Features
- Created on 05 June 2013
Women of Excellence: Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum
In 2002, Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum became the ninth president of Spelman College, which is now widely recognized as one of the leading liberal arts colleges in the nation.
In addition to being an accomplished administrator, Tatum is a scholar, teacher, race relations expert and leader in higher education. In 2005 Tatum was awarded the prestigious Brock International Prize in Education for her innovative leadership in the field. She is the author of several books, including Can We Talk About Race? And Other Conversations in an Era of School Resegregation (2007).
Actively involved in the Atlanta community, Tatum is a member of several boards, including the Executive Committee of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, the Woodruff Arts Center, and the Atlanta Regional Consortium for Higher Education, where she serves as Vice Chair.
Tatum earned a B.A. degree in psychology from Wesleyan University, and a M.A. and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from University of Michigan. She also holds a M.A. in religious studies from Hartford Seminary.
- Created on 05 June 2013
Ga. Jazz Musician Ben Tucker Killed in Car Crash
(AP) — Musician Ben Tucker performed with stars from Quincy Jones to Peggy Lee before he settled in the 1970s in Savannah, where the jazz bassist became one of the Georgia city’s best-known working musicians.
He was killed in a car crash Tuesday at age 82.
Tucker was driving a golf cart across a road on Hutchinson Island when a car
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- Created on 03 June 2013
Atlanta City Council Votes on Whether to Remove Adult Businesses From Cheshire Bridge Road
The anomalous relationship between adult entertainment and Cheshire Bridge Rd. may soon be coming to an end. The Atlanta City Council plans to vote Monday on whether adult businesses located on the street should be forced to move.
Residents of the area handed out fliers on Sunday insisting that people contact the council before the vote took place.
Jane Rawlings is hoping that the vote will help improve her neighborhood.
“Property values decrease as one approaches Cheshire Bridge Road,” Rawlings told WSB. “The neighborhood suffers from increased crime.”
Supporters of the change are convinced that if the mandatory removal of the adult businesses within five years is approved by the Atlanta City Council community conditions will improve.
On the other side of the vote, strip club employees are hoping that they will be able to remain working at their establishments.
“I am an example that we can have our children go to a prestige college by working at a strip club” says Danielle Granger, a strip club employee.
Opponents of the proposal believe it is illegal and feel that it will change the essence of the neighborhood.
“It’s diversity. Its strangeness. It’s excitement. It’s what makes Cheshire Bridge, Cheshire Bridge and what makes Atlanta, Atlanta,” attorney Aubrey Villines said.
Villines is a representative of the Onyx Nightclub and is willing to take the issue to court if the proposal is approved. Those who want the clubs closed are willing to go the same route.
“This is a bold new tool and it should be tested and hopefully it will be tested and decided in favor of the city of Atlanta,” Councilman Alex Wan said.
“We are a patient community. We are an engaged community. We intend to see the vision realized,” Rawlings said.
The bill was originally approved by the Atlanta Zoning Committee and the Council is expected to make a decision on the proposal today.
- Created on 04 June 2013
Unions Join Forces With Turkish Protesters
(CNN) -- Trade unions claiming 240,000 members are throwing their weight behind anti-government demonstrations across Turkey.
The KESK confederation of public sector workers was calling a two-day strike starting Tuesday to protest what it called the "fascism" of the governing party of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has become one of the focal points of demonstrators' anger.
They have united demonstrators from across the political spectrum against a common foe: security forces who unleashed tear gas and water cannon on them in response to what had been largely peaceful protests against Erdogan's government.
Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc on Tuesday apologized "for the police aggression against our citizens who were involved in the initial protests and acted with environmental concern," Turkey's semiofficial Anadolu news agency reported.
The Turkish Medical Association claimed that at least 3,195 people had been injured in clashes Sunday and Monday. Only 26 of them were in serious or critical condition, it said.
One protester, Mehmet Ayvalitas, died of his injuries, the association said. And the governor of Hatay in southeastern Turkey said that a 22-year-old man, Abdulah Comert, was killed with a firearm by unknown suspects during demonstrations late Monday, Anadolu reported.
