Category — How Many Damn Neighborhoods Are There

[Do you think Rachel Ray might know how to balance a budget?]

1. The AJC has a report on a poll saying that metro voters would pay higher sales tax for more public transport.  We have a better idea, how about apportioning some of the already existing state transportation budget to methods of transportation other than roads.
2. Creative Loafing has details on the impending city budget cuts and tax hike.  Shirley Franklin - at midnight she turns back into Bill  Campbell.
3. Bloglanta talks Castleberry Hill.
4. How can you tell Forsyth is the new Gwinnett County?  They are getting an AMC Movie Theatre.  Colonial 18 4-eva yiggity yo.

[What, precisely, are these Georgia Legislators celebrating?]

1. The New York Times has an article on Big Boi’s hip hop ballet.  We are in no way stating that Atlanta needs validation from the elite newspaper, even if we didn’t read the AJC’s coverage of the same topic.
2. Getting drunk.  Helping animals.  What are two things honkies definitely like?  The Critter Crawl is in Little 5 Points this weekend.
3. The AJC has the summary of this year’s state legislation.  Prepare to be underwhelmed.
4. Dan Radakovich is a glutton for punishment.  LSU has hired an athletic director that isn’t DRad.  GT Sports Blog with a nice get.
5. The Georgia baseball squad, at 9-3, has the best conference record in the SEC.  The Bulldogs swept South Carolina this weekend.  If you are in need of more prodigious coverage take a look over here.
6. Arts related jobs are way up in Atlanta according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle.  Any guesses as to what percentage can be specifically attributed to the 47 movies/tv shows Tyler Perry shot last year?
7. Want to go the East Atlanta Beer Fest for free?  Volunteer here.

It has been awhile, so without further ado.

[It’s The End of the World]

1. Downtown - Get your comic operetta on at the Rialto with Leonard Bernstein’s Candide. The opera will be performed on Friday, April 25 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, April 27 at 3:00 p.m. The official site with the full details.
2. East Atlanta - My Big Amazing Renovation on HGTV is looking for East ATLiens working on big projects. Specifically, they are - looking for enthusiastic homeowners who are just starting a major home renovation that will double the size of their original home and transform the major living spaces. They are also looking for homeowners who have a set budget and time frame in which they hope to have their renovation completed.  Contact Sara Adams (SAdams AT highnoonentertainment DOT com) if you are interested.
3. Druid Hills - The Druid Hills tour of homes is April 18-20.  If you want to see some Atlanta homes so nice you’ll be sayin’  “Cot damn” we suggest attendance.  The straight dope.  Artist market included, woo hoo.
4. Kirkwood - The people demand to see the grass on the other side to determine whether, in fact, its relative greenness is greater.  Sorry, we couldn’t think of how to introduce two tours of homes back to back.  Kirkwood Spring Fling & Tour of Homes May 17th and 18th.  The deal.
5. Virginia Highlands / Midtown / Morningside - A gentleman driving a silver Miata (bad enough in itself) has been following female joggers and masturbating while parking on the street near public parks.  Maybe, that Miata joke was inappropriate, but we couldn’t resist.

[Just gorge yourself.]

