Free-For-All Friday 5/17/13
Decatur Metro | May 17, 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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Ponce de Leon Heights Neighbors, Please join us for the Spring planting in the Unity Garden at Nelson Ferry and Woodlawn this Saturday morning May 18, starting at 10. Anne-Marie Anderson (variously known as The Celtic Gardner or The Chicken Lady of Clarion) will be guiding us with prepping soil, mulching, and planting some of the usual drought resistant but colorful annuals. Some plants will be started from seed, which children might particularly enjoy. In addition, this year we will focus on edibles in some sections of the garden – creating an “urban food garden” that can benefit us all. So come out and help with/learn about the Unity Garden. In particular, you might like to know which plants are actually edible.
Lemonade Stand for A Cure
For the month of May, F.AVE 4th Grader, Lucas Brotherton has set a goal to raise $600 which he will donate to PKU research and outreach. Lucas will be hosting his fourth annual lemonade stand which will be located on the corner of South McDonough and Oakview Road on Saturday, May 18th. He will be selling lemonade, fresh baked cookies, and other treats. There also will be cornhole and a few other games. Come out, show your support and have fun!
Lucas’s Lemonade Stand
Date: Saturday, May 18th
Located: On the corner of South McDonough and Oakview Road (just across from Oakhurst community garden)
“Shop” Hours: 11:30pm -2:30pm
May is PKU awareness month. Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a metabolic disorder. Individuals with PKU cannot process an amino acid called phenylalanine which is present in most foods. Without treatment, phenylalanine builds up in the bloodstream and causes severe neurological complications including brain damage. Standard treatment consists of a strict low-protein diet and daily consumption of a special formula containing life-sustaining nutrition. Continued research is needed to ease the difficulty of the diet and to help improve the quantity of life for all individuals living with PKU.
Thanks to these amazing Decatur business who donated Gift Certificates : U-joint, Steinbecks, Revolution Donut, Colbeh, Matador, Little Shop of Stories, Mcgowan’s and a few others
Anyone eaten at Hola! yet? What did you think?
Some Yelpers have visited Hola! See: http://www.yelp.com/biz/hola-mexican-cantina-decatur I’m looking forward to trying it.
Hola! is open for breakfast? It would be so cool if they did migas.
I haven’t tried it yet, but I rode by on my bike yesterday and the patio was packed.
And I am glad to report at 7:00pm is was nice and shady.
Have not eaten there, but a friend went in to pick up a to-go order around lunchtime one day this week, and witnessed a waitress arguing with a customer about an order – apparently the customer said they had received the wrong order and the waitress was insisting (loudly and aggressively, according to my friend) that they got what they ordered. OY, I really want something to be successful in that spot. Hopefully that was just an opening-week anomaly…
Our family ate at Hola last night. The space is really inviting and open. The food was good. The tacos (carne asada & chipolte chicken) were fresh and tasty. I really liked the charros beans and ended up eating my daughter’s serving. A word of caution, the wait staff seemed like they were all new to the profession. My daughter has a friend working as a busboy in his first job. We had some issues with service, but the managers checked in with us several times without a comment from us to them. So, I’m assuming our waiter asked for the follow up.
If you’re not tolerant with your servers don’t go to Hola yet. It has real potential especially when the weather is nice. I hope they get the service kinks working out quickly. We’ll give them another try in a few weeks.
We had dinner there last night too. Completely agree with your comment about the servers seeming very new to the industry. That was the comment from my entire table. Food was just “meh” and lacking flavor. I suppose below average given the price I paid. For as much staff as they had, service was very slow too. Not interested in going back.
I ate there on Friday, and went around 2:00 so there was no crowd. The food was amazing. I had chicken enchiladas with corn and beans, and husband had the carne asada tacos (as a SoCal transplant, he was in heaven!). The margarita was great, too. However, it sat on the bar for probably 10 minutes before being delivered to me. Which brings me to the service… it’s not so great at the moment.
My guess is that most of the staff are high schoolers. Every question I had about a menu item, they had to go “find out” for me. I say “they” because I had 3 different servers, who spent most of their time crowded around the cash register. I do appreciate them giving the teens a chance, so I won’t hold the service issues against them – yet. I got several check-ins from the manager, so that was nice.
I’ll definitely be back!
