Free-For-All Friday 3/11/11
Decatur Metro | March 11, 2011Feel free to use this post to ask questions and make comments about local issues not discussed here over the past week.
Comments close Monday.
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This week’s FFAF is brought to you by The Marlay House…
The Marlay House, Decatur’s authentic Irish-owned pub, is celebrating St. Patrick’s Day all week, in what looks likely to be glorious weather on the patio.
Saturday, March 12:
- The Mobile Marlay Fish-n-Chips Food Truck’s ‘Maiden Voyage’ at the Atlanta St. Patrick’s Day Parade in downtown Atlanta at 12pm.
- Festivities at the pub include: Bagpipers 2 p.m.; Irish dancers 4:30 p.m.; live Irish music 6:30 – 9.30 p.m.; and more pipers, 8.30 p.m.
Tuesday, March 15:
- · World famous Uilleann piper, Paddy Keenan, join our Irish Music performers beginning at 7.30pm p.m. sample him HERE.
Wednesday, March 16
- ·St. Patrick’s Eve Irish beer-inspired pairing dinner 2 Beer 2 Food Courses
Thursday, March 17: Everyone is Irish at the Marlay House
- ·Live music, dancers, and a piano performance and sing-a-long to entertain patrons into the wee hours.
Latest from Decaturish
Anyone know of a good local mechanic who works on Mazdas? Thanks for any input!
We use VolMaz on Church Street. Joe and the guys are awesome.
I had a Mazda 626 about a million years ago. When the transmission went, those guys suggested that I just sell the car rather than fix it because of the expense and the age of the car. In other words, they turned down my business to my benefit! Can’t beat that!
We have a 2000 Protege that we take to Intown Auto. Great Service.
I’ve had good experience with Summit Automotive on DeKalb Industrial near the Farmers Market. There have been a couple of times I thought my Mazda was a goner, but they managed to resuscitate it. And, they didn’t even bankrupt me!
VolMaz is hands-down the best. We gave our Mazda (its pediatrician was VolMaz :)) to someone who was in need. Had VolMaz test it out. Couple of weeks after giving it to our friend, a significant repair was needed (towing involved). Because they had given it a clean bill of health, they only charged cost- no labor, no profit. Another problem arose: they towed and repaired for free because they knew our friend had no funds. Family owned.
Volmaz is great. I have had them work on my old Volvo station wagon and my hubands BMW. Always honest and helpful!
Thanks for the suggestions, everyone!
Looking to purchase a small greenhouse locally and have it delivered and installed. Any recommendations?
This is a little beyond a typical greenhouse but you may be interested. They have designed an aquaponics system — fish fertilize the plants, plants and algae feed the fish, growing medium cleans the water — that you can put in your back yard. There is one style of the system that has a roof, can add sides and can be insulated with straw bales. They are just out of the design phase so anything they build now would be custom made. But they might cut you a deal as an early adopter.
http://www.bioponica.org/pages/design-concept
Can anyone suggest preK programs in the area?
You are not doing College Heights? I thought you were already there in the 0-3 program.
We are, but there are piles more kids than slots and the lottery won’t be til May from the rumors we are hearing. Most other places I am seeing want acceptances in April, which means we if we don’t get into College Heights in May, we are screwed. I am worried about risking it. I have a couple applications ready but figure I better get a bunch more. For some reason google is letting me down!
We’ve been really involved and it disappointing that chance will determine whether we get in after 3 years of commitment, but oh well.
Good luck. Just from what you post here, you are obviously a great supporter of College Heights, even if you are a critical thinker who occasionally speaks up. I’m sure you do even more that we don’t know about. Hope it works out. I’m going to assume that you already know about these but what the heck:
– First Baptist
– Phoenix School
– Clifton School (if one parent is CDC or Emory)
I went through this last year when faced with getting our child in somewhere at the last minute, unexpectedly. We were, if I recall correctly, in the double digits on the waiting list at College Heights in June. We had a space by July (after I spent a month panicking). My second choice was Holy Trinity; I LOVED it and would have used it if we hadn’t gotten in to CH, but it’s not free.
Where is Holy Trinity?
Across the street from Glennwood, I believe. They let Glennwood parents park there.
Holy Trinity Episcopal on the corner of E. Ponce and Sycamore Pl. across from Glennwood.
My child used to attend Holy Trinity. It’s really great and the director (Kay Watkins) is lovely and super-involved. She knows every child by name, etc.
But, it is only three hours a day. (Four if you want to pay extra for “lunch bunch.”) So if you need full day coverage, you’ll need to hire a nanny or make other additional arrangements.
