Bill at the Seen Gallery reports on future plans for his old space at Scottish Rite…

Well.. Well.. Well.. no surprise here. When we were told by PRI (Progressive Redevelopemnt Inc) in July that they were looking at taking the space that The Seen Gallery occupied in a new direction.. we can’t help but wonder if this is what they knew was on tap (pun intended).

Recently posted on www.palatewinebar.com:

McGowan’s Pub Coming Soon in 2009: new sister restaurant next door to Palate Café. Comfort food in a casual Oakhurst enclave meant to evoke the experience of a Sunday lunch or supper at home. Cozy and bright interior, accessible fare, 22 beers on draught, 100 beers in a bottle; neighborhood hangout and dining destination. Will be open 11am to 1am. Sign up for email updates on the Contact page for the latest news about McGowan’s Pub.

You may recall that PBS anchor/correspondent Gwen Ifill had to cancel a talk at Agnes Scott back in early February due to a death in the family.   Well now “grass is greener” sends along details for the rescheduled event…

Gwen Ifill

The Breakthrough – Politics and Race in the Age of Obama

Monday, April 20, 2009 – 7 p.m.  – Gaines Chapel, Presser Hall

This event is free and open to the public. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. Tickets will be distributed at the door on the night of appearance only.

Meredith passes along info about the Camp Twin Lakes fundraiser, “Camp Dance 2009,” at Zoo Atlanta the evening of Saturday, April 25th.

Here’s how it works.  You pay $55 (in advance, $65 at the door) and get to enjoy the zoo after-hours at feeding time with a cocktail in hand.  Then you “Eat. Drink. Boogie” into the night.  It’s that simple.  And its all in support of helping send 110 kids with serious illnesses and other challenges to Camp Twin Lakes this summer.

Meredith also gives a little background on Twin Lakes and its connection to Decatur/DeKalb…

“In 2008, Camp Twin Lakes served 129 campers from DeKalb County, plus, I’m sure, hundreds of volunteers. With the opening in May of Camp Will-A-Way (in Fort Yargo State Park), we expect the number of campers and volunteers served from DeKalb to increase significantly. Last year, each camper’s fee for camp was subsidized about $385 (or 70%) — so that’s about $50,000 that went to kids from DeKalb, which was raised by people like you and me.”

The event is a Camp Twin Lakes’ Junior Board’s fundraiser and “a great way for folks in the 25-40 age range to contribute without breaking the bank (and have a really fun night out at the zoo as well).”

Buy your tickets here!

Been waiting on this announcement for quite some time.

Louis writes in…

Atlanta Bread Company (next to Noddle) is closing for good after lunch today. From what I can tell, while the catering business was good, the dining-in crowd apparently had dwindled off. No idea what might occupy the space …

This is prime – with a capital “P” – real estate at a key corner of downtown.  What takes over this spot matters more than most.   Now that Leon’s has brought life to the opposite corner of Ponce and Church, we need to pull people across the street farther down Ponce.  ABC has been hindering this for years.  Let’s hope the replacement lives up to the expectation!

Photo Courtesy of The Decatur Minute

Even if running 26.2 miles on a Sunday morning isn’t your thing, you might want to consider adding Sunday’s ING Direct Marathon to the ol’ calendar.

Why?  Two reasons.

One, Decatur needs you to cheer at the “official” cheering station in front of Fellini’s on Commerce Drive at 7am, so the city can regain its title of “Best Cheering Station” in the metro area.  Candler Park took that honor from us last year.  The winner gets a cool $10,000 to put toward worthwhile orgs like the Decatur Youth Fund.

But even if you have no desire hold an orange sign and scream your brains out, you need to know because certain roads in and around Decatur will close throughout the morning to allow runners to circle the city.

Here’s the map and list of street closures.

UPDATE: Rain will postpone electronics recycling day until April 25th.  See Cheryl’s comment.

The Decatur Minute has all the details for tomorrow’s Spring Electronics Recycling Day in the DHS parking lot from 9a-1p.

In addition to electronics, you can also recycle batteries, styrofoam, mercury thermometers and thermostats.  As Cheryl says over at The Minute “, “Just about anything with a cord can be recycled, with the exception of microwave ovens.”   Oh, and there’s a $10 fee to recycle a TV.

So get to work procrastinators!  Gather up all those huge chunks of Pottery Barn styrofoam you’ve been hording, and clear off those old PC hard drives!  Its go time!

Cheryl, is there any sort of contingency plan due to the Biblical flood?

Gas service was supposed to be restored to all residents by midnight Thursday.

Everyone have the option of a hot shower this morning?