Saturday, July 31, 2010
Events 5 things today
Posted by Amber Robinson on Sat, Jul 31, 2010 at 7:59 AM
- Interscope Records
1) Common, De La Soul and more perform at ONE Musicfest.
2) Georgia Dome hosts the Drum Corps International competition.
3) Burnaway, Mint, ThoughtMarker and WonderRoot present Gather Atlanta at Trees Atlanta.
4) Atlanta Symphony Orchestra stages a Queen tribute in A Rock and Symphonic Spectacular.
5) B.o.B. performs at Center Stage.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Politics Angry that Norwood was thwarted by judge? Don't be
Posted by Scott Henry on Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 3:19 PM
1) Georgia's restrictive ballot-access laws scuttled her campaign
It's more difficult here for a third-party candidate to get on the ballot than almost anywhere else in the country. As an independent, Norwood needed to come up with a ridiculously large number of petition signatures.
That said, those hurdles had nada to do with her failure to qualify as a candidate. They are two completely separate procedures. Every candidate — even write-in candidates — is required to qualify to run for office.
2) Commission Chairman John Eaves kept her off the ballot
Eaves apparently had threatened to challenge some of Norwood's petition signatures on what seem like picayune technical grounds, a move that made him look small and desperate. However, Eaves did not make Norwood miss the qualifying deadline.
3) The county's qualifying rules are impenetrable
Wrong. There may be plenty of hard-to-find or difficult-to-decipher documents on the Fulton site — and, indeed, most government sites — but the qualifying rules aren't among them. I found an explanatory PDF in about 10 seconds, after Googling "fulton county" and "qualifying."
And as instructions go, these couldn't be much clearer:
Sports Disappointment of the Week: Atlanta Soccer Fans
Posted by Ben Bussard on Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 2:01 PM
- Alejandro Leal/CL Staff
- The announced attendance for Wednesday night's soccer match was 33,721. But looking around the stadium, there certainly was a lot of red (empty seats)
Two of the world's most recognizable soccer teams.
The city's largest sporting complex.
A bid for the 2018 World Cup hanging in the balance.
The stage was set for Atlanta to make a serious push towards earning a host spot in the world's largest sporting event.
But apparently, Atlanta residents didn't get the memo as 37,000 Georgia Dome seats were left unoccupied on Wednesday night during the Club America vs. Manchester City match—also known as the Aaron's International Soccer Challenge.
So what did the turnout mean for Atlanta's hopes of hosting a World Cup? Probably just a longer wait.
Guv'ment Local courts faced with high costs of interpreters
Posted by Alexandria Jud on Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 1:37 PM
Despite the bleak job market, there's one well-paying career that always seems to be in high demand.
Court interpreters charge an average of $50 per hour for their services, in addition to their mileage reimbursement.
- Photo courtesy of Fejér Bálint
For many non-English-speaking defendants, having an interpreter can make the difference between getting a fair trial and being denied due process. But it's costing cities and counties in metro Atlanta hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to provide these services to defendants for free.
Georgia law requires that all non-English speaking criminal and misdemeanor defendants be appointed an interpreter. If the court approves a pauper's affidavit in a civil case, an interpreter is provided at no cost.
Under the state Supreme Court's rules, the court can bill the defendants for the interpreter expenses in some circumstances. But, looking at recent figures, this is a rare occurrence. Instead, the cities absorb most of these costs, putting a big dent in their budgets.
Sports The Series Cynic: Braves can't handle pesky Nats
Posted by Ben Bussard on Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 11:43 AM
The Braves lost their second consecutive series for the first time in nearly three months this week in Miami and Washington, D.C., respectively.
This abrupt streak of losing—notice the refrain of the term 'losing streak' as the Braves haven't lost three games in a row since June 22-24 against the White Sox—has caught most fans off-guard, but if you take a closer look at the recent performances of two specific players you can see why Atlanta has seen its division lead dwindle to a scant 2.5 games.
