Superior Avenue, Decatur, GA (pic submitted by Joel)

The full schedule for this year’s Decatur Book Festival is now up on their website!

CLICK HERE to check out the full list of authors for this year’s Labor Day Weekend event and HERE to see where and when they’ll be speaking.

From the Agnes Scott Communications Office…

Agnes Scott College has received its second largest gift ever from a living donor. Elizabeth “Libby” Rhett Jones, Agnes Scott class of 1973, and her husband, Gary T. Jones, have pledged $2.5 million to the college.

The Jones’ gift is the latest in a string of recent successes for Agnes Scott. The college raised more than $8 million in new gifts and pledges during the past fiscal year, ending June 30. It was the college’s best fundraising year since 2004 at a time when many colleges continue to raise significantly less than they did before the recession. Agnes Scott also had one of its largest first-year classes ever in fall 2009 and expects record first-year enrollment this fall.

We’ve heard this on and off for a while, but more than a year-and-a-half after a fire destroyed Trackside Tavern and 5th Earl, it now sounds like construction of Trackside 2.0 may finally be around the corner.

A reader sends along this note from Trackside owner Doc Al…

OK, OK – here’s the news: Today is the beginning of the beginning of the rebirth of Trackside! I have been keeping it quiet for a little while, but after meeting with the building owner, working with the architect, and being contacted by the contractor, I can finally say with confidence that we are very soon from seeing the old building knocked down and an ALMOST IDENTICAL one going up in its place very very soon.

For continued updates, stay in touch with the “Trackside Tavern in Decatur, GA is Coming Back” Facebook page.

Devonshire @ Lansdowne Ave Decatur, GA (photo submitted by Andisheh)

How does Decatur stack up to GOOD magazine’s recent checklist of what a “model town” looks like?

According to the mag’s Neighborhood Issue, an “excellent” town (or neighborhood) has the following characteristics:

• A Signature Event – self explanatory
• Third Places – the gathering places of a community.  Home and work are the 1st and 2nd places.
• Public Spaces – access to nature
• A Human Scale – this is basically “walkability”
• An Anchor Institution – college towns is the example given
• Diversity – not just of race or income, but thought, food, etc.

So here’s what I’ve been wondering: WHAT is Decatur’s signature event and anchor institution?  WHERE are its “third places” and public spaces?  HOW does it do in terms of human scale and diversity?

Say farewell to Decatur Active Living’s 231 Sycamore blog and hello to BeActiveDecatur.com!

BeActive looks to have much of the same sort of content as 231, but with a brand-new cleaned up look!  With the move, Active Living has switched from a Blogger to WordPress format.  A smart move in my opinion, since WordPress offers you a lot more flexibility in design and layout.

So go and check ‘er out!  The city’s Interim Asst. Director Cheryl Burnette has promised to do 5 squat-thrusts for every click-thru!  (Ok, she never promised any such thing)