Dana writes in…

I found this dog running on Ponce on in front of Glennwood Elementary Friday night. I believe she belongs to someone in the Glenlake neighborhood. Please contact Dana at 404-438-8640.

In response to an inquiry on Twitter from @DatelineDecatur, Isabella’s Cafe confirms that they have closed their doors after close to 2 years in business.

It’s true – we had a great run and are bowing out. We can’t say thanks enough to Decatur for all the support!

Photo courtesy of Yelp

Now that I’ve recovered a bit from the weekend festivities, here’s a collection of Decatur Beer Fest photos.  A few are mine, one is J_T’s, but most were sent in by the great Mr. Chris Billingsley.  Thanks guys!

According to the Decatur City Commission’s agenda for this evening, the commission will take up the issue of whether the city should serve as a municipal partner with DeKalb County to establish a “DeKalb Regional Land Bank”.

According to a note from Planning Director Amanda Thompson (page 24 of the meeting materials), Georgia law requires that land banks can only be created through a County/City partnership (other examples around the state: Atlanta/Fulton, Macon/Bibb, Savannah/Chatham) and DeKalb has requested that Decatur serve as its partner in this endeavor.

What’s the purpose of land banks?

According to Ms. Thompson’s note, “Land banks can purchase distressed properties, clear titles, extinguish tax liens and code violations to return the properties to the private market.”  In a county that’s “lost over 100,000 to foreclosure” since 2000, this seems to be a natural move for the County.  As for Decatur, Trulia.com shows 66 homes in foreclosure inside the Decatur city limits, 24 of which are bank-owned.

Additionally, “Land banks strategically intervene when publicly or privately owned land is not reclaimed or redeveloped into productive uses by regular market forces.”, as stated in an attached document entitled “A Quick Look at Land Banking in Georgia”.  The governing board of the land bank would be made up of two appointees from the county and two from the city of Decatur.

As for cash, Ms. Thompson clarifies that city staff are not requesting any direct funding “beyond staff time” at this point.  “Any future requests will be discussed in the 2012-2013 budget process.  We anticipate preparing a Decatur Land Bank work plan in January-February 2012.”

Superintendent Phyllis Edwards sent this letter out to the Decatur community last night…

Dear Families:

The City Schools of Decatur is happy to provide transportation service for your children. Approximately 40% of our students ride the bus to or from school.

We have experienced some unavoidable issues this year, such as a shortage in certified school bus drivers. We have temporarily collapsed some routes, causing timetable adjustments.

Transportation is not an easy school system service. While we strive for all students to travel without incident, any number of situations could exist concurrently: a traffic jam or auto accident, a student who boarded the wrong bus, a driver not reporting to work due to illness.

On Wednesday, October 12, 2011, I met with Principals and Ms. Simone Elder, Transportation Director, to discuss bus service concerns. I offer these concerns below, some that will require your assistance, others that require action on our part over the next few months.

Volunteers from the central office and schools recently riding the bus routes have surfaced the following information:

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