things are bad at marta right now. really bad.

the ajc is reporting that marta’s budget shortfall is growing every day as the economic crisis worsens. no before you go all crazy on marta, you have to know that marta gets the bulk of it’s funding from a sales tax in fulton and dekalb. if people don’t buy, marta doesn’t get money.

some of the measures being considered are drastic to say the least. eliminating weekend service, cutting bus routes, raising fares.

i also know that most of you don’t ride marta and you probably could care less, but consider this, if marta eliminates my bus route, i might just be back on the streets with you trying to get to work, as will all these other people on the bus with me right now (yup, i am writing this from the bus.) some of them may not be able to even commute to their jobs.

if you live in atlanta, a strong public transportation system helps you big time, whether you ride or not.

and don’t start to bitch about how marta’s problems are of their own making. for the crap funding they get, they do a pretty damn awesome job. you can get anywhere in fulton or dekalb, safely with (most of the time) a smile. marta has done a lot to clean up it’s act too. our own ben did a good job of making this case here.

the state can help. they can give marta money, or at least ease the restriction that forces marta to tie so much money up in a captial reserve. either would help.

jill chambers, who most of you have never heard or, heads the marta oversight board. please contact her and tell her that marta is good for all georgians and the state NEEDS to step in.

you can find her info here.

I’ve lived in Atlanta for fourteen years, nearly ten of those have been in East Atlanta. When I moved to my neighborhood I never realized that I’d be able to relive my teens/early-twenties a mere handful of blocks from my house. The time machine into which I step is also know as The EARL.

At The EARL I’ve seen performances by Dick Dale, two-thirds of Hüsker Dü (namely Bob Mould and Grant Hart performing solo shows), Mission of Burma, as well as others. And this weekend I’ll be at there twice, to catch both performances put on by The Long Ryders. Here’s the kicker about this… these shows will be the first United States shows put on by The Long Ryders in over twenty years, they are likely be their only performances in the United States, and there is a chance that they may never get back together again.

For those of you not as old as me, The Long Ryders were up-and-coming “alternative” music stars back when “alternative” music was in its infancy. In those days The Long Ryders toured the globe headling shows and were scheduled to tour with bands such as U2. However, their path to rock stardom was interrupted when some of the band members chose other paths and the band broke up in 1987.

Tickets for the shows can either be purchased via Ticket Alternative; or at The EARL on the day of the show.

This morning, some of our city’s citizens killed another one of us. They fired hot bullets through his bones and cold fear into the surrounding community. One is dead, many are hurt. Every bullet ricochets.

Throughout the day, links to news stories covering the crime have been passed from house to house, neighbor to neighbor. A lot of people are angry and a lot of people are afraid. Every bullet ricochets.

The victim was shot at his job while the APD continues to see pay cuts. It feels like everything lately is about work and money — these are big targets, and whenever a bullet is fired there’s a good chance it’ll hit one of these. Would these robbers be robbers if things were different, if jobs were secure, if the economy was healthy? Would these robbers be killers? Would John Henderson be alive if there were more police, if there was more money, if budgets weren’t cut? Every bullet ricochets.

As mentioned in the comments on James’ recent post, citizens from neighborhoods around the crime scene — The Standard Food & Spirits, on Memorial across from Oakland Cemetery — planned a public protest of recent budget cuts “in police protection and public safety.”

Here’s a press release circulated earlier today:

PRESS RELEASE:
Southeast Atlanta Residents to Protest Rising Crime Rates at Site of
Robbery and Murder

Atlanta, GA, January 8, 2009 – Due to the January 7 shooting at Grant
Park bar, Standard Food and Spirits, residents of Southeast Atlanta
have united to protest cuts in police protection and public safety.
January 8, 2009, concerned citizens should meet at 7 a.m. at the
Standard to remember the victims of crimes city-wide and to voice
concerns. Participants are encouraged to bring candles to light as
well as large signs and placards to help convey their message.

Word is there’ll be television news coverage of the event, making this a chance for local citizens to be heard on the larger issues.

At the request of The Standard’s operators, however, please note that this is not a protest — it’s a vigil. Bring candles. Bring something to say. But do not bring your protest signs and do not bring your chants.

Every bullet ricochets, but let’s turn our thoughts to those who have bled.

[More about the robbery-homicide here: MyFox Atlanta and the AJC.]

a server was shot in an armed robbery at the standard restaurant and bar on memorial drive in grant park early this morning. according to the report in the ajc, the server was shot after he had already handed the four armed robbers the money they demanded.

reports later today are out that the man died at grady hospital from gunshot wounds.

this happened two miles from my house. i guess it is a reminder that no matter how hip and cool these gentrified neighborhoods become, they are still in the middle of a city that has a big old crime problem it’s leaders don’t like to address (well, beyond changing street names.)

it’s also a reminder that the human capacity for evil is alive and well.

my thoughts and prayers are with the family of this victim and all who work at the standard. i am sure they are in shock.

