Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Hawks, Thrashers have lost $174M since 2002-03 | ajc.com

More at ajc.com: “The Hawks and Thrashers have lost $174 million since the 2002-2003 seasons, including more than $50 million in the last two years, according to court documents associated with an ongoing feud between the teams’ eight owners.

The group, known as the Atlanta Spirit, bought the teams and Philips Arena operating rights from Turner Broadcasting System in 2004.

The teams and the arena lost $48.9 million in the 2002-03 season; $37.3 million in 2003-04; $12.5 million in 2004-05; $24.8 million in 2005-06; $27.2 million in 2006-07; and $23.1 million in 2007-08.

Team officials and lawyers were not immediately available for comment.”

“Has Your Car Been "Atlanta-fied?" Atlanta Metblogs

Atlanta Metblogs: “Has Your Car Been "Atlanta-fied?"
by jamsmooth
January 28th, 2009 @ 1:04 PM Musings, Rants, Traffic/Commuting
Driving in Atlanta is a harrowing ordeal, long commutes for some, bumper to bumper traffic and loads of accidents every day.  Yes all of that is bad but a more stealth danger has haunted me during my stay here.  That is the hit and run dent on your car while parked and flying rocks.

I’ve never been able to keep a car nice, new and dent free in this town.  That hasn’t been my fault. Once while parked at The Stacks visiting a friend, I walked to my car and noticed the hood of my Dodge Stratus was dented and scratched with white paint. It looked as if a white truck backed up and ran over the top of the hood. I asked around and no one saw anything.

The next incident happened right in front of my house. I sold the Stratus to Carmax and drive a Toyota now. I have a driveway at the house but one day I had to park in the street. I walked to my car to leave and couldn’t get the door to open. I looked down and saw that a car had backed into the door leaving a football sized dent. I yanked and got the door open. There was no note, nothing.”

Atlanta Businesses Host Dine Out to Raise Crime Stoppers’ Reward at Atlantans Together Against Crime (ATAC)

More at ATAC: “Atlanta restaurants and businesses will be participating in a Dine Out event on Wednesday, January 28th, 2009.  Proceeds from this event will be donated to Crime Stoppers Atlanta and go directly to increasing the reward for information leading to the apprehension and arrest of the individuals involved in the murder of John Henderson at Standard Food & Spirits in Grant Park a few weeks ago.

Restaurants, bars, and other businesses that are interested in participating in the event should contact Rubi Cuautle (email: rubi@sixfeetunder.net).

Participating businesses are encouraged to donate 20% of their profits from the evening of the Dine Out, however any amount donated will be accepted.

A petition is available for you to complete and turn in to any business participating in the Dine-Out on Wednesday, January 28.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Lou Dobbs Is An Idiot On The Economy

When it comes to the Economy, Lou Dobbs is an idiot who does not get that we've lost 15 million jobs over the last 11 years or that 7 trillion in consumer debt is seeking payers and is not finding them because there's no jobs.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Diet drug blamed for psychosis in Kenneth Gerald Reese who killed officer | ajc.com

More at ajc.com: “Superior Court Judge Alfred Dempsey sentenced a cop-killer to life in prison without parole Monday, saying the defendant’s psychiatric evaluations made seeking the death penalty unnecessary.

“This is an inexplicable tragedy,” he said. “I’ve read over these (psychiatric reports) that the public will not necessarily see … that I will say justifies the plea we’re taking here today.”

Kenneth Gerald Reese, 31, confessed to ambushing 26-year-old Fulton County Police Officer Aaron Blount nearly six years ago when he was pulled over for a traffic stop. Until the murder, Reese had no history of violence or criminal behavior, Dempsey said.”

Did Sunday sales of beer and wine just get a green light? | Political Insider

More at Atlanta Journal..: “Doings in the first few minutes of the 2009 session of the Legislature:

— One of the bigger surprises of the day comes from the lobbying field. The GOP team of Clint Austin, Tony Simon and Sam Choate has been hired to help push through legislation to permit communities to hold referendums on Sunday sales of alcohol.

The Georgia Food Industry Association, which represents grocery stores, is footing the bill.

