Free-For-All Friday 1/25/13
Decatur Metro | January 25, 2013Feel 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.
Feel 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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Fernbank Science Center has a free event for kids 3 to 7 tomorrow from noon to 4pm: http://www.fernbank.edu/PDF/Bite_Size.pdf
Lots of hands-on activities for budding scientists. There will also be a show using the new “fulldome” projector at 1:30.
ooops . . . that would have been much clearer if I had typed “kids ages 3 to 7.”
Anyone see Maureen Downey’s post last Friday on the group of Seattle teachers who are refusing to administer the MAP test?
http://blogs.ajc.com/get-schooled-blog/2013/01/18/uteachers-refuse-to-give-test-but-arent-there-some-tests-that-are-worth-giving/
Here is a more detailed list of why teachers took this decision:
http://seattleducation2010.wordpress.com/2011/03/15/15-reasons-why-the-seattle-school-district-should-shelve-the-map%C2%AE-test%E2%80%94asap/
Does anyone have answers to the following questions?
1) How much does the city spend on on the test annually?
2) How much time do students spend taking the MAP test?
3) Are teacher evaluations linked to MAP test results in some way? – if so, this could mean a shift in teaching to produce better results
Seems like this test might be a waste of time and money or, worse, detrimental to the education of our kids…
Along those lines… Heard an interesting interview about this a week or so ago.
AP Classes Are a Scam
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/10/ap-classes-are-a-scam/263456/
That story is not totally off-base, but is also not totally on-base. Calling it a “scam” is not quite accurate. If you are planning to go to college, you ought to take AP classes in high school. If for no other reason – to ensure your experience is at least somewhat more rigorous than it would be otherwise. Now, why do we need to pay the College Board $80 to ensure this? That’s a bigger question about our schools. AP classes generally provide value to the students who take them. It’s not a perfect system, for sure. This is true at DHS and across the nation.
There is another benefit. I took AP Govt in high school in a class of about 20 students, and it was probably the most conversational class I took in high school, and I still remember discussions from that class from many, many years ago. I scored well enough on the test to opt out of Poli Sci which was a class of 300+ at college (probably not hard to figure out where I attended college), and was nothing more than an hour long lecture two or three times a week. Obviously, my experiene won’t be the same for everyone, but which would you get more out of? The AP system isn’t perfect, but I much prefer the effort to raise the bar for some students than the current trend of dumbing down education (not talking about CSD here) to make sure higher percentages of students pass some standardized test.
AP also saved me money. Cost me nothing to take AP in high school, but the college class credits I received would have cost mucho.
AP credits got me a whole semester of credits. A very good investment, considering how much Emory costs. ( 25 yrs ago it cost less than 1/4 of today)
MAP: I’m not a huge fan of recurrent standardized testing, especially at the lowest grade levels. But after all these years of it, I don’t expect that to change. Everything from the system charter to the gifted program to special support depends on them. If we have to have standardized testing, MAP seems to be better than some other options. For one thing, the students themselves are active participants in reviewing the results and understanding them because the tests are in real time rather than something that’s mailed away with results months later.
AP: I wish that non-AP high school classes were as engaging, challenging, and taught by as many of the top teachers as the AP classes. But many aren’t according to current public high school students so AP classes are a better guarantee that a class will be worthwhile. All should be aware that the AP dynamic is going to change radically in DHS with the new IB diploma program. It remains to be seen how that works out. I believe that there will be fewer AP classes offered. My limited understanding is that instead there will be regular classes and two levels of IB classes and IB exams. A small percentage of students–maybe 10%-20% will do the full IB diploma program. The other 80%-90% will have the option (or maybe even mandate) to take some number of IB courses at some level. You can’t do a direct translation from AP classes to IB classes. Not only is the philosophy and teaching style different, but the levels are different, the tests are different, and most importantly, the content is different. An IB course for a certain topic may cover a very different type and range of material than the similarly named AP course. Colleges supposedly will consider high level IB classes for college credit but I haven’t heard much about how that works in practice vs. theory.
Did anyone else hear the Story Corps story on NPR this morning and get teary? I listen regularly and recorded a story with one of my children but I have never gone into work all weepy like this before.
Unrelated: How does one properly recycle pins? Pins as in those small things that look like this: —————–o They would get lost in a recycling bin. But they wouldn’t fit electronics recycling day. They come with our dry cleaning and seem to breed once in the house. I don’t sew enough to need to augment my supply.
I just missed it. So you’re telling me that I should absolutely not listen to it online later? Gotcha!
