Free-For-All Friday 3/25/11
Decatur Metro | March 25, 2011Feel free to use this post to make comments and ask questions about local issues not discussed here over the past week.
Comments close Monday.
————————————————————
What’s blue and fast and fun all over? Pete the Cat! The iconic mascot of the Oakhurst Cooperative Preschool 5K run is back to announce the details of this year’s event. The 4th Annual Beat the Street for Little Feet will take place in Kirkwood on Saturday, April 23, 2011 at 8:00 a.m. This year’s 5K route starts at Coan Park and will take runners through the beautiful and historic neighborhoods of Edgewood and Kirkwood. Race t-shirts will feature the Pete the Cat graphic displayed here and are certain to become collector’s items, so be sure to register as a phantom runner if you cannot attend the race.
In keeping with the spirit of Oakhurst Cooperative Preschool, Beat the Street for Little Feet is one of greenest and most family-friendly races around! In addition to the 5K run, the race will offer a stroller division, one mile race and fun run for kids. Compostable cups will be provided to all runners, and special efforts will be made to collect any compostable and recyclable waste generated by the event. In addition, the school will be facilitating a Nike re-use-a-shoe drive in conjunction with the race. A special door prize also will be reserved for a participant who makes an effort to be green on race day, either by carpooling, taking public transportation or bringing a pair of shoes for recycling. Following the race, Oakhurst Cooperative Preschool will be putting on a fantastically fun children’s party plus a wind-down runner’s expo, all at beautiful Coan Park.
Register now at www.ocprace.com! Oakhurst Cooperative Preschool is offering $2 off of 5K and phantom runner registrations for anyone who uses the coupon code DMETRO before Thursday, March 31th. We also will pick one lucky Decatur Metro registrant and will refund their entry fee, so register now and treat your family to an unusual, fun, healthy, community-focused event!
Latest from Decaturish
A huge THANK YOU to Dr. Ellington and the fine staff at Dearborn Animal Hospital. Unlike other clinics in the vicinity (you know who you are), Dearborn isn’t greedy. Their primary concern is in the best interest of animals, not in gouging owners. Because of Dearborn, I can afford to give my pets the care they need.
Love Dearborn Animal Hospital!
I am thankful for the variety of excellent veterinary services available in the Decatur/Avondale area. The different business models provide a variety of customer service levels comensurate to pricing and subject to healthy competition.
I have received FAR better customer service from Dearborn than the pricey veterinarians in the vicinity. I don’t need a “portal” for my pet. Nor do I need to pay $4 for a twenty-cent pill.
I love Dearborn and Dr. Ellington. My young golden retriever died in an accident and one of my dogs was injured in the process. She was so kind and caring in this situation. I have been going to her for a long time and love the care my dogs have gotten. I also love that the prices are reasonable enough for me to afford since I have several animals.
You’re right Trudy.
I attended the MARTA public hearing last night and if public comments are any indication, the odds for route #2 coming back to W.Ponce aren’t good. Only 2 people spoke in favor of it while I was there, both Fernbank employees. There was far more support for the Braves shuttle.
When MARTA changed the #2 Route to no longer serve the City, I was upset because I relied on that bus for my commute to work as well as for shopping and visiting friends. I knew that many other and varied people were served by the segment from Decatur to Highland. And they lost out. The new route starts at the Candler Park Station and serves me just as well as the old route. It also goes through the Edgewood center and I like that. It also goes though L5P and Ponce-Highland to boot. I still worry about the working people who needed the old route. But if they did not come to the Hearing, maybe they also found alternatives.
It also does not surprise me that Fernbank employees were there, because they lost out, as did many out of town tourists who used MARTA to get to the museum. Then again, I suppose Checker Cab benefited
Hey DM and other fellow demography geeks:
Zoomable NYTimes map with data by Census Tract. These coincide fairly nicely with four Decatur city quadrants. Hours of fun for armchair analysis.
http://projects.nytimes.com/census/2010/map
D’oh. Just put up a post about this Golazo, even before I saw this comment. Thanks!
