Cynthia writes in…

Hello Friends & Neighbors!
Tickets are now available for the 10th Annual Patio Party to support The Solarium on Sunday, June 2nd from 5-8PM! All proceeds help contribute to the mission of the Community Center of South Decatur.

Come enjoy tasty bites from the caterers on our preferred vendor list, cool sips from our wine & beer bars, fun live and silent auction with creations from several local artists and famous Decatur personalities, kids entertainment, games for adults, the not-to-be missed raffle (includes a free rental at the Solarium!) and live music by Auction House Letters.

Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door, $5 for seniors and children under 12 are free. Go to https://www.xorbia.com/e/ccsd/patioparty2013 to purchase tickets.

We still need volunteers! If you would like to volunteer at this year’s event or are an artist who would like to donate an art piece for this year’s auction please email: .

Thanks for your continued support throughout the years!

As the Saporta Report reports, Atlanta just put out a Request for Proposals on a bike share program that would eventually span to both Atlanta and Decatur.   The initial Bike Feasibility Study (funded by the Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation) gives great background on the initiative, including the map above that shows Atlanta/Buckhead and Decatur as the “Phase 1 Market Service Areas”.   (You’ll find a more detailed map on page 6 of the study.)

According to the study, Decatur would initially have 30 bikes at 3 different stations throughout the city, while Atlanta would have 540 bikes at 54 stations spanning the city’s core and up in Buckhead.

The executive summary of the study states that a bike share program “can work in Atlanta and Decatur” and estimates the initial capital and operational costs at $6 and 12.9 million over a six year period.

All this on the heals on the launch of NYC’s new bike share program over the weekend.

UPDATE: One additional point of clarification from Rebecca at Atlanta Bike…

the RFP is for a City of Atlanta system only. COA can’t issue an RFP for Decatur. Our hope is that Atlanta and Decatur will select the same vendor so that people would only need one membership to use bike share in Atlanta and Decatur.

Our bike share feasibility was a joint project between City of Atlanta and Decatur,

Decatur Square, Decatur GA (pic courtesy of Kristen)

Here’s a nice story from the weekend to start the 4-day workweek (for many).  Kaye writes in…

Our dog, Brandy was playing with another dog and slipped off her collar at the Arts Fest in front of the Decatur welcome center and ran (she was wound up from playing) she headed west through the neighborhood between Green Ginger and The Taqueria Del Sol. I wanted to thank all the residents there for helping find her, especially Mr. Eric, who spotted us from his truck and drove us around the neighborhood, informing his neighbors to look out for her. We found her when a neighbor was able to close her in their fence and called to us.

Everyone was so wonderful and we’re so glad we live in a city like Decatur where everyone helps out.

Cheese is one of those rare foods that has a both massive and ardent following.

What are your favorites?  A big national brand like Cabot?  A local cheese like Sweetgrass?  An import?

Wheels of Gouda photo courtesy of Wikipedia