Fresh Loaf

OBAMA: Officially becomes the Democratic nominee for president, the first black person ever nominated by a major party. He’ll give his acceptance speech tonight.

MCCAIN: Has picked his running mate, whom he’ll inform of his decision today and introduce Friday in Ohio.

UNDERDRIVE: As gas prices and environmental worries have driven down driving, highways and other transportation projects, including commuter rail, have lost a major source of funding — gas taxes.

CLAYTON IS THE HARDEST PART: SACS will announce its accreditation decison at a 1 p.m. press conference today. [UPDATE: Accreditation lost.] Meanwhile, a state judge has recommended that Gov. Perdue remove four Clayton school board members from office for violating Georgia’s open-meetings laws and ethics code. 

FREE REFILL: Fay has now added two feet back to Lake Lanier, as rainwater continues to move downhill through the basin. It’s still 15 feet below full pool, but that one storm has made up for the month of August so far, which has been especially dry.

FUNNEL VISION: The National Weather Service says up to four tornadoes may have touched down in Hall County as Fay passed through.

OUR DEERLY DEPARTED: Rome’s world-famous six-legged deer died last week after surgery to remove his two unnecessary legs.

PAUL JOHNSON: The New York Times profiles Georgia Tech’s new skipper and his stubbornly distinctive coaching style, which he’ll debut in Atlanta tonight as Tech hosts Jacksonville State to open the season.

BRAVES: Call up minor-league outfielder Josh Anderson after trading CF Mark Kotsay to Boston Wednesday for minor-league outfielder Luis Sumoza. Atlanta also signed journeyman relief pitcher Elmer Dessens.

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VOTE: No one else is going to, so your vote will count that much more. Click here for CL’s voter guide.

DON’T DRINK THE WATER: A toxin found in Mars’ water dims scientists’ hopes of finding life there.

DOCK BLOCK: More than 2,300 private docks were built in coastal Georgia between 1996 and 2006, and each one can reduce biomass production by 30 percent below it due to blocked sunlight. Researchers are thus studying four types of docks that allow sunlight through.

NEW GRADY CEO: Says changing “the aura” will be the difference at Grady; plans to buy upgraded medical equipment, identify the top 10 financial issues and streamline processes in an effort to attract more insured patients to the beleaguered hospital.

WI-FI IN THE SKY: Delta plans to start offering Wi-Fi on all its domestic flights by next summer, but it’ll cost $10 for three hours or less and $13 for longer flights.

FIELD TRIPS: Georgia schools considering canceling them to save fuel.

TAILS WAGGING DAWGS: Mark Richt discusses the slew of arrested and penalized players this offseason; he and top players echo the line that they won’t be a distraction for long.

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VACANCY: Atlanta police have a new burglary unit dedicated to monitoring houses that have been foreclosed or abandoned, as copper thieves grow in numbers and audacity.

CITY COUNCIL: Wants to keep Fire Station No. 7 open.

SOUTH BY NORTHWEST: Northwest Airlines tells its employees that it may move up to 400 jobs to Atlanta.

JACKSON COUNTY: Gets state approval to sell discounted gas to the county’s nine municipalities, the first county in Georgia to do so.

BLUE JEAN BANDITS: Five suspects are arrested.

WITHOUT A PADDLE: Fifty thousand tons of sewage spill into the ground in Gainesville, entering a tributary of Balus Creek.

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JEKYLL: The first new development in three decades on the island, a Hampton Inn, breaks ground Monday.

AERO HEADS: Jacoby Development’s large-scale “aerotropolis” redevelopment of the Hapeville Ford plant could be the southside city’s big break, but commercial real-estate experts say it’s also a big risk.

REVIVAL: State gives $10,000 to proposed new Allman Brothers museum in Macon.

CEASAR MITCHELL: Running for mayor.

TRIALS OF JOB: Mayor Franklin announces she’ll cut another 165 jobs to deal with the budget shortfall.

THE LONG RUN: USA Today profiles the Braves’ baffling inability to win one-run games.

