The AJC reports…

“Decatur has rehired its deputy city manager for another two years – 31 years into his tenure at the city.

The city commission on Monday agreed to renew a two-year contract with Hugh Saxon, beginning July 1. Saxon oversees the city’s $16 million of capital improvement projects, such as a new fire station and upgrades to other city buildings.

Saxon will earn $117,000 a year under the new contract. Commissioner Jim Baskett described the salary as a value, noting Saxon’s role saves the city from having to hire a construction management firm to keep the various projects on track.

Saxon has worked for the city in varying capacities for three decades. He reports to city manager Peggy Merriss.”

Oh yes…I know you guys love me for my mad cutting and pasting skills…

Speaking of Peggy Merriss…I saw her on Ponce this morning across the street from the Post Office talking with a small group of people on the sidewalk.  Wonder what was going on…

The AJC has a sweeping overview of the blue jean theft scourge sweeping the metro area and what its doing to boutique owners costs (in terms of hiked insurance and increased security) in an already tough economy.

A couple of interesting quotes included here. The first is from store owner Bill Hallman…

“I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s crazy,” said Bill Hallman, who has owned boutiques for 18 years and now runs a mini-empire that includes two shops in Virginia Highland and another in Little Five Points. “I have friends with stores in other cities, and I’m asking what’s happening in Chicago, Miami, L.A. I’m not hearing any of this.”

So, it sounds like its an Atlanta-specific crime wave…which kinda kills the theory that these guys are just selling the stuff on Ebay. Again I ask…Where are they unloading it?

The second is a quote from Decatur’s own Camille Wright…

Store owner Camille Wright figures the thieves got away with $10,000 worth of men’s jeans, a big blow considering Father’s Day was just two weeks away.

“To have somebody come in and just take it, it’s just a complete violation,” she said.

“Every person I know who owns a boutique is someone who’s working hard and struggling to make it in a bad economy. So to have this happen just adds insult to injury.”

It sure does. Take heart Camille! Decatur residents are behind you!

Shop local!

Over on Fresh Loaf, Andisheh shows that even our bust of Stephan Decatur on the Square is suffering from the metro area’s insufferable air pollution.

Can anyone spare a Kleenex for our esteemed namesake?

In a note to a local resident, Superintendent Dr. Phyllis Edwards explains that trailers are a necessary evil for all schools adjusting to fluctuations in population.

5 years ago redistricting was done on what we only now see was the tail end of a 5 year decline in student enrollment. However since 2003 (with the exception of ’05) the city has seen a steady increase in enrollment. As a result, the entry point of new students (at the elementary level) is beginning to take on more students than it can physically house. That means trailers in the interim while infrastructure can be expanded.

The superintendent’s letter stresses that trailers will not be a permanent solution in Decatur. The school system is already looking at viable options to expand at the K-3 and 4-5 level.

She states “We have just finished another enrollment study and will be using the first part of next year [emphasis mine] to plan for the next steps to accommodate the current students and also to take into account what may happen should annexation plans of the city become a reality.”

None of this sounds that unreasonable to me. Even the best estimates are never dead on. I just think that communication between these groups – neighborhoods/schools/city needs to be improved so that residents don’t feel blind-sided by changes. Hopefully eLife’s new online school TV channel will help solve that problem.

Thanks to Cherie for forwarding the note.