NOT the law-bomb lobbing Bob Loblaw Law Blog.

For those in ATL who care.. Saturday Heather and I talked to the wine manager at the Perimeter Total Wine store.

In April, the Perimeter Total Wine store will no longer carry liquor. There's apparently a (stupid) Georgia law that prohibits liquor stores with multiple locations from carrying liquor in more than two of them. So, when the Alpharetta store opens in April, the Perimeter location will become wine only. This is also why there are only two Green's and only two Tower Liquors.

The good news is that they'll be able to start offering classes and wine tastings then. It seems there's another (stupid) Georgia law that prohibits stores who carry liquor from offering tastings- even if the tastings are only wine and beer. Once they get rid of the liquor, they can start tastings.

I also learned that the Kennesaw and Perimeter stores have the exact same inventory. Previously, I thought that the Perimeter store had a smaller inventory, but it only seems that way because of their bizarre store layout (which was necessary because they knew they were eventually going to wine-only). The Alpharetta store will be in the old CompUSA location across from North Point Mall. They expect it will have the same inventory as the Kennesaw store.

An excerpt from an email I received about the opening of Atlanta's new "monument", the Millennium Gate:


The Millennium Gate, which is located at the Atlantic Station in downtown Atlanta, is a 73-foot arch that will celebrate the history of Georgia.


What is the Millennium Gate? It's a monument-like thingy that's been built in the middle of Atlantic Station (the shopping center built where the Atlantic Steel mill used to be). Its website is full of high-minded speechifying about how it's the largest monument built in the US since the Jefferson Memorial.

I think it more appropriately celebrates the history of Atlanta rather than Georgia as a whole. Atlanta, a city where we tear down beautiful buildings constructed of real stone and brick so we can put up cheap condos made of faux materials.

Why? Well, because the Millennium Gate is partially constructed with... stucco. Over foamboard. Quite a monument for the ages. As one writer to the AJC's editorial page said:


[...]
The Millennium Gate is a selfish exhibition of form over substance, replete with the puffery of a Latin inscription and made in part of stucco, a construction material found more often in faux suburban mansions than enduring monuments such as the Arc de Triomphe.

I love grand artistic statement, bold landmarks that spring from creativity and design in tune with the surroundings. In all its pomposity, the Millennium Gate is out of whack with Midtown Atlanta. The front-page photo says it all: a flip-flop-shod foot with the monument in the background. Banal fashion meets banal art. ED HULA, Atlanta


Its design really is out of place in AS. Piedmont Park or somewhere downtown would be a much better place.

Hat tip to Peach Pundit and Creative Loafing..

I'm sure we've all sat next to crazy people on MARTA or other public transit before. But this lady is way beyond anything I've experienced before. The old lady the girl is going berserk on is pretty calm through the whole thing.



And if she doesn't get her hair or her do-rag back, she's gonna press charges. It's times like this that you really have to realize just how crappy a job the MARTA cops have dealing with nuts like this all day, every day.

So, we're in the middle of another water shortage in Atlanta. This one is worse than most- Lake Lanier apparently only has enough water to supply the metro area through January. Well, had enough water to supply us through January- the Corps of Engineers is about to start dumping even more water from the lake to keep shellfish wet in Florida.

Some people (like the Governor and most elected officials) are pointing the finger at the Corps of Engineers for getting us in this mess. They accidentally released way more water from Lanier last year due to malfunctioning measurement equipment, supposedly about a month's supply. Gov. Perdue is making all sorts of noises about suing the Corps to prevent them from releasing more water from the lake.

But is the problem really with the Corps of Engineers? Water experts quoted in the AJC talk about how Atlanta has been severely overtaxing Lanier and the Chattahoochee River for years. We've had summer watering bans and talk of potential water shortages going back to at least the early 1990s or late '80s. And yet state and local governments have been pushing ever onward with development in the area. Atlanta has grown like a weed over the last 30 years, and while government officials happily sell building permits and rake in extra taxes from new residents and businesses, they sure haven't been spending these revenues to upgrade the infrastructure to actually support all the growth.

Governor Perdue and the rest of our elected officials have spent the last few decades ignoring this situation and trying to shift blame elsewhere. The blame belongs squarely on our state and local government officials who would rather waste time fighting the perceived menace of gay marriage and other junk than actually dealing with real problems that actually affect real people. Perdue has known for years that the Corps controls water releases from Lake Lanier, and that they're required by federal law to release enough to supply downstream power plants and keep Florida shellfish wet. There's nothing he can do about that... is the Corps expected to cut off power to parts of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida just for Atlanta?

