Fresh Loaf

DAMMED IF HE DOESN’T: Jimmy Carter revives an old gubernatorial quest of his to prevent three dams from being built on the Flint River.

CARRYING CAPACITY: The Chicago Tribune examines recent revolutions against gun control, from Disney World to Hartsfield-Jackson to the Windy City.

WHAT BROWN CAN DO FOR YOU: Medical College of Georgia researchers identify brown rice’s health benefits.

FALCONS: New running backs Michael Turner and Thomas Brown prepare for the first day of training camp.

SMOG: Bad enough weekday afternoons that experts say exercising then does more harm than good.

ADVANCE VOTING: For runoff elections begins today.

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BOWEN OUT: HUD approves of the Atlanta Housing Authority tearing down Bowen Homes in northwest Atlanta; AHA says renovating the housing project would cost $100 million and tearing it down will be less than $6 million.

UGA: Beats Fresno State in Game 1 of the College World Series; now one win away from winning the national championship.

SHELL SHOCK: Four advocacy groups have filed an emergency petition to the Georgia DNR seeking to repeal the state’s turtle collection law, arguing turtle species are dropping due to unrestricted trapping.

TRAIN TAX: MARTA holds informational meeting in Gwinnett about moving rail service into the county; Gwinnettians will vote on the measure, which would be funded with a 1-cent sales tax, on July 15.

CODE RED SMOG ALERT: Atlanta’s now in the red in more ways than one.

EVIDENCE: The zebra found grazing in an I-75 median in April will be recuperated enough for public viewing July 12.

COLOR GUARD: Don Imus says he only asked “what color” Adam “Pacman” Jones is to make the point that Jones has been unfairly targeted by police in his six arrests since 2005. It might have been clearer if Imus had actually said that instead of just, “Well there you go. Now we know,” after being told Jones is black.

CLAYTON: Superintendent John Thompson, who one month ago said Clayton County Schools would meet the SACS mandates by July 15, now says the school system has a “very slim” chance of maintaining accreditation at all. Who cares, though — I want to know how John Thompson’s spirits are holding up:

“After talking to all the politicians, people and powers that be, we have a very slim chance of maintaining accreditation at all. It could have dampened my spirits, but it did not.”

Whew.

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From today’s AJC:

Irony rocks.

(Thanks to Mara Shalhoup — who’s done a “really great job being an asshole” — for the find.)

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OBAMA: Clinches the Democratic nomination, gives rousing victory speech to thousands in St. Paul.

DRYEST BEFORE DAWN: State climatologist expects drought will get worse before it gets better.

HIGH ON THE SMOG: Atlanta’s under a code orange smog alert today.

FOR GOV OF COUNTRY: Sonny Perdue hosts a gaggle of GOP governors, many of whom are also VP candidates for John McCain, in Atlanta this week for the Republican Governor’s Association luncheon.

TRAFFIC DESIGNER: Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle tells the Cobb Chamber of Commerce Chairman’s Club that he’ll unveil a new transportation plan within the next two months.

ANOTHER BEAR HIT: Again on I-75.

GROWING OUR OWN: USA Today profiles Georgia’s ascendant young baseball talent pool.

UMP IRE: High school pitcher and catcher are under investigation after the catcher ducked away from a pitch during a state championship game, allowing it to hit the home plate ump, who had called nine of their teammates out on strikes during the game.

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Gather round, all Atlantans, and breathe through a handkerchief for the rest of the day. The Clean Air Campaign has issued a Code Orange Smog Alert — meaning that the air quality in the region today is unhealthy for such sensitive segments of the population as asthmatics, the elderly and people with heart or lung disease. Those groups should limit outdoor exercise or exertion to the early morning hours and late evening.

It’s always about the people. Won’t anyone think of the bees!?! In the meantime, think about using other ways to travel to help improve the region’s air quality. The campaign says that if one person opted not to drive one day a week for every week in the year, he or she would reduce the amount of pollutants emitted into the air by more than 2,080 pounds.

(Graphic courtesy of the Department of Homeland Security)

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Air pollution doesn’t just add to our region’s reputation as a smog-laden Mecca. It might even play a role in why honeybees — vital vectors in how we get our food — are dying off at a dizzying rate.

The Washington Post reports on a study that found the scents flowers emit — which are broken down when they come into contact with smog and ground-level ozone — are now traveling shorter distances. Air pollution, the report says, can eliminate 90 percent of a flower’s aroma, and may be contributing to a phenomenon called “colony collapse disorder” that’s become increasingly worse since 2006.

Our sting-happy friends can’t pick up on the scent, lose a food source and their populations subsequently dwindle. That tosses a wrench in the pollination process.

Metro Atlanta, you may recall, recently ranked 6th on the American Lung Association’s list of most-polluted cities.

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MAYDAY: Smog season starts today.

ROLLING OUT THE RED CARPETBAG: Niagara County, New York, assuming companies in the South are too lethargic from dehydration to move elsewhere, considers venturing down here to liberate them to the Great Wet North.

FLEXING ITS MUSSELS: Florida pulls the marine-life card again in response to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ recent water-sharing proposal.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! Mission to sugarcoat and obfuscate Bush’s “Mission Accomplished” banner snafu accomplished.

BOSTON MASSACRE: Home teams keep winning as the Celtics handily take Game 5 from the Hawks. Game 6 is here tomorrow night.

DEMOCRATIC SENATE RACE: Getting melodramatic.

LIAISONS LEAVING: State liaisons assigned to help Clayton County save its accreditation ask Gov. Perdue to excuse them from what they call an impossible task, saying the school board has only gotten more dysfunctional since the SACS report was released in February.

OH REALLY? Unhelpful headlines today:

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