O.K. folks this saturday keep your eyes peeled–#freeartdecatur
https://www.facebook.com/events/441486619278051/
and also this-The Champion art hunt
https://www.facebook.com/events/347216015388889/
Looking for recommendations for a company to do routine heating and AC maintenance.
We just had Dan Goss from Dekalb C.A.R.E. come out to do some maintenance on our HVAC. He came recommended to us by our home energy auditor and our renovation contractor, SawHorse. We really liked him. 770-414-1808 http://www.wedelivercomfort.com/
+1 on DeKalb C.A.R.E. Very honest and reasonable prices. He’s been out to our home twice and both times what we thought could be a serious problem was a simple and inexpensive fix.
http://aceaheat.com/
located in Avondale. did a great job for us.
I have done 2 major installations with Ace and a. I have moved elsewhere.
Been using Empire for about 3 years. Reliable and in Decatur (on DeKalb Industrial Blvd).
i highly recommend:
wes cardell…
678.283.3186
we had a service agreement with one of the bigger companies and when they came out to help us with our non-working air in the hottest week of june we were told we needed a new unit…so we called wes who came over and had it working in no time. needless to say, we cancelled the service agreement and now wes is our hvac go-to guy. he’s local and fabulous!
+100! Wes does great work!
Lanny Adams Appliance Repair. They charge by the repair, not by the trip or hour, and they are solid gold. 404-762-9611
What happens to the art hunt scheduled for tomorrow if it’s raining?
Fisbn? Parker Cross?
It will go on,most of the stuff is pretty weatherproof,but we may get some zip-locks just in case.
watch the FB page for updates,as well as twitter with the #fafatl and #freeartdecatur hashtags
Cool super awesome. I am greedy for free art. Proof can be seen in my blog, atlantaartblog.com.
Do any of you have geothermal heating/cooling? What has your experience been with it? Did you install pre or post construction?
My short recommendation – Consider Solar Hot Water heating first. Much lower first cost, proven returns, and it’s much easier to maintain.
Disclaimer** I work with commercial buildings, so a residential expert may have much better knowledge about small scale applications than I do. That being said –
The long explanation – The productivity and cost of a geothermal exchange or ground source heat pump is directly tied to how much land you have and the size of the system it will service. The savings scale up and the cost scales down with size. For a residential application it’s a great idea if multiple homes can tie into a loop to offset the initial cost of either digging up to 80 x 500′ deep wells for the piping {not a lot of land} or laying up to hundreds of shallow pipes over a large expanse of land (think soccer field). The larger the system, the more efficiency you gain. Again, this is what a commercial application requires, so for a home it may be much easier to drill for a single home, but I haven’t really seen anything like that before.
Best of luck.
If you happen to know of links to information providing basic overview/intro to solar hot water systems for residential (suitable for FL Panhandle), would much appreciate it! Also interested in gray water harvesting (and anything else that doesn’t have huge initial cost–just broke ground & can already see the budget will likely be busted by the time dried in… but want to think about long-term economy & sustainability as much as possible).
Check Southface’s web site: http://www.southface.org/learning-center/library/
Would also love this information, though we would be trying to retrofit an existing home for solar hot water heating (and eventually more?). We have a large, not-to-steep roof, no trees overhead and a south facing house. Not crazy, right?
We’ve had a great experience with our geothermal system. It works just like any other HVAC system we’ve had in the past, but our electric bills are much lower. Of course, our house also has a very tight building envelope (YMMV depending on the condition of the house & ductwork you install it into).
We installed pre-construction and if I recall correctly, drilled 5 100′ deep holes for the coolant loops.
will-e is right that there are other things that likely have a higher ROI/shorter payback (solar thermal is right up there), but you can get both a Federal & Georgia tax credit for geothermal, so that helps.
I’m not sure when you installed, but current systems would require only one well the typical bungalow-sized house in Decatur, and two for one of the larger, newer houses.
They work really well and actually require little maintenance, though the upfront cost is high. Atlanta actually has quite a few of these systems in residential applications, though most are in very large homes. I don’t think Decatur has very many, though I do know of at least two.
Friday’s Good, Bad and Ugly:
The Good: As of this morning, there are contractors with blueprints in hand assembling at The Imperial. Oakhurst may get its north side pub yet.
