Bloglanta

If you’re under 21 and like New Years, you’ve got to hate Atlanta.

Why?  We don’t have a First Night, and there are very few alternatives for young people.  In fact, there is only one First Night in all of Georgia and it’s in Gainesville!  Atlanta used to have a great annual event in Midtown.  When Executive Director John Briggs left, the whole thing fell apart.

Why does it matter?  Because First Nights do a lot of great things and young people need to be considered in community planning!

First Night rests on the notion that New Years is an opportunity for all people in a community to celebrate together through participation in art.  Artistic expression harnesses and heightens our joy and appreciation of one another.  That’s worth celebrating.  In making the event alcohol free, a situation is created that is safe for young people but fun for young and older alike.

Here’s how it works:  A city or neighborhood works together to provide several venues and artistic opportunities.  Local artists, singers, face painters, clowns, comedians shops, restaurants, civic buildings, and religious groups get together.  A performance schedule is worked out, sponsors are located, and then buttons are made.  Cities charge no more than $15 for a button.  If you have one, you can get into any first night event for free.  Most events start on the hour or the half and last no more than 50 minutes.  Events run until 11:30 at which point everyone gathers in a central location for Fireworks.  If your community starts its events at 6 or 7, the chances are that you can see 4 different performances.

Who benefits?  Everyone!  Whether your family attends or not, First Nights derive significant externalities for their community.  Why?  Because First Night reduces crime!  Fewer people are drinking so there is less mayhem and there are fewer drunk drivers.  Communities also are strengthened because people who previously have not been exposed the city’s cultural attractions are made aware of them and are more likely to return during the year.

Finally, young people are given a chance to have fun and the chance to see adults having fun without alcohol.  Yes.  Beer, wine, and single malt scotch are all good in moderation.  Yes.  Taverns are an important and vital part of civic life, but young people are so often bombarded with messages telling them that fun and alcohol are the same that the chance to present an alternative is invaluable.  Through events such as First Night, young folks are given the chance to have fun via the arts and civic participation.  The city is strengthened both directly through their participation and indirectly through what they’re not doing instead.

Atlanta is not alone in its lack of First Night.  Several large cities no longer put on the event.  Further, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Louisiana no longer have any celebration in the state.  It’s a pity.  All those young people and families crammed into their houses when they could be celebrating their town and each other.

Happy Birthday to the Fox Theater!  Thank heavens this palace was saved from the wrecking ball!

There are numerous other theaters in Atlanta that could befall the same fate!  It would be much more fun to see these theaters restored and they would greatly help their communities!

In East Atlanta, the old Madison Theater is boarded up and awaits a tenant.  Given East Atlanta’s reputation for music, this would be a great place to put in a mid-sized concert hall.  Yes, parking has to be addressed.  Yes, it would add traffic to the area, but if the facility kept its character, it could draw great people into a great area.

Toco Hills already has the parking yet the Toco Hills Theater remains closed.  This theater could seat 800 and has one of the largest screens in town.  It could be a great second run house or a theater specializing in audience participation movies.  Given its location, it might also do very well as an ethnic movie house.  Can you imagine a single theater that showed latin American, Indian, and Asian films?

The Cinema in East Point has long faced the wrecking ball.  East Point needs a live theater venue.  It would help put the city on the map and help the south side’s continued development.  It’s a community that is working hard to turn the corner, and a working theater with a resident company would continue to make East Point attractive to new families.

The old Rhodes Theaters were the last revival houses in Atlanta.  The city could use them again.  Additionally, it would give the folks who live near the Arts Center a chance to walk to the movies!

All these theaters can still be saved, renovated and operated.  Just as Georgia State saved the Rialto and it had a huge impact on downtown, the benefits could be reaped by these locations.

What happened to Underground Atlanta’s new promise?  With the bar closing law, Underground was supposed to finally take its place as a corner stone in the city’s nightlife.  Yet at Christmas 2004, Kenny’s Alley has only two active clubs and one on the way.  This is a far cry from two years ago when at least Hooters and Fat Tuesdays brought in people, and there were five establishments in the alley.  It’s certainly nothing like Underground’s heyday.  Allegedly new clubs are on the way (they were supposed to be operation in November), but they are by no means ready and no sane person would bet that half of them would be there in 2006.

