Free-For-All Friday 3/13/15

Feel free to use this post to make comments and ask questions about local issues not yet discussed here over the past week.

103 thoughts on “Free-For-All Friday 3/13/15”


  2. Not Decatur related, but I know a few of you will be as bummed as I am to learn that Gu’s Bistro, the wonderful and very popular Schizuan Chinese restaurant on Buford Hwy, has unexpectedly and permanently closed. No reason given in the tweet or on their Facebook page.

    1. Wwwwwwwwwwwwwhat???

      Is their Krog Market dumpling shop still opening? Or is this an early April Fool’s joke?

    2. Actually their Facebook post said it’s a permanent closure of just that particular location. They are looking for a new location for the Bistro and the location at Krog will open “in the middle of March” which I would think is now so I am not sure exactly what they mean.

      1. I recall reading that their initial plan was to make the dumplings at the Bufi location and transport them to Krog St. Maybe that plan proved unworkable, and they are looking to be closer to the Krog St. location. Whatever the reason, I bet some people were shocked when they showed up there tonight for dinner.

  4. Announcement said to “please visit their Krog St. location, which opens in mid-March”. Also said they are looking for another location to reopen in.

    1. OK, phew! We went to Krog Market last week hoping to get some dumplings and they still weren’t open. Glad to hear that’s just delayed and not scrapped. If they can now find a spot closer to Decatur, this is a long term win-win!

      1. I guess it could end up in a better location. But I’m very curious as to what happened. This is easily one of the most popular (maybe THE most popular) places on Buford Hwy. I wonder if the property owner tried to leverage that fact and demanded an exorbitant rent hike?

        1. Everything open at Krog St. Market is worth eating (except the florist, I don’t recommend eating the flowers – but the shop is owned by a Renfroe teacher and her husband).

        2. I’ve only been to Craft Izakaya so far, and it was good. We’re planning to try the Mexican place tonight.

        3. Fred’s has a good catfish sandwich. Yalla is not bad. G. C. BBQ didn’t really blow up my skirt. Superica wasn’t great either. Of course you can’t go wrong with a beer at Hop City.

        4. We ate at Superica last weekend and really enjoyed it. Great drinks, convivial atmosphere (but not too loud for conversation), friendly and efficient service, and delicious food. Complex flavors and fresh ingredients, and the most authentic Tex Mex I’ve had in Atl as of yet. Be prepared to wait–we got there around 8:30pm Saturday night and waited over an hour for a table. My favorite dish was the Tacos Barbacoa but the Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas were yummy, too. Complimentary salsas and chips were top notch, too.

    2. Indeed they are looking for a new intown venue–and Decatur’s a possibility! Squeeeeeeeeee!

      http://www.atlantamagazine.com/dining-news/yvonne-gu-on-closing-gus-bistro-and-moving-in-town/

  6. I would like to recommend Northside Tree Professionals for any future tree service based on the following experiences. On March 7, I arrived home from a long walk to find several workers trimming one of my trees at the rear of my property. My neighbor hired the company, Northside Tree Professionals, to trim a tree that could have, under certain weather conditions, fallen and damaged property. Since I had no previous knowledge that this was to be done, I reacted in a less than Christian way with statements like, “Get the hell off my property… NOW!” A supervisor quickly arrived to explain the situation but I was in no mood to talk. I told him to have to owner of the company contact me to explain how I would be compensated for the loss of my property (I also mentioned lawyers which in hindsight, was not a good idea). The work crew quickly left and I thought that would be the end of it. When I told my wife about it, she being the better angel in the house, advised me to sleep on it because “They could have made an honest mistake”. And so I did. The next day, I looked up the Northside Tree website. I was impressed that the owner was a veteran who served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and that the company supported a wide variety of charities. I was determined to settle the issue as quickly and fairly as possible. On March 9, I received a call from the owner asking me what was needed to resolve the conflict. I told him that I wanted was an apology, that was all. He agreed to stop by. When he arrived the next day, not only did he apologize but he also gave me a fair price to remove some dangerous limbs over the house. When I told him that we could afford that price he said, “There won’t be a charge. My company made a mistake not asking permission to come on your property. This was wrong and we want to make it up to you.” My wife and I protested the free offer and suggested that we would donate the amount to the Wounded Warrior charity. He accepted our offer. His crew arrived the next day and worked several hours trimming the dangerous limbs, seven in all, and cleaned up the debris. The owner called me last night to ask if we were satisfied with the work. As you can tell from this post, we were more than satisfied.
    Those of us in the City of Decatur who are blessed with many trees understand that sooner or later, we will need the services of a professional tree surgeon. When this is necessary, I hope you consider giving Northside Tree Professionals a call. You’ll be glad you did.
    Northside Tree Professionals is owned by W. Mark Heiser. 770-452-8077.

