Local Dunwoody Lawn Care

Like everyone else our house is scrambling for Thanksgiving and a parade of other activities this week.  Every leaf in North Georgia landed in our yard, a bunch of stuff had to be trimmed and I had NO idea how I was going to get it done.  

Keith Hutchinson of Dunwoody Total Lawn Care has been doing the maintenance on my lawn for several years.  Keith is a Dunwoody homeowner and runs his business from home (yes, legally).  You can't see it in the picture from this angle but there is a PCMS magnet on the back of the truck.  He does basic lawn mowing, cleaning, fertilizing and maintenance and pruning.  His rates are the best I've ever seen.  Best of all, he does not hire any day labor; he does all of his work himself, personally.

Keith handled my little leaves-everywhere problem this past Sunday.  We came home from church to find that problem resolved and the yard and front porch spotless.  

If you are in the market for basic lawn care services, please give Keith a call at the number in the picture.  

Keep Your Data Safe When You Recycle Your Electronics

I look forward to the electronics recycling events.  Like everyone else I don't like the idea of just throwing away old cell phones, chargers, cruise card transponders, etc.  So they pile up in my office until a recycling drive comes along and I can drop them off.

There are several things that I hesitate to drop however:  computer hard drives.  The "delete" key is not all-powerful.  With the right software data can be retrieved.  Anything personal on your drive could potentially be reconstructed.

That's not just external hard drives.  Scanners, fax machines, copy machines (like at FedEx Kinkos) home office all-in-ones all have hard drives in them and they all save all of their images of documents copied.  Like your tax returns, drivers' license, etc.

When you recycle anything with a hard drive, make sure you destroy it.  Computer hardware specialists should know how to remove the hard drives from your peripherals.  Plait Solutions, LLC who I believe are based around Alpharetta held a recycling drive in October.  The owner boasted of bringing a power drill and sledge hammer to ensure that all hard drives were inoperable.  An industrial electric magnet will do the job too.

Finally, cross-check the recycler's certification.  Make sure they actually recycle the heavy metals and other non-dump-worthy content as they say they do.  A few years ago 60 Minutes did a report on an electronics recycler who lied through their teeth, claiming to safely recycle electronics in the USA but were actually dumping them into an environmental nightmare in China.  I hope this was just an exception but I can't get this episode out of my head.  Best to make sure that you and the recycler are on the same page with how to dispose of e-waste before you start.

Alcohol Sales on Sunday - the Catch-22

Sporadic start dates muddle transition | ajc.com

The article above quotes Bob Leavey, owner of d'Vine Wine Bar in the Shops of Dunwoody (my favorite watering hole) regarding the Sunday alcohol sales referendum.

The question passed by about 80% in Dunwoody on election day. Dunwoody alcohol sales begin on December 4.

I looked over the ballot closely when I voted and also reviewed some of the sample ballot questions posted online. Not once did I see anything about an additional $1,100 fee for the privilege. Were it not for the memorandum from Chris Pike on John's blog, I would have thought the AJC got it wrong. The item is up for discussion at Monday's council meeting.

The last page is fascinating. In addition to a $4,000 license for a full-service bar, plus additional "nickel and dime" fees for employees that pour and wine tastings and whatnot, there's an additional $1,100 just for Sunday! Where did this number come from? Outer space?

So for these small outfits to meet the obvious demand for sales on Sunday and remain competitive with larger stores (like Total Wine) and restaurants and supermarkets, they have to pay an extra fee and stay open. But if they pay the extra fee they stand to lose a chunk of profit so the competitiveness doesn't pay off. Classic Catch-22.

Most bars and liquor stores are stereotypical "mom and pop" outfits. Bob aludes to that himself in the AJC article. Like most small businesses they don't have extra cash just lying around; everything is invested in making the business function. A couple of years ago, when the discussion of Sunday alcohol sales was first raised, I had a fascinating conversation with one of the owners of the Rhapsody Bottle Shop in Orchard Park. They were against selling on Sundays. Not because of any religious concerns (they sell alcohol for a living - duh) but because they were just a family outfit and Sunday was the only day they could take off and rest. Supermarkets are always going to sell and additional fees or hours won't even make a dent in their bottom line.

So the only people this fee will harm are the small, local family-owned outfits. 

So whadaya think of the additional fees to buy liquor on Sundays? There's a poll on the bottom of the page. But if you really want to make a point, call Chris Pike and tell him yourself at 678-382-6700 or email him at chris.pike@dunwoodyga.gov. Don't forget to comment on the Council Agenda post on John's blog. Make sure the rest of City Council knows what you think too starting with the Mayor (there are links to the other city council members' pages from here). Don't forget our not-yet-inaugurated new city council member Lynn Deutsch and the gentlemen continuing their campaigns in a runoff. If you have the time tomorrow night, show up at City Hall and look them in the eye when you tell them what a rotten idea this is because it shafts our small business owners.

All that legal paperwork for one simple convenience and it may or may not be as simple as we thought because of an additional fee. Unbelievable.