City of Dunwoody, my personal look back at ten years since incorportation by Councilman John Heneghan.

Councilman John Heneghan

Today marks the Tenth anniversary of the creation of the City of Dunwoody and I have had the distinct privilege of serving on the City Council since the very beginning. Please allow me to give some personal perspective for those who are not aware of our history.

Many years ago I was President of the Dunwoody North Civic Association, looking for ways to improve the quality of life for 1,200 residents within the subdivision boundaries in which I live therefore I had an extensive history of dealing with DeKalb County (our local government) on various zoning, transportation, infrastructure issues as well as police coverage, therefore based on what I had seen with the County I thought we could do better. I was a supporter of breaking away from the county for municipal services, pro Cityhood and along with many other people, we successfully worked toward that goal to become our own city.

Incorporation was a multi-year political struggle down at the Capital with partisan gamesmanship being played on both sides, but in the end the residents wanting the right of self determination won out allowing the referendum to take place. That summer many people worked to support the vote. Then on July 15, 2008 the residents of Dunwoody went to the polls, putting their faith in the pro-cityhood leaders passing the referendum by 82%. On December 1st 2008, "Atlanta's Classic City" of Dunwoody was incorporated, we passed lean budgets yet started a world class police force from scratch just four months later by offering fair wages, good benefits and offering every police officer a take home vehicle on day one.

There are lots of great memories from those early days as I remember running for office and standing in front of Bruster's Ice Cream on hot summer nights talking to whomever would listen about cityhood while standing in the long lines. After being elected to a citywide, at-large position, most of the City Council was sworn in on September 24, 2008 but the District 2 local race eventually won by Adrian Bonser was to be determined by a runoff at a later date. Several days later, on September 28th the first meeting of the Dunwoody City Council was held at Dunwoody Methodist Church and here is that agenda. I remember the work being put in to determine the service delivery plan, the late nights work sessions making decisions which still stand today; those of us who were on Council will never forget those early days. Here are a few videos detailing those startup memories, here is Mayor Wright and some of the other members of Council telling stories of incorporation and start up that are not widely known.

If you watched some of those videos I linked in the previous paragraph you may have noticed that I personally wasn't front and center in any of them but know I was the guy documenting, compiling data and influencing decisions at every level. One insight I can share on incorporation was that the political partisanship at the Capital with the tit for tat, back and fourth, you vote for mine and I will vote for yours on important subjects that seemed to be decided solely on personal relationships literally turned my stomach. Though I enjoy observing and studying politics, seeing the highly political sausage being made up close and personal in hearing rooms, as well as watching the petty arguments on the floor of the chambers spreading Fear, Uncertainty & Doubt made me never to want to become a politician.

Luckily the City of Dunwoody is a non-partisan city council election whereby we the elected officials can concentrate solely on doing what is best for the city, providing improved services, upgraded quality of life and focus on spending our collective tax money on paving, parks and police. Ten years on the Dunwoody City Council and I can honestly tell you that from my perspective; political politics nor tit for tat, you scratch my back & I'll scratch yours has ever happened between council members, we are elected officials and not politicians - for that I am grateful.

In my ten years of service, I have had the pleasure of meeting thousands of people and had more conversations on topics of substance shaping this community than I could even fathom measuring.  Proud of the personal service I have provided individuals.  I’m extremely proud that I have preserved 10 years of city documents on my private servers that I make readily available to whoever is interested, proud that I started live streaming meetings before it was in vogue and proud that I have maintained this blog from the beginning. Since the initiation of cityhood, I have written over 3,700 blog posts providing the community (and various new outlets) with the same information that I receive as a City Council member so that you can help guide us on policy and important decisions. For the last ten years, I haven't wavered from my Philosophy on Public Service which is when I have the ability to make a difference, I have a responsibility to do so and second, transparency in Government breeds self-corrective behavior.

At times my little blog has allowed you the opportunity to peer deep into my soul, to see my personality, to meet my bride Kristin, my boys Riley, Gavin & Declan, my family, over time if you were paying attention you have seen what makes me click by learning what is important to me. As an introvert, this electronic forum has allowed me to do all of this from behind a keyboard, yet it has also made me extremely accessible when someone needs help on a city matter. Helping people and affecting positive changes within these 12 square miles are the two most rewarding aspects of serving on the City Council.

Serving the community in this capacity doesn’t always make City Council members popular as we are required to make tough policy choices, make budget decisions that have long term implications on personal safety & public welfare. I have had to interpret the zoning codes we put into place in ways that do not always make everyone happy. I have been forced to tell neighbors and friends that the traffic laws in place (like the no Left hand turn into my neighborhood that was in place before cityhood) are there for them to comply with. I was an advocate for the Brook Run Trail and the Dog Park when members of our community were dead set against such projects saying that we were ruining the beauty of our park. I was pro-backyard Chickens when the issue was first brought up in 2010 and people had strong opinions on both sides of the coop. As much as I wanted to save the Theater in Brook Run, the renovation and long term operating costs without a viable tenant were something I couldn't support. In short, at times we the elected officials are the local throat to choke when things don’t go as planned, city services are lacking (as are restaurants with roof top bars) or when people believe there should be a different outcome. When people are unhappy we hear about it in our email, as comments in various social media accounts and people are not bashful about calling our home phones as we are all readily available to anyone who wants to reach out.

