Free-For-All Friday 9/16/11
Decatur Metro | September 16, 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.
Feel free to use this post to make comments and ask questions about local issues not discussed here over the past week.
Comments close Monday.
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Frabjous Day! I need a long sleeved tee shirt.
I have a great long sleeve Decatur Metro shirt – can’t wait to wear it this weekend. You should get one too.
Excellent idea!
I want everyone to know that Dave Jones and Tony Powers at Intown Hardware donated most of the flags that were used during the DHS 9/11 ceremony last week. Thanks guys for this and everything you do to help all the schools.
PS- Dave will be attending his 40th high school reunion (Saint Pius Class of 71) at the end of September. He looks pretty good for a pre-senior citizen don’t you think?
Question: Why do some people choose to walk in the street when there are perfectly good sidewalks on both sides? Not joggers, not stroller pushers, simply pedestrians. Sidewalks not really perfect, but absolutely walkable with no obstructing shrubbery or anything. It’s such a puzzle to me.
In New York City, one does that on deserted streets after dark. The space between the row of parked cars and the buildings is a risk in terms of muggings and worse. But I wouldn’t think this would be an issue in the City of Decatur! I think some male teens and young adults feel tough doing it, like they own the street. No explanation for anyone else!
Wife and I do that in our neighborhood (Lenox Place) as a lot of neighbors have trees/bushes that lean quite far over/on the sidewalk.
Also, I always see people walking WITH traffic, rather than AGAINST. Some are even wearing headphones. It’s worrisome.
Thanks to the inconsiderate neighbor on West Howard between Drexel and Melrose who hs filled the sidewalk with brush, I had to walk in the street on West Howard – not fun or advisable.
Said “inconsiderate neighbor” had a tree fall in the middle of the night, knocking out power to the Lenox Place neighborhood. A tree service cut up the part of the tree that fell into W Howard Ave. Try a little kindness please!
So, why didn’t the tree service remove the limbs? I had to go around that huge pile of brush to get to MARTA.
Sorry about your tree. I know that is expensive to deal with, not to mention the loss of shade, beauthy etc. But … clearing the debris off the sidewalk is just as important as getting it out of the street. Thank you for some consideration in that regard.
Not my tree. Just trying to clear up the misunderstanding of the neighbors’ intentions.
STG,
I’m not suggesting this is the case in your location, but my observations tell me that there has been a significant increase in the homeless population all around metro Atlanta (spend some time around the I-85 exits and entrances in Dekalb and Gwinnett and you’ll see it big time), and because many of these people have mental health issues, they sometimes ignore road rules.
I say this after nearly running over such a person the other night after returning from dinner with a friend in Norcross.
I have noticed a big increase in panhandling on certain streets, including the I-85 NE Expressway access roads. Panhandling used to be commonly seen intown in the early 1990s but had disappeared in many areas after that. It’s back and probably to stay from what the financial pundits are predicting.
I’ve also noticed an increase of it on the MARTA trains, where it is illegal.
Darn, I hadn’t noticed that yet, maybe because I always sit in the first car unless I’m late and leaping onto the train at the last minute, but I’m not surprised. That used to be more common years ago too. But back then, the MARTA police presence at stations on the East-West line was real sparce; it’s much better now.
My wife works near Peachtree Center MARTA station, and the nearby Pine St. shelter leads to a lot of panhandling in that area. I don’t notice it as much on the East-West line.
In my neighborhood (behind the TDS area – name??) I prefer the street because the sidewalks are in a rather deplorable condition and often littered with sticks and other natural debris. Additionally, especially at night, I feel safer walking in the street because there is greater visibility with more light available and I’m clear of potential lurkers hiding behind cars and trees etc. etc. Also, haven’t you heard that concrete is possible the absolute worst surface for knees/joints? Besides all the cracks and breaks in the concrete, it’s about 8 times harder than asphalt.
I do see the various scenarios you mention — people avoiding obstructive shrubbery, individuals who are obviously confused, young men posturing — but what I’m talking about is a phenomenon I’ve been seeing around Atlanta for the 20+ years I’ve lived here (not just in Decatur). Somebody who is pretty clearly middle-class and middle-aged, unencumbered by a shopping cart or baby stroller or anything, walking down the middle of a traffic lane when there are traversable sidewalks on both sides of the street. It’s not a constant thing, but something I notice at least once a month and completely don’t understand.
Ne’er do wells.
Sidewalks aren’t kept clear. There are bushes, garbage cans, recycling bins, mailboxes, and often cars. Alarmingly frequent are vehicles parked on driveways but blocking sidewalks. When you have a stroller it sometimes feels safer to stay in the street than to constantly weave on and off of it. If we want walking to be a full alternative, we’ll have to enforce our codes better. Sidewalks should be unencumbered. They’re usually not.
Guilty as charged.
I’m happy to walk on the sidewalk but often don’t. Why? Obstructions, other people on said sidewalks (esp when I have the dogs) and at night, the ability of my 40+ year old eyes to see holes, etc. Then there’s the other walkers and even bikers (grrr) who won’t/don’t realize that sidewalks are 2-way and won’t yield a little space.
Those who don’t spend alot of time on their feet either running or walking aren’t aware of these nuances of sidewalk transportation. Sometimes, you just gotta get in the street.
I don’t know why, on unbusy streets, it’s an issue worth worrying about. I have ears (even with earbuds) and eyes and if a car is coming I get out of the way.
We are boulevardiers.
The one that mystifies me is people walking or running in the middle of the road and when I say “middle of the road” I mean literally the middle of the road. One guy in particular runs with a dog on his right so the dog is even further into traffic.
Oh, how we love fall break. Longest wait at the Magic Kingdom yesterday? Ten minutes. And the weather was bearable.
On another topic, tomorrow’s a big day. Pulling for my Seminoles to avenge last year’s embarrassment by beating the top-ranked OU Sooners. F-L-O-R-I-D-A S-T-A-T-E Florida State Florida State Florida State! Wooooo!
Yeah, but it was SO hot in South Florida this week. The high nineties, relentless sun, and kissing fly season is not ideal. If we are going to schedule the fall break for the convenience of vacationing families, I’d like to move it back two weeks to the end of September.
Not a fan of fall break, which is hard on many two career and single working parent families, but I have to admit that the teachers love it. It’s all I heard around the schools in the week before the break. I’m glad of that.
You’d have to pay for or arrange child-care during the summer, and school started early. City agencies offer summer care. Why is this schedule more inconvenient for you? Not critical, just want to “hear” what you have to say.
Not just us, all the rest of the 2/3 of families who voted against the balanced schedule. (That survey should be repeated because maybe folks feel differently now, in one direction or another).
We were battling kissing flies so obviously we adapted. But we’d prefer not to because:
– In many professional fields, work conferences are scheduled for September-November and February-April to avoid the summer and winter breaks that they expect workers with families to take. September breaks are not expected.
– Many sports still have practices during the break so middle and high schoolers don’t want to leave town.