Unrelated re: pins. I put the pins in a recyclable plastic bottle with cap and throw the whole thing in the recycling bin. Works well for me, though now I’m wondering if the recycling folks curse me when I do that…
No, no, no. The story was beautiful and that’s why I was teary. Just don’t listen before going into a job interview or another event where red eyes would not be an asset.
I’m so pleased how my depiction of a pin turned out. Usually when I try to make a graphic with text on DM, it’s a flop.
I was sobbing on the Connector. Such a poignant story. I may have to start turning off Storycorps when on the way to work, though. Smeared makeup at 9 am is not a good look.
I return the pins to the dry cleaners and they reuse them.
Same here. Mine takes safety pins and coat hangers too.
Maybe jab them in a scrap of cardboard or fabric and then toss them in the recycling when it gets full?
I have sworn off Story Corps. Can’t handle getting so teary in the mornings. A co-worked did just fill me in on today’s story though, and I will try to listen online later.
They’re called straight pins. I’d imagine someone that does alterations might be glad to use them. Do they still teach sewing as part of high school Home Ec? If so, they might be able to use them. Otherwise, I would take them to Goodwill.Or put them on Freecycle. (It’s constantly fascinating to see the items that get passed around on freecycle — one person’s trash is literally another’s treasure, or at least worth swinging by to pick up.)
Take the pins back to the dry cleaner.
Question: Where do you DM folk go locally for jewelry re-sizing? Specifically need a ring chopped/taken in/shrunken, or whatever the hell they do to rings to make them fit a smaller finger.
I know this has been asked before, at least twice and probably more. But when I tried to search, all I kept coming up with was Scott Drake throwing his hat into the ring. All my hats fit just fine, so…
Maybe Alexia Gallery? I haven’t had ring resizing done there but I’ve had older pieces repaired there and had the sense that they do high quality work. Despite the sad news of the owner passing away, I think talented staff are still there.
Decatur City Jewelers at 117 Clairemont. Downtown. Did a great job for us on ring resizing. Great guy. Doesn’t look like a jewelry store, but he has been there a long time. Opens at 10.
+1 for Decatur City Jewelry. He replated my white gold rings for me very reasonably. Plus he stocks great stuff.
Thank you for this rec, I need a new clasp for a piece of jewelry I got for Xmas and didn’t even know this place existed! (You’d have to have 20/20 vision and fingers the size of miniature toothpicks to get the one clasped in a timely fashion that came with it) Why do they do that???
Worthmore on the square does ring resizing as well.
I vote for Worthmore, and J_T always listens to me. We win.
If the highly intelligent cyclist who ran the redlight at Scott and Clairemont earlier this week at 8:30 in the monring during rush hour reads DM (assuming you are still alive), I ask that you please reconsider your choices and/or stay off the roads. Even if you manage not to get run over, you are making it much more likely that one of the nineteen million people doing 70mph over a somewhat blind hill as the light is turning yellow will get into a wreck, possibly even striking the vehicle of a certain DawgFan waiting on the light to change while taking his children to school.
This kind of says “Will the bicyclist riding like an ass kindly stop so that the infinitely more people driving like an ass can continue business as usual.”
I’d suggest we go with this: Will everyone on the road, in cars, on bikes or on foot, please stop acting like an ass. There’s more to the world than just you.
I’m so happy now. We haven’t had a good car vs bike discussion in so long. They’re always so enlightening.
No. Let’s instead the talk about the bratty kids at Twains who won’t let me drink my beer in peace.
Excuse me, but you must b confused. Just as all drivers are the pictures of perfection, all parents are too. It’s the evil singletons, child-free couples (they have sex and not even for procreation, OH MY GOD!!!!!), and worst of all, renters, that you must keep both eyes on at all times.
and the CHUDs, too.
Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers.
Yeah, I saw that movie when it came out. It made for very amusing conversation fodder between my brother and me for years.
Just for kicks, I think I might just send him a text that says simply, “CHUD.”
Thanks for the laughs and memories.
Just go to Twain’s a little later. It’s 21+ after 9:00 isn’t it?
It never ceases to amaze me that people bring kids to a restaurant and bring along absolutely nothing to entertain them. A portable DVD player and some ear buds or a Game Boy can make all the difference in the world. Even better, a Magnadoodle or Etch-a-Sketch. We were blessed with a reader for a kid and could take him pretty much everywhere.
Are you serious or joking? I can’t tell. We don’t bring anything to entertain our kids. We have family conversations. If the food takes awhile or there’s nothing to talk about, we make up games and work on our manners. My dad used to draw funny cowboy pictures on napkins–I’ll never forget that. I think it’s sad to see a family out to dinner with everyone staring at a screen.
