LLCC & GIS

This Thursday evening, 13 May, we will hold our next LLCC General Membership Meeting. It will begin at 7:00 PM with David Green (Perkins+Will) presenting our new Geographic Information System (GIS). David will give us a brief introduction to GIS technology, introduce our customized system, and explain how this tool will be used in evaluation of the Blueprints Study recommendations and our future planning efforts. What makes our system unique is that it is customized for the LLCC community, spanning the jurisdictional lines between the City of Atlanta and unincorporated DeKalb County.

OK, so you are asking yourself, “What is GIS and how can I use it?”

A geographic information system (GIS) integrates hardware, software, and data for capturing, managing, analyzing, and displaying all forms of geographically referenced information.

GIS allows us to view, understand, question, interpret, and visualize data in many ways that reveal relationships, patterns, and trends in the form of maps, globes, reports, and charts.

A GIS helps you answer questions and solve problems by looking at your data in a way that is quickly understood and easily shared. We plan to share ours on our website.

In addition to basic demographic data, we hope to displace crime stats, flood plains, zoning, property ownership, tax valuation, real estate trends, traffic patterns, just to name a few. While you are viewing this presentation, we hope you will share with our design team data you would like to see tracked and displayed as well.

To find out more about GIS, in a clear, concise format, visit www.gis.com.

Our meeting will be held in the Fellowship Hall of Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1438 Sheridan Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30324.

Come to LLCC’s Electronics Recycling Event May 2! – Spring Cleaning Part 2

  

Harriet Hoskyns-Abrahall

 
by Harriet Hoskyns-Abrahall  

Do you have old electronics hanging around the house? LLCC is organizing a recycling event on Sunday afternoon, May 2nd, 2:00 – 4:30 pm, to help you protect the planet and get rid of them painlessly at no, or the least possible, cost. Proceeds will benefit Tommy Nobis Center (TNC) in Marietta, which employs people with disabilities to dismantle the equipment for recycling so that nothing goes to waste. You will be given a blank receipt to complete for tax purposes.  

Free pastries and soft drinks will be served at the event, and there will be a clown and balloons for the kids. Come and meet your neighbors – and your tri-neighbors!  

Drop off location:
We will be collecting these items in a U-Haul truck in the parking lot of Peachtree Baptist Church at the intersection of Briarcliff Road and LaVista Road (parking lot entrance on LaVista Road). You will be given a blank receipt to complete for tax purposes).  

There’s no charge to drop off:
Cell phones, telephones, computers, CPUs, stereos, toasters, laptops, copiers, printers, VCRs, alarm clocks, remote controls, MP3 players, disk drives, can openers, camcorders, floppy drives, speakers, cameras, modems, mice(!), CD players, fax machines, game systems – we could go on!  

$5 EPA charge to drop off:
TVs with a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT), CRT computer Monitors. Both these have a $5 charge per CRT. We ask that you bring a check made out to TNC for us to pass on.  

Volunteers needed!  

This LLCC endeavor is part of the Spring Clean-up Initiative led by Sarah Hailey. Ricky Ram and I are also on the committee. Volunteers are needed to check in equipment, load the truck for TNC and serve cookies and drinks. All these jobs are great ways to meet your neighbors, too. We will not say no to passing trade! To sign up or ask questions, e-mail me at hh_a@bellsouth.net.

LLCC Community Garden at Zonolite Park

Sally Sears, South Fork Conservancy

By Sally Sears, South Fork Conservancy

Federal inspectors combed the land at DeKalb’s Zonolite Park, Wednesday, March 24, 2010, where LLCC hopes to build a community garden. The lead investigator, Leonardo Ceron, told me they are looking for asbestos clinging to the dirt in the flood plain – particles which, if airborne, could cause significant health problems.

The land on the South Fork of Peachtree Creek was an industrial site for decades. Extensive testing in the years of county ownership since 1988 led to asbestos removal in equipment and buildings there. Now Environmental Protection Agency scientists are looking for contamination lingering in the dirt. Test results from 40 sites along the creek and behind the railroad spur are expected by the end of June. If enough hazardous asbestos is found, Mr. Ceron said federal Superfund dollars could be used to clean the site. That could allow the garden project to move forward.

Community Garden supporters are encouraged that the testing could resolve final questions about the safety of the dirt at Zonolite Park. More information on the EPA website at http://www.epa.gov/asbestos/pubs/verm.html

Cleaning the Corridor – Spring Cleaning Part 1

Saray Hailey, LLCC Adopt-a-Highway Program Coordinator

by Sarah Hailey, LLCC Adopt-a-Highway Program Coordinator  

Volunteer for the next Adopt A Highway cleanup event on April 10! Join us at ChocoLaté at 9:00 am for coffee and pastry before splitting into groups to pick up trash along the corridor. We’re usually done by 11:00 am, so this is a quick, easy way to do something good for the environment and give back to the community. Remember to bring gloves and durable shoes.  

SAVE THE DATE: Mark your calendar to volunteer for the Adopt-A-Highway program each month. The next three cleanup events will be 9:00-11:00 am May 15, June 12 and July 10.  

DO YOU HAVE A TRUCK? We need a truck at each session to take the trash bags to the DOT pickup site in front of Publix. Email me at cleanup@lindberghlavista.org if you’d like to sign up to help at any of the next four sessions.  

ChocoLaté Coffee - Adopt-a-Highway Sponsor