Following up from last month’s shopping event.  From the Decatur Minute…

Thank you to everyone who came out to support Decatur for Haiti night last month. We raised $4,500 for the cause with help from the following businesses: Cakes and Ale, Chick-Fil-A, Decatur Business Association, Decatur Downtown Development Authority, Fleet Feet, Hairwerks, The Iberian Pig, Little Shop of Stories, The Marlay, Mingei, Nectar, Palate Cafe and Bar, Peggy’s Boutique, Saba, and Yogurt Tap.

Don’t be fooled by the new name!  Trash Amnesty Day for your Decatur neighborhood is right around the corner!  (And by “around the corner” I mean April, May or June.)

Catherine over at the Decatur Minute primed the masses with a post yesterday, which launches Decatur residents from Midway to Westchester into a trash-gathering frenzy, anticipating the exciting Saturday to come.  Anything from “yard trimmings, building materials (that are not from the work of private contractors), tires, appliances (not containing Freon), and trash that would not normally be placed in pay-as-you-throw bags” will be collected.

However, don’t get TOO carried away BECAUSE…

Liquids, dirt, bricks, blocks, stone, rocks, concrete and motor vehicle batteries or parts will not be collected.

When will your neighborhood celebrate this most wonderous of holidays??  Open this PDF, sent out by Public Works, to find out!

(P.S.  I’ll be adding all the neighborhood dates to the “Featured Events Calendar” in case anyone forgets to collect up all those errant tires before the big day.)

Note: the picture above was not taken in the City of Decatur and merely serves as a pictorial reference to those unfamiliar with “trash”.

From the Decatur Minute….

Today at 5:00 P.M. the City will conduct its annual test of the CodeRED notification system. In an effort to kill two birds with one stone, the message will include a brief announcement about the tornado outdoor warning siren installation sounding on Friday, January 22nd. If you do not receive your call, please contact Police Captain Kris Boyett at 404-373-6551 or kris.boyett@decaturga.com.

Say good-bye to this familiar sight…

Over on The Decatur Minute, Cheryl announces the installation of two new solar-powered trash compactors in front of both Starbucks and Java Monkey.  (No love for Dancing Goats?)

Also, and this will make Altmod happy, the city is installing “new and more visible recycling bins.”  Click over to the Minute for a couple pics.

Click over to the Decatur Minute and read how the city is helping 15 Decatur Housing Authority families online.

I love when the city toots its own horn.  They should do it much more often.  Lots of great things going on behind the scenes that we never hear about.

The city’s Decatur Minute blog has made it easy for me (and anyone else) to get out the word about Mayor Floyd’s State of the City address next Tuesday at 6pm by creating an informative graphic that gives us all the essentials!

All are invited!

What issues do you think will be addressed?  What issues do you think should be addressed?

I’m going to go out on a limb and say annexation will AT LEAST be referenced.  Also, I think this might be when the city begins the dialogue about revising our Strategic Plan for next year.  But that’s just my uninformed guess.

After months of pilfering without acknowledgment, the AJC finally uttered the names of InDecatur and this site in a recent blurb about the city’s new “Decatur Minute” blog.  It’s not a feature in the NY Times (like the one a lady who blogged about a year of daily visits to Brooklyn’s Prospect Park got a while back – a great blog incidentally), but we’ll take it.

Also we get nice props from Linda Harris.  She sure knows how to make a blogger blush.

Speaking of The Decatur Minute, yesterday Catherine reminded us that tomorrow is the Oakhurst Arts and Music Festival (10a-7p).  The 5k Arts Run starts at 8a in front of One Step at a Time.

BTW: I pilfered this from InDecatur

If you needed any additional proof that Decatur’s blogs are changing the way the city communicates, here it is!  The city has just announced the launch of its very own blog, “The Decatur Minute“!

Asst. City Manager Linda Harris sends us some details…

The City of Decatur is joining the blogosphere with its newest blog “The Decatur Minute.”  The Decatur Minute features information about special events, volunteer opportunities, new businesses, and more in the City of Decatur.  The Decatur Minute is written by different employees in the Community & Economic Development Department on a variety of topics.

Those “employees” include Linda herself, Cheryl Burnette and Catherine Lee (of AsianCajuns fame).

Only time will tell how this effort will play out.  Blogs are a tricky and time-consuming business…especially when allowing comments.   I hope they have the time to dedicate to the effort, otherwise these sites can quickly fall by the wayside.

Though I would be lying if I didn’t say I have some mixed feelings and reservations about this initiative, I really think this action says a lot about the impact of this site and all of Decatur’s blogs.  Surprisingly few other cities in the entire metro area have any sort of site that covers them, let alone such highly trafficked ones.  Occasionally I even receive emails from folks in other Atlanta metro cities complementing the site and wishing they had ones of their own.

There’s a real need out there on the local level that just isn’t being filled by city-wide, conglomerate-owned newspapers like the AJC.  How much of a need?  Well, I can’t speak for the other Decatur sites, but other than the Republican-leaning Peach Pundit (which covers the whole state) and CL’s Fresh Loaf, I don’t think there’s a local blog in all of Georgia that has the traffic and # of comments of this site.  And while I’d like to think that has a little bit to do with me, I really believe that a great deal of it has to do with the strength of community in this city.  Its downright inspirational.

With all that said, I’ll step off my soapbox now.  Welcome to the blogosphere City of Decatur!  I’ll be checking in often!