From the Carlos Museum…

As Atlanta flowers in the spring, the Carlos Museum is abloom with the beauty of jewelry from India in the special exhibition When Gold Blossoms. Celebrate India’s bounty during Spring Break Art Week, April 6-9, with your family at the Carlos Museum.

See movies about Hanuman, the monkey god blessed with supreme intelligence, strength, courage, and devotion; and Krishna, the mischievous and lovable god who outwits demons even as a child, revealing his great power. Have your hand decorated with henna and traditional Indian designs. Enjoy the scents of spices and learn to cook Indian food with Archna Becker of Bhojanic Restaurant and learn how movement tells India’s stories through traditional kuchipudi dance. Print fabric using Indian wood blocks and see demonstrations of metalworking techniques used to make Indian jewelry as you try your hand at creating an adornment of your own.

Families who live in or around the Decatur/Emory area can take the Cliff shuttle to the Museum free of charge. The CCTMA Route serves stops along Clairmont, North Decatur, and Clifton roads between the Clifton Corridor and MARTA’s Decatur Station.

Printable map and schedule here…

Cliff Shuttle Hours of Service – Monday-Friday 5:30am – 8:00pm

North McDonough sure has come a long way in the past couple years.

Once one of Decatur’s least inviting streets, home to little more than front of the Decatur High School and the western facade of the Marble House, this major city corridor has new life in recent years with the addition of new businesses like Village Vets and Relics & Rarities and of course the High School’s new auditorium and stadium.

And now Decatur can finally put the icing on the cake.

Just last month, the city heard that it had received preliminary approval of a $1.77 million grant from the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Livable Centers Initiative to make improvements to McDonough’s streetscape.

Assitant City Manager Lyn Menne notes…

We had applied several times in the past but hadn’t gotten the grant – for several reasons I think. They try to spread the funding around and we have several streetscape projects in the works. It also helps that we have funding in place for the intersection improvement at the railroad intersection at the south end and funding in place for streetscape improvements along Trinity at the northern end of this corridor and the high school construction is completed and should generate more pedestrian activity with the gym, performing arts center and stadium improvements. All the pieces were in place to complete this last bit of the network to the south side and Agnes Scott.

The city will have to match 20% of the cost – around $354,000 – which is available from the Capital Bond Project Fund.

Though it keeps its distance from the U.S. Interstates, Decatur’s got its fair-share of car-catering roads.  These stretches of 40+mph joy are what hip and snarky transit buffs like to call “car sewers”.

Scott Boulevard, Commerce Drive, Howard Ave, and College Ave are Decatur’s biggies.  These are the roads that exist with one goal in mind: to get you from Point A to Point B in the shortest amount of time possible.

“Hooray!” says the afflicted commuter.  “Phooey!” say the ladies and fellas trying to promote and build communities around these auto flush-lines.

But one thing’s for sure, facilitating car sewage ain’t cheap.  Decatur’s City Commission will be reminded of this tonight, when they vote to approve or deny $47,600 in repaving costs along 700 feet of notorious North Decatur Road (along with around $33,000 for milling and repaving costs for sections of 2nd Ave and Superior in preparation for GDOT paving this summer.)

“Huh?”, you may be thinking.  “Decatur’s city line doesn’t stretch up to North Decatur Road!”  Au contraire mon frere.

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Chris Billingsley writes in…

After taking the weekend off, the SportsTurf boys tested the new Glenlake Park sprinklers this morning. The sprinklers on the upper field are working well. The project manager told me that, with good weather, the park will open ahead of schedule. That’s good news!

An email from Kathleen Banks Everett of Decatur School of Ballet circulated widely amongst the Decatur population last week, stating that the Ballet had been priced out of using Decatur High’s new auditorium for an upcoming performance after months of involvement with the school system about renting the space.  (If you haven’t read the email yet, it can be viewed in full after the jump.)

And since I have not yet received a reply from CSD on this matter, I had to dig up my own info.

When the Decatur School Board approved the new High School Auditorium rates back in January ($150 per hour includes one required technician; plus $80 fee for technician set up and breakdown; $50 per hour for each additional technician), the note from Maintenance Director Gene Ponder included this caveat…

The new auditorium at the high school is technically sophisticated. The space requires a district trained staff technician to operate the lights and sound. It has already been determined that even for a basic presentation, that it takes a technician one hour for light and sound set up and a half hour after the event for break down. So use of the auditorium will require at least one technician.

So, just from reading this explanation, the lesson here seems to be that if you build a state-of-the-art facility, you’re going to end up pricing some folks out of the market.  It’s that simple.  However, there are still relevant, unanswered questions.  For instance, is CSD just covering operating costs for the rental or are they also trying to raise revenue in a very tough economic climate?  Which is preferable to the city population?

Also, these rates were set back in January, but Ms. Everett’s note says that CSD told her that rates weren’t set until mid-February.  Why is there a discrepancy?

We need to dig up some answers to these questions before we can put on our well-worn judgment hats.

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