Apr. 10, 2001

To begin: Thank You E-Bar! Once again we owe thanks to E-Bar for hosting us. We now have an ongoing arrangement with them and soon, we will be helping them to draw people to the new Cajun restaurant, The Vault, opening in the basement space.

Shops & Restaurants -- What Do You Like?

New Businesses -- Give Them A Welcome!

• Icon Bar & Bistro, located at the corner of Fairlie & Luckie, next door to 90 Fairlie and owned by folks from Karma, will be opening its doors shortly. The space, formerly home to Fairlie Poplar Cafe, has been completely remodeled. Thursday, April 26, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., the Downtowners organization is having one of their gathering there. Join them for a complimentary drink and hors d'oeuvres, door prizes and an opportunity to tour some nearby lofts. If interested, please bring a guest and confirm your attendance by calling Marissa at 404-654-1216 or emailing rojasm@colonnadeproperties.com by Tuesday, April 24.

• Sacred Grounds is opening a second location -- The Second Coming -- at 123 Luckie Street! Friday, April 13 at 8 p.m., this most fabulous expresso and coffee shop is hosting a Pre-Grand Opening for Downtown insiders. Dress is "smart casual" and there will be lovely hors d'oeurvres, beer & wine, sweets and, of course, coffee :) Come let Sacred Grounds know how much we appreciate their move into Downtown!

• Scarlett Fever, located at 141 Carnegie Way in the Carnegie Building (behind the Central Library, across from Macy's back entrance) is a lovely hidden shop that everyone should check out. Featuring an extremely impressive collection of Gone With the Wind materials, the store also serves up a smorgasbord of Hollywood movie memorabilia, retro antiques, bath products, Southern preserves, beautiful greeting cards, and an eclectic selection of antique and used books. The owner, Robert Engel, is very nice and would probably really enjoy seeing local customers. More info: Stop by or call 404-521-1939 or email kulturama@aol.com.

Downtown Tour of Lofts

***Volunteers*** are needed to make the Tour a true success. Volunteers work one of the two days of the tour -- usually serving as host or hostess at a loft or giving directions or otherwise helping out the crowds -- in exchange for free tickets which they can use on the day they're not working. Volunteers also get free Loft Tour T-shirts and invites to the After-Tour party. To volunteer, use the contact info. provided above.

Biking Group

Wendy Darling and Caleb Racicot are interested in starting a biking group to go out biking on the weekend, maybe Sunday mid-day, just leisurely, enjoyable rides through some of the intown neighborhoods, from Cabbagetown to Summerhill to West End to the Fourth Ward to the Path. They're trying to gauge interest so if this sounds like something you'd want to do, email wdarling@abraxis.com or call 404-688-5573.

Redistricting Information

District 6 Councilperson Debi Starnes attended our meeting and explained the issues surrounding City Council redistricting, which has been mandating by the new U.S. Census figure.

Debi presented the following two scenarios under consideration by Council:

• "Alternative 3"
  In this plan, District 5 (currently East Atlanta, Kirkwood and other areas to the East, including areas in DeKalb County) expands north to include Candler Park and Lake Claire. Those two neighborhoods currently form part of District 6, which has 6,000 more people than it needs, and it's very convenient because District 5 needs about that many people in order to be the right size. Under this plan, District 5 would go from being about 80% African-Amercan to being about 65%. Currently District 5 is represented by Sherri Dorsey.

• "Alternative 1"
  In this plan, District 5, instead of expanded north, expands along a path going west to Memorial Drive and taking parts of District 6 which are located on the southern side of Downtown. Thus part of Downtwon would be cut off into a Council district which as a whole is very different and geography distant from District 6. Most of District 5 is located in and around East Atlanta south of the tracks and west of Moreland Avenue -- in Dekalb County. Under this plan, District 5 would retain its current racial balance of 80% African-American. Currently District 5 is represented by Sherri Dorsey.

The parcel of land that would be broken up under "Alternative 1" is called Precinct 2-J and may include Kessler City Lofts and other residences located south of Marietta Street and near Memorial Drive.

Councilperson Starnes strongly advocated on behalf of "Alterative 3," arguing that adding Lake Claire and Candler Park to District 5 makes much more sense than adding Downtown to the district, given that Lake Claire and Candler Park are located in the same geography area and meanwhile such a change would avoid splitting Downtown into two districts. Debi also mentioned that "Alternative 1" may not pass legal muster with the U.S. Department of Justice, since there is a perception that the plan has been devised in order to maintain the 80% African-American demographic and thus give incumbent politicians a better chance of winning the fall election.

A PUBLIC HEARING is scheduled for this Thursday, April 12, at 6 p.m., City Hall Committee Room 2. It is Debi's strong opinion that Downtown residents should fight to keep their neighborhood as one district and support Alternative 3. If you cannot attend the meeting, than contact every member of City Council you can and let them know that as a Downtown resident, you care. To get contact info. for the Council members, see http://www.ci.atlanta.ga.us.

Atlanta Botanical Garden

Spring/Summer hours are Tuesday-Sunday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Admission is $7 adults, $5 seniors, $4 students and free to kids under 3. Admission is free Thursday after 3 p.m. Garden memberships are a great deal, only $40 for a whole year, and that way you can go whenever you want with no admission. For more info., see the ABG web site.

Upcoming events at the Garden:

Drop in Kids Class: Natural Egg-Dying
Saturday, April 14
1:30-2:30 p.m.
$6/child in addition to Garden admission.

Herb Education Day -- "Herbs by Design"
Saturday, April 28
9 a.m.-3 p.m.
$40 prior or $45 day of admission
More info: http://www.cuhsa.org/HED2001.html

The *New* Sweet Auburn Festival

Thanks everyone!

- Wendy Darling, DNA Secretary/Treasurer/Webmaster