(SPOILER ALERT: neither one is Troy Glaus, who has batted .206 with 0 HR and 5 RBI in July)
Crime ATM thefts in vogue in Atlanta
Posted by Gwynedd Stuart on Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 11:28 AM
First it was blue jeans, then it was flat-screen TVs — now Atlanta's smash-and-grab burglars have their eyes on ATMs.
The CVS on N. Highland Ave. — my preferred retailer of Camel cigarettes and Peanut M&Ms — was in shit shape this morning after four men in two minivans crashed through the front windows to access an ATM in the lobby around 3 a.m.
They weren't able to make off with the ATM (in fact, nothing was stolen), but they sure made a mess. According to the AJC — and a kindly CVS cashier — police located one of the vans used in the crime, but all four burglars got away.
The CVS incident was one of two unsuccessful ATM thefts this morning. The other took place at a Chevron station on Cambellton Rd. Police don't think the two incidents are related.
Since July 19 — when thieves made off with an ATM from Broadway Diner on Peachtree St. — there have been a half-dozen attempted and successful ATM thefts in Atlanta.
News Morning Newsdome: Obama doesn't know Snooki, but does he know WikiLeaks?
Posted by Bobby Feingold on Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 10:51 AM
- Joeff Davis
>> Three US soldiers died in blasts in Afghanistan, making July the deadliest month for American forces in the nine-year-old war. WikiLeaks is to blame. (the Guardian)
>> China said today that it opposes the EU's sanctions on Iran's nuclear program. I'm sure this has nothing to do with swapping nuclear fuel/weapons/generally starting conflict with the West. (AP)
>> And finally: On "The View" yesterday, President Obama told Barbara and the girls that he didn't know who Snooki was (though he made a joke about her at the White House Correspondents' Dinner), was not aware of the Mel Gibson tapes, but did know Lindsay Lohan is in jail. As long as our president knows what's important. (NY Magazine)
News More on the Goat Farm's future plans
Posted by Thomas Wheatley on Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 10:41 AM
- Thomas Wheatley
"For now, it is what it is," Anthony Harper, a partner with new owner Hallister Development, said via email. "Our primary focus is to grow what we have already created."
That's not to say the group doesn't have any ideas for the 121-year-old property. Harper and Melhouse envision a creative community that could preserve the farm's organic roots — and add an interesting new concept to Atlanta's development community.
In between giving prospective tenants tours of the work studios, helping set up art installations, and tending to tenant requests, Harper and his partner Chris Melhouse answered questions — and discussed the firm's history with the Goat Farm — via email. After the jump, an all-encompassing interview with the Goat Farm's new owners. What you'll read about is something unlike most of the real-estate developments that often pop up in Atlanta.
To view a gallery of snapshots Joeff Davis and I took at the Goat Farm over the last week, click away.
Politics Lawyer targets Preston Smith with ethics complaint about legislative staffer relationship
Posted by Thomas Wheatley on Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 10:21 AM
Poor Alan Faircloth is a victim of big guv'ment.
The Atlanta lawyer tried to hit state Sen. Preston Smith with an ethics complaint involving the GOP attorney general candidate's relationship with a legislative aide — and inquire about alleged drinking on the upper chamber's floor — and got lost in the bureaucratic maze legislators have created for Gold Dome staffers.
Dale Russell has the details:
Smith is the self-proclaimed conservative warrior who's facing former Cobb Commission Chairman Sam Olens in an Aug. 10 runoff for the GOP AG nomination. Atlanta Unfiltered's Jim Walls reported this morning that Olens needs to step up his filing of disclosures.
(H/T to Buzz Brockway at Peach Pundit)
Events 5 things today
Posted by Amber Robinson on Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 7:41 AM
- Dana Tynan
1) Joan Baez performs at Atlanta Botanical Garden.
2) Atlanta Comedy Festival Vol. 2 kicks off at Apache Cafe.
3) Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti plays the Earl.
4) The Atlanta Humane Society hosts a benefit at Buckhead Theatre.
5) Prince Paul performs at 595 North.
