From the Glennwood Estates message board via Dave’s Decatur Heights Neighborhood blog…

One of our neighbors on the south end of Mt. Vernon stopped me to say that he has a coyote in his back yard. At about 6:30 this morning, the coyote killed another neighbor’s dog that, I gather, might have been running loose. The coyote is most apt to be active at dawn and dusk and is protected by law.

So that’s what?  A second-hand account being provided to you in a fourth-hand account?  Would be great if we could get some confirmation on this reported dog-killing.

Of course, coyotes aren’t unheard of ’round these parts.  Who can forget my overly snarky coverage of the coyote caught in Oakhurst back in November 2007?  Not me, that’s for sure!

Updates coming in as we speak!  uh…comment!

The AJC reports that Representative Benfield got the 10 signatures from the DeKalb delegation today to introduce the bill to the General Assembly.  What’s next?

The twin bills — which would allow Decatur to annex 10 properties and Avondale 23, to meet at Sams Crossing- will be read and assigned to the intergovernmental affairs committee on Wednesday.

Once the committee affirms the bills comply with local rules, they could be bundled with several other local bills and voted on, as early as Friday, Benfield said.

Even so, the measure would then go to the Senate, for review by that delegation and vote by the whole body.

According to the AJC, Rep. Stephanie Stuckey Benfield says she has 6 of the 10 signatures from the DeKalb delegation needed to put the Decatur/Avondale College Ave commercial annexation bill to a vote before the General Assembly.

DeKalb County’s legislative delegation conducted a two-hour meeting Monday on annexation in general and in particular on the proposal for the two cities to meet at Sams Crossing.

It was announced at the end of the session that the sponsor of the two bills — one for Avondale Estates, one for Decatur — can begin lobbying fellow lawmakers to sign off on the plan. The delegation’s rules require signatures from at least 10 of its 21 members to move a bill forward for a General Assembly vote. State Rep. Stephanie Stuckey Benfield said she already has six signatures for the bills.

Also in the article: Many area business owners are still angry about the possibility.  DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis is against it.  And Decatur Mayor Bill Floyd is tired of delays.

UPDATE: Geoff has a very detailed report of opinions given on annexation from the hearing at the Georgia Capitol.  No big surprises though.  The Decatur and Avondale mayors are for it.  DeKalb commish Kathie Gannon and many of the area’s business owners are against it.  And round-and-round we go.

An email sent out by the Hank Johnson campaign late last week telegraphed to the world that a new poll recently put out by Lake Research Partners shows Johnson with a substantial lead over his potential competition in the District 4 congressional district.

Johnson has a +28 point lead in a four candidate field including Vernon Jones, Connie Stokes, and Lee May.

On the full four way ballot, Johnson has more support than all of his opponents combined, and he is already only 3 points away from the simple majority necessary to avoid a runoff.

And in head to head matchups, Johnson easily defeats his two closest challengers.

According to the poll, Johnson currently holds a 40-point advantage over from DeKalb CEO Vernon Jones and a 39-point lead over DeKalb County Commissioner Connie Stokes.

Since this press release went out, it has been announced that potential challenger and DeKalb County Commissioner Lee May had dropped out of the race to “focus on the county’s deficit.”

It’s still early in the race, but such huge discrepancies may be hard to make up.  Especially for an already well-known challenger like Vernon Jones.