EACA Newsletter for August 30, 2010

Hello,

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Enjoy this week's newsletter!

Brownwood Park Recreation Center

In May of this year,the East Atlanta Community Association and the East Atlanta Kids Club signed an operating agreement for the Brownwood Park Recreation Center. Per the agreement, a Committee has been created to provide input and oversight into the types of programming available at the Rec Center, outside of Kids Club operating times.

If you are an East Atlanta resident and have an

interest in shaping the activities available in our community, please contact Austin Dickson, EACA President, at president@eaca.net. The Brownwood Recreation Center Community Committee (BRCCC) will meet for the first time in the second half of September.

Sopo Bicycle Coop

Our mission...is to create equitable access to cycling by providing affordable bicycle maintenance, services and education.

Our shop...provides a central forum for sharing equipment, materials, and expertise, and facilitates affordable, practical, hands-on support for cyclists of all ages and skill levels.

Today, August 30, is going to be our next Bike Maintenance 101 Class: Basic Tune Ups/Repairs. Come to the shop at 7:00 PM to learn all kinds of tricks and tips to keeping your bike on the road. Suggested donation is $10. Bring your own bike. For more information on what Sopo is please visit our website.

See you there!

What's Happening at Martha Brown

Next Sunday, September 5th, Martha Brown will host Mark Kroos at their service at 11am. He is from Williamsburg, VA, and is one of the only touring double neck acoustic guitarists in

the world. He is as entertaining to listen to as to watch. Check him out, as well as listen to a sample of his work, at www.markkroos.org.

The first Book Club meeting will be Wednesday, September 8th, 7pm, at Bound To Be Read Books in EAV. The first book is Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore. For more information on joining please email marthabrownunite@bellsouth.net.

East Atlanta Farmers Market

Do you qualify for Food Stamps?

Did you know that the East Atlanta Village Farmer's Market accepts Food Stamps and will double the value of your food stamps?

Did you know that you can find out if you're eligible and apply for food stamps at the market?

The Atlanta Prosperity Campaign can help you determine if you are eligible for Food Stamps then help you apply.

Useful items to bring with you: Georgia ID, Social Security Card, and Proof of Income (ex: check stub or Social Security Award letter).

The EAV Farmer's Market offers fresh vegetables, breads, dairy products, and honey. Farmer's Market Hours: Thursdays 4pm to dusk, May through November.
In the parking lot of the old Village Hardware at 1231 Glenwood Ave SE Atlanta, GA 30316. Accessible via the #9, #34, #4 and #107 MARTA bus lines.

Come out to the East Atlanta Village Farmer's Market!
Thursday, September 9th
4:30 PM to 7:00 PM

East Atlanta Library

The East Atlanta Branch of the library will not have a story-time again until Tuesday September 14th. It was necessary for the space to be used for The EAV Strut booksale until then. Story-time should resume on its normal schedule from the 14th on. Please keep an eye on your EACA newsletter for future information about upcoming events at your library.

East Atlanta, It's Time to Strut Your Stuff!

Whether you just want to have fun or whether you want to spread the word about your group or business in a unique way, the East Atlanta Strut Parade is the way to go. The parade will be 2 p.m. Saturday, September 18. Trophies are awarded in a variety of categories, including Marching band, Kids Strut, Float, Art car, Pets, Scooters, Bicycles and Anything goes!

Parade registration is $15 or free to Strut sponsors and those with booths in the community area. Deadline to register is Wednesday, September 15.

To register, please visit here, or contact Michelle Rice at parade@eastatlantastrut.com. Thanks!

2010 Neighborhood Summit Workshops

The Neighborhood Summit planning committee is pleased to announce the workshops for this year's event, which will be held on Sat., Sept. 25. This year, organizers have added a second workshop session to the day's agenda, so participants will be able to attend two workshops, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The workshops are:

Advancing Neighborhoods into the 21st Century, presented by Guide, Inc. and Lens on Atlanta (morning session); Lindbergh-LaVista Coalition and Neighborhood Nexus (afternoon session)
Meeting Changing Needs of Residents, presented by Georgia Organics and Harvest of the Heart (morning session) and NPU-H and Resources for Residents and Communities (afternoon session)
Developing a Deeper Understanding of Regional Issues, presented by Atlanta Regional Commission Livable Centers Initiative (morning session only)
Plan 2040 Neighborhood Forum, presented by The Civic League for Regional Atlanta and Atlanta Regional Commission (afternoon session only)
Creating Civic Organizations that Last, presented by Gwinnett Village Community Improvement District and The Center for Community Preservation and Planning (morning session); The Neighborhood Fund and Park Pride (afternoon session)
Getting Organized for Lobbying and Advocacy Efforts, presented by Engage Gwinnett and Georgia Stand-Up (morning session); Dirty Truth Campaign and League of Women Voters (afternoon session)

Take advantage of early registration for the Neighborhood Summit. General admission is $10 (seniors/students are $5), and includes continental breakfast, lunch and full access to Summit workshops and exhibits. The fees double on September 1!

For those interested EACA will pay for up to four East Atlanta residents. The deadline to indicate interest is Monday, August 30, to president@eaca.net.