Looking back at historical blog posts I have written, the priorities I set for my governance have worked for me personally and they helped us get started.   I believe the City of Dunwoody which started during a deep recession has been very successful in being good stewards of your tax money. We started slow and only worked with the cash on hand and have made numerous solid investments into the community, be it a new City Hall, land swaps with the County, improved sports fields, new parks, intersections or miles of paving. The Dunwoody Crier in this week’s edition highlighted the changes since incorporation and when comparing that data to an interview now Mayor Shortal gave after we passed our first budget; I would agree that we have kept our financial promises. We haven’t raised the tax rate and yet the services for paving, parks and police have all been raised dramatically since before incorporation.  The future of Dunwoody looks bright with numerous projects ready to move forward and I believe we are planted on firm ground moving forward.

Looking back at photos and videos of that era, it seems like much of this stuff happened just yesterday, yet I now see that all three of my little boys are all taller than their mother. Ten Years moves pretty fast - Happy Birthday Dunwoody; it has been an honor and a privilege.

To the citizens of Dunwoody, I thank you for allowing me to continue to serve this fine community.

John

Look up - “We’re a generation of idiots, smartphones, and dumb people.”

Watch This - 9 Million Views on Social Media in 9 days.

“Look Up” is a short film by Gary Turk exploring the real silence involved in the use of social media using a series of poetic verses and a cinematic love story.

Video

A better Dunwoody Blog - focusing on Dunwoody's tomorrow.

New Blog For Our Community..focusing on the positive in Dunwoody - and there is a lot of positive to talk about!!

Click here for "A Better Dunwoody" Facebook page.

Click here for "A Better Dunwoody" Blog.

Dunwoody Bloggers stir things up, get people talking.

Bloggers stir things up, get people talking - Dunwoody Reporter

Melissa Weinman of the Dunwoody Reporter did a nice overview of the many blogs covering various topics within the City of Dunwoody and I have compiled a few highlights of the bloggers mentioned in the article.

Many of these blogs are available in various formats, for example my blog is available on Facebook, Twitter, RSS Feeds and if you prefer you could get an email with the blog post.

I highly recommend checking out the stories below as all are from the perspective of well connected, well meaning individuals all of whom are your neighbors who have something to say.

John

Dunwoody Village Parkway, Stop the talk and pull the trigger. - Dunwoody Farmer Bob

A "Paul Harvey" moment - DV Pkwy - I'm Just Sayin'

Deja vu...all over again....Dunwoody Village Parkway - I'm Just Sayin'

Happy Birthday to the Garden - Dunwoody Farmer Bob

DeKalb County to Explain Tax Rates to Cities - Dunwoody Farmer Bob

PCMS CV Classic 5K Fun Run Fundraiser - Dunwoody School Daze

See, Click, Fix... Enforce? - Dunwoody Working Girl

"They Don't Think Like Dunwoody" - Dunwoody Working Girl

Mo' Betta Dunwoody - The Other Dunwoody

Parkway Redux - The Other Dunwoody

Odds & Ends - Dunwoody USA

Dunwoody Parkway- Dunwoody Talk

Brook Run and Murphy Candler - Dunwoody Talk

Bicycle Lanes in Dunwoody - Dunwoody Talk

Dunwoody Real Estate Trade with DeKalb School System? - Dunwoody Talk

Dunwoody Supports Quality Events and Places - Dunwoody Talk

Love on an Atlanta MARTA platform, love of refugees and hate for Joseph Kony.

I have been under the weather for the last week with the flu. I was bed ridden over the weekend, missed work on Monday and went in on Tuesday because I was on the mend and swamped at work with deadlines that had to be met. I slogged through both a physically and emotionally draining day, leaving the office about 6 pm to catch the Marta train at Peachtree Center. I have ridden Marta for 15 years to work, with 5 of those being a daily commute back and forth from College Park, therefore nothing surprises me. I have seen, heard and smelled it all.

Tuesday, I entered a relatively crowded platform, walking towards the other end as that is where I would exit the train, observing the people I pass and the people around me. I settled into my usual standing spot with my nose buried in an electric device trying to stay up to speed on my night time job, which I love, but does have low points from time to time which adds additional stress to my existence. When out of the corner of my eye a beautiful well dressed brunette of about 22 years of age, entered my personal comfort zone, standing in front of me waiting for me to look up. As I glanced up, she said with a bright smile, “excuse me sir could you do me a favor?” Sure what could I do for you? “I think you need a hug and I would very much like to give it to you.” I smiled, looked around for the cameras and then felt that she was being very genuine and true to her word. I instantly trusted her, felt true love by what she said as I opened my arms to hug her as much as she hugged me. She then reached into a zip lock baggie and pulled out a paper heart, which she had cut from white office paper, handed it to me and said “I love you, GOD loves you and he made all of us so that we could love one another.” “Here is a paper token of that love, please reach out and share that love with those you touch.” I promised her that I would, I told her that GOD loved her very much and then thanked her for the beautiful hug. Three seconds later my train pulled into the station and I was gone without even knowing her name.

That night I hugged my wife and each of my three boys telling them that I loved them and GOD loved them. Now I have opened my arms and have shared the story (and heart) with you, find a way to pass it on.

Another story of love that needs to be shared comes from my friends Bob Lundsten, the Chief of Staff of DeKalb Commissioner Elaine Boyer and Pattie Baker, known about town as Sustainable Pattie as it is her writing passion. This dynamic duo cultivated a community as well as a garden where both would flourish to provide over 2,000 lbs of food to the local food pantry. This week they have branched out a bit to feed the Children of the World know as the Fugees here in Clarkston, GA. I will allow them to tell the story, here, here, here, here, here, here, here here and here.

