UPDATE: Here’s Decatur PD’s press release…

*On Monday July 12, 2010 at approximately 1:00 pm the Decatur Police Department was notified of a possible deceased child at 750 East Lake Drive.  Responding officers located the body of a white male juvenile lying on a bed in an upstairs bedroom at that location.  The child appeared to be deceased.  The residence was also occupied by the child’s father and a juvenile sibling.  The child’s father, Gary DeToma, Sr. was taken into custody at the scene and a warrant has been issued charging him with murder.

The police department was notified of the incident by a co-worker of the child’s father, who had gone to the residence to check on the welfare of the father.  Officers had responded to the location earlier in the day, in response to a complaint that the children had not been returned from a weekend visit with their father.  At that time, no one responded to the officer’s attempts to make contact.  The residence was secure and the officers observed nothing suspicious.  At this time further investigation of the incident is being conducted by the Decatur Police Department with assistance from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

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I’m posting from a Blackberry but Brian just wrote in and pointed to this tragic story on 11alive. Here’s the link and text. I’ve got a email into Asst. Chief Lee. I’ll clean up the post later.

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The latest DeKalb History Center “Chomp and Think” – I mean “Lunch and Learn” – on Wednesday, July 28th looks west to the sizably large hamlet of Kirkwood.  From DHC’s executive director Melissa Forgey…

The DeKalb History Center’s Lunch and Learn Lecture Series continues in July with a presentation by Joe Alcock, AIA, LEED AP, will explain how Kirkwood, once a booming little city, was destined to compete with its neighbor to the east.

It was a railroad hub, a center for industry and a thriving residential community. He will cover its early history, the devastation from the Civil War, a rocky incorporation, the leadership that brought it into existence and its fall from memory. Joe will also address the initial and progressive plans for its urban infrastructure and development patterns from 1900. He will conclude with present planning and preservation efforts.

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West Howard & Atlanta Avenue (photo submitted by Andisheh)

Now you can do it legally!  (CLICK HERE to go right to the pics)

The Wall Street Journal ran a story on Friday about the Indigo Girls’ Emily Saliers Decatur home, reflecting on her large, enviable kitchen, recording studio and 2,000 bottle wine cellar.  As for Decatur itself, here’s what Saliers has to say…

Previously living in the Druid Hills section of Atlanta, Ms. Saliers said she decided to move to Decatur about a decade ago. “I love Decatur. It is diverse, politically progressive, family oriented and I can walk everywhere,” she said. She said it was the kitchen that convinced her to buy her current 2,888-square-foot home for $640,000 in 2001. A five-bedroom, four-bathroom home nearby built this year is currently on the market for $679,000.

Ah, to have bought a Decatur home in 2001.  Some people get all the breaks!

Over the weekend, cubalibre noted this in a comment…

Looking over the sites for the candidates for Attorney General, I noticed that on Sam Olens’ site, Bill Floyd, Mayor of Decatur, is listed under Olens’ “Endorsements” by city officials. Really? The mayor of Decatur supports a candidate for AG who’s already indicated that he’s going to join the AGs who are filing suit against the federal gov’t over the healthcare that passed? I’m very curious about this.

Here’s the press release that Olens put out vowing to challenge health care reform.

I contacted Decatur Mayor Bill Floyd about the endorsement.  Here is his response…

I have been a supporter of Sam Olen’s from the beginning. His leadership as chair of the ARC was extremely beneficial for all of us who live in this region. His support of the Metro Atlanta Mayors Association (MAMA) is without question, one of the things that gave the mayors organization statue in the ARC and provided us as mayors, the opportunity to participate in the discussion and decision making process of key issues such as transportation , land use and water. The detail of how his leadership and support benefited all cities, and Decatur in particular, is lengthy and I won’t elaborate, but that is the basis for my support.

Honestly, I am not well versed on the health care issue and therefore can not comment on the validity, or lack of it, of any suit against “health care reform”. But in today’s environment it is short sighted to let a position on one issue drive support for a particular candidate. This will lead, in my opinion, to disappointment. My decision to support Sam is based on character and record.