I hate moving.

This is not hyperbole or overstated underenthusiasm here…I really hate it.

Aside from the pain of having to comb through Apartment for Rent books, CL ads, CraigsList classifieds and personal recommendations, finding a place is enough of a pain alone to stay where you’re already living. Top that off with trying to connect all your services by calling all your service providers and you have one gigantic pain in the patoot.

Luckily for Atlantans, there’s Promove and AllConnect.

Promove is easy because they do all the legwork of finding apartments and haggling for specials for you. Just tell them where you want to live, what your price range is, and they’ll search their database of apartments and condos to find you your perfect pad. They’ll also work with apartments by asking the hard questions, getting you the straight facts, and often times cheaper rent and application fees.
Nothing like an extra set of eyes looking out for you.

So once you’ve found that nice spot and you’re ready to move, then you get with AllConnect. A quick 20-30 minute call with them and they’ll set up ALL of your services (electricity, phone, HSI, etc.) at your specified date and will work with you if there’s any conflicts or fees you have to pay.

With all that said, I’m glad I used them for my current move. Now all I have to do is wait for the movers on Friday and I’m set. Check these Atlanta-based convenience services out for your next move; you’ll be very glad you did.

Say goodbye to SaveRite, folks; Winn-Dixie, SaveRite’s owner, is shutting down all its SaveRite stores in the Atlanta area. This includes, presumably, the one in Conyers where I get sent every time we’re over at my boyfriend’s parents’ house and his brother runs out of butter for cooking. I’m going to miss that SaveRite.

I get the impression that the Atlanta supermarkets are going through a period of confusion right now, anyway. From my experience — and please chime in if yours is different — Publix is more consistent in its look and feel; Kroger is more likely to run the gamut. Kroger can be fairly utilitarian and unhappy-looking (see: the one on Ponce, in the shopping center with Camelli’s Pizza and Chin Chin II), but the two competing Krogers on Peachtree near the Brookhaven MARTA have both improved by leaps and bounds in the last couple months. Did you know you can now buy Veggie Wash and Seventh Generation products at Kroger? I didn’t either, and when I saw the Seventh Generation display I think I stared at it open-mouthed for half a minute. (They also beat Whole Paycheck on price, I believe, if you’re wondering.)

With supermarkets, I suspect, there are two directions you can go. One route is to try to compete for the disposable income of the upper-middle class. Market One, at the corner of Ponce and North Highland, tried to do this, and was in absolutely the wrong location for it: someplace not two minutes’ drive from a Whole Foods or Sevananda might have worked better. Publix, I believe, is trying to position itself just below Whole Foods: people who are willing to pay for higher-quality food, in-store wine tastings, and (depending on your Publix) happier cashiers, but don’t particularly care to go out of their way to make sure the slaughtered chickens keep their beak on until the bitter end.

The other route is to appeal to lower-middle-class customers, which is what SaveRite was trying to do. But then you’re going to run into the 3000-pound behemoth that is Wal-Mart. I don’t know if any chain would be daring enough to try and take SaveRite’s place, or if Kroger’s going to try and extend itself far enough to present one face to wealthy Brookhaven consumers and another to people desperately needing cigarettes on Ponce at 3 a.m. Another possibility is that lower-middle-class customers will be served by a series of smaller chains that can make up in customization what they lack in bulk discounts — Atlanta Farmer’s Market on Buford Highway, for example, where meat is relatively cheap (milk is not) and there’s half an aisle devoted entirely to varieties of soy sauce.

What someone ought to figure out, though, is what to do with the buildings SaveRite leaves behind. It’s amazing, and not in a good way, that the same shopping center that happily hosts a Bruester’s, a Mellow Mushroom, the Highlander, and Midtown Art Cinema has had (or had? is that space filled yet?) such a hard time putting something in where the SaveRite used to be. People worry about what might happen if a behemoth Wal-Mart takes its ball and goes elsewhere, and rightly so. But the problem is going to hit the former SaveRite spaces too, and unless, say, the Container Store goes on a massive expansion binge, I don’t know what the solution will be.

Of the 50 largest cities in the U.S., Atlanta ranks 26th in terms of overall health of it’s residents. Let’s hear it for the Median!

I don’t have updates, but the AJC has them going on their Breaking News blog. There doesn’t seem to be a single dissenting voice and with low turnout it looks like it’s going to be a landslide in favor of city-hood. I know, this isn’t anything you couldn’t read elsewhere, but I’m oddly intrigued by all of this.