What do the “Resident Parking Only” signs around Decatur really mean?
I’ve had to pick my way through neighborhood streets when events are being held near our little corner of town, but I also had flaky note left on my vehicle one afternoon when I dashed into Decatur Rec to make the registration deadline for some youth sports league I’d almost missed. So, I can sort of see the need, but I wonder how something like that can possibly be enforced.
Has anyone ever been cited? Has anyone heard of or seen anyone else being cited?
Good question. I must be in a looking stuff up mood lately…
City of Decatur Ordinances
Sec. 98-9. – Resident parking only districts.
(a)
Resident parking only districts are those streets or parts of streets in residentially zoned areas of the city designated by the city commission where parking on the designated street or part of the street is permitted only for residents of the designated street or part of the street, for the guests and visitors of such residents and for commercial vehicles making deliveries to such residents. When a street or part of a street has been designated as such by the city commission and a sign with the legend “resident parking only” has or have been erected, it shall be unlawful for any person other than those permitted by this section to park a vehicle on such street or part of street.
How do they know if you’re a resident? In Chicago we had Zone stickers, but I’m not aware of anything like that here.
I am not sure how they know if you are a resident or not, but I have been cited parking on a “Residents Only” street in Decatur when I wasn’t a resident of that street.
Interesting. Especially since “guests and visitors” of residents are allowed. Again, in Chicago if you had a zone sticker you could also purchase very cheaply books of one use stickers for your guests.
Enforcement is probably based on a resident complaint.
My issue with these signs is that they are placed adjacent to non-resident properties. Schools, Rec centers, Churches etc..
If the building is somehow considered a residential property and I am delivering snacks for my daughter’s class, am I not a guest of the school?
Resident-only parking codifies private dominion over public assets. It may be presented as a practical solution to a parking problem but, in almost every instance it exists in Decatur, it’s actually just a political solution to a complaining problem. It’s used to quiet angry residents, not to solve parking problems in any meaningful way.
You’re absolutely right, Ridge. If a school (or a restaurant, for that matter) is in a neighborhood and you are visiting it, you should have every right to park on the adjacent street. As a Decatur taxpayer, perhaps even more so. Such parking happens on the streets surrounding Oakhurst Village all the time and no one ever says anything.
(Before the dog pile jumps on, I’m not saying we shouldn’t protect our neighborhoods from noise, litter or even unreasonable inconvenience, or that wanting a quiet street to stay quiet is unreasonable. I’m just saying that resident-only parking zones are a lousy, unfair tool for the job.)
While I recognize – and often defend – this POV, I must admit that I recently had an experience where a renter in my neighborhood began parking regularly in the spot in front of our house, that I had thought I had deemed “mine” through daily use. I reiterated all the rational points about a public street to myself, but still, I must admit that every time I approached home and saw that black Jetta in “my spot”, the shot of adrenaline was hard to ignore.
As for Oakhurst, one of the many issues that is unique to the Fairview/Ponce Place crowd is the fact that some of them don’t have driveways to park in. (I’m assuming that the Oakhursters do?) That means the street is their only option. Imagine coming back from the grocery store with 8 bags on a Friday night to find the Taqueria crowd has you parking 6 houses away from your own. That’s inherently annoying, regardless of the public vs. private distinction.
I’ve piled on folks – like Fifi – for a long time, but I’m realizing that those of us who are presenting the rational arguments, first and foremost, don’t live on Fairview Ave. Reverse-NIMBYism?
Precisely the reason I made no mention of any particular resident-only zone (there are many throughout town) or any particular folks. We’ve been down that road before and it can get too messy for a Friday afternoon.
You’re right that one’s sense of ownership of or entitlement to “their “space” out front, even if not altogether justified, is real nonetheless. As I said, parking issues do need to be managed, but digging in and drawing lines is not in the best interest of the community. There are other ways.
