In a WABE interview that aired this morning, Oakhurst Porchfest organizer Scott Doyon gives an excellent summary of the origins of Porchfest and what you can expect from the event.

Great stuff!

And as a little added bonus, our old “Decatur: There’s a Festival For That” t-shirt even got a mention! 

A couple of years back, someone here made a comment that in 5 years DeKalb would look a lot like Fulton in terms of it’s cities.  That seems to have been a pretty good prediction as new cities have appeared in North DeKalb and multiple cityhood efforts have popped up around the county in the last few years.

Now South DeKalb is showing interest, though the effort is in the early stages.  From WABE…

The proposed City of South DeKalb’s organizers want a bill in next year’s legislative session. However, Kathryn Rice, who is leading the effort, says plans are in their first stages. The group does not have a sponsor for the bill or even the money for a feasibility study.

Rice says her group is still deciding on the exact boundaries. “At a minimum we’re looking at everything south of 285 excluding the cities,” said Rice. “But we would also like to include unincorporated Clarkston, and that’s up to them.”

Atlanta recently made news scoring a perfect score in the Human Rights Campaign’s second annual Municipal Equality Index.  In the same index, WABE followed up with a report that Decatur scored the lowest score in the metro area with just a 27 rank.

City Manager Peggy Merriss pointed out to WABE that Decatur’s small size and the structure of its government prevented it from checking off some factors used to create the score…

One factor used in the survey is having an LGBT official in government.  That is something that is tough for Decatur, which has a population of about 20,000.

“We don’t have mayor’s liaisons to anything.  He shares a desk with the four other city commissioners and when they come in, they have a desk and a phone they can use.  The mayor doesn’t even have an office,” says Merriss.

However, neighboring Avondale Estates scored a 56.  So a direct comparison of areas where either Decatur or Avondale scored points may shed some light on the discrepancy in scores.

Relationship Recognition

• Municipal Domestic Partnership Registry: Decatur 0 of 12, Avondale 12 of 12

Municipality as Employer

• Non-Discrimination in City Employment: Decatur 10 of 10, Avondale 10 of 10
• Domestic Partner Benefits: Decatur 4 of 4, Avondale 0 of 4
• Municipality if a Welcoming Place to Work: Decatur 0 of 2, Avondale 2 of 2

Municipal Services

• LGBT liaison in Mayor’s Office: Decatur 0 of 5, Avondale 5 of 5
• Enumerated Anti-Bullying School Policies: Decatur 3 of 3, Avondale 3 of 3

Law Enforcement

• LGBT Police Liaison or Task Force: Decatur 0 of 8, Avondale 8 of 8

Relationship with the LGBT Community

• Leadership’s Public Position on LGBT Equality: Decatur 2 of 5, Avondale 5 of 5
• Openly LGBT elected or appointed municipal leaders: Decatur 3 of 3, Avondale 3 of 3
• City engages with the LGBT community: Decatur 2 of 2, Avondale 2 of 2

h/t: Decaturish

From WABE…

The issue now pending in court:  whether the group Good Growth DeKalb (GGD) has legal standing to appeal DeKalb County’s decision to issue developer Selig Enterprises a building permit.

The county says GGD has no legal standing. GGD representatives say, even if the organization loses this round in court, it will take the County to court on its primary allegation: that the county violated its own ordinances when it granted Selig the permit.

And then this…

But DeKalb County lawyers said in court Friday that Selig plans include not only Walmart but also a Ross Dress for Less, Joann’s Fabric and Crafts, and a HomeGoods store.

Jim points to this article on the WABE website that reports City Schools of Decatur have altered the recess policy from “not to exceed 15 minutes a day” to “not less than 20 minutes a day”.

The article states that a group of parents lobbied CSD for the change.

This StoryCorps interview caught my attention on WABE this morning: Beth Jordan and her mom, Joy Cooley, reminiscing about Beth’s growing-up years in Decatur in the 1960s and 1970s — “misadventures and close calls, while growing up in a neighborhood full of kids.”

They talk about going to the swimming pool every day (“the neat thing was being able to walk from our house to the swimming pool and crossing the railroad tracks, and playing on the trestle”), metal swing sets (“which were probably covered in lead paint”), no sunscreen (“didn’t need it!”), playing street hockey at night after dinner and going into the sewers to retrieve the ball, no seat belts.

You can hear the interview here.

 

Allison points out this WABE report that states up to 1500 DeKalb County residents could receive revised property tax assessment notices in the coming days due to assessments that are too low.

Calvin Hicks is the chief appraiser for the DeKalb County Board of Assessors. He says he learned homeowners in the Avondale Estates historic district may have received assessment notices that were too low after a number of them contacted his office in protest.

…”Quite frankly, I think in a couple of those, through human error they just didn’t get the values where they needed to be.”

Hicks says this was first year the county had to take distressed home sales into account and his office recently switched to new software application. In General, Hicks says it appears that home values in DeKalb County have declined to a lower level than a number of surrounding counties.

Parts of Avondale, Decatur and Candler Park are under review, according to the article.

Anyone else thinking Decatur might want to consider bringing tax assessments back in-house?