SNOWSTORM
Atlanta showed true
Southern hospitality
Recently, we conducted the International Poultry Expo here in Atlanta as part of the International Production & Processing Expo. Most of the attendees, some 24,000 people, were already in town when the storm hit Jan. 28.
Over the next two days, our hotel partners, the Georgia World Congress Center, Levy Restaurants, the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau and numerous restaurants, the Atlanta Police Department, Atlanta Public Works, the mayor’s office, as well as our housing, bus, AV, security and general contractors, went above and beyond the call of duty in taking care of our guests with limited staff and resources. The city continued to demonstrate Southern hospitality, even under the duress of the storm.
The response and support we received from the Atlanta hospitality community gives testimony as to why we have been proud to call Atlanta home for 66 consecutive annual trade shows.
JOHN STARKEY, PRESIDENT, U.S. POULTRY & EGG ASSOCIATION
SPORTS
Give stadium honor to
Braves home run king
Atlanta’s most endearing sports legend hit another milestone last week when Hank Aaron turned 80. For the past 17 years, baseball’s authentic home run king has been honored by the Braves not by name but with a number, “755,” his career home run total and the name of the indoor/outdoor dining club in Turner Field. During this stretch, Aaron has been surpassed by Barry Bonds, who obviously was aided by use of banned substances.
Now with the Braves moving to a new home, the likelihood is that the new facility will have a big-bucks namesake like Coca-Cola, Delta, UPS or the like. The time has come to correct an oversight, albeit for a couple of years, by renaming the current home of the Braves “Hank Aaron Stadium.” Ted Turner has had a nice run, and his legacy will always rightfully be linked to CNN. I’m fairly certain he would graciously support this long overdue honor.
DAVE COHEN, DUNWOODY
GOVERNMENT
Now they regulate
windshield washers
I consider a clean windshield to be a safety issue. In the cold weather, anything less than “10 below” windshield washer fluid freezes on my windshield way before we get to minus 10 degrees. This year, I have gone to several auto supply stores and was told that they have the 10 degrees below zero fluid but were not allowed to sell me any because of a state ban on its sale.
After reading Mark Arum’s good advice on “Getting your car ready for icy weather” (Metro, Jan. 6), I was surprised at the irony of this situation. Sometimes lawmakers believe they can solve every social issue by passing a law that probably harms us more than if they considered us all to be adults. Last year, I had to replace my windshield wiper washer system in my automobile at great expense because I drove north into colder weather, and nature did the rest.
BUD PRESGROVE, MARIETTA
TAXI DRIVERS
Knowledge of English,
city seriously lacking
Although I live in Alpharetta, I choose to stay at a downtown hotel each year for a large trade show at which my company exhibits. Being local, I have a reasonable knowledge of downtown Atlanta, which comes in handy when taking a taxi somewhere, as so many of the taxi drivers seem to have limited knowledge of downtown and barely speak English. More than once, I have had to tell the taxi driver how to get to our destination. Those coming from out of town are certainly at a disadvantage when taking a taxi here.
Whatever the standards are for obtaining a license to drive a taxi, they are not high enough. Atlanta has far too many conventions, sporting events and other meetings to have such dismal taxi service.
MIKE DEAL, ALPHARETTA