– Camps exist for younger children, not for middle or high schoolers, some of whom do not make wise choices when they have huge amounts of time alone. Summer job and volunteer options are generally not available in September.
– The camp choices for September were fewer this year and some required a whole week of enrollment. Some filled as evidenced by the flurry of emails circulating about which camps were available. Summer has many more camps available
– If one likes to visit or travel with relatives over breaks, no other children are off from school in September.
– Some folks cannot afford camps or travel. In this economy, the under-employed cannot be asking for leave at times that employers find inconvenient. Employers are more likely to understand leave around conventional holidays and are often taking off themselves. September is gear back up time.
I could probably think of about 10 more things I don’t like about September breaks. As I said, I’m not a fan of them. But those who like it, e.g. teachers, could come up with 20 things they like. I’d love a new poll but I doubt it would change anything. My guess is that this time close to 100% of teachers would be for the break because I’ve heard nothing but support from them except for the few that have children in another system and cannot vacation with them. About the same number of parents would probably be for it, not necessarily the same 1/3.
If we are going to have a September break, I’d love to have it two weeks later when the drive-able destinations in the Southeast are cooler. For us, the second week of September is inconvenient to take off from work and too hot to really enjoy as a vacation. Do I think this will happen?….No. But this Free-for-all Friday so I indulged.
I don’t have a dog in this hunt, so to speak, so it doesn’t affect me; however, I cannot understand the point of a September break when school just started a month ago. If I were a working parent, I would not be happy about having to explain a post-Labor Day, September break to a boss.
Well, I’m a working parent so I’ll chime in: The prospect of going to the beach off-season, with half the crowds and half the cost while the weather is still summery, is highly family friendly. My wife and I both work and we love the Sept. break. (Not advocating. Just sharing my perspective.)
Hear hear!!! Love the September break.
Posted from St. George Island.
There is a broad spectrum in terms of how much vacation time is available to the working parent and how much control she or he has when it comes to scheduling it.
I’ll play, from the more academic side of things. This year one of my kids has had an unusually difficult time adjusting to a new grade and new school. We’ve been working really hard on this for weeks. The first good week she had? Sept. 6-9. Then we all went on break.
Even for our other kids who have not had adjustment struggles, the September break comes at a time when we’ve finally settled into our routines and are feeling good about being back in school. Sports have JUST started so we’re adding that to our schedules. Then to suddenly have a week off just throws everything and everyone off. In my opinion, the September break in particular is a train wreck academically, both for struggling and non-struggling students. I can’t wait to see the evidence that proves I’m right about that!
I would also like to see another survey, but I’d love for the high schoolers to be surveyed too. My high schooler complained last year that it seemed to take the entire academic year to get a grip on stoichiometry because every time she almost got it, she had another week off from school.
Yikes, I hadn’t thought of stoichiometry in a long, long, long time, nor tried to spell it. Shame on us who go vacation willy nilly while brave students are desperately trying to hold on to the principles of stoichiometry! Kudos to your brave child for surviving it!
Let’s go Seminoles!
Damn, I used to like both Token and Sarene. Now I found out they are FSU fans. See folks, this is why we need to keep our anonymity! You say things that make you sound like nice, reasonable people but then I find out that in real life you are warpaint wearing, tomahawk chopping Yahoos!
Unfortunately, I can’t name my alma mater without exposing my true identity. That, or I’ll be accused of being nittany313’s alter ego
Can we at least agree to despise the Gators?
Yes. Yes, we can!
+1
Right with ya on the fall break and Seminoles! Nobody at the beach and hopefully we will take care of those Sooners!
This is first time in my life that I care whether the Seminoles win or not. Since the Sooners are arch rivals of the Texas Longhorns, I will be cheering for the Seminoles
We also enjoyed an uncrowded Disney last week. However, I enjoyed the Saturday night game against FSU. BOOMER SOONER!
Alas, it was not meant to be for FSU.
Have to give it to OU…they really are an outstanding team. Hoping they can break the SEC lock on national championships.
Approx. 15 cars were stopped for an unloading school bus near intersection of Chamblee Tucker Road and Mercer University Drive. Two of the three lanes on my side of the median were blocked, so I used the right lane to proceed. I was the only driver who did not stop. Was I right or wrong?
I looked it up in the GA DDS driving manual (handy because I have two teens) — see below for identical online version. The word HIGHWAYS may be the crux. Does Chamble Tucker at the intersection, with its five lanes of traffic and median strip, constitute a HIGHWAY?
http://www.dds.ga.gov/docs/forms/FullDriversManual.pdf
see page 100
“Sharing the Road With School Buses
In most cases, all drivers are required to stop when approaching or meeting a stopped school bus that has its lights flashing and is loading or unloading passengers. The exception to this rule is when highways are separated in the center by median strips. In this situation, only vehicles following or traveling alongside a school bus in the same direction must stop.”
If you were on the other side of the median traveling in the opposite direction, you were OK.
Doesn’t sound like she was on the other side of the median, though.
Sorry, I didn’t make it more clear. I was not travelling in the same direction as the bus, and I was on the other side of the median.
My understanding is that it has to be separated by a concrete divider.
To me, the important issue, which may or may not be related to the legal issue, is which way are the children crossing.
Any recommendations for a local dry cleaner that does a good job on leather and suede?
Courtesy Cleaners on Dekalb Industrial just past the Horizon School on right. They are a little pricey, but do great work!
I know there was a similar thread a month or so ago about children’s dentist, but wondered if any Decaturite had a great local dentist for adults who’s still taking new client… Thanks!
Dr. Marvin Winter, downtown Decatur
Michele Chartier, on Clairmont near N Druid Hills
I was the one who asked, and ended up going to Wesley Powell at northlake. My terrified 5 year old loved him and asked, afterwards, if she could go to the dentist every day!
Elise Ashpole, up near Clairemont and N. Druid hills. The BEST!
Looking for a reliable, inexpensive interior house painter in the Decatur area. I hope that is not too much to ask! Does anyone have any recommendations? Thanks!
George Chanos, 678-973-5640
sorry, I meant to add that he and his team did a great job on our interior, threw in some touch up work for free, and we will definitely have them back for future work.
Anyone else in decatur lose power from about 2am-10am wed night/thurs morning? or was it just Lenox Place?
We did – near Great Lakes. It happened before 5:45 a.m.
Saw Georgia-Power working on a downed tree near the water tower on DeKalb on Thursday morning and street was dark, so that’s probably what did it. I drove by just before 7 am.
Yep, tree fell from a house on Howard onto the power lines (near Drexel Ave.) Power went out at 2:40am, was restored sometime around 11 (or so I hear, that’s when Georgia Power called me back while I was at work).
Peacefully sitting on the deck with my coffee this morning and this bomb landed on my head. http://on.fb.me/nq0EZr
Ouch! Anyone know what it is?
A blank page is all I see. What did you see?
