Got your attention?

From Russ Abbott, owner of Ink & Dagger Tattoo (a couple doors down from Wahoo! on College)

Decatur – Come show your true colors this Friday, the Fourth of July, by getting a tattoo and helping to raise money for the families of overseas-troops. Ink & Dagger Tattoo Parlour will host Tribute to Tradition – a charity drive with all proceeds going to Operation Home Front – an organization which works to help the families of the National Guard and Reservists.

The shop will open its doors at 11 AM Friday and hopes to complete more than 30 tattoos by day’s end. To help achieve this monumental task, Russ Abbott – owner and resident artist – has enlisted the help of Christian Ratchford, a regular guest-artist here at Ink & Dagger Tattoo Parlour, who will work alongside Abbott, Jason Kelly, and Michael “Shack” Shackelford. “We thought: what better way to celebrate our Nation’s independence than to honor and support those who help to preserve it!?” – says Abbott. The shop, which specializes in Americana-style tattoos, hopes people will embrace this opportunity to help raise money for the families of soldiers and go home with a piece of American history and tradition.

Attendees will be able to choose from a variety of preselected iconic images and designs, including but not limited to anchors, skulls, flags, and tall-ships. Abbott adds: “Since the Civil War, soldiers have used tattoos as a way to celebrate heroic feats in battle or to commemorate their fallen brothers. Now it’s our turn to pay tribute to the legends of yesterday and heroes of today by carrying on this timeless tradition and indelible part of American History.”

More information and artist portfolios can be seen on the shop’s website: www.inkanddaggertattoo.com.

[photo ripped from Ink and Dagger's blog]

Over at CL, Thomas Wheatley recently linked to an interesting article at Governing.com that cites Brookings Institution data that shows Atlanta’s white population having grown at an unmatched rate since 2000 (from 31% in 2000 to 35% in 2006). According to the article, that’s the fastest white population increase in the nation…only D.C. is competitive.

However, while the city is becoming more white, the collective metro area is becoming less so.

“For if the city itself is growing whiter, the Atlanta region is growing less white. The Atlanta Regional Commission reports that in 2000, the white, non-Hispanic population of the 20-county Atlanta metro region formed 60 percent of the total population; by 2006, that had shrunk to 54 percent, not so much because whites were leaving — although four counties did see absolute declines in white numbers — but because of the arrival in the suburbs of African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Africans and Caribbeans. Of the 10 counties in the nation with the largest declines in white percentage of the population from 2000 to 2006, six are in the suburbs of Atlanta.”

So, what’s the reason? Well, to make a long story short, the article’s author thinks its traffic. And that “Commuting distance has become inversely proportional to class” in Atlanta. He predicts a similar trend the nation over.

Quite coincidently, Atlantic Monthly recently investigated another aspect of this very trend. A July ‘08 article entitled “American Murder Mystery” investigates the crime explosion in city suburbs and points the finger at one of the most celebrated antipoverty initiatives in decades: the destruction of the projects and the dispensing of Section 8 rent-subsidy vouchers to its tenants.

It’s an interesting and slightly troubling read, as entire inner city communities are torn apart and sent packing into the unknown ‘burbs. On top of that, these poorer populations are now spread out in the lower-density areas, where walking anywhere is nearly out of the question. So now $4 gas or a bus/train ticket figures into an already difficult financial equation. Coupled that with a loss of community, and the future of the outer suburbs looks very real and very bleak.

For better or worse, cities are being redefined…and Atlanta seems to be on the cutting edge.

A few more folks became familiar with Critical Mass last month after the AJC did a feature story on the monthly congregation of hundreds of cyclists that clog Atlanta intersections to promote bike awareness. Well, apparently this level of publicity didn’t sit well with the APD, because after months of a peaceful coexistence between the police and bikers, this past Friday the cops descended upon the helmeted en masse. Tickets were handed out for those that ran stop signs and red lights.

Shelbinator has the first hand account which includes a video with lots of flashing lights…

Not surprisingly, this monthly event is somewhat controversial, even within the biking community.

Even though those that participate in CM argue that it has nothing to do with showing how cyclists will willingly break traffic laws, many of those opposed see it that way. However, for anyone that’s ever had a car push you into a ditch, you begin to understand the concept (and admittedly built up animosity) behind CM. You nearly break my arm, I break a traffic law once a month to remind you that I exist.

