inDECATUR

Mr. Billingsley hears John Oxendine

Mr. Billingsley of DHS heard John Oxindine last evening.

 "I spent an interesting evening Thursday at the Dunwoody Chamber of Commerce with Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine.  Commissioner Oxendine spoke about growing up in DeKalb, his work as insurance commissioner for the past sixteen years, and his vision for Georgia if elected governor in 2010.  When asked about his views on public education, he made it clear that he supports vouchers for students to attend any school that their parents choose."

Here's one of the photos at Photobucket, with Mr. Oxendine in the center and Mr. Billingsley to his right in the back.

Bon Appetit to name Cakes & Ale one of 10 best new restaurants in US

Cake and Ale will get a shout-out in Bon Appétit’s upcoming list of “Top 10 Best New Restaurants in America,” acccording to Grub Street New York

Cakes & Ale / Decatur, Georgia
Dish to try: Citrus Arancine with Pecorino Cheese

"Health Choices" bill contains more words about coercion than choice

From National Taxpayers Union Foundation

House Democrats use words such as "choice" in stump speeches on behalf of their recently introduced health care legislation, but according to an analysis by the National Taxpayers Union Foundation (NTUF), the actual text of the bill tells a different story. NTUF determined that the words "choice," "options," and "freedom" appear just 85 times in the mammoth 1,018-page legislation, while three restrictive words -- "require," "limit," and "must" (and variations) -- were nine times more prevalent.

"Words don't always have a lot of meaning inside the Beltway, but if the language of the 'America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009' is a guide to its true intent, then the bill is really about empowering bureaucracy and limiting freedom, competition, and the marketplace," said NTUF Director of Congressional Analysis Jeff Dircksen.

DECATURadar, Friday, 7/31/2009

Looking out at the universe from the Decatur, GA square

Notes may be added until noon. Comment anytime.

inDECATUR is 725 continuous days (almost two years) old, with 4946 posts (averaging 6.82/day), all searchable using the search block in the sidebar.

SUMMER SCHEDULE: Irregular posting times. Visit once a day after noon to see it all

Intermittent rain with a high of 82F

DECATUR

Today is the LAST DAY to vote for all things Decatur (including this blog if you like) in CL's "Best of Atlanta" poll. Click on the fist icon in the sidebar to vote. Best local blog is in the Cityscape section.

The Decatur Minute promotes the 3/50 Project.

Sara Levine at Atlanta Magazine has the scoop on Yogurt Tap. [h/t Decatur Metro]

Decatur author Amanda Gable celebrates the release of her debut novel, “The Confederate General Rides North,” from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Charis Books & More, 1189 Euclid Ave., www.chariscircle.org. [SoVo]

@skyblox: The winner of today's picture contest was @carl. The picture was the Taqueria Del Sol logo. Unfortunately TDS isn't on Twitter. Boo!

Upcoming Events

@Carl: Free @JakesIceCream Aug 3rd to welcome the new Loews Hotel in Midtown Atlanta http://bit.ly/bSNVQ (via @Stammy and @Cre8iveone)

Regator/inDECATUR anniversary party at the Grange 6-9P Fr 8/7. See earlier post.

DEKALB

Two bodies were found in a home on Rexford Drive off Flat Shoals Road, just south of I-20 [AJC]

GA

The Sales Tax Holiday lasts through midnight Sunday.

A 37-year-old Georgia woman was arrested in AL and charged with padding her bra with $13K of methamphetamine. [AP]

US

Like so many things run by the federal government, the Cash for Clunkers program is a mess, with more applications in the pipeline than money available. [NYT] Car dealer: "If they can't administer a little program like this, I'd be a bit concerned about my health care."

TECHNOLOGY

15 useful Twitter tools

PERSONAL

This blogger's weight this AM was 175.6, about nine pounds over goal.

