Andisheh forwards a note from the owner of Candler Park’s The Mercantile on DeKalb Ave asking for help.

Good morning, Neighbors. On Saturday morning at 9:15 am one of our staff members, Martine, was walking down the sidewalk in front of San Fran Coffee. A patron of San Fran Coffee was sitting at a table with his big black dog. The dog suddenly lunged and attacked Martine and bit the holy bejesus out of her leg. We had to send her to the hospital for a tetanus shot and examination. Her leg is bruised badly and the skin is broken. The bruise is larger than a softball. There was a 6 year old child walking 3 feet behind Martine who could have been attacked! Read the rest of this entry »

Hey look, its everyone’s favorite home sales chart, updated through the first quarter!

While Decatur home sales aren’t what they used to be, the median home price in 30030 is still nearly on par with its year-ago average.  Pretty good considering that Atlanta home prices are down 25% from last year.

Also, after a single quarter decline, the average price continues to show an upward trend over the last 5 years.

As always, for comparison here’s 30306, 30307, 30308, 30316 and DeKalb County.  Everyone’s sales counts are at a stand-still, but it seems that Decatur is the only zip around with anything resembling upward momentum anymore.  The trendier zips to the west seem to have topped out in ’06-’07.

Oh and for the sadists, here’s poor 30032.

In April, the school board officially approved a Farm to School initiative for the CSD school system.  The program strives to put fresh and local foods – from city and school gardens and local farms – on the lunch plates of CSD students.

A new Farm to School committee has been created to coordiante efforts and their challenges are many, including distribution, and lack of convenience, time and resources.  No small hurdles to overcome.

In light of this, I thought it would be fitting to point out that there’s a big “Farm to School” event just up the street on Friday.

Senators Saxby Chambliss and Tom Harkin will be holding a Senate Committee on Agriculture “Farm to School” hearing at the CDC from 1p-3p this Friday May 15.  Georgia Organics sent out an email urging locavores of all stripes to attend.

We need you there to show Sen. Chambliss and Sen. Harkin that we want thriving Farm to School programs in Georgia. This hearing will be submitted to the official record for all Senate Agriculture Committee members to review. Sen. Chambliss (R-GA) and Sen. Harkin (D-IA) will both be in attendance.

This a rare opportunity for the sustainable food and farms movement to show its support for getting local, fresh, and sustainably produced foods into school cafeterias across the state.

The meeting will be held on the Roybal Campus of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Harkin Global Communication Center, Auditorium A (1600 Clifton Road, NE Atlanta, GA 30329).  It is suggested you bring ID and come early to allow time for parking.