Letters to the Editor

Shopping Center Owners Call Annexation Government Overreach

Shopping center owners at Clairmont and North Decatur roads say, "We face tax increases of more than 30 percent and a host of greater red tape from another governing body."

By Eliot M. Arnovitz, Brice Ladson and John Ladson The City of Decatur again has faced widespread opposition from residents of nearby unincorporated DeKalb to annex their properties into the City of Decatur. This is convenient for the city, since it doesn’t want to add more children to an overcrowded school system, and because annexing residential properties can present a net loss for city coffers. The city wants a net gain, so its leadership unveiled a scheme last week that even big fans of Decatur have denounced in public forums as unbridled government overreach. At the recommendation of the city manager, commissioners have now sharpened their knives and carved out mostly commercial properties for annexation. Because so few residential …

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Letters to the Editor

Make a Difference, Buy Local

State Rep. Karla Drenner asks local residents to shop local this holiday season.

It’s easy to get caught up in the rush of after Thanksgiving, Black Friday sales followed by the ease and enticement of cyber Monday discounts. The trend of internet shopping and overnight urban camping in front of retailers entrances is perhaps an irreversible reality of today’s consumerism. Yet, last year ABC's World News with Diane Sawyer launched a series, “Made in America,” that focused on American manufacturing and our economy. The series made me think about possible economic implications for Georgia. What if our state and local governments, along with our school systems, leveraged their purchasing power to favor Georgia and local businesses? Imagine the impact to our economy and the jobs this could create. While there is little we …

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Henderson Mill Elementary Revels in New State STEM Certification

The school is one of just a small number of schools statewide that have received the designation for curriculum's strong in science, technology, engineering and math.

Education officials, corporate partners, school foundation officers and donors were on hand for a huge celebration last week at Henderson Mill Elementary School in the Lakeside High School cluster. The 48-year-old school was awarded the fifth STEM certification in Georgia. STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, and, as you can imagine, the curriculum is tailored to better prepare students for the ever-changing and challenging need for more "technocrats" in the United States. Less obvious is what officials (and indeed Henderson Mill stakeholders) view as STEM's promise to tear down barriers to learning in general, particularly as school populations have become more ethnically and economically diverse. That …

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Tom Doolittle

11:52 am on Thursday, November 8, 2012

Is that a limit on non-profit grant funding and/or donations--or DCSS budgetary funds?   more ›

It’s Time for DeKalb Residents to 'Get a Bin'

DeKalb County Commissioner Kathie Gannon wants more county residents recycling. Only 21 percent in the county do, falling well short of the 40-percent national standard.

Who Won the Debate? Georgia Patch Poll Says it Was Romney

Patch polled Georgia elected officials and activists in both parties to find out who they felt won the debate between President Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney.

  A flash poll of influential members of Georgia’s GOP and Democratic parties found rare agreement on the question of who won Wednesday night’s presidential debate between President Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney. As a Democratic respondent put it, “Mitt is back in the race.” Patch tapped our panels of Democrats and Republicans who hold office, are former elected officials, candidates or party activists for twin polls that were conducted in the first hour after the debate ended. Patch received responses from 32 Republicans and 15 Democrats. The poll is not scientific. Of the GOP respondents, 87.5 percent said Romney won “by a wide margin” and 12.5 percent said he won by “a slim margin.” Democratic respondents were less emphatic about …

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David

3:18 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012

What black guy? Obama is black?! I saw a picture of his mother and she is lily white!!   more ›

Letters to the Editor

It’s Time for DeKalb Residents to 'Get a Bin'

DeKalb County Commissioner Kathie Gannon wants more county residents recycling. Only 21 percent in the county do, falling well short of the 40-percent national standard.

