Joe writes in…

My wife and I saw this dog walk over from the apartments behind the old Jake’s ice cream to the Publix parking lot. No collar. Definitely someones dog. Hopped right into the car. Well behaved.

As part of $33.6 million in budget cuts demanded by the DeKalb County Commission, DeKalb Police have decided to ground its police helicopter.  From the AJC…

DeKalb Chief William O’Brien grounded the helicopter to meet a $4.7 million budget cut, according to a memo obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“Effective immediately, helicopter response to calls for service is very limited. Aerial Support is suspending all helicopter activities, operations and call-outs,” Assistant Chief Lisa A. Gassner wrote to staff on Thursday.

The helicopter will only be used for critical public safety emergencies, such as floods and officer-involved shootings, police spokeswoman Mekka Parish said.

Sounds like DeKalb police chases may have just gotten a bit more challenging.

Felicia Feaster writes on Arts Critic ATL…

The sad fact is that when group art shows are bad, they are often very, very bad, forcing non-sequitur work into a curator’s sardine-can theme. The bad group art show smacks of curatorial vanity and hubris and an obsession with an idea that trumps the best representation of the artists involved.

And when a group art show is good? Well, that is a harder, more alchemic achievement. And a thing of beauty when it happens. Though its title could induce a toothache and suggests some lilting, affected feminine thing, the group show “My sweet, sweet,” at Agnes Scott College’s Dalton Gallery through March 13, is imbued with just enough uneasiness and ickiness to make its exploration of love and sex feel ballsy and intense instead of coy and precious, precious.

Read the full review of “My Sweet, Sweet” HERE.  And see it at ASC’s Dalton Gallery until March 13th.

Paul writes in…

I was up at N. Decatur Publix last night, hoping to get a movie from Blockbuster. They had closed early and it looks like they’re getting ready for a store closing sale (as is location at N. Druid Hills near Pikes).

Are Decaturites still watching movies? Are more people doing Netflix or Blockbuster express boxes or something else? Not breaking news, but does seem to be a sign of the times.

East Trinity Place Decatur, GA (pic submitted by Brandy)

That’s the question that the City Schools of Decatur is asking parents of would-be Pre-K students next year, after Georgia Governor Nathan Deal released his plans for the HOPE scholarship – which currently funds all Georgia Pre-K programs – earlier this week.

With Deal’s plan likely to pass, CSD is already informing families that Pre-K would most likely be cut to a half-day without an additional payment of $3,055 from families.  Head Start will pay the additional costs for their 20 Pre-K spots, according to a note from a parent on a local message board who spoke with Assistant Superintendent Thomas van Soelen yesterday.  Additionally, the roughly $3,000 tuition will not cover after-2:30p Chex Mix/Animal Crackers childcare.  Those costs will remain incremental, according to the note.

As a result of this massive, likely change in funding, CSD has canceled the current Pre-K lottery for the coming school year.  The number of full-day and half-day spaces/classrooms won’t be determined until CSD can get an accurate measure of how many students are willing to pay the $3,055 for full-day care.

Parents have until March 7th to let CSD know of their intentions.  UPDATE: You can read the full letter sent out by Superintendent Edwards HERE.  (h/t: KMT)

Angie forwards this along…

Please join us for the 4th Annual College Heights Auction Event tomorrow night – Friday, February 25^th at the Solarium from 7-10 pm. Everyone is welcome and admission is free! There will be live music – featuring the local band The Bitteroots – light food, cash bar and both a live and silent auction offering artwork, jewelry, services, 5 different vacation getaways, tickets to sporting events and other great items from our local supporting merchants.

Grab dinner and a drink at one of our local restaurants (and if you see Marc at the U-Joint, give him a thanks for helping us out!).

All money raised at the auction will directly support the school’s PTA activities, which promote quality educational services, healthy and safe environments and artistic opportunities for our City of Decatur children.

If you have any questions or if you would like to donate an item for the event (through tomorrow), please contact Stephanie Berkule at [email protected] .