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Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2007 > July > 09
Monday, July 9, 2007
De la Renta to appear at AIDS benefit
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fashionable fund-raiser Jeffrey Kalinsky and veteran co-chair Lila Hertz (pictured at right) have two new co-chairs, a new venue and a fashion designer icon lined up for the 15th annual Fashion Cares benefit for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure and Atlanta AIDS Partnership Fund. The event, booked for Aug. 27 at a “raw space” on the as yet-unoccupied 7th floor at 55 Allen Plaza downtown, will feature a guest appearance by fashion legend Oscar de la Renta. Hertz is overseeing this year’s event with two new co-chairs, Nannies + More founder Sacha Taylor, the wife of former Georgia Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor, and event planning guru Tony Brewer. According to its Web site, Taylor’s firm “specializes in the recruitment, placement and retention of experienced childcare professionals in private homes and estates.”
Hertz told us Monday that they selected the under-construction downtown venue near the Georgia Aquarium and French American Brasserie for the fashion show benefit because it’s “a very hot, exciting part of town.”
And no, Hertz does not mean that literally.
“We’ll have plenty of air conditioning!” she promised. Last year’s event, held in a massive white tent behind Phipps Plaza, became a challenge for organizers when an air-conditioning unit blew out and a downpour resulted in a small river for the fashionably attired attendees.
As Buzz readers will also recall, some within the city’s closely knit fund-raising community went slack-jawed late last year when veteran Fashion Cares co-chair Carey Carter sent a shocking certified resignation letter to Kalinsky at the Atlanta and New York fashion retailer’s Manhattan offices.
Hertz says the event’s continuity has not been compromised, however. “In fund-raising, people move on,” she explained. “But commitment to Fashion Cares continues. We’re very excited about this year’s event.” Tickets range from $500 for premium seating to a $250 ticket for the show and a pre-reception. For info: www.jeffreyfashioncares.com/atlanta.
URBAN CHIC ON TAP
Giving Fashion Cares a run for its fund-raising dollars and its designer dresses again this year is Urban Chic, set for Aug. 2 at Fever nightclub on Cheshire Bridge. This year’s co-chairs for the fashion fund-raiser include Richie Arpino Salon owner Richie Arpino, Goldwasser Signature Jewelry head Ken Goldwasser, Catwalk Productions owner Randi Layne, Blue Med Spa’s John Stupka and WXIA news anchor Karyn Greer. The fashion show event will benefit AID Atlanta. For $500, attendees will score a VIP package, including tickets to the patron party this Thursday night, a pre-show VIP cocktail reception, priority seating and a gift bag.
General admission tickets are $100. For info: www.aidatlanta.org or urbanchic@aidatlanta.org.
SHAKUR’S MOM OK AFTER N.C. HOME FIRE
Rapper Tupac Shakur’s mother, Afeni Shakur-Davis, is extending her gratitude and thanks after the part-time Atlantan’s North Carolina guest house caught fire last week. The founder of the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation and the Tupac Shakur Center for the Arts in Stone Mountain was in the main residence on the property at the time of the fire. Her rep, Versa Manos, assured us Monday that the late rapper’s mother is fine. About the dozens of firefighters who battled the blaze, Shakur-Davis said in a statement sent to Buzz: “We are truly blessed to have their vigilant and neighborly care.”
ON MY IPOD
Jeff Francoeur, Atlanta Braves right-fielder
You’ll find country artists among the 10,000 songs on his iPod, including George Strait’s “You’ll Be There.” Of his most recently downloaded tunes, Francoeur tells Buzz: “The last five were all Rodney Atkins songs but I don’t remember which.”
STORK REPORT: IT’S A GIRL!
BET “Lift Every Voice” Sunday gospel show host and Atlanta resident Gerald Henry is a daddy again. Henry and his wife, Terry, welcomed Bria Lyn Henry last week. She weighed in at 7 pounds, 12 ounces. Little Bria joins older siblings Baylor Leanne and Benjamin Jeremiah Henry.
OVERSCENE
Novelist Amy Tan dining with glass sculpture artist Dale Chilhuly and a party of 18 at South City Kitchen in Midtown.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Singer Mavis Staples is 68. Folk singer Arlo Guthrie is 60. Singer Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys is 53. Banjo player Bela Fleck of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones is 49. Country singer Gary LeVox of Rascal Flatts is 37. Actor Adrian Grenier (“Entourage” ) is 31. Actor Thomas Ian Nicholas (“American Pie”) is 27. Singer Jessica Simpson is 27.