Thanks tons to my dear husband and the kind folks at EAVBuzz for introducing me to a concept that will likely leave me in nightmares tonight.

The Atlanta Cuddle Puddle Meetup

Really coulda gone my whole life without seeing this, much less knowing that it is going on all around me. I mean, to each his own, but. . . eeeewwwww. Any CuddlePuddlers out there? I have to admit, i’m a smidge cuddlecurious.

not to long ago, i wrote a somewhat tongue-in-cheek post about the renaming of simpson road to joseph e. boone boulevard*.

nothing tounge and cheek about this recent article about “boone avenue” in the ajc though. according to the article the 1300 block of simpson road is the deadliest block in the city of atlanta.

Three killings occurred in a recent 31-day span. Demetrius Holt, 25, was killed and four others were shot Dec. 7 when an unidentified man opened fire in the American Legion hall. Ronnie Hill, 46, was shot to death Nov. 28 after an altercation that began at the Tasty Dog. Paul Martin, 19, was shot to death Nov. 6 while in his car outside Ruby’s. No one has been arrested in connection with any of the slayings.

i’d like to sit here and rant about how the city and law enforcement should get serious about cleanig place like this up. the article says they have tried and failed and many things.

beats me what the answer is, though in the us in 2009 there ought to be one. at least better than just changing the name.

anyone got any thoughts? nothing our leaders come up with seems to be working.

Last night I was able to attend the premiere of Kooza, the latest Circque du Soleil offering under the yellow and blue striped big top at Atlantic Station.

Walking in and being greeted with flower bearing characters on stilts forces your mind to the place it should be: imagery and imagination and letting go of those pesky grown up thoughts that nag and plague us all.

As we waited for the doors to open so we might take our seats, we wandered about eying (and buying) schwag, opting out of the hours devours being passed by staff dressed in black and masks, and watching the “making of” and snippits from the show being projected on flat screens throughout the climate controlled (bless you, Cirque) tents that form the show compound.

The show itself wasn’t terribly unlike the only other Cirque show I’d been to: Allegria. I was particularly fond of the women who contorted themselves in ways that seemed impossible, but clearly wasn’t. Who should have snapped their spines, but didn’t. The music was different, the story was different, the set and the players were different, but what remained the same was the length the choreographers and performers go to when throwing themselves about on stage for our entertainment…and how well they did it.

At dinner before the show, we were asked twice if we were “going to the circus”. We laughed smugly, because a circus means the stench of elephant dung, droopy cotton candy, and a scary old dude in a top hat. In hindsight, we were wrong. The similarities are there if you’re able to see ‘em: to awe the audience, to cause them to gasp, to allow them a place where they can let go of the world and its burdens, and to connect to a quieter more youthful mind. Sure, there were dirty jokes and innuendo that the children (kicking my chair) didn’t get, but the wee ones in my sight all sat on the edges of their chairs, just like I was.

If you have the opportunity to see the show during its run (Jan 2 – March 1), and can find loot in your budget for tickets (anywhere from $38 – 125), I recommend it wit a two wee caveats:
- Don’t bother trying to have dinner at Atlantic Station first unless you make reservations. The wait at Rosa Mexicana was 1hr 20min, and the service at Strip was hideous (there will be a Yelp posting about that, shortly)
- If ya gotta “go”, do it before you walk over. The loos are probably clean, but are those mini-building deals you have to walk up steps to get to that have four stalls per.

Footnote: many thanks to Dave Coustan for the comp tickets that allowed me to begin my new year the way it should: with the arts.

I drove into Midtown this morning for some part time work before classes start at GSU next week.  About half the staff at the office I’m working at is taking the day off – I’m sure most of you guys are having the same experience.

I kind of love being one of the only people out in the city on days like this. There was zero traffic, although I never have much trouble getting here since I live in-town, but everything is pretty quiet. One or two hard-core joggers were out as I drove past Piedmont Park, bundled up but still running. The sky had that almost-night gray haze you get in the winter, where even though it is 8am it still feels a little too early to be out.

It felt like the city was taking a breather.  I went out for breakfast yesterday, but it really just felt like a Saturday since everyone was out, too, and the weather was great.  Today is a day where maybe you feel just a little guilty for taking it off, or you at least had to spend a vacation day on it.  It doesn’t have the same out-of-school-early feel that New Year’s Day has.  With the overcast weather, it felt like the city was still sleeping.

No one is motivated, but for once it is okay.  I had one companion on the elevator ride, and we both were oddly chipper for going in to work today.  We seemed to share the knowledge that it would not be a hard day, since no one else was going to be in to make trouble for us.  We still get credit for coming in, but it’s not like we are going to get anything done.

My work place has a nice big window that I stare out of half the day, where I can see out over Ansley Park and probably out into DeKalb County.  It actually looks very peaceful, because the treets obscure most of the buildings and the land rolls into hills just a bit.  The sky is still grey and overcast, and there might even be a little fog covering the trees.  Good luck getting anything done today.