I think it’s sad to see a family out to dinner with everyone staring at a screen. <—-could not agree more with this!! +100
Family conversation, how old fashion.
I find that conversation with a four year old generally doesn’t last very long.
Sooooooo then you…start another one? Wow.
Ditto for preteens, teens. You’ve got a 4-month window of good conversation when they are ~9 years old. And unless you have twins/triplets, the 4-month window won’t coincide with that of your other children. And maybe not even then due to random phenotypical variation.
The idea of a family with fairly small children spending 90 minutes in a restaurant conversing as a family is absurd. That’s why any restaurant worth it’s salt has crayons available. If you must bring rugrats to a restaurant, also bring along something to amuse them so they don’t end up running around the restaurant, smacking their little foreheads against a table edge, tripping tray-laden servers, screaming, or (I witnessed this at the Marlay) scraping restaurant cutlery along the patio wall while the parents get swacked discussing the children that they are so blithely ignoring until one of them climbs up on the patio wall and falls head first onto the concrete floor before I can run over and catch her.
Any updates on exactly when Chai Pani will open? I saw that they’ve got signs up and appear to be working on the old Watershed space, but they only say opening in “early 2014″.
2014???
Whoops, 2013, I believe. Unless City of Decatur inspectors make it really difficult for them.
Spoke with my favorite drycleaner the other day (followed by dinner at Farmburger of course). She said that they are shooting for early February, but that may turn into late Feb or early March, depending on speed of work, CoD inspections, etc. They seem to be working at a fast clip, and the have a pretty good size crew doing the work. Perhaps conscript labor from the local design school?
Good to know. Thanks, Jayvee!
According to Chai Pani’s Twitter account they are now taking applications for the Decatur location. I’m really looking forward to this opening, as it is truly something different compared to the recent new restaurants in Decatur.
Any update on Tupelo Honey and their search for a site in Decatur?
This story discusses their expansion plans but nothing about coming to Decatur.
http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20121220/ASHEVILLESCENE/312200058/Asheville-restaurant-builds-pancake-empire
Thanks for the link Warren. Did you also see that video of the landslide that closed 441 near Cherokee NC? http://www.citizen-times.com/videonetwork/2107739840001?odyssey=mod|tvideo2|article
Guessing that stretch is going to be closed for a good long while!
If it was the same cyclist who blew through the stop sign on Commerce Drive behind the high school yesterday around 5:30pm, he is still alive. If by law I have to give the cyclist 3 feet when I pass him, what happens when I am stopped at the stop sign and the cyclist suddenly passes me with barely a foot of space to run said stop sign?
you have to wait there until another cyclist does the same.
Hi Everyone — Long-time lurker, fairly long-time neighbor here. I’m wondering if anyone coul recommend a good accountant who prepare a fairly basic individual income tax return. Local and ITP would be best for me. Thanks!
Chet Burge of Burge & Associates in Decatur
+1 on Chet. Great guy.
Another +1 for Burge & Associates.
Lee Watkins, in the Fairview Building at the corner of W Ponce and Fairview is great.
I really like the folks over at HLM. Mercedes is terrific. They’re right across from the square. http://www.hlmonestop.com/
Arrgh. Sorry for so many typos! Coffee is still brewing…
I may have missed this news, but what’s going into the old Blue Elephant space in the Publix shopping center?
Chase Bank is taking the space.
I have to brag on my wife for a minute here, she totally kicked ass and won her first amateur boxing match at Atlanta Corporate Fight Night last night!
Did she look for you immediately afterward, yelling “Yo Dude, I did it!”???
Oh, please tell me that “Atlanta Corporate Fight Night” involves people in full-on corporate attire (Brooks Brothers suits, dress shoes, etc.) get into a ring & duke it out. The mental images = awesome!
+1
I wish! I would have looked much more fierce in an 80s power suit.
I know, I thought I would have looked better in an 80s power suit! It was a ton of fun, and the prize money all goes to charity! Since I won, mine went to PAWS.
Yes, I have just outed myself as the wife of the Dude.
Hi Mrs. Dude!
PAWS is a great org–we donate to them monthly. Glad your event was a success!
I’m fostering Olive(the sweetest dog ever) for a group called Ruff Rescue. She’s
black with brown “highlights” and a little white spot on her chest and two on
her front feet. She’s two years old, housebroken, just had her shots and gets
along well with gentle kids and other dogs. She has had a rough time of it and
is a little shy at first, but once she warms up to you she is a BIG time
snuggler and doesn’t have any bad habits that I can see. She is a little thin
but is gaining weight quickly, and she is due to be spayed next week. Ms. Olive
loves to wear sweaters and is quite the fashion plate. She is adoptable through
Ruff Rescue. If you are interested, post here and we will figure out how to share contact info and pics.
