Sunday, September 27, 2009
News, Politics, Atlanta
SP100: Newsmakers and Scandals
Atlanta’s It List 2009
Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images
Erin Andrews
APD officers at City Hall.
Stephanie Ramage
Mayor Shirley Franklin
Spark St. Jude/Trumpet Awards
APD Chief Pennington
Spark St. Jude/Trumpet Awards
“The Real Housewives of Atlanta”
Courtesy of Bravo
Rick Diamond/Getty Images
T.I. at his sentencing hearing on March 27 of this year.
Jonathan Ernst/Getty Images
Michael VickERIN ANDREWS
WHY: This hot ESPN sports reporter (and ATL resident) has been all over the headlines this past year. First, she was hit in the chin with a foul baseball (nice work, Alex Cora). Then, some freak secretly videotaped her nude in her hotel room! Needless to say, she was quite the commodity on Google, but she’s back on top, reporting on live TV—with clothes on, of course.
WHERE: ESPN
ATLANTA POLICE
WHY: They’re underpaid, underprotected, undermotivated and often under suspicion. They are, in sum, underdogs against Atlanta’s brazen crime, and we love underdogs.
WHERE: 226 Peachtree St. SW. 911. www.atlantapd.org.
THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF ATLANTA
WHY: Trashionistas or not, we can’t get enough of these ladies. Behind their drama, bling, babies’ daddies, home foreclosures, trips to get their hair did, fashion-line launches and snarling catfights, they show real heart (even if it’s that they’re in love with themselves). Oh, and did we mention they have the No. 1 rated program on Bravo?
WHERE: Bravo, Thursdays, 10 p.m.
MAYOR SHIRLEY FRANKLIN AND POLICE CHIEF RICHARD PENNINGTON
WHY: Atlanta’s dastardly duo is a thing of beauty for any columnist or reporter in the city. They provide the material, we provide the riffs. Unfortunately—for the wags, at least—they’ll both be gone by January. Franklin’s second term will be up, and Pennington has announced he’ll be retiring.
WHERE: 55 Trinity Ave. SW. 404-330-6000. www.atlantaga.gov.
ATLANTA CITY COUNCIL
WHY: It’s this zany 16-member cast that makes public access Channel 26 the hottest reality TV around. Whether they’re voting against legislation they suggested or cravenly using police officers or senior citizens to run for office, the high jinks never end.
WHERE: 55 Trinity Ave. SW. 404-330-6000. www.atlantaga.gov.
WATER WARS
WHY: How ridiculous is it that a federal judge has slapped Atlanta for taking too much water out of the Chattahoochee River while the city continues to have the highest water rates in the nation? Atlanta can’t even mooch its way to financial stability.
WHERE: Department of Watershed Management, 55 Trinity Ave. SW. 404-330-6000. www.atlantaga.gov.
THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
WHY: Declining revenues and rounds of layoffs have made the AJC a shadow of its former self—and we’re still not sure about its recent redesign. If you have a copy of the paper from 1989 or before, please send us one. We’d love to be reminded of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution when it was still a force to be reckoned with.
WHERE: www.ajc.com.
T.I.
WHY: Rapper, actor and businessman Clifford Harris was on top of the world when he was arrested on federal weapons charges in 2007. With a year of high-profile public service (and another hit album) under his belt, the last stop on T.I.’s long road to redemption is tantalizingly close.
WHERE: Currently serving a one-year sentence in federal prison. www.trapmuzik.com.
MICHAEL VICK
WHY: The former Atlanta Falcons quarterback polarized fans with his indifferent attitude and embarrassing actions (like flipping off a crowd full of booing fans). And then there’s that whole dogfighting scandal, resulting in almost two years in prison, not to mention the fiasco that was the Bobby Petrino era. No wonder we’re still talking about him.
WHERE: Far away from our pets.
THE ATLANTA EAGLE RAID
WHY: Well, it’s no secret there was something going on at the Atlanta Eagle. But was the APD’s Sept. 10 raid of the city’s only leather bar rooted in homophobia? Poorly executed? Did police make anti-gay slurs about patrons? Were erotic dancers plying their trade without a license? And why wasn’t Atlanta Police LGBT Liaison Officer Dani Lee Harris informed of the raid?
WHERE: 306 Ponce de Leon Ave. 404.873-2453. www.atlantaeagle.com.