Atlanta Botanical Gardens

The Atlanta Botanical Garden is a 30 acre (12 hectare) botanical garden located adjacent to Piedmont Park in Midtown Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Incorporated in 1976, the garden's mission is to "develop and maintain plant collections for the purposes of display, education, conservation, research and enjoyment".

History

Following a petition by citizens of Atlanta in the year 1973, the garden was incorporated in 1976 as the private, 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation Atlanta Botanical Garden Inc.. Within a year Bill Warner, previously employed at Holden Arboretum, was assigned office as the first executive director. He was soon followed by Ann L. Crammond in 1979. The following year, 1980, marked a turning point in the history of the garden as a 50-year lease was negotiated with the city, securing the site of the Garden for years to come.

A number of promotional activities started taking place, including social events, major art exhibitions and the annual{fact} Garden of Eden Ball. The Atlanta Botanical Garden welcomed its 50.000th visitor within a mere three years after the lease was arranged - this was even before any permanent structures had been erected. In 1985, the Atlanta Botanical Garden built its first permanent structure, the Gardenhouse. Expansions following this were The Children's Garden (1999), the Fuqua Conservatory in 1989 and the Fuqua Orchid Center which was added in 2002.

Blockbuster summertime exhibitions began in 2003 with TREEmendous TREEhouses. Chihuly in the Garden opened in 2004, while in 2005 Locomotion in the Garden featured G-scale model trains. On April 29, 2006, an exhibition of the sculpture of Niki de Saint Phalle opened to the public. These huge mosaic sculptures came to the Garden from France, Germany, and California. In 2007 the exhibition was David Rogers' Big Bugs and Killer Plants, and 2008 is Sculpture in Motion, Art Choreographed by Nature, a display of moving, kinetic art.

Exhibits

The Botanical Garden is composed of a number of smaller themed gardens. Each contains different landscapes to display a variety of plants. Near the entrance are formal gardens, such as the Japanese garden and the rose garden. Two woodland areas, the 5 acres (20,000 m²) Upper Woodland and the 10 acres (40,000 m²) Storza Woods feature large trees and shade-loving flowers and undergrowth. The Children's Garden features whimsical sculptures, fountains, and interpretive exhibits on botany, ecology, and nutrition.

The 16,000 square feet (1,500 m²) Dorothy Chapman Fuqua Conservatory contains indoor exhibits of plants from tropical rainforests and deserts. The rain forest room of the Fuqua Conservatory is also populated by tropical birds, turtles, and several exhibits of poison dart frogs. The collaborative amphibian conservation efforts between the Atlanta Botanical Garden and Zoo Atlanta can be seen at:(www.saveafrog.org). Adjoining this building, the Fuqua Orchid Center contains separate rooms simulating the tropics and high elevations in order to house rare orchids from around the world.

The Fuqua Orchid Center is home to the largest collection of species orchids on permanent display in the U.S. and hosts a wintertime display known as Orchid Daze. Its unique Tropical High Elevation House provides the correct habitat for montane orchids and companion plants from around the equator at elevations of 6,000 to 10,000 feet. An Air Washer System, technology adapted from the textile industry, was combined with traditional greenhouse heating and cooling to create this environment, and allows rare orchids to thrive. The Tropical Display House is filled with fragrant orchids from around the world.

Chihuly in the Garden Exhibition

In 2004, the Atlanta Botanical Garden hosted an extremely successful exhibition of glass art by Dale Chihuly titled "Chihuly in the Garden". The exhibit ran through the end of October and was extended until December 31, 2004. During the eight-month run, an estimated 425,000 attendees visited the exhibit. The peak per-day rates of 7500 were double the previous single-day attendance record at the Garden.

Maria Checa

Maria Checa (born July 29, 1970 in Bogotá, Colombia) is a Colombian-American model and actress. She was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for its August 1994 issue. Her centerfold was photographed by Richard Fegley.

Maria, who moved with her family to Florida when she was a child, is also an accomplished artist who attended the Maryland Institute College of Art for a time. She also attended and graduated from The New World School of the Arts in Miami.

On December 18, 2008, the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission filed a complaint (SEC v. Devlin, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Case No. 08-Civ-11001 (JGK)) alleging a scheme for trading stocks on inside information ahead of public announcements of mergers and acquisitions. The complaint alleges that, among other people, one Jamil A. Bouchareb traded on inside information. The complaint names as a "relief defendant" Maria T. Checa, age 38, a resident of Greensboro, North Carolina, who worked as a model and actress, and states that Checa and Bouchareb lived together from about September 2004 until mid-2007. The complaint alleges that Bouchareb provided inside information to Checa, and that Checa and her company Checa International traded on the inside information, and that Checa, Checa International, Bouchareb, his parents and others to whom he provided information reaped illegal profits of more than $4.2 million. The complaint alleges that it would not be just, equitable or conscionable to allow Checa and Checa International to retain illegal profits obtained as part of and in furtherance of the securities fraud and seeks to recover such profits from Checa and Checa International, though it is not alleged that they violated the law. (Bouchareb was also criminally charged in a related case brought by the U.S. Attorney.)

Mike Mad Dog Bell

Pro wrestler 'Mad Dog' Bell found dead

What is going on in the wrestling world?
Mike "Mad Dog" Bell, a former professional wrestler whose struggle with substance abuse was featured in the documentary "Bigger, Stronger, Faster," has died. He was 37.

Bell was found Sunday at a Costa Mesa live-in rehabilitation facility, his family said.

An autopsy was conducted but investigators couldn't immediately determine the cause of death, said Dan Akin, a supervising deputy at the Orange County coroner's division. The coroner is awaiting the results of toxicology tests, he said.

Chris Bell, whose 2008 documentary examines the steroid use of his two brothers, said Mike Bell had long battled with his addictions to prescription painkillers and alcohol.

"He was always wrestling, he was a personal trainer, he was always pushing his body to the max," Chris Bell told the Orange County Register.

"You can't really blame wrestling, but it's kind of the lifestyle," he said. "You have a couple of painkillers to get to the next match, have a couple drinks night to night and it gets out of hand."

Bell wrestled on World Wrestling Entertainment's "Monday Night Raw" as a "jobber," a fighter who takes falls to promote others.

"Although Mr. Bell was never under a WWE contract, WWE extends its deepest condolences to the Bell family," the organization said.

Former professional wrestler turned personal trainer Mike “Mad Dog” Bell died at the age of thirty-seven at a live-in rehabilitation facility in Costa Mesa, California last Sunday.

Mike’s brother Chris Bell said, his brother had an up and down battle with his addictions and had checked himself into Romona House.

Mike’s struggles with abuse were documented in a film called “Bigger, Stronger, and Faster.”

In an interview with reporters, Chris said, “You can’t really blame wrestling, but it’s kind of the lifestyle. You have a couple of painkillers to get to the next match, have a couple of drinks night to night and it gets out of hand.”

WWE released a statement saying, “Although Mr. Bell was never under a WWE contract, and WWE extends its deepest condolences to the Bell Family.”

Mike wrestled on WWE’s “Monday Night Raw” as “a jobber,” a fighter to takes falls to promote others

A supervising deputy at the Orange County coroner’s office said that an autopsy was conducted but investigators could not immediately determine the cause of death, and they are waiting for the results of a toxicology test.