Fresh Loaf

The AJC’s Alison Young had a great piece this weekend about a now-defunct smelter that for decades burned lead at an industrial site just blocks from Morningside. The site where the smelter was located — right where Piedmont Road crosses under I-85 — is now a concrete plant. But the residual pollution caused by the smelter has largely been forgotten by state and federal regulators.

How much lead dust rained down over the years and how far the winds blew is not currently known. But experts say that, despite the passage of decades, the lead would remain relatively near the surface unless the soil has been removed or buried under clean fill dirt. [...]

Tests conducted privately in 2003 show large swaths of the smelter property contained potentially dangerous levels of lead, above 400 parts per million (ppm), according to site plans and a soil removal permit issued by the city of Atlanta to contractors for the property’s owner at that time, Metalico of Georgia Inc. The testing was within the boundaries of the smelter property at 740 Lambert Drive NE.

After reading the story, a source who keeps a close eye on Georgia’s environment told CL this weekend that he’s curious about the smelter’s proximity to Peachtree Creek. If floods seeped up toxins in nearby soil, they could have spread downstream.

Thanks to Young, the Environmental Protection Agency is  investigating the matter. Kudos to the journalist for taking on this story on her own initiative and effecting some government action. Snippets don’t do it justice, so go check it out in full.

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Last night, candidates aiming to replace outgoing Atlanta City Councilwoman Anne Fauver in District 6 gathered at Inman Middle School to win residents’ hearts and minds.

We’re sure it was a crowded house — District 6 includes such politically active neighborhoods as Virginia-Highland, Morningside, Candler Park and Midtown, among other hamlets. And since there isn’t a clear-cut frontrunner among the six candidates vying for the open seat,  voters probably wanted to hear some opinions on the issues.

We couldn’t attend the gathering, mainly because we were in Athens talking to whippersnappers about the future of journalism. (Keep your heads up, yo!)

If you were there, we’d love to hear your take. And if you don’t write anything, it means you hate America. Consider this an open thread.

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Steve Brodie, one of six contenders in the crowded race for the Atlanta City Council District 6 open seat, has received the endorsement of the city’s 1,100-member police union.

In a statement (PDF) released yesterday by Brodie’s campaign, Sgt. Scott Kreher, president of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers Local 623, said the wooer of water ballerinas is unique because  he’s  “providing specific ideas for improving public safety in Atlanta and the action steps needed to fund improvements….The other District 6 Candidates are working to develop slogans and [Brodie is] seriously proposing plans.”

”I am honored and proud to be endorsed by the police,” Brodie said. “The Police Union’s endorsement
of my candidacy illustrates their confidence in me as a City Council member and their belief that I will
initiate real changes to make Atlanta safer.”

Here’s the public-safety plan to which Kreher referred. (Ben at Terminal Station has a good anecdotal post on why candidates should be giddy when they get such nods of support.)

Brodie’s opponents in the race to represent the district that includes the Midtown, Candler Park, Virginia-Highland neighborhoods are Bahareh Azizi, Tad Christian, Liz Coyle, Miguel Gallegos (who recently earned the Atlanta-North Georgia Labor Council’s endorsement) and Alex Wan.

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Steve Brodie, one of six candidates in the Atlanta City Council District 6 race to represent the Midtown, Virginia-Highland and Candler Park neighborhoods, is first out of the gate with nontraditional campaign commercials.

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Beltline officials have proposed allowing future developers to build up to eight stories at 10th Street and Monroe Drive. (Looking northeast from Grady High School)

Some intown residents who’ve never been ones to shy away from city and developer battles say they’re none too pleased with the proposed vision of the Beltline near Piedmont Park.

According to preliminary plans for the Beltline’s segment that stretches from Ansley Park to City Hall East, future developers would be allowed to build up to eight stories at the congested corner of 10th Street and Monroe Drive.

That’s a far cry from the twin Towers of Babel that Gwinnett County developer Wayne Mason wanted to build on the same spot in 2006. But the reduction in size — and the fact that no specific development project’s been proposed — hasn’t stopped some residents from voicing concerns over what they say is an inappropriate vision for one of intown Atlanta’s most popular neighborhoods.

(more…)

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Morningside resident Tad Christian says he’s joined the increasingly crowded race to represent District 6 on the Atlanta City Council.

Christian, who just completed a one-year term as President of the Morningside Lenox Park Civic Association, is now the sixth candidate to join the race to fill departing Councilwoman Anne Fauver’s seat.

From a press release announcing Christian’s candidacy:

Christian is an active member of the Morningside neighborhood, sits on the City of Atlanta’s Board of Zoning Adjustments, is a volunteer on the operations committee at Morningside Elementary School, and a maintenance volunteer at Morningside Presbyterian Preschool. “I am always working to resolve problems that plague our city neighborhoods, and this volunteer action led to me being elected as President of our neighborhood association,” said Christian. “I really want to take the knowledge and experience I have gained thorough volunteer service and participation on various zoning boards, to the City Council, where I can have a greater impact on improving a full range of issues facing our City.”

Before becoming a stay-at-home father, Christian worked 12 years in business development and industrial engineering.