@DaveKell has 1335 friends on Twitter (up 1)

My 7-year-old desktop computer is working again, and gets the job done, but I really want an HP IQ486 with 25.5" multi-touch screen, HD TV tuner, Blu Ray player, and DVD burner. I'm going to wait until I can get it with System 7 installed in the fall.

Post 4943 / Day 725

Clermont Hotel design winners

The winners of the design contest for the Clermont Hotel were announced last night.

Here's a video collage showing the entries and the winners. Gene Kansas did the announcing.

Clermont Hotel Design Awards 7/30/2009 from Dave Kell on Vimeo.

The reason the video is jumpy and goes black in places: I was standing in an aisle about 25 feet from the stage and had to deal with people getting up and down from the table in front of me and bumping into me from behind as they passed down the aisle. It's dark and a bit fuzzy because there wasn't much light.

Here's the Asian Cajun contingent:

The second place and (presumed) first place entries are shown in the continuation

School board supports DeVry annexation

Kyle reports the School Board will support the annexation of the old DeVry campus, even though it's estimate of potential new students (long term) is 30-60 (considerably higher than the 2-3 the City estimates).

Here's the AJC article.

Join us for a Regator/inDECATUR anniversary celebration

On 8/6/2009, inDECATUR will be two years old. On the following day, Regator (the great blog aggregator based in Decatur) will be one year old. So, we've decided to celebrate the event together at the Grange on 8/7, 6-9pm.

Kimberly has all the history and details on a Facebook page. (I didn't know inDECATUR is the second-most popular Atlanta blog on Regator (beaten only by Creative Loafing).

You can RSVP on the Facebook Event page. You're invited, whether you got an e-mail or not.

Unless a sponsor steps up between now and then, you're on your own for drinks. But, I'll have 20-25 tickets for a beverage for anyone who can answer a question he/she would know if he/she reads inDECATUR regularly (assuming the Grange agrees to accept them on my tab).

Thanks for reading inDECATUR, and if you don't use Regator, you should.

The Mercantile is open in Candler Park

The Mercantile is only a short drive west on DeKalb Avenue from Decatur.

It has a wide variety of fresh produce and cooking components, as well as a restaurant and wines.

It even has a club sandwich named "The Decatur"

The Decatur: The Mercantile's Club: Ham, Turkey, Bacon and Swiss on a hoagie with mayo, Lusty Monk Honey Mustard, lettuce and tomato.

Saturday afternoon would be a good day to stop by and check it out.

From DBA:

Drop by and explore Atlanta's newest specialty grocery store and their boutique wine selection. Taste wines from Spain and discuss Spanish appellations, varietals and wineries. This will take place Saturday, August 1, 12pm-2pm.  Please bring your identification to taste. This is a free event.

If you're on Facebook, become a fan.

Decatur-Dekalb YMCA Fall Five 5K Run/Walk - Tot Trot - Raffle 9/19

The Fall Five 5K Run/Walk and Tot Trot on 9/19/09 in Oakhurst will raise money for the Decatur-DeKalb YMCA Partner With Youth Program, which benefits College Heights Early Childhood Learning Center in Oakhurst and funds activities, programs and scholarships for College Heights’ students ages 0-PreK.

The community is invited to participate in the event, children’s activities and drawing which includes Decatur-DeKalb YMCA memberships and other great prizes!

Advance registration -- up to Sept. 14 -- is $20 for adults and $5 for the Tot Trot, and includes a souvenir Tee shirt. Onsite registration is $25 for 5K and $5 for Tot Trot with Tee shirts available on a first come first served basis.

Go to www.fallfive.com to register and for more information.

Volunteers needed. Sponsorships appreciated. Race runs rain or shine.

Email info@fallfive.com with questions.

Decatur WiFi at East Decatur Station

Many complain of a weak Decatur WiFi signal at the Corner Pub, which is hard to understand, given there's a Decatur WiFi unit on the pole at the NE edge of the ACE parking lot next door.

The problem might be solved by buying a $129 modem sold by "Get the Speed" and mounting it in a window.