And we have a dog park. Sort of. But not really.

Before I started the Buzz two years ago, I had figured out that this vacant lot being used by Kingfisher Academy on Flat Shoals Avenue as a playground made an excellent space to let my dogs run free. Owned by Georgia Power and serving as a path for power lines, the lot is big, open and fenced.

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Kingfisher had rights to use it, and they welcomed the neighborhood to use it as well. All they asked is that you pick up after yourself (especially if you brought a dog). It was a secret dog park right in the Village.

I mentioned the Kingfisher spot early on after the Buzz was launched, and dog lovers soon organized meet-ups on Sunday mornings and Thursday afternoons at the “dog park”. Those events have been about as important as drinking nights in terms of Buzzers meeting their neighbors and building community around here.

But then Kingfisher moved and their playground became just another vacant lot - apparently leased from Georgia Power by Inman Park Properties. No longer officially welcomed by the group controlling the space, Dog Park Sundays and Dog Park Thursdays have nonetheless continued.

Those days, however, are now numbered. Word was given at the neighborhood association meeting this week that the lot will soon be turned in to parking for several businesses that have or will open up on Flat Shoals south of Glenwood. This summer the Ice House will open in the old Echo Lounge space, a bakery is opening in the beige building you see on the left of the StreetView image above, and The Midway could probably use more parking as well.

It’s hard to argue against adding more parking when new businesses are opening, but it will be very sad to see the “dog park” go away. We were lucky to have this spot for a couple of years, but its disappearance will underscore the need for and lack of an official dog park in East Atlanta.

There is plenty of room for a dog park in the city-owned Brownwood Park, but attempts to include a dog-park area in the park’s development plan were shot down by residents who live adjacent to or nearby the park. It seems the potential for noise, “traffic” and other undesirable changes didn’t sit well with people who would rather others not use the city-owned property their homes happen to sit next to.

A “commercial” dog park is an unlikely development, though a business like Park Grounds (a coffee shop with a dog area out back) would draw a lot of customers around here. Nothing like that appears on the horizon for East Atlanta, however.

So we’re left with a doomed unofficial dog park, little hope for a dog-park area within our neighborhood park and no good prospects on the private front. Buzzers are going to try to work the different angles to come up with a solution, but the options aren’t strong right now.

On EAV Buzz: Bad news for the dog park

After hearing all the crap that’s going down in EAV, it’s making me a little paranoid…

How good/bad is Edgewood? I know it’s really locationally dependent, with the NW section a little better and the NE section a little worse. I just didn’t know if the lack of public safety posts was due to lack of forum participation or if there was less crime here than in EAV. EAV seems like a warzone.

There’s always been some controversy around crime discussion on EAVBuzz. “Chamber of Commerce” thinking holds that ignorance is bliss and exposing negatives about the neighborhood creates an undue sense of fear. And that’s illustrated in the quote above. I can understand that logic, and there’s some validity to it from the macro view of people “promoting” the neighborhood.

The Buzz, however, isn’t a promotional tool, it’s a community. And in any real-world community, you talk about local issues - good and bad. The Buzz is just an online extension of that; we are the members of the community, and we talk about local issues - good and bad. But just like in the real world, we don’t air our problems to strangers. The Public Safety sections of the Buzz are viewable by members only.

By embracing the tough discussions, the Buzz facilitates the flow of both information and action. The efficiency of online discussions takes the back fence conversation from “Joe’s house got broken in to yesterday” to “and here’s what happened, the description of the suspects, how it’s similar to other crimes and what we can do about it.” We learn about similar crimes in nearby neighborhoods, we know when people are arrested, we learn how to better secure our homes and neighborhood and we learn how to pressure the courts and police to do more about crime.

In other words, we are better informed, more aware and more empowered because we embrace the conversation.

There is, however, a responsibility for Buzzers to understand the purpose and context of the conversation. An individual can choose - as branman1986 did - to be put in fear, or the individual can choose to be empowered by the information. There is a tough balance there, and I have no doubt that undue fear has been put into the mind of more than a few Buzzers. In total, though, I firmly believe the conversation is positive for the community.

And, by the way, the result of branman1986’s inquiry was him being shown that crime in Edgewood is actually significantly higher than in East Atlanta.

