Feel free to use this post to ask questions and make comments about local issues not discussed here over the past week.

Comments are closed on Monday.

A bustling European city?  Nope.

Downtown Atlanta (Decatur St @ Peachtree) – April 12, 1948.

I was originally looking for some cool historic pics of Decatur (a la Next Stop), however this one was just too interesting to pass up!  (Look at all the folks out on the sidewalks!  Is that a diner in the lower-right corner?  Is Burger Beer made from fermented meat?!)

Photograph from GSU’s most excellent Lane Brothers and Tracy O’Neal Collections.  Definitely more of these to come.

Don’t forget about Decatur edTV’s School Board Candidate Forum tonight from 6:30p-8:50p at Westchester!  All the school board candidates will be there!  David Hughes and Lew Lefton will moderate the event.  Here’s the schedule from Decatur edTV’s website…

Program:

6:30 pm to 7:20 pm

Doors will open at 6:20 PM to allow those interested in attending the District 1, Post A Candidate Forum to be seated.

7:30 pm to 8:20 pm

Doors will reopen promptly at 7:20 PM to allow those interested in attending the At-Large Candidate Forum to be seated.

8:30 pm to 8:50 pm

Doors will reopen promptly at 8:20 PM to allow those interested in attending the District 2, Post A Q&A Session since there is only the incumbent on the slate.

DeKalb History Center Executive Director Melissa Forgey sends along the details…

The DeKalb History Center’s 2009 Archives Lecture Series concludes in November with a presentation by Terry Martin-Hart on the history of Avondale Estates. The City of Avondale Estates was founded by George Francis Willis in 1924 after a trip he took with his wife to Stratford-upon-Avon.

In 1999, Terry Martin-Hart released the book Images of America: Avondale Estates, through Arcadia Publishing, which shows the history of this unique town through a vivid collection of historic photographs.

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Even with they’re recent loss to Avondale, The DeKalb Neighbor reports that for the first time in many years, the 4-4 Decatur High Bulldogs football team has a pretty good chance of making the playoffs.

And don’t think this is just a one time thing.  Head coach Price Jones predicts that the team will be a “regular” playoff contender in coming years.

UPDATE: Emily sends in some more recent pics.  Check this out!  (As always, click to enlarge)

The event started Monday, but you can still catch the ongoing creation of the sand mandala, free lecture and closing ceremony.  Emily forwards the info.  Schedule details after the jump.

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There are few things more embarrassing to bring up in conversation with friends – or enemies for that matter – than your “rat problem”.

As you retell your harrowing tale of found “droppings” and gnawed cereal boxes, faces cringe and tuck into shoulders.  (You’re cringing right now, aren’t you?)  Yes, I speak from personal experience.

Well, here in Atlanta you can at least take a bit of solace that you are not alone.  A 2008 d-Con “Rodent Risk Report” ranks Atlanta second only to NYC among U.S. cities in terms of “rodent risk”.

Regardless of the self-serving aspects of d-Con producing a report like this, it’s quite surprising to see sprawled out Atlanta up at number 2.  But apparently the warm climate and higher-than-average foreclosure rate overcomes our general spaciousness and brings us one step closer to our goal of being the true “NYC of the South”.

h/t: AJC