UPDATE: Steve reports in the comments that news orgs are now reporting that the armored car driver has died.

North Druid Hills Patch is reporting that an armed robber shot and critically injured an armored car driver at the Toco Hills Shopping Center early this afternoon.  Patch’s Jonathan Cribbs reports that the robber “shot several times without warning at the armored car parked in front of the Kroger grocery store at 2205 Lavista Road at about noon”.  The amount of money taken from the armored car has not been disclosed.

The report notes that this is the seventh in a recent string of armored car robberies around Atlanta.

The AJC’s write-up about the incident says that the gunman jumped into a waiting car and that Kroger’s surveillance cameras captured the whole event.

Patch reports that the Jennifer Garner movie “Odd Life of Timothy Green” will be filming at the vacant Forrest Hills Elementary School at the end of Forrest Boulevard, near Avondale Park, today through next Monday.

According to Patch, Garner sightings were reported this past weekend at the Botanical Gardens and at South City Kitchen, where she was seen with hubby Ben Affleck.

Patch reports that Decatur First Bank was robbed just before 4:00pm today. Thankfully, no one was hurt and no weapon was displayed.  Patch says that the suspect fled with an unspecified amount of money.

I just hope none of our good friends at DFB were too traumatized by the event!

The DeKalb County Commission has to have its budget balanced each year by March 1st.  Its the law!

Faced with the unenviable task, CEO Burrell Ellis’ administration asked DeKalb’s Parks and Rec Dept., which Recreation Centers should be closed.

According to North Druid Hills Patch, Mason Mill’s Recreation Center – inside Mason Mill Park off Clairmont Road – was among the five recommended for closure, based on “a number of factors”, such as age, location and maintenance costs.  A bit more from Patch…

Closing the centers is estimated to save the county $500,000.

…“We asked our parks and recreation department to identify which parks and rec centers would be the most appropriate to close, based on a number of factors,” said DeKalb Chief Operating Officer Richard Stogner. “These recommendations were based on a number of factors, such as their respective service areas, age, and maintenance costs.”

Photo courtesy of DeKalb County’s website

From Patch…

Chances are “slim to none” that Century Retail will develop a mixed-use shopping development in Avondale Estates, said city commissioner Michael Payne during the Jan. 19 work session at Avondale city hall.

Florida-based Century Retail was slated to develop the four-block area between Avondale Road and Franklin Street, from the Peach State Federal Credit Union to the old Ray’s TV Shop near Center Street. Those plans have been at a standstill while Century reorganizes under Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.

The city is considering cancelling the development agreement with Century and may look to do so at its upcoming regular commission meeting on Jan. 24.

If Publix is still interested in a location in this general area, it seems like it could be a potentially great anchor store for the unbuilt Avondale MARTA Station development or perhaps even a bit further north at the vacant DeVry property.  And before you scoff at my mixed-use daydreams, remember that Publix has already shown an open-mind to higher density development with its GA Tech and Atlantic Station locations – not to mentioned this lower-density, unbuilt Century Retail development.

Patch reports that Our Way Cafe on East College Ave, which suffered from a serious fire a year ago, is planning for a February reopening.

The popular eatery, known for its southern-style cooking and walls filled with memorabilia has a new look, a new menu and will soon be serving beer and wine.

“We’re evolving with the times by responding to people’s changing tastes and preferences in food and the way it’s prepared,” said owner Eva Roswall.

An all-organic salad bar with homemade dressings signals the biggest change.

Thanks to Steve for the link!

Not to be confused with community blogs, hyperlocal websites like EveryBlock, Outside.in, Placeblogger and Patch, aggrigate content for city neighborhoods across the country.

A profile in this morning’s NY Times shows that each of these sites takes  a unique approach to news creation/gathering.  Everyblock (not currently in ATL), Outside.in and Placeblogger all are powered mainly through aggregation of local blogs and news media.  Everyblock actually goes one step further and also collects and posts things like police reports and restaurant inspections.  Patch is more “community bloggerish”, with more original content of three NJ neighborhoods.

In Atlanta, Kim’s CommunityRadar.com is a good example of a “hyperlocal” aggregator/site.  WABE is also working on a model called Lens On Atlanta, which will focus heavily on promoting discussion (with many of the same “rules” that apply on DM interestingly enough!)

Time will tell whether these sites can fill the metro area news gaps.  As always, money is an issue.  A couple of the sites profiled by the Times sites are sponsored by grants and foundation money, but ultimately they will need to prove profitable.  Additionally content will prove challenging for those sites which don’t produce any of their own, if local newspapers keep folding.

This is certainly a trend worth watching.  My major concern about these sites, in addition to the more universal ones stated above, is the ability to create a loyal, passionate online community.  I think things like site origination  (who created it and why?) and coverage area work against a larger site’s possible success.  Many, spurred by dreams of torrents of ad revenue, try to be too many things to too many people.  As a result, any sense of community is lost.

Can this deficit be overcome?  Probably.  We’ve sacrificed much at the alter of conveinence and profit in the past century.  But I still think that the most valuable sites are the ones that sprout from within existing communities.

But does valuable = enduring?

Thanks to Judy for pointing out this article!