• CSD Student Media Festival Tuesday March 6th [CSD]
• Recycle household hazardous waste in DeKalb on March 31st [AJC]
• I-85 tolls hit new high [AJC]
• Solar panel bill gets new life in GA Senate [PBA]
• Redevelopment of Jekyll Island scheduled to begin [Curbed]
• Purdue’s “Go Fish” Education Center “flops” in first year [Macon Telegraph]
• Well-Being Index: Georgia happier than many neighbors [Atlantic Cities]

Maria Saporta is quite correct when she notes that the main focus of reporting on T-SPLOST funding thus far has been on the big name projects, which make up 85% of total funding.  But what about the other 15% (approx. $1.1 billion), which will be divided up amongst the metro’s local communities?

Saporta reports that the City of Atlanta is talking about dividing its share of the $1.1 billion into three categories: “High Profile” projects, individual district projects and “opportunistic reserves”.  The floated DeKalb Avenue project would fall into the first category.  According to the article, upgrades for these “high profile projects” would include…

…pavement resurfacing, sidewalk repair and installation, streetscape improvements, lighting, bicycle facilities, pedestrian crossings, on-street parking and transit amenities.

There are obviously a lot of ifs and maybes before anything would happen, not least of which is the T-SPLOST passing in July, but it’s certainly nice to at least know about these things. Or maybe you don’t want to be teased/taunted with the info?

Either way, I’m checking with Decatur’s city staff to see if we already have a plan in place for how our chunk of the funding would be spent inside the city’s borders.  And how much that chunk would be!

• Will lack to transit to Stonecrest Mall steer DeKalb support for T-SPLOST? [AJC]
• DeKalb Commission fight #6782: What should air on TV [AJC]
• Volunteers needed to rid Mason Mill Park of invasive species [MANA]
• Cath’s House vs. Lar’s Flat [AsianCajuns]
• How Birmingham became an indie rock destination [Atlantic Cities]
• Walmart “threatens” the town R.E.M. made famous [Salon]

Photo courtesy of Madding Crowd via Flickr

Geoff writes in…

Decatur boys lacrosse team ranked #1 in Georgia.  See link and attached pic.
http://www.laxpower.com/update12/binboy/rating18.php

The Decatur boys lacrosse team won the ITP lacrosse tournament with a 12-5 win over Riverwood on Saturday afternoon at DHS.  This followed a 9-2 win over Baylor (TN) on Friday evening in the semifinals.  The team is coached by Don Rigger and Wes Hatfield.

It ain’t morning no more, but here are a few randomly interesting links and an awesome late 70s MARTA map pic.  (Take the last train to Tucker and I’ll meet you at the station!)  Love it or lose it.

• Over 200 residents (and Thomas Wheatley!) attend Anti-Walmart meeting [CL]
• Georgia solar bill may get new life in GA House [AJC]
• Poem with One Fact – Donald Hall [Poetry Foundation]

Photo courtesy of tracktwentynine via Flickr (click over to Flickr for a great summary of the map from its photog)

I saw this somewhere a couple of days ago, but Derych was good enough to jog my memory with this link.  Here’s a summary of a “cash mob” from the PRI article…

Instead of breaking into song, members of cash mobs break open their wallets to spend money at locally owned businesses.

Since starting last year, cash mobs have been organized in 32 states and Canada. But unlike flash mobs, which are generally entertaining and trivial, they come with a serious purpose.

The idea is the brainchild of Buffalo blogger and engineer Chris Smith, who said that Cash Mobs are sort of a reverse Groupon. Instead of offering people bargain-basement deals, people pay the regular price to support retailers in their communities.

It’s a really great idea.  I especially like the part about it that it is “a reserve Groupon”.  I’ve always had very mixed feelings about those half-price coupons.  Especially using them at my favorite local spots.  However,  we’d need to think of a fair and unbiased way to decided on which business gets a “cash mob”.  But it might be doable.

What do you all think?  After the jump, see the list of suggested rules for a cash mob from a Cleveland cash mob group.  We could adjust them as needed, but I think the “have a drink” afterwards aspect is an important one.  I’m sure J_T would organize that part, no questions asked!

Read the rest of this entry »

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

Comments close on Friday.

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This week’s FFAF is sponsored by Kick in the Fit…

Are you ready to adopt a more active lifestyle, get in shape, and achieve your fitness goals? Well, join us at Agnes Scott College on Monday, March 5th as we kick off a new month and year of KITF boot camp!

This week’s Free-For-All Friday is brought to you by: Kick in the Fit, offering a free month of boot camp (morning) to one Decatur Metro reader. www.kickinthefit.com.

To enter, just send an email with the subject line “Decatur Metro Giveaway” to [email protected] . Make sure to include your name and address in the email. Kick in the Fit will pick the winner at random on Monday morning.