Free-For-All Friday 9/21/12
Decatur Metro | September 21, 2012Feel free to use this post to make comments and ask questions about local issues not discussed here over the past week.
Comments close on Monday.
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 Monday.
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Robert Butera
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Fernbank Science Center Plant sale this Saturday 8-3. FSC horticulture staff will be on site to answer questions, and its a great place to learn about native plants and perennials that might be suitable for conditions in your yard. FSC is on Heaton Park Drive in Druid Hills. Note that FSC is part of the Dekalb County school system, and is not at the same location as the Museum. http://www.fernbank.edu/plantsale.htm
I second that. I’ve seen their staff parking lot this week and it is packed with plants. So’s the garden area. (It’s right across the street from Fernbank Elementary.)
Pita House scored a 52 on their latest health inspection. Ewwwwww!
But Andryannis got a 96. What a great little place !
Also love Andryannis. +1
But they raised their score to 91 the next day. http://atlanta.digitalhealthdepartment.com/_templates/22/Food/_report_full.cfm?fsimID=378139&domainID=22
Even better. Clean but not too clean! They would’ve had me at 75
Just FYI for folks who aren’t clued in to how the inspection process actually works in the real world: Standard procedure is for inspectors to come in, level a withering barrage of violations and issue a merciless score, with the understanding that the policy is a score below a certain point (I think it’s 80?) automatically warrants a re-inspection a week or two later. In most cases the score is brought low by a laundry list of minor offenses rather than by the big scary ones we immediately assume when we see a score like that. The restauranteur, for his part, understands that this is their chance to get their act together, and generally in that follow up inspection they regularly pull down a score north of 90. It happens CONSTANTLY, to places you probably think of as exemplary eating establishments. So take any lowball score with a grain of salt and check back in a couple weeks.
And I see that this is a case in point…
That would seem to make sense. Frankly I’ve always thought that the average home kitchen would probably score in the 50’s if inspected without notice by these folks.
I would be happy with a 38. When I see inspections with comments like “Floor wax container not stored securely at least 3 feet from all food preparation surfaces”, I get nervous about DFACS showing up.
+1
The ironic thing is the inspectors are actually doing them a favor by giving them a lower score in that initial inspection, and restauranteurs often want them to. Because if they score them like in the 70s or low 80s, they don’t get the re-inspection and are stuck with the mediocre score, whereas the worse score and subsequent re-inspection gives them the chance to get back into ‘A’ territory almost immediately.
Fal-awful! I don’t need my fried chickpea patties to come from a glistening kitchen. Like bbq, I think that might actually be impossible. On the other hand, 52, if true, is a little concerning. But I’ll be honest – until the county actually shuts them down, that’s where I’m going for my falafel. It’s just better than the rest. And it hasn’t killed me yet.
+1
Silly men! One won’t eat the finest cheese; the other won’t eat the freshest seafood… but both agree on eating iffy falafels! Definitely a guy thing! :0)
52 score:
http://atlanta.digitalhealthdepartment.com/_templates/22/Food/_report_full.cfm?fsimID=376090&domainID=22
Speaking of falafel, what’s your favorite Decatur falafel place?
I also would know like to know the answer….come on somebody has an opinion.
Pita House serves the best I’ve ever had, hands down. (And I spent time in the Earl’s Court n’hood in London in the late ’70s, so I ain’t no falafel novice.)
Also a fan of Andryannis (if that’s the place kind of behind the parking deck, between Clairmont & Church), have never tried their falafel.
+1 Pita House
Its not Decatur, but Mediterranean Bakery off Chamblee Tucker (near Embry Hills) has the best falafel. Fresh and crispy without being heavy.
For kid’s consignment sale aficianados: There’s two good ones right in downtown today and tomorrow (half-price): at First Baptist and the Kid’s Sale at Decatur First United Methodist.
Just wanted to make folks aware of Amendment #1 which will be on your Nov ballot. I hope Decatur Metro will do a follow up post. The ballot question is very misleading and seems to allow greater parent choice and support for charter schools. This is not the case. Passage of the amendment will negatively effect public schools, particularly charter school systems like CSD.
+1
+1
AND the state school superintendent is also urging voters to vote NO, stating he feels the charter schools are still best kept in the hands of local systems.
I wish CSD/Fulton etc. would call themselves something other than a “Charter System.” It makes for a bad association with charter schools.
That’s the correct legal term, not what they chose.