Can’t open it — “page currently unavailable”
Sorry about that. I guess I don’t know how to upload a photo. I’ll describe it: A sphere, about the size and density of a golf ball. They start falling in August when they are still green. It seemed to be moving at some velocity when it hit my head, so I conclude that it fell from a high branch. These trees are in my neighbor’s jungle-like yard, so I can’t tell what tree it’s from. But it scored a direct hit. I guess I should simply be happy that I’m not in Miami, where it would have been a coconut.
Black walnut is HIGHLY prized among woodcrafter types, not that you would take a tree down simply because it’s dropping stuff on your noggin.
Black walnut is HIGHLY prized among woodcrafter types, not that you would take a tree down simply because it’s dropping stuff on your noggin. Every time a hickory nut dents my hood, I wonder how much those long planks would be worth.
From your description, my first thought is a Sweetgum fruit perhaps? If it is that, those things nearly cause me to roll an ankle about once a week when I walk outside on my porch and forget they are there.
Sweetgum balls are smaller and have spikes. Sounds like a walnut to me.
They are black walnuts. You have to get past the outer green husk to get to the nut (which is still inside a shell that has to be cracked). The process involves getting dark blackish-brown stain all over yourself. I’ve never done it, but read about it somewhere. There’s a tree in the vacant yard next door to me, so I can relate to the experience of getting bonked on the head out of nowhere!
Yep black walnuts. My grandparents had them. They also had 2 chestnut trees (believe it or not) and when one of those fell out of the tree it was like getting hit with a small hedgehog.
Looking for a good house cleaning service and chimney cleaning service. Anyone use some good ones?
LM Richardson Chimney Cleaning 404-289-1695 has always done a good job for us. I also
have a housekeeper, but I wouldn’t really recommend her. I’d fire her myself but she’s just so darn nice.
Haha I’m the same kind of sucker. Too funny.
Thanks – Hubs asked me to schedule a chimney sweep and I just called them – very nice and now they are coming over next week.
We use Fresh Start for housecleaning. The woman who started the business is coach of the Fugees. They are great, trustworthy and thorough. 678-596-6044 or http://www.freshstartatl.com. She started the business after she learned how poorly the moms of her players were being treated working as hotel maids.
Thanks for this info. I’ve never heard of this company but might look into using them. Sounds like a great concept.
I’m looking for firewood recommendations. I’ve tried Hickey’s Tree Service three times, but they are finally too expensive for me. Anyone else here buy firewood every year? Thanks.
There is a guy behind Melton’s – no idea what the business is called, but we get a carload from him each year.
Thanks! I will check this out. I buy two cords every year and go through it, so I’m looking to buy in quantity, have it dumped in the driveway, and we will stack.
He might do that too – we just don’t go thru that much firewood, so I have never asked.
I am looking to have two slipcovers made for a single, long (smaller than single mattress size) couch cushion. It should be very simple and quick for someone who sews, but that’s not me! I have the material, would prefer a zipper or velcro closing, maybe a piping along the edge.
Suggestions?
I was in Los Angeles last weekend and my friend introduced me to the CFO of Trader Joe’s. I told him I was from Decatur and he looked up and smiled and said “oh we have heard of Decatur. Your town is very persistent in contacting us about a location there”. He then went on to tell me it won’t be happening…the numbers just don’t work for them and he said that the midtown location is a really nice one but he wishes the roads near it were paved better and he was excited that we may go with Sunday alcohol sales.
I can’t resist giving this its own post!
Well, the other day when I was in LA I met the Kardashian with the big caboose and she said they are opening soon in Decatur. Take that Traitor Joe.
I’ll need Pretty Wife’s confirmation on that before we can turn it into a 500 comment post. Thanks.
Was he more specific about the numbers? Is it simply a matter of density?
I’m not one of those who’s dying to have a Trader Joe’s, but I’m very curious about their location evaluation process.
Income, income, income.
I think you meant revenue, revenue, revenue.
Nope. To be more specific, they look at Household Income of the surrounding area. Decatur’s at the fringe of an affluent area. It needs to be at the center for TJ’s to “make the numbers work”.
I don’t want to violate any of DM’s rules here but wanted to share a recent experience with Eyeworks Decatur. I will try to be strictly factual.
In 2009 I bought a very expensive new pair of frames and lenses from them. About 15 months later (3 months or so after the warranty expired), they literally fell apart at a key joint connection the right lens to the bridge. Eyeworks tried to help me fix them, but nothing worked. They were a total loss.
Eyeworks offered to sell me the same pair (new) for 1/2 off. I agreed to buy them and use them as a backup pair of glasses. At the same time, I decided to buy yet another, even more expensive pair of frames/lenses from them, mainly to get transitions lenses.
Fast forward to about 16 months or so after that purchase, and the expensive new transitions lenses look terrible. A clear coating on the lenses is literally receding from the edges of the lenses and it is clearly noticeable. I took them into Eyeworks and said what’s up with this? In 20 years of wearing glasses I have never seen anything like it (and this is not my first pair of transitions).
They said you’re cleaning them wrong, but I responded that all I have ever used is the cleaning rag you gave me or very occasionally water and a paper towel. So they caucus in the back of the store and say the warranty is expired but we’ll sell you the same pair again for 1/2 off. Even at 1/2 off this is several hundred dollars out of my pocket.
I object and point out that I did that last time and this is the second pair of frames that has pretty much fallen apart within months of warranty expiration. I explain I am a repeat customer and I they need to stand behind their product, especially in light of the previous problems I have had and the fact that I stuck with them as a customer. They again caucus in the back room and the owner/manager can be heard in the front of the store loudly and adamantly refusing to do anything but sell me the same glasses again for 1/2 off. I decline the offer and walk out.
To sum up, I have purchased three very expensive pairs of glasses at Eyeworks (way over $1,000 total) in 3 years. Two have become basically unwearable within the first two years of ownership. The third is still alive but has hardly been worn, since it was a backup pair. I won’t be returning for a fourth.
I’ve always been wary of Eyeworks after reading their Yelp reviews. I’ve gone to Reagin Optemetric Group for over 10 years and have been very happy with them.
I posted a review on Yelp after this happened, and it seems to have disappeared.
Yelp’s algorithm can be a real pain. Did you add a profile picture and review a couple other places? Otherwise, the Yelp site thinks you’re a spammer / fake reviewer (known on Yelp as “orangeheads”) and they delete the review.
Nope, that would be way too much effort. They must have deleted it. Thanks for the info, though, wish I had known that ahead of time.
I recent went to Decatur Eye Care in Oakhurst and was quite satisfied. I avoided Eyeworks because of the Yelp and Kudzo reviews.
I love Decatur Eye Care – they really care about their clients and will even come in during unusual hours if you need. Can’t imagine going anywhere else!
+ many. Dr. Brillante and wife love Decatur and we love them back.
I third this. Love that place.
I also had a bad (not terrible, but I won’t go back) experience there.
