Parks' Bonds; Dunwoody Urgent Care

In case you missed it, there was a very thoughtful article in this past week's Dunwoody Reporter on the parks' bonds that will appear on this November's ballot.  The inconsistencies and lack of specifics of the referendums are part of the reason, I believe, the bonds will fail.  I was speaking with District 1 at large candidate Terry Nall this past week, and he told me about growing up in Greensboro, NC, and how specific that city's bonds were.  It made perfect sense - you knew exactly what you were voting for or against.
As well intentioned as our city council is, we need a lot more specifics concerning these bonds.  I have to take exception with a comment a very smart friend of mine made when he said, "Bob, we have to trust our elected officials."  My immediate thought was, "Didn't we trust our elected officials in Washington?"


Greg Crnkovich

By Greg Crnkovich
Dunwoody Reporter
On Nov. 8, 2011 Dunwoody voters will be asked to approve or decline two revenue bonds for the acquisition of parkland and the refurbishment of existing and future parks. These two bonds total $66 million and are to be divided equally between acquisition and refurbishment costs.
The general public is aware of these features of the bonds, but questions remain unanswered about several components of the bonds.
The bond values appear, at first glance, to match up with the land acquisition and improvement estimates put forward in the 2011 Parks, Recreation and Open Space Master Plan approved by the city. However, there are serious gaps between the bonds, as proposed, and the budget outlines in that document.
The Parks Master Plan calls for over $59 million in land acquisition and development costs, but this still includes approximately $13.5 million for greenways. Less than $4 million of this estimate is for land purchases. The remaining $9 million would be for improvements if these greenways were constructed.
Click Parks' Bond to read full story.

Big Thumbs Up for Dunwoody Urgent Care

Until Monday evening, I had not had the occasion to use Dunwoody Urgent Care.  But that changed when my son, Jack, hurt his shoulder during football practice at Murphey Candler Park at about 7pm that evening.  I really didn't how serious the injury was, and did not want to needlessly spend a couple of hours at Northside ER or Children's Healthcare, only to find out it was a bruise.  So as we was driving home, my wife called Dunwoody Urgent Care.  Dr. Casey Locarnini said he usually closes at seven, but to swing by, he would take a look at Jack.  Dr. Locarnini was fabulous.  He saw us right away, put Jack at ease with his tremendous bed-side manner, dispensed some pain medication and said come back in the morning for an x-ray.
Tuesday morning we returned to DUC, had virtually no wait, got the x-ray Jack needed, and were on our way.  Considering it was a visit to the doctor, it was a great experience.  I highly recommend DUC. 
Oh by the way, Jack's injury turned out to be a broken collarbone - his football season is over!

One Last Chance

Good luck to the faltering Atlanta Braves this evening.  The Braves need to beat the Phillies and for the Cardinals to lose to the Astros in order to make the playoffs.  If both the Braves and Cardinals win (or lose), the two teams will go to a one-game, winner-take-all contest on Thursday.  If the Braves lose and the Cardinals win, the Braves will miss the playoffs; this despite holding a seemingly insurmountable 8.5 game lead on the Cardinals on Sept.5.   Tonight's game is a 7:10pm start on SportSouth.