Oakhurst Realty Partners tips us off via Twitter that a Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches will be moving into the old Tastings space in the 330 West Ponce de Leon condo building.

Jimmy John’s is a nationwide sandwich shop franchise out of Champaign, Illinois, established in 1983 in Charleston, Illinois.  There look to be about a dozen in the Atlanta metro area, with the current closest one to Decatur on Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta.

Here’s the menu!

Reverend Dr. James Brewer-Calvert writes in…

Greetings! I do hope this note finds you well.

You are invited to participate in an open conversation. The First Christian Church of Decatur is holding open conversations on both August 18, at 7:30PM in our Fellowship Hall, and again on Saturday, August 21 at 10AM in our Church and Community Park and Playground on Nelson Ferry Road.

This is an open conversation for both the church and the wider community to discern whether to formulate plans and collect resources to build a new community recreation center dedicated to promoting programs, which could then benefit the citizens of the Decatur community by providing excellent facilities and staff for neighborhood programs such as after-school education and tutoring, health and wellness, sport and athletics, meeting rooms, language and cultural projects, mental health and spiritual wellness services, and so forth. Currently we have a gym facility we have chosen to close for a variety of reasons, which leads us to ask you and each other, “What can we do with our land to help meet specific needs in Decatur?”

There is a valid and practical precedent for such an open conversation and an expectant hope.

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Scarab writes in…

The attached photos are a stretch of drastically overgrown sidewalk near the intersection of North Arcadia and Dekalb Industrial (between the old DeVry place and Clarion Apartments).

I’m a runner who regularly runs through this area and downtown Decatur. And right now that sidewalk (as well as a patch farther up the hill on the same side of the street) is so drastically overgrown you can’t even walk through it, let alone run! Which leaves a person to have to try and cross that 6 lane street to other side right in the bend of a curve….and considering how fast cars drive on that section of road, that’s an extremely dangerous option.

It’s been overgrown for a LONG time now. It used to be regularly cut. But no more.

My questions: Who is in charge of cutting back all that overgrowth? Who do I contact to bug the crap out of until it’s done?

Well, it’s certainly DeKalb County, but I’m not sure who specifically should be bugged.  Anyone know?

One more pic of the hungry-hungry nature after the jump.

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The Decatur Book Festival are looking for some hard-workin’ peeps, who want to help out the festival and earn themselves a free t-shirt along the way.  From Daren Wang’s Verb.org…

Many volunteer positions have already been filled but there are still numerous openings. Visit the website for a list of volunteer positions and job descriptions. Available positions include:
* Book Market on the Square Set Up – Saturday, September 4 from 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. (great for groups). Volunteer early, so you can have uninterrupted enjoyment of the Festival.
* Book Market on the Square Close Down – Sunday, September 5 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. (great for groups). A great way to cap off a great Festival.
* Author Talk/Signing Venue Support (including the Children’s Stage and the Teen Stage/The Escape) – Various shifts available on Saturday and Sunday. Become one of our Festival ambassadors. Training is required.

To sign up to volunteer for a special weekend that includes a unique mix of authors, parades, meeting new people, and lots of fun, visit www.decaturbookfestival.com and go to “Participate” or contact Lee Ann Harvey with Volunteer! Decatur at or (678) 553-6548.

This large tree limb fell at the corner of Nelson Ferry and Coventry Road yesterday afternoon, closing the intersection for a couple hours.  Luckily the limb fell into the street and avoided hitting any vehicles.

In true Decatur style, Assistant City Manager of Public Works David Junger was on the scene, along with a number of firefighters who blocked off the street with some “Warm Zone” yellow tape.

The above pic is mine.  But Meridith also sent in a few pics of the action a little later on when the branch was cut up.  Check ‘em out after the jump!

h/t: Carl

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