Atlanta's Greyhound bus station turned into its own little municipality, with 150 marooned travelers ignored at first as the city iced over and then showered with goodwill gestures.
The bus riders were stuck at the Forsyth Street station after Greyhound canceled all service on Monday and Tuesday.
Hearing of the plight of these weary and hungry people, Atlanta police and city jail staffers delivered sandwiches, bottled water and blankets late Monday night. Police returned Tuesday morning with breakfast. A nearby McDonald's and the Salvation Army also helped out. Midtown's Palomar Hotel, though at 90 percent capacity because of the weather, next offered the use of showers and rooms to freshen up, free of charge.
Rosita Neal of Chicago said she had been stranded at the bus station for four days, since Saturday evening. She was on her way home after visiting relatives in Greenville, S.C. Her stop in Atlanta was harrowing at first.
"I'm on medication," Neal said. "There are certain foods I have to eat. Today is Tuesday and I've been here since Saturday. Two nights I didn't sleep, and last night I slept on the floor. They had problems with food. ... I said, ‘You need to give people something, some complimentary coffee and doughnuts.'"
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Atlanta was supposed to be a brief pit stop for Raimo Laosma.
However, the Estonia man, 39, who is attempting to ride his bicycle 21,000 to 22,000 miles around the world in a year's time (aided by air travel), found himself stuck in the city by its treacherous weather conditions.
"Snow is not a problem, but everything covered with ice is very slippery," Laosma said on Tuesday. "I just can't ride."
He had hoped to travel down the bicycle-friendly Silver Comet Trail before leaving Georgia, crossing the country and riding through Las Vegas and Los Angeles, but he was considering alternate routes to reach the West Coast.
Laosma, until recently a bicycle salesman in his Baltic country, was lodged at the Vinings home of Estonia native Aadu Allpere, waiting for a break in the weather and mulling ways to get back on schedule.
"Later I must ride a little more every day," Laosma said.
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One group not enjoying the extra days of winter break are college students.
Iced-over roads and idle airports have made it difficult, if not impossible, for thousands of students to get to campuses in Georgia or leave the state to return to college elsewhere.
Flora Theden was planning to return to University of Tennessee in Knoxville on Monday, but was still with her family in Vinings a day later.
Her classes resume Wednesday. She’s e-mailed professors to explain her situation, but worries whether she’ll be able to add a class that is currently full. In those situations, students typically show up the first day of classes and ask the professor if they can enroll.
The delay also pushed back Theden’s start date for an internship. She has paperwork that must be completed before she can start the job, and she had planned on taking care of that this week.
“It might seem like fun sitting at home but it’s really annoying,” the senior said. “It’s my last semester and I have stuff I need to be doing.”
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Most courts across the metro area have been shut down because of the ice and snow, backing up cases and giving summoned residents a legitimate reason to miss jury duty. Just about the only courts remaining open early this week were those in the local jails where magistrate judges have been holding first-appearance hearings for defendants recently charged with crimes.
"The show still must go on," said Fulton County Sheriff's Department spokesman Tracy Flanagan, noting that magistrate judges held hearings on Monday and Tuesday.
By law, first-appearance hearings must be held within 48 hours for anyone arrested without a warrant and within 72 hours for anyone arrested with a warrant. These hearings let the accused know what charges they are facing and notify them of their constitutional rights. They also require authorities to show probable cause for the arrest.
Court calendars and hearings in most other metro area courts -- Superior, State, Magistrate, Juvenile and Probate -- were canceled Monday and Tuesday. The Georgia Supreme Court and the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta also postponed oral arguments in a number of high-profile cases.
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Clayton County Sheriff Kem Kimbrough is running department operations from different airports hundreds of miles away. Kimbrough flew to California last week for a conference, but has been unable to return to Atlanta.
“I’ve been trying to get back for two days,” Kimbrough said. “They flew me to Utah and now we’re getting transferred to Houston, but we’ll probably be stuck there for days, too."
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The snow hasn't keep everyone home, especially the opportunistic.
Thieves took advantage of several frozen security gates left open at Atlanta area gated communities on Monday night, Atlanta police said. The result was a rash of car break-ins, including some situations where drivers left purses, laptops and other belongings on car seats, officers said.
Police encouraged residents to clean off their snowy cars, lock their doors and bring their belongings inside.
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Dr. Kevin Sullivan, surgeon, was among those waiting on Tuesday in the Five Points MARTA station for nearly an hour for the eastbound train, wondering if it would come. He had decided he wouldn't take another day off from work.