Also, I felt that there were too many days that the center was closed. For example, on all of the federal holidays, it’s closed. On many of the school days following the federal holidays, it’s closed for teacher workdays, etc. The church is a voting center so on election day, it’s closed. So, that was hard for me because I work full time. Also, they follow the CSD school calendar, so they’re closed for spring break and Winter break, etc. But if you have older children who are in public school, it might match up with your schedule. Definitely something to think about though.
We’re double registered. We’re long time fans of Dec. Presbyterian Children’s Community. http://dpcc.atlpcusa.org/
Is there any news on the lottery?
Vicious rumors of May.
Both of mine went through Decatur Methodist Preschool and Kindergarten on Sycamore and we LOVED it–It’s only half-day though if that’s a problem. The Presbyterian Church preschool down the street is also very good.
Decatur First United Methodist Pre-K and Kindergarten is awesome. We have a daughter there now. We registered here there for next year as a back-up because we thought she would be going to College Heights. Not any more. A May lottery doesn’t do much good for anyone.
Wonder how many kids are double-booked? Knowing that sooner than May could save folks like Nellie the drama of having to create a back-up plan.
The ColorWheel is also filling up. Would just do that but it also 1/2 day.
And who says ANYTHING EVER saves me drama?
Right. Not to mention the trouble it is going to be for all of the private preschools in the area that are going to be receiving lots of “backup” applications in case folks don’t get into CH (any maybe hiring additional teachers to meet the perceived greater need) just to have families back out at the last minute because they go into CH.
Hearye Georgia Legislature: This is no way to run a railroad. Or, you know, a pre-k lottery.
The Fraser Center is supposed to be great. They’ve got a long waiting list, but if you only need part time coverage you can try and “share” a spot with another part-timer. And that way, when a full time slot becomes available, you’ll get priority. Might be worth a shot.
Oakhurst Cooperative Preschool has a Pre-K aged class: http://www.oakhurstcoop.com
What are some good Toyota mechanics around town? I have a 2003 Pontiac vibe(Toyota matrix with Pontiac badges) that will need its 90000 mile service next week
Quantum Mechanics on Tally Street services Toyotas.
Second this!
Third this!
Certified Auto Repair on Clairmont at McConnell (near the Williamsburg medical complex just past Mason Mill). When I had a Camry I took it there, they were really honest, good, and well-priced. This has been a while ago though, maybe someone has more recent experience.
Took my 2001 Camry to Summit based on recommendations here. They were excellent, and explained one item (over $300) could be deferred to spread the economic impact. Could not be happier.
I thid Certified Auto Repair. Have had my car there twice recently and was very pleased. Ask for Eric, he is the best.
LexTechs are great. They did a great job with my yaris. http://www.lextechsofatlanta.com/
On Clairmont at the light at Commerce heading towards downtown – are they 2 left lanes right turn ONLY, and then the right lane straight? I thought that was how the intersection was structured, but the past 2 days as I have been in the left hand turn lane closest to the straight lane, a car has gone straight. Are they just wrong, or am I misinterpreting the intersection?
You are right as far as I know.
You are correct, but people do that all the time – another example of distracted driving, to use the polite terminology (my normal description making use of a head and another body part would get me instantly moderated).
Great – just wanted to make sure my use of the horn when I am going straight from the correct lane and someone in the left turn lane decides to go straight as well) is appopriate.
Are you saying that people drive with their heads lodged firmly in their posteriors, Steve? Is that what you’re trying to tell us?
I think I said enough.
What may be confusing to some is that there are 4 traffic signals and only 3 lanes, 2 left turn signals and 2 for the single lane. I can see how people not familiar with that intersection in the left turn lane on the right might assume the second light from the right (not a turn light) might be for their lane.
Those people are not paying attention to the big arrows on the pavement, per my previous remark.
Vicious rumors of May and anywhere from 30-50 more residents on the waiting list than space.
This is supposed to underneath Chad’s post above- I have done something weird. ;P
What possible justification would cause the lottery to be delayed from March 1st to May? I understand the initial delay because of Deal’s deal. CSD needs to quell the rumors and give up the info. I called College Heights on Monday and left a nice voicemail and have heard nothing back.
I’ve inquired also and haven’t heard anything back.
The legislative session starts in May. That’s I figured the May delay from from.
And DM, call Bruce Roaden if you don’t get a call back. This really is something parents need their favorite investigative reporter on!
The Georgia legislature is now in session.
Duh- I was just making fun of all the great bills some of these geniuses are proposing. Someone at the school told me that was the reason- obviously it’s not!