Finally, a story of hate wrapped in love. Three days ago, March 5th, 2012 a video was posted to YouTube calling out to tell the story of Joseph Kony. The initial goal of the video is to make Kony famous through social media like this blog and in just three days the video has been viewed over eleven million times and I am guessing this will not be the last time you hear of this story. Kony is the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a guerrilla group in Uganda that has forced more than 60,000 children to fight in a murderous armed conflict. The video targets 20 celebrities including Dunwoody’s own Ryan Seacrest and 12 influential policy makers including Georgia’s Newt Gingrich, who are being targeted to use their influential voices to keep the deployed U.S. military advisors in Uganda until Kony is arrested. The filmmaker’s goal is a story of love for a friend in order to stop the refuges that are being caused by this conflict and though I am not fully versed in the political background, pro or con of the cause; open your arms, I am sharing this story too.

 Video

Heneghan's Dunwoody Blog now on Facebook, Twitter and available via email.

If you are a sometimes reader of the blog or aren't hooked into this Social Media thing then you may not be aware that Heneghan's Dunwoody Blog is available on Facebook, Twitter and also available via daily email delivery.  I am not going to plead for you to "Like Me" or "Follow Me" like Brenda Wood does way down below. (Kind of funny in a sad way.) But in case you care, I am available in various formats if you have a specific flavor of preferred media delivery.

https://www.facebook.com/Heneghans.Dunwoody

 

https://twitter.com/dunwoodynorth

 Click Here to Sign up for Email Delivery

Other Misc Social Sites to Find Me. 

http://www.youtube.com/user/dunwoodynorth

http://www.linkedin.com/in/johnheneghan

http://gplus.to/JohnHeneghan

http://about.me/johnheneghan

http://klout.com/dunwoodynorth

I hope nobody thinks this is me Social Media Pleading like Brenda Wood does in the clip below?  Since I don't get advertising dollars for every increase in the number of "eyeballs", my stats mean very little to me.  That being said, spreading information is important to me and therefore want to let you know of your options.

News Clip & Video

Lessons for Dunwoody Politicians from Steve Jobs - Peach Pundit

I have read a number of tributes to Steve Jobs in the last day or so, but the following commentary of Todd Rehm published at Peach Pundit really touched me.  I have seen firsthand the inner workings of the State and Federal Government and I can honestly say that I never want to be a part of it.  I have no political aspirations, none!  Yet, here I sit as a member of the Dunwoody City Council, loving every minute of my service to the community.  I am part of a team that works well together, where politics and political ideology are out the window and the only thing that matters is our mission of providing quality services to our citizens.

In a few weeks the Citizens of Dunwoody may be replacing three/sevenths of the council as well as deciding what core values will be leading this city for the next four years.  I hope you choose those who share your personal vision for the future of the city, those who have active plans for growth and improvement, those who have distinguished themselves by active leadership in the community.  I want people sitting next to me who are intrenched in the community, will research thoroughly the item at hand, will bring new ideas to the table.  Yet my ultimate hope is that our new Mayor and all six members of the City Council (myself included) will always be willing to act as a team where the best idea for continuous improvement wins the day. 

On Tuesday November 8th, you will be setting the values of Dunwoody, deciding what guides us, who we are, what we stand for.  Vote wisely.

---

Todd Rehm of Peach Pundit, Oct 7, 2011

Politics is About Values

“Our customers want to know who is Apple and what is it that we stand for…. What we’re about isn’t making boxes for people to get their jobs done, although we do that well…. Apple is about something more that that…. It’s core value is that we believe that people with passion can change the world for the better. That’s what we believe.”

Jobs then introduced the “Think Different” marketing campaign based not on what Apple machines did, but the core values that underlie their company and their products. Apple has not been the same company since, and the world has not been the same place.

Politicians need to understand that their voters have the same questions. They want to know not just your political positions but the core values that motivate you every day.

Too many politicians have fallen in love with self-promotion and neglect talking about and, more importantly, demonstrating, their core values. The irony is that their self-promotion falls flat because it’s not based on demonstrating their core values. You know who I’m talking about.

Voters and fellow politicians sense when a candidate’s stated values don’t match up with their personal actions, and this “BS-meter” gets more accurate with exposure.

Carmine Gallo spoke of the way Jobs talked about Apple’s mission in terms of “share what you’re passionate about.” Today, politicians have new platforms to share information with voters, but too many of them treat Facebook, Twitter and blogs as merely an extention of the traditional media. By failing to understand the power of these media to demonstrate their core values, they’re missing out on an opportuntity.

Anyone can say that they have “traditional values” or that they’re “compassionate conservatives,” but today, the social media give politicians a way of demonstrating that their actions meet their words.

Rather than simply stating you have “family values,” you can demonstrate to the voters where your values lie by tweeting about coaching your daughter’s soccer team or spending time at a piano recital. Rather than saying you’re a community leader, post a photo of you up on the roof while building a Habitat house with your church. Next time you hold a political fundraiser, ask everyone to bring a couple of cans of food to be donated to the local food bank. These day to day demonstrations say more about where your values truly lie than any piece of direct mail or 30-second TV spot and voters will take note.

