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Hey, Druid Hills / North Decatur! This week: voters approved ESPLOST VII with 81% of the vote, a measure that is expected to fund the $175 million Druid Hills High School modernization, among other projects. We also have a Jeep crash at a Lavista Road school, a new taproom in downtown Tucker, and a full weekend of Fernbank and Toco Hills events.

- News — ESPLOST VII passed by a wide margin, a Jeep crashed into a Torah Day School building with no injuries reported, and the DeKalb CEO proposed a 120-day preparation period for the new camping ordinance.
- Business — StillFire Brewing celebrated its grand opening for a third taproom at 2316 Main Street, beside Tucker Town Green.
- Events — Tayari Jones reads at Emory, Plant Bingo lands at Wild Heaven Toco Hills, and Fernbank After Dark: Amazing Animals comes Friday night.
- Government — Commissioners moved a $9.91 million Lithonia recreation center contract and emergency shelter funding toward a final vote.
- Construction — LaVista Road resurfacing is underway, a new concierge practice is in the works on Clifton Road, and crews are extending a turn lane on North Druid Hills Road.

Let's dive in.

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Vehicle Crashes Into Torah Day School Building Off Lavista Road
A gray Jeep crashed into a building on the Torah Day School of Atlanta campus, which sits back from Lavista Road near Toco Hills, on Friday morning. Authorities reported property damage but no injuries, and school staff redirected morning drop-off while traffic on Lavista Road was not disrupted. The driver's identity and the cause of the crash have not been released.

Emory Advantage Plus Expands Free Tuition for Qualifying Students
Emory Advantage Plus provides free tuition to admitted domestic students whose families earn $200,000 or less annually and have typical assets. It took effect this fall with the 2026-27 academic year, and applicants use the FAFSA and CSS Profile with no additional steps. Emory's Class of 2030 applicant pool rose 14% over the previous year.

DeKalb School Bus Driver Marks 46 Years Serving Local Students
Henry Mercer marked his 46th anniversary with the DeKalb County School District on Nov. 1 and is beginning his 47th year. About two months ago, a nurse he asked for directions after an Emory medical appointment recognized him as her school bus driver from 1985 or 1986. The district transports more than 45,000 students daily and employs approximately 600 bus drivers.

DeKalb County voters approve ESPLOST VII by wide margin
In the Nov. 3 election, 81.02% of voters (233,691 votes) approved the one-cent sales tax, which is expected to collect more than $925 million across three school districts by 2032. It begins July 1, 2027, with about $825 million going to DeKalb County School District, an estimated $58.3 million to City Schools of Decatur and an estimated $41.5 million to Atlanta Public Schools. Planned DeKalb projects include 14 roof replacements, 20 HVAC replacements and the $175 million Druid Hills High School modernization.

Results for DeKalb County Commission, legislative races
In the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners races, Michelle Long Spears (D, incumbent) won District 2 with 79.76% and Keyanna Jones Moore (D) won District 3 with 95.43%. State House results include Long Tran in District 80, Karla Drenner in District 85, Viola Davis in District 87 and Scott Holcomb in District 101, all Democratic incumbents. Hank Johnson, Nikema Williams and Jon Ossoff were reelected, and Keisha Lance Bottoms was elected governor.

DeKalb CEO proposes 120-day preparation period for camping ordinance
The Board of Commissioners approved the ordinance 5-2 on Oct. 27, banning camping and certain related activities in public areas, and officers must issue a warning before making an arrest. Commissioner Ted Terry, who voted against it, said more than 700 people experiencing homelessness were arrested on private property last year at a jail processing cost of over $28 million. CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson said implementation should be supported by outreach, shelter, behavioral health services and pathways to stable housing, and her office said she plans to speak publicly Monday morning.

BUSINESS

StillFire Brewing opens third location in downtown Tucker — StillFire Brewing held grand opening festivities Nov. 6–8 for its new taproom at 2316 Main Street in downtown Tucker, next to Tucker Town Green, following a soft opening the weekend of Oct. 24 and joining the company's existing Suwanee and Smyrna locations.

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Monday, November 9
- Plant Bingo | Wild Heaven Toco Hills
- StoryWalk® at Mason Mill Park | Avis Williams Library - DeKalb County
- Books and Babies Storytime | Avis Williams Library - DeKalb County
- Kennedy's Only Hero: Joel Nelson with Joe Crespino | Decatur Library, DeKalb County Public Library
- Josh Schicker Music: Music Department Clinic w/Michael Kurth | Emory University
- English as a Second Language (ESL) | Avis Williams Library - DeKalb County

Tuesday, November 10
- Creative Writing Program Reading Series: Reading and Book Signing, Tayari Jones | PAIS 290

Wednesday, November 11
- Story Time | Fernbank Museum of Natural History

Thursday, November 12
- Jewelry with Gin Live! | Avis Williams Library - DeKalb County
- Live Animal Encounter | Fernbank Museum of Natural History
- DHCA Monthly Board Meeting | Druid Hills Civic Association Events

