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World News
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Atlanta's Weekly E-Magazine
Jun 15th - Jun 22nd, 2001
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IMAGES: MNA's June Meeting
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Market News
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PIEDMONT PARK
COMMUNITY CENTER
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Thanks to the generosity of private donors, the former American Legion building at the corner of 12th Street and Piedmont Avenue is renovated to become a Community Center. Part of the building has been removed to allow for a new lawn and garden and two patios. The facility will offer concessions, public rest rooms, disabled accessible parking and special event space. Anticipated opening is November 2001.
"The Piedmont Park Conservancy purchased the building," Conservancy Director Debbie McCowan said. "We were excited to be able to get the property because it is so close to the main entrance of the park." The Conservancy's goal is to turn the building into a park amenity. "The asphalt area you see now will be replaced by gardens and an outdoor patio. It is going to make the park entryway far more inviting."
According to McCowan, the multipurpose area will be used for children's summer camp and theater activities. It can also be rented for special events. For more information you may contact Piedmont Park Conservancy at 404-875-7275 or visit
www.piedmontpark.org
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Editor's Corner
MNA'S PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING
The Midtown Neighbors' Association helt its monthly Public Safety meeting this past Tuesday at Mary Mac's Tea Room. The guest speaker was Municipal Court Judge The Honorable Howard Johnson.
Jannie Gerds, MNA Vice President and declared candidate for Councilmember, District 6, opened the meeting at 7:15 PM by introducing Lt. Walker who informed the members of the recent crime activity in his zone. He stated that his staff made 2,227 arrests during the month of May. The majority of them consisted of burglaries. The most popular items to be stolen were computers, radios, TVs and VCRs. He warned, once again, that we should not leave visible items in the cars parked in the street.
Following Lt. Walker's report, Jannie introduced Chris Nelson who gave a short report relating to Piedmont Park. Chris stated that the fence is coming down on July 5, 2001 and that the City has spent \\$150,000.00 restoring the swimming pool. He also stated that they were able, within the confines of the budget, to hire off-duty police officers who will be patroling the park, especially on Saturdays and Sundays between 10:00 AM and 6:00 PM which are the busiest days in the park. The latter statement drew a thunderous round of applause from the audience.
Jannie made two more announcements: (a) there will be a Property Tax meeting with Commissioner Nancy Boxill to be held on Thursday, June 14, 2001 @ 7:30 PM at the Grace Methodist Church, corner of Ponce de Leon and Charles Allen; (b) there will be Mayoral Debates to be held on September 19, 2001 @ 7:30 PM at the Inman Middle School auditorium.
By this time, the audience was anxiously awaiting for the introduction of Judge Howard Johnson. When finally
Jannie made the introduction, the audience accorded him with a very warm reception.
Judge Johnson gave a short but eloquent autobiography by stating that he was a sixth generation Atlantan.
Following his graduation from Washington High School, he attended University of Arizona and obtained his law degree from the University of Miami, Florida. He has been on the bench for 21 years.
He proceeded in explaining his job to the audience by stating that as a municipal court judge he had the power of judicial authority in administering justice in all criminal cases presented to him from both Dekalb and Fulton Counties. He said, as a judge, you examine carefully and weigh skillfully all the facts in each case, including the evidence presented, and if all the aspects for a guilty verdict are there, then you find the accused guilty and punish him or her accordingly. If one or more aspects are missing, then you dismiss the case. When asked what is the average punishment in a guilty verdict, he responded by saying that it depended on the charges whether they constituted a misdemeanor or a felony. The minimum will range from a \\$300.00 fine which is in the case of loitering, to a maximum of six months imprisonement and a $1,000 fine in a felony.
The audience engaged him a lively question-and-answer session where all kinds of questions from tresspassing to prostitution to burglaries were raised. From his answers, one could tell that Judge Johnson
had a commanding knowledge of the law, he was a judicious person exercising prudence and wisdom before reaching a judgement or declaring a verdict. Above all, his experience was noticeably present.
The members were treated to an enlightening and informative evening.
James C. Stathis
Associate Editor
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