Free-For-All Friday – 6/29/12
Decatur Metro | June 29, 2012 | 7:00 amFeel free to use this post to make comments and ask questions about local issues not discussed here over the past week.
Comments close on Monday.
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What is going on with the side walk on the north east side of Clairemont south of Scott?
They have been waiting to pour the next section on concrete for weeks now.
I had the same problem a few years ago when the county tore up the sidewalk in front of my house on Clairemont. I had to get Jeff Rader involved to get them to come fix it. Squeaky wheel gets the grease.
It’ll probably take a while. Last year a section of sidewalk was torn up on my street by the county (for seemingly no reason – none of us could figure out what exactly the county had done) and it took a little over 8 months for them to come back and pour new sidewalk. Couldn’t hurt to call about it though.
I’m friends with the property owner, and they are So ready for it to be finished!
Highlights from this morning’s 11Alive coverage from the square:
Major themes: schools, books, beer.
Good cameos: Daren and Bookzilla, Diane from Little Shop, former Mayor Wilson
DM props: Someone said, “Decatur, there’s a festival for that.”
Thing I learned (also known as “don’t bypass your fact-checker”): “Emory and the CDC are both within the city limits.”
Remind me to NOT to vote for the Superior Court candidate who held up their big, ugly sign behind the set at to 6:30 segment.
Are you going to boycott the Pita Pit as well?
Didn’t see them and they did bring food to the Channel 11 folks.
Thanks to Ryan at Lenz for getting Bookzilla out of his lair so early this morning.
“Emory and the CDC are both within the city limits.”
Really? How is that possible? They’re not on the City’s street map. http://www.decaturga.com/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=26
Did I miss the sarcasm?
You did. A fact-checker was apparently not consulted for that segment.
Hee.
News flash, Scott. TV stations don’t really have fact checkers. Newspapers carry corrections of minor details daily. TV, almost never correct anything they get wrong. That’s why you shouldn’t rely on broadcasters for news. When it’s in print, I think it’s more accurate.
Even online media are more accurate, because of sharp-eyed readers like ours.
Really interesting since they both have Atlanta postal addresses, not even pseudo-Decatur addresses.
The latest unfortunate use of “Decatur” in a news report, from WSB-TV:
“A group of teachers at a metro Atlanta school want their principal removed before the start of the school year because of bullying.
Current and former teachers at Canby Lane Elementary School in Decatur say their principal, Anita Stokes-Brown, uses intimidation tactics and created a hostile work environment that affects their ability to teach.”
Full story here: http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/teachers-say-theyre-being-bullied-principal/nPhws/
I saw the link on Creative Loafing’s web site this morning, and also mentions “a group of elementary school teacher in Decatur.”
The school in question is outside 285, near the intersection of S. Hairston Rd and Wesley Chapel.
I know, it’s beating a dead horse, plowing over old ground, etc. Still, it chaps me to see “Decatur” in this story.
Send an email to WSB-TV and the reporter (she’s called out on the headline) and tell them. Point out that it DeKalb County schools and CSD is a completely separate entity. If you just let it lay, the same thing will happen next time.
Done!
Thanks
I live in zip code 30032, south of East Lake Country Club. What would you like me to put on my return address? How should I have my magazine subscriptions addressed? Where should I tell my friends to go when I invite them to a party? How about the folks who live in zip codes 30033, 30034, and 30035? What should they do?
Canby is a school. It’s in Decatur. Do you really expect a reporter to point out that it’s a DeKalb school and not a CoD school? How would that improve the reporting?
First world problems…
Well, Fats, back when I was a less fortunate soul living not just on the wrong side of the tracks but also, like you, too far from them to be included in the C.O.D. tax digest and country club, I did not understand this phenomenon either. Although the implications were sometimes insulting and, dare I say borderline racist, I usually just laughed it off as a foible of the entitled. But now that I’ve moved on up to a dee-luxe 1940’s abode in the GSDoGGE( Greatest School District on God’s Green Earth!), I can honestly say that…no, wait, nevermind, I still don’t get it…
I’m pretty sure that most of the folks complaining will not be satisfied until Lithonia annexes the entirety of unincorporated DeKalb south and east of Decatur.
Usually I would agree, but since this was referencing a school, I think it would have been more appropriate to have said “DeKalb County” instead of “Decatur.”