Christian’s opponents in the race to represent the Morningside, Virginia-Highland, Midtown, Druid Hills and Candler Park neighborhoods are: Georgia Tech scientist Bahareh Azizi, Midtown business consultant Steve Brodie, community activist Liz Coyle, political newcomer Miguel Gallegos and Midtown businessman Alex Wan. And we’ll go ahead and say God and Jane Fonda, because it feel like just about everyone is gonna jump in this contest.

(Courtesy Tad Christian campaign)

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Remember that mystery candidate for Atlanta City Council District 6 that we hinted at a few days ago? Well, there’ll be no more waiting, fine commenters! She’s in!

Bahareh Azizi, a Georgia Tech scientist, announced her candidacy on Saturday for the increasingly crowded race to represent the Midtown, Morningside, Druid Hills and Virginia-Highland neighborhoods at City Hall.

According to an emailed press release, Azizi launched her campaign during Saturday’s 40th annual Peachtree Road Race. She says the announcement dovetails with her campaign’s “commitment, endurance and a willingness to join the people of our city on the streets of Atlanta.”

In 2007, she was the co-host of Science Investigators, a PBS pilot show. According to a press release about the show’s first episode, Azizi investigated the disappearance of a certain species of frogs in New York and drove an electric car that went from 0 to 60 mph in three seconds. Wheee!

(more…)

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The race to represent Morningside, Druid Hills, Virginia-Highland and Midtown residents at City Hall gets bigger by the week.

The Southern Voice reports that Miguel Gallegos has officially entered the contest, joining Liz Coyle, Alex Wan and Steve Brodie. Councilwoman Anne Fauver has said she would not seek a third term in office.

We’re hearing another potential candidate has been seen handing out campaign information in Piedmont Park. That mystery person hasn’t officially filed their papers yet. When she does, however, be prepared for this race — which is already spinning with political dynamics — to get even more interesting.

Gallegos, who the Voice reports is openly gay, doesn’t have a website just yet. Hey, Miguel! Send us a line sometime!

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Picking up from where this morning’s post left off, Project Q Atlanta says Liz Coyle has filed her paperwork to run for Atlanta City Council’s District 6 seat.

According to Project Q Atlanta, Beltline attorneys informed Coyle she would not be required to resign. The longtime community activist is now the third candidate vying to represent the Midtown, Druid Hills and Morningside neighborhoods at City Hall when Councilwoman Anne Fauver ends her term.

The news site also has some background on the district’s hot-button issues among its large gay community. (Think bar-closing hours and access to Piedmont Park for Atlanta Pride.) There’s also the issue of demographics: Since 1998, District 6 has been represented by openly gay women. Coyle, who’s heterosexual and married, will face off against Steve Brodie and Alex Wan, who are both openly gay.

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Southern Voice reports local businessman Steve Brodie now has an opponent in the race for the Atlanta City Council seat serving the Midtown, Morningside and Druid Hills neighborhoods:

The race to see who will be the Atlanta City Council’s next District 6 representative is a gay vs. gay contest once again.

On Wednesday morning, gay business owner and community volunteer Alex Wan met with Southern Voice to announce his bid for the seat, which is currently held by Anne Fauver, the Atlanta City Council’s only openly gay member.

…

“I think an openly gay person or Asian-American person being elected to City Council sends a huge signal about how open the city is,” Wan said. “If there is representation on the governing council of the city, I think that alone sends a huge message about openness and diversity.”

This will be Wan’s second bid for elected office. In 2004, he ran for the District 57 seat in the Georgia House held by gay-friendly incumbent Pat Gardner. Wan, who lost to Gardner in the Democratic primary, would have been the first openly gay man and first Asian American in the state legislature.

More details at Southern Voice.

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Atlanta City Councilwoman Anne Fauver’s unexpected exit from the District 6 race yesterday took nearly everyone in the politically active and tight-knit neighborhoods she serves by surprise.

In a Tuesday interview with CL, Fauver said the decision, which she’s wrestled with for the last two months, largely came down to two things: frustration with city politics and the desire to try something new.

“[Atlanta] once had a strong council and a weak mayor,” Fauver said. “That’s been reversed. That can be very frustrating because council is supposed to determine policy…As of now, we don’t.”

Fauver added that it’s difficult to juggle a career and serve in City Hall. The job of a councilmember, which pays $39,000 a year and is supposed to be a part-time gig, is more like a round-the-clock position.

“It’s four years,” she said, referring to another term. “Four years on top of eight years is a little bit longer than I want to do it. I’m frankly looking forward to a new challenge and I don’t know what that will be.”

(more…)

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Lawmaker and developers should know this about Piedmont Park by now. If you even come close to threatening the city’s most iconic greenspace, you better be prepared for a vocal reaction from its residents and supporters.

That’s why residents near Piedmont Park are keeping their eyes on one of the General Assembly’s proposed solutions to the state’s notorious congestion problem.

House Resolution 206, sponsored by state Rep. Vance Smith, R-Pine Mountain, proposes a statewide one-cent sales tax to fund $25 billion of projects ranging from transit to roads. Included in the legislation is a controversial project: Tunnels underneath the city.

Cue the outrage.

(more…)

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