Why does Underground continue to fail?  Why, with thousands of new downtown residents, does Underground not serve as the social center for tourists and natives alike?
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A few observations about Christmas in Atlanta, mostly having to do with Lenox Square.

1) Many, if not most, of the cars in the Lenox Square are not from Fulton or Dekalb County.  Most are OTP vehicles.  Come on people!  The Mall of Georgia isn’t enough for you?  A mall with its own beauty queen (not kidding) isn’t enough?  Whelp, I guess no Apple Store, no peace.

2) The Great Tree and the Pink Pig are wasted in their current location.  Originally, they were downtown and part of the thrill of visiting was not only to experience Rich’s (which won’t exist next year at all), but also see the city!  Now, they rest near parking garages and you can’t see anything.  If Buckhead continues to be the primary edge city for Atlanta, and Lenox is going to be the commercial hub of Buckhead, then why not locate the pig and tree so that they are better positioned and people can see all of Buckhead?  And why not use the real pig instead of a new lesser version of the classic?

3) Christmas in Atlanta seems to be the time when the natives visit hotels.  Why have a holiday party at a hotel?  Companies pay too much for food, parking, and facilities all to bring their employees to a place that celebrates people from out of town?   Wouldn’t Dante’s be more sensible?  Or, if you’re looking for a more cost effective route, Manuel’s?

Hark the Constitution sings, advertising wondrous things… Happy Holidays, Feed the World, Go Gladiators.

On December 13, 2004, Maria Saporta wrote in her column that the first Atlanta commuter rail line might actually be running by mid 2006.

The line currently is scheduled to run from Atlanta to Lovejoy and will be operated by the Georgia Department of Transportation.  Fares would be about $6 max during rush hour, and the engines would be diesel.

Where did the new push come from?  Two different perspectives show from where the momentum is coming.

First, all of the mayors of the cities where the train would stop and all of the county commissions are pushing for it.  Municipalities and counties rarely agree on anything, so when commissioners and councilmen alike fix their name to the same plan, it indicates an incredible base of support.

Second, there are both baptists and bootleggers who want this.  The Baptists are obvious.  Environmentally conscious people, those who live near the stations, smart growth fans, and those who want to see the south side develop all clamor for this.  But the Bootleggers make the difference.  The road building lobby has a huge stake in seeing
this rail line come to light and succeed.

Why?  Georgia has built about as much rural developmental highway as it can and the outer perimeter is dead.  So where will new road construction opportunities arrive?  In places that develop.  If the rail line goes in, thousands of road improvements will be needed around each stop.  Hundreds of miles of new roads will have to be added; and that’s just to get people to the train.

If actual increased in population and business increase as a result of easy access to the community, even more roads will be needed!  It will be an asphalt layers paradise!  Clayton county will be road building city!  All because of a train!

Many cities develop their civic culture around a sport.  In St. Louis, it’s baseball.  In Los Angeles, it’s basketball, and in Atlanta, it’s shopping.  No wonder that stores here provide community and networking.  This is especially true for the cognoscenti in various industries.  For people in the music biz, one primary store is Toco Hills’ Ella Guru CD and Music, run by Don Radcliffe.

Don and the store are a nexus and a touchstone for people.  If two folks are talking about music and mention “I recently bought ‘x’ at Ella Guru” it indicates a particular taste and approach to music.  Going to the store not only gets you specific music that you want, but also likely gets you information and the chance to meet with other like minded folks.  Don often links people up because he knows his customers and their projects.  If you’re a young singer who needs a producer
for your demo, Don knows who you need.  If you’re a bass player looking for work, Don knows a band who needs you.

Additionally, he also knows music that you, as an individual need to hear.  Every city has stores in this mode.  It helps define a place as a city.  Be it literary, artistic, hobby related, scientific, or any other field in which there are tools that indicate expertise, stores have become a means to link knowledgeable people together.