On EWood Buzz: Safety in Edgewood (registration required).

I opened up a specific reviews topic for Midway, and in four days it’s generated 178 posts. In case you’re wondering - yes, that’s a lot. And that’s on top of 192 posts in the topic created leading up to the opening and another 87 in a “Midway is close to opening” topic. A lot of that traffic is a result of the big growth in Buzz membership I’ve seen this year (more than 600 new members since the first of the year), but I think it’s safe to say that The Midway Pub is opening strong. And that’s a great thing for their owners and for East Atlanta Village.

On EAV Buzz: Reviews: The Midway Pub and The Midway

Looks like I might ought to hustle up the migration to my new host …

Update 9:29 p.m. EDT - About 10 attempts to get a working connection to phone support (often ending up in the general voicemail box) and 20 minutes on hold, I was told by the rep that yes! they are having issues!!! Databases are down, mail is down, some websites in general and just … down. He said they’re working unscheduled maintenance (no kidding) to get things back up and running, but has no ETA.

Funniest part was that I told the guy if GoDaddy would update their network status page to show they’re having issues, a lot of people like me probably wouldn’t have called. His reply was that he’s never heard of the network status page and wouldn’t know where to find it. I said “Google ‘godaddy network status‘” … was pretty easy for me to find …

If history is any indication, The Midway staff had best be ready for anything but a “soft opening” on that night. Buzzers swarmed The Glenwood, Kasan Red and Holy Taco when they first opened, and packed houses on what might otherwise be quiet weeknight openings are to be expected with Buzzers get wind of it.

But the good news is by and large Buzzers understand that things aren’t going to go smoothly on opening night, but it’s been a real trial by fire for recent openings.

And April 29, 2008 will be a big day in East Atlanta. For about seven years the building where The Midway is going has been vacant and neglected, and Flat Shoals south of Glenwood has been a lonely place up until now. But with The Midway, East Atlanta Icehouse and the bakery planned for a small building right on the edge of the commercial district, things are picking up on EAV’s south side.

On EAV Buzz: - The Midway Pub Opens 4-29 5 p.m.

And the assistant district attorney who spoke for the state Saturday had told us this hearing was no big deal and we didn’t need to turn out for it. Gee, thanks for that.

How long it’ll take for Buice’s family to find enough of the cash Demarcus has made stealing flat-panel TVs and laptops or fence some of the “inventory” he no doubt has stashed somewhere to raise the bond is unclear. But if he ends up back on the street before trial, the message will be clear that DeKalb Superior Court isn’t willing to protect citizens against the thugs preying on our neighborhoods.

On EAV Buzz: Demarcus Buice granted bond today (registration required).

Add to that the old tires being kept at people’s houses (don’t they know just to go dump them somewhere?) and rounding up junk tires makes for a good Earth Day activity in East Atlanta.

Earth Day is April 26, but Buzzers got a jump on things with a pre-Earth-Day roundup this past weekend; grabbing the real hard-to-get tire treasures. But don’t worry; there will be plenty more tires to round up and haul off on the 26th if you’d like to pitch in - or let your tire-hoarding neighbors know somebody will come take them off their hands that day if they leave them out by the curb. Check the Buzz post below for details on what’s going down on the 26th.

Part of the haul from last weekend (proudly overseen by Buzzer MRice:

Buzzer Wanker, who happens to own Holy Taco and is fast-becoming EAV’s most in-touch business owner, sent his crew out on Sunday and rounded up another 76 tires for the first-round collection. Good stuff - and not even on Earth Day!

The East Atlanta Community Association will also be hosting a number of events on Earth Day, so check out what’s happening when we give EAV over to the hippies completely.

On EAV Buzz: Round up those tires and Earth Day - East Atlanta Activities

Last week I came across a guy there who not only thought parking on the sidewalk was a swell idea, he made a real jerk of himself when I confronted him about it (as I was trying to walk by with my eight-month-old daughter). Buzzers didn’t all appreciate my approach, but save for a couple of edge cases, the group agrees that parking on the sidewalk shouldn’t be tolerated.

Then today I’m driving around, roll past The Midway Pub and see this:

Somebody working at The Midway Pub thought it would be a good idea to block the entire sidewalk with their Lexus SUV (with Henry County tags - I guess they don’t have sidewalks down there).

