And now a little good book news.  From Ryan Klee at Lenz…

February 3, 2012 (Decatur) — The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has signed on for a three-year contract as title sponsor of the AJC Decatur Book Festival Presented by DeKalb Medical.

AJC DBF Executive Director Daren Wang said the AJC has been a vital part of the Festival since the early organizational meetings prior to the first event in 2006.

“We are thrilled that the AJC has chosen to continue as a title sponsor. This level of support from our founding partner ensures that the Festival will grow and prosper,” Wang said.

“A three-year commitment is especially important in a challenging fund-raising environment. On behalf of everyone who attends and makes AJC DBF possible, we thank them for their support.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Just received this announcement from the folks at Blue Elephant…

Blue Elephant Book Shop trumpets its last

It is with enormous sadness that I write to you today to tell you that the book shop will be closing, probably in mid-March. Whether it is because of the economy, e-readers, on-line sales, my own misjudgments, or, as is most likely, all of the above is immaterial. The fact is we are not selling enough books to sustain the business.

In our four years, we have taken great pleasure in our relationships with old friends and new and hope to continue that in other ways. We appreciate the support so many have given us. Until the doors close, we will continue to offer the same friendly service; and, as always, we’re here to talk about books.

Thank you from all of us,

Laura, Erin, Kimberly, Linda, and Rachel

Decatur High School Principal Lauri McKain writes in to let us know that DHS’ Senior Class has officially asked Mr. Chris Billingsley to be their graduation speaker this year.  His response?  “Alrighty!”, according to Principal McKain.

After 36 years of teaching at DHS, Mr. B will retire at the end of this year.

Above is a pic of Student Government President Ashleigh Rasheed presenting him with a letter that the senior class had signed requesting that he do this.

Congrats Chris!  Thank you for your many years of service to our schools and the many great DHS (and non-DHS) stories you’ve provided to this website over the past few years.

• Gas tax for toll lanes!! [AJC]
• Anti-Walmart group says it’s raised $4,000 for legal action [Patch]
• “Abraham Lincoln vs. the Zombies” filming in lucky Savannah [SMN]
• A close look at an $155 polo shirt designed by Atlanta couple [WSJ]
• Gender neutral housing option to continue to be offered [Emory Wheel]
• House approps committee approves school charter amendment [AJC]
• Wingfield: T-SPLOST doesn’t address Atlanta’s real congestion problems [AJC]
• Congress reviewing a proposal that sets nat’l regs for egg-laying hens [CL]

Feel free to use this post to ask questions and make comments about local issues not discussed here over the past week.

Comments close on Monday.