by Jackson Faw Monday’s arraignment and bond hearings for co-defendants Dedrick Hale, 19, and Quinterious Hogans, 20, were attended by more than 25 of their family members and friends. Four members of murder victim David McReynolds’ family and one neighborhood resident appearing in support of Mr. McReynolds, also attended the hearings. Fulton County Superior Court Judge T. Jackson Bedford was vocal and direct in his admonishment of the two young defendants after setting a bond of $90,000 each. “I see some of you shaking your heads” the judge said after setting bond, which was nearly four …

by Corinne Marie Coe LAKE CLAIRE — Join us for a fun and informative, hands-on workshop that will teach you everything you need to know to make rich, dark compost for use in your yard or garden. Composting saves resources, slows the waste stream, and is indispensable to any sustainable garden or homestead. It is also a wonderful teaching tool for children! I will lead the workshop, which will be held May 19 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. at the Lake Claire Community Land Trust, 280 Arizona Ave. NE. I am a Master Composter and hold a Permaculture Design Certificate from the Urban Permaculture …

Dear Atlanta Public School Board and Leadership: As we near the end of the school year, we find ourselves reflecting on the progress made this year in the Jackson Cluster. We thought it would be especially important for you to understand what accomplishments have been made and what challenges remain in the schools you represent, and remind you that your decisions, your ability to work together and think creatively about things like the budget can have an immediate positive impact on 50,000 students. For many families, this was the first year in new schools and a new cluster after …

UPDATE: Readers, because of weather concerns, the music fest is postponed and is scheduled for the weekend of May 18. by Maynard Eaton SWEET AUBURN — The landscape of Atlanta’s Sweet Auburn festivals has changed in recent history, with the emergence of an additional group of festival producers – the Muhammad family. Their concept — the Sweet Auburn Music Fest — aims to re-capture the essence of the original Sweet Auburn Festival in full swing during the 70s and 80s. That original festival essence, believes the Muhammad family, is compellingly captured through their Sweet Auburn Music Fest’s …

Editor's note: Atlanta parents whose children attend public charters are watching an ongoing appeal by Atlanta Public Schools of a judge's December ruling the district illegally held $2.8 million from charter schools. Some have started petitions to press the point that charter schools are a vital component to APS' success. Others, such as the Rosbottom family, have written letters to district officials to make their case directly. Natalie Rosbottom shared her letter that she wrote to APS Superintendent Erroll B. Davis Jr. and Reuben R. McDaniel III, APS board chairman. Greetings Mr. Davis and…

by Citizens for Change Morehouse College alumni are outraged by the college's decision to disinvite fellow alum, the Rev. Dr. Kevin R. Johnson , Senior Pastor of the Bright Hope Baptist Church in Philadelphia, as the baccalaureate speaker on May 18, 2013.  After being announced to alumni and the college community as the baccalaureate speaker, Morehouse College President John Silvanus Wilson, Jr. contacted Johnson on April 15 via phone to inform him of the decision due to concerns about views Johnson expressed in an opinion editorial in The Philadelphia Tribune and stated that the article was…

by Karen Heim Please join the Krewe of the Grateful Gluttons at the Inman Park Festival Parade on Sat., April 27 for their annual attempt at the Gnome March World Record.  The Gnomes began marching in the Festival Parade in 2007 to bring attention to important Gnome issues:  gnomophobia, dandelion genocide, legalizing weeds, etc. In 2010, the Krewe and the Euclid Avenue Yacht Club attempted a World Record of the Largest Gathering of People Dressed as Garden Gnomes (a/k/a Gnome March). Signatures of 108 Gnomes were earnestly verified by Julia Stedman and Amy Carter. The Guinness Book of World …

by Karen Heim INMAN PARK — The Festival Committee is pleased to announce Ira Katz, R.Ph., as this year’s Parade Grand Marshal. Ira is the owner and pharmacist of the Little 5 Points Pharmacy, serving the community since February 1981. Here are some testimonials from the neighborhood made prior to the announcement of his selection as Grand Marshal:   “What other pharmacy will let you pay ‘later’ when you rush in without cash, credit card or check? Ira knows you will return with money. He also lets you pick up prescriptions for friends and neighbors. Since he knows your friends and neighbors, …

by Sudesh Girdhari Our direct access to the Beltline may be compromised!   The lot next to 850 Ormewood Ave. (borders the Beltline) is applying for subdivision into 2 lots. This may impact future beltway access, Property, Values, Livability and Pest Nuisance  Cecil Francis, the owner of the lot adjacent to (850 Ormewood Ave.) is asking for a subdivision of the lot. As you most likely also know his property is adjacent to the belt line. A Subdivision is a formal request to separate legally a lot or parcel of land. This allows parties to build on those parcels of land. Listen to the proposal, …