(Now that I think about it, though, since your black Jetta neighbor is a resident, even a resident-only zone wouldn’t help. Maybe we could go with a property owners only zone. Kick it Federalist style.)
How about a “closest proximity to sleeping quarters” ordinance?
I’m glad to see y’all coming around. It is self evident that the parking spot in front of my house is mine, just as the neighborhood I live in is mine, and visitors and neighbors alike should respect this very common sense of ownership.
Precisely why I am a huge advocate of the “Resident Only” signs – I live right by TDS and believe me, that is NOT a fun crowd to battle with for a parking spot near my house (no driveway or garage). Obviously my opinion is biased but I don’t want to see those signs going anywhere soon.
While I understand the frustration for folks who don’t have a driveway or garage in which to park off-street, I can’t help but point out that this was not a hidden condition when they bought their house. It’s like buying a house with no air conditioning and then complaining about the heat in the summer.
We are currently looking at houses all around Decatur and the surrounding area and have already eliminated all that don’t have off-street parking. You may mentally envisage the piece of street in front of your house to be “your” property, but it’s not. The visitors parking there, whether they be going to TDS or any other local business, are a large part of the equation that have kept your house values steady, or even on the rise, during the current real estate crisis!
+1
The “no driveway” might have been obvious, but the evening Taqueria crowds may not be until your first night after you’ve moved in. And what about everyone that lived there before Taqueria?
You can’t deny that Decatur’s got a weird tension between wanting to attract popular and/or high-end restaurants that bring in the out-of-30030ers (in their cars) and a desire to be more walkable. Couple that with having these ultra-popular places at the edge of residential areas on a very thin, unconnected commercial strip and you get what Fairview’s got.
Fifi pointed out a short time back that extending Fairview to the south so that it hooks up with Trinity, might just be the best answer to some of North Fairview’s parking problems. I think she may be onto something.
-1
My ears are burning
DM – got my laugh of the day thinking about you and the black Jetta.
I do think there is a reverse NIMBY ism. The common response is – so sorry – you shouldn’t have bought that house near the commercial area. Keep paying your property taxes but don’t expect anyone to care about your quality of life. Don’t question our plans to have a pedestrian friendly city with minimal parking available to discourage auto traffic. And remember , the rest of us have every right to drive to Taqueria and park in front of your house and any time we want.
The resident parking restriction is set up not only to help the residents of that street but also to funnel the car traffic into the metered spaces and the near by decks. If the cars park in those areas rather than on residential streets, we will have less safety concerns about cars running stop signs and driving too fast in the neighborhoods.
To me it is a double standard. Many Decaturites love to talk the walkability talk but too few actually walk (or bike) the walk. As I’ve said before – come down to LowPo during dinner hour . Check out the cars at Taqueria, on Fairview and around the Yoga Studio. Count how many cars have City of Decatur front plates.
Over and over I see Fairview and Northern crowded with parked cars when metered spaces in front of Sharian, Fabu and the Wells Fargo building are available . I’ m sure the decks at 335 and the Artisan have available spaces, too. Are we really ready to loosen the parking space requirements for new businesses ? We have excess parking, yet our own City residents don’t use it ? Why don’t more city residents walk to LowPo on a regular basis – or least walk the few blocks from the 335 deck? Do Decaturites embrace walkability in theory AND practice?
Could we meter the streets for a block north of Ponce, and give residents an exemption? That way, for commercial visitors, it would equalize the value of the residential parking spaces with other options, removing the incentive of being free. If traffic and space availability are residents’ key concerns, this seems like something that would cut down on rogue usage and ensure reasonable availability most, if not all, of the time — respecting residents while still acknowledging the larger community.
Until I looked up the ordinance, I honestly believed that “Resident Parking Only” meant what it does in every other city that I have ever lived in. If you are resident of the city, you have a decal for your car and you may park there. I can see where this lack of uniformity is bound to cause confusion.
Fairview Ave residents have stickers for their cars.
