The Atlantic Cities blog has a really interesting post this morning based on the successful rain garden programs in Portland, Oregon (“the dream of the 90′s is alive…”) and around Washington D.C.  The post has a rather emphatic title “Why Every City Should be Planting Rain Gardens” and after reading it, it’s hard to disagree.

Rain gardens seem like they have the potential to please every type of city dweller as well as perform a necessary function of reducing rain runoff by allowing storm-water to soak into the ground.  The finance hawks can take comfort in the fact that each strategically placed rain garden can reduce the burden on an increasingly expensive sewer system.  Eco-nauts can love the fact that the gardens incorporate native plant species, and reduces damaging run-off.  Draught-fearfuls will appreciate that the gardens send more rainwater back into the earth during the summer months of Lanier-induced panic.

What’s not to love?

And it’s not just something the city can tuck into small parcels of land around the city, but it’s also an idea that can benefit our commercial properties AND countless negative-revenue single family homeowers!  Want to install a few rain gardens yourself?  The Oakhurst Community Garden and the city are hosting a rain garden event at the Decatur Library in April.  Can’t wait ’til then?  You can also watch this 12 minute video put together by the city of Portland on the where and how of installing rain gardens around your home, do some more Googling and then get started (or hire someone to do it for you).

At the broader city level, it seems like if city staff could just determine where to put these rain gardens, you could find countless volunteers to spend the weekends digging the ditches, shoveling the dirt, and planting the low-maintenance plants.  What parent hasn’t dreamed of sending their tweenager out to dig a few ditches on a Saturday morning??  And they’d be digging “for the environment”.  What child of the new millennium wouldn’t love that?

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons

• Decatur’s new Courtyard by Marriott will open February 1st [Crossroads]
• Contrary to previous reports, Outwrite Books closes for good [Outwrite]
• Burrell Ellis says he’ll seek re-election as DeKalb CEO [AJC]
• Oakhurst new construction featured [Curbed]
• Sign a petition for a new animal shelter in DeKalb [Change.org]
• Billy Reid opening a store at White Provision [Bearings]
• Brookings Institute op-ed: Atlanta ain’t so “Hot” anymore [AJC]

Midtown Atlanta parking map courtesy of Human Scale Cities

Feel free to make comments and ask questions about local issues not discussed here over the past week.

Comments close on Monday.

Twains, Decatur GA (pic submitted by E.J. of 7of1)

This was mentioned at the last Decatur City Commission meeting.

Decatur’s State Representatives Mary Margaret Oliver and Stephanie Stuckey Benfield, along with State Senator Jason Carter are holding a “town hall meeting” at 6:30p in the city commisison meeting room at Decatur City Hall.

Patch says that HOPE scholarships are one potential topic of conversation, since Senator Carter has been pushing for changes to the scholarship programs -  including a cap on family income eligibility and downsizing the size of the commission’s staff – as recently reported by the AJC.

There’s also likely to be talk about the recent redistricting, which will provide future challenges for some state reps, especially Rep. Benfield.

• 22 Reasons We Love the South [Bon Appetit]
• Man who died in Mason Mill Park, died of natural causes [Patch]
• American Legion Leader visiting Avondale this afternoon [Patch]
• Gov. Deal transit task force recommends GRTA lead all systems, except MARTA [SapotaReport]
• Georgia Southern ties with Yale as 7th most popular university in the country [GA Southern]
• Other Atlanta’s around the U.S. [pecanne log]
• Atlanta meets air quality standards!! [AJC]

Adair Street, Decatur GA (pic submitted by Karen)

I feel like someone told me about this or I read it somewhere before, but it’s completely escaped me now.  Eddie writes in…

 Do you have any information on the major addition to the Dekalb Farmers Market. An huge two story addition has been added to the back of the building.

So…anyone know?

Photo courtesy of Your DeKalb Farmer’s Market website

• Oakhurst Elementary tries out student-led parent/teacher conferences [Champion]
• Panda Express opening near Northlake Mall [TNT]
• The forgotten history of Access Atlanta, one of the early web’s most innovative papers [Neiman Journo Lab]
• Long neglected, historic “The 750″ apartments on Ponce to be renovated [Patch]
• Cobb wants transit money switched to fund toll lanes [AJC]
• A house for sale on Lullwater for under $1 million?? [Curbed]
• Atlanta ranks as fourth most literate city in U.S. [USAT]
• Why Portland’s public toilets succeeded while others failed [Atlantic Cities]

I received a report from a reader that a Facebook friend had reported that a body was found in Mason Mill Park, north of Decatur, this afternoon.  This report in the AJC confirms it, though doesn’t provide much detail.

The eyewitness report noted that “DeKalb police are everywhere” in the afternoon.  She goes on to note that “all was fine” at 11am when she went to drop off books at the library “kids playing, etc”.  But when she returned with a book accidentally left in her car around 2p, she was “greeted by CSI units, DeKalb police and a funeral home van.”

The AJC report quotes DeKalb Police saying there was “no apparent cause of death”.