Can anyone recommend a local insurance agent for basic car insurance and *gasp* renter’s insurance? I prefer dealing with a real person who is nearby.
New Allstate office next to Intown Ace, Haven’t dealt with him but you could buy insurance and hardware in the same trip. It’s a twofer!
Try Neil Dobbs (Allstate) on Church St…
Or Arthur Ratliff (State Farm) on Church St. He and Neil are both big Decatur supporters.
Thanks y’all.
Why are so many homes being torn down for new construction in Decatur?
It’s extremely irritating to see a perfectly good home get torn down for some monster house that doesn’t fit the neighborhood, or some gigantic “bungalow,” which is nothing but a huge house with a bungalow-like exterior.
Answer No. 1: $
Answer No. 2: Demand is high for new problem-free construction. Busy two-career families with young children may not have the time or skill to do renovations on older homes. I can make fun of Faux Praire or Faux Craftsman Cottage or Faux Victorian or Faux Bungalow all I want, but I have to admit that, when I visit folks in those brand new, sparkly clean, open, light spaces with beautiful hardwood floors, brand new applicances, mudrooms, pantries, upstairs laundries instead of in dirt basements, cute porches, four bathrooms, etc. etc. etc., I feel some envy. It’s only a small consolation that I know that those high ceilings and numerous rooms are going to have even more cobwebs, fingerprints, and baseboard nicks eventually than a smaller home. And nothing is problem-free for long.
Answer No. 3: The first monster house or two is an anomaly. Then monster houses become the norm.
It is pretty funny that people perceive new as problem free. Many of the houses going up are going up too quickly and cheaply. In a few years, they will have ton of issues! A smaller, well-constructed and well-done renovation would actually serve needs much better long-term.
I feel consoled. The nice part of having a less-than-model home which has outlived several renovations over its lifespan is that I do not get nauseous when a lacrosse stick somehow punctures the plaster wall or the upstairs toilet valve bursts and there’s leakage into the downstairs bathroom ceiling. I have discovered that a new welcome mat on the front doorstep, cute bathmats and towels, and lots of party decorations can cover up a ton of house defects!
Too right. I get the same feelings as AHID when I see these new houses, but I know that within just a few years, they will start to experience problems resulting from hasty construction, cut corners and poor materials.
Sure, my 67 year old house doesn’t have a single straight edge or 90 degree corner anywhere. And it’s more than a little rough around the edges in places. But it’s SOLID. And pretty damned nice-looking too, if I may say so myself.
“Sure, my 67 year old house doesn’t have a single straight edge or 90 degree corner anywhere. And it’s more than a little rough around the edges in places. But it’s SOLID. And pretty damned nice-looking too, if I may say so myself.”
Except for a few year difference on the age of the home, this is exactly how I describe my house. But, I see the other side too and I don’t know that I will buy another old home unless someone else has already done major renovations. I describe it like this: You have a whole set of problems with home ownership. But, you have a whole set of additional problems in owning an old home. I can do just about anything around the house, and forgetting for a second that I don’t have a money tree growing in the back yard, I just don’t have the time to fix/replace/update everything I want.
Agreed. The last storm with some winds blew off several driftwood shingles on the side of a newly built home that hasn’t even been sold yet!
I generally feel sad when old houses come down – just like old trees. And so on. But, the question I have is: how do you know these new houses in Decatur are not being well-built? If it took them two weeks longer to build, would you feel better? Have you done inspections? Do we have an analysis of the 5-year old homes and know that they’ve have had too many defects in too short of time. One stray shingle, does not a poor building make. You may be right, but then again today’s new house just might be the sturdy old house of 2073. It’s not like some crappy suburban schlock builder like DR Horton is building these things. We have new houses in Oakhurst that are built with interior structural material such as brick and steel (in separate cases) rather than the typical plywood. I would say those are pretty well-built from what I can tell. Time will tell which houses endure.
Honestly, my husband has been in the construction industry in US, South Pacific and Europe since 1988. He doesn’t build houses, but he knows how to build anything. He sees it in the materials, the framing and the overall process. He has run a lot of crews and can watch the skill levels and tell whether they are craftsmen or guys slapping it up. My neighbors just did a basic but quality renovation on a house and it took 5 1/2 months. Watch Arlene Dean’s sites. Her builds take months and while I don’t love the style, they are well-constructed and she has a reputation with suppliers and subs for being picky as hell. There is massive quality difference between a house that takes six months of solid work and two houses going up side by side from the same builder in 2 months.