Just another nasty symptom of our car-based infrastructure that treats the bicyclist as an afterthought.

Thanks to David O. for the heads up!

Announcement by Java Monkey’s Owner, Jess, thru Random Oenophile…

Help Amy and Leah!
Amy Sarrell, longtime JAVAMONKEY employee, and Leah Helfen were riding Leah’s scooter when they were hit by an SUV on Jun 7th. At present, both of these wonderful ladies are still at Grady.

On July 3rd, JAVAMONKEY is holding a fund raising event to help cover Amy and Leah’s medical and living expenses while they recover. Gently (formerly My Siamese Self), The Bangers, and It’s Elephants will be playing, from 8pm-11pm. We will have $3.00 beers and $5.00 glasses of wine until they run out. Also there will be a silent auction with art donated by Pandra Williams, Bill Mayer, Laura Hull, and others, and goods, and gift certificates from JAVAMONKEY, Brickstore, Twain’s, Mingei, Taste, Squash Blossom, Decatur School of Ballet, Little Shop of Stories, and more!

Community MATTERS.

In case you missed the front page of the Metro Section this morning, the AJC has compiled data for all of the alternative commutes in a single article.

The gist? With ever rising gas prices, most alternative forms of transportation, with the exception of one bus service, have seen impressive increases in ridership vs. last year. And while MARTA ridership is among the gainers, it registered the smallest increase of the gainers; perhaps a reflection of its limited reach to the outer-suburbs. This also could be changing. Gwinnett residents will vote next month on allowing MARTA into the county.

Enough of my babbling…here’s the data!

MARTA: Train ridership is up 15% in April and May vs. same period year-ago. However, Bus AND Train ridership is up only 7%. (Which explains the discrepancy Thomas and I encountered earlier this month)

Carpooling: Up 221% vs. year-ago according to RideSmart

GRTA Express Bus: Up 67% May ‘08 to May ‘07

Douglas County Van Pool: Up 160% May ‘08 to May ‘07

Telecommuting Clean Air Commuter Reward Registrations: Up 23% vs. last year.

The only service down is Gwinnett County Transit. It’s ridership has declined 20% vs. last-year.

I wonder if the Clean Air Campaign also has a biking-to-work number. Would be a bit more reflective of the changes made by some intown commuters.

See the full article for all the details.

Both of these events revolve around libraries in some way.

Decatur library

Nick Edelstein
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Nick’s handiwork on lead guitar is impeccably precise, as each song spills with fervent balance…dazzling, mesmerizing guitar-driven Blues-Rock. Edelstein also shows his intimate side with soft-spoken material on endearing originals. His voice suits the blues man, with performances of “liquid gold.” Dealing with spiritual growth and metamorphosis, his songs yield raw, fiery blends and sinuous lines tempered by a melodic, structured approach that keeps your feet tapping and the house rocking.Mingei World Arts — bringing books to people of La Union Tejalapan, in Oaxaca state, Mexico

Mingei World Arts

Carmen Deedy and John McCutcheon will perform an evening of Latin Story and Song at the Decatur Library on July 29, 2008.

The performance, sponsored by Mingei World Arts and the Georgia Center for the Book, will benefit Libros Para Pueblos, an organzation buidling libraries in the rural state of Oaxaca, Mexico. Mingei World Arts, a unique import store in downtown Decatur, is partnering with Libros Para Pueblos to create a library for the people of La Union Tejalapan in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico.

For more information on the Georgia Center for the Book, please vist their website at http://georgiacenterforthebook.org/.

This event is free and open to the public, but we ask that you please consider
making a donation to help the Mexican Library.

Scott points out that Decatur was featured on CNN’s Issue #1 this afternoon in a segment about the real costs associated with living farther outside of a metropolitan area. In it, Decatur residents’ transportation costs are compared to those of distant Dacula.

Unfortunately, we don’t have the video, just the transcript. And its a little long, so I’ll post it in full in the continuation. Scott found the video!

Good press for our little city! Plus it continues to show that Decatur is on the right side of a long term trend in sustainable living.

Thanks Scott! Read the rest of this entry »

Today, the New York Times is talking about what we’ve been discussing for months. It even quotes the Atlantic article I featured a few months back in my award-winning* “Slumming It in Your McMansion” post.