Both Simon and Choate are extremely close to House Speaker Glenn Richardson. Austin was essential to Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle in his defeat of Ralph Reed in 2006. The rules of lobbying are this:

Your support of a cause doesn’t necessarily constitute an endorsement by your close friends in the Legislature. But a smart lobbyist won’t take positions that would make his lawmaker friends angry.”

Friday, January 9, 2009

State fines 9 gas stations for price-gouging, probes 200 | ajc.com

More at ajc.com: “Georgia regulators have fined nine gas stations so far and continue to investigate nearly 200 others over consumer complaints of price gouging when Hurricanes Gustav and Ike made fuel scarce last September.

Some of the stations have to refund money to customers who can prove with a receipt they bought gas during the price spike, while others have to pay up to $5,000 in fines to the state.

The stations are among 200 the state is investigating over complaints of unfairly raising gas prices after Gov. Sonny Perdue activated the state’s anti-gouging statutes Sept. 12, said Bill Cloud, spokesman for the Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs.”

9 Georgians have given $50K each to inaugural | ajc.com

More at ajc.com: “Washington — President-elect Barack Obama has raised more than $24 million on the way toward paying for an inauguration that is expected to cost $45 million.

Nearly 50 Georgians have donated $250 or more for President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration celebrations.

The list of donors published on the Web site of the official Presidential Inaugural Committee this week shows that nine Georgians have written checks for $50,000, the maximum allowed by the organizers.

Rod and Leslie Aycox of Alpharetta, who gave a combined $100,000, represented the Georgia household giving the most. Rod Aycox is chief executive officer of Select Management Resource.

A handful of Atlantans are also listed as fund-raisers who collected donations from friends and associates and “bundled” them together for the inaugural. Karol Mason, a lawyer with Alston & Bird LLP, is the most prolific bundler in the state so far. She had raised $155,000 as of the official disclosure Wednesday.”

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Fayette schools to teachers: Please donate your raises | ajc.com

Fayette schools to teachers: Please donate your raises | ajc.com: “The cash-strapped Fayette County school system is asking its teachers to voluntarily return the pay raises they received last spring.

School board members say if the county’s teachers would return their 2.5 percent raises, it could keep the 24,000-student system afloat. Should they all return the raises, it would add roughly $4 million to the system’s coffers.

In Monday night’s meeting, board members decided they had nothing to lose by writing a letter to Fayette’s roughly 1,800 contracted teachers asking them to voluntarily “make a donation” to the system’s financial well-being.”

Monday, January 5, 2009

Terror suspect asks judge for exorcist | ajc.com

More at ajc.com: “Relatives of terrorism suspect Ehsanul Islam Sadequee accused federal authorities Monday of using mind-control tactics intended to induce a guilty plea.

Sadequee’s family leveled the accusations after a court hearing in which Sadequee pleaded not guilty to a recently returned, amended federal indictment.

Sadequee and former Georgia Tech student Syed Haris Ahmed are being held without bond on charges they conspired to provide material support to terrorists.

At Monday’s hearing, Sadequee asked U.S. Magistrate Judge Gerrylin Brill for an “exorcist” to free the “demons” placed in his head by authorities.

Brill denied the request.

Appearing in prison garb, canvas slip-ons, a long beard and an off-white knit cap, Sadequee took the unusual step of speaking for himself in court.”

Lawyers sue rapper T.I. for attorney fees | ajc.com

More at ajc.com: “Lawyers for the mother of T.I.’s sons say the rapper owes an $8,000 attorney bill in a custody case.

T.I. is scheduled to appear in Fulton County Superior Court on the matter Tuesday.

The two-time Grammy winner was ordered in September to pay more than $3,000 a month to LaShon Dixon — to whom he had been paying about $2,000 per month — as well as the boys’ private school tuition, uninsured medical bills and expenses related to the children’s extracurricular activities.”

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Atlanta Angry customer drives through restaurant | ajc.com”

More at ajc.com”: “The incident happened on the evening of Dec. 20, at the Chili’s in the 3600 block of Camp Creek Parkway.

A witness told police the man walked into the restaurant and sat down, according to an Atlanta police report.

