City of Dunwoody, GA collectively states "Google Fiber, I want my high speed access !!"

In early February 2010, I learned of the Google Fiber Initiative and pushed for the City of Dunwoody to apply but based on Google’s requested city size to complete the application, the City of Dunwoody would need to partner with neighboring cities in order to meet the minimum requirements. I brainstormed and saw a joint application with Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, Chamblee & Doraville being a very viable one and posted my thoughts on my blog of February 11, 2010 entitled Imagine the top end of Atlanta as a technology hub tied together with the fastest internet. Let's ask Google to help make it happen.

From there the City Manager and City Staff took my request seriously and started talking to our neighboring cities. In the end, I believe that Sandy Springs was big enough to submit a single application therefore Dunwoody then partnered with Decatur, Avondale Estates, Chamblee and Doraville as well as Emory University and Georgia Power on the final application submission under the name “Atlanta Urban Area Partnership for Google”.

Besides the application which was submitted along with Resolutions of Support from each of the participating cities, a video was produced and submitted along with the application and it is shown below.

 Video

I know that ultra-high speed internet service will be the future life blood of a community and that businesses and tech savvy individuals would be drawn to that infrastructure. Besides Google Fiber, I have pushed for other expanded internet options like UVerse which is Fiber to the Neighborhood (Node) vs Google’s plan which is to complete the last mile and go Fiber to the Home.

Today Google announced that the Atlanta area is in the running for the next wave of investment and in doing so named eight surrounding municipalities by name but did not specifically include the City of Dunwoody, even though we were in direct partnership with several of the cities that were specifically named. My guess is that Google is ready to start with any viable area in the Atlanta market and I can tell you that the City of Dunwoody is ready, willing and able to complete the next stage of the process in working with the provider to bring the service to our community.

From the moment that Google announced possible expansion cities, my inbox was lit up with information as to why the City of Dunwoody was not named and if I could summarize the collective message of those inquiries it would be "Google Fiber, I want my high speed access !!"

If you are interested in this project, please do me two favors.  First go to this link and click the blue CHECK ADDRESS box or the blue GET UPDATES box to register your address as being interested in the service; second if you are a Facebook user, please go to the “Atlanta Urban Area Partnership for Google” page and like it for future updates.

The City of Dunwoody is reaching out to Google as to specifics and we look forward to working with them in the very near future.

Dunwoody Night Out, Streaming Video, Macy's, AED Life Save, Paving, Not "Dunwoody" enough, Alon's, Trotter, Ventyx and DeKalb Corruption / Nepotism.

Tonight - Tuesday - Dunwoody Police Department Partners with SuperTarget for National Night Out, August 7, 2012, 6pm-8pm

Decatur Offers Live Online Streaming of City Commission Meetings whereas Dunwoody has still to work out the kinks from a contract approved in October of 2010.

Paving and sidewalks being installed in Dunwoody - Update here.

Macy's Shop for a Cause - donate $5 or more to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Societyand get a pass for 25% off all purchases including regular, sale and clearance items (10% off electronics, watches, furniture and mattresses) on Saturday August 25th.

Second life was saved - Kudos to Officer Richard Heintz of the Dunwoody Police Department

I usually attend monthly Dunwoody Homeowners Association Meeting but missed on Sunday as I wore myself out playing several hours of water volleyball at the neighborhood pool and then decided to treat my family to our favorite fine dining establishment, Sweet Tomatoes.  Anyway, it looks like I may have missed at least one interesting conversation regarding "City Hall".

With a number of higher end food, beer and wine establishments opening; Alon's seems to be kicking it up a notch.  There's a craft beer tasting at Alon's on Ashford Dunwoody Road on Thursday from 7 to 8 p.m. The event, which will feature five beers from Cisco Brewers and Minhas Brewery, costs $15 a person to attend. Reservations can be made by calling (678) 397-1781.  Has anyone tried the Monday Pizza deal or the Weekend Brunch?  Both look interesting.