I went to eyeworks for the first (and only) time in Dec 2010. I have to say it was my least favorite experience of any eye place in my life. This includes when I was a kid decades ago and had the option of trying those “new” (at the time) hard contact lenses since they didn’t make soft ones for my prescription at the time.
I went in for an eye exam and to pickup a pair of glasses, I had eye insurance through work and figured I’d finally put it to use. Previously, I had broken my only pair of glasses and went to a walmart nearby to use my eye insurance for a quick free exam and the cheapest pair of glasses I could get. After getting the glasses from walmart, I felt the Rx was wrong, so this is when I went to Eyeworks. (walmart eye shows slightly worse Rx in one eye, but gigantic difference in another eye, not sure if this was the optometrist or what).
Eyeworks was easy to schedule an appt, I arrived about 15 min early, and checked in, then sat down. About 30 seconds later I felt I was in a car dealership. A gentleman approached me and informed me he wanted to see what style of glasses I liked, I had about 14 min till my appt time so I said sure. I looked through their selection, found a pair I liked, he said he’d have them waiting for when I was done with the appt to order. Seemed fine with me (granted he was pushy about the $$$$ models they had).
I get called in for the eye exam. I explained that I had went to another eye place to have an exam done, felt it was wrong, and would like a 2nd opinion. The woman, (can’t remember her name, older blondish hair, glasses) then told me that sometimes we have eye Rx’s we don”t like and that “god” makes us that way, etc”. I immediately thought what the hell is going on here. After some persuasion, she started the eye exam rather than just having me go order a pair of glasses with them using my previous prescription (seemed shady and then the god stuff made me think I had stumbled into a cult lair).
She looked at my previous Rx, and then started the eye exam, sometimes listening to my opinion on the (which is clearer, 1 or 2) questions, sometimes seemingly not. It seemed like she was trying to get me to say that the previous Rx was correct.
Seemed very very strange to me. After a few more minutes of this, she said my Rx was the same. and sent me to the front.
At the front a different salesperson, I think it may have been the owners wife, or the co-owner, asked me to pick out a frame and whatnot. The first salesman saw her talking to me and said something along the lines of “oh that’s my customer”, they stood to the side and talked quietly for a second. He then brought over the pair I chose, and she asked me to look around and make sure they were the ones I wanted. I figured what the hell, so I looked again, thinking in my head, yeah I’m just not going to buy anything here, but I wonder how much they want.
I chose a 2nd pair just to compare. While they did have a large amount of nice looking and $$$$$$$ priced glasses, the ones I liked turned out to be the nearly cheapest ones they offered (a seemingly bargain compared to the other inventory) at around 100$.
I asked how much it would be for them in my Rx, with things I usually got them with, i.e. anti reflection coating, scratch resistant coating. She explained that because of my Rx, I should go with poly-carbonate rather than glass lenses because of the weight difference and PC lenses don’t have the huge outer sides that glass ones do for high strength Rx’s. I have been told this before, and while I find it to be true, that wasn’t what I was looking for that day.
She started talking about I would need this and can’t have this without this and so on. somehow the 100$ frames, came to be about $450, minus my $200 eye ins. benefit, I’d be out $250 before tax. I cracked up. asked them for a copy of my Rx and decided to leave. I didn’t ask if they included the pupilary distance because right after selecting the frames she had a machine that measured it and I asked her what it was, and what each number she didn’t seemed thrilled that I saw were. (i also asked at walmart previously, but was told it was proprietary information that they couldn’t give out, when I asked how information about a part of my body was proprietary to someone else and couldn’t be known to me, I was told that “that’s the way it is, we don’t give it out”. )
Not long after this, I asked my wife what she liked about her Eye Dr. She stated she found him through reviews on a number of websites and thought the service was great.
I went to this one the next month, and sure enough the Rx was nowhere near what the walmart and eyeworks said. This person actually listened when I said x is better than x, x is blurrier than x, etc. This person was also fine when I said after all of these debacles, I’d rather just order glasses off the internet. They printed out my Rx w/ PD. and thanked me for coming in. Light years difference than the previous 2 places. No pushiness or anything. (the dr was Ken Boxer, at the lenscrafters on N Druid, in front of target.) I was worried at first since his practice was in the lenscrafters I’d be subjected to the buy this buy this buy that type of thing, but the wife had a good experience so I tried it.
The glasses I ordered (from Zenni) with the Rx from Dr Boxer, compared to a pair I bought from WM (same Rx at WM and Eyeworks) was amazingly better. also, both eyes were close to each other, can’t figure out why Eyeworks wouldn’t listen to me when i said i thought the Rx was wrong.
Sorry for the Novel length post, but long story short, I felt like I was in a car dealership with commissioned salespeople at Eyeworks and didn’t feel like I received great service, went elsewhere and was really happy..
I feel like I got lucky; I actually had a pretty good experience with Eyeworks and never felt pressured to buy anything. My only slight complaint is that the employees seemed a bit snooty.
The woman who performed my eye exam was definitely not the same one you experienced. I find it hard to believe that a professional in this day and age, and in downtown Decatur, would ascribe your vision complaint to “God”. I believe I would have been tempted to say “which one? so I know who to complain to” or something else smart-alecky.
As to the pd being proprietary information, that is of course the standard answer now to discourage you from doing exactly what you did: buying glasses online.
I am reminded that I encountered the PD issue with Eyeworks as well. I called one day (a while back) and asked for it, and they said they would not give it to me. I finally had to convince them that I was buying a pair of prescription cycling glasses that they did not sell. Then they finally gave me the PD number.
LOVE Dr. Boxer, have seen him for years, me and the whole family. Don’t care for the larger enveloping chain store, so we order contact lenses online.
Third vote for Dr. Boxer. Gives me all my numbers and the sales staff were quite helpful when I was trying to figure out the best option, my insurance or their lens sale. Dr. Boxer told me the internet was fine for simple prescriptions, but he didn’t recommend online ordering for people with progressive lenses.
I had a similar upsell experience on the eyeglasses at Eyeworks. I was ready to leave because the eyeglasses were all really expensive (and not what I was asking for) and then they opened a drawer — previously undisclosed — that had the reasonably priced frames I wanted. They were clearly hiding them hoping I would pick a more expensive pair that was not the right style for me.
My experience with the doctor and the exam was good — it was just the front of the store that I felt was the upsell and poor customer service.
I just got back from picking up a repaired pair of. My daughter’s glasses from Highland Eye Boutique, which is in the strip mall next to Alon’s. My wife and I also have glasses from there. I can’t say enough good things about this business: the selection and service are both first rate. You pay for it, but they treat their customers well; they’ve given us good prices on replacement frames and other stuff. The best thing, though, is Charlie–an obese bulldog who makes us look for excuses to go.
Similar experience with the coating. Got a nice pair of glasses and within a couple months the coating was scratched all over, despite the fact that I only use a soft cloth and water for cleaning (as instructed by them). To their credit, they said the coating looked faulty and sent them out for a free redo. However, now a couple months later and the new coating’s doing the same thing. Think my next step is Decatur Eye Care in Oakhurst and just ask them to strip it off.