      1. Well done all around! Just two things I’m curious about:

        1. Chris says that he had just returned from a long walk. A long walk? Isn’t that dangerously close to hippie stuff?

        2. The company responded in a way that few seem to nowadays, with the utmost professionalism and emphasis on real customer service and satisfaction. I can respect that, and this account will make me likely to use them if I ever need tree maintenance or removal. However, I’m more curious about the neighbor who ordered this work without authorization. I want to hear about THAT confrontation, including the amount of penance doled out by Mr. B’s priest after his last confession 🙂

        1. Thanks JT. Its interesting that you mention confession. My church, Saint Thomas More here in Decatur, held a Lenten penance service last Tuesday and my son and I attended. My priest was an African, maybe Nigerian, and presently serving at Emory University. During my confession, I told him about my anger issues (formally referred to as sins) and looked him in the eye and said, “I can be a real mean son of a bitch at times”. He responded, “You know, you should really work on this during Lent. Try to see the face of God in everyone you meet.” Good advice, for Lent and always.

          1. You also have positive contribution issues (formerly known as “good works”). My impression is that you saw the grace of God in all your students and they loved you for it and learned from you. Not saying that you shouldn’t give up the anger issues for Lent but wanted to be sure you were getting credit (formerly known as “grace”) on the sins/good works chalkboard of life.

    2. Chris, seeing you on the commenters’ list was the rainbow on this day! So very glad you’re back! :0)

  8. With traffic in the city center already congested on a regular basis, I am alarmed at the number of condos and apartments being built within the city limits. Has the city done any population density studies and if so, are they available for public view? It seems more and more like the city is viewing development only in terms of tax revenue and not in terms of maintaining a balanced urban environment for its residents. And if no studies have been done, why not and to whom do I address my concerns? Does anyone else share my concerns?

    1. Plenty of studies have been done – I’m sure all the current development adheres to the city’s long approved planning (with which you are at liberty to disagree, of course.)
      I personally like the idea of more downtown density. The problem, IMHO, with Decatur of 20 years ago, was how deserted the city became at nights and weekends. That problem having been solved, I’d like to see more office development as a balance for both commerce and tax revenue. But that is a very tall order in this no/low growth economy.

    2. Go to Decaturga [dot] com, go to the “Residents” tab, then to “Master Plans.” There you will find all manner of plans that have been conducted over the past 10-20 years, most with regular updates.

      From my perspective, Decatur has a reputation in the Atlanta area as a city that does a lot of careful planning with ample community input. Most communities are not proactive but Decatur has earned a reputation for looking at issues before other communities (and sometimes knocked for spending resources on “trivial” issues, but that depends on your perspective). We may disagree on the end results from plans and studies, but this community certainly is careful about investigating various issues in a public way. That’s just my $0.02 though.

      1. Thanks, Rival, I’ll check those out. We have been here since 1999, and I have always been appreciative of our city’s careful planning. However, with the surge in growth and the influx of developers, the growth seems unbridled. I want a vibrant, walkable/cyclable downtown, but I also want potential congestion to be considered before it occurs.

        1. All of the studies have shown that adding downtown residential units do not add much more traffic (the construction of them certainly does, but that goes away once the building is finished construction).

          As a matter of fact, car trip counts can go down as more people who live downtown do their errands on foot and use more public transportation (if available, which it is in Downtown Decatur). Some of these residents might even opt to go without owning a car and relying on transit and car sharing services when transit doesn’t make sense.

          I believe that the city’s traffic count analysis has borne this out as hundreds of residential units have been added over the past 10-15 years and traffic counts have been flat in the downtown core.

          1. I wish Decatur would plan for a bigger pedestrian plaza. I think it could catalyze downtown growth and be the biggest infrastructure change to downtown since the construction of the MARTA station. Imagine Ponce and Clairemont closed to traffic inside of Commerce and being a pedestrian zone, and a rerouting of traffic on remaining downtown streets in a coordinated set of one-way patterns. I think it could work (for traffic) if done right. I dream of this every year when the beach party and arts festival happen.