Sullivan couldn't drive, with his residential street under a solid sheet of ice. He walked several blocks to catch the train, finding it challenging. It's nothing the native Philadelphian hadn't seen before. Yet he expected a better response from Atlanta in dealing with transportation needs.
“Nothing has been done,” he said. “But given how often we have these ice emergencies, it is reasonable.”
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With people stuck at home, Angelina Espinosa, 8, thought Tuesday would be a great day to catch up on Girl Scout cookie sales.
With her father, Tony Espinosa, she braved the slippery pavement, clipboard in hand and scout vest over her coat, to knock on doors in their Cobb County condominium community, The Gardens, off Davidson Road.
Espinosa, a single father, works in home renovation out of his mother's condo, but he'll be taking care of Angelina until Cobb schools reopen.
"It's not bad," he said. "I think the kids love it. They're playing, they're sledding. And the adults love it, because they get a day off. Everything is so fast paced, it's nice to take it easy for a change."
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Small business owner John Allen was snowbound on Tuesday at his house in northeast Atlanta. For the second day in a row, Allen decided it was unsafe to attempt the icy 20-mile trek to open his WiseAsh Cigar store in the Cumberland Square North Shopping Center off Cobb Parkway in Marietta.
Allen said January is a slow month for mom and pop retailers like him after the busy holiday season. But the winter storm forced him to close Monday and Tuesday, and cancel a weekly card game on Tuesday night that usually draws a profitable crowd. He was determined to make it to work on Wednesday.
"So hopefully I'll just take my time and get there, and hopefully some folks will be out and about and we'll do some business," Allen said. "From any small business owner standpoint, at this point you try to salvage what you can."
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The commercial strip along North Highland Avenue had only a Chevron service station and Moe's and Joe's Bar & Grill open on Monday, although pedestrians were everywhere with sleds and makeshift walking sticks.
On Tuesday, the pedestrians were back and so was some of the commercial life. Doors were open at other restaurants and bars, with retailers still dark with one notable exception.
Skip Williams of Highland Wine and Crystal kept his store open on Monday and Tuesday, and said business was great both days. Williams said he stayed open because he could.
"My house is just a half mile away," Williams said. "I could walk here in 12 minutes."
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Some metro area police officers have learned what it’s like to be a taxi driver.
Atlanta and DeKalb police officers and Clayton County sheriff’s deputies were put on taxi duty on Monday and Tuesday, asked to pick up 911 dispatchers and other essential workers who could not drive to work.
“The county can’t operate without the dispatchers, so we’re sending patrol cars to pick them up,” said Clayton's Kimbrough, again stuck in an airport.
Between five to eight Atlanta Police officers were running a shuttle service, spokesman Sgt. Curtis Davenport said. Most of them were motorcycle officers unable to drive their bikes on the ice.
DeKalb Police picked up 40 employees, including officers and 911 operators, who were stuck inside their homes to bring them to work, police spokeswoman Mekka Parish said.
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Several Atlanta-area grocery stores were open on Tuesday, but there wasn't a complete selection. At most Publix stores, the produce and bakery sections were empty, though milk and bread remained plentiful, spokeswoman Brenda Reid said. Publix had not received new shipments since Sunday night.
Kroger stores experienced "an enormous rush" on groceries over the weekend, and most had not been restocked, advertising manager Lori Smith said. Perishable goods were low in supply at several stores.
Some Walmart stores were running low on eggs and milk, but company spokesman Daniel Morales said the stores have been able to receive truck deliveries.
Morales said the stores were "really well prepared" for the storm, both in terms of the products on the shelves and the stocking plans.
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The weather and ice roads are hurting Mike Latham's income.
Latham is a home appraiser, working mainly in Cobb County and the northeast part of the metro area. He has been unable to complete his appraisals this week because he can't get out to take pictures of the houses needed for his reports. He estimates the weather has cost him about $800 in income this week.
"I've got two reports I'm working on and I have already called my clients and told them that we could be iced in until the end of the week," he said. "I get paid by the job and if you're not turning them out, you're not making any money."
Staff writers Janel Davis, Laura Diamond, John R. Edwards, Larry Hartstein, Arielle Kass, Megan Matteucci, Margaret Newkirk, Dan Raley, Bill Rankin, Andria Simmons, John Spink and Leon Stafford contributed to this article.
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