It looks like there is enough anti-Eyeworks here, but just wanted to chime in and say that I did not have a good experience with them. The doctor was fine, but the customer service was not. I had to hassle just to get the free sample of lens solution that you ALWAYS get at ANY eye doctor when you buy some new contacts. A lady working the front was just generally less than courteous.
Is Harbour Bar open yet?
Not yet.
Our AT&T u-verse has been out since Tuesday and getting a technician to come out has been difficult. Anyone else having issues?
It seems that U-verse technicians are hard to come by. We tried to sign up for U-verse, but it was going to take them over a month to install it! We went with Comcast instead (even though we can’t stand Comcast).
I had the same problem getting UVerse installed initially. But since then, the service, particularly Internet, has been far more reliable than Comcast was.
I (not advertising, since I used to work at ATT) had comcast from 2006-10, as Uverse wasn’t available on my street, and the only DSL offered was a very low speed.
Late 2010 Uverse goes green on my street, I sign up, install date was about 3 weeks out I believe, and since, it’s been great. It’s only gone down 3 times since we’ve had it, (little over a year now) and two of those times have been trees down in the neighborhood taking down all of the lines (including this past wednesday night) and another time it was out for about an hour sometime in early summer.
This is a HUGE improvement over comcast, that sporadically every day or other day would go down for minutes or hours at a time. I called comcast hundred of times about it as I work from home and they sent someone out about 1/4 of the time. No issue found ever, be it at the pole, the aerial, or my house. Was not pleased, but at the time, was the fastest (when it was up) connection for the money.
Since we switched to Uverse, it’s been great. No complaints. (hopefully I didn’t jinx myself)
Disagree.
I’ve had U-Verse since December 2008. I’ve had only 2 outages and both times they were handled efficiently. I got automated reminder phone calls and both times the technician called while on site at the previous appointment to tell me he was wrapping up and would be my way shortly.
My experience with U verse was terrible. 24 site visits, three house rewirings, 4 DVR replacements then they replaced about five hundred feet of wire on the street. They still could not provide a usable signal and gave up. Then they tried to bill for five hundred dollars even though I was in a free trial period. All of the employees I dealt with were professional and helpful unfortunately their organization (ATT) didn’t give them the tools needed to provide a successful outcome. Signed back up with Comcast and had it working in a couple of hours.
Completely down, or do you happen to know if the connection was having trouble syncing, or if the cable is actually still out there?
I’ve had a neighbor that has had the ATT aerial from the pole across the street from us, to her roof, snapped by construction trucks 4 times in the past 4 months.
oddly enough, there seems to be a few former (myself included) and active ATT employees in my neighborhood.
All services completely down. At first, they told us it would be October 1st before they could repair the problem (external to our house) but after some intense begging, they offered to send a tech today. He never showed up after I waited all day. Frustrating.
Since the car v. bike and kid v. no kid arguments have been beaten to death how about a new blog battle? The “I love to use my leaf blower early, often and for long periods of time” people v. Those who want to run outside and stick said leafblowers…?
What are leaf blowers used for, exactly? That’s my question.
They seem to be very effective tools for landscape services, for inflating invoices. Example: at a house near me, the service comes every week and every single time, year round, they run the leaf blower for a minimum of 30 minutes. The lawn is very small, btw. When there are no leaves to blow (75% or more of the year), they spend the time blowing dust off the sidewalk into the gutter and then blowing everything in the gutter down to the storm drain. Sometimes they blow the gutter clean by blowing everything into the street past the center line, scattering it about in the direction of the opposite gutter. The property is on a corner, so that gives them probably 100 feet or so of gutter to clean. It’s very noisy, and IMO it’s very unnecessary to stir up all that dust from the ground and generate all those exhaust fumes. In the past, they’ve also cut the grass and used the edger, but that hardly ever was needed this summer with the weather so dry. So they just run the blower for an extra-long time. Every week, like clockwork.
And we wonder why many Atlanta afternoons are under Code Orange air quality alerts.
Not that it’s an excuse, but these are desperate times for many people in that business, with the drought, the virtual absence of new residential construction, and the economy in general all factored in. Too many people with not enough work to do.
Agreed. I try to be considerate of them, as they are of me, often idling their blowers when I pass on my bicycle.
Leaf Blowers. Perfect example that there is no energy crisis. (Now, or even on the horizon…)
– Guilty of using a leaf vac a couple of times a year…
Oh my goodness, I really dislike leafblowers. I saw a guy at universal joint the other day using one for what seemed like 30 mins to try and blow 2 cigarette ends, 1 napkin and a bit of dust into the road. I could have run home, got a dustpan and shovel, and got it all into a trash can in less than 20 mins! It was a hot day too, and even I the fumes seemed to follow me for ages…. The noise is so grating too, probably because I know how pointlessly wasteful they are and how badly polluting they are….
Thought-provoking article! Some of the comments are real interesting too, if a bit discouraging, e.g. the observations that our society at large has moved away from character values and that those without character often feel “happy” so have no incentive to reflect upon their deficits and change.
Thought-provoking article! Some of the comments are real interesting too, if a bit discouraging, e.g. the observations that our society at large has moved away from character values and that those without character often feel “happy” so have no incentive to reflect upon their deficits and change.
This is supposed to be under the SAT scores thread, not here and not in duplicate. Sorry. Don’t know if it’s operator error or thread tangling.
I’d say making noise, and they are darn good at it.
Does anyone know of a good window blind company for repairs? I have contacted 4 companies I found online, only one has returned my call. We have some broken horizontal wooden blinds.
“NiceFamilyDog” thread has been deleted. Too many personal attacks in there.
+1,000,000,000
But it would be nice if you could post the original post so the dog can find a good home. Just disable comments.
Sadly, on Craigslist you’ll find basically the same ad on any given day.
(I only saw the first 4 comments. BenJT nailed it.)
Whoah, you’re good, DM– I missed the whole thing!
Where can I find the widest variety of loose herbs and spices around here? I’d love to experiment more in the kitchen but hate having to buy enough of one spice to last 150 years when a small bit would do.
Same here. Haven’t found a local source for purchasing loose, but at YDFM the prices are generally much, much lower than the branded spices at the supermarket. So even though buying bigger quantity than I want, at least it’s not such a huge investment.
I can’t imagine any place around here having more than the Dekalb Farmer’s Market. And they are much less expensive than a supermarket.
Bhojanic Market has small packages of Indian herbs and apparently advice and recipes. I wish I was a good enough cook to experiment. So I just eat their delicious thalis and curries.
But >>>$$$ than YDFM. You can find recipes on the internets!
AMB, in my group thanks, I forgot to mention Bhojanic. Delicious food! Now, if I could only remember what I learned in an Indian cooking class five years ago….