Gotcha. Then, based on your input and my observations, it sounds like maybe over half, but less than three-fourths, of the new homes being built within the city limits (“local Decatur”) are what “we” would consider “well-built.” Agree?
But do you not get upset when perfectly good homes are destroyed only because people think they need the latest and greatest? Somehow we’ve been trained that a 2,500 sq ft home is needed when a 1,200 sq ft home will do just as well.
Play room? Go outside!
“Trained” to favor more room over less? I guess we’ve also been trained to prefer pints of beer over 8 ounce glasses. Damn those evil pub owners!
Seriously, though, in some things, houses included, it’s safe to say that more is viewed by about 9 out of 10 people as better, all else equal. And so I can’t for the life of me understand why it would annoy anyone if a family decides they want 2,500 sq ft — hardly a mansion — over 1,200 sq ft.
At the extreme margins, I get your drift, in that I regard truly large homes as ridiculous. (Though I would never want to but into anyone else’s life about the size of their home.) But knocking down an old home to build a new 3,200 sq ft home hardly seems worth getting worked up about. In the end, it’s none of anyone else’s business.
Of course, “more” is nearly always “better.” In the context of housing, it’s a matter of how one defines “more” — more rooms? bigger rooms? more closets? bigger closets? higher ceilings? finer finishes? more luxurious bathrooms? A whole complex of industries and professions have grown up around shelter, many (even most) of which depend on people buying into continuous replacement and upgrading and expanding… It’s another aspect of the consumerism which, over the past 50-60 years, was overall very good for our economy until it wasn’t. Meanwhile, it has (IMO) contributed to our willingness to trash the environment and neglect some other values and priorities that we might do well to re-embrace. This probably sounds more judge-y than intended, pushed for time and not expressing myself with as much nuance as I’d like. Back to work.
One reason is the Fed. Interest rates have been held so ridiculously low that people have no qualms about borrowing massive amounts of $$$ to build their dream houses. We went down that road before, it did not turn out too well.
Actually, under current economic conditions (super-sluggish economy just coming out of a deep recession, incredibly low inflation with no spike in inflation on the horizon), keeping interest rates really low is appropriate. But I think that making mortgage interest deductible–which is regressive, puts the federal government in the business of subsidizing home ownership, and favors home owners over renters–is a bad idea. It encourages home “consumption” (i.e., spending lots of money on a pricey home) over other forms of consumption. It’s so entrenched now, and people have made their plans around it so much, we couldn’t just abolish it. But I’d cap the amount that can be claimed, and then keep that cap as is–a hard cap that doesn’t raise with inflation–and over time (without major dislocation) the effects of the dedeuction would be decreased.
For many buyers, two things are deal-breakers: open floor plan and master suite w/ luxury bathroom. Creating those characteristics in a 1920s bungalow or post-war tract house can be very complicated and expensive and time-consuming (again, expensive). For a builder, it’s more cost-efficient to push the old house down and start over. Not many buyers, especially young families, are inclined to pay Decatur prices, even at the low end for a property that is ready for renovation, and then take on the project.
The short answer is that builders, like any business, seek to best meet demand within the regulatory limitations of the market. People will buy these new homes for all the reasons already listed (and may, or may not, thereafter be saddled with their flaws), so supply materializes.
If you want to reign in these natural market dynamics, you need to tighten up the regulations — either by downzoning property with more restrictive height and mass controls, or through measures that prevent tear-downs. Decatur’s been down both of these roads before — infill, where regs were tightened up slightly, and overlay districts, some of which have passed and others which were opposed.
Bottom line, it’s not nearly as much about development as it is about politics. We face pressure as a really desirable place to live, and rising to meet that pressure can get messy. I’ve spoken to many, many people about this subject and am always amazed at just how diverse the opinions and positions actually are. It’s a lot more nuanced than just for/against.
Please, someone correct me if I’m wrong, but builders can effectively tear a building down, leaving just one wall, and, for purposes of zoning, they’re treated as renovating the property. Therefore, they can get grandfathered into zoning regulations and build houses that could not be allowed (ie, they can use the old setbacks, not ones required by new codes). This makes teardowns relatively attractive to infill because they can get a larger house on a smaller lot.
Then again, there are very, very few undeveloped lots in Decatur. I know there are some, because I bought one, but not many, and those that there are are not in the least affordable.
That seems to be the case, and it really ticks me off.