Why hasn't our state looked at building additional reservoirs to handle the ever increasing need for water in north Georgia? According to the AJC, a study is being commissioned to look into this possibility.... but.... any actual new water reservoirs are years away from happening. We know so little about the water situation in Georgia that nobody can even guess what effect a new reservoir of X capacity would have on the metro area's supply. So this new study is going to have to start at zero. And you can't just add a reservoir- you've got to obtain the land, build a dam, etc. And there are negatives to reservoirs- they can severely impact the health of a river, and the increased surface area of a lake increases the rate of water loss through evaporation. Expect years of studies and debates just to get the basic information needed to determine where to start on a water plan. Meanwhile, expect our elected officials to blame the Corps of Engineers out one side of their mouth while they cut deals with developers out of the other side.

(note: I'm not saying there's anything wrong with developers and development. I'm saying that there needs to be appropriate resource planning to go along with it.)

From yesterday's AJC:

Whiskey drinkers have a shot at becoming connoisseurs by participating in a four-part tasting series leading up to the May 5 Kentucky Derby. The series will be conducted by Chris Brown, a fifth-generation descendant of George Garvin Brown, the founder of Brown-Forman, one of the country's first legal distillers. Master distillers from some of the leading American whiskey brands will also be present. Special bar snacks will be provided to go with the shots.

Where: Atkins Park Tavern
What/When:
Part 1: The American Whiskey Trail (7-9pm 22 Feb)
Part 2: Tennessee Whiskeys (7-9pm 22 March)
Part 3: American Rye Whiskeys (7-9pm 12 April)
Part 4: Kentucky Limited-batch Bourbons that weren't covered in Part 1 (7-9pm 3 May)
Cost: $25 per tasting
Reservations: 404-876-7249


I've already signed up for it. Anyone else interested?

Edit: I guess I should point out that this is at the original Atkins Park Tavern, in VaHi.

Movie prop sale

This is the last weekend, everything is 40% off, but you can make offers. They're very, very motivated to get rid of everything. It was a really interesting place to browse- they have everything from antique x-ray machines to street signs to 1920s Sears catalogs to fire hydrants (!) to old office equipment and old phone switchboards. Prices were reasonable on most things even before the discount. Heather and I only got a gag gift for her sister, but IMHO it's worth just going to browse if you're into odd and old stuff.

Among the birthday festivities this past weekend, I bought a car. Well, not exactly a car. A 2003 Chevrolet Blazer. On the plus side, I fit in it. It's very nice, with power everything, a sunroof, etc. On the minus side, it drinks gasoline at roughly the same rate Ted Kennedy drinks martinis. I wanted a more efficient Honda CR-V, but my legs are too long to sit in the driver's seat. The Honda Element was interesting, but _too_ big- it's like driving your living room around.

This means that my 1995 Saturn SL1 is on the market. Don't all rush me at once. But if you know anyone who needs a cheap car, this might be something for them to look at. There are some issues (the leaky radiator is what convinced me to get a new car), but overall it's a good car with a strong engine. It's just a little rough around the edges.

From a friend:


This was on the front door of my house when I got home yesterday:

"Dear Residents of Kirkwood:

NERDS PRODUCTIONS, LLC, is currently in preparation for the motion
picture "Revenge of the Nerds". This film will be a contemporary
remake of the 1984 cult film classic by the same name. "Revenge of the
Nerds" will begin filming in Atlanta on October 9, 2006. The Georgia
Department of Economic Development Film Office, 404-962-4048, is
assisting us with this project.

We will begin shooting scenes for this motion picture at the vacant
lot across from Israel Baptist Church, located at 2071 Hosea L.
Williams Dr. Our shooting days are Monday, October 9th, Monday October
16th, and Wednesday, November 29th. We are permitting with the city of
Atlanta for production vehicles parking on Hosea L.Williams Dr. This
will include large semi trucks and production trailers. Uniformed,
City of Atlanta police officers will be assisting us with traffic
control and security."

Developer backs out of Beltline

I can't say I'm surprised. I think the Beltline is a great idea, but it seems that very little thought has been put into the actual details of actually getting it done. On top of this, many city residents are absolutely opposed to vital parts of the project (anything that would involve adding the density the Beltline would require to sustain itself).

I hope this doesn't signal the end of the project... but I hope it sends a wakeup call to the city and the Beltline group to start moving on this.

I've had an idea floating around in my brain for a while now, and I thought I'd post it here to see if there's any interest in such a thing.