I disagree. This is lazy reporting. Canby Lane is not a Decatur school and the reporting would definitely be improved by clearly reporting the school’s location. The reporter could say a Dekalb County school located off of Wesley Chapel Road. If that’s too long, they could say off of Wesley Chapel Road. At least they could say it’s a Dekalb County school. In the story on WSB’s website, it’s not even made clear that it’s a Dekalb County school until the 13th paragraph. Yes, Decatur is a zip code but in this context, Decatur should refer to a specific place. To say that Canby Lane is a Decatur school is wrong, both factually and contextually. You might think that’s splitting hairs but I think that’s good journalism to accurately report the location of the school. Anything less is just lazy.
You live in East Lake. I don’t see what’s so difficult about that.
That school is OTP, 7 miles from Decatur square. It’s further away from Decatur than Downtown ATL. It’s about as far away as Buckhead. I don’t hear anyone confusing Buckhead or Downtown with Decatur.
The reason it gets called Decatur is because it doesn’t have a name. I think that when DeKalb County eventually collapses, and the whole geographic area becomes a patchwork of incorporated municipalities, that vast, amorphous south Dekalb area will finally get a name. Maybe Snapfinger or Candler or Panthersville.
I don’t live in East Lake (which is in City of Atlanta, btw). My post office on Candler Road is Decatur, 30032. For 18 years I lived in Snellville. I didn’t live in the City of Snellville, however. At least in my unincorporated part of Snellville I could get an honest to god alcoholic beverage at Summitt’s or Longhorn seven days a week.
Canby Lane Elementary School is in Decatur, OTP. Columbia High School is in Decatur, GA, ITP. McNair Elementary and Middle, Decatur 30032. The (horrors) DeKalb Transition Academy? In Decatur, GA! To expect reporters to qualify this is absurd and smacks of snobbery if not racism. I have a funny feeling nobody would be quite as adamant about something like this if a report about Briarlake Elementary said it was a Decatur school.
Does your property value go down five bucks whenever a school outside 30030 is identified as a Decatur school? Or your prestige, somehow?
Sorry to be cranky. I get tired of qualifying where I live whenever somebody asks. From now on, I’ll say “Decatur” instead of “Decatur, but unincorporated Dekalb, not City of Decatur”. It’s been a mouthful.
Racism? Come on man, that is just ridiculous and you should be ashamed of yourself for suggesting it. It’s quite simple: Something negative was reported about a school. People within COD would rather not have people believe that it was one of their schools. That’s it. Who said or implied anything to do with race? Looks like you are the one that thinks in those terms…
These objections seem to come up most often (I have no objective evidence for this, admittedly) when any kind of tawdriness, whether it be school scandal or crime, is identified in the media as happening in Decatur when it occurs in zip codes 30032, 30034, and 30035. These areas are respectively 88%, 94%, and 87% African-American in population according to census data. It is less likely to raise hackles when the 30033 zip code, which is 78% white in population, is referred to in the media as Decatur. 30030, by the way, is 64% white. That suggests to me that racism is a possible reason for people in the City of Decatur to be upset when the rest of Decatur is referred to as Decatur. At best, it’s classism.
To be fair, I’m sure any disparity in outrage by zip code will be erased, and likely even reversed, when the new Walmart opens “in Decatur” at Suburban Plaza.
I’ll say it for the thousandth time- the reason those areas are called “Decatur” is because the mail for the the area comes through the Decatur post office. Period. If your mail gets routed to the hub at Crowne Road, your address will be “Atlanta”. You live in unincorporated DeKalb County.
F*** it. I’ll just move to Tucker. Oops. I mean Unincorporated DeKalb.
I’ll bet if something bad happened at a CoD school, but the news called it a Dekalb County school, nobody in Decatur would be calling for journalistic accuracy.
Re: ” I have a funny feeling nobody would be quite as adamant about something like this if a report about Briarlake Elementary said it was a Decatur school.” Actually, I’ve gotten confused as many times by OCD folks north of COD calling themselves Decaturites as folks south of COD. One time I got into a totally cross-wise conversation with someone at work who said she lived in Decatur just like I do but it turned out that she lives in the Pangborn Pool area and has a Decatur address. Folks without kids don’t always get into the COD vs Postal Decatur distinctions. I don’t know if it’s still true, but homes just south and slightly east of Emory, e.g. Emory Circle, used to have Decatur postal addresses too. To be honest, I never really knew what was and wasn’t City of Decatur until I had kids and our world narrowed down to Decatur schools and activities.