Support Neighbor in Need

EACA's new program needs your support! Neighbor in Need, a model developed in East Lake, provides emergency home repair for low-income, elderly residents of East Atlanta. As an initiative of EACA, Neighbor in Need is a grassroots, relationship-based, block-by-block effort; if you have a neighbor that might need some help, please contact Jeff Whitehouse, Chairperson of EACA's Neighbor in Need initiative. All donations to this initiative are tax-deductible and go directly to the costs of labor and materials to help out our neighbors.

A donation of $1,000 would help cover a portion of an expensive roof or central AC repair.
A donation of $500 would help get hot water running again in a senior's home.
A donation of $250 would help a neighbor fix a broken door or window.

Contributing to this initiative is as easy as clicking the PayPal DONATE button on EACA's website. We need your support in improving the quality of life for our long-time East Atlantans.

Burgess-Peterson Academy's Garden

On Tuesday, August 24, neighborhood leader and DeKalb County Master Gardener, Adam Waterson, and BPA's Coach Jackson, gave a short presentation on plans for the BPA garden. Adam and Michelle Rice (also a DeKalb County Master Gardener) harvested what the students planted on the last day of school and shared it with teachers -- okra, potatoes and cowpeas. In September, they'll start working with classes, with this year's focus on math in the garden, covering everything from measuring and addition to percentages. They've also got lots of old windows to build a cold frame, so students can grow plants throughout the winter. Look for a note requesting help with that soon. (Thanks for the windows, Alyssa and PTA Prez. Chris!)

Several neighbors having tree work done have donated pieces of tree trunk for seating in the outdoor classroom. Adam and Michelle even found a few logs big enough to stand on end and use as tables or a lectern. When the weather cools down a little, they'll have a Mulch Madness volunteer day for the outdoor classroom.

Here's a link to the YouTube video of Coach giving a tour of the garden:

In the meantime, here's something that doesn't require any sweat: Save Seven Bulbs for Burgess.

If you're a gardener, you know it's about time to shop for spring-flowering bulbs to plant in the fall. Please save seven of your bulbs (one for each grade level at BPA) and donate them to the garden for the students to plant. The bulbs will teach students the science of growing and also the math involved in figuring out how deep to plant. Here are a few recommended online bulb sources:

www.colorblends.com
www.hollandbulbfarms.com
www.michiganbulb.com
www.bloomingbulb.com
www.dutchbulbs.com

Contact Michelle Rice (4chisos@comcast.net) to arrange to drop off bulbs or have her pick them up.

Brownwood Park News

On Saturday, August 7, a group of 40 people from the American Community Gardening Association'sAnnual Conference toured East Atlanta's Brownwood Park Community Garden. What's unique about our neighborhood's community garden is it's the first garden in a City of Atlanta park. The Brownwood Park Community Garden has humbly created an environment for policy change and has started the movement for community gardens in many of the city's parks. The conference attendees learned of this unique feature of our garden and took ideas back to their own communities, where -- nationally speaking -- it is often difficult to have community gardens in city parks.

Additionally, also in early August, the EACA Parks Committee cleaned the gutters of the Brownwood Park Recreation Center (there was a tree growing in one gutter!). It also dispersed wood chips on several paths in the south end of the park. Thank you to Laird Ruth who braved the pouring rain to oversee the project to completion. More wood-chipped paths and stream restoration work on the south side of the park is planned for the fall.

If you have questions, want more information on the Brownwood Park Community Garden or would like to volunteer with the Parks Committee, please contact Mary Yetter or Laird Ruth, EACA Parks Committee Co-Chairs, at parks@eaca.net.

For more pictures please visit EACA's Facebook page.

CITY OF ATLANTA IMPLEMENTS NEW PARKING ZONES!

PARKatlanta, a collaborative initiative led by the City's Department of Public Works is enhancing our parking operations with new technology, single-space and multi-space solar-powered meters as well as enhanced signage and payment options. In accordance with the recommendations of the Atlanta City Council Transportation Sub-Committee on Parking Enforcement, the Department of Public Works is enhancing the service levels for the PARKatlanta On-street Parking Management Program. We are implementing new parking zones including business, government, schools, entertainment and mixed-use zones in metered locations to accommodate the uses of particular areas.
Business/Government zone:

This is an area where parking is occupied by patrons of business or government offices with high need for turnover parking
Enforcement days are Monday through Saturday
Enforcement hours are 7 A.M. to 7 P.M.
Parking time limit is two hours

Mixed Use zone

This is an area where historic buildings have multiple uses which include both residential and commercial but do not have onsite parking
Enforcement days are Monday through Friday
Enforcement hours are 8 A.M. to 6 P.M.
Parking time limit is three hours

School/University zone

This is an area where the majority of parking is occupied by attendees of post-secondary colleges and/or universities
Enforcement days are Monday through Saturday
Enforcement hours are 7 A.M. to 7 P.M.
Parking time limit is three hours

Entertainment/Restaurant/Hospital zones

This is an area where the majority of parking is occupied by patrons of theaters, museums, restaurants, other entertainment venues, and hospitals
Enforcement days are Monday through Saturday
Enforcement hours are 7 A.M. to 10 P.M.
Parking time limit is four hours

No metered on-street parking enforcement will occur on Sundays or City observed holidays.

For more information about the City of Atlanta's parking enforcement program, please visit: www.PARKatlanta.org or call (404) 330-6739.

Fire Station 13 Fundraiser T-shirts