It’s almost lunch time. I’m hungry. I’m going to post about food.

Chipotle‘s across the country are offering free food with purchase on the summer solstice. Purchase a meal today (June 21) at Chipotle, save the receipt and bring it in before Sunday, June 26 to receive a second burrito (or taco, bol or salad) free.

Also, every Monday this month from 5 to 7 p.m., the Chipotle’s Buckhead location is treating customers to a free food dish when they purchase an item from the restaurant’s menu of margaritas or beers.

Think Atlanta needs a little work? You’re not alone. Regardless of your opinion about the United Way, their MetroVoices survey only takes a few minutes and the results are quite enlightening. Learn what troubles your fellow Atlantans, while taking a quick look at just how much you’re doing to help.

(And no matter how much you might love your Atlanta Metroblog, don’t change your opinions on our account.)

Starting tomorrow, we may have to open up a new metroblog city, as Sandy Springs is poised to vote to secede from Fulton County and become the state’s seventh largest city.

While I don’t really have a dog in the fight, I believe firmly that anybody who believes in any “no new taxes” pledges by politicians deserves exactly what they get from their leaders.

• Congratulations to the Glenwood Parkers on their grand opening Saturday. CL has a short story; Larry Felton Johnson has photos of Brasfield (one s) Square.

• More Beltline arguments, particularly over the possibility of two 40-story towers at the edge of Piedmont Park. For those of you wondering, “What’s Cathy Woolard up to?” she’s now head of Friends of the Beltline.

• Bloglanta has everything you wanted to know about the current power struggles over MARTA, but were too busy at Music Midtown or Vibe Musicfest to ask.

Me, I’ve been seeing friends in New York. What have y’all been up to?

Tomorrow is the 140th anniversary of Juneteenth. What is it, you ask? Juneteenth or June 19, 1865, is considered the date when the last slaves in America were freed. Although the rumors of freedom were widespread prior to this, actual emancipation did not come until General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas and issued General Order No. 3, on June 19, almost two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. There are worldwide celebrations every year for this occasion, and Atlanta is no exception. There are celebrations all over the metro area all this weekend, most notably the SunTrust Juneteenth Celebration at The Historic Atrium (236 Auburn Ave.) tomorrow from 4:00p.m. – 8:00p.m. There will be music, storytelling and refreshments served. Hope to see you there!

For more information about Juneteenth, visit http://www.juneteenth.com.

Jeff Dauler, co-host of The Bert Show on Atlanta’s Q100, has decided it’s time to sue Jennifer Wilbanks.

Here’s some of what he says at the site:

I am exploring the possibility of filing a class action suit against the couple to prevent them from earning anything related to her actions. Members of the class could include professionals and volunteers who gave up time and goods to aid in her search, media outlets who devoted airtime to the story, citizens who altered plans or routines out of fear, or business owners who may have lost income…

The Bert Show insists that this is not a joke.
Sounds like Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter might not even think it’s a bad idea — here’s what he said about Jennifer Wilbanks and her fiance John Mason selling their story to the media:

“I guess that says more about this whole case than anything else that has happened. I’m really sort of disgusted by the whole thing…”

On this page at SueJennifer.com Jeff Dauler posted text from a variety of e-mails he’s received about this endeavor; I do think he showed some credibility by posting some negative messages as well:

• “…Instead of signing book deals, Ms. Wilbanks should be in Aruba assisting law enforcement in the search for missing teenager, Natalee Holloway. Maybe the reality of seeing Miss Holloway’s family in pain would jolt Jennifer Wilbanks back into reality…”
• “…Your an idiot Jeff. If someone wants to pay them for their story then what business is it of yours. Get over it already.”
• “…I was kidnapped, sodomized and raped by a man when I was 19 years old. Jennifer Wilbanks’ giant fib mocked and made fun of something that changed my life forever. I personally would like to see her prosecuted for filing a false report about being sexually assaulted/ raped. She completely made a mockery out of something I have personally experienced and I feel that she should have to pay for all of the rape victims that MUST endure the second victimization.”
• “…How would you like some uppity shock jock personality causing drama in YOUR life because of a stupid mistake that you made? Don’t be an a**hole like so many other has-been radio personalities. You’re not going to profit from this stunt like you think you will, and more than likely you’ll probably just set yourself up for more trouble than you think. The media may think that this is everybody’s business, but it isn’t…”

The writer who mentioned Natalee Holloway [link: The Vanishing of Natalee Holloway] made a good point. One that could be made with any missing persons case currently causing a family and the surrounding community pain and fear…
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