The medical association reported that the bulk of the injuries occurred in Istanbul, where the protests began before spreading to Ankara, Izmir, Adana and other locations.
Relative calm
After chaotic scenes in the streets Monday that continued late into the night and sent tear gas wafting through the air, the situation was relatively calm on Tuesday morning in Istanbul's central Taksim Square, near the park where the protest movement began.
Barricades remain up around the square and Erdogan's opponents appear determined to continue the demonstrations despite the prime minister's comment Monday that he expects the situation to return to normal "within a few days."
The protests began after plans were made to raze Gezi Park, the last green space in central Istanbul, and replace it with a replica of 19th-century Ottoman barracks. The development would contain a shopping mall.
What began as a sit-in by a handful of angry residents quickly grew into a larger protest. Riot police moved in, using tear gas and pepper spray. Protesters responded by hurling bottles, setting up barricades, blocking bulldozers and burning trash in the middle of the street.
Then, outraged by the behavior of security forces, demonstrators began attacking police. The protests have since morphed into larger complaints against Erdogan, whom protesters call paternalistic and authoritarian.
Police criticized
International groups including Amnesty International have criticized the police response as excessive. In Ankara Sunday night, a CNN crew witnessed authorities roughing up at least one protester. One police officer kicked a CNN videographer, CNN's Nick Paton Walsh reported, and a CNN crew in Istanbul Sunday also witnessed bloodied protesters.
Erdogan, who left the country Monday on a four-day trip to North Africa, has responded by dismissing the demonstrations as the work of "extreme elements" and marginal groups.
"My smart citizens will recognize this, then they will give them the right lesson," he said.
But Turkey's president, Abdullah Gul, took a somewhat more conciliatory tone Monday, saying "the messages sent in good faith have been received."
In Istanbul, the crowds have been chanting "Tayyip resign" -- referring to Erdogan -- and "Shoulder to shoulder against fascism."
The protests have spread to 67 of Turkey's 81 provinces, according to Anadolu.
Opposition pushing back
Hugh Pope, a senior Turkey analyst with the International Crisis Group, called the protests "completely unprecedented" and said Erdogan was caught off guard. Most demonstrators, Pope said, are "overwhelmingly ordinary people" who simply want their voices heard.
"However, there are other demonstrators who are somewhat more opportunistic in the left-wing factions who normally don't get much in the way of airtime in Turkey and are camped on Taksim Square," Pope said.
Erdogan has defiantly praised his government's accomplishments in overseeing a decade of strong economic growth in Turkey.
His party has won the past three elections, most recently securing 49.95% of the vote in 2011.
"What you have is essentially a large group of Turks who feel alienated from this government, in power for 10 years," said Richard Haass, a Middle East analyst at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington.
"It's increasingly a one-party country. All the politics happen within it. The opposition is weak, divided, feckless," he said. "You have a lot of people in Turkey who feel both alienated and intimidated by the government, and this is the way they decided to push back."
CNN's Ivan Watson and Talia Kayali contributed to this report.
- Created on 03 June 2013
Hospital Patient Accused of Stealing Ambulance Charged With Kidnapping
The man who was accused of stealing and crashing an ambulance with two paramedics trapped inside has been charged with double counts of kidnapping and interference with government property. The suspect is due to appear before a DeKalb County judge for his first appearance Sunday.
Frank Ponquinette, a 36-year-old male, is accused of stealing the ambulance from Emory University Hospital on Saturday afternoon while the two paramedics were busy filling out paperwork and restocking materials in the back. The patient managed to drive three miles before crashing the ambulance into Sandy Chiropractic Clinic in Decatur, completely shattering the side of the building.
The owner of the building, Loretta Sandy, told Channel 2 News that she “shed a lot of tears” upon arriving to the now destroyed business. Her assistant had closed the building only an hour before the ambulance came crashing through the side of it.
According to the police, Ponquinette may have mental disabilities. Prior to crashing into the clinic, he knocked down a utility pole and essentially destroyed everything in his path. Fortunately, the paramedics made it out OK. They have asked not to be identified.
The suspect was described by witnesses as stunned, but did not sustain injury.
He was later captured in a shopping complex not far from the scene of the accident.
