A Decatur High School parent wrote in the other day…

My two high school students have reported that DHS is having massive lines of kids waiting for “tardy slips” in the morning. One morning kid #1 was not in his seat when the 8:00am bell rang, sent to attendance office, stood in line for 15-20 minutes, BUT the line behind him was out the front door. He estimated 50 kids behind him. Other child reports kids showing up at the very end of first period this week, with several saying they had to stand in long lines for “tardy slips.”

With the DHS start time moved up to 8:00, is anyone tracking the consequences???

Asst. Superintendent Thomas Van Soelen provided this explanation…

DHS is teaching a life skill about being punctual (see Maureen Downey’s editorial in the AJC). This isn’t a new lesson to be taught at DHS, but the follow-through is more complete this year. Thus, it is hard to compare last year’s data to this year’s. A more streamlined process has been developed at the attendance office to get kids to classes further. For instance, on 8/15, the line had dissipated by 8:15.

If you’ve driven/biked/walked anywhere around the southern end of West Commerce lately, you’ll certainly have noticed the ongoing construction at Allen Wilson that’s forced traffic down to one lane along that strip.

Well, Commissioner Kecia Cunningham noted at Monday’s City Commission Meeting that the Decatur Housing Authority had secured financing and started construction on “The Oliver House” over at Allen Wilson.  That name “Oliver House” rang a few dusty bells in the deep recesses of my head, so I headed onto the information superhighway for a quick refresher in ongoing DHA construction projects.

Thankfully I quickly came upon this picture taken by InDecatur back in March 2010.  I had personally forgotten how different these senior living apartments would look compared to the already completed phase of Allen Wilson towards the southern end to the site, so I thought I’d post a refresher for all!

Jamestown Properties’ planned renovations to the old Sears warehouse on Ponce de Leon Ave has even got the New York Times all atwitter.  Or at least paying attention.

Early blueprints make Ponce City Market look not unlike Chelsea Market, the renovated biscuit factory that leases space to the Food Network and other technology and media companies. It will contain high-ceilinged office space, a range of restaurants, a food market, apartments, exhibition spaces, a skywalk and perhaps even an amusement park, Jamestown says.

The plan calls for reducing the building’s square footage by nearly half, to 1.2 million square feet, constructing a parking garage with at least 2,000 spaces inside the structure and demolishing many internal walls and ceilings. But Jamestown says it will preserve the exterior and as much equipment as possible from the original Sears department store and distribution center. A giant electrical panel will become the backdrop for a bar, and a train trestle will be repurposed as a pedestrian walkway.

Maybe I just haven’t been paying attention, but the article sure makes it sound like Jamestown knows what it’s doing.  In addition to owning NYC’s Chelsea Market, they’ve dealt with renovations of the former New York Port Authority (which was recently purchased by Google), and a section of Chattanooga called “Warehouse Row“.