• Will East Lake Road Become Two Lanes? [East Lake Neighborhood]
• Atlanta Lost More Jobs in August than any other U.S. City [ABC]
• City Cyclists Exposed to Twice as Much Soot as Peds [Scientific American]
• Decatur Root Beer Festival To Be Held Alongside Beer Fest [Little Shop]
• Flooded Northeast Farmers Get Creative to Recoup Cash [NYT]
• Georgia Primary to Be Held on Super Tuesday [AJC]
• Photo: West Ponce circa 1954 [GSU]
• Ugh. Braves Lose it All [AJC]

Photo courtesy of GA Highway Safety

South Columbia Drive @ Talley Street, Decatur GA (pic submitted by Joel)

Nothing like a post title where of three of the four words are acronyms!

Asst. Superintendent Thomas van Soelen writes in to let us know that the City Schools of Decatur has created a helpful “Frequently Asked Questions” page for the “Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax”, which goes before voters for another vote this November.

The page features a list of 13 “frequently asked questions”, including “What is the education SPLOST?”, “What is decision-making process for a SPLOST approval?”, “How much revenue can CSD expect to bring in from the SPLOST?”, and “Can the Superintendent or staff advocate for or against the SPLOST referendum?”.

Probably some of the most interesting pieces of info are in response to questions 8 & 9.  They read as follows…

8. What kinds of projects are slated for the SPLOST IV if approved?

Potential projects include the following: continued classroom renovation at RMS, renovation of the old gym at RMS into classrooms, acquisition of facilities leased by CSD such as ECLC and 5th Avenue, payment of debt related to the General Obligation Bond, the creation of a new Central Office Building, energy-efficiency changes for HVAC and other units in the schools and additional elementary classrooms.

9. Why would a central office building be included?

Central Office employees have been working out of the Westchester building. If enrollment continues to rise, the building may again be needed to house students. The administration has looked at the possibility of renting space within the city. The approximate annual rental cost of $250,000 must come from general funds, not SPLOST funds.

In addition to the FAQ, the page features links to a SPLOST presentation, photos of completed projects, a full project list and a SPLOST resolution.

Brad sent in this pic from Church Street this morning.  The city’s Katie Abel confirms that this no parking area is due to the filming of “What to Expect When You’re Expecting”, which we reported on over the weekend.  I also noticed similar signs along McDonough this morning.  She adds…

…mostly on Maple Street including some overnight stuff. My understanding is that they are filming scenes with Anna Kendrick, no Cameron Diaz or J.Lo.

If you can’t quite place Anna Kendrick, here’s a link for ya!

View

• Advocates Want DeKalb To Do More to Prevent Grease in Sewer System [Champion]
• Tami Goes to Oregon, Takes Awesome Photos and Comes Back with a Trout Recipe [running w/ tweezers]
• Sudden Rise in Bike Thefts at Emory [Emory Wheel]
• DeKalb Commission Shows Support For Rail Along I-20 [AJC]
• Decatur Homeowner’s Night is Coming Up! [The Decatur Minute]
• Gwinnett Students Allowed to Opt Out of Hearing President’s Speech to Them [AJC]
• Albany, GA’s Collected $4,000 in Saggy Pants Fines So Far [11Alive]
• Design For Permanent Times Square Plazas Released to Public [Streetsblog]

Google DeKalb sewer spills map courtesy of The Champion