Free-For-All Friday 6/26/15
Decatur Metro | June 26, 2015 | 7:51 amFeel free to use this post to make comments and ask questions about local issues not yet discussed here over the past week.
Feel free to use this post to make comments and ask questions about local issues not yet discussed here over the past week.
sfmaster
saniel
joey fillastre
Parker Cross
lumpintheroad
Curious
7.62 x 39
At Home in Decatur
Birdmon
Elle
Larkspur
KF
First Pint at Leon's Goes For $2,650
First!? Hey, anyone want to debate the cause of the Civil War?
Would love to, but only after we debate CSD’s transparency.
And the role of children and dogs in restaurants. And annexation. And free range vs attachment parenting.
Supervised. Sure. Conditionally. Free range. Next!
“Supervised” but “free range”. Parenting in Decatur sure is a challenge.
Free range is an outdoor condition. Doesn’t apply.
Don’t be silly. Everyone knows the Confederate flag caused the Civil War.
A few more recent issues might spur debate this week, including today’s just-now breaking news…
Good morning all. So here’s a “what would you do?” question for you real estate folk. We have a signed contract on a property. The contract specifically lists a a pretty significant feature of the property that, after signing the contract, we discovered can’t be delivered. Not even our agent is aware of this at this point. The lack of this feature is not a deal breaker, but imo it is worth at least a few thousand dollars. We are mere days into this contract. Should we try to renegotiate now? I have no idea if the seller is aware that the contract contradicts the reality of the property. We don’t want to blow up the deal, but the contract is clear about this feature being included.
Your agent should be helpful here. Usually there is a provision in the contract for renegotiation after inspection. There is also a mediation process, should it come to that, but your agent should be able to advise you.
You may want to verify that the feature is really not there–I had an experience selling a house in which the first prospective buyers decided to break the contract based on a faulty appraisal that misrepresented the house–for instance, saying there was no basement when in fact there was a full basement. The real estate agents helped all they could, but they could not resolve the issue so we were going to go to mediation, but ended up compromising the night before (splitting the earnest money in this case).
Thanks. I have verified the feature is not there. It seems what happened is the listing agent gave the wrong information to our agent, who then misinformed us and included that misinformation in the contract, which the sellers signed off on.
Do you really NEED a roof, though? Convertible homes are all the rage now!
Hah! Actually, in a sense the issue is about a roof, but for cars not people.
Had a similar experience when we went to buy a house. We put in an offer and the inspector found a cracked foundation, but we were pretty sure it was a known (but undisclosed) issue before the house went on the market. We had to back out and eat the $400 we spent on the inspector, but better than taking out a mortgage on a house like that. Best of luck with your home-buying experience.
Brrrrr!
Now I REALLY want to know what the “feature” is/is not…
…is it a Holodeck?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodeck
Hehe…alas, it’s far more mundane.
Shoutout to the folks at Northlake Pinestraw and the folks here who recommended them. Thank you!
If you need pinestraw in bulk, that is the place to call!
Holy smoke. Not only did someone use one of my recommendations, it actually worked out for them.
I think I just dislocated my shoulder patting myself on the back.
Happy to hear you had a good experience.
I’m not sure if this topic has been discussed previously – but is the parking deck for trinity triangle project going to have any artwork or facade? I am asking about the side that faces the RR tracks. It really bothers me to see that big grey concrete monster every day driving down college avenue.
There were issues that prevented it from being masked by units on that side. The developer has committed to commissioning a mural and to maintaining it thereafter. Also, they’re being held to downtown streetscape standards so there’ll eventually be tree cover as well. Not ideal by any stretch but a lemonade from lemons kind of thing.
You ain’t a beauty
But hey, you’re all right
“Thunder Road”
-Bruce Springsteen
Got any songs about why a parking deck facing a railroad track is an eyesore when one right next door to neighbors is fine and dandy?
( http://www.decaturmetro.com/tag/315-west-ponce/)
I believe that was/is the idea.