Highly recommend Patel Brothers if you need Indian spices or ingredients. It’s the only Indian grocery store I have been to so I may be getting totally ripped off, but in terms of variety and helpfulness of the staff, it’s been great. Since I am not Indian, I feel like they go out of their way to make sure I find what I need and leave happy. Also, the chef/owner from Bhojanic teaches classes at Cook’s Warehouse which are also excellent.
+1. I lurrrves the variety of loose spices at YDFM! They’re so cheap, it doesn’t really matter that you can’t buy a tiny bit– I mean, we’re talking pennies per ounce here.
Sevenanda has bulk herbs and spices. The weight involved is so light, though, that you won’t really save any money over YDFM. Sharing the extra is also an option. (I just know one of these days I’m going to get pulled over, and the conversation’s going to go, “No, Officer. It’s really not a bag of weed. It’s herbs de provence for my momma!” :0)
Oops. Sevananda.
I don’t know about herbs de provence, but I can tell you from personal experience (if only because the statute of limitations on my younger smoking days has long since passed) that you really don’t want to confuse your weed with your oregano.
Another thing you don’t want to do is get pulled over just after using Ambersol for a tooth ache.
Y’all are crackin’ me up!!! Don’t tease us!!! Spill!!! :0)
Penzey’s Spices has just opened a store on Roswell Road. It’s a great, family-run business based in Wisconsin. They have every spice you could ever want, very fresh, at excellent prices. You can choose to buy a very small amount if you want. Really fast delivery if you order online, or you can check out the new store. I’ve ordered spices from them for years, and I’m a huge fan.
Agree….Penzey’s is great. I had no idea that they opened on Roswell Rd. It will save me the side trip everytime I go to Richmond to refill my stock.
Sevananda, YDFM, the new Penzey’s — great ideas! I knew that fellow Decaturites would have good suggestions. Thanks, everybody.
DM,
Thank you for monitoring this blog so closely and taking down offensive posts. The exchange that was just taken down was unbelievable and downright despicable.
Bulldog
Wow, I missed that thread entirely. What was the gist of the exchange if there’s a way to summarize without being offensive? I assumed that something titled Nice Family Dog was full of the usual oohs and aaahs about a cute animal.
I think it was a difference of opinions on parental/personal responsibility. I don’t think there were any personal attacks as it is doubtful anyone posting knows the family personally.
You don’t need to know someone personally to engage in a personal attack. If anything it’s my description that’s lacking.
Aw man, how did I miss all the fun? Damn actually having to work sometimes!
If you, I, and Karass missed it, it wasn’t ever there.
Darn, I missed it, too. That’ll teach me to go on vacation during Fall break.
Did you take your “dress” shoes?
True dat! No more vacations or working for us. Ever!
OK, now I don’t feel so bad– I’m not the only one who missed it. Heh! Usually, I’m in the middle of controversial threads…
/RANT ON
If you haven’t updated your address on your driver’s license, leave it at home! The fine for the former is $200+, while the fine for not having it on one’s person is a paltry $16.50. What nonsense. That $200 would have done much more good at a local Decatur business IMO.
RANT OFF/
OK, I have to ask: How did you get a ticket for not changing your address? The only way for a cop to know is to ask if the address on your license is current and, if not, when did you move. What police department did this? I got into an accident a few months ago and before the officer could write down my address from my license I told him that he’d probably want my current address instead. He asked how recently I moved. When I said “29 days, of course” he just laughed and said that he would never actually ticket anyone for that but was just curious how many people even knew the law.
You didn’t actually pay the fine yet, did you? You can almost always have that ticket dismissed completely if you show up to the court date with your updated license.
Thanks for asking. I was ticketed by a motorcycle officer working for the DPD. I was initially pulled for not wearing a seatbelt. I answered the question honestly about my DL because I never suspected anything this ridiculous happening. Me and my children learned a very valuable lesson about honesty, authority and naive stupidity (my own).
Again, I am mostly shocked that the fine for not even bothering to carry a DL is so relatively small.
I’d be PISSED. Chief Booker or Deputy Chief Lee can spin it however they want, but this is outrageous. When they ticket cyclists who proceed through a red light after sitting there for several minutes and making sure it’s safe, they can still at least couch that in terms of public safety. But when a police officer asks you a question, TO WHICH YOU HAVE NO LEGAL DUTY TO EVEN RESPOND TO (I’ll bet he left that part out), simply in the hopes that you will truthfully answer in a way that lets him write you a $200 ticket, there’s no way to explain it other than as a money grab.
Yeah. I am. It’s mostly unfortunate b/c I generally assume goodwill when dealing with things related to the city. Again, lesson learned.
“TO WHICH YOU HAVE NO LEGAL DUTY TO EVEN RESPOND TO”
Sorry, but I don’t understand your statement. If an officer asks you a legitimate question like “Is this your correct address?”, you need to answer the question. If you answer it truly and the answer constitutes a citation because your current address is not on your license, it is the officer’s discretion whether or not to write you one. If do not answer truthfully and the officer determines that (because they will check regardless), then you have just turned a civil citation into a criminal matter of providing false information to a police officer.
As was shown recently in the library case, the time to challenge the acts of an officer is not on the scene, but later in court.
If an officer asks you a legitimate question like “Is this your correct address?”, you need to answer the question.
_________________
If this is a blanket statement, then no way jose. The only items you have to present to an officer is your insurance card and driver’s license. You do not have to answer any questions, period. However, whether the information on your license is correct, is probably a question that lives in the gray area…
I didn’t say you HAD to answer the question, I said you NEED to answer the question. But, refusal to answer will certainly raise an officer’s suspicion and begin to lead to a due cause situation.
Not answering a question that is not legally required to be answered is absolutely not “due cause.”
Actually, it *might* be “due cause”, if only because I don’t know what “due cause” is. It’s just not “probable cause” or “articulable suspicion”.
Indeed. Hence my use of quotation marks! Haha!
The problem with this scenario, I think, is that if you know your address is incorrect on the license and the officer asks, you can either answer truthfully or refuse to answer. If you do the latter, the officer is going to look for any possible reason to detain you. Is it worth it to avoid a fine, especially since you actually have failed to comply with the law by not updating the address? I don’t think it is.
I just can’t buy into this line of thinking. So, we should play nice with the police officer so he won’t be a complete jerk and try to find something to harass us for. You can have that. I agree with J_T, this is why cops push the legal limits on a regular basis.
That’s fine. I have no problem with you or others standing on principle in this scenario. But I would not choose to do so. I wouldn’t submit to a search, but, as you said, this is a “grey area,” and I don’t think it is worth the hassle. After all, we are required to carry driver’s licenses, and those licenses are supposed to be kept updated. The officer can ask to see your license; it’s not the same as if an officer came up to a pedestrian and asked for an address.