Ack! Now I’m officially panicked…
I was wondering if a group of people might want to get together and see about getting the curriculum and see about co-oping it. 5 or 10 people rotating a day every two weeks in there homes would do it. But then every two weeks it would be my day…..
Of course my grammar above and incorrect use of “their”/”there” should inspire confidence.
It’s an excellent idea. Essentially it’s preK homeschooling. If it works out, some might even continue it going forward. Given how passionnate and knowledgeable Decatur parents are about education, I’ve often wondered if cluster homeschooling or a charter school would ever spring up here.
I got a free bike recently, a 26″ “jazz voltage by trek”. It’s from the 90s and you can tell from the orange and purple paint. However I decided to get it back into shape. Besides new tires/ tubes, what does one normally do? AlsO should I just wd-40 the chain or replace it?
The best solution is to take it in for a tune up, really. I think Bike South will do a basic tuneup for about $60. They’d be able to tell you if parts needed to be replaced.
As for the chain, depends on the condition. Is it rusty? If so I’d replace it. If I kept it, I would not use wd-40, but grab a small bottle of chain lubrication from a bike shop. You’d also need to give the chain a good cleaning first. Those two steps would improve its performance for sure.
My guess is that the brakes will also need attention — at a minimum, new brake pads. Once they get too old they are useless.
There is a new bike shop downtown next to Cakes and Ale.
ProLink lubricant on the chain.
If it’s been stored inside you should be ready to ride. Replace tires if the sidewalls show evidence of dry rot. You’ll know you need new tubes when you get a flat. Oh, and carry a spare tube and inflator for when you get a flat.
After you’ve decided to keep and ride the bike consider replacing the grease in the wheels, bottom bracket, and head tube. A bike shop may be your friend for this.
Brake pads if you get an awful scrubbing sound when you apply the brakes. And they fail.
Fresh bar tape is going to make it shine.
P. S. Free bikes are the best! Enjoy.
I also got an old Columbia Roadster for free as well. Has some rust, but looks to need just new tubes/tires and a good cleaning.
Here are the pics of both-
[img]http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h326/JoeCoolinATL/IMG_1256.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h326/JoeCoolinATL/IMG_1250.jpg[/img]
hmm weird. my photos show up in full view so to speak on the mobile site but on here i can only see half. maybe i need to resize them
You could go to SOPO Bikes in East Atlanta and have access to tools and lots of helpful knowledgeable folks.
I may have had one too many last night, so bear with me a moment as I get to a point.
If you’re traveling north on McDonough approaching the College Avenue intersection, do you have to make an immediate left turn left from the left lane? There’s a white painted arrow on the road, but it doesn’t show straight and left, only left. The straight and left painted arrows would mean you cross the tracks and then turn left, no?
as far as i know you can turn left on college or go over the tracks and turn left on howard. essentially if you are in that left lane you are making one of two possible left turns. the right lane is for right turns on college ave or straight over the tracks and continuing on n. mc donough. but i always see people in the right lane crossing over to make a left turn just as they approach the tracks…so when i am turning left i always proceed with caution (and a friendly toot, if needed
)
I sat at that left lane last weekend and had that very same thought. Luckily there was a car in front of me so I was able to wait and see what happened.
Now as a runner trying to cross College when the light turns, that’s another story because I never know if that car is turning onto College or Howard. But generally I get a nice wave to go on because I look dumbfounded standing there.
The left turn lane is to turn left on either side of the tracks.
Doesn’t matter. That red light is so long and the green light so short that the odds of anyone ever making it all the way through the light are very low.
Boondoggie, I hope you didn’t have too many and … drive.
I can’t unglue my eyes from the TV (working from home today). The pictures and video of the earthquake and tsunamis in Japan are devastating. And we’re waiting to see how the U.S. west coast is affected by the approaching waves.
Just saw on MSNBC that two towns on the Washington coast are already evacuating!
Agreed. It’s frightening.
Can anyone recommend a good dentist? I HATE going to the dentist and think it’s time to try someone new.
Thanks.
Marvin Winter in downtown Decatur is great. A dentist friend originally recommended him and I’ve now got my husband and son going too.
+1 for Dr. Winter.
Add 1 more for Dr. Winter. Also Dr. Looper at Sage Hill.
Nanston Dental. I’ve been going there for ten years. Dr. Patel is a very good dentist, and Pansy is the best tech ever. She cleans my teeth, quickly and painlessly, every four months.
I’ll second Nanston, Dr. Patel and Pansy!
Long time clients and fans of Ben Jernigan in the Wachovia building (or whatever it is now) at Ponce and Ponce Place.