In-town etiquette question: If you pull into a parking space that’s adjacent to a sidewalk where there are people sitting at cafe tables, then sit in your car with the engine idling, is that obnoxious or just to be expected?
Both
Agreed. Both.
Inconsiderate and likely oblivious, which pretty much describes a great many drivers.
Both. It is obnoxious, but I would expect it.
maybe slightly less obnoxious for a shortish time during high heat and need of A/C in order not to melt.
Adds a bit of an Italian atmosphere to al fresco dinning
The bigger question is why aren’t those evil capitalists driving an electric car?
Internal combustioneers have such a sense of “ent-idle-ment.”
What a historic day. Thank you Supreme Court.
Great day indeed. I wonder if Chief Justice Jekyll Hyde is self aware of how contradictory he was in the decisions of the last two days.
I’m glad someone else said it first. Don’t misunderstand, I’m not surprised or disappointed in the outcomes, but I’m deeply troubled by how we got to them.
I’m not a fan of the ACA, but I thought this challenge to it, unlike the previous one, was weak. To attempt to deny people subsidies because the law doesn’t spell out that federal exchanges would be eligible for them, when those very subsidies are federal, defies common sense. Like it or not, judges are human, and the challenge could clearly be seen by them as a scouring of the bill’s language in an attempt to find anything to undermine the ACA, since repeal attempts have failed. Roberts simply wasn’t going to be a party to that.
I hear you, but it is not SCOTUS’ job to fix poorly written law. The language was clear. Congress should have fixed it.
I don’t see it that way. One was a Constitutional case, the other a case of statutory interpretation. They were very different. And in both cases, Roberts voted to leave intact existing, democratically enacted laws. (Well, I guess you could say that about the ACA. Barely.) Of course I don’t say that to defend the ACA decision, with which I disagree.
As for today’s decision, it’s the right result, and I was especially happy to see it grounded in a robust expression of our freedoms under the due process clause. It’s a reminder that, while the powers of the government are few and enumerated, our freedoms are almost limitless.
Yes, I agree with both parts of what you said, though I agreed with this decision on the ACA as well as the gay marriage decision. I did not agree with the decision on the first challenge to it in 2012.
The King argument was indeed weaker. The precedent that the government can make you purchase something (or do anything) under threat of financial penalty (under the guise of a “tax”) is much more scary.
I understand the difference. I also understand that he fairly consistently defers to the legislature. However, in reading the opinion yesterday, and dissent today, there were many intellectual inconsistencies in his reasoning.
Walrus, look at you comment jacking!!!
Haha. It was a great day today, but I can’t help but still be a political junkie!!
A much less sweeping but also important event happened today, as California moved closer to eliminating the personal belief exemption for vaccine refusal. “I believe” is hopefully moving toward obsolescence as a sufficient excuse.
Yes! Woohoo! Plus looks like they’re changing up the Georgia license plate that sports the confederate flag. So much progress in one day. Can hardly believe it.
Yep. Honestly, I can hardly believe that, in the same week, the confederate flag is coming down and gays are getting married in places like Alabama. A week that began in tragedy for this part of the country is ending with some inspiring events that will mark this as a historic week.
Oh, and though I’m a straight man, I would have loved to have been at the Indigo Girls concert tonight at Chastain.
That is how I’ve felt all day. And also just a feeling of unity and peace. I watched Obama’s remarks about marriage equality and listened to the beautiful eulogy he gave at Reverend Pinckney’s funeral and I haven’t been that moved by the words of a politician in quite a long while. He really said the things the country needed to hear today, and I feel really connected with my fellow Americans. I have this weird feeling… is it pride?
And a side note: Did anyone else see Little Shop of Stories’s window today? <3
As always, great concert! Lots of cheering and Love Wins! signs.
They opened with “The Power of Two” which was perfect. Everyone was feeling the love last night.
Heard some usually snarky and self-absorbed young teens discussing these events in awe. Young folks are taking it all in.
