5 things to do today August 03 2016

Grant will cover half of the $22 million in improvements to come to the street

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“As the birthplace of Dr. King, the street bearing his name should and will be one of the most attractive and important streets in our city,” Mayor Kasim Reed says in regard to the new $10 million federal grant to improve Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. Atlanta was the only city awarded funds in this round of the Dept. of Transporation’s grant program, reports the AJC’s Ernie Sugg. Reed has been trumpeting the forthcoming improvements as part of his outgoing legacy. 

“Not only was that depiction of Atlanta insulting, it was entirely wrong. Was the editorial staff unaware that Atlanta was urban, not rural? I’d lived in Atlanta for 19 years prior to the ’96 Olympics. Not once did I ever encounter a farmer in overalls on the streets of the metro area. Nor were there pigs outside of petting zoos. Not many Atlantans greet each other with “Howdy,” so far as I know. Isn’t that a cowboy expression? Maybe in aiming for what it perceived as the backward white stereotype in that cartoon, The New Yorker thought the statement was from a liberal point of view, distancing itself from what they perceived as bigoted. But progressive thinking should reject all stereotypes.” Lois Reitzes remembers the New Yorker cover that commemorated Atlanta’s Olympiad moment with an illustration of a farmer in coveralls holding up the torch with a banner that read “HOWDY” across his chest.


Three more top officials with the Democratic National Committee have resigned in the aftermath of the revealing email breach that exposed 20,000 internal emails between committee leaders.

Pittypat’s Porch, the downtown Atlanta Southern mainstay, scored a 51 on its latest health inspection. Apparently, it was so bad that flies were buzzing around the restaurant. Those poor tourists.

This ain’t really news, but it’s funny: Vanilla Ice had a meltdown at Hartsfield-Jackson after missing his flight.