As part of its “Fifty Forward” initiative, the Atlanta Regional Commission is holding a series of “grassroots” forums all over the Atlanta “region”, asking lawns of residents a variety of questions about Atlanta’s vision for the future.

And guess what?  The 11th in the series, which will focus on how to make Atlanta “the healthiest region in the country” will be at the Decatur Rec Center on Thursday, September 24th!

Healthiest region in the country huh?  Man, that doesn’t sound like the easiest of topics.  How about something easier like “how to make Atlanta the smoggiest region in the country”?  I’m sure we could knock that question out in the good 20 minutes!

For more detail and more serious comments on the subject (from Elizabeth Wilson and Judy Turner), see the full release sent to the press after the jump.  I know, I just called myself “the press”…I feel so dirty. Read the rest of this entry »

The passing of Square Table owner, Speros Millas, inspired Asst. City Manager Lyn Menne to go back and find the “before and after” pics of the “Square Table”, which is now “Eurasia“.  Here they are…

Wow.  What a difference a steep-shingled roof makes, huh?

Lyn promises more “Before and Afters” coming soon to The Decatur Minute blog.

Decatur Food and Wine Dude notes via Twitter that the Iberian Pig’s website, which includes menus and much more, is now up and running.

At first glance, my immediate reaction is – these folks know what they’re doing.

The menu is lengthy and detailed, each member of management has a decent bio attached to their name, and there’s already a nice “press” page that includes things like “menu concept” and “green initiatives”.  To give you a taste, here are the Pig’s stated “green initiatives”…

•A unique partnership with Whole Foods to compost our food waste. This is a partnership that we are very proud of, and we hope that we can encourage others to follow our lead in creating partnerships with other businesses that positively influence our impact on the planet.

•All of our excess cooking oil is converted into biofuel that is used in a variety of different consumer cosmetic products such as lipsticks, shampoos, and conditioners.

•All of our to-go containers and to-go cups are made from either sugarcane or corn and are 100% compost-able.

•We are committed to recycling all of our paper, plastic, and glass products

•We are committed to reducing our energy and water consumption.

•We are committed to buying locally and organically whenever feasible.

The site also predicts a “late summer” opening.

Jack noticed that October’s Decatur Business Association meeting is scheduled to be held at McGowan’s Pub in Oakhurst.

And though he followed up after putting a couple nose prints on the window of McGowan’s last night and determined that there’s still a lot of work to be done before opening, Jill at Palate (and McGowan’s) assures me that they plan to be open by the October 27th DBA meeting.