1. Braves and Birds talks state of the Thrashers nation. Some of the facts are quite damning.
2. Yesterday we discovered (only in the same sense as Columbus discovered America) a great Gwinnett blog called Exurban Adventures. With nearly 800,000 residents we question Gwinnett’s exurbanity. Here is their take on the “gang fight” at Mill Creek High School. The battle for control of the Mall of Georgia is getting intense, huh?
3. Rusty from RGM has a great piece of Georgia Legislatature history. Did that elicit yawns? It involves booze. See, we knew you drunkards would be into it.
4. FEMA teat, as predicted, available for suckling.
5. Peach Pundit has an interesting local perspective on the Obama race thing. We will not call it a “controversy,” unless, of course, we can say it the British way.
6. Former SEC basketball official going to prison for running a Ponzi scheme. The SEC official was initially investigated by the, uh, well, SEC. Who is investigating yesterday’s crew for the Georgi-Xavier game?
7. AJC gets around to discussing Moreland Avenue development. So, they are only about 2-3 months behind on the story. If this related to Buckhead we guess the response time might have been quicker.
8. CL has a review of the Glenwood, a restaurant in East Atlanta. The EAV was hit hard by the tornado. Make you way over and support the neighborhood with your patronage.
9. GT Sports Blog has the world’s quickest”Where are they now?” Info on Taylor Bennett.
10. Mixed-use development in Henry County. We are guessing that there is no public transportation element. Don’t be fooled by terminology into thinking something is green, or smart development, or whateve.
11. GrifDrift talks about Shirley Franklin defending her daughter’s light sentence via internet pseudonym. If we had caught the same charge as Kai Frankin we would be servicing our prison boyfriend at this very moment.
12. Tondee’s says an elected official was caught whilst being serviced by a staffer. No names yet.
13. Magic City, the Atlanta strip club known throughout the hip hop world, has been repurchased by its original owner.  We once heard Dennis Scott say the club was a favorite spot to take GT basketball recruits.
14. UGA VI was named top mascot in the NCAA tournament.  Yeah, not much consolation.
15. Rep. Stephanie Stuckey Benfield is upset that she was called out for missing so many votes.  Decatur Metro with her excuses.
16. Terrell Pryor to Ohio State.  You are officially the last college football fan to know.
17. South Atlanta High School basketball wunderkind Derrick Favors is the Georgia Player of the Year, according the official beverage of jortsporters.  How can Georgia get this kid?
18. Kudos to Creative Loafing for putting a reference to the Wire in this headline.
19. The Tour de Georgia starts in 31 days.  Why can’t they call it the Tour of Georgia.  The “de” seems silly outside of French speaking countries.  Euro teams Saunier-Duval, CSC, and Gerolsteiner are among the competitors.
20. Tondee’s has an excellent summary of the 2008 Georgia US Senate race.

Thanks to Von Taylor for these amazing snaps of the destruction in Cabbagetown.

[Agave appears to be intact.

[Trees took this storm the worst.]

[Love this picture.]

[Yeah, we are tree obsessed.]

[Welcome indeed.  Probably would have worked better at the beginning.]

Visit this site to see hundreds like this.

[Y’all love to gawk at tornado pictures.  We do too.]

1. AJC says that Democrats are saying they will only approve the sales tax transportation measure if the bill allows “some of the cash to be used for rail.”  How much is “some”? Oh, and rural Georgia wants a disproportionate share of the revenues.  As usual.  This public transportation puff piece was issued at about the same time.
2. More East Atlanta Tornado pictures at flickr.
3. UGA softball pitcher Kate Gaskill pitched a perfect game!
4. Sour grapes at GT Sports Blog — “At least there is justice in the world though. First, they get shipped out west as a 14-seed. Second, it ensures that Dennis Felton is going to hang around a few more years. Good guy, but I don’t see him taking them consistently to the next level in hoops.”
5. We are cold hearted bastards, but damn if this tornado puppy ain’t cute.

[Try the ceviche, brah!]

1. Former Duke HC and Georgia Tech LB Ted Roof has caught on as Defensive Coordinator at Minnesota.  We suggest Roof avoid any kool-aid offered by Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delaney.  ESPN with a less biased account of this transaction between universities.
2. CL’s restaurant blog-type-thing says that a Maxim restaurant is opening at the Glenn Hotel.  I was so excited about our potential hotel bar scene.  A press release says the restaurant will be an “intelligent steakhouse for intelligent people.”  I am confused as to why Maxim wouldn’t target the restaurant towards its readers.
3. Dekalb is actually doing something about water use.  Unlike our-leaky toilet having-selves.  AJC comes with it.
4. Brick Store is getting some love from Forbes.  It was named as one of the top ten beer bars in the nation.  inDECATUR with a Forbes quote containing some backhanded southern stereotypes.
5. One billion for an airport, but nary a cent for public transportation.  We still think the terminal is a net good.  ATLBizChronic feels the flow.
6. Tondee’s has the Kasim Reed for Mayor announcement.  This mayoral campaign will be interesting.  Hold your race cards tight everyone.

[An artist’s rendering of the new GSU dorms.]

