Great video Andrea!

Atlanta Urban Area Partnership for Google from City of Decatur on Vimeo.

Here’s the video produced by Decatur’s Andrea Berry on behalf of Decatur, Chamblee, Avondale, Dunwoody, Doraville, Emory and Georgia Power, making the case for Google Fiber. [h/t The Decatur Minute]

It looks like Decatur, etc will have their work cut out for them.  Google broke its silence on the initiative yesterday with an update, which stated that with the RFI deadline now past, over 1,100 communities across the U.S. had expressed interest in becoming the test ground for the company’s high-speed fiber optic network.  Next steps for Google include “site visits, meeting with local officials and consulting with third-party organizations.”

After the jump, you can view a map that Google created showing the locations of government responses (small dots) and resident nominations of 1,000 or more (big dots).

Read the rest of this entry »

Garrett notes that Andrea Berry has just posted video of the first portion of City Schools of Decatur’s Tuesday Community Forum online.

The video includes the voices of community members, the CSD Board of Ed, and the Superintendent discussing details of the plan.  Personally, I was very glad to see the Board and Superintendent offer reassurances to the community.  At this point, no one can answer everyone’s acreage questions, and we can each continue to elaborate on our personal comfort levels regarding site size, but I appreciated that the Board and Superintendent were willing to relay their reasons for being comfortable with 5th Avenue’s current size.

I hope everyone with an opinion/interest in the 5th Avenue rebuild will take the time to watch it.

FYI: Andrea pledges that part 2 would be available Friday morning.

Andrea Berry’s Decatur eLife Holiday Video Card is ready for viewing!

Come for the holiday wishes, stay for the dog eating his holiday costume!

Andrea Berry at Decatur eLife is coordinating a Decatur holiday video card…

We want YOU to be part of our first city-wide holiday video card. Here’s how to participate:

It’s simple! Just decide what you want to include: a photo, a note, a drawing or a short video of no more than 45-seconds.

The only rules are that your submission has to be holiday-related and it must be emailed to us by December 7, 2009.

Email your submission to aberry@elifemagazine.net. It can be just from you or from your whole family! We’ll put it with the other submissions and post it online with our Decatur Blog partners, during the week of December 7th.

Be as creative as you want to be! We look forward to receiving your greeting!

Which neighboring towns, cities and unincorporated areas will you be sending it to?

“Happy Holidays Scottdale! Love, Decatur.”