From a DBF Press Release…

July 10, 2008 (Decatur) — The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Decatur Book Festival Presented by DeKalb Medical (DBF) is extremely pleased to announce the additions of Ty Pennington and Kathy Reichs to the 2008 author lineup. Pennington, host of ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” and Reichs, whose books and work as a forensic anthropologist are the inspiration for Fox’s “Bones,” join a scintillating lineup that includes Billy Collins, Eric Jerome Dickey, John Dean, and 250 other authors.

DBF is Labor Day weekend, August 29-31, on and around the Downtown Decatur Square.

Exact details about Pennington’s appearance are forthcoming, but it will be Saturday, August 30, in the afternoon. Check www.decaturbookfestival.com often for updates. His latest book, “Good Design Can Change Your Life: Beautiful Rooms, Inspiring Stories,” is due out September 9.

Reichs will appear Saturday from 10-10:45 a.m. to discuss her work, including her newest book, “Devil Bones.” Both authors will hold signings after their talks.

“We were well on our way to having our best, most diverse author program yet, and with the addition of these two powerhouse names, we’ve moved into a whole new league,” said Daren Wang, DBF Executive Director. Read the rest of this entry »

OK, admittedly there are a lot of things I don’t understand. One of them being the inner workings of the Georgia Supreme Court. But what’s the deal with the HOST sales tax ruling for “City of Decatur vs. DeKalb County”?

Why is it when I check out the Opinions and Summaries Page on the GA Supreme Court website, that every single date through the first court date in May have a copious series of opinions, while April 14th (the date the HOST case was heard) has just one opinion?

Why have all the April 21st and May 19th rulings already been decided, while April 14th opinions have yet to be delivered? What the heck are we waiting for?

More evidence that Decatur residents are on the right side of the population trend (writes the sweaty MARTA commuter)

The AJC reports that the city of Atlanta added 20,623 people to its census from 2006-2007; the seventh largest jump nationwide. According to the article, it’s perhaps the largest population in the city’s history.

On a related note, I noticed that the city of Decatur was quoted with now having just over 19,000 in this recent article about cops in Dunwoody (not sure of the source).

What’s all this mounting evidence show?

Like it or not, Atlanta and Decatur’s populations will continue to grow as people begin to feel the pinch from an unsustainable lifestyle in the ‘burbs. Some will inevitably miss the “small town feel” that the city once had, but in my humble opinion this nationwide transition is inevitable. City policies have done their best to make sure that Decatur handled this influx in a way that maintained a walkable, well thought-out community. But sometimes it seems like the policies that get blamed for our growing population. We can pretend like real estate values haven’t skyrocketed in the past 5 years and lament what’s been lost, blaming it all on the catch-all “city”. Or we can recognize and embrace this transition, making sure we have a say in how we handle this new popularity.

Just my two cents.