boulevard Ave., Atlanta, GA 30012)

For more information, visit www.beltline.org.

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