Often these stores have slightly higher prices than their big box counterparts, but the return on investment is phenomenal.  Walmart can’t help you find a person who can provide you a quick custom designed dimmer which plugs into your pc to change the spectrum of lighting in your home… but Don can…

All without a coffee bar!

Mayor Franklin’s veto over additional spending increasing in the 2005 Atlanta budget stands and that’s a good thing.  While Atlanta does need to pay its employees well and stay competitive, the city can’t live beyond its means.

Many will complain that fire-fighters and other city employees received the short end of the stick as they receive only a 1% pay increase while the police received a 4% pay increase.  However, the police did not get everything they want either.  Officers wanted 100 new officers to be added to the force.  Mayor Franklin’s veto also covered this proposal.

Let’s acknowledge a couple of things up front:

1) Everyone wants better paid and trained city employees.

2) Everyone wants more police officers.

Paying the police officers more is a marginal cost question.  The city loses police officers quickly.  Suburban counties and the state police skim the best officers and offer them safer conditions and better pay.  The rate of return in investing more money in police salaries is greater in keeping officers longer than in other city agencies.

This being the case, why did Mayor Franklin say no to more officers and lower raises for everyone else?  First are the policy reasons.  She doesn’t know how much money she’ll have.  The city is expecting a small surplus this year.  Some of that needs to be sacked away in rainy day funds.  Other funds need to go budget issues that could really use more money now.  That can include city salaries.

There are also some clear political benefits.  Holding the line on salaries indicates to the legislature and the business community that Mayor Franklin is trying to run a more efficient tighter ship;  she will make sure that even as more demands come into the city, she’ll run a government that uses its resources wisely.

She’s gambling that the state will give her less trouble (especially since both houses and the governor are in the hands of the party not hers) and businesses will see the signs and keep their folks in town and possibly add new jobs.

She also can look those who are paying high property taxes squarely in the eye and say “See?  I’m holding down costs!  Now help me pay for sewers and re-elect me!!!”

So what should the Fire Fighters do?  First, demonstrate how increasing their salaries will directly benefit property tax payers in the city.  Second, accept Mayor Franklin’s commitment and hold her to something reasonable.  If the budget surplus is $50 million ask for a salary increase that will take only $10 million.  Then indicate that this a part of a long term program to bring salaries in line with other similarly sized cities.

Mayor Franklin gets re-elected with eased relations to those who can add to city revenue and the fire-fighters get a long term commitment to bring up their salary level.  That’s the ticket.

 

Atlanta is a city that wants to be known as a media capitol, yet we lack a crucial voice.  Atlanta has no Terri Gross, no Charlie Rose, no Tavis Smiley.  Atlanta has no leading journalist able to bring international figures to the table and ask them questions infused with Atlantan Point of View.

Sure, Atlanta has major media voices.  The Weather Channel and CNN are based here.  However, these channels only use their home towns in cursory ways.  They don’t try to bring a local perspective to their view points.

We also have national talk show hosts that blast the county.  Neal Boortz, Clark Howard, and Mike Malloy,  all talk from Atlanta but their goal is not conversation, it’s propaganda.

Yes.  Smiley, Rose, and Gross all have a point of view, but their main purpose is getting notable and important people to discuss issues of concern and ask tough questions.  They do it with particular emphasis to their own region.  Can you imagine Terri Gross trying to ignore Philadelphia in her job?  It’s not going to happen.

With all of the journalistic talent in the city, you’d think there would at least be local public affairs program dealing with this level of programming.  Even Charlotte, North Carolina has a local daily program!  WFAE presents Charlotte Talks right after Morning Edition.

In L.A.  The Packard, Irvine, Hewlett, and Ahmanson foundations all pitched in to create a $13 million facility for NPR to raise the level of west coast coverage.  The Tavis Smiley show is now broadcast from that facility.

The South is the third way in America at the moment.  If Atlanta wants to retain ontology as ‘Capitol of the New South’ it needs to provide an edified, spivvy voice to that effect.  At a minimum we need an ‘Atlanta Talks’ and if we’ve some vision, the Blank, Woodruff, and Turner Foundations need to build Public Broadcasting South, where regional, national, and international programming with a southern focus can thrive.

Where have you gone Boyd Lewis?