1. Good to know that pointless transportation projects are still set to all systems go.  The Mag Lev train between Atlanta and Chattanooga is still on according to one Chattavegas paper.  Sorry Gwinnettians, nothing but traffic and teeth grinding for you.
2. According to the AJC, Billy Knight thrice attempted to fire Mike Woodson.  Way to keep family matters out of the street.
3. Rich Midtown denizens may want to turn away at this point.  AroundMidtown has some pictures of the Piedmont Park parking deck.
4. We have some sad restaurant closing news.  Snellville favorite Little Gardens is closing this Sunday.  For a long time it seemed as though this was the only restaurant in Gwinnett not called Chili’s.
5. Decatur Metro reports that a new bookstore called Blue Elephant is opening in the Decatur area.  But will they treat me as snarkily as the folks at A Capella do?
6. Georgia Sports Blog has the full Knowshon 2007 highlights.  Any guess as to the soundtrack?
7. While H&M struggles to get its first store launched in Atlanta, it announces plans for two more.  The Swedish retail chain plans on adding stores at Mall of Georgia and Town Center. (-7 Hip Points)
8. CL has info on the 2008 Atlanta Film Festival.
9. GSU is adding more student housing.  Atlanta Business Chronicle with the straight dope.  This round includes fraternity houses.  They will regret this decision in 5, 4……

[College Football Schadenfreude is the best type of schadenfreude.]

1. The AJC asks rich people what they would buy if they won the lottery. How did nobody see the unintentional irony and kill this thing. For strong stomachs only.
2. Nice find here by CL about who will be moving in to the Cabbagetown space formerly occupied by Village Pizza Co. One of the first times we ever visited Cabbagetown a dude got shot. True story, yet we still love Cabbagetown.
3. California pizza restaurant zpizza has opened at Spire. AroundMidtown, a solid intown blog, has more details.
4. An excellent neighborhood and an excellent way to get drunk are coming together. Tomorrow is the Oakhurst Wine Crawl. Decatur Metro drops the knowledge.
5. Spoon hits town on April 14th. You should probably think about being there. Cable & Tweed.
6. This Buckhead Library issue is picking up steam. Hopefully the good guys will win on this one. GT hosted a forum on the issue last night.
7. Lenox Mall is asking to have huge trees cut down because people can’t see their sign. They are also hosting a festival named after a tree. So, yeah.
8. Georgia Sports Blog talks about Felton’s future. We are feeling ambivalent, and that is a helluva lot worse than being mad. UGA needs to win some basketball games. Or sign Derrick Favors.
9. Behind this EDSBS curtain you will see Barack Obama doing the Heisman pose whilst holding an actual Heisman trophy.
10. There was a 7 Wonders of the World theme park, convention center, and resort planned. Huh?!?! Oh, and a indoor water park, just what we need. The AJC comes full circle with an interesting story.

Grant Park - The Grant Park Summer Shade festival will go on as planned despite the ban on events in public parks for Summer 2008. Events will be limited to the paved walkways throughout the park. The festival is scheduled to take place over Labor Day Weekend.

Druid Hills - Residents of Druid Hills are taking Atlanta’s problems into their own hands. The neighborhood has been instrumental in the creation of a new park. A home sitting on the property that is to become Burbanck Park was recently demolished. With one project underway, the residents are looking into a second park. The tentative name for this project is Peavine Park.

Morningside - Last week we told you about the battle between developers and neighborhood residents over a proposed new development at the intersection of Piedmont and Cheshire Bridge. The project was approved by the zoning committee. We look forward to seeing what this project looks like and what effect it has on the neighborhood.

East Atlanta - The South Moreland Livable Centers Initiative has completed its preliminary study. The project intends to guide smart development down the blighted stretch of road. Here is an artists rendering of what we hope South Moreland will come to look like.

Sandtown- There will be a free showing of the film February One from 6:00 to 8:00 pm this Thursday at the Southwest Arts Center. This film tells the story of four young black men who sat at a Greensboro lunch counter and refused to leave in 1960. The Southwest Arts Center is located at 915 New Hope Road in SW Atlanta.

Virginia-Highland - The neighborhood is talking Historic Overlay District. This is an urban planning device used to maintain the historical integrity of a neighborhood. It seems like a great idea, but we wonder what would happen if every neighborhood sought this status.

[We wouldn’t write an entire post just put up this video? Would we?]