            And yes, our family of 4 lives downtown, shares one car, and does not drive much intown. I bike or take MARTA to work, kids walk to school (don’t get me started on how many parents drive kids to school in Decatur). We certainly try to walk everywhere.

            1. +1. And regarding kids walking to school on their own, this will likely spark some conversation:

              hereandnow.wbur.org/2015/03/09/free-range-parenting-meitiv

              Parents were cited by Maryland authorities for allowing their young children to walk to park unaccompanied.

            2. Starting with smaller steps, close down the parking islands on North McDonough in front of the courthouse and on the north part of the Square. Turn them in to more greenspace, wider sidewalks and outdoor seating for the restaurants on the Square. Save a small area for dropoffs and a few handicapped spaces.

              Traffic tends to clog up here as people desperately look for a miracle space right in front of the Brick Store. The benefits to everyone would outweigh the loss of a handful of parking spaces.

              1. Regardless of whether or not this idea has merit, both of those areas have property owners with existing access rights (south side has the pay parking lot that, I believe, also serves Core Dance; north side has back-of-building onsite parking for the Brick Store and Sweet Melissa’s). Neither has any other means of access. Can’t imagine they’d willingly give those rights up. In the case of the south side especially, it would kill the development value of the parcel.

                1. I bet these access rights do not include all of the land that includes the parking, right? Maybe what would amount to a 10 foot alleyway?

  10. It’s crossover day in the legislature. Correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t all of the annexation bills pretty much dead in the water at this point?

      1. It has been killed, and replaced by a $200 annual “impact fee” (since we use the gas tax to fund road infrastructure, I presume).

        http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/blog/capitol_vision/2015/03/georgia-house-passes-comprehensive-transportation.html?page=all

    2. I could be wrong, but I believe annexation bills are handled as local legislation, and as such aren’t required to pass one house by Crossover Day. By contrast, incorporation bills are general legislation and thus subject to Crossover Day.

    3. The annexation bills are local legislation, and not subject to the Crossover Day deadline.

  12. Anyone have a kitchen cabinet re-facing company they had a good experience with? Can anyone share some cost experiences for re-facing cabinets?

    1. I had 6 companies provide estimates and selected Kitchen Fronts of Georgia not because they were the least expensive but they understood how to do what I wanted. My house was built in 1920 and the kitchen “up dated” in the 1960’s, my up dating (2012) went in two zones . I kept the 1960’s cabinet boxes as they were custom built into the walls and were in very good shape. Kitchen Fronts of Georgia refaced zone 2 with cherry doors , drawers and facing which matched zone 1 that I rebuilt in 2008. They are reasonal in cost, do what they promise in the time they promis

  14. DM: How does your website know that I use Levenger Circa products? A banner up at the top of my view of DM is enticing me to a Levenger Circa sale. I’m pretty sure that most of Decatur has never even heard of these old school hardcopy planner products so the ad has to be targeted at me individually. I don’t even order them often. Just wondering. Not upset, but just always amazed at how retailers seem to know all about me without doing a thing. Meanwhile, I have to do all sorts of paperwork gymnastics to file our relatively simple tax return. Can’t whoever knows all about my buying habits and finances just tell the IRS what I owe?

    1. I believe any product you’ve searched for on Google could show up in a banner ad (for a while I was getting ads for Audio-Technica headphones after I shopped for them recently). I’ve been noticing more of them here lately.

    2. @At Home in Decatur

      www.decaturmetro.com is running 7 trackers listed below
      Zemanta – Beacons
      Quantcast – Advertising
      Gravatar – Widgets
      Google Custom Search Engine – Widgets, Search
      Google Analytics – Analytics, Analytics
      Google Adsense – Advertising
      DoubleClick – Advertising

      if you want some privacy from all websites install a browser add-on called ghostery
      https://www.ghostery.com/en/

      Cheers

    3. As others have mentioned, I added Google ads to the site back at the beginning of the year when I reconfigured the site. It helps pay the bills. Here’s an excerpt from our Privacy Policy.

      “We do use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our site. These companies may use aggregated information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other sites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services that may be of interest to you.”

