Don't forget to vote on July 31!

To generate a view of your ballot, see http://mvp.sos.state.ga.us/

For MANA residents:

Around the neighborhood

At the Clyde Shepherd Nature Preserve:

The pond is pretty dry but so lush and green!

Below are two trees that sustained fire damage after lighting struck the tool shed last year.  You can see the scorched bark still. The tree to the left is now dead and has been left standing (for the benefit of wildlife) but the top was removed was removed for safety purposes. Notice the mushrooms growing on it (a sign of dead wood, as was noted on a recent item on tree care). Compare that to the new growth on the tree to the right, which had some limbs removed due to fire damage.

Click to enlarge.

Elsewhere, a fall webworm colony on a branch overhanging the creek. You can see some little wrigglers inside (around 11 o'clock on the silk tent). The adults are small, white, nocturnal moths.

Click to enlarge.

Selig: Suburban Plaza development update

Selig Enterprises has asked MANA to share the following:

Click to enlarge, or see pdf file link below.

Click for above statement in PDF format.


Addendum: for discussions on this release, see Decatur Metro and The Champion newspaper and Neighborhood News.

T-SPLOST: hyperlocal and blue chip support

Johnathan Shapiro at WABE, our NPR & PBS radio station, interviewed MANA president Sharon Johnson and other locals in Much at Stake for Clifton Corridor Rail In Upcoming T-SPLOST.

Elsewhere, the Atlanta Business Chronicle lists close to two dozen local businesses that have made substantial contributions to the T-SPLOST campaign.

The AJC continues coverage as well.

West Nile Virus is back in town

DeKalb has reported the first West Nile virus-infected mosquito of the season via the AJC. No human cases have been reported for this year, but Georgia usually reports 10-20 cases/year.

According to CDC's fact sheet on West Nile virus

• Most people who are infected with West Nile virus (80%) experience no ill effects. 
• Up to 20% experience symptoms such as "fever, headache, and body aches, nausea, vomiting, and sometimes swollen lymph glands or a skin rash on the chest, stomach and back. Symptoms can last for as short as a few days, though even healthy people have become sick for several weeks."
• Under 1% experience severe symptoms: "high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, vision loss, numbness and paralysis. These symptoms may last several weeks, and neurological effects may be permanent.
• People over 50 years of age are more likely to experience symptoms.

The virus persists year-round but is a primary concern during warm weather, when adult mosquitoes are most active.  As a neighborhood rich in creeks and floodplains (potential breeding ground), animals (many domestic and wild animals may function as year-round reservoir for virus), and outdoorsy folks, we should protect ourselves and our neighbors by checking for and eliminating standing water sources that may be used as mosquito breeding areas at least on a weekly basis and avoiding  mosquito bites via protective clothing and application of insect repellent.

The NY Department of Health offers the following advice:

from  http://www.health.ny.gov/publications/2747/

See MANA's 2011 mosquito warning and the Georgia State Department mosquito-borne disease page.

Dog found: Medlock Park [July19]

Click to enlarge

T-SPLOST: The senior perspective

The AJC has an item focusing on the needs of a demographic that is closely watching the Atlanta-area transportation debate: baby boomers. According to census figures, the metro Atlanta region's 20 counties is home to 1.3 million people aged 48 and older. With advancing years, people may face mobility issues as well as transportation worries (in particular, those who can no longer drive but live in areas that are not walkable and also lack public transportation). As expected, some seniors are in favor while others do not see how the referendum will benefit them.

The Atlanta Regional Commission acknowledges this trend in their website and has a section on aging resources. One of their foci is Lifelong Communities, which emphasizes housing, transportation, and healthy lifestyles throughout an individual's lifespan.

MANA is part of the Toco Hills Naturally Occurring Aging Communities (NORC). Per their website, 15.7% of residents in this area are 65 or older.  Compare that to the county at large (8.6%) and to the nation as a whole (13.3%).

AJC's coverage of the T-SPLOST vote is summarize in this page.