I don’t think the sensitivity of folks to COD vs. not COD is necessarily about racism. The whole Decatur nomenclature thing is just plain confusing and always has been. Decatur City vs. Postal Decatur vs. Decatur County vs. unincorporated DeKalb vs. other DeKalb County. Decatur residents who’ve lived here a long time have gotten get sick of hearing…..”Oooo, you live in Decatur, isn’t that dangerous?” If anything, maybe it’s classism, now that COD has gotten so expensive, as in “Since I paid so much for my house in COD, I don’t want to be confused with lower priced areas like Avondale Estates or Medlock area or South Decatur.” Since I didn’t pay an exorbitant amount for my home (for good reason, it turns out, once I moved in ….), I don’t feel gypped if people don’t give me credit for my astute real estate choice.
plus 1
Just FYI – I actually lived near and went to school in that area, and we never called it Decatur, despite the mailing address. In fact, I would probably have been insulted.
What did you call it?
You know, I don’t think we used a single “blanket” term for the whole area. It was more by neighborhood, which school or park or library was nearest, or which major road was nearby. It’s been more than a few years since I was there, though, and I was a kid, so maybe the adults’ world was different. I think the current residents should band together and pick a name; I do like Snapfinger.
We didn’t go to school with any of the “Decatur” kids, most of us didn’t know where Decatur was, and I remember asking my mom why on earth my school’s mailing address was Decatur. The answer: because of the post office. (hey, look, I’m still a little indignant!)
I lived in 30032 for years and moved to 30033 a while back. I find that people are much more likely to “claim me” (ie events that happen in my neighborhood) over here. As in people don’t split every damn hair when they are talking about something that happened on, say, Sycamore Ave rather than something that happened in East Lake. It’s gross and it makes me kind of glad I don’t live in the magical City.
Here’s that segment…
http://www.11alive.com/video/1711799808001/1/Decatur-Theres-a-festival-for-that
Anyone make it to the community meetings CSD had regarding expansion at Oakhurst and 4/5 Academy?
Yes, I went to meeting on Oak elem. Looks like construction will begin in Jan. at earliest. Plans should be up on school website early next week. Goal is to get new wing open for 2013-2014 school year. 4 new classrooms and 18 new parking spaces will be built. Kindergarteners won’t move out of old wing until demolition begins.
How about Renfroe? Is that expanding on the ground level or upward? There’s already a tremendous parking problem when anything but small events are held there.
I have a Peachtree number if anyone wants it. K section. Email DM for my info.
By the time the K wave starts it’ll be 90 degrees, right? If I decide to kill myself, I’ll let ya know
A friend is relocating to Decatur and needs a good real estate agent. Any recommendations?
We used Chip Wallace at Keller Knapp to both sell our home and to buy a new one. I would highly recommend him.
http://chipwallacerealestate.com/neighborhoods.php
Agreed – Chip helped us both buy and sell. Words do not exist for me to me to adequately express what a great job he did. Check out his testimonials page – it’s all true!
http://chipwallacerealestate.com/testimonials.php
Emilie Markert. 404-377-3197
-1. My own personal experience with her was so bad I took my home off the market. Sorry. Just honest feedback.
I’ve got to give a shout out to Emilie. She helped us sell our house in the Midway Woods Community right as the mortgage meltdown hit. She gave us some pretty tough love about thinning out our stuff and pricing the house. It was hard to hear, but we listened to her, took her advice, and sold our house in 5 days. Now we’re happily nestled inside City of Decatur, loving the schools and enjoying having two bathrooms.
I cannot say enough good things about Mary Rigger from Karafotias. She’s helped me buy two pieces of property in the city. She knows the market, she can hook you up with a good mortgage company, insurance broker, inspector, etc. In both cases, I bought property that appraised for more than the purchase price…something that rarely happens.
She has a great eye for value, too.
I believe she’s a native of Decatur, too.
(404) 312-9126
Diane, I’m glad that everything worked out for you, but in all honestly, your real estate agent is not supposed to recommend your mortgage broker, home inspector, etc, for you. I know this happens all the time, but ideally, anyone buying a home should vet each service provider independently.
According to who? Each recommended provider did quality work for a good value. I guess it bothers me that you’re anonymously criticizing something that Mary did, especially when Ive put both Mary and my name out there.