Leaders don’t decide where to go based on poll numbers

When asked what market research went into the iPad, Mr. Jobs replied: “None. It’s not the consumers’ job to know what they want.”

This quote highlights the difference between leadership and management. Fundamental to Jobs leadership was his belief in people and his willingness to let others make mistakes. He also allowed himself to make mistakes as long as it was done in the course of innovation.

In 1996, just before he rejoined Apple, Steve Jobs was interviewed by Louis Rukeyser and asked where Apple had gone wrong since Jobs was pushed out in 1986.

“When I left Apple… we were ten years ahead of anybody else…. The problem was that apple stood still and people caught up with it….The way out … is to innovate. That’s how apple got to its glory, and that’s how I think they could return to it.”

No other political undertaking in Georgia has been so overwrought with management and bereft of leadership as the TSPLOST. The refrain of “let the voters decide” has left the metro Atlanta campaign floundering as it seeks to be all things to all people and to reconcile competing viewpoints about the role of transportation in Atlanta’s future. It has become the perfect illustration of the old saw that a camel is a horse designed by committee. It has also left the measure without any champions and with dimming hopes of passage in the Metro Atlanta region.

Failure isn’t permanent unless you let it be

One of the most-watched addresses by Jobs is his 2005 commencement speech at Stanford University. In it, Jobs discusses not only his successes but his failures, and how his greatest successes grew out of a single failure, his firing from Apple in 1986.

But the salient point isn’t just the way Jobs used his greatest failure to regroup before rejoining Apple and making it the dominant electronics company in the world. It’s the way Jobs constantly risked failure in pursuing his vision.

People laughed at the iMac, at the thought that adding pretty translucent colors to an underpowered desktop computer running a second-rate operating system would save Apple from obscurity. Others laughed at the iPod, which has come to so dominate its industry that no one remembers the Zune. Steve Ballmer of Microsoft mocked the $500 price tag of the iPhone when it was launched and predicted its failure. And the iPad has the entire computer industry running to try and catch up. Of course, few of us remember the Newton.

But with each of these bold gambits, Jobs risked not just the mocking of his peers, but the future company he built. Without Jobs’s taking risks without fear of failure, Apple might have remained a second-rate computer company and we might be stuck with crappy cell phones and useless PDAs.

Last year, Senator Renee Unterman championed a bill designed to address the sexual exploitation of minors by, among other things, “decriminalizing” underage prostitution. She found only a single co-signer and was bashed by some of the same conservatives she had worked with for years. She fought on, and earlier this year, Governor Deal signed into law a strong anti-sex trafficking statute that passed with the support of Attorney General Sam Olens, and majorities of both houses’ GOP caucus. How many other legislators can you name who have risked as much politically?

Teamwork depends on trust, the best ideas have to win

“Teamwork is dependent on trusting the other folks to come through with their part without watching them all the time…. You have to be run by ideas not by hierarchy, the best ideas have to win, otherwise people don’t stay.”

This seems to be a lesson that some of us, as Republicans, have forgotten as we have attained the political power in Georgia that we long craved. Great ideas like Zero-Based Budgeting have gotten bogged down in intramural conflicts. We’ve forgotten that it’s better to be a pirate than to join the navy. Fortunately, we’ve seen Secretary of State Brian Kemp, Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black and Labor Commissioner Mark Butler implement Zero-Based Budgeting within their agencies.

Internal caucus politics and intra-house rivalries can be good when harnessed to ensure that every member is doing the most they can to move the ball forward, but when the fighting is over the emoluments of hierarchy rather than seeking the best for our citizens, it is wasted effort at best, counterproductive at worst.

I can’t help but believe that we’re leaving improvements to the way our state government functions by not looking to the example of Steve Jobs in some aspects of the way we do the peoples’ business. Here’s hoping that in our mourning over the business world’s loss, we don’t also lose these valuable lessons.

Dunwoody News Coverage - time for me to scale back?

Today's Creative Loafing has a great article on how the Atlanta Journal Constitution is scaling back on Atlanta news since moving their operation to the City of Dunwoody.  The paper is now clearly focusing more on the suburbs then the city for which the paper is named, as well pushing articles and respected journalists to the web for electronic content. I am a 7 day a week subscriber to the AJC; which I read during my morning commute on MARTA; but honestly the only thing in the entire paper that I usually haven't already read on line are the comics and the editorials. Dick Williams, the Editor of the Dunwoody Crier is quoted several times in the article and the front cover of the Creative Loafing mocking the AJC is pretty funny and therefore also worth a look.  The issue of the AJC abandoning Atlanta for the burbs was first written by long time AJC columnist Maria Saporta, whom I met last week, and she now produces her own outlet for her columns on the SaporataReport. 

Recently for profit Dunwoody news outlets seem to be multiplying and expanding, be it the original print versions of the Dunwoody Crier, the AJC, the Champion, the Neighbor, the Reporter; web versions like the Aha Connection and now with the new kid on the block the Dunwoody Patch; I don't see the need to attempt to fill the same void of on-line Dunwoody news that I did several years ago.  With the creation of custom Twitter searches on platforms such as TweetDeck, custom Google news searches that are delivered to your mailbox and the ability to follow numerous Dunwoody bloggers via RSS feeds; I think now is a good time for me to step back a bit and refocus my energy and priorities just a bit.

I will continue my process of being informed on all things Dunwoody in order to properly serve on the City Council, I just don't see the need to replicate everything others now report. Providing city information and pushing for a transparent government will still be the focus of my blog but doing close to 500 posts per year will not continue. 

