Clairmont Heights Civic Association

From commissioner Jeff Rader... Recently the Atlanta Regional Commission awarded a Livable Centers Initiative (LCI) planning grant to DeKalb County Commission District 2 to study transportation and development issues in the North Druid Hills Corridor from Buford Highway to Clairmont Road. As you know, this corridor serves some of the region’s most desirable neighborhoods, but also carries heavy commuter traffic, and is the target of many redevelopment proposals. The planning grant (and the project funding that can follow it) is an important resource for exploring development options and alleviating transportation problems. As we prepare for the study to begin, I'd like to invite you an event of interest to us all. On April 16, 2009, from 5-7:30 Georgia Tech Professor Ellen Dunham Jones and Architect Andres Duany will speak at Holy Trinity Church (515 East Ponce de Leon Avenue) in Decatur. The event is free and open to the public.

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! This is Mary Margaret Oliver’s fifth email newsletter for the 2009 General Assembly Session, which convened January 12, 2009 and has completed 30 days of the 2009 General Assembly’s 40 days of work. In each newsletter, I ask how you would vote on a pending bill or budget item. I am very grateful for your thoughtful responses and I personally read all your answers. Thank you for your interest and opinions! Weekly question: Would you vote for HB 480 to eliminate the annual ad valorem tax on cars, eliminate the sales tax on cars, and impose a one time 7% title fee instead in order to raise more revenue for state-wide trauma services?

The General Assembly is now scheduled to end Sine Die on April 3rd with the passage of a new adjournment resolution on Thursday, March 5th. Lawmakers were scheduled to break until June and come back for 5 days and write a state budget based on whether the state received federal stimulus money. But since that has been determined and the Governor has already lowered the revenue estimate accordingly, leaders can go back to a more normal scheduled ending in the beginning of April. Read more

I am currently accepting applications for our next Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Course. The course will be Wednesday nights, 7:00-9:30 PM, April 1 – May 27 with the drill and graduation on June 6th. This course is open to all DeKalb County citizens and anyone who works within the county and is free of charge. Space is limited to the first 25 people who sign up. The course teaches citizens how to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters. They will learn how to handle immediate needs of their families, co-workers, and neighbors after a disaster until professional rescuers can arrive. This course is best when taken with co-workers, family members, or neighbors who would respond together but can be taken alone.