Cath The Council

It IS silly season so you may have seen the "Cath" signs loitering on roads around daVille. Now if you're of a certain age and circumstance where proximity to Pill Hill is major advantage to you location then you might be thinking "Cath" is short for "catheter." You might be thinking that's not a bad idea, cath the council. If you've been paying attention you might think a better MD would have ordered a high colonic. But. You gotta start somewhere.

Then you find out out that "Cath" ain't catheter, it actually refers to the dwarf-wanna-be that really, Really, REALLY wishes she lived in Sandy Springs instead of Dunwoody. To read it in the Blue Bag Rag, it would seem somehow impolite to mention that, so...

We should definitely skip THAT Cath.

Drugs In Schools

The school systems' drug of choice is taxes and DeKalb is no exception. If they distinguish themselves at all it is in that they all but refuse to tell anyone exactly what they intend to spend E-SPLOST funds on. The last time they did it was exposed as a lie and their little feelings were hurt. 

The last E-SPLOST was widely known as a waste and the best some could muster was "well, we hope some of the money gets to the classroom." The situation for those who think you can never dump enough money down the sinkhole that is public education has gotten much, much worse. Their best practices have been broadcast to dens and basements throughout the district and found horribly lacking. By parents. Parents who can no longer maintain the myth of "my child's education is one of the best." Parents who saw something that cannot be fixed by more money. 

Then our turbulent times blew open the kimono putting the politicization of public schools on full display. It isn't just the politics of racial divisiveness which they long ago integrated into their system, it is the growing chasm between their system and the parents who support it with their money and children. And the educators arrogantly assert they are in control and their political and industrial supporters are running interference on their behalf. They are saying, out loud, that parents should have no input on what their own children are taught or how they are educated.

A system that was intended to support the needs of our parents and children has been turned completely around. The refuse to teach the three R's, finding unaccountable indoctrination more to their liking. And their capabilities. Maybe what we actually need are public day cares, because our children sure as hell are not getting the education needed to compete in a global world.

It is time again to just say No! to E-SPLOST.

Touch Down!

Anyone who knows Touch Down Al knows he has sailed to warmer waters with sandy beaches, beautiful sunsets and safe harbor from political silliness. There is not and never will be a "City of Blue Mountain." But those same folks know of TD's obsession with local fauna, particularly of the fawn variety with one being foaled in his back yard. TD has migrated but the fawn are left behind. 

City Crackdown

No, no...not that...the state is not stepping in to clean up the craziness at city hall. In fact city hall is amping up on that. As recently reported in the AJC, Dunwoody is going to crack down on "party houses." 

There's lots to unpack there, starting with: this is not a problem in Dunwoody. And you might consider this being pro-active as the AJC/Dunwoody PR consortium points out. Or you might consider this a fast skate down the slippery slope of a non-elected bureaucrat-empowering permission society. If this works according to their plan, some bureaucrat is going to rock back and forth in an Aeron and ponder whether or not an particular part even might be disagreeable. To them.

The optimist suggests that if this is enforced with all the vigor uses to enforce the ordinance to keep trucks from barrelling through our neighborhoods it is the same kind of non-issue. The realist knows it IS the same kind of something. Ask yourself: where is this coming from and who are the motivators behind it? Could there be any business in Dunwoody that might be "negatively impacted" by pop-up party venues? Hmmm... Could be. Are there any businesses that are negatively impacted if trucks were NOT playing frogger with your kids? You betcha. And that is exactly why the former will be aggressively enforced and the latter never will be. And it is why The Citizens OF Dunwoody need proper representation at city hall.

Publius Identifies Dunwoody Failure

In explaining the underlying design of the new republic, the United Stated, Publius touches on topics and offers thoughts that are no less relevant today than when pen was first put to paper. One point brought by those opposed to a republican form of national government was the power vested in the chief executive, the President. On the contrary Publius argued that a strong executive, answerable only to the people, was necessary to a properly functioning government.

The administration of government, in its largest sense, comprehends all the operations of the body politic, whether legislative, executive, or judiciary; but in its most usual, and perhaps its most precise signification it is limited to executive details, and falls peculiarly within the province of the executive department. The actual conduct of foreign negotiations, the preparatory plans of finance, the application and disbursement of the public moneys in conformity to the general appropriations of the legislature, the arrangement of the army and navy, the directions of the operations of war, these, and other matters of a like nature, constitute what seems to be most properly understood by the administration of government. The persons, therefore, to whose immediate management these different matters are committed, ought to be considered as the assistants or deputies of the chief magistrate, and on this account, they ought to derive their offices from his appointment, at least from his nomination, and ought to be subject to his superintendence. 