The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners recently took a big step to make DeKalb County greener. Last Tuesday the board voted to eliminate the initial $30 sign-up fee for curbside recycling. It’s time for more DeKalb residents to recycle. While our county is among the leaders in recycling in metro Atlanta, still only 21 percent of the eligible households in DeKalb recycle. The county has a goal to increase recycling to 40 percent, the national standard. In addition to dropping the recycling registration fee, we’ve also established a modest marketing campaign to reach more citizens. It’s my hope that the elimination of the recycling fee is just the jump start needed for residents to get behind this. In just two days after the fee was …

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BurningBridges

2:19 pm on Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Having single stream recycling would encourage people as well. I have been recycling now for several years. Didn't want to do it, but my wife made me do it and she was right to do so. Now it's hard to bring myself to just throw away a can at someone's house where they don't recycle. I'm no 'green', but recycling makes good sense.   more ›

Fernbank: Open Letter to School Board

A teacher confronts the DeKalb County Board of Education on Fernbank Science Center funding.

Patch was very helpful in reporting the DeKalb School Budget Crisis from the Board Meeting last June 4 especially as it pertains to Fernbank Science Center. I would like to submit this open letter (below) I sent to the Superintendent and School Board in response to the Superintendent returning FSC to the chopping block (after removing FSC) by asking the board to eliminate 2/3 of the FSC Budget and then having spokesman Walter Wood tell the public that FSC would remain a "fully functional Science Center." It's like saying a basketball team can remain "fully functional" when the three tallest players are removed from the court. Open Letter to DeKalb Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson and the DeKalb School Board: I am one of the teachers who work…

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Don Broussard

10:14 am on Wednesday, June 20, 2012

These are fair questions that you pose -- but how does cutting Fernbank Science Center by 2/3 help DCSD's "core" mission?? I assure you that pay cuts and furloughs will still happen to all teachers regardless of cuts to FSC. Re: too many demands on too few dollars -- my property taxes have declined 25% in the last two years as our property value has declined. That is what has happened across the …   more ›

Rader: So Your Tax Appraisal Came in High?

District 2 Commissioner Jeff Rader to his constituents about this year's property tax assessments.

Annual Notices of Assessment hit homeowner's mailboxes last week, and many constituents have called expressing concern about substantial increases in their tax appraisal this year. The appraisal determines the value of property against which taxes are assessed, and are a key factor in your tax bill. I was surprised to hear this, as the DeKalb County real property tax digest overall is down by 7.8 percent overall this year. Our office is seeking more information from the assessor's office and will be responding to individual inquiries. We will also report back to the public on any patterns of reappraisal or systemic deficiencies we discover. Until we are able to get to the bottom of this, please keep the following in mind: Over the past few…

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BPch

9:05 am on Wednesday, June 6, 2012

And I thought the 22% increase on my 1,700 sq.ft. 1961 ranch was ludicrous!! Thanks for giving me some mental relief already. :-) It's too bad there's no one "accountable" for this incompetence.   more ›

Watch Out! Here Comes the Tax Man!

But, there is something you can do to get out of his way.

Editor's note:  Walter Hotz, attorney and Smoke Rise resident of 35 years, offers advice on the tax appeal process:   By the time you see this article, DeKalb County should have sent out the Annual Notice of Assessment on your home and on other real estate you own (they were scheduled to go out the last week of May). Most homes in DeKalb County (by a huge percentage) are overvalued for tax purposes. I see case after case where the County has not devalued a homeowner’s assessment since 2007! This is inexcusable, inexplicable and indefensible. The home values in DeKalb County started to materially drop in 2008 and have fallen steadfastly each year thereafter. Chances are very high that you are paying way too much in taxes. So, if you think …

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A 2012 Memorial Day Message

District 82 Rep. Scott Holcomb recounts an experience with his father, a Vietnam War veteran.

Few holidays impact me as much as Memorial Day. As one of my friends who is a veteran said so well, "Memorial Day isn't when we remember what we won. It's when we remember what we lost." For the last several days, I've been remembering the fallen. I started by recalling the first time the meaning of this holiday really hit home. It was after I enlisted in the Air National Guard, and I was driving with my father. It was very late, well after midnight, and as we were about to exit, he asked me to drive a little farther. Minutes later, we pulled up to a Vietnam Veterans Memorial. We got out of the car and sat down on a bench a few meters from the "V" sculpture engraved with names. My father served in Vietnam, and I was born while he was …

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