Fresh Loaf

I’m late getting to it, but local blogger B King — who, if you haven’t read it yet, writes one of the smartest urban-development blogs in the metro region — posts Majestic Diner owner Tasso Costarides’ response to King’s online petition that called for a time-out to the legendary restaurant’s recent renovation.

In it, the restaurant owner says King’s blog posts about the renovation are “misguided” and responds to each grievance — in depth, too.

Costarides’ letter is too long and detailed to cut and paste — were I to do so it’d seem like I’d be knocking either one. I suggest you go check to King’s post and check it out yourself.

King responds with class — he says he respects the staff, will miss the joint, and admits he thinks his notes were “whiny, petulant and immature.” I’d say it’s more like some honest engagement with a legendary landmark, and that this kind of open discussion — while it can be difficult to watch — is all too rare these days. Bravo to both men.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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— A couple of months ago, Doug at Live Apartment Fire pointed out the fatal flaws in a Wendy Saltzman report on WGCL about Atlanta sanitation workers who were allegedly hanging out at home on the clock during the day and collecting overtime at night. Maybe she was listening. Her report on the city’s failure to collect $30 million in water fees — including a cool $109,000 owed by Chastain Park amplitheater — was one of the best of the year in local TV news, he writes.

— A Gwinnett County couple are terrorized and held captive at gunpoint … by the police, who — oops — uh, went to the wrong address and busted into the wrong house. Just another reason, writes Andre at Georgia Politics Unfiltered, that state Sen. Vincent Fort thinks “No Knock” warrants are a bad, bad idea. Can we say Kathryn Johnston?

— The Majestic is undergoing a facelift and B King at Terminal Station is aghast that Atlanta’s favorite seedy diner is going … upscale? He’s got an online petition to stop the gentrification of a landmark that should stay exactly as it is. The sad thing is, I remember the Majestic before it underwent its last renovation. And I felt the same way then.

— At Going Through The Motions, the lovely Sara seeks our help to pick out a gift for her secretary, who has a back story that has to be read to be believed and is just impossible to shop for. My suggestion? The secretary is having bariatric surgery and will need a completely new wardrobe. She may not like gift cards (she is, after all, hard to shop for), but tie it to the surgery and her new beginning.

— At the Arc of Time, the experiment to take MARTA to work every day hit something of a snag the other day. First, the bus was late. Then the bus sat stalled in traffic at the worst possible moment — just after two kids settled in the back seat and began to play hip-hop music on their computer at ear-shattering volume. That’s a day getting off to a very bad start.

— Is the AJC’s Jim Wooten a bigot? Or just a right-wing fanatic who wants to impose his religious will on the rest of us? Decatur Guy poses the question at Atlanta Public Affairs after reading Wooten’s thoughts on the importance of marriage. If marriage is so great, he says to Wooten, then what’s so wrong with gays and lesbians doing the ultimate hook-up?

— And finally, Voted Off The Island is the chronicle of a native New Yorker who is new to the South and trying to adjust. Can someone please explain boiled peanuts to her? Have a great weekend, bloggerheads!

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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