This just in from Decatur Adult Prom HQ…

Our friends at Universal Joint and Steinbeck’s are our latest sponsors and they will be providing delicious snacks at the prom, as well as The Spike for the punch bowl. Not only that, but Steinbeck’s is the official pre-prom party place, so you can get loosened up and ready to dance, while U-Joint will serve as the post-prom spot to keep the party going after the prom is over.  Everything is nearby, in walking distance to the Solarium. Get there early, and stay late in Oakhurst on Friday, May 20.

But wait, there’s more… WIN GIFT CERTIFICATES!

In addition to all that goodness, thanks to our wonderful new sponsors, if you purchase your prom tickets between now and Saturday May, 14th at 3pm Eastern Time, you will be entered for a chance to win one of two $25 gift certificates to U-joint or Steinbeck’s. To be clear, there will be two winners, one will get a $25 gift certificate to Ujoint, and the other will get a $25 gift certificate to Steinbeck’s. One entry for each ticket, so the more tickets you purchase before the deadline, the better your chances to win. Buy your tickets now!

All tickets are processed through Decatur Metro.  Purchase below!

I’m sure many of you have seen the stories floating around the interwebs about a MARTA proposal to raise the $2 one-way fare by 25% to $2.50 sometime in the coming year.  But here’s the only really in-depth conversation I’ve yet seen on the topic: an interview between WABE’s Dennis O’Hare and MARTA’s new chairman Jim Durrett.

In it, O’Hare challenges Durrett’s call for higher fares by referencing MARTA’s oft-stated point that it’s one of the most cost-effective systems in the country, Durrett admits that MARTA must transition to variable fares (based on time of day, distance, etc) and plans on doing so by 2016, and also mentions increased costs for para-transit down the road.

On the 2016 date for variable fare, Durrett says

“…all of our partners that have been working on delivering transit in this region agree that we need to evolve to a variable-based fare.  Whether it’s the time of day that you’re traveling or how far that you’re traveling.  Right now our plans are to implement that kind of a system in the year 2016 or the fiscal year 2016.  It takes that long to analyze the system, to determine what the appropriate fares are, to change all of the hardware that we’ve got in place right now, in order for us to have that kind of a fare model. We’re working toward it with our partners and I believe that we will see that in 5 years.”

All of this talk of MARTA fiscal future and I don’t think Durrett once brought up the lack of state funding!  A new public tactic?

Interesting stuff.  Thanks to Al for forwarding the link!

Hancock @ Adams Street, Decatur GA – afternoon of May 5th (pic submitted by Eliza)

“A huge tree branch just fell at Hancock and Adams streets. No one was hurt but Hancock is completely blocked. Firefighters are getting rid of it now.”

From a First Baptist Church Decatur press release…

Decatur – April 15 – The second annual mega-recycling event at First Baptist Church of Decatur (FBCD) will be held May 21, 2011. Recycle Your Life, a mission project of the FBCD EcoCare Mission Team, is a community-wide recycling event that is held in the church parking lot at 308 Clairemont Avenue.

The event runs from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm.

When the EcoCare Mission team says Recycle Your Life, they mean recycle most everything in your life: electronics, cell phones, all working household appliances, household goods, clothing, shoes, onsite paper shredding and furniture. To see a complete listing of acceptable items please visit the church website at www.fbcdecatur.com. (Please note: some items are too hazardous to pick up and no items collected by local government curbside recycling will be accepted.) Two new additions this year include paint and toilets. Toilets are to support the reinstated DeKalb Toilet Rebate program. Citizens may bring cleaned toilets with all the interior mechanisms removed. “Many people do not realize that construction debris fill up to 40% of our landfills.” stated Beth Bond, EcoCare Mission team leader. “So it was important to not only to support DeKalb County but also divert the toilets from the landfills.”

Although the goal is to offer as much as possible for free disposal, the paint, shredding and some electronic items will have disposal fees. The paint will have a disposal fee of $1.00 per can regardless of paint can size. Televisions will have a $10.00 fee.

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