There have been rumblings for a few weeks now, but it looks like it’s finally official.

According to a letter by Private Bank of Buckhead president Charlie Crawford, Judy Turner and Melanie Funk – formerly of Decatur First Bank – will head up a new branch of Private Bank of Buckhead in downtown Decatur called “Private Bank of Decatur”.

Mr. Crawford continues…

These seasoned bankers have long served the Decatur market and are doing so again from the strength of an organization like ours. This is a great opportunity to introduce a broader market — in this case the people of Decatur — to the high-touch service model that Private Bank of Buckhead clients have come to know and embrace.

What do the people of Decatur need to know about us and our name? We take an egalitarian approach, believing that all clients should benefit from the private banking approach other banks reserve for a certain few.

A location for the new bank branch has yet to be announced, but keep an eye out!

• Atlanta home prices now below 2000 levels [AJC]
• Doug Richards reflects on getting beat to the N. DeKalb mistletoe shooting story [LAF]
• Brain disorder caregiver, mathematician, Winnona Park tutor, sidewalk advocate dies at 82 [AJC]
• Top 10 international dishes in Atlanta for 2011 [AJC]
• One of the weirdest descriptions of Decatur I’ve ever read! [Coastal Vacations Blog]
• Vote for Decatur in Southern Living’s “Tastiest Town” contest! [SL]
• The Porter Beer Bar in L5P plans to double its bar space next year [Twitter]

OK, boys and girls, we’ve got our work cut out for us.

Southern Living’s “Tastiest Town” online voting opened a few days ago and Decatur’s only got a little over a thousand votes thus far, ranking us #7 among the 10 delicious contenders thus far.  Lafayette and Louisville have huge leads over everyone else currently with upwards of 12,000+ votes each.

You do have to provide your name and email to vote, but once you do, you can vote once a day up until voting closes on January 31st.  I’ll do my part by including a link/reminder in all Morning Metro posts from now until then.  You can do yours by clicking through and voting for Decatur!

CLICK HERE to place your vote for today.  Let’s at least make it interesting!

BTW…here’s SL’s more detailed explination for why Decatur was picked…

Just outside of Atlanta, Decatur is an ever-emerging mecca for young foodies who adore pristine farmers’ market produce (from Love is Love Farm and DeKalb Farmers Market, among others) and worth-the-drive restaurants like Cakes & Ale (in a new, expanded location), Farm Burger (find your dream patty here), and the pretty courtyard and stunning plates at No. 246 restaurant.

Decatur is proud but not pretentious–grab a local brew at The Brick Store Pub (best beer selection in the South?) and see for yourself.

Justin wrote in around 3am this morning to report that Java Monkey had just been robbed and that he had spoken with an employee at Decatur Diner who “said she saw the guy running away and the diner is without power.”  He continued, “a Java Monkey employee and a friend came by and the friend said they just happened to be in the area, heard the alarm and chased the guy to the mini Kroger where they lost him. I overlook Kroger from my condo and there are several cop cars around.”

I followed up with Decatur PD this morning and Deputy Chief Keith Lee just provided this detailed report of this incident, which confirms nearly everything in Justin’s report, though luckily it sounds like the burglar was unsuccessful in gaining entry to the coffee shop …

On 12-27-11 at 0232 hours, Sergeant Canipe was dispatched to a suspicious male leaving Java Monkey coffee shop located at 425 Church Street. This establishment has been burglarized a few times during the last month so officers responded quickly. Canipe arrived at 0234 hours and checked the exterior of Java Monkey. The power to the building, which includes Decatur Diner, had been turned off. Within the patio area, Canipe observed a large rock approximately 8″ x 12″ on the floor next to a glass panel. The glass had been cracked; however, it did not fully break, therefore, the perpetrator did not gain entry. Also next to the rock was a brown aluminum pole approximately 5 feet long.

Canipe met with the complainant, Brannon Greene, who is an employee of Java Monkey, who told the officer he had closed up earlier in the evening but returned to the coffee shop because he thought he forgot his cellular phone. Greene said he was walking toward the front door when he saw flood lights illuminated within the business and heard a strange beeping sound. Greene became suspicious and approached with caution. Prior to reaching the front door, Greene said he observed a black male with a light complexion exit the patio area (which is enclosed with plastic tarp) and run north on Church Street then east on East Ponce de Leon Avenue. Greene said the black male was approximately 6’0″ and weighed approximately 180 pounds, wearing dark pants and a dark, possibly green down (puffy) jacket that came down to about mid thigh. Greene said he gave chase, along with his roommate, Michael Koechlin, as Greene dialed 911. Greene said the suspect ran across East Ponce de Leon Avenue then north around the Wells Fargo building. Greene lost sight of the suspect as he continued east, possibly across Commerce Drive toward the Decatur Cemetery. Greene returned to Java Monkey to meet with officers.

Canipe collected the pole left behind by the suspect and placed it into evidence at Decatur Police Department. The glass panel was photographed. Greene was given a business card and case number.

• Decatur: Recycle your Christmas Tree at ASC parking lot from 12/30-1/8 [City of Decatur]
• Great photo of Glenn Theater in Decatur circa 1950s [Next Stop]
• Melton’s plans to reopen December 30th [Facebook]
• Symrna plans to start biodiesel program to fuel city vehicles [AJC]
• Bill would make “In God We Trust” the GA’s default license plate label [GPB] 
• Reversable lanes being considered for I-85 [Gwinnett Daily]
• As new year approaches, John Kessler considers “satiety” [AJC]
• Historic R.E.M. “Murmur” trestle to be spared [Athens Banner]

Looks like Boutique Karma is “pulling a Little Shop” and moving into the old Rockit! Boutique space on Sycamore onto Decatur Square from their current location right off the Square, next to the old Johnny Pizza.  Groovy!

Kevin sent along a link to a note that he posted on the Oakhurst message board on Christmas Eve with this video and note…

We were robbed this morning at 8:30 am on Fayetteville.

We were not home but got a video of the thieves kicking our door in and carrying our Christmas presents to a car.

The footage will be on Fox 5 tonight, but please feel free to share the below video. Please contact www.crimestoppersatlanta.org

(404-577-8477) if you have any info or Investigator Vandiver with Decatur PD (404-516-0278).