City of Doraville give a shout out to local Olympic medalist, Ms. Dee Dee Trotter who won the Bronze in the Woman's 400 M.

Good news for Dunwoody based company, Ventyx

RUN. HIDE. FIGHT. Surviving an Active Shooter Event

Corruption in DeKalb? Nepotism in DeKalb? 

The Leprechaun Trap and the new Magic Tree House book are a couple of must read books for the holiday.

I haven't read either of the two books shown above but something tells me that I will be reading both very soon.

"The Leprechaun Trap" is published by Dunwoody authors David & Kelly Clinch and it tells the story of the children of an Irish-American Family who try to trap the naughty Leprechaun that causes trouble in their house every March. The book is available via Amazon and the Clinch's also have a line Soccer Princess clothes for those of interest.

The authors of the celebrated Magic Tree House series are coming to Atlanta next week! As part of their book tour featuring the newest MTH releases, Leprechaun in Late Winter (#43 in series) and its companion research guide Leprechauns and Irish Folklore, the authors will be in town just before St. Patrick’s Day – and that’s no blarney!

WHAT:           Book Signing and Author Visit with Mary Pope Osborne (MTH author) and Natalie Pope Boyce (MTH research guide co-author)

WHERE:          “Little Shop of Stories” children’s bookstore

                        133 East Court Square

                        Decatur, GA 30030

                        (404) 373-6300

WHEN:           Thursday, March 11, 2010 at 6:30pm

This is a FREE event – no advance tickets necessary. Parking is available in the Decatur Courthouse parking deck.

Electronic recyling day on Saturday in Decatur

By April Hunt, AJC

Area residents and businesses can drop off electronics to be recycled this weekend in Decatur.

The recycling event runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Decatur High School on North McDonough Street.

Recycling is free for most items, though the fee for TVs is $10 cash. Batteries and nearly all kinds of electronics – such as cell phones, computers and cameras – can be dropped off.

For additional information, contact Sean at 404-377-5571.

Decatur's First Annual Dogtoberfest on Oct 4th

Please join the City of Decatur for Oakhurst's First Annual Dogtoberfest! Sunday, October 4th from 2pm-6pm on the Solarium lawn, 321 West Hill St.

DOGS WELCOME!

Dog and Kid Friendly Activities, Dog Training Tips, Costume Contest, Beer, Live Music, Microchipping, Doggie Adoptions and more!

Join us for a day of fun filled activities for you and your dog. We're kicking off the day at 2pm with a "Mutt Strutt" or mini parade starting at the Taj Ma-Hound and ending at the Solarium. Since it is October costumes are welcome and there will be a costume contest immediately following the parade with prizes for Scariest, Goofiest, Prettiest, Best Group Costume and Most Original.

Prizes will include gift certificates from local businesses, doggie art work, pet portraits and more. Get your dog Microchipped by Animal Action Rescue. Adopt a new family member from one of our animal rescue organizations. Learn some extremely valuable training tips from the professional trainers at Frogs to Dogs. They'll be conducting a question and answer session throughout the event as well as introducing their Emergency Animal Transport Vehicle, the first of its kind in GA.

Check out our marketplace for cool new collars and leashes, delicious dog treats, free information from local non profit organizations, art, doggie photography and lots more. And we even have fun events for the kids including face painting and dog bowl decorating.

Admission is FREE. All donations for food, beer and Dogtoberfest activities will benefit the Oakhurst dog park.

For more info., please contact Krista Aversano, kaversano@tajmahound.com.

Decatur Green Fest & local Farmers Markets

Decatur Green Fest

The third annual Decatur Green Fest, presented by Bonterra Vineyards and hosted by the Dogwood Alliance, will be held on Saturday, May 2 from 3 p.m. until 9:30 p.m on the Decatur Square. The event kicks off the annual Concert on the Square series presented by Wachovia, and features a day of "earth friendly" family fun and music.

