Free-For-All Friday 1/15/16
Decatur Metro | January 15, 2016 | 8:53 amFeel free to use this post to make comments and ask questions about local topics not yet discussed here over the past week.
Feel free to use this post to make comments and ask questions about local topics not yet discussed here over the past week.
Rick Julian
At Home in Decatur
M. Thomson
At Home in Decatur
Decaturight
LyricsSporadicallyGu…
Bike Rider
At Home in Decatur
Poplar
Ms.A
Steve
Dave
Looking Back: The 2011 Atlanta Snowpocalypse
Hmmm. Seems like the gloomy weather has everybody running a little slow.
No, we’ve all been waiting for you to make the first comment.
Glad to oblige.
Well, I didn’t post until almost 9a, so that’s probably a factor as well…
I hate to say it, but it’s going to take the death of a pedestrian on Scott Blvd to get anything done about traffic in that area. I watched a mom and several little ones come within a foot of being mowed down trying to cross Westchester at Scott because some imbecile couldn’t wait the extra minute to turn left onto Clairmont and opted for the Westchester cut through.
Has this been seen yet?
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/print-edition/2016/01/15/murder-kroger-to-be-reborn-as-140m-725-ponce.html
Holy cow.
Another icon.
Acquitted Kroger?
I think I’ll still call that building the Murder Kroger
I’m willing to compromise between the traditional nickname and the new developerspeak name, and call it
1-8-7 Ponce.
murder tower
Who is going to move into these developments? Doesn’t anybody remember the late 80s?
Vaguely, what happened?
ha – these people weren’t alive in the late 80s. It’s like asking me to remember beatniks and mopheads.
This one is all office (no residential) and I think it will fill fast.
Finally got around to watching Rectify after hearing all the recommendations here. Wow, what a great show.
Learned about the show on here as well and loving the show! Does anyone know when the season 3 will be available on Netflix?
Typically, Netflix adds the previous season of a show just before the new season airs. The discs will likely be available earlier. Season 4, btw, will be Rectify’s last and will air in the fall.
“Finally got around to watching Rectify after hearing all the recommendations here. Wow, what a great show.”
You’re welcome. 😉
Ha! It was certainly your passion about it that stood out. Man, what a great show. Thanks!
The Netflix series Bloodlines has some thematic similarities to Rectify, and also a Southern setting (well, if you count the Florida Keys as Southern). Not a perfect show by any means (too reliant on flashbacks, for one thing) but the great cast held my interest.
Yeah, I really enjoyed Bloodline as well. The actor that played Danny killed it. Curious to see where they take it in season 2.
Am looking to sublease office space from an existing Decatur business tenant — i.e., a business inside a building that is not using all of its space and has a room to lease. Any ideas on how to find such an arrangement?
Call Fisher Paty @ Oakhurst Realty Partners 404-371-0187
Try Decatur CoWorks.
http://www.decaturcoworks.com/
Both of the above a great responses.
So Wal*Mart is closing a bunch of stores. I wonder if Memorial/Columbia is on the list, given a brand new store was built a short distance away in Suburban Plaza. I recall some people here opining that they would not be surprised to see this happen.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2016/01/15/walmart-to-close-269-stores-in-us-and-abroad/78840020/
Edit: Just found the list and that store is not on it.
http://www.syracuse.com/business-news/index.ssf/2016/01/walmart_stores_closing_list_complete_us.html
List is out. No Atlanta locations on it. I feel bad for people in small town Alabama, though. http://news.walmart.com/news-archive/2016/01/15/walmart-continues-sharpened-focus-on-portfolio-management
No closures in the metro area. All are in south GA., and are Walmart Express stores.
http://www.cbs46.com/story/30976853/walmart-to-close-seven-stores-in-georgia
Walmart closing quite a few stores. Alas Decatur GA not on the list.
http://news.walmart.com/news-archive/2016/01/15/walmart-continues-sharpened-focus-on-portfolio-management
They’re mainly the Walmart Express and Neighborhood stores like the one in Tucker (not the big one on Lawrenceville highway), and some other small-concept stores. It sound like the only big WMs closing are in Latin America and a few other places. There a list here: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/walmart-to-shutter-269-stores/
“They’re mainly the Walmart Express and Neighborhood stores like the one in Tucker…”
Just to be clear, there are no metro area stores closing. The only locations closing here are in south Georgia.
http://www.11alive.com/story/money/2016/01/15/georgia-walmarts-among-269-set-close/78846056/
Correct. I was using that location as an example and wasn’t clear that it wasn’t closing.
