From You
Sep 10, 2003
Letters
RE: LISTEN/AGREE
This letter is in response to Al Davison's letter of 26 Aug. 2003. Al, we're educated and enlightened; we know what "listen" and "agree" mean.
We were promised an open government, a government whose mayor would listen to your opinions. It was heavily implied that, in our government, your opinion would matter.
Unfortunately, our current local government acts just like the previous. Under Heidi or Doc, public comment is allowed, even encouraged. The opinions of the public are ignored. No amount of verbal persuasion can change even one vote, on one issue, ever. The closest cronies decide for us, the vote of those "representing" us. At least with Doc we knew what we were getting.
As for the current version of the rental registration ordinance, once again real problems were discussed and the wrong "solution" was chosen. The assumption that related people are automatically good neighbors and those unrelated automatically bad neighbors is not only false but absurd in our city. The result is criminalizing thousands of your good neighbors, based on their status, not their actions. This of course is wrong. Any law based on ridiculous assumptions will also fail to solve the legitimate problems raised and addressed. The mayor and the city seem to refuse to enforce already existing ordinances that punish unacceptable actions in favor of a heinous, Orwellian, Big Brother approach more concerned about the nature of the relationship between myself and my roommates than whether or not we are good neighbors. It also puts many of our best local small business people, the people who sweat and risk their own money to physically rebuild Athens, out of business, because certain powerful cronies don't want any, repeat any, rentals in their neighborhood. (Are empty houses better?)
Is it too much to ask that adults (every single person that signs a lease in Clarke County is an adult) be treated like adults, and those who through their actions prove they can't act like adults be dealt with accordingly? If you must whip out the "family" neighborhood relationship secret police, do it in Five Points and stay away from Normaltown, where diversity in race, sexual orientation and wealth aren't so feared.
If, in fact, there is an exemption for live-in servants, the extremely elitist nature of this law becomes even more apparent. The question is: will the government really enforce it? Will they be able to prosecute you for claiming your roommates are "maid, driver and gardener?" Will they want to? Our "friends" in Five Points obviously hope so.
As for liberals that rush out to take away the rights of others, it makes me more libertarian every day. This is the other half of the coalition that put them in power. It seems as if now our opinions don't matter. The "good old boy" network we thought we were beating is gleeful. We have been divided more quickly and more effectively than they could have dreamed.
David Lynn voted against the law. He represents a neighborhood where many very different people (yes even homeowners and, gasp, those damn renters) live together peacefully. This is what I thought all of Athens was about. I fear that this harmony is being eliminated by others, people that don't have a clue what a neighborhood really is.
John J. Gayer
Athens
RICHT A MORON?
According to Daniel Whitman [City Pages, Aug. 27], Coach Mark Richt is a moron, is thought to be able to walk on water, and is costing the state of Georgia 100 teachers due to his undeserved salary. Richt is being handled with kid gloves by the public over his salary. Apparently the public should be outraged and protesting Richt's high salary. Let's talk about the spin first. He says that Richt "reduced" the 2001 team of "mostly NFL players" to an unimpressive 8-3 record. He never mentions that they were two plays away from 10-1, or that we upset a strong University of Tennessee team, which I would assume, by his definitions, was a team of "mostly NFL players." Those two plays, a dropped pass by Terrance Edwards in the end zone against SC and failed running play against Auburn from the one yard line. He is quick to spin UGA's good fortune in 2002, however, as one of the luckiest in UGA history. UGA was fortunate to come out of the SC game with a victory. But the fumble on the four yardline with time running out was not what lost the game for them, or won it for UGA. Had the guy caught the ball he had two defenders between him and the goal line. One of them a guy named David Pollack. As for the Auburn game he singled out, first of all there was no pushoff. The play has been shown a gazillion times. While Johnson and the defender were touching each other there was absolutely no push by Johnson. We now have the players that have the confidence to make those plays under the most extreme pressure. That comes from the coaching. How many times have we blown those plays in the past? Richt had some good athletes when he arrived but had to play a Freshman QB.