It is just not sustainable, I'm sure you understand.

Taste of Chamblee is Saturday and various other news stories crossing my desk.

Taste of Chamblee, this Saturday 11:30 to 8. More than 30 local Chamblee restaurants offer samples of assorted fare—including Indian, Malaysian, Mexican and Cajun cuisine—for $1 each. In addition to food, this year's festival includes an ArtWalk showcasing more than 40 regional artists, a Beer Garden featuring a selection of craft brews, a Wine Garden, a kids area and live music.

Other tidbits of news

FBI finds Charlotte kidnapping fugitive hidden at Broadstone Apartments in Dunwoody.

AJC - Johns Creek plans move away from privatized service.

Dunwoody's Finest - Atlanta police aggressively hiring new recruits

South DeKalb - Incorporating DeKalb not the way to go. "CEO Ellis spoke in favor of exploring city-hood as an option that would bring additional resources to the newly created city."

State Representative & Peach Pundit Blogger, Buzz Brockway explains the tightrope walk of blogging while in political office.  My first hand experience tells me Buzz will do just fine walking the fine line. Congrats Buzz on the win!

GPC is back in session and growing strong.  (Please get and stay well, Dr. Tricoli!)

A vacation from the computer - almost a success.

This afternoon I returned from a vacation that was spent seeing family in Illinois and while I was away I actively attempted to also stay off the computer.  If you know me, you can imagine how hard that is.  I limited work e-mails on the Blackberry, stayed off the internet almost completely except for some Dunwoody meeting preparation and only blogged twice (missing girl who is now home safe and today's meeting announcement) therefore I consider it a successful endeavor.

Before my vacation I read this article and thought that my Wife, our marriage and our children's vacation memories were all worth me stepping away from the distractions and dedicating myself to them.

I'm glad I did it but the next time I step away from the computer it will not be immediately before a City Council meeting as I want to assure myself that I am properly prepared to speak on the items at hand.  That being said, I have a number of e-mails to return so if you sent me a message in the last week please be patient.  Thanks.

The Aha Connection - if you aren't on Audra's list - you should be.

http://www.theahaconnection.com

My friend Audra Anders has an extensive e-mail list and for years she has been forwarding Dunwoody community related e-mails to her list of friends from those who wanted to spread some information. Well her list of friends started grow, others wanted in and before you know it, Audra's little e-mail list, now called The Aha Connection, is the fastest way to spread Dunwoody community news.  If you need to find the owner of a lost dog, sell unwanted concert tickets, find a babysitter; you name it - The Aha Connection can help.

There are two ways get the Aha information, primarily this is an e-mail service so email Audra at ahaconnection@att.net if you want to be "on the list" and then there is the newly updated website listed below.  I highly recommend and commend Audra for the service she provides the community, check it out.

The Aha! Connection is a free daily e-mail alert service and website. It is Dunwoody’s guide to what's hot, new, and relevant - from jobs, to babysitters, to school/community events, to pets and so much more!

As useful as it is informative, The Aha! Connection strives to keep the Dunwoody community connected. Audra knows about the latest and greatest services, news, and events in the Dunwoody and greater Atlanta area and always shares the scoop via the Aha! Connection.

Audio of DCPC and City Council Meetings as well as various other blog updates

Today's Bike Rack @ Dunwoody Elementary

April 26 & 29 City Council Meetings

Last week I missed my first couple City Council meetings since the city began and though I wasn't there, I did take steps to have the precedings recorded.

04262010_work.mp3 - agenda

04262010_Voting_Session.mp3 - agenda

04292010_Signs_Meeting_Special.mp3 - Notice

Dunwoody Chamblee Parents Council of May 5

I attended Wednesday mornings DCPC meeting and as I have a tendency to do at public meetings, I recorded it in order to share the presentation with my neighbors. Councilman Robert Wittenstein was there as were Tammy Anderson and Tom Taylor who are both candidates for the state legislature.

I was very impressed with the candor and honesty of Interim Superintendent Ramona Tyson. I won't attempt to give a complete recap of the meeting since the new Dunwoody School Daze blog did such a nice job, but the full audio of the meeting can be found in the links below.

0505201_DCPC_1_intro.mp3

0505201_DCPC_2_Tyson.mp3

0505201_DCPC_3_Radovian.mp3

0505201_DCPC_4_Questions.mp3

Today was also a DCSS Budget committee meeting and there is a recap here.

Misc Dunwoody Blog updates

Today after I walked my son to school, I attended the Dunwoody Green Market and seemed to buy everything Donna Nall bought except that I also bought Lavender soap and Jalapeno jelly.  On Sunday, Donna & I also spent some quality time at the the Dunwoody Nature Center with our families supporting the Odyssey of the Mind team.  Be sure to look for (and financially support) the team at the Children's area of the the Dunwoody Art Festival this weekend.

I haven't talked to Mayor Wright about his position on eduKALB but I am thankful he is there and I like the goal of the organization.  I don't have much insight but some members of the community do have questions on the organization, fund raising and intentions of the DeKalb Chamber.

Besides buying everything in sight at the farmers market, I'm looking forward to spending some money at the Dunwoody Art Festival this weekend.

 The Dunwoody Crier has nothing to fear regarding me or any other blogger on the net.  Bloggers are opinionated blowhards who use the media to reach out to our five or six readers whereas the Crier owns every driveway in town with professional reporters covering in depth the stories that are important to this community.  The rest of us are just hacks - and we know it.

