Fresh Loaf

Folks have long talked about the possibility of gambling at Underground Atlanta, often from the standpoint that legalized gaming may be the only way to make the city-subsidized white-elephant finally solvent and to revive lower downtown. Fulton Commissioner Robb Pitts has kept the issue in the public with frequent pro-gambling statements. And, as recently as mid-November, Mayor Shirley Franklin told state lawmakers she would be willing to explore gambling licenses as a way to generate revenue for the city.

Well, it looks as if some developer has finally taken the bait. The AJC reports that Underground operator Dan O’Leary has announced that a company is interested in filling the near-dormant mall with 5,000 video slot machines and building a new high-rise hotel onsite.

The project would cost about $450 million and would be expected to generate $600 million in gross annual revenue, half of which might go to the Georgia Lottery Board. Is it a coincidence that the lottery board would have a large role in deciding whether the proposal goes forward?

Actually, the legal hurdles to installing a casino in Underground are not that high. The site is already designated by state law as Georgia’s only “special entertainment district,” which means that many legal restrictions that apply everywhere else — Sunday alcohol sales, for instance — don’t apply there. The city doesn’t have the authority to license a casino without state approval, but surprisingly few laws would need to be changed to make it happen.

If there’s the will, there’s definitely a way.

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A Jan. 7 killing and armed robbery at the Standard Food and Spirits sparked community outcry — and questions over who’s to blame for a rise in Atlanta crime.

“The idea that we have a city where this kind of violence can happen is completely unacceptable. … What we have seen is cuts [in police hours] made [by Mayor Shirley Franklin] without consultation and collaboration.”

— Atlanta Councilmember Mary Norwood, who attended a Thursday morning vigil for victim John Henderson, in a Jan. 8 AJC article.

“I proposed a modest tax increase [in early 2008] dedicated to public safety and the Council chose to roll back taxes in spite of our warnings. … [Norwood] has never sought to discuss the budget recommendations with me and I find her remarks today to be ludicrous and irresponsible.”

— Franklin’s response to Norwood, in a Jan. 8 press release.

“i would be happy to pay more taxes for a safer community. but our family can and will leave if the city doesn’t address this problem.”

— Adam Bartolett, in a post on the Atlantans Together Against Crime and Cutbacks’ Facebook page.

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Mayor Shirley Franklin will speak at a luncheon Jan. 13 about the city’s “economic challenges” and “her plans to leave Atlanta in the black.” The event is open to the public. As of now, tickets are available. I also just got word that C-SPAN will be covering the event, which will be held at the Commerce Club downtown.

Tickets are $28 for Atlanta Press Club members and $40 for non-members.

The Franklin address is part of a regular series of newsmaker luncheons hosted by the Press Club. Next month’s newsmaker is celebrated PBS journalist Gwen Ifill, who moderated the 2008 vice presidential debate (and was parodied in that role by Queen Latifah on Saturday Night Life). Ifill will offer her insights into the  presidential elections at the Feb. 3 luncheon.

(Full disclosure: I serve on the board of the Atlanta Press Club.)

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CBS 46 (”We ask the tough questions! Eat that, liars!”) reports Atlanta City Council President Lisa Border’s Southwest Atlanta home  was burglarized a few hours after Mayor Shirley Franklin’s Monday speech in which she said crime in the city had gone down. The robbers, who kicked in Borders’ front door, made off with a 26″ flat-screen television. (Click the link above to view the report.)

Another tip of the hat to Grayson for sending the link.

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OK, I’ve covered Franklin’s speech. Now for the dish, Peach Buzz-style.

Former mayors Sam Massell and Andy Young were both seated at the front table. Ex-jailbird Bill Campbell, however, freshly released from his stint in a Florida halfway house, was nowhere to be seen — probably because the Omni doesn’t have craps tables.

Norwood harshes Shirley's buzz

Cobb Commission Chairman Sam Olens and new DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis were also present, as was former CEO Liane Levitan. Ellis told me he’d received a surprise message from his predecessor, Vernon Jones, apologizing for missing his swearing-in ceremony this past Monday. (Apparently, Vernon was out of town and didn’t want Ellis to take his absence as a dis.)

Of course, the event was packed with movers and shakers from the business community, from Coke CEO Muhtar Kent to Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce President Sam Williams and all the usual suspects.

The mayor even took a moment to acknowledge her adult children, son Cabral and younger daughter Kali, adding that for all her supposed power and authority, they still treat her like “just mom.”

Finally, all of this year’s mayoral candidates were working the Omni ballroom like bears in a salmon spawn. Sighted were Sen. Kasim Reed, attorney Jesse Spikes, and Council members Ceasar Mitchell and Mary Norwood, as well as Council President Lisa Borders, who has dropped out of the race, but you never know…

Ever the omnipresent gadfly, Norwood had just come from Grant Park and the pre-dawn vigil for slain Standard bartender John Henderson, where she publicly implied that the murder was a result of Franklin’s budget-driven cutbacks in police man-hours.

As soon as she got back to City Hall, Franklin e-mailed out a response:

Councilmember Norwood has never sought to discuss the budget recommendations with me and I find her remarks today to be ludicrous and irresponsible.

And thus was the mayor’s good mood irretrievably squashed.

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Mayor Shirley Franklin (CL file photo)

Shirley Franklin didn’t need to say a word before finding out how Atlanta’s business/civic leadership feel about her tenure as mayor. Even as she stepped to the podium in an Omni Hotel ballroom to deliver her State of the City address this morning, she was greeted with a long, enthusiastic standing ovation by the near-overflow crowd.

It may have helped that the audience had been primed by a slick, 15-minute video produced by Coke extolling Franklin’s accomplishments: the sewer overhaul, the purchase of the King papers, the completion of the fifth runway. But even some of Shirley’s detractors later told me they were surprised by how warmly she was received by the business community. It was not polite applause heard this morning; it was genuine affection for a mayor who – whether or not you appreciate her style or the results of her efforts – hasn’t backed away from tackling some very formidable challenges since coming into office.

Thankfully, Franklin didn’t give the same speech she delivered to the City Council on Monday, which was simply a disjointed litany of statistics and trivia designed to tout her accomplishments as mayor, with little real acknowledgment of the city’s recent setbacks

(more…)

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Those who came to City Hall on Monday hoping to hear a revealing, or perhaps even forward-looking, State of the City address likely were disappointed. Firstly, the mayor read only a brief portion of her speech at the top of the Council meeting. But a full transcript of the speech, available online, isn’t much more satisfying or illuminating.

Watching Franklin over the past year has been interesting. At the beginning of her tenure, she seemed self-effacing and upbeat. But ever since the city budget troubles were revealed last January, she has used about half her time at the podium to defend her administration’s legacy.

(more…)

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The Franklin folks have sent out a press release touting, “City Workers on the Job on Christmas.” As the release goes on to explain:

Workers from the departments of Watershed Management, Public Works, Aviation and Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs, as well as the Fire and Police Departments, will be on the job while their neighbors, friends and families celebrate the holidays.

Bummer. I’m sure the administration simply wants to assure taxpayers that the people who provide their city services aren’t slacking off over Christmas, but now I just feel guilty that these poor schmucks have to work tomorrow while I’m chillin’ at home with a snifter of Scotch-laced eggnog.

In fact, the more I think about it, I’m not certain that the real purpose of the release wasn’t to make us all feel guilty, that the hidden message wasn’t something like: “We’ve laid off nearly 1,000 employees and cut the salaries of the rest so that you can sit home on Christmas Day in Scotch-addled comfort. We hope you’re satisfied!”

Is it just us, or is City Hall kind of passive-aggressive?

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The woman approaching is stooped and sunken-eyed, with a weather-ravaged face that hints she might be much younger than she looks. She carries a frayed backpack and when she speaks, it’s in the beaten-down manner of someone accustomed to asking favors.

The Peachtree-Pine shelter houses hundreds of homeless men.

“Thank you, Miss Anita,” she says, as she follows her subject along the sidewalk and through the side door of the Peachtree-Pine homeless shelter. “You’re always good to me, even when I stray.”

Anita Beaty assures the woman she’ll be taken care of and ushers her into a small lobby where other street people occupy chairs along the walls or gaze out windows.

“We’re the first place people can come so they don’t die on the street,” explains Beaty as she sits down for an interview a few minutes later.

As executive director of the Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless, Beaty has run the city’s largest shelter on the corner of Peachtree and Pine streets for more than a decade. White-haired and grandmotherly, her appearance belies her reputation as a relentless advocate for the homeless, and in conversation, she comes across as so soft-spoken and unhurried that you’d never guess this is someone whose world is unraveling.

Earlier this month, the city turned off the water at Peachtree-Pine, citing unpaid bills totaling more than $160,000. Beaty quickly persuaded a judge to issue a temporary injunction to restore service, but her agency must comply with a daunting payment schedule or the water goes back off.

While water is the most immediate of the problems facing the Task Force, it’s far from the only one. It may not even be the biggest.
(more…)

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Effective Monday, January 5, City of Atlanta residents’ trash, recycling and leaf-and-limb pick ups will change.

Here are the details from Mayor Shirley Franklin’s office:

• Weekly garbage collection will continue, but on a four (4) day schedule

• Recycling and Yard Waste collection will change from weekly to every other week, on the customer’s scheduled collection day, per the attached calendar.

• Friday pickups are being absorbed within the four (4) day schedule. There are approximately 20,000 customers who currently receive Friday pick up service. A separate notice will be delivered to these customers indicating their new pick up day.

• There are approximately 5,000 customers who receive back yard pick up service. Their pick up service may or may not change depending upon their address. These customers will receive a separate notice if there are any changes to their scheduled pick up service.

For more information, contact the Public Works Customer Service Call Center at (404) 330-6333. It’s open Monday-Thursday, 8:15 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. You can also reach them via email.

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After the AP’s recent revelation that Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin was on the short list for a cabinet post she didn’t get, the Politico adds insult to injury by pointing out that Pres.-elect Obama hasn’t chosen any Southerners for prominent administration appointments. Unless, that is, you count the most thankless of White House gigs.

To be fair, the official voice of the White House will come with a Southern drawl: Robert Gibbs, Obama’s soon-to-be press secretary, is an Alabama native.

Why have no Southerners been selected? UGA’s Charles Bullock hazards a guess:

“Who comes to mind immediately?” asked Bullock. “No one, really.”

“The leading politicians in the South at least for the last generation have been active as Republicans,” Bullock added. “You just don’t have Democrats that come to mind as the go-to person or the expert. It highlights the thinness of the Democratic bench in the South… The skill set is so depleted.”

Sad, yet true. Who are his choices: former U.S. Rep. Ben “Cooter” Jones? Zell Miller?

(more…)

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The Associated Press reports:

CHICAGO — President-elect Barack Obama on Saturday named New York City housing commissioner Shaun Donovan to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development, turning to a former Clinton administration aide with a national reputation for developing affordable housing.

Donovan’s appointment was something of a surprise. Most speculation has centered around Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, Miami Mayor Manny Diaz or Bronx borough President Adolfo Carrion Jr.

Atlanta Housing Authority CEO Renee Glover was rumored to be on a shortlist for the cabinet position.

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Polling organization Rasmussen Reports says:

The majority of voters in Georgia (53%) say Republican Governor Sonny Perdue is not doing enough to help them through the economic recession, though he still earns fairly positive reviews.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state found that one in four voters (25%) say the governor is doing enough for Georgians, while another 22% remain undecided.

…

Still, more than half of voters (57%) approve of the way Perdue is handling his job as governor, while 39% disapprove.

The menz like duh govnuh. The ladies say “meh.” Also:

The early frontrunners among Republicans for the 2010 governor race in Georgia are Casey Cagle and John Oxendine. Cagle is currently serving as lieutenant governor, and Oxendine is the state insurance commissioner. Both men are favored by 14% of Republicans.

Among Democrats, former Governor Roy Barnes leads the pack of 2010 contenders with 28% support. Twenty-two percent (22%) of Democrats would consider voting for Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin for governor.

Check out the full rundown of responses. Among them: Barack Obama will do a better job as president than George W. Bush and native son Jimmy Carter.

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A little more than a week after the city of Atlanta announced it would close Fire Station #23 on Howell Mill Road, the local Berkeley Park Neighborhood Association has a full-scale campaign under way to build community support for saving the station. The group is promoting an online petition that so far has collected nearly 350 virtual signatures.

The BPNA’s efforts have also managed to attract the attention of one Shirley Franklin. When Deborah Celecia Wagoner, the group’s vice president, sent out e-mails soliciting signatures, she received a terse, late-night response from the Mayor. It read:

This is counterproductive and based on flawed assumptions. S Franklin

Wagoner shared with us her response to Franklin’s message:

Mayor Franklin,
With all due respect, I am astounded by your comment that fighting for our rights as taxpaying citizens is counterproductive. The closure and brownouts of fire stations throughout the city is becoming a cancer. It is the understanding of Atlanta taxpayers that there is money to save the Fire Department but it will not be released. In addition, there are MILLIONS of dollars in unpaid water bills by huge companies that has gone uncollected while “the little man” struggles to make ends meet. How is this fair? How can we spend five million dollars on a theme song for Atlanta and even more on a re-branding campaign only to end up in this disgusting situation?

(more…)

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Ethics complaints filed by a Sierra Club lobbyist for alleged improper influence-peddlin’ at the state Capitol for the controversial “private cities” bill require further investigation,  says Rick Thompson, executive director of the Georgia State Ethics Commission.

The complaints, filed by Gold Dome-fixture and eco-lobbyist Neill Herring, allege Atlanta City Council President Lisa Borders, political consultant Derrick Dickey and two developer brothers from Dublin, Ga. lobbied without registering for “infrastructure development districts” — a mechanism that would’ve allowed developers to issue tax-free bonds to pay for sewers, roads and schools on their properties. The districts are legal in 17 other states. (You may have seen television advertisements for one, Florida’s “The Villages.”) Opponents of the concept call them “private cities” and say they are catalysts for sprawl. The legislation passed the General Assembly but failed a statewide referendum on the Nov. 4 ballot. (CL weighed in on the issue prior to the General Election.)

Thompson says commission staff needs to gather additional information to investigate Herring’s complaints.

The commission sifted through a laundry list of ethical complaints at its hearing yesterday against state representatives, lobbyists and Mayor Shirley Franklin. (According to the AJC’s Jim Galloway, the mayor’s agreed to pay a fine for “paperwork violations” and “failing to fully explain some of her campaign expenditures.”) Thompson says complaints filed by ethics watchdog George Anderson against Fulton County Superior Judge T. Jackson Bedford for not adequately completing campaign finance disclosures were dismissed by the commission because Bedford corrected the error.

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It’s now official: Fire Station #23 on Howell Mill Road near Chattahoochee Avenue will be “temporarily decommissioned” around the end of the month.

What that means is, the single-engine firehouse will be shuttered for an indefinite period of time and the firemen sent to other stations as part of a citywide effort to slash spending. Apparently, the 54-year-old station on the edge of the Berkeley Park neighborhood was singled out by a study that considered such factors as coverage area, response times and the volume of 911 calls.

Councilwoman Clair Muller, who represents the area, is withholding judgment on the decision – which was ultimately made by Mayor Shirley Franklin – until she sees the results of the study.

“I don’t know how the neighbors will react, but they are at least owed a good explanation based on firm data,” Muller says.

The last time the mayor closed of a fire station, it touched off, well, a firestorm of protest. In early summer, Franklin announced the immediate – and permanent – closing of Station #7 near the West End. The city’s oldest working fire station, it was built in 1910.

(more…)

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About two weeks ago, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin announced city-wide employee furloughs to cut spending.

Today, she dropped the other shoe.

This morning, Franklin laid out her plan to slash another $14 million from the budget; the casualties include 23 recreation centers, the annual Atlanta Jazz Fest and a total of 222 more city jobs.

We’re not talking here about eliminating unfilled positions — nearly all of those were wiped out in previous rounds of cuts. These are actual city employees.

As the Mayor put it: “We are cutting into what we believe is the bone.”

Here’s where the bulk of the layoffs are falling:

• 58 employees from Public Works, mostly in trash and yard waste collection
• 25 employees from Planning, predominantly in building permits
• 107 recreation center employees

(more…)

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1) The Rosebuds play the Earl.

2) Outbreak: Plagues That Changed History continues at the Global Health Odyssey Museum.

3) Kristian Bush plays Eddie’s Attic.

4) Paul Guest and Tom Lux hold a poetry reading at Decatur Library.

5) Local arts organizations perform Setting the Stage: Reflections on Human Rights, with an intro by Mayor Shirley Franklin, at Spelman College.

(Photo courtesy Merge Records)

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Just about every year, the city of Atlanta asks the state Legislature to create a local gaming authority, presumably to explore the possibility of bringing some kind of gambling to town. The item has been on the city’s legislative wish list so long that it rarely raises eyebrows anymore. Could this year – as cash-strapped  governments everywhere cast about for new sources of revenue – be different?

Mayor Shirley Franklin has again added it to her list and yesterday had a chat with local lawmakers who seemed open to considering gambling as an option.

“There’s a general sense that we’ll see gaming within the city limits and I concur,” Franklin said.

OK, not exactly an impassioned plea for casinos, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Not one to put lipstick on a pig, Franklin pithily summed up the city’s financial picture: “We’re in a downward spiral.”

Nearly all of the mayor’s other requests focused on small tax and fee increases that would bring the city an additional million or two here and there. A casino licensing agreement and vice taxes on gambling could, on the other hand, add tens of millions to city coffers, in addition to helping jump-start redevelopment of Downtown south of Marietta Street – assuming, as most folks do, that a casino would be located at Underground Atlanta.

(more…)

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While I was up in Washington, D.C. and New York City on a fact-finding mission, it looks like y’all had a helluva time. Mayor Shirley Franklin asked the feds for a life preserver, the Georgia Department of Transportation decided years-old e-mails of a lascivious nature weren’t grounds for dismissal (use Gchat, Gena!), Buckhead was — gasp — called overdeveloped, and the DeKalb County Courthouse was visited by Peter, Ray and Egon. Oh yeah, and some guy who lost a presidential election visited. And there was also this news.

Sure, all I have to show for my hedonistic jaunt are a lot of blisters and FedEx receipts because I shipped all my books, DVDs and tiger-taming gear from my old NYC apartment to Decatur. But it’s good to be back. I’m eager to get back into covering the U.S. Senate and Public Service Commission races and all the other sordid beats. And finally getting the pedicure that I, being the “prominent journalist” that I am, promised a lucky lady. Viva Atlanta! Viva Creative Loafing! Viva chaos!

How was your week, Atlanta?

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Shirley Franklin finally used the “F word” today in the face of a bleak city revenue forecast.

Unfortunately for municipal employees, that word is “furloughs.”

Starting next month, through the end of the current fiscal year next June 30, all city workers – including police officers and firefighters – will have their work weeks trimmed by four hours. Department heads and managers will be responsible for determining how to reduce staff hours by 10 percent without slashing city services, Franklin announced at a hastily called afternoon press conference.

Still, the mayor conceded, the cutbacks likely will have “some implications” for services.

Franklin’s actions came in reaction to financial reports showing city revenues have been steadily falling for months. Through the first quarter of the fiscal year, she said, collections of sales taxes, property taxes and license fees – the city’s largest revenue sources – have all declined, pulling general fund revenues down by 12 percent.

(more…)

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Due to technical difficulties, I wasn’t able to take part in last night’s live blog, so I’ll recap some of observations from the Democratic bacchanal at the downtown Hyatt. As I arrived, the Rev. Joe Lowery was onstage offering encouragement to an excited crowd in a downstairs ballroom. I was told Senate candidate Jim Martin had stopped by a little earlier and that I’d just missed Mayor Shirley Franklin. I was surprised Shirley had left before the election was called, but her son, Cabral, told me she was helping babysit his kids. I guess after a hard day as mayor, it’s nice to go home and just be grandma.

However, I did see state Attorney General Thurbert Baker; DeKalb CEO-elect Burrell Ellis; Atlanta Councilman Kwanza Hall; Fulton County Commission Chairman John Eaves; and state Senate Minority Leader Robert Brown, D-Macon. In an unexpected sighting, former Fulton Commissioner Michael Hightower — who spent some time behind bars a few years back for taking bribes from a developer — was making the rounds and shaking hands. A relieved-looking U.S. Rep David Scott, fresh from re-election, came in just after the presidential race had been called for Obama, as the DJ played “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now.”

A little later, I found myself sipping scotch in the Obama suite while watching McCain’s concession speech next to former Congressman Buddy Darden. Also there were state Sen. David Adelman, D-Atlanta, who chaired Obama’s Georgia campaign, and fellow Sen. Doug Stoner, D-Smyrna. Both had cruised to election earlier in the day.

Back downstairs, a giant conga line had formed as ecstatic Democrats celebrated the historic victory. Hanging at the back of the ballroom, just watching the revelry, was Clayton County Commission Chairman Eldrin Bell, looking dapper as always. Leave it to Eldrin to find the happenin’ party.

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Just got a message from the mayor’s office:

We have received some calls that voters have been turned away from a polling place because their names were not found in the system. Anyone who is registered and has problems should ask to speak with a legal counsel or county official before accepting a provisional ballot. I strongly encourage everyone to participate in the democratic process today by exercising their sacred right to vote.

Yes, polls close in 60 minutes, but the number to the Fulton County election command center is 404-612-8300. Prepare to wait a few minutes, but live people are standing by to answer questions. A Fulton spokeswoman tells me that only a few problems have been reported today, and most of those came from people showing up at the wrong polling place.

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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.

(more…)

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Mayor Shirley Franklin announced Monday that the city had found someone willing to take over Atlanta’s very troubled finance department. You’ll remember that the city’s last CFO, Janice Davis, flew the coop to take a job in Texas a few months into Atlanta’s well-publicized budget meltdown.

Pending Council approval, the next CFO looks to be one Jim Glass, a retired 29-year veteran of various Bellsouth divisions who most recently served as CFO and vice president of finance for AT&T Mobility. I’ve been told Glass wasn’t the city’s first choice; the job had been offered to other retired corporate financial executives, who turned it down. But one Council member explained that the city is in desperate straights and will gladly take any qualified candidate who’s willing to sign up for a thankless job.

How thankless is it? Well, for starters, he’ll be expected to begin reforming budget practices that Davis herself, while she was still overseeing them, said deserved a grade of F. Add to that the fact that the city CFO answers not only to the mayor, but to the Council, whose members are not above a bit of grandstanding and politicking. Consider finally that this is only a 14-month gig, until the next mayor takes office.

Why would any retiree need this headache? Next month, when Glass is expected to be sworn in, you can ask him.

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