      1. I’m curious if my opting out would affect your revenue? I don’t really know how online advertising works.

    4. This is a pretty good article about it. “There’s nothing necessarily sinister about this subterranean data exchange: this is, after all, the advertising ecosystem that supports free online content.” http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/02/im-being-followed-how-google-151-and-104-other-companies-151-are-tracking-me-on-the-web/253758/

    5. Clean out your Flash Cookies – a kind of super cookie that flash saves outside the environment of your web browser — with better privacy.

      https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/betterprivacy/

    6. Thanks for all the suggestions. I was going to accept the invasion of privacy if the invaders would file our taxes for us. But I guess they only want my dollars, not the IRS responsibility.

      1. I use a Firefox add-on called “self destructing cookies” which will auto-delete cookies after either closing a tab or the browser (you can configure). It eliminates a lot of this adverstalking. It will also delete the cookies you might like for auto-logging into websites, but I’m OK with that (I use a 3rd party password manager).

  16. Asking earlier this time: looking for a clean (used) cardboard/fiber board barrel. Any suggestions are appreciated.

  18. I have a Toshiba Satellite laptop with a dead hard drive which I’m not going to repair. Would it be of any use to you Makers out there?

  20. Whoa – Dos Madres Cantina (on Ponce) got skewered in an AJC review. One of the most negative reviews I’ve read in a while. Bummer.

    1. That is too bad. I went there for the first time the other day, and had a really good salad and great service.

    2. I’ll have to go find that. I cannot imagine anything worse than the one that nailed MARbar’s coffin.

      We’ve enjoyed Dos Madres.

      1. Only been once. I ordered a couple of tacos, and thought that they were good. The service was very friendly. We usually try a new place more than once before we mark it on or off a list, and they are worth another visit.
        I can’t read the entire AJC critique… and have no need to… I’ll be going back to the restaurant again regardless. And, I certainly didn’t need the AJC to tell me that Mar/MarBar was bad.

    3. I’ve liked Dos Madres, too. I hope people don’t let that review stop them from trying it.

      1. Don’t worry, it’s behind the paywall. Even if both people who still subscribe to the AJC refuse to go there because of the review, I doubt that it’ll affect their bottom line.

    4. I have to admit that our one experience there was more like the AJC’s. But it was very early on so I’ll give it another try. As a remember, I liked the carnitas taco, or was it carne asado? The cheese dip and margarita did not work for us that night.

      1. Our experience at Dos Madres was disappointing as well. The poblano cheese dip did not have any poblanos – when we asked why, we we’re told that we were looking at an old menu (why did they give us an old menu?). A broad selection of tequilas, but only one margarita and the flavor was not appealing. The salsa seems to be poured from a jar. The main meal was okay ,but nothing special, and not warm. We were hoping that Dos Madres would be like a small Los Hermanos, but that was not the case. We will go back and try one more time with the hope that they are still in the spin up stage.

    5. we went a couple of weeks ago to Dos Madres and my carne asada was completely inedible, almost all fat & gristle. not going back

  22. I believe that this only affects the cityhood bills. If one of the Housrs does not pass a request for cityhood today, then it is dead for the year, The annexation requests don’t fall under this rule and canbe acted on after crossover day. I am pretty sure but not positive about this.

    1. You might be right. Regardless, from what I’ve heard the votes aren’t there for any of the local annexation bills.

  24. Has anyone seen any reporting about the content of Elena’s town hall meeting yesterday? If so, please share links. Thanks!

  26. On Tuesday, the School Board approved the tuition rate for the 15-16 school year. The rate will be $4,922, which is less than both this year ($5,258) and last year ($5,926). Apparently the rate depends on proposed costs and number of students. The report also estimates that there will be 70 tuition students next year.

    Can someone explain why this cost is going down every year, when we are bursting at the seams and are being asked to approve a boatload of money because our schools are overcrowded?

    1. The tuition rate formula is set by state law and not City Schools of Decatur.

      From the Board agenda: In accordance with O.C.G.A. 20-2-133, public school districts are authorized to charge tuition to non-resident students. The district may set an amount not to exceed the average locally financed per student cost for the preceding year, excluding the local five mills. The amount set is arrived at by the prescribed formula.

      The estimated 70 tuition students are students that have been in the system and no new tuition paying students will be added again this year due to rising enrollment. This is down from approximately 96 students in the current year.

      1. Thanks for the explanation. Are most of these students middle school/high school age, or elementary age?

        Also, can one infer that the district cost per student has decreased 17% in the last two years?

        1. Don’t know the exact numbers, but the majority of the 70 tuition students should be middle school and high school, thus aging out. New tuition students were cut off 3 or more years ago when the tidal wave of district kids started to hit the elementary schools.

