In a comment response to our recent “More than 7 Questions about E-Books” post, DeKalb County Public Library Director Alison Weissinger writes in with news…

DeKalb County Public Library will be offering eBooks through the OverDrive platform by the end of this year. DeKalb currently uses OverDrive for downloadable audiobooks. OverDrive has recently made arrangements with Amazon to allow for public library lending of Kindle format eBooks. About 90% of the titles available through OverDrive for public library lending should be Kindle-compatible. Other formats included on the platform are ePub and .pdf and will work with a variety of other devices such as Nook, Kobo, Sony, iPad, etc.

DeKalb’s starter collection will consist of several hundred titles, but we also expect demand to be very high. OverDrive has a queuing system, so you can place titles you want on hold and be notified by email when it is your turn. The Library’s budget for buying materials continues to be limited due to County budget cuts, but we will increase the collection as funding allows.

The Turner Environmental Law Clinic at Emory and Georgia Organics just released a comprehensive look at urban agriculture policy across the US. The 94-page study surveys the zoning ordinances of sixteen cities, from Nashville to New York and including Atlanta, for the ways in which each municipality has incorporated urban agriculture into its land use plans and practices.

You know you want to download and read this baby. It’s right here.

I, for one, hope that its readers include members of Decatur’s Zoning Ordinance Revision Task Force. There is some valuable stuff in here. Each city in the study was chosen either because of its longstanding support for urban agriculture or because of its recent efforts to revise its zoning. Ultimately, the authors of the report conclude, “there is no exact formula for the successful implementation of urban agriculture initiatives.” Each community needs to craft its own approach, based on the needs of its residents and available land.

That said, some common themes emerge. Most of the cities in the study include provisions in their zoning for community gardens, produce sales, and keeping animals, such as chickens, bees, and yes, small hoofstock (yes, I still want my goats). They do regulate these activities—especially animal keeping—and it’s well that they should, for the well being of both the human and non-human creatures. Read the rest of this entry »

Originally I was going to make this post about winter/holiday beers.  But then I thought about it a little bit, and didn’t want to inadvertently exclude anyone who wants to unload a passionate love of an eggnog cocktail or a hot mug of mulled wine.

So what are your favorite holiday drinks?

I discovered Bell’s piney Christmas Ale a few weeks ago, which is an interesting take on a holiday beer.  But after a couple Decembers in Europe over the last decade, I have trouble steering away from a good mug of gluhwein.   Especially on a freezing cold day.

Got anything better?

Glühwein @ Nürnberg Christkindlesmarkt photo courtesy of theboybg via Flickr

The city’s Linda Harris sends along this press release announcing Decatur’s 2011 Hometown Heroes…

Decatur honored 14 Hometown Heroes in 2011 for contributions made to the Decatur community on December 6, 2011 at the December Decatur Business Association meeting held at Agnes Scott College including Alan Ashe, Marc Brennan, Roger Bryant, Jodi Dick, Daniel Flores, Walter Kellar, Lori Leland Kirk, Louis & Sandra Rice, Susan Riley, Mark Sanders, Melissa Stratton, Seegar Swanson, and Kyle Williams.

Hometown Heroes are those volunteers who work, often behind the scenes, to make the City of Decatur a better place to live, work, and play.  They are nominated by people in the community and are judged by professionals who work with volunteers on a regular basis and do not know the nominees.

Decatur started its Hometown Hero program in 1996 at the close of the Hometown to the World Festival held during the Olympics.  The 14-day festival was a success because of the hundreds of volunteers who helped.

At the close of that festival, the City Commission honored the volunteers, and since then the Hometown Hero awards have been presented annually.  With the 2011 presentations, Decatur has designated 245 Hometown Heroes.

There is a “Hometown Hero Wall” in City Hall with a photo and the names of all of the Hometown Heroes by year.  It is located on the 1^st floor stairs going down to the City Commission Meeting Room.  The 2011 heroes will join the photo display in January.  All of the Hometown Heroes are also featured on the City of Decatur website at www.decaturga.com.

Check out Decatur’s Hometown Heroes of the past HERE.

• Decatur Housing unit will have “state of the art” rain water collection system [Champion]
• Man arrested for shooting mistletoe out of trees at N. DeKalb Mall [AJC]
• Beacon Hill’s Christmas Tree [BeActiveDecatur]
• Poncey-Highland residents fight school redistricting [Patch]
• Squash casserole is hip again and Leon’s is leading the way [AJC Food and More]
• A review of Thali, an Indian vegetarian restaurant in Patel Plaza [AJC Food and More]
• “You don’t build great public spaces incrementally” [NYT]

Bryant Park, New York City photo courtesy of Brian Hoffiss via Flickr