• Brandon English

Saturday's many speakers, including Congressman John Lewis, D-Ga., several elected officials and LGBT activists, told the crowd that the beleaguered neighborhood can no longer tolerate such senseless violence, no matter the victim's background.

"We must turn toward each other and not against each other," Lewis told the approximately 150 people who gathered in the bitter cold across the street from the convenience store where the attack took place. "People must not be allowed to get away with beating an innocent young person, elderly person, or any human being."

Speakers noted that simply capturing the culprits in White's case would not solve Pittsburgh's problems and stressed that preventative measures must be enacted to save the neighborhood. In addition to calling the police when they notice suspicious activity, community leaders said residents must work together and with public officials to strengthen the community burdened with vacant homes and crime. A common refrain during the event was "This isn't Jack City, this is Pittsburgh" — a reference to the gang White's attackers mentioned and identified themselves with on the videotape.

"We hold the solution," said longtime LGBT activist Pat Hussain. "In the long term, it's about making us safe and able to walk the street."

State Rep. Rashad Taylor, an openly gay Democratic lawmaker who represents parts of Atlanta, told the crowd that he would introduce hate crimes legislation in response to the attack.

-Reported by Brandon English

Much was discussed in last Friday's Fulton Superior Court hearing in re the matter of Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless vs. the World that didn't make it into my hurriedly written blog post, so I'd like to add some perspective to what was decided.

First, what didn't happen: Judge Craig Schwall made no ruling on the Task Force's claims that local business leaders, city officials and even Emory University conspired improperly to strip the shelter of its public and private funding. Task Force attorney Steve Hall repeatedly tried to introduce the conspiracy evidence, only to have the judge tell him the hearing was devoted solely to the question of why the 100,000-square-foot building shouldn't be handed over to its owner, an outfit called Premium Funding Solutions.

Schwall announced his ruling would be based on the answers to two questions:

• Would the Task Force suffer irreparable harm, with no remedies at law, if forced to leave the shelter?

• Would the homeless men living at Peachtree-Pine be harmed if the Task Force was ousted?

Early in the hearing, Hall said his clients planned to sue the accused conspirators for $24 million(!) for participating in "tortious interference" in the shelter's business operations. Well, that certainly answered the first question as far as Schwall was concerned: If the Task Force is entitled to $24M in damages — a remedy at law if ever there was one — then it certainly couldn't claim irreparable harm, he said. Personally, I wouldn't mind a little of that kind of harm.

As to whether the homeless would be demonstrably worse off if another services provider — the United Way, in this case — were to step in, Hall had little ammunition to convince the judge that Anita Beaty must remain in control of the shelter.

It's a re-election year. I assume that's why there were oodles of glossy pamphlets, as well as poster-sized photos of Ellis placed strategically around the chapel of Dunwoody Baptist Church. Not that there were many votes to be had in attendance. I'd guess there were at least as many county employees and cops there as actual residents. (BTW, did you know that Burke Brennan, Ellis' spokesman, moonlights as the World's Greatest Wedding DJ?)

Anyway, the meeting itself was a snooze, offering none of the fireworks I'd hoped for. After all, this was the community that had engaged in a fairly acrimonious incorporation battle with Ellis only three years ago. Perhaps becoming a city satisfied people's concerns because, apart from some questions about the county animal shelter, trash pick-up, and the perennial issue — Brook Run Park — I didn't hear any significant complaints last night.

In fact, the most interesting thing to me was Ellis' uncertainty over whether he's allowed to instruct voters to support the proposed Regional Transportation Tax. After spending a few minutes telling the audience why a one-cent regional sales tax to fund transit and road projects would be beneficial — creating thousands of jobs, delivering $1.3 billion in transportation funding to DeKalb — Ellis caught himself mid-sentence.

"I can't tell you how to vote in this forum," he said. Then he turned to someone in the wings — presumably a county attorney — and asked, "Can I?"

Apparently, that person shook his or her head because Ellis turned back to the audience and said, "No, I can't," before rattling off more reasons why the transportation tax is vital to the county's future.

• Brandon English

Atlanta Police arrested eight Occupy Atlanta members this morning during a protest at Chase Manhattan Bank's branch in the Edgewood Retail District off Moreland Avenue.

Approximately 30 members of Occupy Atlanta and Cop Watch Atlanta entered the bank this morning to protest the impending eviction of the Pittman family from their Old Fourth Ward home. Occupy members have spent the past several months fighting to help the family remain in the house at 404 Glen Iris Drive.

After Occupiers listed their grievances inside Chase "the majority" of the Occupiers exited the bank and passed out fliers describing the Pittman family's situation says Occupy Atlanta protester Hira Bano. They also raised a banner which includes a plea to save the family's home.

Eight of the Occupy members stayed inside the bank. Seated in a circle with their arms linked, the group refused to move until the deed to the Pittman home was returned to the family. Police arrived around 10 a.m. and asked the eight protesters to leave the premises. Once it was clear the protesters wouldn't move they were arrested and moved into a paddy wagon waiting outside.

“The whole ordeal only went on for about 45 minutes,” Major John Dalton told CL, and that the eight individuals were charged with criminal trespassing. An APD spokesperson later told CL's Thomas Wheatley that police were also considering charging the eight protesters with obstruction of a law enforcement officer.

Members of the Occupy Atlanta movement have been camping outside the Pittman's home since last December to help prevent the family's eviction. Family members say they only learned about the possible eviction after Eloise Pittman, a former Atlanta Public Schools employee who had fallen behind on loan payments to Chase Bank, passed away in November.

-Reported Brandon English

• Joeff Davis/CL File
• A packed 2009 job fair at the Georgia World Congress Center

2. State lawmakers are taking steps to address the problem, OK? Just let them first figure out a way for some people to carry a gun without a permit and then they'll jump on it.

3. Oh, and limit abortions after 20 weeks. Then they'll get to reversing Georgia's decline. Swear, y'all.

4. How serious is school redistricting? It will actually encourage some Atlantans to walk.