I am one block from Oakhurst Village and a good number of us do NOT have off street parking or driveways. In fact, I don’t, my two neighbor across the street don’t and few of the places have enough room for one car in a narrow driveway.
Oakhurst is younger and more tolerant.
I don’t think that’s it. I just think that the perfect storm of Taqueria and “no connected, side streets to the south of Ponce” makes Fairview a far worse parking situation than anywhere around downtown Oakhurst.
Oakhurst has a lot of great restaurants, but they have nothing like the destination that Taqueria is. (There were probably 80 people in that line last night at any given time between 6:30p and 8:30p.)
Yeah, but, Steinbeck’s–come on.
You’re right though, can’t compare the two: Oakhurst has much more off street–but not residential parking.
True – Oakhurst has nothing like Taqueria Del Sol. We don’t have places that hate their customers and make them stand outside in an asphalt lot for 20 minutes before ordering cut rate mexican food that they can eat in uncomfortable chairs in a room with clear vinyl walls.
Don’t get me wrong – I’m glad that every non-30030’er and north-of-the-tracks resident thinks TDS is a good place. Keeps them out of Oakhurst.
Oh MY Goodness…BOOM!
Southside!
Yeah, cause that was even close to the point I was making.
True DM, true. I just saw the opportunity for an anti-TDS rant, and took it.
In all seriousness, LowPo or whatever that section of Ponce is called has some unique parking issues that the rest of town does not have. I hate going over there for that reason, even though I love the Marlay. I used to have to pick up my daughter from yoga over at the place behind Dancing Goats, and it was like the 5th or 6th circle of hell. I don’t know what the answer is over there.
No worries. I was a bit cranky last night.
I now pretty strongly believe that part of the parking problem is the popularity of TDS and part of it is that Gateway was sectioned off from downtown to the south. The two combined causes a perfect storm of parking problems.
Well hold on, was the point parking and the popularity of local restaurants or local restaurants cause patrons to block local residents’ driveways? There was an implication that TDS caused parking problems because of its popularity with outsiders (gai-jins).
The other side was Oakhurst has better, friendlier (just as hip), restaurants AND off-street parking that does not piss off the neighbors.
If the patrons of TDS et al. would be willing to walk another block I don’t think they’d be parking in residents’ driveways, but, as it is, ….
Resident Parking Only signs are mostly an enforcement by manners tool. I appreciate having one in front of my house. It sure makes it easier to leave a polite note when some #%$% is blocking my mail box! For occasional issues, it’s really best to take it up with the offender who may not even realize it’s causing aggravation. Police officers don’t need to be tied up on minor complaints. And the first question the officer’s going to ask is, “Have you talked with the person about it?”
(I’ve only had one truck towed. Driver left it blocking my mailbox for a 13 day stretch! Probably parked there to take Marta to the airport.)
I have to be at work every day at 8am. I like to go to Starbucks and Sammiches N Stuff before work to get breakfast. When I park at a metered space and leave before 8am, do I still need to pay the meter?
Good point. Parking is free after 6 PM (correct?) but how early in the morning does it stop being free?
From this website:
Parking in Decatur
Quick Tip: 2 hour parking is enforced at meters from 8am-6pm M-Sat. After 6p and all day Sunday it’s free.
Do they monitor the meters on Saturday?
I started to put money in a meter on a Saturday and a nice merchant came running out of the store and said Saturdays were free!
I’m pretty confident Saturdays are free.
I once asked someone at the City and I believe they answered that charges apply on Saturdays but that’s never been enforced. They said it might be at some point in the future. But I can’t swear to this response.
That is the current situation. If you read the little signs on the meters closely, they are enforced on Saturday, but it doesn’t currently happen.
love the sight of walking field trips on such a pretty day! gaggles of kids heading to our high school to enjoy the tibetan dancers….one of the many reasons our great city is so…well, great!
