Blogging on the DeKalb Cityhood Debate - Where Do You Stand?

The Lakeside City Alliance announced last month that it had raised $30,000 for a state-mandated feasibility study to determine if it would be prudent to create a new city of Lakeside in north-central DeKalb County.

The alliance, which began taking public input on the idea in early February, has hired the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute to conduct the study that could be completed in the next four to five months.

The proposed new city would cover roughly 20 square miles, but not include a large part of western Tucker as earlier map versions had indicated. While many residents of unincorporated Tucker have expressed the desire to keep their neighborhoods intact with the possibility of creating the "City of Tucker," other neighborhoods, including Stonecrest, Briarcliff and North Druid Hills, are among those considering pursuing cityhood, too.

This month, the City of Briarcliff Initiative announced that it had raised $30,000 for a cityhood study that would suggest whether a city across the North Druid Hills-Briarcliff area would be viable. 

No doubt, this will remain a hot topic in DeKalb County well into 2014. Where do you stand on the DeKalb cityhood debate?

Why not share your thoughts in a blog, which is quick and easy to do at our newly redesigned Patch. Blogging on Patch allows members of the community to interact and post directly to the site. These posts then appear on the homepage, in the daily newsletter and are shared on Facebook and Twitter.

The best thing about sharing your stuff on Patch is it's your space so it's your rules. Write as much or as little as you'd like. Cut-and-paste an article you already have from a newsletter, for example, and Post it on Patch. You will quickly reach more people with your message.

Getting started is easy!

First, you have to start a Blog. If you’ve never blogged with us before, here’s how to start your very own Patch blog. If you have one already, skip down to the next bullet point:

1.    Choose a Patch - Decide which town should host your blog. Go to that Patch’s homepage. 

2.   Start Blogging - On the Patch homepage, scroll down below the stories and above the events. There’s a green box titled “Who’s Blogging?” that highlights our wonderful bloggers and a brighter green button that says “Start Blogging!” Click that bright green button to start a blog.

3.   Name your Blog – Give your blog a name, write a description and choose an icon. This could be a photo of yourself or your organization, or one of the Patch icons provided for you. These will be displayed on all of your blog posts, so choose a name and description that describes what your blog will be about. (ex. Lindsay’s Blog, Girl Scouts of America Blog, Adoptable Pets in Illinois, Fighting Cancer).

4.   Done! – Congrats, you created a blog! Now, you can start posting something.

Posting on your Blog:

1.    Sign in. - Login into your home Patch, the one where you are hosting your Blog. In the top right corner, click the button that says “Hi, Your Name!” (You must be signed in to see this.)

2.   Check “Your Profile.” - When the drop-down menu opens, click “Your Profile.”

3.   Choose your Blog. - On your profile is a list of blogs you have access to. Choose which one you want to post on and click on it.

4.   Post something. - Below the name and description of your blog, there’s a white box that says “Write a new post…” Click there.

5.    Choose Note or Article. - Above your cursor, there are two words: Note and Article. Choose either one: Note is for very short posts; Article is for longer posts and gives you more formatting options.

6.   Write. - Or cut-and-paste it from another document. Be sure to add a photo. People love photos!

7.   Click “Post Now.” – You did it! You are live on the site.

Have questions about blogging on Patch? Email hunt.archbold@patch.com.