Ya know, I think it’s a great thing that we still have tear-down activity going on in Decatur. On walks and jogs around Oakhurst it looks like it is still the 2005 era of go-go housing bubble construction. Take a trip OTP sometime and you see the opposite – stubbed lots in unfinished developments, decaying suburban neighborhoods, foreclosure signs everywhere. The reason we are seeing all this construction is because we are in a place that is extremely desirable to families and/or people in the professional class. Again – to me that’s a great thing.
As for the size of the new houses – celebrate diversity! Our housing stock now more than ever provides a wide range of options, for large families or small, modern tastes or traditional, restorations v. additions v. new constructions.
And I completely disagree with any notion that newer houses are of poorer construction quality than older ones. As someone who has built a new house and renovated a 100 year old one, the quality comparison is not even close. We know so much more today about heating and cooling systems, materials, insulation, passive energy savings, waterproofing, etc. than ever. Homebuilders of the past were seemingly unable to build square window and door frames, and god forbid any of them actually thought to fill the exterior stud cavities (easy Juan) with anything other than air.
Lastly, new houses are built to accomodate modern household life, favoring mud rooms, closets, and comfortable kitchens over formal living/dining rooms, sleeping porches, or hidden staircases for the servants to use.
Chalk it all up to change, with the aim of improvement. i.e. Progressivism.
“Ya know, I think it’s a great thing that we still have tear-down activity going on in Decatur. On walks and jogs around Oakhurst it looks like it is still the 2005 era of go-go housing bubble construction. Take a trip OTP sometime and you see the opposite – stubbed lots in unfinished developments, decaying suburban neighborhoods, foreclosure signs everywhere.”
That’s a good point. I don’t think a lot of people realize just how patchy the housing recovery has been. And I’m not convinced we’re out of the woods. Just heard an analyst talking about the mortgage delinquency rates in the major metros and the numbers are still very high. Plenty more foreclosures yet to come.
You built your own house. Apples and oranges to the situation to which I refer. You didn’t buy a new build slapped up by a developer. Some of the renovations over here are horror shows as well. My neighbor 12 years ago or so actually had phone jacks without phone lines and plugs without wiring. Another one bought a house with a dangerous upstairs addition that had to be reinforced. Again, apples and oranges to our renovation (where the things we screwed up we did ourselves through sometimes odd decisions like white grout and tile in a bathroom. Don’t do it!).
What color grout is a good choice? Our white grout is not so white anymore no matter what we try to treat it with. We should replace it but I’d like to know what’s a better choice first.
Gray, and make sure it is epoxy based. We ended up replacing the whole floor about 5 years after our renovation- I had turned it yellow bleaching it!
I agree…plus not all the houses being torn down are fantastic examples of architecture. A house on Wilton was recetly torn down…personally I dont miss it. I’m sure whatever goes up will be nicer. Our house is in the city, built in the 30’s and is small. I’d love to have more space….our bathroom is smaller than my cubacle at work!
Plus, like it was mentioned…love love love to see people working. The last 4+ years have been awful and its great to hear the hammers going again. Sometimes I twinge a bit when a nice old building is coming down…but…
and…at the end of the day, that 250k house that was torn down to build a 750k house in its place is not going to hurt my home value!
I have to admit that I have been thrilled with certain tear downs on Oakview!! Not all old houses are worth keeping! Just Sayin’.
Well, I guess I’m in the minority on this one…yet again.
No you are not.
For a city full of residents touting environmental sustainability, and all those other good words,even city policy statements, the massive tearing down of smaller environmentally friendly homes and their replacement with very large environmentally unfriendly houses (Oakhurst I am looking at you) tells me that the words don’t mean much in Decatur. Yes, it is all about money.
“the massive tearing down of smaller environmentally friendly homes and their replacement with very large environmentally unfriendly houses (Oakhurst I am looking at you) tells me that the words don’t mean much in Decatur. Yes, it is all about money.”
I don’t understand this remark. Are you saying someone in Oakhurst — for instance, an elderly person who finally opts to move out of their home and into assisted living, or perhaps her heirs whose entire inheritance amounts to the home she bequeathed, or a retiree who can’t afford to live here on a fixed income and has everything he owns tied up in his house — should any of those people sell his/her property for less than market value in order to ensure the buyer doesn’t tear it down? As Scott pointed out, this is a situation that can only be effectively addressed in the regulatory arena. Pointing fingers at individuals or neighborhoods is neither constructive nor neighborly. (Besides, it’s not like the same thing is not happening all over town. You can drive through any quadrant of Decatur and see plenty of gigantic new homes that are completely out of scale with their sites and their surroundings, and I’ll bet plenty of them sit on lots that once contained perfectly sound, but small and outdated, structures.