+ 1
DeKalb County Animal Services is severely overcrowded this week with an estimated 300 dogs and cats. The shelter is a special place to my husband and me, because that’s where we found Fred, our beloved short son with enormous feet.
If you or someone you know is thinking about adopting a new pet, this is a great time to save an animal’s life. Visit here: http://www.dekalbcountyanimalservices.com.
+1
If I could also put in a plug, this one for Furkids. We adopted our two awesome kitties from there a few months ago.
If you can, take DecaturCyn’s advice, go to a shelter and adopt a pet (or two or three) today.
One more thing…if you get cats, make sure they are kept indoors and are chipped (in case they escape).
Are you saying they should be let in or that they should never be let outside?
I’m of the opinion that cats should “never be outside,” although my cat won’t agree. She is also from Furkids and came to me declawed. Hence, she must stay inside. It is her life’s mission to escape.
I’ve had outside cats before, and they have all met untimely deaths due to dogs, cars, zombies, etc.
My cat, from day one, wanted nothing more than to be outside. When we lived in Midtown, we did not let him out. He would stand at the door constantly, and starting marking. When we moved to Decatur, we installed a cat door. He has been in heaven since. He comes and goes as he pleases, he is very affectionate and sleeps with us every night. We don’t have a litter box and he never scratches anything in the house. I know he is at a greater risk of something bad happening to him, but I think he would choose six years of outside freedom over thirteen years of inside confinement. I mean, imagine never being able to go outside. That’s a bummer.
Walrus, I agree with you. Just sayin’.
I would love to let our felines enjoy the outdoors; I grew up with indoor/outdoor cats. But too many neighbors have lost theirs to predators, and I would hate to see it happen to ours.
We recently had to put down our very old cat, and my kids would be devastated if we lost one of our new ones to an untimely death.
Yeah, there are certainly a lot of factors involved in making that decision. Sorry about your cat…
Our two kitties are from FurKids, too! And like Stu’s, ours don’t ever go outside b/c they were declawed (we wouldn’t have done that to them, but we weren’t going to reject them because of it, either). We support FurKids as much as we can b/c they’re a great organization.
Hey beautiful people! Guess who is almost an *actual* neighbor? Yep – we found a house. Hooray!
I am seeking recommendations for home insurance providers. Looking for the usual – great service and great rates, natch.
Thanks in advance.
Congratulations and welcome. Will you change your alias to “The Poster Formerly Known as Soon to Ne Neighbor?”
That’s got potential. I might just become “Neighbor.” That’s a little more to the point.
but not nearly as much fun to say
Welcome!
We’ve had Grange insurance (https://www.grangeinsurance.com/ ) and were happy with their service when we had to make a claim because of some hail damage and subsequently-discovered leaking inside the house.
We have Amica for all of our insurance. Some will say that they’re more expensive, but you’ll find out that you get what you’re paying for when you have to deal with them on admin issues or actually have a claim.
I second Amica. I have always used them for car insurance, renter’s and how homeowner’s insurance for 5 years. they are fabulous and don’t make you get multiple estimates before you get claim paid.
That was grammar at its finest.
For insurance I have to suggest USAA. I use them for both houses and the cars for decades now. no complaints at all!
usaa rules…and you can’t beat the dividend check!
Ahhh. The weather is warm, the flowers are blooming, the kids are running out in the street….Can anyone recommend a great fence contractor/person? Thanks in advance.
Anyone know of a good fence company?
Looks like Robin Meade gave us some love on cnn.com today…
http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/03/25/atlanta.tips.robin.meade/index.html?hpt=C2
What is your favorite neighborhood?
“I think Decatur, a small town within metro Atlanta, is a good neighborhood for visitors. It’s walkable with a good mix of non-chain cafes and patio seating and quirky unexpected stores mixed in. Some live music venues are sprinkled amongst the food. Pet friendly, child friendly, what’s not to like?”
Allstate is usually pretty competitive.
Richard Brown is your local agent located straight past the elevators off the lobby of the Decatur Court building (315 W. Ponce de Leon Ave. in downtown Decatur).