I don’t really understand the criticism either. Maybe there’s some kind of real estate agent code of conduct?
I think it’s because, unless you’ve worked out a special compensation deal, realtors, even when they’re taking you all over town, do not work for buyers. They ultimately work for sellers. So I think the suggestion is that, since they have an interest in a deal going through, they’re not the best source for services that are supposed to be working in the interest of the buyer.
I may be wrong on this but that’s how it was explained to me.
My experience has been that often home inspectors recommended by RE agents are usually ones that realize they were recommended so that they won’t “kill the sale” by doing such a thorough inspection that they find all sorts of problems withe the property.
But inspectors can also go the other way and pride themselves on finding every little thing wrong which is hard for home buyers, especially inexperienced ones, to process. You need someone who can put things in perspective, especially here in Decatur where much of the housing stock is pre-millenium, if not pre-WW II and has lots of “character”.
Susie Simmons at Keller Williams. She’s a sweetheart AND a bulldog.
http://www.kw.com/kw/agent/193827
Natalie Gregory is awesome. She is a Decatur native and know the area very well. Her contact info is Natalie Gregory
Keller Williams Realty
Metro Atlanta
Phone: (404) 550-5113
Fax: (404) 564-5561
+1 for Natalie Gregory. When we moved a few years ago, we had our home on the market with another realtor for over 6 months and never had any interest. We hired Natalie Gregory and it sold within the month. She was also quite helpful in finding us our current home and knows all the ins and outs of Decatur.
A friend is relocating to Decatur and needs a good real estate agent. Any suggestions?
Any recommendations on a residential security alarm system?
We’ve used Front Point Security for years. Totally wireless, Everything is controllable by an app on your phone if you want. We were able to bring the whole thing with us when we moved (since, again, everything is totally wireless). Blows anything else that I’ve seen away.
Does anyone have any experience with the Comcast/Xfinity system? The recent commercials make it look kind of cool and if you already have your cable/internet with them it might be an interesting option.
But it’s Comcast with all the wonderful customer service that comes with that (sarcasm). Plus with all the bugs and quirks in my Comcast phone and DVR, I wouldn’t trust my home security to them. Just my opinion of course.
The pound…
If you mean a barky loud ferocious sounding dog, I already have one. And she prefers rescue pet to pound puppy.
Did anyone catch the article in AJC yesterday about the “pedestrian sting” in Midtown? http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/cops-set-up-sting-1466315.html Apparently, there is a new law about motorists and pedestrian safety. One item in particular got my attention:
“Drivers must stop if the pedestrian is on their half of a two-way road, even if the pedestrian is not in the motorist’s lane; on a one-way street that means the pedestrian must finish crossing the road before the driver can proceed.”
Does this pertain to Atl city limits only? Does Decatur have a different law or laws about pedestrian crossings?
Thanks for asking this. Since I’m too lazy to look up the laws (and they would only just confuse this Marketing major), I’m hoping the DM community can give a good response. I never know the point at which the pedestrian should be before I drive through the crosswalk.
I saw that as well. As a usual pedestrian (unless I’m leaving the city of Decatur limits) I’m all for anything that increases pedestrian safety. I would think this particular law would be GA law, since it’s already GA law that you have to stop for a pedestrian in a marked crosswalk. A lot of motorists don’t yield to pedestrians in crosswalks that have walk lights and it’s even worse trying to cross in crosswalks that don’t have walk lights. My kids and I have almost been hit several times trying to cross with a light at Clairemont and W. Ponce because motorists either aren’t paying attention or just don’t care.
I think it’s a good idea to make cars wait until a pedestrian has completely crossed the street and is 100% out of the crosswalk. It’s safer for everyone involved and it is really not going to impede your day that much. It takes what, 30 seconds to a minute to cross a street (depending on the number of lanes)? I think it’s worth waiting that long for safety.
But, if I don’t get through the crosswalk as soon as they’re out of my way, then someone else at the intersection is going to take MY turn and I just can’t allow that.
This PEDS webpage, which I linked to in a post a while back, may help.
http://peds.org/resources/pedestrian_right_of_way/
It’s not a new law. It’s an old one widely ignored.
Any suggestions on a good Primary Care Physician in Decatur/Emory/Va-Hi area. Prefer not to go to someone in the Emory Clinic quagmire. I am currently going to Piedmont but want something closer.