The Bad: Tried out M&K Alterations this week based on a previous FFAF recommendation. My wife dropped off a dress, paid in advance, but was not given a receipt. I picked up, at which time they charged me again. When I pointed out that my wife had confirmed it was prepaid, they suggested she was lying. I had to pay a second time just to get the dress back. So, if your curious at what price some businesses will sell out their ethics, it’s apparently 25 bucks.
The Ugly: I was in a meeting this week where a respected voice in the community suggested that we should maintain economic diversity in our neighborhoods because poor kids qualify for the free lunch program and losing them would mean losing Federal dollars for schools. Surely there are better reasons to be inclusive (basic human decency among them) than putting price tags on people’s heads. Is this a common view that I’m just now hearing?
Boo to M&K Alterations. Someone needs to point this discussion out to them and I bet they will decide the extra $25 bucks really was not worth it as they watch… their… revenue… decline….
I have also used MK for years and have never had an issue. Their procedure has always been to give me a claim receipt when I drop off, and not collect the money until I pick up my items. Maybe if your wife requested to pay upfront, it threw them off since that’s not the way they usually do it. There’s sometimes a bit of a language barrier there that I’m sure didn’t help the situation. I agree though that it was short-sighted of them to lose a customer over the dispute.
Re price on head: I don’t think the price per head ever works out in CSD’s favor because our schools usually go beyond the minimum required to charge that price. For example, I think special needs and gifted kids get a higher dollar amount than “typical” children. But they cost more than that so CSD is under pressure to limit the numbers who officially get that designation.
On top of that, I know that, in general, CSD gets less than its fair share of state dollars for various reasons that I do not understand, e.g. our small schools, so we extensively supplement what we get by state formulas.
Agree that a diverse community is of value. Hard to be diverse on all levels, especially in terms of household income. The marketplace has a way of stratifying on that factor.
I am very surprised that your wife wasn’t given a receipt. I’ve been a customer for 10 years or so and have had no problems at all.
I’ve had the same experience as 10 x 10 In. I’ve brought tons of clothes in and they always expect me to pay (cash) when I pick-up. I’ve always found them to be exceptionally friendly and when I’ve needed a rush order (on occasion), they have always found a way to help me. Their work is good too. Sorry about the bad experience.
Glad to hear all these counter-experiences. Still not my preferred variation of “the customer is always right” but the language barrier, rather than swarthiness, seems the most likely culprit.
Anyone know what is going on in the lot next to Dairy Queen, behind Harbour Bar & Fish House?
http://atlanta.curbed.com/archives/2013/01/29/trinity-triangle.php
For the last few months, the activity there has been related to the stormwater drainage work they’ve been doing on Trinity.
Actually the drainage work involves Maple and Church Sts
Had a very underwhelming dinner at Cakes and Ale this week. My other half got the most expensive steak on the menu. It was served on a salad sized plate and the sides were a cut up baked potato and cherry tomatoes on spinach. Very disappointing. What’s all the hype about? Had a MUCH better meal at 246 about 6 months ago. The PIG beats them both by leaps and bounds, IMHO.
Ditto. I was beginning to think the Mrs. and I were the only two residents who weren’t madly in love with Cakes & Ale. We’ve tried three times now, in both the old location on Ponce and the new location on the square, and we’ve been underwhelmed each time. Ditto for the Bakery. I would much rather eat at 246, Cafe Lilly, or Cafe Alsace.
Agree 100%. We really enjoyed our first meal there at the old location, but recent experiences have been underwhelming. The meals we’ve had at 246 have been vastly superior for less money.
I have just assumed that exquisite cuisine is above my crude ability to judge. Kind of like some genres of art. I do sort of like the smaller portions and plainer food approach–so I don’t have to starve myself the day before and after a restaurant meal in order to eat the whole thing. But you have to adjust your expectations. A lot of folks are willing to pay high prices for restaurant meals so long as they get such a large portion that they get stuffed and have to take the leftovers home. Cakes & Ale has a very high price per ounce ratio.
This may seem like a personal attack but it’s really just a question. When you contribute to a blog isn’t it more fun to write about the restaurants you’ve enjoyed, like 246 or Iberian Pig, as you mentioned? Why offer a gratuitous negative comment about a place that many people enjoy? Lately this is my mantra: Not everybody likes the same stuff. It’s OK.