And therein lies the problem with Dunwoody and all the other poisoned-mushroom cities springing up around us. Rather than follow Publius' sound advice, Dunwoody founding fathers chose to deny a representative form of government, operated by those elected to do so, and in such a manner that it serves the needs of the citizenry but instead to empower un-elected bureaucrats more beholden to others than to the citizenry. In effect, they sold the elected offices before the first election was ever held and in so doing installed corruption as a structural, foundational cornerstone of that government.

Dunwoody has proven, by eviscerating the offices held by our elected representatives, that Publius was indeed correct. There is no need to continue proving it.

City vs Developer

An interesting turn in the Buckhead breakaway movement are the naysayers highlighting the financial damage done to the city, Atlanta, left behind. To amp up the rhetoric they point out the millions of tax dollars this will siphon away from the Atlanta Public Schools.

Somehow none of these folks were very concerned when their developers' authorities did exactly the same thing.

Dissin' On The ATDC

A former dwarf is pushing the idea of creating a high-tech incubator somewhere in Dunwoody as a way, to well, do something. Not clear what that is and allusions to how Peachtree Corners and Alpharetta have done with their efforts is a bit like saying "London's ferris wheel is such a success we should get one too." A case of "monkey see, monkey doo-doo." 

As some in TOD have actual experience with high-tech startups, including some germinated at ATDC, a few insights are on offer. Early stage startups, zygotes if you will, need ready access to technical talent on flexible and inexpensive terms. As it so happens GaTech grad students are ideal and if your startup is actually on campus, as is the ATDC, you'll not get greater access. As the startup matures, regular full time staff is required to attract funding as the dirty little not so secret is that you're actually building a company to sell, not a product or service. Consequently you're selling your talent, your employees and anything that detracts from building that talent base is wasted resources. Think: high-rent, Class A offices. That's why the startups reaching this stage move out of the city, towards the 'burbs and this is exactly what has fueled the success of Technology Park-appropriate rents; a developed high-tech community; and access to housing and amenities demanded by those with a Master's degree in EE or CS...and a couple of kids. 

Yet we have a bureaucrat who squizzed out these prizes:

"Dunwoody already has the infrastructure, including plenty of banks and office space, low personal tax rates and high quality of life;"

and;

“Why go all the way to ATDC when you can get the same resources in Dunwoody?”

You have to wonder what, in that little mind, constitutes "infrastructure." And the bit about banks leaves you wondering if this is really being reported by The Onion, because that is NOT a legit gating factor. Office space? Really? When you're a hop, skip and a jump away from appropriate, affordable space in Technology Park? Do you really want to pay Class A prices for the obligatory wanna-be-like-Spotify ping pong table? Quality of life? Clearly this bureaucrat hasn't had to deal with high-speed, illegal truck traffic in HIS neighborhood (probably NOT in Dunwoody) and hasn't a clue about crime in the perimeter area where all that office space sits. Probably hasn't looked at the public schools either. And what does this city know about Venture Capital? NADA. Also, it's not as if they're offering generous tax handouts to startups, are they? Given the hate-hate relationship between our only university and the city, and the fact that this campus isn't known for high-tech, then yeah, go all the way to ATDC, because that is where the talent is. Startups are risky enough without taking on the burdens Dunwoody has on offer.

You have to wonder if there is some "build back better" grant funds behind this or if it is just the flatulent lip-flapping you get when a mouth-breath has the hiccups.

Is The Phoeix Rising?

You know about the first town homes in the Dunwoody Village area, don't you? The ones across Chamblee-Dunwoody from the Spruill Center for the Arts? With the adjacent cluster homes off Ashford Center Parkway, a real parkway with medians hosting trees. 

Do you remember how that happened?

Well, back in the day that property lay empty and was owned by Emory University who wanted to cash in, so they found a developer. As you do. Remember what Greedy Developer wanted to do? Build a shopping center anchored by a super-sized Publix. When the Village already had THREE grocery stores. Not because it was what this community needed but simply because it would rake in the most money. 

So why didn't that happen?

Dunwoody Home Owners Association. They stepped up to the plate and made it clear this community would not be steam-rolled without putting up a fight. An expensive fight. A long, drawn-out legal battle. And guess what happened? We got some damn nice looking town homes instead of a yet another ticky-tacky strip center with all that traffic that really belongs on Highway 41, not in the heart of Dunwoody. 

There is some indication that the DHA put some effort into protecting our neighborhoods and our suburban character in the developer (and city) assault on Dunwoody Village. Are they back? Perhaps. Perhaps they're coming back as they lost their way in the early years of city-hood, weakening their capabilities to fight the good fight. After all, wasn't city-hood supposed to be the ultimate victory and not a toxic bait and switch? 

Let's all hope the DHA is revitalized and only getting stronger. It may be the only hope we have.