It is a confusing term. A school system having a charter is a world of difference from a school having a charter. But it is the term in the law.
I’m not familiar with the amendment yet. can you be more specific about your concerns?
While I can not find the original press release by Barge, I did find this that sums up some of his argument against :
http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2012-08-14/georgia-schools-chief-oppose-charter-amendment
The amendment eases restrictions for out of state charter schools (many operated by for profit companies) to set up shop in Georgia, diverting public funds to their schools. While the wording does not easily point this out, it IS one of the main goals of the amendment. Barge feels as though public funds should be invested in public schools and until the state is able to run a surplus of funds and schools are back to operating with enough cash (well, at least more cash than before the recession) we should not divert funds. Keep in mind Decatur, by most comparisons is flush with cash – there are more than a few counties in south Georgia with 2-3 computers for the entire student body, others with extremely limited or no textbooks and still more with increasingly cut staffs and school years. While the amendment may not have a massive effect on metro counties, the loss of funds could be devastating to many.
Local charter schools, like the international school and other smaller ones are certainly NOT the problem. This is very much being driven by lobbying from for profits. I am all for local schools and systems making the decision to try new approaches and would gladly support it if that were the case. Instead this is moving control to others and overruling local decisions, despite the fact that schools are primarily funded through local taxes.
I don’t believe “passage” of the amendment will have any direct effect on Decatur, will it? I thought the concern was that the amendment would make it easier for a charter school to be launched and, should one be launched in Decatur, it would have a disproportionate financial impact — due to our small size — that would be hard to weather.
But given the relatively high level of satisfaction with CSD, coupled with the dearth of available, affordable real estate, is there any real probability of someone trying to start one?
What’s the negative effect that results just due to passage? Is it that it might affect overall state funding for education which may change the standard per-student amounts that Decatur (and all other systems) receive?
Re “Is it that it might affect overall state funding for education which may change the standard per-student amounts that Decatur (and all other systems) receive?”: That would be my concern. Plus things are changing rapidly in City of Decatur as the school age population explodes so it is always possibile that desire for a charter school could arise. I am not necessarily against charter schools–some wonderful ones like The Museum School and the International School exist nearby in DeKalb County, and I understand how hard it is to get local school boards to approve charter schools. Nonetheless I still would rather that charter school decisions be local, not by the State. After seeing what the State has done with educational funding, state curricula that have backfired like “Integrated Math” at the High School, and class sizes, I do not trust decisions at that level at all.
Gardening question-We have a small garden, mostly small bushes, wood chip ground cover, that has become covered in clover (and the weeds that the kids missed.) I’m gardening-illiterate…Is there a way to get rid of the clover other than hand-picking the little iddy biddy weeds that have taken over the wood chips?
Roundup
Do you mean food garden or a decorative garden? If a food garden clover will actually improve the soil over winter and can be tilled under in the spring. If decorative, Roundup will kill everything and I mean everything it touches. So be careful around plants you want.
No food, just flowering bushes, but we don’t want to kill any of the those obviously… Is it ok to just till under the wood chips, too?
As wood decomposes, it draws nitrogen out of the soil. I am not sure it matters as much for a flower garden, but I know wood chips will greatly hinder the growth of grass.
I’ve learned from past FFAF’s that it’s just faster and easier to have your dogs pee on it
Fresh wood chips will use up nitrogen as they decompose. Add 10-10-10 fertilizer around the bushes and till in with the chips. If you have well rotted mulch chips then no need although a little 10-10-10 never hurts. Since it is fall and not much is actively growing you might go half dose.
I have a large-ish maple tree that needs to be taken down and am looking for recommendations of tree removal companies. I searched the DM archives but didn’t find much. Does anyone have direct experience with a company they can recommend?
Thanks.
Appleseed Tree Service is great! They’ve done several jobs for us and they were very reasonable.Very honest and local as well! 404-378-2774
Second that.
King Trees
The next time you feel that you are facing too many obstacles trying to achieve what you want…watch this video for inspiration and then get back to your quest:
http://vimeo.com/48857883
Wow. To come back from those injuries…
I hope I see him on game day soon.
Thanks for the link.
SAVE THE DATE!
