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Jamaican, Indian & American
Authentically Prepared • Outdoor Dining • Neiv Menu Daily
Beer & Wine Com/ng Soon' • Liue Music • Free Wi-Fi
Lamb. Chicken, or Fish
Curry
Chicken Tikka Masala
Chicken or Lamb Biryanl
Tandouri Chicken
Alio Gobi
Poncer Masala
Beef or Veggie Samosas
Naan Bread
Qamakan:
Jerk Pork
Curry Goat or Chicken
Oxtail
Seafood
Salmon
Red Snapper
Spicy Cabbage
Rice and Peas
$5 Lunch Plates!
Wwonmansr
Open 10-W Seven Days A Week
Late Night on Weekends
Sunday Brunch
211 Tallassee Road • Athens, GA
HOW OPEN
Wednesday, May 4 9:30am & 10:30am
& Thursday, May 5 4:30-5pm
Hooray for Worms!
Children's Story Times
ACC Library
Thursday, May 5 8am-4pm
Sustainable UGA
Coffee Hour
Miller Learning Center (across from Jittery Joe's)
I DREAM
GREEN:
Celebrating 10 Yearr
of Greenferi
A Community
Wide CM/iatm
providing citizens with
the opportunity to increase
their awareness of and
interest in improving the
* environment of their ^
home, yard, busi- ‘fr
ness, and community. I
For more info, visit us at
www.athensgreenfest.com
Thursday, May 5 2pm-4pm
Compost Tea Party
Botanical Garden, Visitor Center Classroom 2
Thursday, May 5 8:30am-12:30pm
Butterflies:
Their Host Plants &
Conservation
Botanical Gardens, Calloway Building
Friday, May 6 Noon-1 pm
First Friday EATS l Creen Bag 9 Lunch
Series
Water Quality:
Improving Stream
Networks on Campus
and Beyond
UGA East Campus Dining Hall, First Floor Rotunda
Friday, May 6 Noon-1pm
Commercial Compost
Facility Tour
ACC Landfil
Saturday, May 7 8am-Noon
Composting Basics &
Bin Sales
Athens Farmers Market, Bishop Park
ATHENS NEWS AND VIEWS
Budget Bingo: While the proposed elimina
tion of nighttime bus service may be the
most spectacular reduction in Mayor Nancy
Denson's budget (see City Pages & Pub
Notes), one new expenditure recommended
by the mayor was the subject of equal contro
versy after the 300-plus-page document was
dropped late last week. Denson wants to rein
state full health insurance coverage for some
county employees who lost it in 2006, and she
took a pass on a recommendation by human
resources staff and County Manager Alan
Reddish to end full coverage for others.
At issue are full benefits for workers hired
before 2002 who receive coverage only for
themselves, and the county's payment of
the "calculated value" of that coverage for
employees whose plans include dependents.
Employees hired since 2002 all pay for a por
tion of their health
insurance plans. Denson
believes the rescind
ing of full coverage for
workers with depen
dent plans five years
ago was a breach of a
promise by the county
to its employees that
needs to be corrected,
and that asking those
on single plans to pay
for a portion of their
coverage would be a
further violation of that
commitment. The cost
to the county of those
benefits—both those to
be continued and those
to be reinstated—is
$844,000, according to
Denson.
Commissioners don't think the county
can afford to pay full insurance coverage for
its employees, and Commissioner Kelly Girtz
points out that, while it's regrettable, it's net
uncommon for employers to change the terms
of benefits agreements with workers over time.
He says Commissioner and Mayor Pro Tempore
Andy Herod has written a memo on behalf of
at least five commissioners recommending the
government not reinstate the calculated-value
credit for dependent plans and phase in an
employee premium for single plans over the
next two years.
It's fairly easy to argue that this isn't the
time for the reinstatement of benefits that
were removed five years dgo—not when falling
revenues are making it necessary to eliminate
positions and services. But asking single plan
holders to pay for insurance they've always
gotten for free would essentially constitute a
salary cut for a few hundred long-term county
workers—a tough pill to swallow, especially
given that this will be the third consecutive
county budget not to provide employee
raises. Girtz says staff is projecting that the
FY13 and FY14 budgets will both have room
for pay increases, and that commissioners will
make those a priority. This year's budget talks,
meanwhile, figure to be the most contentious
in some time. Stay tuned.
Celebrate Survival: The Cottage Sexual Assault
Center and Children's Advocacy Center is hav
ing its first annual "Survivors and Supporters
Celebration" at Nugi's Space from 7-10 p.m.
friday, May 6. The Cottage is a hardworking
local nonprofit that advocates for awareness
and prevention of sexual abuse and assault,
as well as providing support for victims. The
celebration will feature music, food, speakers,
a silent auction and a raffle, all for the low,
low admission price of just $5. Get on over
there—you can find out more at www.north-
georgiacottfge.org or by tracking down the
Facebook event page.
Decking Out the Deck: Remember all the talk
in late 2009 about the "public art" compo
nent of the mixed-use parking deck that's now
being built around the Georgia Theatre? If not,
here's a quick refresher: in order to make the
structure's facade more attractive, interesting
and reflective of Athens' unique character, the
Mayor and Commission created parameters
for the inclusion of eight 40-foot fabric ban
ners and 24 metal "silhouette panels" to be
designed by local artists and selected from
open submissions by a jury. Now, a call for
those submissions has been issued, with a
deadline for design concepts of May 23.
There's a link to all the relevant info, includ
ing submission forms and guidelines, on the
main SPL0ST page of the ACC website. Get on
it, Athens artists, and make it freaky!
Working Out the Kinks: While preparing for the
inevitable severe weather warning to be sent
out over ACCs new emergency alert system
last Wednesday, Apr. 27, the day before over
night tornadoes swept across the Southeast,
killing more than 300 people and causing
untold property damage, a county staffer acci
dentally posted the notification prematurely
at 2:02 in the afternoon. The message was
promptly rescinded at 2:10, but those were
an interesting eight minutes for folks who are
signed up to receive the alerts—especially
those of us who read not only the text warn
ing but also the more extensive email ver
sion, which included grave instructions such
as "lie flat in a ditch or low-lying area" and
"if you are in a car or mobile home, get out
immediately and head for safety." ACC Public
Information Officer Sandi Turner says she
hasn't heard from anyone who was inconve
nienced by the false alarm, and fortunately,
it wasn't sent out to schools or other institu
tions that might have responded immediately
and dramatically. Nice to see the system
works, anyway; an identical notice was sent
out at 1:32 a.m. that night, when a real tor
nado warning was issued. If you're not signed
up, you should be—do it at the ACC website.
Dave Marr news@fl2gp0le.com
4 FLAGP0LE.COM -MAY 4,2011