She asked the man to get up and wait to be seated, the report said.

“I’ve been waiting for over thirty minutes now!” the man replied, according to the report.

He left the Chili’s and, several seconds later, drove his Pontiac Grand Am into the side of the building, causing an estimated $10,000 in damage, the report said.

No one was injured.”

Pro-Palestinian protesters march on CNN headquarters | ajc.com

More at AJC.com: “Protesters calling for Israel to stop its assault on Gaza lined the sidewalk in front of CNN’s headquarters Saturday.

“Gaza, Gaza, don’t you cry, in our hearts, you’ll never die,” chanted the crowd, which numbered about 50 when the protest began at 2 p.m., but more than doubled in size within 30 minutes.

Some held signs calling for Israel to end its attacks on Hamas-occupied Gaza. Others compared the massacre to the Holocaust or to South Africa’s apartheid.

“The perpetual violence has to stop,” said Tim Franzen , who works for the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker organization. Franzen said the group has staff in Gaza.

Saturday’s protest is the third one this week. The other two were held last Saturday and Tuesday in front of the Consulate General of Israel . Groups decided to gather in front of CNN to also protest media coverage of the attacks, which are in their eighth day.”

Mayor’s daughter settles with bail bond company

One of Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin’s daughters reached a settlement Wednesday with a bail bond company that claimed she owed about $150,000 when her ex-husband left Atlanta while awaiting trial on drug trafficking charges. Kai Franklin-Graham will pay Free At Last Bail Bonds $6,000

read more | digg story

Friday, January 2, 2009

Sergei Samsonov Goal # 7 12-31-08 Atlanta Thrashers @ Carolina Hurricanes

Crazy girl fights on subway train in Atlanta

This classic video has been seen over 2 million times but is still worth watching because it's a study is sheer stupidity in action. The young girl at first is obviously taunting an elderly woman. That alone should be grounds for punishment by her parents but they're apparently nowhere around.

After a bit she encounters some folks her own age who will not put up with her crap.

Atlanta Zoo Giant Panda 7

Well, Atlanta's popular Giant Pandas were bound to be captured by someone's video camera..

Travel Agent Jobs In Atlanta

I found this on YouTube and it seems to have some interesting employment possibilities. Would someone let me know if it really works out? Want to have some good news to report!

Matt Ryan wins the Rookie of the year award

For just his rookie season Matt Ryan makes it to the playoffs, and could make Atlanta a Superbowl winning team in 2009.

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Hartsfield-Jackson sets 2009 resolutions

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport officials have made their resolution for 2009 simple: be one of the world's best.Officials at the world’s busiest airport said late Tuesday that their goal is to become one of the world’s best airports in the eyes of the millions of customers that pass through Hartsfield-Jackson each year.

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NFL Wildcard Weekend Preview Prediction Atlanta vs. Arizona

The Atlanta Falcons visit the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday, Jan 3, 2009 in an NFL Wildcard game. Check out game previews and a game prediction.

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Oprah Donates Thousands to Ron Clark Academy

ATLANTA -- The Ron Clark Academy got an unbelievable Christmas gift from Oprah Winfrey Wednesday morning: a check for $365,000.

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1,304 Photos from the 2008 SEC Championship Game in Atlanta

"I photographed the 2008 SEC championship football game on assignment for Sports Illustrated. The Florida Gators beat the Alabama Crimson Tide at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta to advance to the BCS title game in January."

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Interview: Philip DeFranco Is Sxephil on YouTube

Philip DeFranco is a next gen celeb. DIY broadcasting from a ubiquitous eggshell room in his home in Atlanta, Georgia, the fast-talking 23-year old self-confessed geek delivers often funny, always sarcastic and biting commentary on subjects as disparate as penis sniffing housewives and the mysterious and convenient death of Karl Rove's IT guy.

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Atlanta Falcons coach Mike Smith just an everyday man

In his first season, Mike Smith has led the Atlanta Falcons to an 11-5 regular-season finish and a trip to Arizona for the playoffs. And as ESPN.com's Elizabeth Merrill writes, he's done it the old-fashioned way, by earning his players' respect.

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