I thought Neil Dobbs was our local AllState agent…..
Some people in this world have issues.
And other people in this world are issues.
And others want issues.
Yep. They’re the ones causing all the problems.
When is someone going to do something about all the problems?
As soon as they find a parking space.
As soon as Andisheh finds them a parking space, you mean.
You mean he does valet?
Decatur now has a bike lane classroom on Ponce. : – ) With the new, highly-reflective lane markings, completed signage, and marked pedestrian crosswalks, anyone passing along this stretch of road will enjoy a more enjoyable experience than the mini-Scott Boulevard it was before.
I particularly like the way the position of the white reflective turtles across from Thomas More School direct cars away from the curb. Here the opening for the driveway gives a bike just enough clearance to slip into the protected area along the sidewalk that the turtles provide. First rule, though, is watch where you are going on a bike. Hitting a turtle can throw you.
Yep, turtles will throw you and steal your princess. Just ask Mario.
I need recommendations for a great realtor for buying and selling in Decatur.
Richard Reid is awesome.
http://www.directlinkrealty.com/
Andy Bailie ROCKS!
Becky Vinson is amazing. Long-time WP resident, knows Decatur like nobody’s business. At Remax on Church St.
Seconded!
Thanks for the recs so far! Keep them coming! We currently own in the city of Decatur and hope to stay here!
Marc Takacs at Keller Williams
http://www.marctakacs.com
Karen Devendorf with Karafotias is great.
We listed with Alison Sternfels recently and our house was under contract in 2 weeks! She is great!
http://alisonsternfels.remax-georgia.com/
We only knew we wanted our son to go to Decatur High School. We’d never been to Atlanta before my husband got a job here (moving from California). We tried 2 other agents and were not impressed (i.e. too busy texting to answer our questions about houses, etc.). My husband went to an open house and met Terry. She walked us through everything and we were clueless on so much. I can only say wonderful things about her. And my family is loving Decatur/Oakhurst. I hope to eventually get there……(anyone know of any jobs for an admin assistant?).
http://www.terrymichel.com/home.asp
Aw, crud. The Take Back the Night 5k is that morning. I don’t think I’m in shape enough to do both.
…but I really want me one of the Pete the Qat shirts…
The Take Back the Night 5K is in the late afternoon: http://www.dekalbrapecrisiscenter.org/takebackthenight.html If you can’t do both, register as a phantom runner and have a Pete the Cat t-shirt delivered to your door! Both are great organizations…
Take back the night is at night…you could run two 5ks in 24 hours!
Do them both! You can totally run at 8 am, huge brekfast, nap, then run again in the evening. think of the bragging rights. It’s like doing the Peachtree in shifts.
I’d give anything for P.F. Changs to knock Ruby Tuesday out of its cushy spot.
Some big Decatur fun is coming on May 20, it’s going to be a blast! Stay tuned for details…
Hmm…does it have anything to do with drinking martinis in a garden?
Nope, that’s on the 21st (and also sounds fun). There will be a lot of fun community events that weekend!
is anyone else creeped out by the logo & business name for “Tickle My Tummy” on College Ave next to the former/new Trackside Tavern space? i cringe every time i pass it.
Why did my thoughts just turn to the former “Thai Me Up” and the restaurant “Noodle”? Perhaps they all need to be in the same center.
Or perhaps “Ale Yeah!”, “Thai Me Up”, and “Tickle My Tummy”, with a “Noodle” at the end would be an excellent combination to have in a shopping center.
LOL! That is too funny! I don’t think I could drive past that shopping center without an ear to ear grin!
Just had the same conversation as we passed the sign yesterday. Mucho creepy! Had to really study it to figure out what they were going for, then decided it didn’t look too appetizing. Which is unfortunate, given their line of business!
YES!
If it looks like the logo on their menu on the website, then yes, I am a little creeped out. But yet, I am curious to check out the restaurant. I often crave salad for lunch now that it is getting warmer.