Namely, that gas prices are clearing out the ex-urbs and suburbs, and people are buying smaller homes and smaller cars closer to the city center. Atlanta even gets a special shout-out.

In Atlanta, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Minneapolis, homes beyond the urban core have been falling in value faster than those within, according to an analysis by Moody’s Economy.com.

The article goes on to interview lots of nervous people on the urban fringe that are considering the big move back into the big, bad city and cites this interesting figure…

More than three-fourths of prospective home buyers are now more inclined to live in an urban area because of fuel prices, according to a recent survey of 903 real estate agents with Coldwell Banker, the national brokerage firm.

Three-fourths?! Well then let me be the first to say “Come one, come all!” But you might need to sell that sectional sofa first. Us ITPs like our homes nice and cozy.

*Post didn’t actually win any awards. I just made that up for dramatic effect.

[Photo courtesy of the NY Times]

Yesterday, Rebecca wrote in to Decatur Metro asking what was up at the Oakhurst Fire Station. She reports that the doors are locked tight and the grass is looking a little unkempt these day. Well, due to my obsessive Decaturga.com trolling, I knew that Oakhurst was indeed getting a new, funky $1.6 mil firehouse under the bond fund projects, but wasn’t sure when and why the old one was already closed up.

Well, like he read my mind, today Carl writes in with a link to an AJC article, which reports that the Fire Station received final approval this past Monday. Aside from the fact that there was no meeting this past Monday (approval was given on the 16th), the article states “During construction, the one firefighter company will work out of the city’s main fire station downtown. The move could affect response times, though some residents shrug off the move.”

But Carl begs to differ and reiterates Rebecca’s eyewitness account…”Any idea when the station actually closed? I believe it was months ago. The article makes it sound as if only during construction will the firefighters be moved to downtown, when in reality the place has been abandoned for ages.”

So, there’s your answer Rebecca! Does anybody have an approximate date of when Station 2 actually closed?

The AJC recaps the annexation issue in Decatur and Avondale this morning, with a couple gross exaggerations and few new details.

The paper starts out framing Decatur’s annexation issue around everyone’s favorite topic…declining home values.

Dropping property values, the driving force for so much economic misery in metro Atlanta, are also reviving talk of annexation in two central DeKalb County cities.

Decatur, which put the brakes on the discussion last winter, plans several meetings later this summer to offer information and gather input on the prospect of adding more land to the city.

Alright…so let’s tackle these first two sentences.  First off, neither is quite true.  Decatur has been mulling annexation for much longer than the length of the current housing slowdown.  If I may sum up the mayor’s thoughts on this subject from late last year…Decatur’s problem is (and has been) the large percentage of residential property in relation to commercial.  Not simply “declining home values” over the last 12 months.

And while declining home values would certainly hurt the city’s coffers…its a bit unclear whether that’s the case in Decatur.  The AJC’s own report has Decatur residential land prices up 6.6% from last year, even though the the city stated that it lost $4 mil in property value last year.  (I’m a bit unclear of the discrepancy, but one is certainly that the AJC number is only residential, while the city’s figure most likely includes commercial/industrial, etc…)

Onto the second sentence.  As I’ve said previously…Decatur didn’t put the annexation issue “on hold” late last year, as the AJC asserts above.  The heavily-attended city manager’s report commission meeting was just an early preliminary step of seriously evaluating the option of annexation.  The mayor and every commissioner made it clear that this was a very preliminary step in the process and recognized that they were far from finished with this evaluation stage…especially concerning the school capacity issue.  The AJC has made this misstatement before…so I can only assume the author simply went to the AJC archives for the backstory and wrote it again.

All that said, I found two interesting little tidbits of info in this article…

The first is a strong quote from Mayor Floyd stating…

“Quite honestly, you’re talking about survival as a city, when 60 percent of our income comes from property taxes,”

In case you thought the mayor was on the fence on this issue, now you know better.

Also, it references a February meeting between Decatur and Avondale of which I hadn’t heard many details…

The two cities met in February to discuss the potential for their borders to meet at Sams Crossing on College Avenue. [emphasis mine]

Decatur considered gobbling both commercial and residential land east of its current borders, while Avondale Estates wants only the commercial strip between Sams Crossing and its current border at Maple Street.

Could be a hint of annexation plans to come…