Dr. Goettl on Cliff Valley. I’ve been going to him for the last three years and I think he’s awesome.
My husband loves Goettl. I go to Dental TLC in Sandy Springs (!!!) because they are truly the best for phobic patients.
O’Shea and O’Shea in the 755 Commerce building. Father and son dentists, and our whole family goes. Wonderful front-end staff and hygienists, too.
Decatur needs to fix the speed trap in the W. Howard school zone. Right now, there is a zone near the high school and Renfroe, then it stops, then it’s back on again even though (when traveling west) both the high school and Renfroe are in your rear view mirror. I was pulled over a few days ago by a Decatur cop perched at the very end of the western boundry of the second zone who was obviously busting people for accelerating as they leave the second school zone.
I don’t drive there much so I saw that the first zone ended, but apparently missed the sign that said the second began. Even so, I did not accelerate until I had passed Thinking Man, and even then I barely got up to the mid 30’s. I’m all for driving slowly in real school zones, but this one is a joke. “Policing” it by catching people who are accelerating to the higher high speed limit has zero to do with maintaining student safety and everything to do with raising revenue.
So you don’t have a problem with the posted speed, just how the authorities enforce it?
Primarily, yes. I have no problem with 25 during school hours near a school, but to set up a radar sting at the outermost portion of the school zone, headed away from the schools, is ridiculous. It is also odd to have an unexplained break in between two school zone, but that is not the root of the problem.
Except there is so much rush hour traffic, and so many children (including mine) crossing Howard , to get to RMS and Oakhurst ES, there has to be 2 crossing guards frequent police presence, to keep it safe. I think the city is just trying to recoup some of the cost of the 2 nice guards.
…and keep them safe
That is right. There is heavy traffic their during rush hour and people use Howard like it is a speed-way all the time.
The speed limit is 25 there 24/7!
It turns to 35 very quickly after you pass Thinking Man. This cop was set up more than half a block past that. The whole point was to ticket people who were well past both schools and were accelerating to the higher limit. If I had been ticketed for doing 35 in front of Decatur high school, I deserve it. But a few tenths of a mile from the East Lake Marta station? Come on.
The city commission has had open conversations about this “school zone” on Howard. The city wants the posted speed limit to be lower, but can’t lower it because of the way that GDOT determines speed limits (has to do with how fast 80% of drivers on the road drive or something. It’s a weird policy.)
So they have employed the school zone as a stop-gap, and asked DPD to monitor it heavily. Can’t see them changing the policy any time soon.
I do live near this intersection, and the space between school zones is very short…and if you managed to accelerate to 30, you must have a lead foot.
I don’t see police enforcing this nearly enough, and people go at shockingly high rates of speed during school hours, ripping past the crossing guards.
I don’t think of it as a speed trap. I think of it as a place where cars should SLOW DOWN!!!
No — I am talking about the end of the second zone, which is much closer to the East Lake Marta station than it is to Decatur High. I was speeding up into the 30s past Thinking Man, heading west, and the cop was sitting a few hunred yards east of the East Lake Marta station.
I’m pleasantly surprised to hear that DPD is issueing speeding tickets. I thought they had given up on speeding violations. I wish they’d come stake out my neighborhood.
I believe that second school zone is for K-3 students commuting to Oakhurst Elementary. Don’t forget a good portion of those students live north of the tracks and have to cross and go down that street to get to the turn for Oakhurst. I agree that it makes little sense to have 2 school zones so close. I would rather seem them connected for one longer school zone. If I remember correctly the statistics are something like this: 75% of kids survive an impact of 25mph or less, 25% survive an impact of 35 or more.
REPAIR SHOP RECOMMENDATION NEEDED: The pin in the power receptacle of my 14 month old laptop broke off. So now I cannot plug in the power cord. Any recommendation for a repair shop, or do I just buy a new laptop?
Have heard good things about Onyx, though we haven’t needed them.
I’ve had good experience with Onyx (right behind McDonalds at Clairemont & Commerce).
I’ve had good experience with Onyx with both a Mac and a PC.
god experience and good pricing at Onyx
Bill at BS Consulting does my personal computer work as well as the law firm I work at. he DOES NOT CHARGE FOR TRAVEL (for anyone who ever has an in home need)! he’s very knowledgeable and is extremely knowledgeable and reasonable. or 404.324.0728.
B.S. Consulting? Really?
Anyone have suggestions on where to recycle audio cassettes?
1986.
I just spit out some water. Thanks!
What’s an audio cassette?
It’s like a little 8-Track tape.