Not creeped out at all, actually pretty psyched. I just hope they have late night hours once Trackside reopens. I can’t tell you how many nights, after beers, Jagers and Jim Jones shots, all I wanted was a good tummy tickle! If they’re smart, they’ll just go ahead and proactively perma-ban Spencer…
The real driving force for the change in school times in CSD isn’t the buses or the extended elementary day. It’s to allow more time for athletics after school.
It’s true that on some days, some students leave school early to attend athletic events, but the solution shouldn’t be to have all students grades 6-12 start the day at 7:30. Studies show that students in that age range benefit academically with a later start time.
Shouldn’t someone at least do a survey of the students to see if they would like to start school at 7:30 to allow more time for athletic events and practices?
I trust you mean “do a survey among the parents of students.” (Who by-the-by are the taxpayers). As someone who coaches high school athletes, I promise you that the less one listens to high school kids’ opinions on the mechanics of life, the better.
Oh great. We cut middle school athletics, cut the 9th grade teams, have no intramural sports at all, so a lower and lower proportion of the kids get to participate in school sports that they love, only the few who make the ultimate cut? But we’re going to construct the school schedule around a dwindling small group? I’m glad to see that high school is no more fair than when I went to high school. If I had to suffer, so should the young folks….
When it comes to the elementary school hours, it still seems like the bus schedule and the lack of a Glennwood hub is driving the schedule. Certainly the Superintendent’s letter seemed to suggest that.
There appears to be some give on the elementary school hours, but none on the 7:30 start time.
A bus schedule with start times between 8:00 and 8:35 for all schools does exist. No one needs to be catching a 6:30 am bus in Decatur.
Ironically, the new schedule as is, doesn’t seem to make sense. If you are transporting the K-5 students back to their homes from 2:30 to 3:30, you will be using all of the buses. Then the district will have to hire additional buses to take other students to after school events. Very few buses are used to take the HS students home, leaving plenty of regular CSD buses to transport students to after school events.
Great. And one of the riskiest times of day for teen experimentation is the hours between when they get home from school and when their parents get home for good–whether the parents are still at work, picking up the younger children, or taking the younger children to and from activities. We’ve just added an hour of risk to the afternoon. And after school care doesn’t exist for that age group. This is not a developmentally appropriate decision.
I sure hope the SLTs are on top of these changes. I realize that claims will be made that they don’t have authority to approve school schedule changes. But they still have the right to put these items on their agenda, discuss them, make recommendations, and publish their recommendations. Whether or not it makes a difference, at least the issues will be disseminated out to parents and feedback will be heard and officially recorded.
Wait, wait, wait a minute. Are y’all saying the 7:30am start time is a done deal for DHS and Renfroe? How did I miss that? And we’re getting up early for sports?!?! That we don’t even play!?
In Dr. Edward’s letter she stated that due to her busy schedule there would be no decision on start times prior to Spring Break. I certainly hope we don’t all return home from yet another break to find the final decision has been made with no further opportunity for parent input.
I noticed today that Little Shop of Stories now is offering really cute gift baskets, and I wanted to spread the word. (I have no affiliation with the store now, although I DID work there many years ago.) They’re themed (bath, trucks, etc.) and stuffed with appropriate books and toys AND a gift card, and they cost less than what the contents are worth. Support one of the best local businesses the next time you need a gift for a birthday party or baby shower.
I live in a townhome within city limits and we are looking for a new handyman. Someone who is not too busy to handle small jobs within a week or two of the request being made. Can anyone recommend someone? It is for the complex as a whole, not just an individual unit. Most of the work is outside building maintenance. Thanks!
Pete the Cat is the best!!!
Any recommendations for a good, reliable interior painter? Thanks!
There are some pretty darn cute puppies from Paws Atlanta in front of Petco in Edgewood/little 5. I’d take one but we are at pet-pacity at my house. Seriously cute puppies tho.