But as a peace offering: have you been to Out of the Pan on Clairemont just above Ponce? Good Golly that’s some good food. And on Friday they do oxtails. When’s the last time you had oxtails?
Agree in general, Parker, but let’s give them a pass on Cakes & Ale. They’re absolutely right that it’s not worth the money. I just wish that more people would start realizing it so we could eat there at a decent hour on the weekend without making reservations three weeks in advance!
The only thing I love about Cakes and Ale is the bakery. My fancy pants six year old loves the desserts as an afterschool snack and the sugar bear iced espresso is awesome.
RE: Oxtails, FarmBurger was serving oxtail fritters as a special a week ago or so. Day-um, they were good!
Last Sunday afternoon at Oakhurst Park someone had their dog tied to the swing set which is clearly inside the children’s playground area. Dogs are prohibited in these areas for many reasons. The signage is clear. You are not special. Your dog is not special. Obey the rules.
Ok I just heard of a new term for people who are anti developmnt that is funny for a change.
a BANANA (Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere) I think I will be adding this to my own vocabulary.
I feel embarrassed that I didn’t know that the outgoing head of the IRS is named Steve Miller.
Don’t worry. I was sure that the new acting chief was a former Heisman Trophy winning quarterback from Florida.
Who lives in Decatur, doesn’t he?
Does he? Like actual City of Decatur or wannabe Postal Decatur? If it’s the City, I think we may need to propose and address a Gator moratorium during the next Strategic Planning sessions. It’s bad enough that people want to mover here and overcrowd our schools with their kids but I draw the line at kids being raised as Flaw-rida fans!
As a grad from one of UF’s main rivals (not GA), I would feel the same way if I gave a hoot about football. But you should meet him. He is one very classy guy, and his wife and kids are wonderful.
Well damn. A quick Google search indicates that you may very well be right about him being a classy guy. I hate it when my proudly held preconceived notions are upended like this. I may need to excuse myself for an early happy hour to contemplate…
I still bet his kids wear jean shorts.
HA! Lump nails it. All my friends who went there had jorts.
As aggravating as Spurrier can be, he could be an interesting choice to head the IRS. I’d love to see him toss his visor while offering Congressional testimony.
As to Danny, he got the Heisman due to the system, not his talents…
To the woman in the white Ford Explorer who blew through the Trinity Avenue crosswalk this morning, while the crossing guard stood in the middle guiding children through: mind your karma. Slowing down AFTER you pass the crossing guard only to roll down your window and curse her will not win you bonus points. It may be that none of us got your license plate number this morning, but someone, somewhere, at some point, will punch your ticket.
oy–I sure hope she isn’t a parent!
I so know what you mean. I too was verbally accosted by her while we were trying to turn left. She works at DHS. We have since seen her car at DHS. I so want to follow her and ask her if it’s really worth it to get so aggressive and rude.
Maybe she could leave for work a few minutes earlier and save herself some grief.
I keep seeing Oakhurst listed separately from Decatur as if Oakhurst is an intown Atlanta neighborhood rather than a Decatur neighborhood. As an Oakhurst-dweller, it bugs me. I am proud to live in Oakhurst and Decatur. Why do people think of Oakhurst as being apart from Decatur?
Can’t think of any reason, especially with how heavily DPD patrols the area.
i hope by saying, “especially with how heavily DPD patrols the area.” you’re NOT inferring we have a crime problem in Oakhurst, cos if you are I will cut you, dude.
then take your catalytic converter.
Eat motion-detected illumination, fiend!
fear my catalytic fu!
Hell naw…I’m just saying that I grip the wheel with white knuckles every time I leave U Joint.
as well you should–when the sun starts to set, baby stroller rush hour ensues, and it only takes one staggering Bugaboo pusher who’s had one too many high gravity’s to set nerves on edge.
Love it!
I think Oakhurst was its own town at one point, but that was way back when. I think all the references now should be taken as a compliment – one Decatur neighborhood has more interesting restaurants and activities than most of the OTP towns:)
“In 1910 the Georgia Legislature approved the incorporation of Oakhurst. Oakhurst’s population was approximately 100 people at the time of incorporation, mostly located around the railroad tracks near College Avenue and the present MARTA station . . . the Town of Oakhurst was not annexed into the city of Decatur until 1914-1916. Shortly after annexation, however, Oakhurst’s City Hall/Schoolhouse burned and destroyed all of the town records, so little is known about the old Town of Oakhurst.”