The Decatur Farm to School Fall Dine Out will be held Tuesday, October 16, 2012 from 7-11am for breakfast/coffee spots and 5-9 pm for dinner/dessert restaurants. The theme for our Fall Dine Out is ‘Fast and Fresh!’ Enjoy a quick and delicious meal at a participating restaurant and a percentage of the proceeds will be donated to Decatur Farm to School (DF2S) to sustain its mission of integrating fresh, whole, locally produced foods into the City of Decatur school community’s classrooms and cafeterias. Participating restaurants include Community Q, Farm Burger, Kitsch’n 155, Mellow Mushroom Pizza, Oakhurst Market, Raging Burrito, Revolution Doughnuts, Rise-N-Dine, Sugar Moon Bakery, and more.
We’ll also be sponsoring a raffle with great prizes from local restaurants and businesses – including the Bakery at Cakes & Ale, Kavarna, Oakhurst Market, Raging Burrito, Rise-N-Dine, the Wylde Center, and more. Funds raised will go toward supporting teacher workshops, kitchen trainings for our cafeteria partners, classroom and garden projects, and student taste tests. Please spread the word and be sure to take family, neighbors, and friends out for a nice evening to celebrate a great cause, support our local businesses, and enjoy delicious food. DF2S is a branch of the Wylde Center. Visit us at http://www.decaturfarmtoschool.org.
Starting to get fired up for Music Midtown! Perfect weather slated for the weekend, and I finally get to cross Pearl Jam off the list!
Looking for this one around 9:00 PM on Saturday:
Can someone please tell John Q. Carter’s campaing manager that the election was 2 months ago and the banner ad at the top of the page may not be the best use of campaign funds?
Ha. Sorry, that was a banner issue from last week or so. I’m hoping its just in your cache file and hasn’t brought itself back from the dead, since I actually deleted it completely out of the system the last time.
this is a pretty calm FFAF….can’t someone out there stir the pot? i am in need of some mid-afternoon entertainment.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2012/09/19/chick-fil-a-money-anti-gay-equality/70000734/1
DTR beat me to it.
I am hoping this news is true, as someone who is openly gay but been a closeted CFA eater for a while now. Oh the shame.
Not necessarily true, because CFA refuses to flatly state that have stopped contributing to anti-gay groups. They just re-issued a slightly revised version of their previous statement about inclusiveness.
Stirrer of the pot here.
http://www.advocate.com/business/2012/09/20/chick-fil-raising-money-very-week-anti-marriage-equality-group
Westchester. Herds of wild toddlers. Crying babies in movies. Annexation. WalMart. Trader Joe’s. Kids in trailers. Gazebo.
That should get em started…
Chocolate milk…
Free-range cats/children/coyotes.
All are quite tasty, thank you!
Someone put out poison for our local rats so that is taking care of our free range cats, and probably a hawk or two.
Helmetless cyclists running red lights and blowing off stop signs.
Don’t know that this will stir any pots, but it might unleash a flurry of bad jokes:
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local/buy-a-diamond-get-a-gun/nSHSZ/
I’ll start if off: This gives new meaning to the phrase “shotgun wedding.”
Crying babies in the theater? Try North Dekalb Mall AMC. Half the time, I am the only one in there. But maybe that is only the late show.
Can anyone recommend a reliable, honest, reasonably priced house cleaning service in the Decatur/ Eastlake area?
Define reasonably priced.
I use Mari and she is fabulous. Her number is 678-349-6034. She is also pet friendly.
Is she undefined reasonably priced?
Not to get totally off topic about things that fire people up, but I was at Oakhurst Village when the 4/5 school was getting out today. I was totally shocked to see how some of the little girls, cause that’s what they are, were dressed. One group went by me and 3 girls had skirts so short I could literally see their tushes. Now, I do not have a child yet in Decatur schools, she’s turning 3 this weekend, so I don’t have the answer to this, but is there a dress code?? I mean the skirts were totally inappropriate for a 10-12 year old, in my opinion obviously, cause I don’t think you should show any private areas at all.
There is a dress code at 5th Ave. No skirts or shirts shorter than 3 inches above the knee, according to my 5th grader.
I meant no skirts or shorts shorter than 3 in. above knee.
I also am appalled and distressed by what I see very young girls wearing sometimes. At the same time, I remember being equally appalled by the 3-in hemline rule when I was in middle school. I was nearly 5’8″ by the time I was in the 7th grade while many of my classmates barely topped 5′. A hemline 3 inches above their knee (measured while kneeling on a chair) was halfway to their unowhat, while on us taller girls it was grossly modest. (I still think a proportional formula would be more reasonable — and make more sense to the kids — than an absolute standard.) Adding to the injustice, the big dress code issue for boys at the time was that their hair had to be 1/2″ above their collar — equally draconian for all, with no built-in bias for tall or short kids! And BTW, girls were not allowed to wear pants to school, much less shorts. Our mothers lobbied the school board fiercely to win the right for us to wear “scooter skirts” (basically, skorts) in 7th grade.