Or a teensy tiny reel-to-reel.
best.response.ever.
This is when we need a like button.
Did Garlic Thai close?
What makes you say that?
It just looked really empty when I drove past there yesterday, but maybe it was just an off hour?
They are still open. Mondays are pretty rough for many restaurants so they might consider closing. We’re upstairs at Decatur Screenprint and the traffic on Monday nights is never good – which is why we’re also closed.
They need to put up a big banner or sidewalk board that says “OPEN MONDAY NIGHTS!!!” because I’m sure we are not the only ones sometimes desperate for a place to eat Monday nights.
As a matter of fact, their parking lot is packed most nights lately and the lunch crowd is robust. I agree that a neon “open” sign or a banner would be helpful. That streetside patio is so pleasant, but also keeps the storefront in deep shadow.
It looked closed about 8 PM last Monday evening when I walked by.
That’s worrisome because it definitely used to be open Monday nights, it, Watershed, Leon’s, and Tesoro were the few restaurants open in downtown Decatur Monday nights.
I ate there Tuesday night and it was delicious as always. Pretty full by the time I left at 7:30. Don’t forget to check Scout Mob for 50% off.
I can happily attest that they are NOT closed! We had a wonderful dinner there tonight…for the $$, the best sushi in town, hands down! Patio was lovely, and the placed was nicely crowded. Stop in & have some great food & fabulous cocktails…
It can look closed even when it open. Something about the lighting inside. Last time we didn’t realize it was actually open until we walked right up to it.
That’s true too. While I was in the middle of my meal, the lights were dimmed to super low. And the tables and chairs on the porch were chained up, making it look like they weren’t open.
I went there last Sunday and thought the same thing. It wasn’t until the door opened was I convinced they were open. They need an open sign…
This is neither a pick nor a pan, but Onyx Consulting was named above. Did you know the Onyx guy is named Kenagy, and is the son of Alix Kenagy, who owned the peerless Indigo Coastal Grill and Partners, both Virginia Highlands, back in the 1980’s?
And 1990’s.
Ah…I still miss Indigo. That place had THE best fish, and their carry-out market was fab. I like Rosebud, but I LOVED Indigo.
Me too. It was our go-to place before Decatur had the options it has today.
Anyone know of tree companies that deliver free woodchips OR of an affordable woodchip delivery service? We need too much to buy individual bags. Thanks!
we used arborguard (in avondale) for our wood chips….you can either go to the website or to their location and fill out a form…be prepared, though…it is a TON of wood chips.
i should mention it was free, too…
Thanks so much! Hope you won’t mind a couple of follow-up questions. . . .
The website says they are coarsely ground–how different is that from the large pine chunks in the bags? Also, how would compare the pile of chips to, say, the size of a car? Were you happy with how they looked?
Thanks anniefannie!
if i recall, the wood chips weren’t too coarsely ground…i think the bags you see have bigger chunks so i would say they were a bit smaller compared to those. the pile we got was smaller than a small car but it was still a lot…i thought i would NEVER get to the bottom!
take that into consideration when you decide where to have them dump the wood chips (you probably don’t want them in your driveway unless you have many hands on deck). i was happy with how they looked…we only had some seriously old pine straw that i was looking to cover and it did make it look nice and finished.
happy landscaping!
altmod–not to complicate things, but when you get those woodchips they’re usually fresh. As they decay they absorb lots of nitrogen from the soil, leaving little or no nitrogen left for the surrounding plants. Nitrogen is the single most important nutrient required for plant growth. So you might want to think about where you put the chips. Great for a pathway where you don’t want to grow anything, or about 4 feet away from any plants. Another option is to let the pile sit for 6 months (and turn it).
Thanks for the warning–and yes my parade has been rained on. . . What if I was to add nitrogen to the soil before putting down the chips? I don’t have 6 months to wait for the chips to ripen. Thanks again!
My go to gardening website is always Walter Reeves. He has several suggestions for using wood chips and how to add nitrogen to fresh chips.
walterreeves.com
Thanks y’all! Free for all friday and DM Rocks!
Have to say:
-My heart goes out to the people of Japan who must be suffering the most unexpected, unimaginable horrors–life is its 21st Century usual wired, first world, everyday reality, then in just hours, earthquakes, tsunamis, fires, nuclear radiation exposure, perhaps over 10,000 dead and how many more injured, never mind loss of homes, work, sustenance
-I am afraid for the world
-We have to do all we can to help remediate this damage to a people and to the earth
-We might need that help ourselves one day; our country is vulnerable to all of the threats that just hit Japan