I totally get the conflict between the principle and the practical. The problem is that when we lean towards the practical, giving up some rights in an attempt to “play nice” and being able to move along, it encourages law enforcement to take shortcuts. Fortunately, I’ve found that most officers are completely understanding when you make it known in a clear and reasonable manner that you know your rights and that you will not be waiving any of them. Rather than getting confrontational about it, most choose the most practical course for themselves, which is to move on to the next guy who will be easier to interrogate or search.
Nope, my statement was, is and will be (until we allow the government to take the rest our civil liberties away) entirely correct. When an officer pulls you over for a traffic violation, they can detain you only long enough to cite you for that violation unless they have reasonable articulable suspicion to believe that another crime has been, or is being, committed (i.e., they smell alcohol on your breath and decide to investigate for DUI).
They can all the questions they want, but you have no legal obligation to respond or to acquiesce. For instance, they can ask to search your car on a complete hunch that they will find something. They will often ask in a way that makes it seem like you have no choice or refusal will make you look guilty of something (“You don’t mind if we just look in your car, do you? You don’t have anything to hide, right?”). You can say NO, or you can say nothing. You can say “please just give me that ticket you are writing and I’ll be on my way, sir.”
I’m all for cooperating with law enforcement. However, when they do things like this that erode our trust in them, we must rely on our constitutional rights to protect ourselves. Comparing this to the Library Mom situation is completely inapt.
Unfortunately, attitudes such as yours, which seems to be “Do whatever the cops say and answer any questions they ask, no matter the situation” are what encourages them to push beyond their constitutional limits, knowing there will be no consequence.
If you withhold information, that certainly begins to give them a reasonable suspicion and cause, just a surely as some physical evidence might.
Nope.
No. It does not. Look, I don’t have time to present a whole Con Law or Criminal Procedure lecture here, but you are wrong. Answer questions to an officer who pulls you over to your heart’s content, just know that you do not need to. That is all. Carry on…
Feel free to test your theory some day.
Actually, I do it almost every day. The cops, prosecutors and judges I work with will tell you that I test it very well, thank you.
J_T, are you a criminal defense attorney? If so, can you pass your info along to DM to forward to me? And no everyone, The Walrus has not been arrested. The Walrus plays by the rules (as far as you know).
DM’s got it. You can email him (decaturite@gmail.com ?) and he’s free pass it on. I don’t actually do as much criminal defense as I used to but I’d be happy to answer any questions I can or to point you in the right direction if needed.
Say it, brother. As a former prosecutor, I can’t tell you how many times I wouldn’t even draw charges seeing police reports where the initial search started under similar circumstances. People who’ve never had their civil rights threatened by overreaching police seem to believe that the authorities will never abuse their positions. The exact opposite is true. And this is coming from someone who has many, many family members who are or were police/military.
Reason.com does a great job of cataloging police abuse, which is distressingly frequent. Which explains why so many cops get so PO’d when you record them, which you generally have a right to do.
The fine for not wearing a seat belt should be much higher than that for not having an updated license.
Ahhhh!!!! I’m going to leave this alone…
Is this the same motorcycle officer who came up in last week’s thread? Several people suggested that he ticketed cyclists to ensure public safety, but there is no public safety argument when he writes a $200 ticket for having the wrong address on a license. Sounds to me like this guy just likes writing expensive tickets.
I will say that ther other Decatur traffic officer seems to be more reasonable. Last time I was pulled over for speeding, I had just moved a few weeks beforehand, and my address was not updated. He asked if it was current, and I just said “no.” No ticket (for the license, but I got one for the speeding). Imagne that.
Watched said officer ticketing a cyclist today on a very quiet residential street. If you’re on a bike and see him, I recommend you just pull over and wait for him to leave the area because you can bet he’s just waiting to get you on something (which will cost you $212.50).
Seems to me we have a bunch of aneccdotal evidence now that this dude is out of control.
Just wow… Would you mind giving the neighborhood so folks on 2 wheels can get a heads up on that?
Winnona Park is where I saw him last, but I’ve also seen him ticket around the library.
Decatur = Ludowici. Who would have thought…
I feel obligated to point out that there is a Dollar General in Ludowici.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludowici,_Georgia
How about people who move in from out of state and them keep their car tags (and, presumably their driver’s licenses) FOREVER? When I lived in Virginia, the police would pass through apartment complexes and note out-of-state tags. If one was there more then 30 days, they would contact the owner to find out why they hadn’t re-registered the car.
Of course, Virginia’s whole system was/is much more advanced. 25 years ago, before internet and all the networked IT stuff, I went into a building and came out 30 minutes later with a new car title, car tag and driver’s license. You still can’t do that in Georgia.
Military can keep their tags if their official residence of record is elsewhere, which can be for their entire military career. Of course that only explains a fraction of the tags. If you want homesteader deduction, you have to change your tags, I believe.
Yeah, I understand that there are many legitimate reasons for keeping an out-of-state tag. That’s why the owner would be contacted. The point it, they were being vigilant.
I am here to tell you that in Virginia, if your driver’s license has a small crack on it that you fix with scotch tape, and then you get pulled over for a warning about a tail light being out, you will in fact get fined for carrying a mutilated license. Preposterous!
For the past three years, my brother has sent me photos of him, his wife, and his three lovely children participating in Asbury Park’s annual Zombie Walk (http://www.njzombiewalk.com/). Thousands of undead converge on the boardwalk to add a hit of putrefaction to the tangy Jersey Shore breeze.
When my two young girls told me that they both want to go trick or treating this year as zombie princesses, I choked up with pride. Then I thought, if any Southern town could put on a righteous zombie walk, it’d be Decatur (City Of).
I suck at organizing, and I have no clue what kind of permits and all would be involved, but if there is any interest in this, I’d be willing to pursue it further.
Otherwise, all your brain are ours.
I participated in the zombie walk at DragonCon this year. It was tons of fun. We shambled down Peachtree St and through some hotels.
It was organized by the Apocalypse Rising track. This is their website with contact info: http://www.wix.com/apocrising/apocalypse-rising. They might be able to give you some tips or leads. I have no connection with them or know any of the staff.
Just sharing that Green Mosaics (next to Oh La La! in Ponce de Leon) is now dedicating a whole area to Inca Kids, our hand knitted llamas and monkeys in organic cotton as well as sweaters and hats are available for purchase. Everything is handmade by Peruvian artisans and fair trade.
Does anyone know if there’s a limit to the number of beer festival tickets you can buy online this year?
Looks like 2 per
If it’s a matter of individual choice whether or not to have your county identified on your license plate (saw my first one today with “In God We Trust” instead), then why do they put the county on it to start with? They didn’t always — I remember when I was little, the tag didn’t have your county on it.
The county sticker is there because the law requires it. That’s the reason.
Back when there was no sticker, the first one, two, or three digits of the tag identified the county. (Fulton was 1, DeKalb was 2, I don’t remember what was 3. It was roughly by population.)
So are they going back to incorporating a numerical code for county in the tag number? Otherwise, those who opt for the religion sticker will be going around county-less.
I think if you look at the sticker that says when your tag expires, it also includes your county now.
