I’ve learned many things about myself in the 2+ years of writing this blog.

And one of them is that while I may admittedly feel that left-leaning guilt on many social issues, I’m not married to any political party.  Instead, my most fundamental beliefs seem to congregate around the importance of local communities and a need for civil discourse between parties.

So imagine my total lack of surprise this morning when I “opened” AJC.com to see a lack of “communication” cited as the given reason for one of DeKalb’s most recent blow-ups.

In a great piece about DeKalb County Schools recent meltdown over the Superintendent Crawford Lewis’ $15,000 salary increase – you heard about teachers’ black outfits and shouting at school board meetings haven’t you? – Kristen Torres reports…

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Like anyone had to ask!

But seriously, here’s the opportunity many have been waiting for with bated breath.  I just received this note from Assistant Superintendent Thomas Van Soelen…

The architect for the 4/5 Academy at Fifth Avenue will be available at several locations in the coming days to hear from community members regarding their ideas for the new building. All meetings are open to the public. Time to offer ideas will be created based on the number of speakers that wish to speak. If a community member would rather offer input electronically, the email address fifthavenue@csdecatur.net has been set up for that purpose.

• Jan 19 Glennwood SLT meeting 4 pm
• Jan 19 Clairemont SLT meeting 5:30 pm
• Jan 20 Winnona Park SLT meeting 6 pm
• Jan 20 Decatur High School Performing arts center 7:30 pm, designed for current 4/5 parents
• Jan 25 Oakhurst SLT meeting 4:15 pm
• Jan 25 Oakhurst Neighborhood Association 7 pm

Beach Volleyball Court!  Beach Volleyball Court!  Beach Volleyball Court!

In the January/February Decatur Focus, Asst. City Manager Lyn Menne reports in her “Focus on Downtown Development” section that city businesses had a reassuring holiday season.

Decatur retail businesses have reported better-than-expected sales for the holiday season. Of course sales aren’t where they were two years ago but most retailers report better sales than last year. We talked about the importance of shopping local and Decatur residents did their part. Retail sales exceeded last year’s figures and local business owners said many customers made a point of telling them they were shopping close to home. Many of the retailers we checked with said they bought less inventory and tried to stock some lower-priced items to respond to the economic downturn and were grateful for the support from Decatur shoppers.

If you haven’t flipped open your hard-copy yet, click over to the Focus PDF to read a few testimonials from area businesses.