Fresh Loaf

Just received from state Sen. David “Border War!” Shafer, R-Duluth:

With Casey Cagle’s decision to run for Governor, Georgians must elect a new Lieutenant Governor in 2010. I wanted to let you know that, with the support of my family and the encouragement of my colleagues in the General Assembly, I will seek this office.

I have filed paperwork creating a campaign committee so that we can prepare for the effort. Chuck Clay will serve as chairman of the committee, and Bartow Morgan will serve as treasurer. Chuck is a former Senate Republican Leader and past State Chairman of the Georgia Republican Party. Bartow is the CEO of The Brand Banking Company, Gwinnett County’s oldest and largest community bank.

Shafer says the campaign will formally launch after the legislative session ends. He’s holding a start-up fundraising event, however, on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on the 49th Floor of One Atlantic Center. If you want to help with his campaign, send him an e-mail.

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Local bands and DJs are coming together to raise funds and awareness after a Dec. 3 home invasion in the Poncey-Highland neighborhood rattled both the community and Atlanta music scene.

On Thursday night at 9 p.m. at the Highland Inn Ballroom on North Highland Avenue, the Gaye Blades — which includes members of the Black Lips — and Noot d’ Noot, along with a “special surprise guest,” will headline a night of raffle giveaways to benefit local musician and DJ Chris Devoe and community activist Rachael Spiewak of SoPo Bicycle Co-op. Guest DJs will also spin records throughout the night.

Criminal Records, Youngblood Gallery, Sweetgrass Salon, Charis Books & More and other local businesses are contributing items for the raffle.

“Our tagline for the event is ‘It’s a neighborhood watch,’” says Suzy Moran, one of the fundraiser organizers. “We want it to be a benefit [for the victims], but also a way for the community to come together.”

Organizers are requesting a $5 donation at the door to help the victims.

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Grady High School Speech and Debate Team Coach Brandon Sheats sends word via Twitter that last night’s mock Presidential debate raised $1,536.85 for the team. Good work.

If you missed the debate, you can still view it online here.

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The Whole Foods that canceled a fundraiser for the homeless because of pressure from a nearby neighborhood association says it’s keeping its word.

“Whole Foods Market is honoring its commitment by donating $3,500 to the Earn-a-Bike program, and honoring the commitment to our team members, who feel very strongly about continuing with a donation,” writes Lesley Sifford, marketing team leader at the Whole Foods location on Ponce de Leon Avenue.

Rachael Spiewak of the Sopo Bicycle Cooperative, the nonprofit that helped organize the fundraiser, chimes in in a previous post’s comments section.

On Friday, September 12, Ponce Whole Foods contacted Taskforce and Sopo
to tell us that they are honoring their original commitment to dedicate
last Wednesday’s 5% Day to Taskforce for the Homeless. They are making
a fantastic contribution directly to the shelter, which will be spent
on opening and operating the bicycle shop where the Earn-A-Bike program
will take place. We look forward to continuing to partner with
Taskforce and other agencies who want to pursue access to cycling and
bicycle repair for all!

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The Sopo Bicycle Cooperative, a local nonprofit that helps people find and fix velocipedes, is asking its members to considerately urge Whole Foods to reinstate the fundraiser it canceled because of pressure from a Midtown neighborhood group.

According to a message posted on MySpace by Rachael Spiewak, Sopo’s executive director, the fundraiser to benefit the Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless was organized by a cooperative intern from Paideia High School and an Americorps volunteer at the task force.

We all came together to create an on-site bicycle repair shop that provides access to an environmentally responsible form of transportation as well as opportunities to learn marketable skills. Skill building and reliable transportation are necessary for everyday life, and will help our friends at Taskforce access jobs and independent living.

Get Sopo’s take on the matter — as well as who to call at Whole Foods if you want them to know how you feel — after the jump.

(Special thanks to Christa at PecanneLog for the tip and message)

(more…)

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On Aug. 26, a Grady Memorial Hospital surpervisor’s car busted through the front of Cabbagetown Clay & Glassworks. The nonprofit artists’ co-op’s front end and part of its roof were completely demolished.

A spaghetti dinner fundraiser takes place tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 6 to help get the studio off the ground — literally. The group doesn’t receive any outside funding, says resident artist Heather Cunningham. “We share the space equally, share the rent and utilities and we will do the best we can to keep the organization together,” Cunningham stated in an e-mail.

In the interim, the building’s landlady has made the vacant space next door available to the artists.

Event info: $15.50. 6-9 p.m. Stone Soup Kitchen, 584 Woodward Ave. 404-524-1222. ccgw.eventbrite.com/.

For more info about the event and donations, contact Cunningham at 404- 444-0534 or heather@artreverie.com.

(Photo by Heather Cunningham)

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