CLASSICAL GAS: Norcross gas station took part in a $1.99/gallon marketing gimmick that had a line of cars waiting 30 minutes or more to fill up.

NICHOLS TRIAL: Judge says it needs to be moved.

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Earliest date new U.S. offshore drilling might produce oil for market: 2030

Earliest date oil from the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge might produce oil for market: 2018

Estimated amount offshore and ANWR drilling will lower the price of gasoline per gallon in 2025: 3.5 cents

Barrels of oil Americans use daily: 21 million

Barrels of oil Tifton agricultural scientist J.C. Bell says he can produce annually using bio-mass (non-food plant materials): 5 billion

Percent of current U.S. oil consumption 5 billion barrels equals: 65

Annual budget of Bell’s research facility: $60 million

Exxon-Mobil’s average daily profit during the first-quarter of 2008: $119.3 million

Sources: U.S. Department of Energy, Bell BioEnergy Labs, Tifton Gazette, CNNMoney.com

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We have come such a long way from praying for rain.

Friday Night Drag Racing with Governor Perdue

ATLANTA– Governor Perdue and Atlanta Motor Speedway President and General Manager Ed Clark will square off in a heads up street drag race down Atlanta Motor Speedway’s drag strip TONIGHT, Friday, June 27, 2008.

Friday, June 27, 2008
8 p.m.
WHAT: Governor Perdue and AMS President Clark Address Media

WHERE: Infield media center – deadline room
Atlanta Motor Speedway
1500 Highway 19-41
Hampton, GA 30228

9 p.m.

WHAT: Governor Perdue and AMS President Clark Square Off In a Heads Up Street Drag Race

WHERE: Atlanta Motor Speedway
1500 Highway 19-41
Hampton, GA 30228

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EVERGLADE PLUG-IN: United States Sugar agrees to sell 187,000 acres in the Everglades, and all of the company’s other assets, to the state of Florida for $1.75 billion, which will allow natural water flow from Lake Okeechobee to Florida Bay for the first time since the 1890s.

OBAMA: Leads McCain in two polls by more than 10 points, although June poll results rarely hold steady through November. Hillary Clinton begins campaigning for Obama today. Obama asks his supporters to help alleviate some of her campaign debt.

UNIONS’ UNION: Delta and Northwest pilot unions agree on a joint contract.

CYBER RATTLING: Atlanta is the 10th-largest cybercity and largest in the Southeast.

COLLARED: Police pull over and arrest an Atlanta man in Macon driving a U-Haul loaded with $150,000 worth of Polo shirts that had been stolen in Valdosta.

GAS PRICE WAR: Two gas stations in Buford are in an arms race of affordability, with a gallon dropping as low as $3.45 over the weekend.

DOG BEAT DOG: Fresno State downs UGA to tie the series at 1-1; Game 3 to decide the national champion is tonight at 7.

JOHN THOMPSON: The Clayton County corrective superintendent says he was misheard in the video he posted online Monday, that he said Clayton schools “had a very slim chance” of maintaining accreditation, before he became superintendent, not “have a very slim chance.” Two Board of Education members back up the misheard version, saying Clayton will not maintain its accreditation.

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The Discovery Channel brings news that the worst gift Asia ever gave us could be used to offset some of our demand for oil.

[Rowan Sage of the University of Toronto and colleagues at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s] team gathered samples of kudzu from different locations in the south at different times of year and measured the amount of carbohydrate — which can be converted into ethanol by yeast — present in leaves, vines and roots.

The roots were by far the largest source of carbohydrate in the plant: up to 68 percent carbohydrate by dry weight, compared to a few percent in leaves and vines.

The researchers estimate that kudzu could produce 2.2 to 5.3 tons of carbohydrate per acre in much of the South, or about 270 gallons per acre of ethanol, which is comparable to the yield for corn of 210 to 320 gallons per acre. They recently published their findings in Biomass and Bioenergy.

Sounds awesome, but researchers say it would only offset our hunger for bioethanol by 8 percent. That’s if it’s economically viable to harvest the vicious vine. Or is it a weed?

