John Kessler reports that The German Bakery, which sits floating in a sea of strip malls on a small side-street off Lawrenceville Highway up by the Home Depot, is closing its doors forever tomorrow after 48 years in business.

And judging by Kessler’s conversation with the owner, it doesn’t sound like a voluntary retirement…

“I hate to be leaving, but there’s really not much I can do,” said owner Gary Welshons, when reached by telephone. “It’s been a rough couple of years.”

InDecatur catches word that Decatur’s mayor has started his own blog!

After stipulating that “This is being done by me personally and has no official , or unofficial for that matter, ties to the city”, the mayor invites comments from all guests.

This should be an interesting endeavor. If people don’t abuse this direct line to the mayor’s inbox, it will be an excellent way to gauge his reaction on a variety of topics affecting our city.

His first thoughts are on a city of Dunwoody; a topic I’ve cited the mayor on a couple times in the past few weeks.

Make sure to check out BillFloydDecatur.com! I know I’ll be a frequent visitor.

SLIGHT ASIDE: It’s been interesting to see how the city government and other orgs have adjusted to work (and deal) with the Decatur blogs since we launched last year. While we both started out as just little voices in a big old internet, I continue to be amazed by the people, news orgs and residents that have contacted me personally because of this blog. And now the mayor has started a blog!

As the mayor states in his first post “when used properly, [blogs] have value”. I couldn’t agree more. But figuring out the definition of “properly” is a constant challenge.

Good luck Mr. Mayor.

The once defunct “Decatur Blur” has risen out of the internet trash heap of abandoned blogs with its first posting in 8 months! Responding to the cries (and trill screams) of admirers, the Blurmeister General admits that he has moved to the Midwest in search of a better yard. (I guess the grass is greener on the other side…especially after the months of drought here)

But luckily it sounds like he’s still willing to author “Onion-esque” articles about our fair city and is asking readers for topic suggestions. He can be reached at [email protected]

While I would not-so-humbly suggest the Blurmeister use this site for inspiration, I’ll go one step further and submit a couple of my own satirical headlines to spark his admirable wit:

“Following the City’s Lead, Local Decatur Man Looks to Annex Neighbors To Lessen Tax Burden”

“Father of Three Worries He Drank The Angel Out of Business”

“Clairmont Elementary 2nd Grade Class Rejoices at Charter School Status – Submits Working Plan To School Board for Week-Long Recess”

Good Luck General!

(Photo Courtesy of the Decatur Blur)

h/t: Rus

I’m not writing this post in response to any particular critique I’ve received or recently heard. In fact, all of the personal comments I’ve received about this blog thus far have been overly generous with their praise. This post is more the result of observations I’ve made over the past 4 months of blogging, spurred by recent events and subsequent posts.

At last week’s city commission meeting, multiple commissioners seemed to imply that news of the city’s recently unveiled annexation plan had gotten out of hand, in part, because of “rumors” that had spread quickly over the internet. And while I do honestly believe that each commissioner appreciated the increased participation, the comment got me thinking about how Decatur has gotten its news in the past and how blogs fit into that mix.

Up until last year, there was a noticeable lack of sources, either in print or online, where Decatur residents could get news about the city. Many have had to rely on word-of-mouth, internet message boards, official city publications, or Atlanta/DeKalb focused publications to piece together their news on a daily basis.

Of these options, the first two were pretty hit-or-miss concerning whether a certain piece of news would ever reach your ears. The city’s official publication, Decatur Focus, is a great asset, but it’s only a monthly newsletter and sometimes only gives a cleaned up “official” perspective of current events. The Oakhurst Leaflet is another great newsletter, and while its not a city pub, it also only arrives in Oakhurst mailboxes monthly.

And finally we come to local papers, either online or hard copy. Much of the time the AJC just doesn’t get it right. Take this recent story about the annexation. On hold? Not quite AJC. Nice try. Then there’s GoDeKalb, which probably provides the most up-to-date, accurate and detailed articles about Decatur. But unfortunately, Decatur isn’t big enough to justify daily complete coverage, so we have to settle for occasional drips.

This is where the little, independent blogs come in. InDecatur, Decatur-DeKalb (both authored by the same intrepid blogger) and Decatur Metro attempt to fill the void where all these other forms of media leave off.

I believe that in the 21st century, Decatur residents shouldn’t have to wait for a monthly newsletter or for a questionably factual article to be written in the AJC to find out what going in around town. We want to know about the issues as they are happening, so as many residents as possible know about the destruction of Decatur Stadium or the PATH through Mason Mill Park to be able to speak up about them before its too late. Though this more efficient spread of news and info may at times compel more folks into the commission room at city hall, hopefully they will also better informed.

At the same time I acknowledge we must be careful. While half the fun about this blog is reading and responding to the comments of others, we must take caution not to take things out of context or give undue weight to rumors that may prove untrue. I will continue to do my best to moderate these sorts of tips, and figure I can only improve with time. Right? Right?!

I also believe that it is in the city’s interest to have a voice in this new, online dialog. City government should be able to respond to issues when things on the internet get too heated or misconstrued. They should use it as a way of getting the word out about events and meetings. Opening this channel will go along way to “improving communication” between the city and its residents, which is a key concern among residents today.

So enjoy reading. Who knows what the coming months have in store? Maybe some one will build smart mixed use down the street from your house with a Trader Joe’s at the ground floor. Or maybe the Artisan will decide that a grassy, barbed wire parking lot was really much better than millions of dollars in real estate and just knock the whole thing down!

Regardless, we’ll be here, pondering it all for your amusement and information.