The Atlanta Adult Beverage Enthusiasts (or whatever name)

It would provide a monthly themed lecture/tasting of an alcoholic beverage. For example, someone knowledgeable about rums could give a talk about the history/different types/brands of rums. There would be an assortment of rums to try. Substitute wine/beer/gin/vodka/etc for rum. This could also offer more interesting tastings of scotch- almost all scotch tastings are based around a distributor (eg; last night's Macallan tasting). This means that you'll never see regional tastings. Wouldn't it be cool to have an Islay single malt tasting with Ardbeg, Laphroaig, Lagavulin, Bowmore, Bunnahabhain, Caol Ila, etc. where you could sample regional specialties from different distributors?

The catch is getting one or more liquor stores and/or distributors on board. There would obviously need to be a fee at each tasting to help cover the costs. But in return for a promotional mention or (if legal) coupons that are good only at the sponsoring store, a store could help sponsor a tasting and provide booze at reduced prices.

Thoughts? Interest?

I'm obviously a supporter of ICT for development, so I'll be there..



The Ivan Allen College and the College of Computing at Georgia Tech are honored to present

*Her Excellency Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf President, Republic of Liberia*

in a public address on "The Role of Information and Communication Technologies in Liberian Development"

10.30am
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Room 236
Global Learning & Conference Center at Technology Square
84 5th Street NW
Atlanta, GA 30308

/* Parking is available at the Georgia Hotel & Conference Center Parking Garage/

Questions: carol.silvers@iac.gatech.edu

There's a meeting tonight at Oglethorpe University to discuss restructuring the Dekalb County government. We're the only county in metro Atlanta with a CEO. This results in one person having the power to determine what the county commission does. In our case, that one person is Vernon Jones, the guy who uses county money to pay for personal bodyguards. Many of us are unhappy with the way the county operates. In Dunwoody, they're looking at incorporating. We're starting to seriously look at becoming a city here in Tucker, too. Vernon Jones is a little unhappy about that possibility, though. He's now pushing a plan that would incorporate all of unincorporated Dekalb county into a new "city of Dekalb"... this would prevent new cities from forming and get Vernon a new way to get more money out of your pocket. From the AJC:


The legislative Committee on the Restructuring of DeKalb County Government is led by Sen. Emanuel Jones (D-Ellenwood). The committee was charged with assessing DeKalb's form of government and has taken on another task: exploring whether to convert the county into Georgia's largest city. Vernon Jones is promoting incorporation because it would give DeKalb access to millions of dollars in fees that are not generally available to counties.

This is absolute horseshit. Vernon Jones is counting on most people to think that these millions in "fees" are free money. What he's not saying is that this new revenue stream is made up of franchise fees that cities (but not counties) can charge utilities operating in their borders. So the residents of Vernon's city of Dekalb will be paying a new tax to the county via fees stuck into their utility bills.

He's in town to address the Georgia Public Policy Foundation at the Cobb Galleria. Attendance is free and you can register for a chance to attend here.

Is anyone else interested in taking the WSET Intermediate Cert class at Ali Oli restaurant next month? It's three full and one partial day/s (F/S/S and a test Monday morning). It covers wine and other spirits. It's a little pricy ($590), but it's supposed to be an excellent class, and you don't need any wine knowledge coming into it. There's another class in November if Sept. doesn't work for anyone.

Full info at the above link, class-specific info below the cut.

( Read more... )

from the IIF calendar:

Thursday, August 17
7:30-9:00 PM
IIF Discussion: "The Presidential Election in the Democratic Republic of Congo"; this event is free and open to the public; Villa International library (2nd Floor), 1749 Clifton Road (0.4 miles from Briarcliff); parking available across the street.


I'll be there. Anyone else interested?

From the GPPF Friday Facts bulletin:

- Private sector initiative in transportation: A car-sharing program that has 35,000 members in eight metropolitan areas is coming to Atlanta. Flexcar members can reserve a car by the hour for short trips, meetings and errands where transit can't take you. Lanier parking management company, which signed the agreement, will manage the program that allows car reservations online. At www.flexcar.com, a map shows where the cars are parked and gives a real-time display of their availability. Gas, insurance, parking, unlimited mileage and 24/7 emergency service are included in the $9 per hour charge. Source: Lanier

Their Atlanta cars all appear to be at Emory right now, but I'm sure they'll branch out eventually. Putting the cars at MARTA stations would be the best idea. I wonder how Atlantans will take to the Flexcar concept?

Atlantans know that the posted legal speed limit is really just a quaint suggestion that can easily be ignored. 55mph is really the speed that you drive on back roads and surface streets in town. On the Interstate, 70-85 is the norm.

Some students (we think they're at Georgia Tech) decided to see what would happen if they actually drove 55mph on the Perimeter. One car in each lane going 55.

Hilarity ensues.