As was foretold in September’s Decatur Focus (“The citywide Wayfinding Signage project will begin installation this month.”), signs are popping up around town with directions to local landmarks.

Here are the three I’ve seen so far…

1. In front of the Old DeKalb County Courthouse on Ponce (been up for a month or so)

2. In front of the 335 W. Ponce condo building (brand spankin’ new)

3. Next to the gazebo on the green (brand spankin’ new)

Anyone seen any others?

Maybe this will cut down on the number of people that have to get frazzled directions to the Holiday Inn from yours truly. Definitely a public service to those that have experienced my sputtering while idling at a red light.

If you thought that Atlanta was only the crime capital for sexy co-eds (ie. the Barbie bandits) you’d be wrong.  Apparently these eye candy hoodlums are just one symptom of a much larger problem.

With an eye-popping 350 bank robberies in one year, Atlanta now out-ranks Philly and L.A. as the number one bank robbery capital in the country.  That’s 100 heists more than last year!   The FBI attributes this 40% growth in robberies to increased crime nationwide, coupled with an explosion of growth in our metro area.  (This last point is backed up by a census report last year, which showed that Atlanta had added more people, 669,699, than any other U.S. metro area from 2000-2006. That’s 15.8% growth) (CNNmoney)

So what might be attributed to this nationwide up tick in crime? Well, the mismanagement team that has been misallocating and blindly stretching our resources (troops, law enforcement) since 9/11: the Bush Administration.

From 11Alive:

“The FBI used to investigate every bank robbery case in the Atlanta area. After 9-11, the FBI re-organized and focused more on terrorism. Now they only investigate the most egregious bank robbery cases in which the robbers produce weapons. “

So if you don’t want the FBI on your ass, rob a bank without a weapon.  They don’t have time for the rest.

Oh, and lose the sunglasses, hat and gloves.

“Emmett says bank employees need to look out for people entering the bank who look out of the ordinary. “Key items to look for are gloves, hats, or sunglasses on a customer,”