The holiday season is in full swing so here’s your friendly neighborhood reminder of the scheduling for City of Decatur Solid Waste and Recycling Services:
Regular service for Thursday, Dec. 24, will be on Wednesday, Dec. 23
Regular service for Friday, Dec. 25, will be on Thursday, Dec. 24
Regular service for Monday, Dec. 28, will be on Tuesday, Dec. 29
Regular service for Tuesday, Dec. 29, will be on Wednesday, Dec. 30
Also, please note the holiday scheduling for New Year’s Day:
Regular service for Thursday, Dec. 31, and Friday, Jan. 1, will be on Thursday, Dec. 31
Join Little Shop of Stories and the City of Decatur on Thursday, December 10, for the 2020 Virtual Tree Lighting on Zoom at 7 p.m. Grab some goodies and hot chocolate (holiday recipe included in the November Focus) and hop on Zoom at 6:30 p.m. for story time with Santa. The event is free but registration is required. To register, head to the Visit Decatur event page!
Join us for the final installment in our 2020 Anti-Racism Speaker Series featuring prominent anti-racist writer and educator, Tim Wise this Thursday, December 3 at 6 p.m. Visit decaturga.com/speakerseries to make sure you’re registered for this session and to watch recordings of the previous speakers.
The Speaker Series was created to mine the knowledge and wisdom of numerous thought leaders to challenge and inspire our community to take actionable steps to instill anti-racism throughout our norms and practices.
Decatur voters residing in the 5th Congressional District may cast their ballots in person, by mail, or by drop boxes tomorrow, December 1st. The 5th Congressional District includes voters that cast ballots at the following precincts: Decatur, Glenwood, Oakhurst, Ponce de Leon and Winnona Park. (If you voted at a temporary location during the November 3rd General Election, you will return to that location for the run-off.)
If you would prefer to drop off your absentee ballot, use the box at Decatur City Hall. A complete list of designated drop boxes for the 5th Congressional District’s special election runoff is located at DeKalbVotes.com.
Not sure if you are in the 5th Congressional District? You can check by visiting the City’s elected officials map or the My Voter Page on the Georgia Secretary of State’s website.
Author Travis Swann Taylor will be discussing his new guidebook, 111 Places in Atlanta That You Must Not Miss, which features eclectic, historic, and just plain fascinating places in the city of Atlanta that should not be overlooked. Each page features a beautiful photo to accompany the fascinating information about the highlighted spot; it’s a book that every resident in or near Atlanta should have on their book shelf. The talk will take place virtually via Zoom on Tuesday, November 24 from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
A resident of DeKalb County for a collective 15 years of the 25 he’s lived in Atlanta, Travis Swann Taylor has been writing since childhood and has an ever-growing sense of wanderlust. He has authored the Atlanta tourism blog “wanderlust ATLANTA” for 10 years. He’s also excited to be the photographer for the book.
Early voting for the special election runoff for Georgia’s 5th Congressional District started November 9 and concludes November 25 and available Monday–Friday, 8 a.m. through 5 p.m., with Saturday voting on Nov. 21 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. DeKalb voters residing in the 5th Congressional District can cast their ballots in person, by mail, or by drop boxes in and around the district during the designated early voting period. The list of designated drop boxes for the 5th Congressional District’s special election runoff is located at DeKalbVotes.com The only designated early voting location for the special election is the DeKalb VRE office, located at 4380 Memorial Drive in Decatur.
The runoff election is Dec. 1.
Not sure if you are in the 5th Congressional District? You can check by visiting the City’s elected officials map here or the My Voter Page on the Georgia Secretary of State’s website.
The City of Decatur and the Decatur Development Authorities (DDA) have announced the creation of a small business grant program in response to the financial challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of $400,000 will be granted from funding made available to the local government through the CARES Act.
Any small business in Decatur employing between one and 50 full-time or full-time equivalent employees is eligible, so long as they were open and operational as of March 1, 2020. Depending on various factors in the application process, including the number of full-time employees, eligible businesses will be considered for a grant of up to $25,000.
The grants are being administered by the DDA, and businesses interested in applying are encouraged to visit Decatur’s business resources webpage for updates and for the grant guide. The online portal to submit an application will open at 8:00 a.m. on November 11, 2020, and the deadline to apply is 5:00 p.m. on November 25, 2020. In the event that the grant fund is over-subscribed, a lottery method will be used to select which businesses from the group of qualified applicants will receive the grant. Grant distributions are expected by the end of December.
The DDA has also created an interactive webpage detailing which local businesses are remaining open during the COVID-19 pandemic and their updated operating hours, which can be accessed through DecaturGA.com.
Election Day is tomorrow, Tuesday, November 3. If you have an absentee ballot, you may deposit into the ballot drop off box outside of Decatur City Hall (509 N. McDonough St) or visit one of the nearby boxes located at DeKalb Voter Registration & Elections (4380 Memorial Dr) or Fire Station 3 (100 Clarendon Avenue, Avondale Estates.) The locations of additional boxes is listed here. Final pickup is 7 P.M. on Election Day.
The DeKalb Board of Registration and Elections strongly urges voters who’ve requested absentee ballots, but would now rather vote in person, to cancel their absentee ballot now. You may cancel your ballot by calling or emailing the Elections Office at 404-298-4020 or voterreg@dekalbcountyga.gov. Election officials will email you an affidavit to cancel your current absentee ballot. Taking this step will assist in keeping in-person voting lines moving on Election Day. Or if this isn’t an option, make sure to bring your absentee ballot with you to the polls.
The DeKalb County Board of Registration and Elections has approved the following polling place changes for the November 3, 2020 General Election and any following Runoff elections. These changes are necessary because the regular polling locations for these precincts are not available or are no longer able to accommodate indoor social distancing requirements due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you are planning to vote in person, you should confirm your polling location before going. You may do so at the following link – https://www.mvp.sos.ga.gov/MVP/mvp.do. Polling places are open 7 A.M. to 7 P.M. on Tuesday, November 3.
Still have questions or need additional information? Contact the Elections Office at 404-298-4020 or voterreg@dekalbcountyga.gov.
The DeKalb County Board of Registration and Elections has approved the following polling place changes for the November 3, 2020 General Election and any following Runoff elections. These changes are necessary because the regular polling locations for these precincts are not available or are no longer able to accommodate indoor social distancing requirements due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A complete list of polling locations for both Advanced Voting and Election Day voting can be found online at DeKalbVotes.com. Be sure to double-check your precinct location by logging into mvp.sos.ga.gov.
Register to join the Better Together Advisory Board and the City of Decatur for the next installment in our 2020 Anti-Racism Speaker Series. The Speaker Series seeks to mine the knowledge and wisdom of numerous thought leaders to challenge and inspire our community to take actionable steps to instill anti-racism throughout our norms and practices.
On Friday, November 6 we’ll hear from Andra Gillespie, Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of the James Weldon Johnson Institute at Emory University. Visit decaturga.com/speakerseries to register for this session and for the upcoming sessions and check out the recaps from our previous speakers.
