First the kitty.  Adrea sends this pics and writes in…

Last night we lost our new kitty. She was adopted four weeks ago, and she is probably pretty scared. Roxie is a dilute brown tabby with a distinct black stripe down her back. She weighs about 8 lbs. She has never been outdoors, but she does have a chip. We have no idea how she got out. Lost near the intersection of Adams and Davis. If found, please call 404-270-9637.

Now the pup.  This short note from Tommy…

Black /white Italian Greyhound (small, 16 lbs.) lost 5/26 in Medlock area. Name is Harley. Dog needs medical care. Please call 404-556-9956.

A few days back, “writerchad” mentioned in passing that Ale Yeah! would begin selling growlers this Thursday.  I checked in with Eddie at Ale Yeah! and he confirmed that was the plan, however he still had his fingers crossed that yesterday’s tap installation went smoothly.

Apparently it did, because he just wrote back…

We will be pouring growlers today at 6pm. Nick Purdy with Wild Heaven will be buying the first one and giving it away to a lucky customer!

From a City of Decatur press release…

The City of Decatur will debut a set of six postcards at the Decatur Arts Festival over Memorial Day weekend. The designs, created by five different artists, represent creative perspectives of Decatur.

The Decatur Postcards Project included a contest calling for artists and community members to submit original work that showed special places and visions of Decatur. We received over 50 submissions from artists and students. A jury of local business, arts, and community leaders judged the submissions and picked their top 5 choices and one student choice. Artists received an honorarium of $150 each and the images now belong to the City of Decatur for sale as postcards.

An exhibit showing each postcard will be on view in the lobby of the Old Courthouse on the Square during the Decatur Arts Festival. Postcards will be available for sale at the Arts Alliance Souvenir table. They will also be for sale at Seventeen Steps, 235-M Ponce de Leon Place. Postcards are 50 cents each.

The postcards and artists include:

• •“city of deCATur” – painting by James Dean
• •“Decatur Neon” – photo montage by Doug McMillen
• •“Celebration VII Series I” – photo by Joe Dreher
• •“Utility Cover” – photo by Joe Dreher
• •“Snowy Valentines” – photo by Sheila McIntosh
• •“Doors of Decatur” – photo montage by Sofia Rose Said

The postcards are the result of the Decatur Postcards Project sponsored by the Decatur Arts Alliance, the Decatur Downtown Development Authority, and the Decatur Tourism Bureau. Proceeds from the sale of the postcards will go into creating more Decatur postcards. The Postcards Project was spearheaded by Decatur resident Moira Bucciarelli.

Transportation for America has created a very detailed and enlightening interactive map showing pedestrian traffic fatalities from 2000-2009 all over the country.

And while in the Atlanta area, the I-85/I-75 connector, portions of Ponce intown and Buford Highway (remember my “Death by Buford Highway” post?) seem to be real pedestrian fatality hot spots, Decatur – city of walkers – is a virtual island in a sea of fatal collisions.  From my casual observation, the city of Decatur hasn’t had a single pedestrian fatality in the past 10 years, unless the 78 year-old male on Church Street (highlighted in the screenshot above) was inside the city limits.

This map makes a pretty compelling case that traffic fatalities are primarily caused by unsympathetic pedestrian infrastructure, and not necessarily determined by population or # of active pedestrians in an area.

Interesting stuff.

I’ve read a lot about the Beltline over the past few years, but even after pouring over countless maps, mock-ups and written descriptions it’s still quite difficult to get a great FEEL the Atlanta loop without walking it.

Well, here’s the next best thing.  Beltline-advocate extraordinaire Angel Luis Poventud has created a Facebook album of 56 Before/After photos along the currently under-construction East Trail.  It’s so great, it’ll make you wish the Beltline passed right through Decatur!

Photo above courtesy of Angel’s album – from Freedom Parkway looking south