Gardeners Rejoice!

Here’s a blurb from the AJC that’s a few days old, but I hadn’t heard it, so I thought it deserved a post.

DeKalb County Chief Executive Officer Vernon Jones on Friday announced the county was lifting its drought-related ban on the use of water for pools beginning April 1.

The decision gives pool operators two months to prepare for the traditional opening on Memorial Day.

DeKalb also will allow outdoor watering of shrubs and plants, but not lawns. The watering may be done with a hand-held hose for 25 minutes between midnight and 10 a.m. three days a week.

Even-numbered addresses can water on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. Odd numbered addresses can water on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.

Hmm…I’m glad to hear about the plants and shrubs, but I’m a little surprised about the pools.

A check of the great blog, Atlanta Water Shortage, gives us an update on the drought status of the region.  Sounds like its still very necessary to conserve water.  Who knows how long this lifted ban will last.

Yes, I’m reviving this clever, old post title.

A couple of you may remember a few months back that I kinda jumped the gun about reporting on the collapse of the Relax Inn.  So, even after Next Stop…Decatur published visual proof of the rubble, I was not satisfied.  I wanted to see it for myself.   As I’m sure most folks have seen, they’ve been spraying a lot of water and slowly taking apart the building for the past few months (reminiscent of a building with asbestos insulation – this is only speculation), but had yet to take a bulldozer to any of the main buildings.

After hearing rumblings of its demise, my original plan had been to head over there yesterday and take a couple of pics of the demolition.  Unfortunately the nasty, chilly weather kept me away.

But I figure if the mayor is also started celebrating…a firsthand account is unnecessary and I should stop being so gun shy and write the post.

Peace out Relax Inn.  Though the mayor anticipates continued slow process of the new Trinity Triangle development, it sounds like most people would rather have a hole in the ground, then a standing reminder of your past transgressions.

I must admit that I’ve been anticipating this store closing for months.

Due to the fact that 1.  we live in Ponce Heights and 2. we have a dog that needs to be walked multiple times a day, we are very frequently passing by Gado Gado, which sits along the western edge of Ponce next to Whit’s End and Intaglia.  And honestly I can’t even tell you the last time I saw someone come in or out of that store.

All that said, I wasn’t all that surprised when I saw a “moving sale” sign in their window this unseasonably cold afternoon.  According to all-knowing window signs, the store is “consolidating” and moving everything over to their flagship Amsterdam Walk location.  But this hasn’t stopped them from putting things on sale, so if you’re a fan of their Indonesian style furnishings you can get 20%-50% off deals from now ’til April 13th.

Rus points out that Creative Loafing’s “bites” program is currently selling $30 gift certificates to El Tesoro and the Depeaux for $15.

The new El Tesoro has gotten some good reviews on this site thus far from local residents. Opinions I hear/read of the Depeaux are often mixed, especially when its being compared to “true New Orleans” cuisine. And though I’ve never been to New Orleans (unfortunately), I think the friendly service, gator bites and Hurricanes at the Depeaux are often worth the fuss and the walk home (since one Hurricane usually has me seeing double).

Get these discounts while supplies last!

UPDATE: In my haste I overlooked Oakhurst’s Calavino’s, which is also included on the $30 for $15 list.  Thanks Carl!

Wow…the AJC is getting granular about bookstore moves in town.

After Wordsmiths opened in the old SunTrust building on the Square yesterday, today’s paper features an article about how the shop will use the old bank vault in its new location to house its comic books section.

One particularly interesting statement in the article: being only a year old, the store hasn’t yet turned a profit.

(Photo of a gimpy Russ Marshalek courtesy of the AJC)

Feel better Russ!

From about 7:45a thru 11:30a tomorrow morning, Decatur will serve as the eastern point for the 2nd annual ING marathon. The race takes a different path through town than last year, coming east down W Ponce and veering off at East Lake, heading down to College, taking College past Agnus Scott to Commerce, going under the railroad bridge, up to Ponce and then a right on to Clairemont in front of the Courthouse. Outside the city limits it will then turn left onto N. Decatur and head on over to Emory.

If my shorthand instructions just don’t do it for you, check out the city’s ING page here or click on the marathon’s official map and street list w/ times.