(Wikipedia)
” . . . however, during site preparation for the Eastlake MARTA station, excavation uncovered a few surviving artifacts of the Town of Oakhurst that provide insight into the culture of its earliest citizens: several pairs of Birkenstocks, hemp shirts, a cache of growlers, and a yard sign announcing the formation of the Citizen’s Festival Committee were among the more significant discoveries . . .”
(Rickipedia)
How do I sign up for Rickipedia?
It’s just another section of Decatur. Just like the MAK area. I don’t think anyone has been talking about annexing to Atlanta.
It bugs me too. Blame real estate agents.
I inherited some depression-era stemware from a relative. Just a few pieces, not even close to a complete set.
Does anyone in the Atlanta area specialize in finding old glass pieces?
If you don’t find here, check out Replacements- they are in NC with big online sales too.
You might try to send an email to the folks at the Scott Antique Market to inquire at to whom their glass sellers are.
http://www.scottantiquemarket.com/antiqueshows_contact.html#
It’s a huge operation – 3500 booths each month. But they might be able to steer you in the right direction. Good luck!
Noticed that CSD is looking for a new Director of Transportation. I can’t seem to find a description of the job or education/ experience requirements. (Not that I’m personally interested.) Just wondering how these types of positions get filled. http://www.csdecatur.net/hr/open-positions
I can’t find a description either. I hope that the scope of the position includes a more global vision of transportation than just bus routes, but also encompasses walkability, walk and roll initiatives, urgent communications with families (e.g. when buses break down), efficient fueling, personnel and supervision (if bus drivers employed by CSD and not DCSS), and some understanding of contracts and other legal mechanisms (e.g. for maintenance, bus leasing, or bus driver contracts). It’s a big job. The Superintendent has a Transportation Committee that has some legal, business, and environmental impact expertise and did a great job in the past. Hopefully it will have input into the selection of the new Director.
One thing to keep in mind is the CSD will be using a contractor, not DeKalb County, for school buses next year, which would probably result is a little more hands-on.
What communication with families? The twitter feed is almost never used.
My favorite episode this past year was when the bus didn’t show up, and that afternoon the bus driver told the kids that he overslept that morning. I would like to think that if a bus driver doesn’t show up, somebody would notice …
Luckily we have a great group of parents usually at the bus stop, and when too much time has obviously passed for the bus to show, 1-2 parents volunteer and drive the 8-10 kids to FAVE.
Also, on any given morning, the bus can approach from any possible direction.
While we know the buses are leased from Dekalb, I thought Decatur oversaw the scheduling/operating of them (Dekalb provided drivers and handled maintenance). But I could be wrong.
Unfortunately, the kind of person who understands how to drive a bus and the life of a bus driver isn’t always the best person to do urgent communications or damage control when problems arise. That’s what I’m curious about this position. Director of Transportation encompasses a lot more high level functions than just supervisor of bus drivers. The Superintendent’s Transportation Committee thought a lot about this and other large picture issues, knowing that there’s only so many folks at CSD Central Office to develop plans. That’s why I hope that they have been kept in the loop and will have a central role in interviewing for the new Director.
About 10:15am this morning, my lights in my office flickered and the power went out. My office is on Church Street, just north of Commerce, but well within the city limits. This happens about once per week. Today I heard a boom shortly after the power went out. Anybody know what causes this? It is getting annoying.
I’m brand spanking new to growlers but am considering getting one this week. Any tips or advice? Who has the best prices?
There are Scoutmob’s out there for several growler locations in the area for a free container (normally ~$5). The prices vary by the individual brand and the container size. Most places sell either 32 or 64 ounce containers, but you can swap them out with no charge. You might want to try the 32 oz. container for the first one. Another thing, you can take a growler container from Store A into Store B, and they will be happy to fill it up.
I’m partial to Avondale Beer Growler, mostly because it is on my way home. They will also let you sample 2-3 beers before you buy one. Good Luck!
The Beer Growler has brought back free samples?
On a related note – anyone know if A) there are plastic beer growlers anywhere and B) if any of our local joints will fill them? Before anyone gasps in disapproval, this is for bringing to the pool, where glass containers are verboten.