In addition to music, the event promises a taste of local and organic food and sampling of Equal Exchange fair-trade items. Terrapin Beer Company, an event partner, and Bonterra Vineyards will be providing their tasty beverages. And for the first time, there will be an exhibition of artists working with recycled materials. Several green building professionals and other green educators will be present. The Decatur Cool City Coalition will lead a "Teaching Tour of Green Buildings" from 1-6 p.m.

Local Farmers Markets


The City of Dunwoody will be voting on May 11th for a zoning change to allow farmers markets to operate at city places of worship but other farmers markets opening this weekend are:

Peachtree Road Farmers Market: Saturdays 8:30 until Noon located at the Cathedral of St. Philip in Buckhead, 2744 Peachtree Road

Decatur Organic Farmers Market will be open Wednesdays from 4 to 7p.m., at the corner of Commerce and Church. The market is only accepting organic or sustainable farmers and organic or sustainable food producers at this time.

Green Market at Piedmont Park: open Saturdays 9 a.m.-1 p.m. 12th Street gate entrance, Piedmont Park, Atlanta

Marietta Square Farmers Market: open Saturdays 9 a.m.to noon. Marietta Square.

Suwanee Farmers Market: open Saturdays 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays. Town Center Park, 370 Buford Highway, Suwanee.

Morningside Market: Saturdays, 7:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. 1393 N. Highland Ave, Atlanta GA 30306

One final item...

The ajc has a nice article on communities who are fighting to open farmers markets and the produce which is currently in season at those markets.

Decatur bloggers discuss why local DeKalb County blogs are so successful.

This year Atlanta Magazine honored the tag team of DecaturMetro & inDecatur as the best local neighborhood blogs of Atlanta. Earlier this week their elusive writers were interviewed together on the Georgia Podcast Network, which was also mentioned in the Best of Atlanta edition, discussing how and why local blogs are thriving in DeKalb County. The story of DeKalb Blogs isn't new, Rusty Tanton first wrote about it March of 2008 and Griftdrift noted it again in his 2008 year end review.

If you want to listen to 36 minutes of insight as to what some of DeKalb's most influential bloggers have to say about the future of this medium and its uses, please check them out. I was even honored to be mentioned by name in their conversations of local blogs.

Listen (0:36:42)

Best Practices - Could Dunwoody be influencing Decatur?

Best practices - as a new city with little administrative history, the City of Dunwoody has the ability to review what our neighboring cities are doing and replicate it without making the mistakes that they may have made. I have discussed the City of Decatur several times in the past and I believe that they have a number of programs, policies and procedures for their residents that we should be putting into place here in Dunwoody.

Decatur is a great place to work and someday retire. The government fosters a vibrant business community yet it has a volunteer coordinator which focuses the energy of thousands of hours of donated skills to where they are needed to benefit the community at large. The Mayor and City Departments blog openly about what is going on in the city. Their Active Living Department is receiving an award from Peds for their actions in promoting Safe Routes to Schools for the children of Decatur, while we are just thinking of doing the same. There is a long term and ongoing commitment to city sustainability in Decatur and it is my goal that Dunwoody will soon have a committee that will lead us to doing the same.

Decatur has a lot going for it and there is much we can learn from them and others but sometimes best practices can also be found from the new kid on the block who has never learned the bad habits to begin with. The Decatur Metro blog, an independent voice in an independent city, reports that due to feedback given on their site, the City of Decatur has just started posting all relevant documents to city commission meetings on their website prior to the actual meeting taking place.

Has someone in Decatur noticed that this site dedicated to all things Dunwoody has done the exact same thing from day one of existence and will continue to do so until the City of Dunwoody website can be counted on to do the same? Did the residents of Decatur hear that every Dunwoody City Council meeting is recorded and available to the community the following morning on the internet? Maybe it was the fact that the City was able to pass an alcohol ordinance that was negotiated openly with both the residents and the business community providing input whereby each major revision of the document was available online for all to see?