I understand the rule is to the length of their middle finger (with arms at sides).
That makes so much more sense than an absolute measure.
Unless you’re a Tyrannasaurus Rex.
There’s a dress code but nothing to stop them from rolling the top of the skirt down to shorten it once the whistle blows.
Ok, I am hear to say that the big problem is what’s being sold. Have you tried to buy longer dresses even for adults lately? The #$%^^& fashion is short. I have tried to buy appropriately lengthed but cute/acceptable girls’ dresses/skirts both online and in stores and it is NOT EASY. And of course kids are very influenced by what is being sold currently and what their friends are wearing. Word to the wise: consignment shops and sales: they have “older” fashions (i.e. from 3 years ago when knee to calf-length hemlines were still being sold.) And there’s hope: some of the catalogs that show up in my mailbox are showing “midi” length skirts so fashion may be swinging around to induce us to buy new stuff. Another word to the wise: tights blur the knee line and you can get away with more on the skirt length! The more things change……….
Whoops, that’s “here to say”. When is DM going to get that auto-correct function that can detect what I really mean to say?
The fashion is short, At home my daughter likes to wear tennis skirts and scooter skirts which have the built in shorts for modesty but they are too short for school. When the weather gets cooler, leggings under skirts help bring them into dress code compliance. When I do see longer shorts for girls at a store, I get them for her in several colors–but they are hard to find! Girls tend to get a growth spurt around the age of 10-12 so what was 3 inches above the knee in June may not be in September. Never had this issue with my son, because boys shorts are long!
I totally understand thy the fashion is short. But, parents should decide if it’s school appropriate vs play appropriate. No one should see a 10 year old’s butt hanging out of their skirt or shorts. I get the hiking up. I went to Catholic school for 12 years. However, we wore shorts under our skirts so no one saw our butts.
Happened to be on the square last night to enjoy the “battle” of the marching bands: Southwest Dekalb vs. Cedar Grove high schools. Very enjoyable! Only sorry I missed the ceremony before it (was it to celebrate Dekalb Olympians?).
In any case, well done band members!
Recently we were allowed to taste the beer before buying a growler at a local store. Yet at other establishments I have heard them say this is not allowed. Is the difference that one store has applied for a liquor license and the other has not? The ability to taste test before commiting to 64 ounces definitely tips the scales in their favor in my opinion.
There are distinct liquor licenses for bottle shops (able to sell growlers and bottled liquor) and those able to serve liquor. Bottle shops are not supposed to serve at all.. but i agree with you that it would be a much better experience to sample prior to committing to a 64 oz. growler. I know I have been very disappointed with a few prior purchases.
Avondale Estates changed their law to allow it effective last July 4. CoD should consider same.
Great news! This is going to shift my growler shopping allegiance over to Avondale until Decatur amends their regulations.
Recent cuts at Emory College will affect many faculty and staff, many of whom are Decatur residents. They face elimination of their jobs and/or eventual non-renewal of their contracts. Interesting information and discussion can be found in _The Emory Wheel_ story: http://www.emorywheel.com/committee-helped-forman-evaluate-departments/
Emory has been cutting older staff for years. Now that profs are getting their walking papers, suddenly it’s big news.
As always, if one wants to fully understand how Emory works, one must read the book “Waking up Blind” by a local author. Very sad but informative read.
Re “Is it that it might affect overall state funding for education which may change the standard per-student amounts that Decatur (and all other systems) receive?”: That would be my concern. Plus things are changing rapidly in City of Decatur as the school age population explodes so it is always possibile that desire for a charter school could arise. I am not necessarily against charter schools–some wonderful ones like The Museum School and the International School exist nearby in DeKalb County, and I understand how hard it is to get local school boards to approve charter schools. Nonetheless I still would rather that charter school decisions be local, not by the State. After seeing what the State has done with educational funding, state curricula that have backfired like “Integrated Math” at the High School, and class sizes, I do not trust decisions at that level at all.
This was supposed to go up under the Charter Amendment #1 thread. Sorry. Something isn’t working in the posting matrix for me.