Walmart did close their mini store in Tech Square last July. Which was neither an Express nor a Neighborhood, but was an urban experiment. Walmart claim they simply did not have the logistics to keep it well stocked, and the store had minimal storage space.
Which is a problem most businesses would LIKE to have – stuff flew off the shelves faster than they could stock it.
I can say that their refrigerated case (food items) was always near bare – someone should take note of the untapped market.
Where can I pick up a Creative Loafing around Decatur Square?
Aren’t there some boxes along the north side of E. Ponce in front of the Masonic building and Private Bank? Not sure if those are CLs, but it might be worth checking. Pretty sure Mellow Mushroom used to always have it. Perhaps I’ve seen them at Fellini’s?
Sorry for the lack of concrete information. Hopefully one of the above suggestions works though!
Nearest place I know that always has it is Athens Pizza. CL doesn’t seem to be as much of a staple of Metro Atlanta life as it once was. Social media victim? Or maybe I have just been distracted by CSD eBlasts for the last two decades.
There’s a box in front of Fleet Feet.
Read Creative Loafing online at http://www.clatl.com.
There’s a Creative Loafing box in front of the MARTA station Church St. side, but the copies go fast. Can usually find a copy in Java Monkey or Twains. I think there are also some between Starbucks and Little Shop…and if memory serves there are some in the lobby area of the library.
Avondale’s Beer Growler has them. Kill two birds and fill up yer growler while you’re there. BTW they’re also now serving beer flights along with some friendly new staffers. Big fan!
I get my CL’s at Joe May Valet Cleaners on E Trinity, next door to the fire station. The box is just inside their door.
Just outside Starbucks. I grab one there or outside of Fellini’s
Dos Madres has closed its doors for good.
Surprise ! I was never sure those folks knew what they were doing. Disclosure: I have never eaten there.
¡Classico!
We have 2 teenage daughters working in the restaurant business. One worked at Dos Madres over the Summer. The other is at Chai Pani. The difference in management was stunning. That said, always sad when a local business fails. By the way, Dos Madres food was tasty IMHO.
Too bad. It was great. I was wanting some of their fish. Just called them. No answer and their mailbox is full. When did it close? Nothing on their FB page since August.
Interesting interview with the Twain’s founder on their 20th (!) year in business. Somewhat surprising takeaway for me is that they own the building there. Having left Decatur, I actually find that I miss Twains more than some places that I would have put higher on my “Decatur list”.
http://atlanta.eater.com/2016/1/15/10776194/twains-20th-anniversary-ethan-wurtzel-interview
Twain’s has done a masterful job of adjusting to the times. They brought in a brewmaster when demand for local product began to take off, then improved the variety and quality of their brews as the market matured and demanded it. The food has steadily improved through the years as well. And they’ve managed to do this while never going frou frou — they can answer any questions about their offerings without presuming you’ve asked for a dissertation. About the only thing they haven’t solved is the parking squeeze — it is their perpetual challenge.
You’re right – but this might support the how/why: They improved their quality and variety as those of us who went there 20 years ago when we were poor and non-discriminating in our F&B choices have “aged-in-place” and now have the money and inclination for better options. (And of course, we invited all our aging yuppie friends to move here too.)
Very smart strategy and I congratulate them.
Well, they’re still in business after 20 years. Clearly car storage has not been too much of an issue. Proving once again that if you have a product people want, people will find you, regardless of how much love you feel the need to give to their large steel appendages.
Just saying it’s an issue. I’ve spoken to at least a dozen current/former Twain’s folks over the years, and they wish they had a better parking situation. I was there on Saturday and their little parking lot was its usual circus. I ended up directing traffic for a bit, even.
Sounds to me like you just accomplished for free what would otherwise cost Twain’s roughly 8 thousand dollars per space to purchase and construct, making you personally responsible for future low beer prices (in theory)!
Just wanted to pop in & say “Happy Friday” to alla y’all. Stay dry! (Literally–not figuratively…I know how we all love our libations here in the COD. 😉 )
So has the thawing of relations between the US and Cuba had any impact on your DM name?
