Andisheh proudly points out that his grandparents-in-law, Ronald and Nettie Fisher, celebrated their 70th (!) wedding anniversary this past week.  Here’s the AJC blurb…

Ronald Fisher from Decatur and Nettie King from Fort Gaines met at North Georgia College. They became friends while riding through the hills in Ronald’s car, the only one on campus. That friendship blossomed into love, and they were married on July 29, 1939. Their love has grown over the past 70 years. It has survived the traumatic years of World War II and enhanced the lives of their three children Judy, Linda, and Fred, all of whom were born in Decatur where the couple continues to reside. Ronald and Nettie are blessed with 7 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren. Their amazing love and devotion to each other has only grown stronger over the years. The entire family honors them and wishes them well on this special occasion.

Extraordinary!  Congrats to Ronald and Nettie!

Director of the Little 5 Points Music Center, Phil Sims, writes in with details about the Center’s August expansion to Decatur.

Decatur is quickly becoming a mecca for arts and arts education, welcoming in August the opening of the Decatur Music Center– the second location in a growing network of community music schools in Atlanta. Located on E Howard Avenue, next to the Decatur School of Ballet, the Decatur Music Center offers music lessons, classes, summer camps, educational workshops and performance opportunities for children and adults interested in classical, jazz, rock, folk and experimental music, as well as musical theater and video production. Currently, more than 350 students, beginners through pre-professionals, are enrolled at the organization’s start up location in Little Five Points.

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I came across this article a few days back, but at the time we were knee-deep in our own battle over race, and a body can only tolerate so much animosity on his site at a time.

Over on the site New Black Man, Emory Associate Professor of English and African American Studies, Lawrence Jackson, recounts an incident with Decatur police in June reminiscent of the Henry Gates arrest, when he was stopped along Clairemont Road for bicycling after dark without a headlamp.

Much can and – I’m sure – will be said about this in-depth account, but one thing cannot be argued; Jackson’s account is honest.  He’s very upfront with a series of past interactions with police that have forever altered his perception of officers.  He’s also honest in describing his “fury” once police pulled him over.  He could have skimmed over these factors, but he didn’t.

I don’t have the answer for this one.  I wasn’t there.  But I can predict how the conversation will go.  Some will argue that he broke the law and that his reaction to police is unacceptable.  Others will argue that this is just one more case of racial profiling, where a black man received a ticket where a white man never would.

I would just like to remind everyone that every man and woman is shaped by their own experiences.  Be it the cop in the car, the professor on the bike, or the anonymous commenter with a point to get across.  Facts are one thing, “truth” is perceived.

With that in mind, I ask everyone upfront to respect both each other and the conversation.

Decatur City Commission candidate Kyle Williams tweeted from the school board special session on the DeVry annexation last night that the school board voted unanimously in favor of the DeVry annexation and that the new student projections calculated 30-60 kids from the project.

UPDATE: Apparently the AJC was there too.

Wow.  Huge honor for Billy Allin, Cynthia Wong and all the folks at Cakes & Ale.

According to Grub Street New York, which got a “sneek peek” of Bon Appetit’s upcoming issue, which includes “10 Best New Restaurants in America”, Cakes & Ale is among the honored.  The recommended dish from the listing is “Citrus Arancine with Pecorino Cheese”.

They’ll be more when the issue hits newsstands August 11th.  Stay tuned.

For now, I think “Congratulations” are in order!

h/t: Running With Tweezers (via Twitter)

Atlanta Magazine’s “Covered Dish” blog has been doing a little Decatur-sleuthing of it’s own and gotten a healthy heap of details on Church Street’s “Yogurt Tap“, which – according to the post – will open toward the end of next week.

The post’s author, Sara Levine, talked directly with owner Lindsey Phillips, so she’s got a healthy serving of the 39 cents-an-ounce inside scoop.  (Oh the puns, they are so numerous!)  Click over to learn about Phillips’ inspiration, and what kinds of frozen yogurt will be on tap.

Here’s a taste…

Phillips says the original tart will be a staple, along with rotating flavors including dark chocolate, pineapple, green apple and strawberry.

If you’ve yet to vote in Creative Loafing’s “Best of Atlanta” poll for all things Decatur, you only have one day and roughly 8 hours left to do so.

In addition to “best blog” and “best blogger” (found at the bottom of the Cityscape section), I’m hoping DM can produce surprise victories in “overrated thing about Atlanta”, “local rabble-rouser”, “street character” and “person you hate to love”.

In it’s own narrative section (pages 16-18), Decatur’s Active Living division discusses ways it will be cutting back (aka identifying “cost savings”) in the coming year, including finding more efficient options for large program registration events, reducing the use of paper and office supplies, and looking for more partner opportunities to share costs.

For the 09-10 budget year, the Active Living Division’s four budget priorities focus mainly on maintenance and repairs, along with a new storage building.  Here’s the quick rundown.  Full descriptions for each priority can be found after the jump.

1. Priority One: Storage building with restroom for Ebster Field.
2. Priority Two:Fencing for the small softball field at Oakhurst Park and a bin for special infield dirt material for both Oakhurst softball fields.
3. Priority Three:Re‐paint and fix cracks at the heavily used basketball courts at Oakhurst Park, Ebster Park, and Mead Road Park.
4. Priority Four: New fencing at the McKoy Skate Park.

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Asst. Superintendent Thomas Van Soelen forwards another note from the superintendent.  This one seems to leave the door a bit more open for potential furlough days later in the school year.

We are reviewing the situation. While we do not wish to cut short the work of our teachers and staff, the serious nature of the economic picture may require that we take this step. We are exploring the options. At this time, should we consider the reduction of work calendars, as suggested by the Governor, we will plan forward so the days in question can take place the latter part of the year.

Lynne writes in with details about a new annual Decatur/DeKalb YMCA 5k run/walk in Oakhurst, branded the “Fall Five”, which will help provide funding for College Heights’ after-school and camp scholarships.  Here are many of the details, straight off the website.

The Decatur-DeKalb YMCA will host its first ever Fall Five, a 5K and Tot Trot on September 19 from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. to benefit it’s Partner With Youth program with proceeds going directly to College Height’s Early Childhood Learning Center in Oakhurst.

The YMCA Fall Five will provide partial funding for College Heights’ after school programs and scholarships for sending children to camps.

Race route begins and ends at Harmony Park at the intersection of East Lake Drive and Oakview Road in Oakhurst. The route runs through residental streets in Oakhurst and is mainly flat with rolling hills. Water stations are located along the route.

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