Friday, November 13
- Flynt Flossy and Turquoise Jeep with special guest The Buckhead Boyz | Wild Heaven Beer
- Blackfoot Daisy | Wild Heaven Toco Hills
- Fernbank After Dark: Amazing Animals | Fernbank Museum of Natural History
- 🎟️ The Flying Saucers * Ticketed show | Napoleon's Grill

Saturday, November 14
- Ryan Banks | Wild Heaven Toco Hills
- Run for Mental Health 5K/10K/13.1 ATLANTA | South Peachtree Creek Trail (Course Map will be emailed)
- Adventures in Science | Fernbank Museum of Natural History
- Family Yoga | Avis Williams Library - DeKalb County
- Bulgarian Wine Tasting & Silent Auction | Bulgarian American Cultural Center Rosa Atlanta
- Dino Talk | Fernbank Museum of Natural History

Sunday, November 15
- Meet a Ranger | Fernbank Museum of Natural History
- From Idea to T-Shirt: Design with the Y&H & Mya Threads | Heck House
- American Amazon: Photographing the Wildest Secrets of the American South | Fernbank Museum of Natural History

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Note: our information comes from posted meetings documents (agendas and minutes when available) — latest source document hyperlinked to each meeting.

Past Week Roundup

DeKalb County Board of Commissioners
The Committee of the Whole moved dozens of items toward a final Board vote, including a $9.91 million contract to build the Luscious Sanders Recreation Center at Lithonia Park and more than $1.4 million in Frontline Response contracts for a 400-bed emergency shelter and for warming and cooling centers during extreme weather. It also sent along $1.75 million in affordable housing money for blight removal, the county land bank and a housing compliance system, plus a $5.2 million, three-year contract for water pipes. Commissioners withdrew a separate $1.3 million request for a vehicular homelessness program, though a related resolution went to committee for more review. The Planning Commission met that evening over Zoom, and its agenda covered several rezonings that would turn commercial and industrial land into housing, a proposed gas station with alcohol sales, two daycare requests and a countywide ordinance targeting repeat nuisance properties. The agenda also listed the county's Comprehensive Housing Plan for review. Minutes aren't yet published for the Planning Commission, so its outcomes aren't confirmed, but any recommendations are slated to reach the full Board on Nov. 19. A special called meeting also took place Nov. 5, but no agenda or other documents were available.

Notable Neighborhood Mentions

DeKalb County Board of Commissioners
- 3040 Briarcliff Road — The committee considered a pending rezoning proposal from Office-Institution to Local Commercial to allow commercial salon suites.
- South Peachtree Creek Trail — The committee advanced Tax Allocation District funding to support trail expansion and pedestrian connectivity along segments 3 and 5.

Meetings This Week
- DeKalb County School District — Board of Education | Nov-09 | key topics: Dunwoody High stadium renovations, facility HVAC replacements, surplus property disposal policy
- DeKalb County Board of Commissioners — Board of Commissioners | Nov-10, 9:00 AM | key topics: Briarcliff Road salon suites rezoning, Lithonia Park recreation center construction, pet restraint regulations

CONSTRUCTION

Permits
- Briarcliff Rd, $90K accessory structure permit closed. The work is a remodel with an addition, so the project is wrapped up.
- 1513 Oak Grove Rd, $100K institutional permit closed. The work covered rough-in sewer and water lines.
- 101 Woodruff Cir NE, commercial electrical permit pending. Crews will renovate the interior of an existing space on level 3 at Emory.
- Alberson Ct, $108K residential permit closed. It covered a kitchen and laundry renovation with selective interior demolition, plus some outdoor work.
- 1525 Clifton Rd NE, commercial electrical permit issued. A vacant first-floor space in the six-story medical office building is getting renovated for a new concierge practice.
- 1525 Clifton Rd NE, commercial fire sprinkler permit pending. The work adds and relocates sprinkler heads to meet code, and it's tied to the same building's interior buildout.
- 1405 Clifton Rd NE, commercial land disturbance permit pending. Expect some dirt work along the corridor once it's approved.
- 1540 Ave Pl NE, commercial conversion permit pending. An existing tenant space is set to become a new fitness center, with new partitions, finishes, and equipment.

Road Work

Under Construction
- LaVista Road resurfacing — Crews are repaving LaVista Road from the Fulton County line out to I-285.
- North Druid Hills Road at Stone Mountain Freeway (US 78) — Crews are lengthening the eastbound through/right-turn lane on North Druid Hills Road by about 245 feet. Expect some median work, repaving and new lane striping in the area.
- Buford Highway resurfacing — Crews are repaving Buford Highway from the Fulton County line to Chamblee Tucker Road.

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Until next week,
Druid Hills / North Decatur Busybody

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Disclaimer: We use advanced data retrieval and analysis techniques across hundreds of sources, and may be prone to occasional error. Independently verify information with a secondary source, and please let us know if we got anything wrong via the feedback form.