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From The Independent:

Saudi Arabia will raise oil production to record levels within weeks in an attempt to avert an escalation of social and political unrest around the world . . . the Saudis will be pumping an extra half-a-million barrels of oil a day compared to last month, bringing total Saudi production to 9.7 million barrels a day,”

Let’s see:

500,000 barrels per day
x $140 per barrel
x 365 days
= The Saudi royal family has just promised to boost its oil revenue at an annual rate of approximately $25.6 billion.

But they’re doing it to avert social and political unrest, not for the money.

Forgive me, Saudi royal family, if I neglect to mail you a thank you note.

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MALIGNANT RUMORS: Obama goes against political tradition of ignoring unsubstantiated attacks, creates website to combat rumor-mongering e-mails.

I WANNA TAKE YOU DRIER: The drought is still getting worse.

CLASSICAL GAS: Gas is cheaper in South Carolina; maybe we should look into annexing it.

BLAIS UNDER PRESSURE: Richard Blais is still the top chef to us even though he “choked” and then choked up last night.

GSU: Hires former Ga. Tech coach Bill Curry to head its nascent football team, which will begin play in 2010 at the Georgia Dome.

DRIVIN’ THAT TRAIN: Casey Jones pulled over, charged with marijuana meth and Xanax possession.

HOOP SCHEMES: Disgraced former NBA ref with plenty of incentive to make up such a story nonetheless weaves an intriguing tale of playoff-rigging NBA execs and bought-out refs.

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At a June 2 press conference, Gov. Sonny Perdue announced that he has halted a state gas tax increase because of high prices at the pump and tough economic times. And what did he say about commuter rail or using less gas? Nada.

“I’m persuaded we’ve got great reserves here that we can bring to the market very quickly rather than being held hostage from the international perspective.”

— The governor on why the U.S. should drill for oil.

“I’ve seen people do it. I see them ride a little car for a little while, and then they’re back in big vehicles after a while.”

— Perdue’s response when asked if he’d consider switching the state’s fleet of vehicles or his personal transport, a SUV, to hybrids.

“I travel pretty lightly as most of you know.”

— Perdue says his retinue is smaller than that of most governors. Perdue has visited at least 14 Georgia cities since April 24. After the press conference, he flew to Savannah.

(Photo illustration by John Yardley)

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LET’S ALL OWE TO THE LOBBY: Saxby Chambliss skips debate in which five Dems and a Lib argue over whether taking PAC money affects a candidate’s integrity.

OBAMA: Expected to make a trip to Georgia sometime this month, which could help some down-ticket Georgia Dems in July as well as November.

WRONG SIDE OF THE TAX: National average gas price reaches $4 a gallon for the first time in history. State gas taxes are often higher than the much-politicized federal tax, but many states depend heavily on them for infrastructure maintenance.

REST FOR THE WEARY: SCAD students design, build beds for the homeless in Savannah.

ROCK US LIKE A HURRICANE: State climatologist says low stream flows indicate a worsening drought; tropical storms may be our only relief.

WARMTH WAVE: Temperatures are nearing record highs. Still, AccessNorthGa.com avoids the temptation to sensationalize the story with this news graphic.

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CLINTON: To suspend campaign for the presidential nomination Saturday; begins campaign for the vice-presidential nomination. Jimmy Carter says Obama picking her would be “the worst mistake that could be made.”

PAIN IN THE GAS: Drivers are increasingly procrastinating buying gas as prices skyrocket go up, meaning they run out more. In Georgia, taxpayer-funded HERO trucks will give a gallon or two of gas to stranded motorists, but HERO truck drivers say they’re starting to be spread too thin.

REEF MADNESS: Since our governor prioritized a fishing initiative over sustainable development or transportation relief, it would be nice if we at least had good coastal fishing in Georgia. So the DNR is sinking old ships and building artificial reefs to build fisheries up from the bottom of the food chain.

SMOLTZ: Out for season with shoulder injury. Could be career-ending, but Smoltz is famously resilient.

HOLYFIELD: