Fresh Loaf

HOMELESSNESS: New study quantifies homelessness in Georgia, finding that 20,000 people were homeless statewide one night in January and 75,000 went without a home at some point during the year.

NICHOLS TRIAL MOVED: To Atlanta City Court.

NOT THE LAST STRAW: The Athens Banner-Herald sees the silver lining in Gwinnett voters’ straw-poll rejection of MARTA.

IN TRANSIT: CNN reports on Americans weaning off driving and the rise of public transit; as usual, Atlanta is used as the example of the city lagging behind.

IN-THE-RED STATE: Gov. Perdue announces that the state budget is $600 million short. Maybe Atlanta and Georgia aren’t so different after all.

GOING AGAINST THE GROIN: Mike Hampton comes out of another minor league game after “tweaking” something, this time his groin, after just 29 pitches.

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MLK: Was assassinated 40 years ago today. Leonard Pitts writes of the sanitation workers’ strike that brought King to Memphis; Congress honors his legacy; the King Center opens a special exhibit memorializing his last days; and the Associated Press speculates on what he would have done had he not been murdered.

HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL: General Assembly protects HOPE-eligible students in Clayton County in case the school system loses its accreditation. Meanwhile, the Clayton school board considers trying to rehire former superintendent Barbara Pulliam, who resigned in July.

CRAM SESSION: Today’s the last day of the 2008 legislative session, with most major policy items still unresolved.

BARR NONE: Bob Barr’s rumored presidential run gets even more rumored, and he may have the support of candidacy-happy Ron Paul.

ARRINGTON: Fulton Superior Court judge apologizes for expelling whites from courtroom, but offers explanation for his decision as others come to his defense.

WE’LL CALL YOU: Man robs Athens convenience store with a knife, leaves behind filled-out job application.

HAMPTON IN OUT: The most fragile Atlanta Brave hurts his left pec during warm-ups, causing Bobby Cox to scratch him from what would have been his first start since 2005. The Braves lost to the Pirates 4-3 in 10 innings.

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WATER FIGHT: Now the ball’s in the courts’ court. And the drought will still get worse. At least what water we have left is full of drugs to soothe us.

CHENEY: Coming to Atlanta tonight.

SHARK WEAK: Brunswick fishermen leaving sharks to die on the beach.

“ALTERNATIVE LIVESTOCK”: South Georgia legislator wants to bring deer farming to Georgia.

GLOBAL WARMING: More holier-than-thou environmentalists.

HAMPTON: Hurt again.

CLAYTON: SACS approves of postponing search for permanent superintendent.

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If there’s a more snakebit Major League Baseball player than Mike Hampton, I’d like to hear some nominations.

He’s been an effective pitcher … when he’s been around. Hampton has now been on the disabled list eight times during his tenure with the Braves.

Hampton, and his $14 million annual contract, came to Atlanta from Colorado in 2003 after Tom Glavine jumped to the New York Mets. Although Hampton had gone from a 20-win pitcher to a woeful performer in Colorado, the Braves were optimistic he would regain his touch with Atlanta.

“I wasn’t worried about what Hampton did in Colorado,” former Braves pitching coach Leo Mazzone told me when I worked with him on his autobiography. “I based all my judgment and style on how he pitched everywhere but Colorado. Colorado, you just have to throw out the window.”

And, sure enough, Hampton had a great second half in 2003. “The big difference was that he was pitching at Turner Field rather than Coors Field,” Mazzone told me. “Make no mistake about it; that was huge. I don’t care what anybody says, pitches don’t do as much there. … Early that year, you could see he was trying to get his pitches to do more than they could, and that’s a habit you get into when you’re in Colorado.”
(more…)

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