Editor's note: Six new dual immersion elementary schools, including D.H. Stanton Elementary School, were recently awarded start-up grants to support materials and professional development in the 2013-2014 school year. These schools will receive $15,000 each for start-up and training costs to implement dual immersion instruction in languages deemed vital to metro Atlanta's and Georgia's economic development. D.H. Stanton's program is centered around Spanish. by Dr. Clara Taylor PEOPLESTOWN — As D.H. Stanton rises to excellence, a program like Dual Immersion would fit very well in creating the …

by Jane Bradshaw The 42nd Inman Park Festival and Tour of Homes is only four days away and we still have more than 200 volunteer slots to fill! Help is most needed for Home Tour and Trash/Recycling and an additional shift was added for Delta Park from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. If you're interested in assisting the musicians/bands, there are still many shifts available (this involves possibly carrying equipment/setting up/tearing down and getting food/water while they are on stage). Please go to http://inmanparkfestival.org/volunteer-app/ and sign up for one (or more) shifts if you haven't already. If …

CANDLER PARK — The Mary Lin Education Foundation is holding its 5th annual Rocket Run 5K & 1 mile BLAST on Sunday, April 28, at 9 a.m. in partnership with the Inman Park Festival. The race runs through Inman Park and Old Fourth Ward. Start time for the 1-miler is 9:45 a.m. Register for the race at www.RocketRun.org or www.active.com. The Mary Lin Education Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that raises funds for our community elementary school. The Foundation's mission is to help Mary Lin Elementary achieve its educational goals by providing instructional, physical, and technological …

GRANT PARK — Ellie Martin, coordinator for the volunteer group, Atlanta Farm-to-School, has been introducing farm-to-preschool concepts at the Grant Park Cooperative Preschool where she is on staff. Martin is the school’s naturalist, a new position created by GPCP last year. She has worked with the children to renovate the school garden, which is located across the street in the Garcia family’s background. When the question of how to get rid of overgrowth came up, Martin looked no further than Ewe-niversally Green, a company that offers “sheep for hire” for natural land management. Paid for …

by Jeffrey Landers In living here as long as I have, I have seen the neighborhood change slowly from mainly older folks 13 years ago — when I moved here — to single homeowners to young couples to young families with small children. It has been a very pleasant development to see this gradual shift back to a much more family cohesive community than the one I moved into more than a decade ago. In noticing this demographic shift, I have also realized that the park at the center of our neighborhood has fallen behind in it's ability to be used efficiently and effectively by my Reynoldstown …

by Ellie Cantkier Come pick up groceries at Whole Foods Market Ponce de Leon on April 3 and support a worthy cause with your purchase. The Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School will be the recipient of five percent of Whole Foods' net sales on this day, so the more you shop, the more you give! ANCS' mission is to create a community of deeply engaged families and educators working to foster extraordinary levels of student achievement in an inclusive, constructivist learning environment that values every individual and prepares students to be effective citizens in a diverse global society. For …

by R.J. Morris The deadline to file for a Homestead Exemption is Monday, April 1. (You do not have to reapply if you already have a homestead exemption.) For Fulton residents: http://www.qpublic.net/ga/fulton/basic_homestead.html For DeKalb residents: http://web.co.dekalb.ga.us/TaxCommissioner/homesteadOnline.asp A homestead exemption is a reduction in homeowners' property taxes. Although there is a complicated formula, the bottom line is approximately the first $80,000 of home's total value is exempt and you will pay no taxes whatsoever — especially school taxes. Without a homestead …

by Tracy Manning Brandon Hayes of Atlanta’s historic Reynoldstown neighborhood has been named as a candidate for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Man & Woman of the Year campaign. Brandon joins other community leaders to see who can raise the most money for the organization within a 10-week time period beginning March 28th. Money raised during the campaign will advance the LLS' mission to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. He is vice president and a private CFO at oXYGen Financial, a money management and …

Another meeting? Although I go to a lot of 'em — SAND, NPU, PTSA, LSC, etc. etc. etc. — I am not a "meetings" person. I rarely see the significance, certainly not the amount of time spent talking rather than doing, although I understand communicating and planning are important. That said, there is an incredibly important 7 p.m. meeting coming up Thursday, March 21, at Maynard H. Jackson High School (at the temporary location: Coan Middle School, 1550 Hosea Williams Drive), organized by the Southeast Communities for Schools (http://seacs.weebly.com/): "SEACS is delighted to announce a very …

by Chris Fogg It's been a bit difficult for me since I took over the slightly worn out SunTrust building in East Atlanta. I feel a lot of people think we are the evil parking empire and I want to clear the air of a couple things. At the moment the parking is for 514 Flat Shoals Ave. only and for customers, employees or clients of 514 Flat Shoals Ave. We have something like 30-38 parking spots. We have over 40 employees upstairs every day not including SunTrust, LIT Realty or any of our respective clients and customers. If you add it up there isn't enough room in the parking lot for the …

EAST ATLANTA — Booting of cars in lots around the Village, the neighborhood's central business district, has always been a contentious issue between lot owners and the patrons of area retailers and restaurants. The owner of the lot behind SunTrust Banks Inc.'s East Atlanta branch at 514 Flat Shoals Ave., received several complaints from the bank about its customers not being able to park in bank-designated spaces because they were routinely snapped up by non-bank customers. So much so, that in 2012, he informed the East Atlanta Community Association that booting of non-customers would be …