Anyone who pays attention to details in the football program can see that we have closed off the borders in recruiting since Richt arrived. We are no longer seeing the top recruits go to UT, UF and FSU. The program is still in the building phase. I think starting next year UGA-Richt recruiting will show itself more completely, and UGA will be competitive for the SEC yearly, instead of once every 10 or 20 years.
I can understand how someone can look at the salary Richt is getting and think that it is a lot of money for someone who coaches football. I think that the price of a Mercedes is "undeserved" and "overpriced," but if you want the finest, you have to pay the going rate. I wonder this, Daniel, is there any other coach in the SEC that you would prefer to have instead of Mark Richt? Richt is the third highest paid coach in the SEC.
Jay Thomas
Email
RICHT OVERPAID?
In response to Daniel Whitman's blurb about Mark Richt's salary, I'm afraid he's mistaken. Mark Richt is not the person on the state of Georgia's payroll with the highest government salary. According to a recent Red and Black article, Richt gets a base salary of $200,000 per year. On top of that are the endorsements from Nike and the media that bump up his gross earnings to $1.5 million per year. If you want to know who's the highest paid university employee, take a guess: President Michael F. Adams earns $279,365 per year according to onlineathens.com. Go Dawgs,
Brian Ludvigsen
Email
HAH, HAH, VOTE BUSH
The sheer entertainment value afforded by the travesty that has become the Bush Administration almost compels me to vote for him in 2004. May I propose a new Republican slogan: "Vote 4 Bush: If Only 4 The Laughs."
But aside from the humor, we can also thank Dubya for allowing Americans to travel abroad in fear for the next 50 years.
Chad Cooper
Athens
WHO ARE SKATERS?
I would like to sincerely thank the mayor and commission for creating and approving an informed compromise budget last night [Sept. 2], based on citizen input, which provides funding for a free, public skate park as well as the World of Wonder.
I would also like to clarify some facts about the Clarke County residents in favor of a free, public skate park:
o Contrary to popular opinion, the organizers in favor of a free, public skate park are not just "skaters," but rather, they are tax-paying athletes residing in Clarke County who excel at three sports - skateboarding, BMX biking and inline skating - as well as parents of children who want to participate in these sports in a safe environment.
o There are currently many free, public playgrounds located in Athens-Clarke, but NO free, public skate parks. Glowing Rock, a private "pay" skate park near the mall, charges $10 to skate for more than one hour; while this is a great option for more experienced skaters who can afford the fees, it can be intimidating and costly for the beginner.
o More than 1700 signatures of Clarke County residents in favor of a free public skate park were compiled and delivered to Leisure Services officials back in February of 2003. (WOW organizers produced 1000 signatures just a few weeks ago).
o Skate park organizers have been meeting on a monthly basis since October of 2002 to discuss the best means of creating a skate park that would serve the most residents of Clarke County.
o The citizens in favor of a free, public skate park attended, en masse, all preliminary public meetings concerning the proposed SPLOST budget for Southeast Clarke Park. While there were few representatives of WOW at the meetings, there were literally hundreds of citizens in favor of a public skate park there; this is on public record in the form of recorded commentary taken by the county clerk.
o The skate park organizers will now begin matching fund-raising efforts, in cooperation with Leisure Services' new director, to provide funds for an even better skate park. Since the decision was made official last night at 7:30 p.m., organizers have already raised $4,000. (They did not want to begin fund-raising efforts until the free, public skate park was officially approved.)
Beth Hall Thrasher
Athens
MESS WITH SUCCESS
Sometimes change is good, but in the case of Five Star [Grub Notes, Sept. 3] that doesn't seem to be the case. First of all, why change a space that works? Five Star was cool enough without going through some major interior overhaul. The old setup used to funnel people in a way as to get them out of the way when you wanted to come into the restaurant. Now everyone is jammed at the door with no possible room to move. Second, the placement of the Coke machine, a good idea in theory which allows people to refill their sodas, creates more traffic in front of the counter. I must have been stepped on or over 20 different times when I was trying to order my food. Also, the menus are at the counter, which causes more congestion still. Finally, how the hell can you take country fried pork steak off the menu? That was the quintessential meal at Five Star. It was also something that you couldn't readily make at home, which isn't so true for the other menu items. This example should serve as a reminder to all other Athens restaurants that want to change their look. It doesn't always work out!
