Free-For-All Friday 3/26/10
Decatur Metro | March 26, 2010Use this post to make comments and ask questions about local issues not discussed here in the past week. Comments close Monday.
This week’s Free-For-All Friday is brought to you by: Kick in the Fit, offering a free month of boot camp (morning or evening) to one Decatur Metro reader. www.kickinthefit.com
To enter, just send an email with the subject line “Decatur Metro Giveaway” to [email protected]. Make sure to include your name and address in the email. Kick in the Fit will pick the winner at random on Monday morning. The lucky reader will be announced in the Free-For-All Friday comment section that same day.
Its early but I’ll start with a complaint. The plywood barriers in front of the former 5th Earl and Trackside… How long do they get to occupy fully half of a sidewalk that runs right next to a four lane road with cars commonly going 40 mph?
When it snowed and was icy there, it was positively a safety hazard. I would have thought that there were rules governing the ability of property owners to place these barriers on public rights of way.
What has it been? A year? And there’s no sign of anything happening, the plywood is getting weathered and some pieces are loose. At this point, I no longer care what happens, just give me back our sidewalk!
Weird. I’ve never heard anyone ever complain about any of Bruce Cohen’s neglected and abandoned properties before.
Sorry but it sounds like I’m out of the know. So, this is, I take it, a long standing issue? I guess I just find it weird. When i was doing renovations on my house (mostly myself) a few years ago, the city inspector (in case I’m not anonymous enough, let me just add, you guys are great, we love you, really) really rode me on code issues. I remember thinking, wow, these guys are pretty hard core compared to other places I’ve lived.
But then to have this thing sit forever, with what seems like a honest to god public safety problem, is weird and out of line with what my expectations were. I think this has bugged me for a while but since the snows this year, I’m really getting infuriated by it. I mean, my god, if it was almost any other street but its College at Candler, as if that intersection isn’t unpleasant enough.
Perhaps we can get ‘Remove plywood’ inserted into the plan for changes to the intersection. See, I’m working myself into a tizzy about this and its only quarter to 9 and i’m going to have to wait 6 hours until I can give myself a beer…
Love the phrasing, ‘until I can give myself a beer.’ A little envious of your 6 hour work day, though.
“So, this is, I take it, a long standing issue?”
He owns the old Big H grocery store strip in Oakhurst if that gives you any insight.
Dear god, its even worse than I thought…
Apparently he has found a way to make money at this and hence they will be there forever as an eyesore. Just sayin’.
Can anyone recommend a good plumber that is local to Decatur? Thanks…
Joel Cotton is the best. Speaking of renovations, he did really great work, very reasonably priced, actually insanely well priced for a good plumber, and just all round good guy. 770-595-1062
I originally called Affordable Advantage Home Repair after reading reviews on kudzu.com and have used them a number of times since. So have many of my neighbors. We are always very happy with their work, and unless they are in the middle of something big, generally very quick to respond. You can call Phillip Minkoff directly at 770-978-1937.
I have always been happy with M. Carey & Daughters…a little pricey, but they do good work.
Ditto M. Cary and Daughters. I found them responsive and thorough. They bill themselves as “old house specialists” if that helps you. 404-370-0999 according to the magnet on my fridge.
Ditto here too
Happy Friday! With all the negativity we’ve encountered this week (see politicians acting like babies), I thought I’d start Friday off with a happy comment.
Everyone enjoy the day and the sun tomorrow!
Have some gyoza and edamame!
Fat Cat:
Question: Why was east-side traffic so horrific on Wednesday evening? It was massive gridlock! LaVista, Briarcliff, N Druid, and Clairmont were parking lots. My six mile commute from Buckhead to (almost) downtown Decatur took 1.25 hours.
Trudy—police closed North Druid Hills Rd. at Spring Creek and were diverting all the traffic heading toward Lawrenceville Hwy onto Spring Creek. I have no idea why – it was still closed at 9PM.
I heard there was an accident on North Druid Hills….
There was an accident on N Druid Hills.
Is anyone going to the urban picnic at the Sweet Auburn Curb Market today? Do you think it’s a good idea to try and bring a two year old?
After a proper 7 year aging they are much more civilized and taste much better. If you will consider a Kentucky whiskey, a younger brew may be appropriate in a casual environment.
Oh ho, no no no, scotch is much better than maker’s Mark!
I live in a 1960 ranch style house with really crappy ceilings. Cracked with bad patch jobs starting to show through. Have you ever replaced your ceilings? Or done an extensive repair job? Any recommendations or insight?
Parker,
We had the same issue. Rather than take down the old ceiling, which creates a HUGE mess, we had quarter-inch drywall placed right up against it to create a whole new ceiling. Once it’s mudded and painted, it looks fantastic. By the way, I would only recommend this if the current ceiling isn’t sagging. If it is, replace it.
I feel for you. About the only thing you can do, regardless of whether they’re plaster or sheetrock, is to tear them all down and replace with new sheetrock.
Anyone have a company recommendation that does this kind of work?