I also don’t like this trend, and would like to see people downsizing their expectations and requirements. But it’s a tremendous paradigm shift, and it’s a process.
Sorry if Oakhurst feels offended my my remark. Tear downs and displacement of low and moderate income renters is happening in many Atlanta and Decatur neighborhoods, some more then others. Oakhust makes a good case study.
Are there any bars in Decatur playing the X Games on TV?
Yesterday morning, while headed into work on Marta, I overheard someone telling another person that they should check out this site! Virtual high five, DM! Keep up the great work here.
News Flash — Saxby Chambliss will not run for re-election.
That gives him till the end of 2014 to get the Gang-of-Six deficit reduction plan passed. I never voted for him but I still think he has pretty good sense.
And he is likely to be much more moderate than whoever replaces him.
Broun, Price, Gingrey, Gingrich. I can’t wait. That primary campaign will be hilarious.
I guess Saxby figures it will be more fun to start raking in “consulting” income than busting his hump raising campaign contributions.
And please, dear lord, add Karen Handel to the list!
I’m calling it right now: Herman Cain
I think he’s already said he won’t be running, either…I was never a fan of Chambliss, but if he’s now considered “too liberal” for the GOPers in the district (I’ve read comments on Bookman’s blog over on the AJC saying this very thing), heaven only knows what will take his place!
That Repuglican (sorry, that was an absolutely honest typo that I now can’t bring myself to correct) is entertaining to think about, in a morbid kind of way. Or would be, if I thought any Democrat has a snowball’s chance of genuinely challenging whomever they come up with.
Atta girl
Ha! The Gang of 6 plan has zero change of being signed into law anytime soon. For one thing, it proposed using chained CPI to calculate future SS benefits, and the democrats in the senate have already indicated that they’d sooner light themselves on fire than agree to that. Then you have their proposal to cut marginal tax rates (to 29% for the top earners) while eliminating or cutting deductions. Our current president’s festish for high marginal rates makes that a non-starter, as the recent fiscal cliff negotiations made clear.
Twice during Saturday night’s Beloved Community Dialogue at Friends School of Atlanta, Andrew Young strongly urged Jason Carter to run for the Chambliss seat. I think he’d be better off waiting until 2016 when Dem turnout is likely to be higher thanks to the presidential election. I wouldn’t be surprised if Isakson decided not to run again, despite what he says now.
Is it just me or does it seem like with CSD’s week long breaks every few months, T-giving, Christmas, MLK, etc. that Decatur is like a brown bag college on holiday weekend/school breaks?
Seems like all the families with chirldren go somewhere else??!
What’s a brown bag college?
I run the unofficial/only Facebook page for the Oakhurst dog park. There have been a number of attacks there and at Adair lately. When I called the number on the sign, I was told that when incidents occur, call ASAP, and someone will come down to speak to the owner of the attacking dog.
It is best, of course, to do what we can to make sure these attacks don’t occur in the first place. After speaking to many dog owners about attacks, the same concerns and suggestions keep coming up. I sure would appreciate it if folks added more here, just to help get the word out and help keep our dogs safer.
– Spay or neuter your dog.
– Special toys cause fights. Please leave them at home.
– Please monitor your dog at all times.
– Don’t leash your dog in the park unless you absolutely have to.
– Most dogs play rough. Some dogs are noisy. Some dogs are total spazzes. This is the joy of dogness. Expect it, accept it, love it.
– It is okay to point out to someone who was looking the other way that their dog just pinched a loaf. Decatur dog park folk are good conscientious people. They won’t mind.
– Do not let small children run freely around the dog park, approach dogs they don’t know, or wave toys/sticks/objects in the air. My kids follow my strict set of rules and are able to enjoy the park while staying safe and not forcing other dog owners to monitor them. I’m thinking of having my kids give a class on this.
Thanks.
One of the big factors supporting creation of the dog parks was to keep small children safe in the non-dog parks. Maybe the City should institute a rule that children must be leashed while in the dog park.
Where do I sign the petition for this?
Well, you could always start the petition…
Good post, but I would add if you have to leash your dog in the dog park then perhaps the dog park isn’t for you.
http://www.ifc.com/portlandia/videos/portlandia-dog-park
Love it and that show. I rarely see one of their skits that it doesn’t feel like it could be our fair city being lampooned.
A great list that I heartily agree with. I love the Adair dog park and have met a number of really good folks there.
Meant to post this last FFAF: Go Falcons!