Best practices can be found in many places and I again tip my hat to the City of Decatur to being able to recognize that fact and implement accordingly.

Decatur Electronics Recycling, open all on Sat Oct 25th

2008 Fall Electronics Recycling Day
click for more details

Saturday, October 25 • 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Decatur High School Parking Lot
(Corner of N. McDonough Street and Howard Avenue)

TV's will be recycled for $10 cash only with exact change.

Don't throw away that old cell phone, camera or PC component! Save it and recycle it on Saturday, October 25, 2008 at Decatur's Fall 2008 Electronics Recycling event. This semi-annual event has been hugely successful at diverting electronic equipment from landfills, where they may contaminate soil and water. Batteries and Styrofoam will also be accepted.

For the first time at this event, TV's will be recycled for a minimal fee of $10 cash only per TV set with exact change. There is no charge to recycle other items.

The event takes place Saturday October 25, 2008 from 9am to 1pm at the Decatur High School Parking lot, on the corner of N. McDonough St. and W. Howard Avenue. Electronics dropped off that day will be sorted and disassembled into raw materials or cleaned for re use. The Decatur Waste Management Advisory Board investigates the recyclers involved to be sure the items are responsibly disassembled and not landfilled.

In addition to electronics, any metro area resident can also drop off batteries of any type, Styrofoam peanuts, and clean Styrofoam blocks free of foreign objects.

Volunteers assist in unloading items. To volunteer, please contact Scott Thompson at Scott.Thompson@Mindspring.com.

Early drop offs are not possible.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CALL David Junger, (404) 377-5571

Electronic Equipment for Recycling: See updated list for items that will be accepted at the Fall 2008 Event

Almost anything with an electrical cord can be recycled at the event EXCEPT microwave ovens.

We will recycle for free: Desktop computers , Telephones, Mini-towers, Telephony equipment, Laptop computers, Adding machines,Monitors, Calculators, Servers, Typewriters, Workstations, Label makers,Keyboards, Copiers, Mice, Fax machines, Joystick game controllers, Answering machines, Printers, Printer cartridges, Digital cameras , Zip drives, Batteries, Speakers, PDAs, Pagers, VCRs, Hubs, DVD players, Routers, Cable converter boxes, Scanners, Remote controls, Digital projectors, Stereo equipment ,UPS units, Radios, Main frames, Portable CD players, Component parts, Portable game players, Cables, GPS receivers, 3-in-1 devices, printer/copier/fax machines., Electric lawn mowers and garden equipment, any kind of Battery. Clean Styrofoam free of foreign objects(peanuts, packing blocks, plates, cups, trays.)

We will recycle television sets for $10 exact change.

Mayor Bill Floyd of Decatur starts blog by offering support for the City of Dunwoody.

http://billfloyddecatur.com

Welcome Mayor Floyd to the blogosphere and we appreciate your support on Dunwoody's quest for self determination.

Since the people in Dunwoody first began to discuss the possibility of becoming a city, I have been supportive of that effort and their right to decide their fate. That applies to them and those in other areas of the county, or the state for that matter, that wish to consider being a city. Those who will be within the city limits of the new city will now get a chance to consider the pros and cons, and vote in July. If it passes, they will elect a mayor and council in September and become a city a few months later. The county should embrace this change rather than oppose it. The closer your elected officials are to you the more access you have to them and the more impact your opinion will have on any decision they make. The people in Dunwoody are in for a treat if they pass the referendum. They will experience the joy of being part of a city and the feeling of belonging. Strong cities in Dekalb will make for a stronger and better county. While those elected officials in the county will experience some loss of political power and control and influence, it will pale in comparison to the benefit they will get from having a strong, effective and efficient city of Dunwoody. I wish them the best and offer my support and help.