30 or 40 years from now the current debate over this will sound faintly ridiculous. It’s worth noting that a year after the Supreme Court struck down bans on interracial marriage, a substantial majority of the country was still opposed to marriages between blacks and whites. However, public opinion on gay marriage is, if anything, slightly ahead of the courts and government. Not that “public opinion” should ever dictate basic civil rights, but it does make it easier to conclude that this will be a non-issue in a relatively short period of time.
I completely agree, and so I’m just stunned by the reactions of the GOP presidential candidates to yesterday’s ruling. See the NY Times article linked below. At what point do you accept that you’re on the wrong side of history?
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/27/us/gop-hopefuls-denounce-marriage-equality-ruling.html
“At what point do you accept that you’re on the wrong side of history?”
After the primaries? (and we shouldn’t forget that it was after a general election win before Obama did).
The bad part about that mural is that it is a fresco of a parking deck! Re: The idling driver…that’s what valve stem wrenches are for! Then they can obliviously and obnoxiously idle there all day long…and then get a ticket from the shiny, happy meter police!
Prior to this post, I had never considered the non-destructive deviousness of valve stem removal. It creates a hassle, though technically no damage has been done. Which has me thinking.
If you leave the valve stem, has a crime been committed? Does “trespassing” apply to vehicles? Are you guilty of stealing someone’s air? I am spending most of tomorrow flying back to Atlanta, and I need something to ponder …
This thread has taken a potentially sinister turn. I like it.
P.S. Yes restaurants, children and dogs. Just not all three combined.
Equality.
Anyone else wanna go down to the courthouse and high-five people?
Would if I were home..do one for me..
Yes! My post today was going to be asking whether there will be any celebrations in Decatur this evening. ??? I want our kiddo to remember this day. I know about the Piedmont Park thing but would rather stay closer to home if there’s something happening here that you guys know about.
We did it! It was awesome!!
I can’t say in publishable words how incredibly tired I am of the traffic situation around Church and E Howard. What genius decided to close E. Howard (a one way street starting at Trinity) and totally demolish the end of Church Street which is the only way to access the four businesses on E. Howard before N. McDonough? This is not the first time that no thought or consideration has been given to the older established businesses in Decatur. Guess the huge taxes the little guys are paying in no way compares to the zillions being made off of the huge developments. I am all for progress and am pleased that Decatur is “growing up”, but it seems to me that this could all be done without putting the little guys out of business because clients CAN’T GET TO THEIR APPOINTMENTS!
REALLY?!?!?
STOP the growth?
E Howard is closed due to the construction – there was no other way to accomplish that. It will be reopened when the project is complete.
Church St is and always has been passable, albeit a little rough until the paving is completed in a month or so. It has never been closed and always was accessible from Trinity to Howard. BTW, the Church St work has nothing to do with the Trinity triangle construction.
Nope, Church street has been closed several times between Trinity and Howard — I have very frustrated clients who were told that the street was closed.
I use that block of Church St on a daily basis and it has NEVER been COMPLETELY closed. One may have had to wait or detour through a parking lot, but it was never completely closed for any significant period of time.
As a matter of fact, the contractor made special accommodation to keep driveways accessible when work was being done along the curbs.
If you have complaints, take them to Hugh Saxon.
It may not have been closed for any length of time, but I have had more than one client tell me the street was closed, and I myself have had to drive around the block and drive the wrong way on Maple Street to get to my office. I have never been directed through the Twains parking lot but I understand that other folks in my office have. Sometimes a street has to be closed, I get it — but the combo of that street and Howard does make it very frustrating to access the businesses back there.
I found it closed several times. It may be I am using at a different time of day than Steve.
Steve, you must work either for the City of Decatur, Decalb County or one of the developers in the area. Every single post you have made around this issue (and others who have complained about the access) you have defended. I have seen the street blocked a dozen or more times and several times E. Howard was blocked all the way to N. McDonough. The point in fact is that NO consideration has been taken for the businesses located on E.Howard. Construction or not, the situation is totally ridiculous. BTW, I get that Church St. construction has nothing to do with Trinity triangle, but surly some consideration could have been given to FINISH Church before the war zone started on E. Howard. REALLY POOR PLANNING ALL THE WAY AROUND.