What in heck was going on in front of the high school around 8-8:30 (maybe earlier)? Sitting at the light at Trinity/S. McDonough we saw at least five DPD cars zooming through in full cry, all collecting at the bottom of the hill.
A fight I believe…must have been pretty big. Agnes Scott police also showed up.
I heard the McNair HS basketball team was on their bus after the game, climbed out the emergency door and started some trouble.
Because they lost? Because they were taunted? Because alcohol got in their hands? Or, at the risk of being accused of condescension again, because they are male teens? So glad firearms weren’t involved.
They did lose. No idea if they were taunted, but I would be surprised if words were not exchanged. However, that happens just about everywhere and 99.9% of the time the athletes stay on the bus and leave peacefully.
Just finished watching Moonstruck. Not sure why. Must be Cosmo’s moon.
It WAS Cosmo’s moon! One of my all-time favorite movies.
wow. the City of Decatur has somehow annexed parts of Dekalb county 10 miles away, outside of 285!!
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/crime-law/3-teens-shot-during-decatur-house-party/nT7xp/
It was on Channel 2 also. I wrote nastygrams to both. It does have Decatur mailing address in 30035.
You will note that there was an update at 3:30 which removed references to Decatur and instead say Dekalb. Sometimes complaining works.
I just wanna know if you use exclamation points in your email to them. :0)
No, just very direct, specific language:
The location of the shooting incident last night involving the teens was not “in Decatur” despite the postal address. The incident was reported by DeKalb police (gray cars), not Decatur police (white cars), therefore it may have been “near” Decatur (which it wasn’t, it’s four or five miles away from Decatur on the other side of I-285), but it wasn’t “in” the four square miles of incorporated Decatur. We are proud of our low crime rate and don’t wish to be associated with areas that, in its infinite wisdom, the post office happens to give a Decatur address. Some of those locations are 15 miles from our city.
I can’t recall if I told you the last time this came up, but whenever the news gets it wrong, I always look forward to the follow-up broadcast to see if you’ve worked your magic! And when you have, I let out a “YAY! Steve Did It!” cheer! :0)
Does anyone know where I can find good Pastrami? I am willing to go anywhere in metro Atlanta.
Go to your nearest Western Union office and wire someone to send it from up north. Apropos of very little, I’m reminded of the M*A*S*H* episode in which Hawkeye finagled a BBQ joint in Chicago to send him a huge order of ribs and sauce, but forgot to ask for coleslaw.
While you search for pastrami by the pound, you can get a fix. The best pastrami sandwich is at the Wrecking Bar Pub – seriously, better than anything I ever had in Philly, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, or Chicago. Sadly, they don’t sell it by the pound under the table….
Bagel Palace sells New York corned beef and pastrami by the pound or you can order sandwiches to eat there or for take-out. I forget the name of the brand, but it’s pretty decent. When I need a reuben fix, that’s where I usually go for the meat (yeah, I mix the corned beef and the pastrami, you got a problem with that?!?).
Now when you say “anywhere in metro Atlanta”, if that includes a few miles OTP on the west side, do yourself a favor and get out to Patak Meats in Austell. I took my Polish mother and Irish/German father there for the first time last month. They took about 25 pounds of meat home in a cooler. I got calls almost every day for three weeks telling me how awesome everything was (duh, I know, why do you think I brought you there?!?). Anyway, they make their own pastrami and it’s delicious. I would describe it as a little less “seasoned” and a little more smoked than most people would expect of a “New York-style” pastrami. Whatever, did I mention that it’s delicious? And the best part is that you won’t even worry about the money you spend on gas to get to Austell and back because it’s cheap (like cheaper than Kroger cheap, for ten times the quality!). And if you don’t like their pastrami you can still load up on all sorts of smoked European goodness or fresh pork, beef or chicken that’s better and cheaper than anywhere else in town.
Damn, now I’m REALLY hungry…
Pine Street Market makes pastrami. I think it is good. Disclaimer: I’m not from NY.
Anybody know where to get good turkey or chicken sausage (needs to taste like andoullie)?
I’ve gotten it at Trader Joe’s.
I meant to post this before and forgot—I hope some people see it! I just wanted to send a shout-out to Farmburger. We were there for dinner on a Saturday night and a very elderly couple came in and got in the line that was, as usual, almost out the door. They weren’t even there 30 seconds before a Farmburger employee had come over and ushered them to a table and taken their order from the table. They had their food within minutes. I was very impressed with this amazing customer service! The elderly man had a cane and it was clear that standing in the line would have been onerous. Thanks for being awesome Farmburger!