Nope. There’s still that cocktail I really like… 😉
Dang. All these years, I thought you were a Castro refugee. Always learning something new at Decatur Metro.
I’m not, but my father was. So…there’s that.
Looking for a math tutor for an 8th grade girl. Anyone know a good tutor?
We found several tutors through WyzAnt and were pleased each time.
Sad. Not one mention of Decatur losing a firefighter. 40 yrs with 4 kids.
I’d not heard anything about this. Do you have a link? In any event, very, very sorry to hear it. Bless him for giving his life for others and bless his family in this dark time.
It was on Decaturish and thedecaturminute.
Here’s the Decaturish link: http://www.decaturish.com/2016/01/decatur-firefighter-passes-away/
Has anyone seen anywhere that we can donate to fund for 4 children?
Anyone on the north side (Forkner and Church) hear the loud boom this morning at a little after 7:30?
Mary Margaret Oliver just introduced legislation to confiscate “scary” guns, magazines, and ammo with HB 731: http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/en-US/display/20152016/HB/731
How she thinks it’s the least bit OK is beyond me. Previous iterations of these idiotic bills previously included some kind of buy back provision, but no more – turn them into the GBI or you’re a felon.
Wanna be more like Chicago, DC, or Baltimore with respect to murders and gun crime? Please support this bill, disarm all of the law abiding citizens, and see what happens.
One hand on your gun, the other on your armor-piercing pearls.
I should elaborate. Your comment seems to incorporate an unspoken slippery slope argument, as I can’t see how prohibiting the specific munitions in this bill would impact the average person’s ability to defend their home and/or person — you would still have a vast arsenal of sufficiently deadly weapons from which to choose. But while it’s tempting to ridicule the slippery slope, I can’t do it, because we sure as hell have slipped all the way down the other side. The gun culture has become psychotic.
So, you see no irony that the cities with the strictest guns laws have the highest gun death rates? (slippery slope or no)
Source, please? The 2013 CDC report shows no distinct correlation on the city level, but studies on the state level (and this is a state law being proposed) shows the exact opposite correlation from that which you’re claiming. Furthermore, there is a enormous gulf between laws which seek to ban all firearms (which this would not), and attempting to place a reasonable upper limit on firepower. Just how dead do you need your attacker to be?
http://www.factcheck.org/2015/10/gun-laws-deaths-and-crimes/
It doesn’t ban all firearms, but it is a big step in that direction. For one thing, the law retroactively bans all magazines with a capacity of 10 or more rounds. That encompasses a huge number of handguns now on the market. Many thousands of owners who purchased their handguns legally at the time would be faced with the choice to destroy their magazines (perhaps their guns altogether) or face felony convictions. A substantial amount of dealer inventory in GA would have to be destroyed or shipped out of state.
There is no practical justification for this part of the bill. From the perspective of a criminal, there is very little difference between carrying two 10 round magazines and one 17 round magazine. And of course ZERO criminals will turn in their 10+ round magazines anyway. So why bother? It’s the symbolism, of course — it is a statement that gun rights can be revoked at will by “progressive” majorities, and that they are perfectly happy to brand responsible gun owners as felons. This law is a wedge through which more gun confiscation would surely follow, as it has elsewhere. (In the UK, there is even a movement to ban long kitchen knives. Seriously.) Let’s not forget that both Obama and HRC have publicly praised Australia’s gun confiscation in recent months.
I join them in their praise.
I have noticed that criminals keep on raping and kidnapping, too. Maybe we should get rid of the laws against those actions. Come to think of it, I guess if we can’t get 100% cooperation we should just get rid of all the laws. Think of the savings on police and such!
You’ll pardon me if that sounds like one of those TRUE FACTS that NRA types spout while trying to sound indignant, all the while hoping that you don’t actually investigate how the stat was cherry picked.
Glad to see so many fellow citizens out providing labor and materials for the MLK Project this weekend. Thank you so much to all the volunteers and businesses that support this great event! If you have the time this weekend, please stop by the Solarium in Oakhurst to sign up for a shift.
Happy to be there with Cub Scout Pack 175 in tow. The boys in my den worked hard and got a heck of a lot done. It was a great day.