Chad Costley at Ponce Primary – right by Dancing Goatws – is GREAT!!! http://ponceprimarycare.com/dr-chad-costley.html
+2 (my husband and i both see Costley.)
Yup. Costley.
Decatur Family Practice downtown.
+4 at our house for Chad Costley.
Thanks all! I have noticed Costley’s office when dining at FB and that is who I was leaning towards but just wanted to hear good feedback first.
I am seeking a warm and friendly yoga instructor. Any recommendations?
Octavia Raheem. Decatur Yoga and Pilates. She’s amazing!
Lisa Cohen.
Lisa Cohen…www.pranalisa.com – very affordable and personable, I just recently found her, but am so disappointed that I am moving out of Decatur and will have to find someone new in Midtown. I don’t have a car to get back here for her classes.
Anyone know anything about the new building on S. McDonough across from the high school? It appears to be the first step towards redefining that strip of businesses occupying old homes.
A reader asked me about it a week or so ago and the City Planner Amanda Thompson told me that the land owner “is designing a new building that will go in front of and replace the bungalow on his site on North McDonough. It will be an office building.”
The old Marble House lot now has at least three generations of buildings on it.
A couple things interesting about that new building, it is sited on the sidewalk (I presume due to new zoning/setback requirements), it looks like it’s going to be 3 stories tall, and it almost touches the houses on either side. Seriously, it comes within a foot or two.
Are they going to tear down the bungalow? Why not tear it down first?
Nothing new about the zoning — that stretch of of McDonough has been zoned General Commercial a long time, meaning that new construction (Village Vets, for example) follows downtown rules. Like most changes in existing form, it’s likely driven by economics — where an area’s evolution ups value to the point where it makes sense for property to make the incremental leap to a new, more intense use.
As DM mentioned, that block actually shows a really interesting timeline of this. Originally pastoral land at the edge of town, it made the leap to “estate” with the Marble House, which later took the next step of subdividing its edges for residential bungalow development. Now that that stretch has evolved to house commercial interests, its form is evolving to match the use. Side setbacks are typically minor or nonexistent in traditional downtown settings. Historically, commercial/downtown buildings either had a shared wall or a small passageway between buildings.
There appears to be renovation ongoing at the old Feast location. Any word on the new business?
I am also curious about what will be moving into the FEAST location. Anyone?
My best friend Dexter passed away two weeks ago, and I really wanted to commend the Decatur business Paws Whiskers & Wags where he was cremated, for really making the tragic experience as comforting as they did. Everyone, and I mean everyone there was so kind and graceful and so very compassionate.
I second this. They were great to us when our Mikey passed a little over a month ago.
Unfortunetely we have used their services twice, and couldn’t agree more.
they really were great, as were The Village Vets of Decatur emergency room – I had to let my old guy go on Memorial Day and it went seamlessly and without incident. PW&W also delivered my guy’s remains back to the vet for me, as I don’t have a car. And Village Vets sent me a sympathy card later signed by all of the staff. Very touching.
one caveat…and I really shouldn’t harp on it, but I was a bit put off by the fact that they charged me for the rate of a dog over 35lbs, and my boy weighed in at 35.1lbs. I thought that was a little bit insensitive, but at the time it wasn’t worth squabbling over.
Has anyone had insulation blown underneath their floors in the crawl space? We added insulation in the attic when we moved in two years ago, and we have relatively new windows. Our heating and air service person recommended insulating underneath the floors as the only other thing we needed to do to improve efficiency.
We think this looks too complicated for DIY (at least for us). Can anyone point us to a good professional?
Rather than just adding insulation, you may want to consider a Home Performance energy analysis. Southface web site can tell you more about it.
The analysis can help you know exactly where your conditioned air is going. Many building people now suggest encapsulating your entire crawl space rather than insulating under the floor. It is now believed that opening up the crawl space to moist outside air causes at least as many problems as it solves.
Thanks! We probably should do this. Thought about doing the analysis last year, but put it off too long.
Does anyone know why there is a No Turn on Red at Commerce and Clairmont (heading west on Commerce and turning north onto Clairmont) near McDonald’s? It’s easy to see up the hill toward the square and rare to see any cars coming down, and the backup in front of McDonald’s is often terrible. At first I thought it was because there is a left turn signal on the opposite side of Commerce, but other intersections with left turn signals don’t forbid turning right on red from the opposite side of the intersection. Just one of life’s mysteries, I guess.
