When her mother Jane Fonda sent her an e-mail last year about the formation of the Atlanta-based Mother Nature Network, Grant Park environmentalist Vanessa Vadim quickly noticed one thing — there wasn’t a single female on Mother Nature’s board of directors.

After she pointed this out to the founders of the fledgling environmental news and information Website, Atlanta ad man Joel Babbit and Georgia tree farmer/Rolling Stones keyboardist Chuck Leavell, Vadim suddenly had a new career — environmental advice columnist.

Since January, via “Ask Vanessa,” her weekly column on MotherNatureNetwork.com, Vadim has fielded consumer questions on everything from head lice (she advocates nitpicking and smothering them with olive oil rather than a chemical solution) to recycling your electronics (she advises upgrading or refurbishing over tossing them).

In this week’s edition, after doing a little research with her mother’s Prius, Vadim explains to readers how they can increase their gas …

Continue reading Vadim’s New Venture: ‘Ask Vanessa,’ Eco Advice Columnist »

Thanks to The Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and corporate assistance from Nike, Microsoft, Warner Brothers and Atlanta’s own Coca-Cola Company, Atlanta filmmaker Frederick Taylor is well on his way to bringing the plight of Mukuru, a village in Nairobi, Kenya, to the world’s attention.

Buzz Central got an advance peek of a few minutes of footage from Taylor’s Tomorrow Pictures’ “Africa Project,” and the images will hearten and horrify viewers.

A small child in Nairobi, captured by Atlanta filmmaker Frederick Taylor for a new documentary. Credit: Tomorrow Pictures

Taylor recently spent two weeks in Nairobi at the invitation of PEPFAR, which is working with Partnership for an HIV Free Generation to reduce infection rates of HIV by 50 percent in the next five years.

“Our biggest goal is to raise awareness,” Tomorrow Pictures’ Lillian Lee told Buzz. “Despite all the AIDS fund-raising money being pumped into the area, we know that HIV is still a major problem in these …

Continue reading Tomorrow Bringing Glimpse of HIV-Ravaged Kenya Today »

Starting today, Northwest Airlines flight attendants will greet passengers in their brand-new, freshly pressed Delta uniforms.

The step is the latest outward indication that massive merger between the two companies is proceeding on schedule.

This morning, Northwest employees will also learn first-hand a bit about the Atlanta-based Delta’s corporate history as well.

Delta will honor its latest family members with a fragrant nod to the company’s principal founder, C.E. Woolman. As veteran Delta flight attendants will recall (back then, the professional term was stewardess), Woolman was an orchid enthusiast, growing the temperamental flowers as a hobby.

Woolman would greet each graduating flight attendant class member by pinning a prized orchid on their lapels as a tribute to their achievement.

Today, Delta will continue the tradition for its newest Northwest employees with either an orchid corsage or boutonnière to wear on their new uniform.

Delta celebrated its 100th flight …

Continue reading Delta Says It With Flowers For New Family Members »

While he was being sentenced on federal weapons charges Friday morning in an Atlanta courtroom, rapper T.I.’s interview with Vibe magazine was hitting newsstands, purporting to tell “the untold story behind the deal.”

The deal, that is, that kept the convicted felon out of jail for a year on a deferred sentence after he was caught purchasing machine guns and silencers in the parking lot of metro area Walgreen’s Oct. 13, 2007.

But in the story, titled “Cell Therapy,” the Grammy winner born Clifford Harris Jr. basically reaffirms what he’s said previously in his recordings (“No Matter What”), on his MTV reality show (“T.I.’s Road To Redemption”) and in various interviews since he struck the plea deal a year ago today. In short, he maintains that he did not turn anyone in to get the surprising sentence of a year and a day.

Or in street language, he did not snitch.

“Ain’t no such thing as a secret snitch,” he told writer Benjamin Meadows-Ingram. “If …

Continue reading T.I. to Vibe: “I’m Blessed to Have Money” »

Federal weapons charges, with their accompanying harsh sentences, are enough to take down anyone.

Rapper T.I. speaking to students at Stockbridge High as part of his community service.

Yet since his guilty plea a year ago, Atlanta rapper T.I. has enjoyed the greatest success of his career.
But one of the world’s best-known rap artists is due to take a one-year hiatus at a federal detention facility.
According to the plea agreement, T.I., whose real name is Clifford Harris Jr., will be sentenced Friday to one year and a day.
The extra day means T.I. can carve 15 percent off of his sentence with good behavior. Under U.S. Bureau of Prison rules, inmates can earn such credit only if they are sentenced to longer than a year in prison. T.I. should serve an estimated 298 days — or a little less than 10 months. He is expected to get credit for the two weeks he sat in jail after his arrest and before posting a $3 million bond.
T.I.’s troubles began Oct. 13, 2007, just hours …

Continue reading T.I. to Be Sentenced Friday to 1 Year, 1 Day »

In honor of Sir Elton John’s 62nd birthday Wednesday, we opted to celebrate by assembling a new edition of EJ the DJ for Buzz readers.

