Put a couple beers in me and get me talking about metro area towns and it’s inevitable that I’ll bring up Stone Mountain.

“Think about it!  That city has one of the largest tourist attractions in the state just minutes down the road, but the city’s downtown is a mess!”

Or something like that.

And like any good rant, mine was pretty devoid of facts.  I hadn’t exactly been down to Stone Mountain City Hall and asked any of these questions to anyone who might actually know the answer.  (The recipient of my rants were mainly friends too nice – or drunk – to tell me to shut up or strangers I’ve accosted in the line at Taqueria del Sol.)

But according to this morning’s AJC, the City of Stone Mountain has been trying to put some money into its streetscapes for at least the lifespan of my rant…

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I’m a few hours late with this news, but for those detached from the news cycle over the past 24 hours, be warned – Stone Mountain is more dangerous than it looks.  From the AJC…

The body of an Emory University graduate student reported missing Tuesday night was found Wednesday morning on the sculpted side of Stone Mountain.

Antony Edge plunged some 600 feet to his death after crossing a protective fence on the mountaintop, said Chuck Kelley, the park’s chief of police and fire.

…”The mountain is very deceiving and that’s why we have that fence,” [Kelley] said. “You can start over and it doesn’t look that steep, but when you stop and turn around, the mountain is very steep.”