Josh Inwood
Athens
This letter is in response to Al Davison's letter of 26 Aug. 2003. Al, we're educated and enlightened; we know what "listen" and "agree" mean.
We were promised an open government, a government whose mayor would listen to your opinions. It was heavily implied that, in our government, your opinion would matter.
Unfortunately, our current local government acts just like the previous. Under Heidi or Doc, public comment is allowed, even encouraged. The opinions of the public are ignored. No amount of verbal persuasion can change even one vote, on one issue, ever. The closest cronies decide for us, the vote of those "representing" us. At least with Doc we knew what we were getting.
As for the current version of the rental registration ordinance, once again real problems were discussed and the wrong "solution" was chosen. The assumption that related people are automatically good neighbors and those unrelated automatically bad neighbors is not only false but absurd in our city. The result is criminalizing thousands of your good neighbors, based on their status, not their actions. This of course is wrong. Any law based on ridiculous assumptions will also fail to solve the legitimate problems raised and addressed. The mayor and the city seem to refuse to enforce already existing ordinances that punish unacceptable actions in favor of a heinous, Orwellian, Big Brother approach more concerned about the nature of the relationship between myself and my roommates than whether or not we are good neighbors. It also puts many of our best local small business people, the people who sweat and risk their own money to physically rebuild Athens, out of business, because certain powerful cronies don't want any, repeat any, rentals in their neighborhood. (Are empty houses better?)
Is it too much to ask that adults (every single person that signs a lease in Clarke County is an adult) be treated like adults, and those who through their actions prove they can't act like adults be dealt with accordingly? If you must whip out the "family" neighborhood relationship secret police, do it in Five Points and stay away from Normaltown, where diversity in race, sexual orientation and wealth aren't so feared.
If, in fact, there is an exemption for live-in servants, the extremely elitist nature of this law becomes even more apparent. The question is: will the government really enforce it? Will they be able to prosecute you for claiming your roommates are "maid, driver and gardener?" Will they want to? Our "friends" in Five Points obviously hope so.
As for liberals that rush out to take away the rights of others, it makes me more libertarian every day. This is the other half of the coalition that put them in power. It seems as if now our opinions don't matter. The "good old boy" network we thought we were beating is gleeful. We have been divided more quickly and more effectively than they could have dreamed.
David Lynn voted against the law. He represents a neighborhood where many very different people (yes even homeowners and, gasp, those damn renters) live together peacefully. This is what I thought all of Athens was about. I fear that this harmony is being eliminated by others, people that don't have a clue what a neighborhood really is.
John J. Gayer
Athens
RICHT A MORON?
According to Daniel Whitman [City Pages, Aug. 27], Coach Mark Richt is a moron, is thought to be able to walk on water, and is costing the state of Georgia 100 teachers due to his undeserved salary. Richt is being handled with kid gloves by the public over his salary. Apparently the public should be outraged and protesting Richt's high salary. Let's talk about the spin first. He says that Richt "reduced" the 2001 team of "mostly NFL players" to an unimpressive 8-3 record. He never mentions that they were two plays away from 10-1, or that we upset a strong University of Tennessee team, which I would assume, by his definitions, was a team of "mostly NFL players." Those two plays, a dropped pass by Terrance Edwards in the end zone against SC and failed running play against Auburn from the one yard line. He is quick to spin UGA's good fortune in 2002, however, as one of the luckiest in UGA history. UGA was fortunate to come out of the SC game with a victory. But the fumble on the four yardline with time running out was not what lost the game for them, or won it for UGA. Had the guy caught the ball he had two defenders between him and the goal line. One of them a guy named David Pollack. As for the Auburn game he singled out, first of all there was no pushoff. The play has been shown a gazillion times. While Johnson and the defender were touching each other there was absolutely no push by Johnson. We now have the players that have the confidence to make those plays under the most extreme pressure. That comes from the coaching. How many times have we blown those plays in the past? Richt had some good athletes when he arrived but had to play a Freshman QB.
Anyone who pays attention to details in the football program can see that we have closed off the borders in recruiting since Richt arrived. We are no longer seeing the top recruits go to UT, UF and FSU. The program is still in the building phase. I think starting next year UGA-Richt recruiting will show itself more completely, and UGA will be competitive for the SEC yearly, instead of once every 10 or 20 years.