I am not employed by anyone who has any interest in either construction project. If you have/had an issue, you should be taking it up with Hugh Saxon.
I have contacted Mr. Saxon more than once to no avail.
Has anyone had a good recent experience buying a sofa? Looking for something modern but comfortable (that can be difficult, I know). No leather. Willing to pay more for good quality but would like to stay under $1500 for a medium-sized sofa. Thanks.
Americana Furniture on Lawrenceville Hwy.
I just had a wonderful experience purchasing a custom chair from Americana on Lawrenceville Highway. They are just outside 285. The fabric I picked out looks great, and the chair is soooo comfortable. They are as nice as can be, too. Americana really reminds me of the local furniture stores we once had in small towns where I grew up. They are mostly gone now, but thank goodness Americana is still around.
Thanks. I noticed on their website that they carry some of the same sofas that Intaglia does. Will have to stop in and check their prices (not on the website).
We just bought a sofa at Mitchell Gold in Buckhead. It was a little more than your price range (although there is a huge sale going on now). We were thrilled with the process, the couch was made in North Carolina and has a lifetime warranty, and it arrived 4 weeks early. Highly recommend.
The cushions are part of the lifetime warranty, by the way.
Thanks. Mitchell Gold sofas, even on sale, are well above our price range. But I see they have an outlet store in Hickory, NC and we’ll be near there next week. Might be worth checking out.
Would love to hear about the outlet.
We splurged for made in the USA when we bought some forever furniture this year. (To NellieBelle’s point below, our kid is leaving house so we can have nice things now.) Before splurging, I did a ton of research on 1 cushion v 2 v 3. We were also looking for contemporary, and 2 cushion is the contemporary look. However, research warned that no one will ever sit in middle of a 2 cushion couch so it isn’t good if you are trying to maximize seating (as we were in our small living room). Also, if couch is for napping, 2 cushion is bad because cushion break hits everyone on hip, and hip sinks during nap. 1 cushion wears out unevenly and is not good for high use. If no warranty, best couch is 3 cushion where cushions are all same shape (no little “L” on corners) so they can all be swapped and flipped for even wear. Contemporary 3 cushion hard to find. Sorry to info dump, but you are the first person to ask about couches since I became an expert!
I too did tons of research on couches 15 years ago and bought a 3-cushion design for the same reasons above. I got a Sherrill, made in NC with a kiln-dried frame. It’s smallish (80″) but it’s been a great sitting and napping couch and fits 3 sitters comfortably. We have a small house and no guest bed so I’ve slept overnight on it many times with no problems. My advice: go 3-cushion if you can find it. Also, the more cotton content in the upholstery fabric, the more comfortable it is.
brianc, hate to say it, but you might want to pay more for the warranty. I have two leather chairs from a a good company by a good manufacturer where the leather is falling apart after 7 years. Of course, they had a 2 year warranty. The things originally retailed at $1000/each (I got them on sale). I am committed to not buying new furniture until the kids are old enough not to tear things up, which will happen around the time my house is paid off (ch-ching!). Buy something with a warranty.
Check out Brownlee’s Furniture in Lawrenceville. Been shopping with them for decades.
IKEA
We have purchased 2 Rowe sofas from Intaglia in Ansley Mall under your price range. Lots of fabric options too. There is an ecorowe line too.
I purchased a very nice leather sofa from Macy’s. I know, weird for some but they sell a group of small spaces furniture pieces. It was shorter than most, low backed and is extremely comfortable. Price was good as well. Store is at the Perimeter Mall location.
Anyone know anything about the water main break that’s currently shut off water to residents near N Decatur & DeKalb Industrial?
I’m probably way too late to the party this week to get any eyes on this question, but does anyone know what’s going into the old CozeeTeas/before-that-clothing-boutique/before-that-makeup space in Towne Square?