Dunwoodyschooldaze - a new blog dedicated to Dunwoody Schools.

http://dunwoodyschooldaze.blogspot.com

"Dunwoody Mom" has been a regular commenter and participant on both this and the DeKalb County School Watch Blog and today I would like to point the entire Dunwoody community over to her new blog dedicated to Dunwoody's Schools.

As she states, "My hope is that this blog will turn into a gathering place for information concerning our Dunwoody schools. Our community is blessed in that we have some wonderful schools with caring, giving administrators and teachers. This is a place also to share our stories - good and bad, happy and sad."

Since no one person could know what is happening in all of our schools, I would like to ask community parents involved in various aspects of Dunwoody's fine schools to please regularly feed Dunwoody Mom with information to post. If the postings get to be too much for one person, Dunwoody Mom could grant posting permissions to trusted representatives of the various schools.

The Dunwoody schools are an important part of what makes the Dunwoody community so special and if we together can promote, participate and celebrate in their successes then we as a community all are benefited.

My nightly reading - most of which is Dunwoody related in some way.

The Global Debt Bomb - Georgia ranks 21st.

MARTA to slash a quarter of service and other perspectives on Marta funding for DeKalb & Fulton.

Georgia Perimeter: Program cuts, furloughs, restrictions on courses and larger classes

Colleges outline massive cuts to help balance state budget with UGA proposing to slash 1,418 jobs

Mandatory online disclosures.  I think Dunwoody may need to correct this and I am making inquiries.

The Board Meeting at Peachtree MS and the Budget

Kudos to Maria Saporta and her other colleagues. I appreciate your work and maybe you can offer Peter Parker the photographer over at the Daily Bugle a part time gig?

Mommy & Me, GA Aquarium deal extended until March 19th but you can use the tickets until Dec 31.

Bike-lane project moving forward in Decatur

Kudos to Rep Mike Jacobs who is blogging and participating in social media quite a bit more these days.  He even cut his own video for Youtube on lowering your real estate taxes (deadline just passed) and I enjoyed the locked in piece done by Doug Richards.  (Here's Doug's back story on the piece.)

Speaking of Mr. Richards, Doug is a TV newsman who analyzes the craft of TV news here in Atlanta on his Live Apartment Fire blog and therefore it is a daily read of mine.  There were two DeKalb news stories that he covered recently both equally interesting in their own right, Transparency and Disinformation Officer Check them out.

I've also had a few people mention they were surprised by the various ways to read and share my blog with others.  Below are a few you may not be aware of.

Available via Facebook  or   Subscribe to Heneghans Dunwoody Blog by Email

Another tidbit of information based on comment I received, my e-mail subscriptions goes out around 11 am therefore I sometimes write a post in advance and schedule it to go live at some time in the future after that cutoff so that the post has maximum screen time and yet is also in the que the next day when I really want a majority of the people to read it.  I guess what I'm saying is don't believe the time stamp since I can manipulate it as I see fit; just like this (and many of my blog posts) show they were published at 12:01 am when in reality they were not.

Calling all activist bloggers, the Sammies Award has extended the deadline.

http://thesammies.com

I ran across this video today and decided to submit a quick application and I encourage other Atlanta area bloggers to do the same.  If I had to pick the winners in each of the categories from the blogs that I follow, here would be my winners.

• Blogger - "Mr. Anonymous" at DeKalb Officers gives DeKalb PD a place to vent and a means to affect positive change with in the department.
  
  
• Video - Rick Callihan of Dunwoody Talk hasn't posted a video update in a while, but maybe with a little prodding they will return?
  
  
• Watchdog - Jim Walls of Atlanta Unfiltered (by far the best open records man in ATL)
  
  
• Town Hall - This award for a speech caught on video goes to Dunwoody Police Chief Billy Grogan for the initial rollout of the Department.  You guys make us so proud.
  
  
• Tea Party - Sustainable Pattie has a vision for a Sustainable Dunwoody and the drive to Change the City.
  
  
• Modern Day Sam Adams - "Cerebration" and the team at DeKalb County School Watch who are watching out for our children, the viability of our school system as well as our pocketbooks.

Heneghan's Dunwoody Blog recap of 2009

As I review the 533 blog entries that I have posted in the last 365 days, I can truly say that it has been an interesting year, for both myself and the new City of Dunwoody.  Below are a few of my favorite or still relevant items.  Enjoy.

January
City Signs - redone in the official branding process?
Pot Holes - are being filled, click here to report them.
City Hall & Police Station chosen - where will we be in 9 yrs?
City of Dunwoody website - I've been promised that it will be improved.
Dunwoody Elementary built and I wish more kids walked to school, SRTS Grant.
Dunwoody found & hired the best Police Officers available.

February
School Nurse funding, may be raised again this year?
Speeding in school zones made me want the Radar Speed Limit Signs.
Watch out School Board - Angry Parents
DeKalb Parks Bond funds - Brook Run Park was slated for another $7 Million.
DCSS and the DeKalb County School Watch blog

March
Dunwoody gets late snow.
Chesnut Charter gets a few upgrades.
Murder suspect shown on web turns himself in.
Proud day in an Irish pub.
Host money coming to Dunwoody, though not final yet.
Dunwoody Public School Boundaries
Police cars purchased, lined up ready to roll.