I’ve replaced ceilings.
It’s a dirty, time-consuming job, but not particularly difficult to do.
You gotta take down the loose tape, rapply sheetrock mud to the cracks, put joint tape on it, and let dry. Then you may have to put some more mud on. And then you have to sand it, and then paint it.
If you want any fancy surface, I dunno how to do that.
Ask Gerry over at Ace Hardware on Scott. He’ll fix you up.
Thank you all for the insights, DM Community. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
A comment about the Free For All Friday sponsor, Kick in The Fit. I did a boot camp with those guys in October, and when I wasn’t suffering, I was having fun. Every once in a while, even the suffering was fun. I’ve dropped three pants sizes since I signed up with them, and I’m in the best shape of my life.
They got me in the habit, and I’ve stuck with it because of their help and the attitude they instilled in me.
I am not being hyperbolic when I say that if you are out of shape and want to change the way you feel about yourself, they are the folks to help you get it done.
No, they didn’t pay me to write this.
Thank you for your kind words Daren! Keep up the great work!
Vic
Not strictly local, so I don’t know if it will be deemed appropriate here on Free For All Friday, but I heard this yesterday but was only able to get to a link today. Apparently the CBO (who just last week stated that Obama care would generate a savings – so should be completly credible – right?) is saying that this year Social Security will have greater expenditures than income. This is the first time that has EVER happened. Up until now, Social Security took in more than it speant and was the cow that was milked to partially pay for all the other stuff going on…
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/25/business/economy/25social.html?sudsredirect=true
For us who are nearing blessed retirement that is worrisome. You young folks had better get better jobs to help support me when I retire!
Indeed, social security has had to start presenting IOUs to the treasury for payment, thereby adding significantly to our already dire fiscal predicament. After this, it is amazing to me that anyone trusts the government at all. They simply robbed social security funds for decades and spent the money on other stuff. Soon enough, we likely won’t be able to pay the “promised” benefits at all, and millions of retirees who paid into social security for years will get nothing in return. Bernie Madoff went to jail for a much lesser fraud than this.
I wish all the WWII GIs had thought about this before they came home and started procreating.
To borrow the words of Cher:
If I could turn back time, if I could find a way….
When is someone gonna do something about all the problems?
Yep, that IS a problem.
When is someone gonna tell me which problem they want something done about first?
Indeed. Too many problems is a major problem. But the lack and abundance of problem-solvers is even more vexingly problematic.
Thanks to everyone who came out to cheer on the runners in last week’s GA Marathon- Decatur won the Neighborhood Challenge- best cheering section in town! You all make me so proud! See info and pics at decaturminute.com.
Great job, Cheryl–you are a cheerleader at heart!
There is no excuse for the traffic gridlock that ING and police/staff created at Claremont and N. Decatur last Sunday morning.
Most inspiring spam of the day. Someone should put together a day calendar of these things…
“One of the things I enjoy about blogs is that they spark a thought in my brain. And once that happens, I feel as I need to respond wishing it is beneficial to some people. For the reason that there are many blogs and forums with diverse points of view, they challenge your perception. It is at these occasions when you have fantastic insignt the rest might not have had, and this includes the blogger herself/himself. I find myself returning to your blogging site mainly because you have many brilliant insights and also you are actually at this a while, that’s very inspiring and tells me you know a lot. Keep sparking thoughts in other people!”
Spark those thoughts!
Oh, and Russ, I just found a pretty lengthy and well thought-out comment from the HCB debate stuck in the spam filter. My apologies on that. Not sure why it got caught. Some days I can’t find time to shift through what is 99% garbage.
Is Electronics Recycling Day really tomorrow or was it changed. It is not on the DM calendar…
Ack! Thanks Mermaid…just added it.
Is there any shop in downtown decatur that sells games? i.e. boardgames or card games?
Heliotrope.
Heliotrope is great but not an all-purpose game store. Little Shop of Stories has a very few games–e.g. some of the educational card games like Sleeping Queens or Ratatat Cat. If you are looking for standard board games and card games, e.g. Scrabble, Apples to Apples, Uno, Pictionary, the most reliable place I know of is Target. If you are looking for higher end classic games e.g. Stratego or Risk or educational games, then Target may or may not have them. The most reliable place for them is The Toy Store in the Ansley Park Shopping Mall (if it’s still there). The Schoolbox has a few educational games like Banagrams or Equate. Trick for all of these places is to call first.
Is it too soon to talk about how Decatur has weathered the Great Recession? I saw an article that projected Atlanta’s housing market would not bottom out until 2nd quarter next year. I wonder how Decatur fits into that projection…
I’ve seen unsold houses on my street go steadily down from $650,000 to $450,000 to leases. The official word is that Decatur homes are holding value so maybe our street was overpriced.
Two of my real estate agent friends whom I consider to be professionals both say that Decatur has been affected less than most surrounding areas. That doesn’t mean that prices have not decreased. Another factor is time on the market. They also say that fairly priced homes in Decatur do stay on the market less time than most other areas.
