Q: What happened to the Southeastern Flower Show that has been held every year? I didn’t see anything about it this year.
—Lane Tharp, Brookhaven
A: The Southeastern Flower Show, which has been hosted by the Southeastern Horticultural Society for 25 years, was canceled this year. "The last several shows have lost money or just broken even," Caroline Leake, the society's executive director, told Atlanta Magazine earlier this month.
A task force is determining the future of the show and a possible new format. It “has a great interest in reinventing the show,” Leake said in the article. “The show as it was will probably never exist again. The economics of it are difficult.” The show, which is called the “premier gardening and horticultural event in the Southeast” on the society’s website, could become “a smaller, more concise version of a very juried and judged flower show,” Leake told the magazine.
Q: How would the EPA regulations affect barbecue producers and restaurants? Most depend on burning wood for their livelihood.
—Darryl Weaver, Atlanta
A: The EPA's new rules focus on newly manufactured wood heaters used to heat homes, mostly affecting low-income homeowners, not barbecue smokers or grills. About 10 percent of U.S. households burn wood as a primary heating source, the Associated Press reported, and the rules will be implemented over five years.
The EPA hopes to reduce fine particle pollution, including carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, black carbon and air toxins, such as benzene, by 70 percent, but states such as Michigan and Missouri have passed legislation to bar their environmental agencies from enforcing the new EPA rules, the AP reported.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
About the Author
