That’s right folks.  The very same revolution that is reported ad nauseum by the press, about the press, is also taking place in an equally ancient medium: maps.

Tell me this blurb from the New York Times story about “geo-volunteerism” doesn’t sound like it fell right off the back of the paper wagon…

But Tele Atlas says its customers, who might be in delivery trucks or emergency vehicles, can’t rely fully on community-created maps, any more than historians can rely on Wikipedia.

“Most of our customers expect a level of due diligence and quality that is way more than what a community is going to put together,” said Patrick McDevitt, vice president of global engineering at Tele Atlas.

Defenders of the amateur approach point out that professionally created maps often have errors and can be slow to add road closures and other updates. Google has moderators who try to verify the accuracy of users’ changes, unless they are very minor, while OpenStreetMap relies on its members to police changes.

A statement about the “level of due diligence and quality” could just as easily come from the mouth of a hardened traditional journalist, while the retort could have rolled off the tongue of a sassy, Buddy Holly-esque blogger.

Every once in a while it’s helpful to remember that this dramatic shift is much bigger than just “news”.  It’s about the future of all printed information.  No single industry (or company) should deny that kind of flood.  Sink or swim.

But enough pontificating.  The best part about the article?  Decaturite John Kittle Jr. gets a shout-out!

Emily and Andrea send in this news…

…the CSD System Charter Leadership Team will have a work session with the CSD Board of Education tomorrow at 6 pm in the Hospitality Room at the DHS Auditorium complex. At 7 pm Dr. Edwards is set to deliver a State of the District message to all School Leadership Team members at a special SLT congress meeting in the DHS Auditorium.

In the meantime, be sure to check out Part 1 of Decatur edTV’s “Charter Report First Year Progress Report” below. 

According to the State Department of Education, Decatur is leading the way in terms of defining the roles in the new SLT/Board of Ed governance system and in “pushing the envelope” in terms of flexible funding.

DHS teacher Chris Billingsley reports…

The DHS Close Up Club and the DHS Cheerleaders had a very successful “Rake&Run” last Saturday. More than 30 students raked and bagged leaves and cleaned gutters around Decatur. The Close Up Club was working to raise money to pay for a day trip to the Gettysburg National Battlefield while on a week long trip to Washington, D.C in the spring. The Cheerleaders tried to raise funds for new uniforms and summer camps. Of course, the primary purpose was to promote “Service Over Self”. Together, both groups raised over $1,000 in donations. Wow!

A special thanks to the parent chaperons who not only provided transportation, but also joined in the work- Ms. Geri Miller, Ms. Wendy Gravley, Mr. Fred Menefee, Mr. Jeff Cook, Ms. Theresa Brown, and Mr. Leroy Leonard. Ms. Miller and Ms. Gravley also provided a delicious lunch for more than thirty-five hungry workers. Thanks Decatur!

At last night’s city commission meeting, the commission accepted a detailed Historic Resources Survey of Decatur (page 15 of pdf), compiled by Keystone Preservation Associates and Morrison Design, LLC.

At a cost of $35,000, the months-long survey, which documented every single parcel within the city limits, was one of the outcomes of the ugly clash between residents, city boards, cats and dogs over a proposed Oakhurst Historic District in 2007.  Among the many aspects of the initiative that confused and angered all parties was a lack of information on historic inventory within the neighborhood.

So the city ponied up the dough and funded an extensive survey that documented the entire city.  According to a letter to the commission by Planning Director Amanda Thompson…

This report will help the city move forward with several long term preservation goals including awareness and appreciation of Decatur’s historic resources by making the survey results available online and determining a timeline and cost proposal for creation of National Register listings.  We will also use the report to explore the world of heritage tourism and if that is a market the city is interested in pursuing.

Missing from the city’s stated goals is any mention of the creation of any additional local historic districts, which is the only way to physically regulate design in a neighborhood. (National Register status mainly provides tax incentives to residents to rehab property and creates red-tape for federal government-funded development)

That said, a portion of the survey was included among last night’s meeting materials and identifies 13 neighborhoods inside the city limits that would be eligible for some form of historic designation.  They are… Read the rest of this entry »