Anyone heard of any progress on the community bookshelf idea? I have all these paperbacks that will probably be donated somewhere soon if a bookshelf doesn’t materialize. But I still love the idea. I’d go about anywhere in Decatur to supply it and patronize it.
While not local, I love http://www.paperbackswap.com. They also have a CD & DVD swap site. The only downside is standing in line at the post office.
I hear that the last used book sale at the downtown library depleted their supply of used books. So, I’d say donate the books there.
I will if nothing else turns up but I’d actually prefer on-goinh community book-sharing rather than a one-time event.
I talked to the city about regarding its placement, since I thought they might have an issue with where we put it as with the newspaper boxes. But ultimately, they seemed cool with it, and it seemed like I was being a bit over-cautious.
That said, I’ll put up a post this weekend asking if someone wants to donate a shelf and a location.
Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution is premiering tonight on Channel 2 at 9pm. Any thoughts on how this might impact the CSD nutrition department? Or how it should?
It would be interesting to here from someone from CSD about how their program compares to the one depicted on the show (which I think could actually be of some value).
I know the focus of the show is food, but equally problematic in areas like that is the lack of exercise. Nobody walks anywhere! I have family in a rural area of Alabama; my nephews live on the same land as their grandmother, about 100 yards away, and they visit often, which is nice, but they always drive! Even the youngest, who isn’t old enough yet! They are all overweight, and one is obese. Very sad.
My kids walk home from school, and theoretically walk TO school daily (my daughter never wakes up in time for the walk, another story). But the driven-to-school-daughter also walks all over downtown –yogurt tap, the library, coffee shops, Agnes Scott. And I see a lot of kids walking all over downtown.
I’d say Decatur–the most densely populated city in the state of Georgia–has more people walking places than any other community around.
I also see a whole lot of people getting around via bicycle and public transit.
Right now until 2 PM: Great carwash at Community Center on Electric Ave, just above Ebster Field. They are raising funds for Community Center and kids are doing a great job. $5 for cars; $10 for vans.
Thank god that the election has finally been set for the Senate District 42 race – May 11.
I’m counting the days that I will no longer have to see any more Tom Stubbs signs and advertisements on the Decatur blogs. Except that the signs will continue to be in the right of ways and abandoned houses that they’ve stuck signs in or until the next election Tom decides to run in. Hopefully, this will be the last.
What are the issues in this race? I’ve seen plenty of signs for both Stubbs and Carter, seen people campaigning with signs for Stubbs on Commerce and Clairemont, and gotten a robo-call from Carter.
The issue in this race according to Tom Stubbs is that he really wants to get elected to some office and he’s running out of things to run for so please vote for him in this one.
The issue according to Jason Carter is that he really wants to get elected to some much higher office but he has to start here because that’s what the party people told him.
I write this with tongue half in cheek, but sadly it is true…
Sounds like it would be easier for both of them to just become a movie or wrestling star or Miss America and then go straight for the governor position. (Note to self: In next life, remember that there’s an age limit to running for Miss America and plan ahead).
The issue according to what’s-his-name, the libertarian candidate, is that he can’t even get a name mention is a tongue half in cheek comment!
My bad. Here’s a mention:
http://david.lpamerica.com/home
Mr. Montane may be much more aligned to my political views but I have not seen one splashy sign or been invited to a single fundraiser with a former president for him, so I did not even know there was a libertarian candidate in this race!
( See how that worked? MUCH better plug! :0 )
It really would be helpful for them to debate on the Square.. or something. (Online debate like the past election, maybe?) Otherwise, how DO you decide between 3 seemingly nice guys who want to do good things?
Last night I went to the Fernbank Observatory for the first time ever.
It was seriously VERY cool. Saturn was in view rings and all. I can’t really stress how neat it was.
I had such a cool time I’m thinking of going again tonight.
The volunteers were really nice and pretty much knew everything there was to know about the sky.
And it was free which is always nice.
One thing, i was with a friend who uses a walker. The stairs are “doable” if you can walk but it’s not wheelchair accessible in any way. They will however bring a comparable telescope down to you if you let security know when you arrive. (I would let them know ahead of your visit) It’s supposed to be as good as the one on the roof.
All in all though, i would highly recommend it to kids or adults! This is my new favorite place!!!
The walk through the virgin forest behind the Science Center is also good for a day (well maybe a half day) event with the kids. And you could ride your bike (or walk) to the center from Decatur.
These are great tips. Thanks guys!
Kick in the Fit Contest Winner
Jason Wright is the lucky winner of a free month of boot-camp from Kick in the Fit in their April Decatur Metro giveaway!
Response to the contest was so good that Kick in the Fit will be bringing the contest back next month. So be on the lookout!
Congrats Jason! Good luck!
I was exhausted just thinking about it!
( Great sponsor/ contest idea! )
And a big thanks to Paula, who originally came up with the idea of FFAF sponsorship!
It’s an awesome idea. I just can’t believe that Brick Store was not the first sponsor.