I can understand how someone can look at the salary Richt is getting and think that it is a lot of money for someone who coaches football. I think that the price of a Mercedes is "undeserved" and "overpriced," but if you want the finest, you have to pay the going rate. I wonder this, Daniel, is there any other coach in the SEC that you would prefer to have instead of Mark Richt? Richt is the third highest paid coach in the SEC.
Jay Thomas
RICHT OVERPAID?
In response to Daniel Whitman's blurb about Mark Richt's salary, I'm afraid he's mistaken. Mark Richt is not the person on the state of Georgia's payroll with the highest government salary. According to a recent Red and Black article, Richt gets a base salary of $200,000 per year. On top of that are the endorsements from Nike and the media that bump up his gross earnings to $1.5 million per year. If you want to know who's the highest paid university employee, take a guess: President Michael F. Adams earns $279,365 per year according to onlineathens.com. Go Dawgs,
Brian Ludvigsen
HAH, HAH, VOTE BUSH
The sheer entertainment value afforded by the travesty that has become the Bush Administration almost compels me to vote for him in 2004. May I propose a new Republican slogan: "Vote 4 Bush: If Only 4 The Laughs."
But aside from the humor, we can also thank Dubya for allowing Americans to travel abroad in fear for the next 50 years.
Chad Cooper
Athens
WHO ARE SKATERS?
I would like to sincerely thank the mayor and commission for creating and approving an informed compromise budget last night [Sept. 2], based on citizen input, which provides funding for a free, public skate park as well as the World of Wonder.
I would also like to clarify some facts about the Clarke County residents in favor of a free, public skate park:
o Contrary to popular opinion, the organizers in favor of a free, public skate park are not just "skaters," but rather, they are tax-paying athletes residing in Clarke County who excel at three sports - skateboarding, BMX biking and inline skating - as well as parents of children who want to participate in these sports in a safe environment.
o There are currently many free, public playgrounds located in Athens-Clarke, but NO free, public skate parks. Glowing Rock, a private "pay" skate park near the mall, charges $10 to skate for more than one hour; while this is a great option for more experienced skaters who can afford the fees, it can be intimidating and costly for the beginner.
o More than 1700 signatures of Clarke County residents in favor of a free public skate park were compiled and delivered to Leisure Services officials back in February of 2003. (WOW organizers produced 1000 signatures just a few weeks ago).
o Skate park organizers have been meeting on a monthly basis since October of 2002 to discuss the best means of creating a skate park that would serve the most residents of Clarke County.
o The citizens in favor of a free, public skate park attended, en masse, all preliminary public meetings concerning the proposed SPLOST budget for Southeast Clarke Park. While there were few representatives of WOW at the meetings, there were literally hundreds of citizens in favor of a public skate park there; this is on public record in the form of recorded commentary taken by the county clerk.
o The skate park organizers will now begin matching fund-raising efforts, in cooperation with Leisure Services' new director, to provide funds for an even better skate park. Since the decision was made official last night at 7:30 p.m., organizers have already raised $4,000. (They did not want to begin fund-raising efforts until the free, public skate park was officially approved.)
Beth Hall Thrasher
Athens
MESS WITH SUCCESS
Sometimes change is good, but in the case of Five Star [Grub Notes, Sept. 3] that doesn't seem to be the case. First of all, why change a space that works? Five Star was cool enough without going through some major interior overhaul. The old setup used to funnel people in a way as to get them out of the way when you wanted to come into the restaurant. Now everyone is jammed at the door with no possible room to move. Second, the placement of the Coke machine, a good idea in theory which allows people to refill their sodas, creates more traffic in front of the counter. I must have been stepped on or over 20 different times when I was trying to order my food. Also, the menus are at the counter, which causes more congestion still. Finally, how the hell can you take country fried pork steak off the menu? That was the quintessential meal at Five Star. It was also something that you couldn't readily make at home, which isn't so true for the other menu items. This example should serve as a reminder to all other Athens restaurants that want to change their look. It doesn't always work out!
Josh Inwood
Athens
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