Contributing: News services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Clark Howard dishes about politics, beer and briefs
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Consumer advocate Clark Howard teased a late-night crowd Saturday during the “Lucky Yates Talk Show” with his drinking habits, his underwear preference and his political aspirations.
Rodney Ho/AJC Staff
Howard, who almost ran for mayor in 1997, said he is thinking about running for Atlanta mayor once Shirley Franklin’s two-term limit is up in 2009. He has also pondered becoming lieutenant governor.
“Come on!” Yates scoffed. “Aim higher! You’d get elected governor!”
Howard’s priorities as mayor if he were to run would include creating a special group of cops who only do traffic and safety, and streamlining city government and schools, which he thinks are less about serving the public and more a “jobs program.”
On a less serious note, Howard noted that he gets drunk after just two beers. (During the show, located at the Laughing Skull Lounge next to Midtown’s Vortex, he nursed a single Heineken followed by a Diet Coke.)
Then an audience member asked: boxers or briefs?
“Definitely briefs!” Howard said, because they’re cheaper. He said there’s an upcoming tax-free holiday in Florida, where he has a vacation home. There, he’ll be able to pick up nine briefs at Wal-Mart for just $6.84!
“Lord, help me!” his long-suffering wife Lane said from the second row.
BIDDING TONGUE & GROOVE ADIEU
Earlier in the night, Buzz checked in at Tongue & Groove for its final night in its current spot in Buckhead. The nightclub has lasted 13 years, an eternity in such a fickle business, and is moving a block up Peachtree Road this fall to make way for more upscale development.
Co-owner Michael Krohngold hugged old buddies who came by for an early friends-and-family party while hobbling with a cast on his right leg after a recent Jet-Ski accident. “That’s a rich folk’s accident,” cracked Tom Houck, a friend and longtime media observer in town. He was quick to add that Krohngold helped create ” a legendary place, a phenomenal bar.”
PHOTOS: Your Tongue & Groove photos
HOT DOG! PRO EATER’S AT IT AGAIN
Buzz caught up with Atlanta’s best competitive eater Dale Boone, who made his first appearance since 2004 at Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog competition July 4 at Coney Island in New York City. Out of 16 entrants, the charismatic, trash-talking Boone came in 11th, consuming a personal-best 25 hot dogs in 12 minutes.
But he was obliterated by Joey Chestnut, the celebrated Californian who ousted six-time champ Takeru Kobayashi. Chestnut ate a world-record 66 hot dogs, beating his own record of 59.5 a month earlier. Kobayashi, despite jaw problems, gobbled 63. Boone said the new generation is raising the bar and he’s picked up some pointers to improve his own performance. “You have to teach an old dog new tricks,” he told Buzz.
RANDOM BITS
Standup comic Andrew Dice Clay, who threw a few verbal grenades against Peach Buzz last week on 790/The Zone for mocking his $100 price tag at the Punchline July 3 and 4, ended up selling about 300 tickets out of a potential 540. Punchline co-owner Jamie Bendall said an off-the-cuff half-price sale Clay announced on the Zone Tuesday morning did not generate a significant bump in sales. “He was very gracious and easy to work with,” Bendall told Buzz… .
Lucky us! The producers of ABC’s upcoming sitcom “Cavemen,” based on the Geico insurance spokesmen, have set the show back in Atlanta. The original announcements earlier this year said the cavemen would live in “modern-day Atlanta,” but a pilot Buzz recently saw had them living in Norfolk, Va. A spokeswoman for the production company had no explanation for why the producers keep changing their minds… .
The multiple Live Earth concerts Saturday featured a few folks with local ties, including Georgia native Trisha Yearwood in D.C. and local rap star Ludacris and former Atlantan John Mayer in East Rutherford, N.J. Mayer joined the Police for the finale “Message in a Bottle.” …
Clay Aiken got into a tussle with a woman on a flight to Tulsa, Okla., Saturday and was held for questioning, then released, according to the Tulsa World.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actor Brian Dennehy is 69.. TV personality-turned-musician John Tesh is 55. Actor Jimmy Smits is 52. Actor Tom Hanks is 51. Actress Kelly McGillis (“Top Gun”) is 50. Singer Courtney Love is 43. Actor Fred Savage is 31.
BUZZ ROUNDUP
After seven months of just playing music in the mornings, rock station Project 9-6-1 has finally found a personality to helm that crucial drive time: “Giant” Brian Carothers, morning producer and sidekick at Philadelphia’s classic rock station WMGK-FM under John DeBella.
Station program director Chris Williams, in a text message to Buzz, wouldn’t say why he chose Carothers, a big, bald Pittsburgh native and standup comic. He also couldn’t pinpoint a start date, though Carothers will likely start next month.
Contributing: news services.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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