So what exactly is EJ the DJ?

Well, whenever we have a conversation with the Peachtree Road resident, we ask John, arguably the world’s biggest music fan, to let us in on what he’s currently listening to.

We essentially snatched the idea from the pop star’s decades-long tradition of popping by radio stations here and across the pond to spin his favorite new artists.

As usual, John delivered a diverse batch of tunes and artists, a few of which can’t be instantly obtained in the U.S., even if a multitude of record shops still existed.

First up, Sir Elton is hooked on the single “Walking on a Dream” from Australia duo Empire of the Sun. The MGMT-esque pop pairing is a collaboration between The Sleepy Jackson’s Luke Steele and Pnau frontman Nick Littlemore. The single and remixes can currently be downloaded off iTunes. Empire’s full debut album is …

Continue reading Celebrating Sir Elton’s 62nd With Fresh Spins »

Don Hutcheson

Don Hutcheson, founder of TheCompleteLawyer.com, didn’t exactly create his popular legal community resource center website with the current economic crisis in mind.

But countless under-employed legal types across the country are eternally grateful to the Dahlonega entrepreneur anyway. As unemployment mounts in the legal community, TheCompleteLawyer.com has become equal parts reassuring social networking site and an online community where career coaches, consultants and other legal eagles offer professional advice and a much-needed ear.

“It’s not just economic downturns that lawyers are unfamiliar with,” Hutcheson told Buzz. “A lot of law schools simply don’t adequately prepare lawyers for the world of work awaiting them.”

TheCompleteLawyer.com was originally geared to offer office-addicted legal types a way to achieve a better work/life balance.

“The law is a very jealous mistress,” explained Hutcheson, the author of “The Lemming Conspiracy: How to Redirect Your …

Continue reading No Lawyer Jokes, Please. Website Assists Attorneys »

Bob Amick

Downtown’s Glenn Hotel is no doubt hoping the third time will be the charm. On Monday, Atlanta’s Concentrics Restaurants officially announced it will take over the snake-bitten restaurant space on Marietta Street in a partnership with Gemstone Hotels & Resorts and Legacy Property Group.

The eatery, 30 Tables, will take over the space previously leased to B.E.D. and more recently Maxim Prime steakhouse.

Both of the previous tenants were out-of-towners. Concentrics Restaurants is run by veteran Atlanta restaurateur Bob Amick, who also co-founded Mick’s. Amick originally confirmed the deal to Buzz in a phone call last week. He swore us to secrecy, promising us an exclusive once the ink was dry on the deal.

Apparently, the ink dried since a press release was e-mailed Monday.

During a conversation with Buzz last week, Amick said he hoped that having a savvy local company take over the challenging downtown space would make the difference this time.

The saws and hammers are …

Continue reading Glenn Hotel readies 30 Tables for Downtown Diners »

Actors Woody Harrelson, in town shooting the movie “Zombieland,” and Bill Murray, here working on the film “Get Low,” have both been spotted taking in the, um, sights at the Clermont Lounge.

We hear from sources at the legendary Ponce  de Leon Avenue exotic dancing landmark that Murray was enjoying two popular beverages at the infamous dive  bar: Pabst Blue Ribbons and bargain whiskey from the bartender’s well rack.

Alas, we’ve been unable to confirm whether Murray or Harrelson have as yet been treated to a poetry reading/lap dance from Blondie, the club’s most famous dancer.

There’s also been no official response from the actors on how they responded when one young female fan reportedly straddled Murray excitedly while telling him that he reminded her of her dad. Murray gallantly helped the potentially tipsy fan to the exit.

The actors have also been regulars at Loca Luna, the Latin tapas and mojito emporium over on Amsterdam Avenue in Midtown as …

Continue reading Spotted: Murray, Harrelson at The Clermont Lounge »

Book trade publications are reporting that “Real Housewives of Atlanta” cast member Nene Leakes has inked a “significant deal” to write “Never Make the Same Mistake Twice: Straight Talk on Love and Life From a Real Housewife.”

We’re hearing that Leakes will write the tome with New York Times best-selling author Denene Millner (perhaps best known for writing “The Sistahs’ Rules: Secrets For Meeting, Getting and Keeping a Good Black Man” and co-authoring “What Brothers Think, What Sistahs Know: The Real Deal on Love and Relationships”) for Touchstone Fireside. Look for the book to hit stores this July.
You’ve been warned.

Overscene

Jenn Hobby, Dolvett Quince, Nicole Jones & Taste Boutique owner, Teresa Caldwell.

More than 100 people, including former Atlanta Falcon Warrick Dunn, turned out Thursday at Atlantic Station’s Taste Boutique for “Shopping for a Cause,” a benefit for Q100 charity Bert’s Big Adventure.  Guests listened to the sounds of DJ Jobe Gruber and shopped …

Continue reading ‘Real Housewives ATL’ Nene Inks Deal to Write ‘Mistake’ »