I’ve got a suggestion for Carsten Green and the guys at The Midway Pub. If you want to be welcomed in East Atlanta, don’t do things like block the sidewalk with your cars. It’s not the right foot to start out on.

On EAV Buzz: The Midway Pub folks sure like their sidewalk and Just don’t park on the sidewalk, man

UPDATE: The Lexus moved not too long after I posted this; apparently to make room for the giant SUV that needed to park on the sidewalk.

Getting to see his booking mugshot was a highlight of our week.

Last night I got an email from Ed Gilgor (the public safety bulldog of our community association) saying Buice had a bond hearing this morning and that community turnout was key to win a bond denial and keep him in jail. Buzzers had already stepped up with letters sent to the DeKalb District Attorney’s office in opposition to releasing a guy who was wanted by police for six months and is linked to dozens of burglaries back into the neighborhood. But Gilgor stressed the importance of public turnout, and despite the very late notice we turned out a dozen Buzzers for the hearing today.

And our attendance was just a bonus - victims of Buice’s alleged burglaries in East Lake and Kirkwood (the neighborhoods hit in the burglaries Buice is charged for now) were there with other residents of those areas. In total, about 30 people came out on a Saturday morning, and a couple of hundred other people spoke up with letters to APD and the DA’s office.

The effect of this level of community involvement to push hard on the justice system is significant, and it’s an important lesson for anybody living in areas being targeted for this kind of property crime.

Typically, an initial appearance in court includes just the defendant, the judge and the officer who swore out the warrants. Facts of the warrant are presented, the judge questions the defendant about his life on the outside, and the judge considers really basic information to determine what level of bond to set. That’s the way it went for the three other guys making initial appearances today.

But Buice faced a very different sort of thing this morning. Because of the community involvement and expected turnout, DeKalb assistant DA Gunnar Pak showed up to speak for the state and the residents and met with Judge Janis Gordon before the hearing. He was able to explain Buice’s history, his suspected involvement in many other burglaries and the neighborhoods’ concern about him being released on bond to the judge, giving her a clear context for the hearing.

And the impact of that was dramatic. The judge challenged Buice hard on why he should be granted bond, and he had no answers. The point of showing up was to get bond denied, and thankfully that happened.

Buice, however, stepped up to make the court appearance truly awesome. Perhaps feeling intimidated by the crowd the judge reminded him was sitting behind him or pressured by Pak calling him a “professional” burglar, Buice cracked. When Pak told the judge Buice was suspected of being a leader of a crew responsible for dozens of burglaries, Buice bristled and said he hasn’t done nearly that many burglaries. The judge quickly reminded Buice that it’s not advisable for a defendant to speak to the charges in an initial court appearance.

But he wasn’t done.

In the process of trying to make his case for bond, Buice told the judge he grew up in Kirkwood, feels bad for the trouble he’s caused and that the judge doesn’t have to worry about him breaking in to any more houses. He then turned around to the crowd behind him and apologized for breaking into our homes. Pak told us afterward that Buice’s preliminary hearing may consist solely of him reading the statements Buice made today.

WSB-TV was on hand to capture the magic.

The admissions were a sideshow, however. The key point that was made today is community involvement does make a difference in how DeKalb County views defendants. There aren’t a lot of guys like Buice who have been identified in so many burglaries or wanted for so long, but we now have a blueprint for working with police and prosecutors to keep such guys off the streets.

And a whole lot of credit needs to be given to Judge Gordon, who was sole discretion on Buice’s bond. She listened, she understood and she did the right thing.

On EAV Buzz: Want Demarcus Buice to stay in jail … (registration required)

Rumors have been circulating for a little while that Anderson Hinds may be looking to bring a new concept to the cafe space he still controls, and today Buzzer Kevy Duty ran into Mr. Hinds and confirmed that barbecue will be the concept for the restaurant’s rebirth.

Barbecue is a tough business - you gotta be really good to build an audience, and a bunch of Buzzers are fans of Fox Bros. BBQ up on DeKalb Avenue. But we’re all fans of non-empty storefronts, so this is good news for the neighborhood.

On EAV Buzz: BBQ is happening!