Decatur Police Deputy Chief Keith Lee was asked by Agnes Scott to forward this message to DM readers…

Agnes Scott College will conduct a crisis management drill on August 2, 2011 fro 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM. This drill will be led by Agnes Scott Police in conjunction with several other municipal and county agencies. There will be no road closures and there should be only minimal impact on the community. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.

Deputy Lee points out that August 2nd is also the first day of school for Decatur schools “and many of the safe routes to school pass thru or adjacent to Agnes Scott campus. Parents and students should not be alarmed by the presence of many public safety personnel.”

EcoNuke points out that the City Schools of Decatur has posted the bus schedules for the upcoming 2011-2012 school year on its website.

Based on the recently approved bell schedule, all Pre-K, K-3 and Decatur High School bus routes will start at approximately 6:50am and arrive at their destination at 7:30a now.  Fifth Avenue 4/5 Academy and Renfroe routes will begin at 7:45a and end at 8:15a.

Specific routes for each school can be found on CSD’s new Transportation website.

Also according to the CSD website, buses will be doing “dry runs” today. The site reiterates that the CSD “walk radius” around each school is one mile – meaning there’s no bus pickup within a mile of each school – and that bus routes are subject to change based on ridership.  Changes to routes will be posted on the CSD website.

Norwegian flag hung from Artisan balcony, Decatur GA (pic submitted by Andisheh)

We’ve already cut Decatur’s 2010 Census data a couple of ways over the past few months, and had a lengthy discussion about the decline of black households inside the city.  But what about that OTHER most talked about Decatur demographic?

That’s right, I’m talking about families with kids.

A reader points to this great website that very clearly shows the growth in various demographics between the 2000 and 2010 Census, among them households with children.  Here’s the breakdown on households by family-type:

                                                                           2000         2010     % change

• Under 6 years old:                                     399            698          75%
• Under 6 years and 6-17 years:               192            305          59%
• 6-17 years only:                                         530             730          38%
• No children under 18 years:                1,462          1,603         10%
• Male householder only w/kids:              195              216         11%
• Female householder only w/kids:      1,076             984         -9%

Note that this is HOUSEHOLD data and doesn’t take into account the number of children in each household.  However, this might be the first concrete dataset we’ve seen which confirms what many of you have been reporting for years: an impressive/scary/reaffirming increase among the youngest children set.  Just to be clear: the number of households with children under 6 years old is nearly THE SAME as households with kids 6-17 years old.  That’s certainly something to take note of considering that’s a 6 year age span compared to an 11 year age span.

That discrepancy, combined with general increases in all three husband/wife/kid groups gives a very real idea of the enrollment issues City Schools of Decatur having been dealing with and will have to accommodate in the coming years.

The New York Times recently wrote an article on trees falling around Atlanta recently and somehow determined that the city’s unofficial nickname “The City in the Forest” (not to be confused with Cleveland’s “The Forest City”) is in jeopardy.  Though the article itself gives nothing more than anecdotal evidence of it.

“We’re in emergency mode,” Mr. [city arborist Jasen] Johns said. “I’ve never seen this many down trees.”

OK.  More trees than Mr. Johns has ever seen?  That’s not so great.  But does Mr. Johns have any hard numbers?  Have they calculated the loss rate to be outside of norms?  That the city will soon be a sunny wasteland of parking lots and clear-cut subdivisions?

The city does not track the number of lost trees. But everywhere from the Georgia Forestry Commission to the telephone companies that send out repair crews, Atlantans are noticing gaps in the canopy.

And not only are they noticing, but some are calling it a “Treepocolypse”!

Ok, so we all are aware that trees eventually die, aren’t we?  I don’t mean to belittle the admirable work of many tree-lovers the city over.  My problem is this article, and that it doesn’t base its rather dramatic titling on anything other than casual observation.

If you want to prove a threatened tree canopy, give me something that shows that there’s a huge gap between old growth and new growth. Or something about how new growth just won’t cut it 100 years from now.  Anything that actually shows a vanishing canopy due to recent tree falls!

But whatever.  I guess anything that talks about Atlanta’s “identity” and doesn’t mention the words “Hotlanta” or “Southern Nights” might just be a good thing.

The new issue of Atlanta Magazine is out – at least in the fish-wrap edition – with the top 50 restaurants in the metro Atlanta area according to food writer Bill Addison.

In it, he ranks Decatur’s Cakes & Ale #3, behind only Bacchanalia and Restaurant Eugene.  Here’s a blurb…

Lately Allin has taken more risks. The ingredients still lead, by the flavor combinations and depth of technique bring more thrills.  A riff on vitello tonnato married buttery slices of cold poached pork loin to a mayonnaise infused with escolar, an oily fish.  An arugula, fennel, and celery salad curtailed the richness.  Mediterranean gusto inspired a platter of lamb saddle for two with braised pole beans, herbed fregula (a larger cousin to couscous), tomato, and think, minted yogurt as a rustic sauce.  I can hardly imagine better lamb, – not too gamy, not too mild, cooked to a blush.

Other Decatur area restaurants on the distinguished list of 50?  Community Q BBQ, Taqueria del Sol, and Watershed (with the intro – “Sensational news: Watershed is once again a destination restaurant.).

According to Trackside’s Facebook page (and J_T) the rebuilt tavern finally reopened to the public at 1pm today after a fire destroyed the space 2 1/2 years ago.

From the sounds of it, they’re hoping for a “soft open”.  Unfortunately, unless you do an “by invite only” sorta event, the internet easily turns a soft open into a pretty hardcore one in a matter of minutes!  Let the frivolity begin!

P.S.  Looks like Dave’s already there!  InDecatur’s got a nice pic of the interior posted if you’re interested.

Our first Eddie & Agnes show with The Civil Wars has nearly sold out, so we’ve added a second. Monday, October 10th at Gaines Chapel in Presser Hall on the Agnes Scott Campus. Twice the fun!
Buy your tickets HERE.

Chik-Fil-A Drive-Thru, Decatur GA (pic submitted by Luis)

The Transportation Executive Committee met yesterday in their first attempt to finalize the project list that will be put before voters next year when they go to the polls and decide whether they want to pay another penny in sales tax for transportation projects around the 12-county metro region.

As Mayor Bill Floyd said according to the AJC, “We’ve gotten to the crunch point.”

At yesterday’s meeting, the Atlanta Regional Commission provided the 6-member, 5-voting Transportation Roundtable Executive Committee with three sets of recommendations for the 2012 vote – one with an emphasis on roads(pdf), one with an emphasis on transit (pdf)and one that was “balanced” (pdf).  While no final decisions were made yesterday – one sticking point according to Green Building Chronicle has to do with how transit operating expenses are being calculated – there’s already a definite “direction” being taken by the Exec Committee in whittling down the list.  The AJC article on the subject says it best…

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