Decatur’s “official” cheering section will again be the Fellini’s parking lot on Commerce, but the city is also trying to paint the entire route through Decatur the color orange. So get out along the route tomorrow morning decked out in orange and help the city cheer on runners and perhaps even win another cash prize like last year!

ALSO SEE: March’s Decatur Focus featured the winning “Burma Shave” entries (like the one in the AJC pic above) that will have this year’s runners gasping for air as the laugh their way through town.

Mindy is good enough to send along an email from city commissioner Fred Boykin to the Venetian Pools email list, explaining that the Georgia DOT has scrapped its planned sidewalk improvements along Scott Blvd without telling the city. The city has scheduled a April 1st Westchester meeting at 6:30p to voice dissatisfaction with the change in plans.

Here are Fred’s words…

A recently proposed Georgia DOT project was to include fixing, replacing, and adding sidewalks along the Scott Blvd. corridor (including in front of Venetian Pools) within the Decatur city limits as part of a larger project along Ponce de Leon. The Scott Blvd. portion was scrapped – and with no prior notice to the city. This did not sit well with a number of residents and a meeting has been set up with Ga. DOT staff and residents in the area. In addition, Decatur Mayor Bill Floyd, Mayor Pro Tem Jim Baskett, myself, City Manager Peggy Merriss, State Rep. Stephanie Stuckey, and Ga. DOT Board member Emory McClinton are scheduled to be there as well.

It is difficult to get a meeting like this set up. It will be your best opportunity to let Ga. DOT know your feelings about Scott Blvd.,sidewalks or probably anything else about this corridor!

Sorry for the short notice, but we only pulled it together in the past few days.

The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday April 1st, 6:30 PM at Westchester on Scott Blvd. This is the old Westchester School location and current home of the Decatur School System Administration Offices – meeting will be held in the auditorium. Please try and attend and please pass the word!

This is a topic that I can talk about firsthand. To walk along Scott Boulevard is taking your life in your hands.

Most of its sidewalks don’t even sport a buffer with the street, and with cars that travel 50+ miles an hour down it, its the least pedestrian-friendly street in the whole city. And crossing it is a whole other form of terror. I can’t even imagine trying to do it with kids in tow.

I know I’ll try to be in attendance.

Seems like One West Courthouse Square is becoming an educational hub.

DeVry University/Georgia’s President announced today in a letter to “Georgia Employees” that they are downsizing from its DeKalb Industrial campus and moving to our glassy, Square building this autumn.

Geez…was this building completely empty prior to these academic tenets? When did all this space become available?

Hopefully this means even more lunchtime traffic for Decatur and perhaps it will help revitalize that sunken dead-zone patio area with the broken stone tables. That whole area is completely unacceptable if you ask me.

Thanks to Cherie and Rus to forwarding along this information!

If you’d like to read the President’s full message check out the continuation… Read the rest of this entry »

The AJC recently used a February “incident” where a student brought a gun to Renfroe Middle School as a jumping off point to talk about promoting “safer schools” around Atlanta.

A little chart included with the story detailing gun felonies for school systems showed three weapon felonies in the Decatur school system in 2007. Well, after I got passed the fact that Gwinnett had a higher gun felony total than DeKalb (and yes, I am aware that Gwinnett is a larger school system, but its still surprising) I wanted to know more about these 3 incidents in Decatur.

Well, the AJC didn’t specify where the data came from, so I turned to old reliable Google. Within a few clicks I found the site. From there I clicked on “Decatur City” and found this.

So as you can see above, those three cited felony weapons charges was the total extent of the crime reported in CDS in ALL of 2007. And looking back to 2006 there were NO incidents reported. Looks pretty good to me.

But then I noticed a breakdown link. And it showed this.

Uh…of the three felony weapons charges filed in 2007 within CDS, two were at the elementary school level!?

I was surprised and thought you might be too.

Any parents out there with details on these “incidents”?

My wife and I have been a bit curious about the lack of activity behind the torn brown paper at the old Tropical Smoothie Location. But we needn’t have feared.

In an email, the co-owner of Tastings: A Wine Experience, Kelly Resignola, says that they are shooting for a “early May” opening.

And not a moment too soon. The alcohol density within a quarter mile of my residence was getting scarily low.