I’ll be darned, I never noticed that. (Had to go outside and look, just because I couldn’t visualize it.)
A small thing, but I resent the tags without a county identification. I like to know where people from, especially when it’s some county I’ve never heard of and they are doing ten miles under the limit in front of me. Then I can yell “go back to the sticks” and feel better. That said, I’ve got some new zingers for those who do this and are sporting a “In God we Trust” tag.
Would it surprise you to learn that one reason I noticed said vehicle today is that it was being unnecessarily aggressive?
Nope.
Earlier this week, I was stopped in traffic on Clairemont behind a Nissan sporting “SEXYKEN” on his tag…I caught up to him in the neighboring lane near Wilton Drive just to get a look…not so much.
LOL. that sounds about right.
That’s why I have the “UGLY YNKE” tag…
This is late because I worked from 7am to 9pm today…We go to the eye doctor on Scott Blvd. next to the late Maddy’s…We get an eye/contacts exam, then take the prescription to Sam’s. You can’t beat the prices. Eyeglass frame selection is not great, but there is something to please even the pickiest glass-wearer.
The contacts and glasses at Sams’s are ordered and take about 7-10 days to come. And it’s CHEAP!
First off, I’m the inconsiderate neighbor so sorry about that. I don’t have a backyard and didn’t know what to do with all that brush. I tried to burn it but the wife made me extinguish it. Also want to apologize for the panhandling- It’s only a hobby and I don’t need the money but like the attention. Lastly, my HVAC system has started to make some strange noises and I’m looking for a company recommendation. Despite liking Empire heating/air (the woman on the phones) I had to stop using them after I went to change the 90 day filter and found they’d not put one in. And I’d asked them for an estimate on converting to a thick media filter since I had a baby in the house. So it’s time to try someone new. Does anyone have any recommendations for an HVAC company that they’ve had a good experience with for awhile? I promise to try and be a better neighbor.
Weird. I think WillyC actually had more to drink than I did tonight!
I highly recommend Moncrief, I have a service contract with them and they do a great job!
WillyC,
I am the owner of Empire Heating and Air. I am very sorry you had a poor experience with us and would cherish the opportunity to make amends.
We do work very hard to deliver great service and to be responsible for our actions when we make a mistake. My cell is 404-379-3088
Martin Hoover,
Assured Comfort heat/air; 770-942-1938. Look for online coupons before calling. We’ve used for the past few years and they are great- tell you about problems but don’t try to upsell, and are pretty available. We went on contract with them for this past year, and this summer when we needed them to come they came next day. Also honest- they told us our extra filters were better than their standard, and asked if ok if they used ours. Within a week we had a refund check from our contract rate refunding the cost of their unused filters.
Sidebar- I think neighbors who expect a sudden and unplanned issue like downed trees to be dealt with overnight are unreasonable.
Have looked around for the city tree ordinance and only find a 1990 update to it (but not the full ordinance). otherwise, the only things I find in searches are discussions at board or commission meetings? Anyone know if there is a restriction on residential tree removal and if so what that is (or a link to the full ordinance itself). One doc mentions 8 inches in diameter and another 12. Btw, I already searched the online ordinances and found only mentions of trees as part of historic preservation districts, commercial projects, and permitting.
Call the City planning department. There are definitely restrictions, but right off hand I can’t tell you where to find them.
I will Monday if I need to but was hoping to take care of this today. I would think the standards would be publicly available somewhere but they ain’t easy to find. Or Maybe I’ll just ask Peggy or a commish if I see um tonight. Thanks
I was looking for it several weeks ago and only found the same things you mentioned. If you wind up getting a better line on it, would you please share here, if you think about it? Thanks!
You bet.
Dear parents of the teenage scooter rider,
He is making dangerous decisions. He left out around the Y going south on Clairmont around 1:30 today. His friend had NO helmet on. He used the sidewalk (with pedestrians) as his personal roadway to cut the light at Scott. As I turned right, I nearly hit him as he snuck into the right lane WITH me going south on Scott. Will chalk up his profanity laced comments and eye rolls to teenage behavior at the light at WPonce as I cautioned him on his behavior.
Although no place is safe for ignoring some basic human survival instincts (and laws), certainly Scott Blvd isn’t the place for no helmet and an attitude. Please be careful, kids (and parents who think they’re riding safe)!
Great use of this blog. That isn’t my child but I want to hear that kind of report. I often use DM examples at the dinner table: “I heard on DM that such and such is happening on the Square and you should know….” or “Someone reported such and such on DM and, if I ever hear of anyone here doing that, all electronic devices will be immediately confiscated for a minimum of 6 weeks, homework or no homework…..” I’ve seen the results of middle school and high school health and risk behavior surveys and kids report 1) That their parents have no idea; 2) Things happen after school or after sports/clubs; and 3) Things happen in homes with no parent in the house. So please feel free to REPORT our children so we can guide, discipline, and protect them.
RE: 2011 Dekalb County Property Appraisal
My property value was lowered in the newly required annual appraisal sent in May; not drastically, just $20,000. Then Dekalb increased the millage rate. Then in a 2nd “annual” appraisal sent in September, my property value was increased. Actually, the value was raised back to what it was before I won my 2009 appeal (only $3,000) that was supposed to stick for 3 years.
The listed code for annual appraisal #2 is “BX-Change (BTA Change to Value – 30-Day Notice Mailed)” which is not defined. Interesting too because the new law guarantees a 45 day appeal period.
Seems a search of that phrase “BX-change …” on the tax assessor site gives pages and pages of hits so who out there is in my same situation and what have you found out? What steps are you taking, etc? And if you escrow (I do not), your mortgage company must be going nuts with multiple changes.
I don’t know about the code and have no inside knowledge so take this with a grain of salt, but I think the subsequent increase in the appraisal was probably due to discovery of an error in the system the assessor’s office was using in doing the recent appraisals. I know in Avondale Estates there was widespread panic when values on a big chunk of the old historic district dropped significantly (mine dropped more than 50%). There was much hew and cry, but before millage rates skyrocketed, they discovered that the glitch was to blame and new assessments were done, returning many values to the prior level or giving more modest changes. I did not attend the meetings and am foggy on the true nature of the glitch, but my recollection is that too much emphasis was placed on the age of the house rather than condition and other indications of value. I would like to tell you whether the notice of the revised appraisal on my home had the same code, but I never actually received the notice that my assessment was returning to the prior value – when I checked on-line it said the notice had been returned undeliverable despite no change in my address and they appear to have ignored my request that it be sent again when I submitted the requested update to my address.
does anyone know what the story is about the FOUR Decatur police cars out in front of Farmburger/drying cleaning place on Fri night around 10pm-ish?
Spilled farm burger goodness on their uniforms and needed to get them cleaned in time for the bicycle ticketing-palooza on Monday?
Ouch! Does anyone have a good rec for a podiatrist? Would really appreciate it. Thanks in advance.
Dr Stuart Tuck on Irvin Court.