As I wrote in my diary here last week , Tom Coffin has been fired a Senior Arborist of Atlanta with no cause.   He seems to be caught up in some plan where officials in the Mayor Shirley Franklins’ office are either purposely, but certainly effectively gutting the enforcement of Atlanta’s Tree Protection Ordinance.  This is not just about one person and his job, this is about what kind of government we want.. Atlantan’s save August 26th for more action. The only media we have left is the Creative Loafing. More juice after the fold.

Former state representative and Lt. Governor candidate Jim Martin announced yesterday that his fledgling  primary campaign exceeded its fundraising goal of $250,000 by raising $346,000 in less that 12 days.

Martin is a solid progressive who faces five other opponents in the June 15 Democratic primary, none of which have the statewide name recognition or fundraising capabilities Martin so well demonstrated in his Lt. Governor campaign versus right wing Republican Casey Cagle. Martin earned 75,000 more votes in the Lt.Gov. race than Dem gubernatorial candidate Mark Taylor in his race against Sonny "Pray for Rain" Perdue.

Martin joins the race with top contender Vernon Jones, DeKalb County CEO,and four other potential candidates: Ecologist Rand Knight, Statesboro's Josh Lanier, former WSB talking head Dale Cardwell, and Rockdale County School Board member Maggie Martinez.