April
Police Swearing in.
Birth of a Police Department, caught on video.
Traffic Calming comes to Dunwoody
13th wedding anniversary
Dunwoody Crime Stats - off line?  Will look to improve.
Farmers Market discussed.

May
Atlanta Colts - many hours here for me.
Radar sign demo was a success but sign was tragically hit by a speeding motorist.
Kristin was named Mother of the Year as this video shows.
Farmers Market Approved
Heart warming story of Dunwoody's Dr. Robert Albin
Put my home on the market.
No Tax increase in Dunwoody.
Julia Denniss goes to the Nationals for Scripts Spelling Bee
Being responsible for the safety and care of Dunwoody Police Officers - this story touched me.
Thank you Mike Jacobs - Town Brookhaven TAD
Welcome to the paradigm shift towards a safer community.
Chickens in Dunwoody?
Zoning Board of Appeals - interesting items where it can be neighbor against neighbor.

June
Lazy is not a Handicap.
Post Office moving out of Dunwoody Village?
Comprehensive Land Use Meetings
Vacation Day for a Dunwoody City Councilman.
Tennis Court Lights @ the Branches approved.
Vanderlyn school upgrades approved.
Heart of Dunwoody started for AED's in police cars.

July
Updated website, still more can be done.
Awesome 4th of July parade.
Police Ride Along Program
Video of Dunwoody Elementary - trying to protect the neighbors.
Dunwoody CRCT Results
DunwoodyNow opinion survey of City Services.
Happy Birthday Kristin
$100 per day per field?
DeKalb Parks Canceled Master Plan
Ashford Dunwoody & Mount Vernon
Dunwoody Police housing incentives highlighted by news.
Dunwoody rated on Transparency and gets a C-.  
Property Density discussed at Comp Land Use Meeting.

August
Unethical scofflaw - Next filing due soon.
AJC moving to Dunwoody
Why is the council is sniffing around the trash can?
Dunwoody Convention and Visitors Bureau
Georgia Perimeter College is going to grow. Huge project, huge impact on traffic. More to follow soon.
Don't Text and Drive
Laser Truck - Worst first.


September
Political Conflict of Interest? Nope
Dunwoody Council intact for another two years.
Sept 11th - Where were you eight years ago today?
A year of good governance in Dunwoody.
Dunwoody proposes 15.5 Million dollar budget for 2010
Heart of Dunwoody provides AED's to Dunwoody Police
DeKalb Falcons in Sembler Stadium?

October
If you have never failed, you have never lived.
Dunwoody Police Semi-Annual Report and Budget Request
Time to Remake MARTA by Representatives Fran Millar & Mike Jacobs
Five Dunwoody Community Meetings - discussing specific areas.
U.S. Census Bureau evaluates Dunwoody

November
No one outgrows recess, they just outgrow the playground.
Revive285
The Chicken Whisperer discusses Back Yard Chickens
Live, Work and Play but where's the Play?
Video of the newly installed Dunwoody Speed Tables
Dear future Dunwoody bank robbers...
Dunwoody HS students only take four classes per day
Is social media a fad?

December
City of Dunwoody celebrates its first year.
Judge Tony DelCampo of Dunwoody encourages future DeKalb leaders.
DeKalb Community Council denies Late Night application at Friday's Plaza
So that all Dunwoody residents may have a Merry Christmas
My goal is to have Dunwoody, GA listed as a Best Place to Live
Historic Sites in Dunwoody, GA
Looking for a house in Dunwoody, there are a few available

Is social media a fad? I think not, in fact it looks as if you are fully participating.

Someone asked me the other day regarding the value of social media and it took me awhile to describe the various aspects of it. This video does the job nicely by describing the facts and figures of those various aspects I was trying to describe. To the readers of my little blog, whether you are reading this on the web, viewing an RSS feed, reading this on the daily e-mail newsletter, found it on twitter or in some other way; thanks for being part of the social media "fad". Click the link below if you do not see the embeded video.

Social Media Revolution

Where were you eight years ago today?

Eight years ago today I was in Arlington, Virginia (near the Ballston Metro Stop) attending a training course which was scheduled to start at 9 a.m. As we were getting ready to start the class, a blackberry went off stating that a plane hit the World Trade Center and we were lucky enough that the location had a TV connected to cable and therefore it was immediately turned to CNN. The class watched as the reporters were unsure what they were seeing and we tried to figure out if it was small general aviation accident or something more serious. Just then on live TV we saw the second plane hit the tower and we knew that the first plane must have been similar. We sat in awe with the rest of the world as we watched that screen to try to comprehend what we were actually seeing.

At about 9:30 half of the class was on the telephone seeing what needed to be done as the other half watched the screen. The facilitator of the training class was a contractor who wanted to start the class (in order to get paid?) and after a 5 minute argument with most of the remaining students in the room, a supervisor made the call and said that the TV should be turned off and the class should go on. Not less than 2 minutes later, the person with the blackberry (in 2001 he must have been pretty special because they were probably rare.) stood up and yelled that "the Pentagon was just hit!”

The Pentagon is located in Arlington, Va the same city as the training course and my hotel was even closer as I was staying in the Crystal City area, just blocks from the Pentagon. People scrambled, everyone was dazed, cell phones didn’t work, locals jumped in cars to get home to their families and I decided to try to get back to my hotel since most of my co-workers had already left.

