Here we go again.  From Decatur PD…

Please do not place payments for outgoing bills in your mailbox. We are continuing to receive reports of thefts of outgoing mail that lead to fraud.

To prevent mail theft in your neighborhood:

• *Promptly remove mail from your mailbox after delivery.
• *Deposit outgoing mail in post office collection mailboxes or at your local post office. Do not leave mail in unsecured mail receptacles.
• *Shred pre-approved credit applications, credit card receipts, bills, and other financial information you don’t want before discarding it in the trash or recycling bin.
• *If you plan a vacation, please notify your local post office to place a courtesy hold on your mail until you return from vacation.

• *Please report any type of mail theft to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Decatur Police Department.

Giving new meaning to the term “free-range”.

David writes in…

Missing a rooster? Riding my bike to work today, I stumbled upon a black rooster on the sidewalk. Corner of Commerce and East College Avenue at the green railroad bridge. It ran off into the shrubs by street entrance to the newer homes located there.

I wonder if this is the same fowl as was reported by Robert on Twitter yesterday…

Saw #DecaturGA police officer chasing a chicken down railroad tracks outside Ice House Lofts about 12p today. The chicken was winning

Both William and Altmod write in with eye-witness reports of a bomb scare at the Emory Village CVS.  Here’s the time-line thus far…

• At 6:40pm, William reported that the pharmacy had been evacuated due to a “bomb scare”.
• An hour later Altmod wrote in “We are having to walk back to Decatur as no cars can leave cvs lot. Doc chey’s evacuated too…”
• A couple minutes later, she wrote “Actually suspicious bookbag next to CVS.  Bomb squad on the scene.”

From the Emory Report…

Emory’s new campus bookstore and admissions office continues construction on Oxford Road. The building is expected to be complete in late May, and occupied later this summer.

When completed, the three story structure will house a Barnes & Noble Bookstore on the first and second level, a large Starbucks coffee shop on the first level, and a Barnes and Noble “spirit merchandise” sales area on the third level. The new undergraduate admissions office will also be on the third floor.

A landscaped plaza, the Anne Register Jones Courtyard, will bridge the area between the new building and the B. Jones Building.  Recently named to honor the wife of Boisfeuillet Jones, the courtyard will be a large “green roof” over a new parking deck.

Interior and Exterior Renderings courtesy of the Emory Report

When it comes to politics, some times you just have to get out there and state the obvious.

Steve points to this new guest column by Decatur Mayor (and GA Municipal Prez) Bill Floyd on Maria Saporta’s SaportaReport.  Here’s an excerpt…

It’s time for the conversation about cities in Georgia to change. But that change will require state leaders to embrace three things.

First, they will need to appreciate the grassroots. Although people may love their state, they don’t live and work and play at the “state level.” Instead, they live their lives at the “local level.” It will be here where leaders will be able to tap into the energy of people and institutions to make a difference.

Two, the state will have to partner with cities to get the results we all seek. Innovation and expertise are found at the local level throughout Georgia.

Third, the state will have to learn to trust her local governments and not legislate to the least common denominator. Instead, they must create the political and policy infrastructure that allows communities to meet the diverse social and economic demands they face, both within their boundaries and in the larger regions they serve.

A tall order indeed.