            1. If they were in before the complete cut-off, then they would remain so long as the parents chose to reapply each year. With the cut-off coming at least 3 years ago, there would definitely be some in the 4-5 academy and the later grades in the K-3s. Before the firm cut-off, there was a year with only specific grades allowing tuition kids so that might also account for some of the younger ones you see AHID.

              And don’t forget courtesy tuition is not a part of the cut-off, just paying tuition.

  28. Am I the only Decaturite that thinks Dr. Edwards resigning now seems a bit off kilter? I keep reading the articles but something does not add up.

    2. Or just wanted to retire and spend more quality time with her family. And less time dealing with armchair quarterbacking by city citizens.

      1. *low five*

        She’s been on the job 13 years, people. That’s a long time to do anything, much less be in charge of the schools in a, shall we say, “vocal” community like Decatur. She’s earned a break.

    3. The only race cancelled in recent memory was the Run With the Dogs two years ago because of persistent, continuing thunder and lightning.

  34. Well, that same absolutely awful “version” of SB 63 passed the State Senate today. Breweries can offer an up-charge to the tour price that will include one bottle that can contain up to 64 oz. of beer. And 5 legislatures voted against that!! What an absolute joke. Alabama is looking more attractive these days…

    1. “Breweries can offer an up-charge to the tour price that will include one bottle that can contain up to 64 oz. of beer”

      A reporter at the Gold Dome said one of the lawmakers jokingly suggested Tesla take a cue from the brewery requirements. Charge $80k for dealership tours, include one car with tour.

    2. “Alabama is looking more attractive these days…”

      They’ve still got plenty of stupid restrictions too, including a ban on Sunday liquor sales. And unless they changed the law this year, you can’t buy beer at breweries for off-premise consumption there either.

      1. Alabama allows Sunday sales. And at least you can go to breweries and buy pints.

        1. You can buy liquor in Alabama on Sunday? I’m there fairly often and I haven’t seen any of the ABC stores open on Sunday.
          Also, I believe something like a third of the counties in Alabama are dry, period.

                1. From the AL ABC Board website, this sounds like liquor in bottles, etc. is only sold in state ABC stores:

                  “The ABC Board controls alcoholic beverages through distribution, licensing, and enforcement. The Board operates a chain of retail stores selling the majority of liquor purchased in Alabama. …..

                  The ABC Board also licenses commercial firms to sell alcoholic beverages. These range from restaurants and nightclubs to small stores selling beer for off-premise use.” …..

                  1. Dude, they have liquor stores that sell liquor in Alabama that aren’t state stores. Go to them often. And on Sunday. Just Google Birmingham liquor stores.

        2. ” And at least you can go to breweries and buy pints.”

          This I knew. We’ve been trying to figure out a way to include a visit to Back Forty in Gadsden without irking my mother-in-law, who lives not too far from there.

    3. On the bright side, it does appear the “brunch bill” is going to sail through . No more waiting until after church for a damn bloody mary.

  36. A group of local mom’s have started a chapter of The TEARS Foundation here in town. TEARS supports families after a pregnancy or infant loss. We are hosting a community event and remembrance walk in May and we’d love for our community to get involved. If you’re interested in registering to walk visit the website below. You can also “like” us on Facebook at “Georgia Chapter of The TEARS Foundation” for updates on future events.
    http://www.firstgiving.com/tears/georgiatearsfoundation

    1. http://www.georgiarunner.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/15TOURdeCATURAGEGROUPS.pdf

  40. Two men shot dead behind the Vortex this morning. It doesn’t seem to be getting better, does it?

    1. Do you know anything else about this? AJC has nothing and creative loafing didn’t have much. Your post here was the first I heard about it. I drove past there around noon and nothing seemed unusual but I’m assuming everything would have been back to normal by that point.

        1. I did see when I went back this morning. It’s crazy because when I open it up there is so much going on I just immediately want to close it. I don’t have that reaction to any other news site of relevance to me, NPR / NYT. Anywho, was hoping to see if it was a robbery, or personal situation. AJC said there was a robbery near by in the Highlands so perhaps that was the case here. Very sad

          1. If you try to keep up with every shooting in Atlanta, that’s all you’d be doing. There was another last night somewhere in SW Atl.

  42. I noticed broken glass in two different parking spaces adjacent to the TMac lot this morning. Anyone know of more car break ins?

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