Thousands of people decided to go home the way they came and the Metro mass transit subway system wasn’t made to accommodate that level of traffic. People were reflective, several were crying, scared, shoulder to shoulder, a mass of humanity, now a hundred of feet below ground in a subway station that was build to be a fallout shelter in case of nuclear attack. On top of everything else, it seemed that the trains had now stopped running.

Underground, time had stopped. I might have been there an hour, but it seemed ten. What was happening up on the surface? Were we now at war? What was next? Babies were crying, mothers were holding them tight but there was very little other sound. A Metro conductor, held the microphone to his ear and yelled that the trains were now running again, the platform erupted in cheers; 10 minutes later I was on a train heading back to my hotel.

As I got out of the Crystal City Metro Station, I could smell the Pentagon burning less than a mile away and I was able to walk faster then the stream of cars who were trying to get out of the area. Back in the hotel, I sat alone in a very dark hotel room surfing channels to get as much information as I could absorb. I watched in horror on the Spanish Channel as they showed in graphic detail of people jumping to their death and then I watched as the towers fell. Finally I got a hold of my wife to let her know that I was fine and where I was located.

At the time Kristin was a United Airlines flight attendant, based out of Newark, NJ who was on medical leave because she was eight months pregnant with my son Gavin. Had she been flying, it is very likely that she would have been on United Flight 93 because it was one of her regular flights. Flight attendants obtain trips based on seniority and with Kris’s 12 years of seniority at the time, was able to hold the cross continental trip scheduled for San Francisco. Flying all of her trips from the Newark base while we lived in Atlanta meant that she shared a flop house with other flight attendants near the Newark airport. She and 15 other flight attendants shared a room at the Hampton Inn that contained a bunch of beds and was permanently set for them on a first come, first serve basis. Two of Kristin’s “roommates” in the flophouse were working Flight 93 that day and crashed in the field in Pennsylvania. From that day on, Kristin never flew again as a United Airlines Flight Attendant.

My return flight possibilities back to Atlanta were non-existent and I didn’t have a rental car since I was taking public transportation around D.C. Luckily my super social wife spread the word to her friends that I was stuck in Washington and the very next day I was picked up by the husband of one of her friends from a Dunwoody playgroup who was working in D.C.

As we departed Arlington we pulled onto I-395 and the Pentagon with the huge black hole in the side came into view, we knew from that day forward the definition of the word "normal" was forever changed.

Do Dunwoody bloggers want to become Dunwoody politicians?

Mass communications is expensive or at least it was prior to the internet, just as I am told it was once an expensive proposition to run for political office. I think I shocked a few people when I didn't buy a single yard sign or send out expensive political mailers in last years Dunwoody City Council election, yet won my citywide seat by a 66 to 34% percent margin. The use of the internet and my daily blog is believed to have assisted me in getting out my message (though I personally give credit to my wife who seems to know everybody). Now that the City of Dunwoody is entering it's next election season whereby three of the Dunwoody City Council seats are already up for re-election (Shortal, Bonser & Taylor) , it appears that blogging could once again be used to propel future perspective Dunwoody candidates.

From my untrained political eye, it looks like a few Dunwoody related blogs may have been started to possibly assist the writers in a future election bid. Of course this is pure speculation on my part, I have no knowledge of anyone besides Councilman Denis Shortal formally announcing for the November 3rd election.

The first obvious choice of a candidate who may be running is Mr. Bob Fiscella, a resident of the Springfield subdivision in district two who has a neighborhood blog named Springfield in Dunwoody which can be found at http://dunwoodyusa.blogspot.com. Bob ran a nice campaign the first time and has remained active by attending numerous City Council meetings therefore he looks to be a viable candidate who knows the issues if he chooses to run.

The second person who has possibly surfaced to run for a district one seat is Mr. Rick Callihan. Rick is very passionate about education and past zoning choices which have filled our schools to capacity, so much so that the former Austin parent now home schools his children. Rick has started a blog named Dunwoody Charientism giving his personal commentary on Dunwoody civic meetings in which he interjects his personality and humor while attempting to be informative. The blog can be found at http://dunwoodytalk.blogspot.com.

A third blogger who already has her hands in a number of city endeavors is Ms. Pattie Baker, the author of the Sustainable Dunwoody Blog and now chair of the City of Dunwoody Sustainability Committee. I am unsure what district Pattie lives in but if she were to run, she would be a very formidable candidate.

Finally my friend Ms. Donna Cannady Nall, who works for the Dunwoody Nature Center, is Chair of the Executive Council of Peachtree Charter Middle School PTA, knows how to blog and is directly affected by a rezoning being proposed, therefore she may now have a calling to throw her hat into the ring to run?

Did I miss anyone who blogs on the Dunwoody political scene? Mr. Thaddeus Osbourne Dabell from The Other Dunwoody passed away in his sleep so I don't think he will be running, though I guess he could be resurrected? Mr. DunwoodyPoliceWatch phased out and deleted his blog though I believe I still see him commenting from time to time.

For those wishing to run for Dunwoody political office, the official registration for candidacy starts on August 31st but I am sure that there are several individuals who are already looking very closely at the possibilities of running for office in November.

If anyone needs assistance in creating a personal blog for any reason, please read this and then I will happily answer any questions that you may have. Dunwoody needs more blogs and if I can assist in any way I am happy to do so.

Kristin Heneghan wins Mother of the Year, again.

Click here for video of award

Wow, I am one lucky guy to have married this lovely lady. She received her Mom of the Year award just in time for Mothers Day and was ecstatic to be honored by this designation.