I think it’s for the pedestrians, because they actually do have a green arrow to turn right there from Commerce north onto Clairmont that stays on during the Green arrow turning left from Clairmont (heading south) onto Commerce.
You will have to ask GDOT that question since it’s a state road (Ga 155) and they control such things.
I walk it all the time. It’s clearly for pedestrian crossing. Unfortunately, most of the people in cars turning onto Clairemont from Commerce seem to care little about the law or the pedestrians.
First of all, thanks Diane for the compliment. As far as the recommendations go, they are just that, recommendations. Some people have no sense of where to start. I encourage my clients to ask around for inspectors, mortgage brokers, etc. The inspector I use frequently and recommend often, I use because they are extremely thorough and nit picky for my buyer. They have killed many a deal for me but protecting my buyers is my first priority as a selling agent.
Quite frankly, there are several wonderful, experienced agents in Decatur. I have had the pleasure of working with many of them.
I guess you really never know how things are going to work out until they’re done. We used an inspector that our agent recommended twice. You would think we would have learned after the inspector messed up on our first purchase and quite badly too. Thankfully it didn’t cost us then. We used the same real estate agent again and when the agent recommended him again, we said okay. The inspector screwed up worse this time. He missed a lot of important and expensive things, that had I known about them before hand, I would not have gone ahead with the purchase and since have regretted doing so. I really appreciate this agent saying what she did about her inspector, that they have cost her deals as I am not sure our inspector ever would have cost him ( the agent ) a deal but that is what happens when you are inexperienced home buyers. I don’t know what I will do should there be a next time but you can believe that the new home will be inspected by someone who I have thoroughly researched and feel comfortable that they have my best interest in mind.
t’s Free for All, right.?
I’d love a cigarette and some conversation in return.
I am on the south end of North Parkwood.
I’ll sit on my front steps for thirty minutes. Don’t come without smokes, however,
So, did anyone show?
My initial reaction is to say “no” but the truth is that I went to sleep soon afterwards and never checked. I still want one, however.
Any recommendations for a place to get a relaxing mani/pedi (i.e., not rushed and not a lot of talking / gossiping)? IMO, the ladies at Jazmin Spa always rush and constantly banter back and forth. I’m looking for somewhere else to go.
Natural Body. In my experience, when you have a manicure or pedicure at Natural Body, you’re in a room with just you and the technician, and it’s a very relaxing, spa-like experience. But you pay much more than Jazmin or the even-less-expensive quickie manicure places. Checking Natural Body’s menu, I saw that they charge $30 for a 30 minute manicure and $55 for a 50 minute pedicure.
Thanks!
The Kirkwood location of Jazmin ( I know, not Decatur) is much quiter and friendlier than the Decatur location. It isn’t as busy.
C.O.D. vs. Postal Decatur, Real Estate Agent Wars, Chatty Rushing Manicurists, blah, blah, blah all you coddled first world problem havers, can we please get to the only important question of the weekend? SPAIN OR ITALY?!? Crazy mohawk dude or boring, flopping Reddies?
More importantly, who’s coming out to watch the game at the Pig? They are opening early for the game with $5 Iberian Old Fashioneds, $2 Estrella Damms and presumably some tapas. First person to find me there gets a drink…unless you are wearing red!
Power outage near Medlock and Scott! Anyone know the reason?
Walmart.
T-SPLOST
(kidding)
Gremlins
Revenue Neutral Household needs to hire a personal injury attorney. Car accident. Getting jerked around by insurance company. Does anyone have any experience (good or bad) with the following Decatur lawyers?
Stephen Apolinsky
George Brinson
Bruce Hagen
Many thanks for any insight you can provide.
I’m assuming you’ve gone through your own insurance company first (put them on notice, etc.). Depending on the value (how badly you were injured), you might consider going OOD (outside of Decatur) for PI attorney Jim Neuberger. 404-593-2650. If it’s just property damage, you are better off handling it on your own…there’s not enough money in it for an attorney to make a profit and it will decrease the cash in your hands. Locally, there are also John Hyatt (404-378-3635) and Scott Christopher (404-371-8067). Good luck!
If you go outside of Decatur, Nelson Tyrone is a great guy that has had a lot of success for his clients. He has free consultations, and will let you know if your case suits his practice. He is at the Tyrone Law Firm in Midtown (google for website).