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Hey, Druid Hills / North Decatur! This week: DeKalb Schools rolled out draft redistricting maps that have parents talking, while county commissioners pulled the plug on a long-debated noise ordinance. On the lighter side, the Decatur Book Festival returns this weekend alongside Scarecrows in the Garden and a flamenco concert at Emory — plenty to fill your calendar.

- News — DeKalb's draft school zone map has Druid Hills-area parents buzzing, while Emory researchers gear up for a major PFAS drug trial and West Nile-positive mosquitoes keep turning up closer to home.
- Events — From the Decatur Book Festival's weekend-long lineup to Scarecrows in the Garden's 50th-anniversary showcase and a flamenco concert at Emory, there's a packed calendar ahead.
- Government — Commissioners debated a data center moratorium tied to a health study, funded millions in sidewalk and paving projects, and formally withdrew the county's noise ordinance overhaul.
- Construction — Expect road closures near Emory for the Winship 5K, plus permits show a new concierge clinic on Clifton Road and Tesla adding EV chargers nearby.

Let's dive in.

NEWS

Emory scientists to launch clinical trial testing medication against PFAS
Led by researcher Dana Barr, the trial will test whether cholesterol-lowering drugs like cholestyramine and colesevelam can help remove PFAS from the bloodstream, enrolling around 300 adults from Gordon and Floyd counties for one- to four-month periods starting next year. The $6.5 million NIH-funded study follows an earlier Emory finding that three-quarters of nearly 200 tested residents had unhealthy PFAS levels in their blood.

DeKalb County Commission withdraws update to noise ordinance
The Board of Commissioners voted Sept. 22 to withdraw the proposed ordinance, which had been under discussion since December 2024 and would have set a 65-decibel daytime threshold and "plainly audible" nighttime standard. Police Chief Gregory Padrick had raised concerns about the $350-to-$800 cost of decibel meters, while a proposed rebate program to help landscapers switch from gas to electric equipment remained unresolved.

More mosquitos test positive for West Nile in DeKalb County
DeKalb Public Health confirmed new positive traps in Lithonia, Stonecrest, Tucker, Chamblee, and unincorporated areas including Belvedere Park and Candler-McAfee, bringing the county total to 14 positive trap locations since July. No human cases have been confirmed in DeKalb, though the state has reported eight human cases and one death from the virus this year.

DeKalb County invites public to shape future parks in master plan update
The county's Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs will hold public meetings on Oct. 1 at Tobie Grant Recreation Center in Scottdale and Oct. 10 at the East Central DeKalb Community & Senior Center in Stone Mountain to gather resident input for the Comprehensive Parks Master Plan Update. The plan will help identify community needs and priorities for future park investments, trails, and recreation programs.

DeKalb County unveils school zone map
At a Tucker High School forum, DeKalb County Schools presented three redistricting options affecting the Tucker, Druid Hills and Lakeside clusters as the district prepares to open or expand facilities between 2027 and 2029. Parents strongly opposed Option 3, which would split Cary Reynolds Elementary students among three schools and move some Evansdale homes into the Livesey zone, with Interim Superintendent Norman Sauce III stating that addressing overcrowding and enrollment disparities is central to the process.

For students and HBO's 'The Gilded Age,' Emory historian makes past feel present
Erica Dunbar, chair of Emory's Department of African American Studies, has served as co-executive producer and lead historical consultant on HBO's "The Gilded Age" since production began in 2020, with the show's season three earning eight Emmy nominations and season four premiering Nov. 1. Dunbar, author of seven books including "Never Caught," verifies period-accurate details such as dialogue and costume choices by researching Emory Libraries' databases and periodicals.

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Monday, September 28
- StoryWalk® at Mason Mill Park | Avis Williams Library - DeKalb County
- JWJI Colloquium featuring David De Micheli (University of Utah) | Emory Bookstore
- Books and Babies Storytime | Avis Williams Library - DeKalb County
- Toddler Storytime | Avis Williams Library - DeKalb County
- English as a Second Language (ESL) | Avis Williams Library - DeKalb County

Wednesday, September 30
- Preschool Storytime | Avis Williams Library - DeKalb County
- Story Time | Fernbank Museum of Natural History
- Drop-In Technology Support | Avis Williams Library - DeKalb County

Thursday, October 1
- Scarecrows in the Garden | Atlanta Botanical Garden
- Dino Talk | Fernbank Museum of Natural History
- Ethics at the Movies: Riverkeeper | Emory Center for Ethics

Friday, October 2
- Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center | Emory University – Schwartz Center for Performing Arts
- Flamenco concert – Cosmic Assassin | Emory University – Performing Arts Studio
- Friday Movies | Avis Williams Library - DeKalb County
- Live Animal Encounter | Fernbank Museum of Natural History
- Decatur Book Festival | Downtown Decatur
- Gente De Zona | Fox Theatre - Atlanta
- Reinstate Pluto | Napoleon's Grill

Saturday, October 3
- Mukti & Revival 30th Anniversary Concert | Wild Heaven Toco Hills
- Candler Park Fall Festival 2026 | Candler Park
- Pilates Playdate | Zonolite Park
- Morning Hike | Fernbank Museum of Natural History
- Ukrainian Cultural Festival and Market | 611 Medlock Rd

Sunday, October 4
- Teen Forest Lab: Owl Pellet Shadowboxes | Fernbank Museum of Natural History
- Family Nature Walk | 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 took up a heavy slate of infrastructure spending and zoning questions this week. Commissioners considered a resolution that would block lifting the county's data center moratorium until an independent health and environmental study gets completed, a direct response to resident worries about the facilities' impact on nearby communities. They also weighed a $3.2 million contract to build over two miles of new sidewalks along Flat Shoals Parkway, a $4.1 million design contract to extend the Michelle Obama Trail toward Flakes Mill Road, and a $15.85 million countywide paving contract aimed at fixing deteriorating roads across every district. The board also considered accepting a nearly $17.9 million state loan to fund long-planned upgrades to the Shoal Creek sewer line. As covered in today's news section, commissioners withdrew a proposed noise ordinance update that would have set new decibel limits countywide. Separately, at a zoning-focused meeting, commissioners considered a string of rezoning requests converting office and single-family zoned land into townhome and multifamily developments, plus proposals for a new restaurant drive-through, two child daycare centers, and a long-range development plan for a commercial corridor.

DeKalb County School District held a Policy Committee meeting to review updates to eight board policies, though the session produced no formal votes or approvals. Members discussed proposed rules covering artificial intelligence use in classrooms, internet acceptable use, procedures for disposing of school properties, board member compensation and expenses, and district purchasing guidelines. None of these got finalized, so the rules governing how DeKalb schools handle AI tools and district spending remain up in the air for now. The committee also reviewed equal educational opportunity policy language without taking action on it. Expect these policies to come back up at the committee's next meeting on October 28, giving parents and staff another chance to weigh in before anything gets adopted.

Notable Neighborhood Mentions

DeKalb County Board of Commissioners
- 3040 Briarcliff Rd — A rezoning from Office-Institutional to Local Commercial is being proposed to allow the operation of salon suites.
- North Druid Hills Road Bridge at CSX Railroad — A $951,005 design contract for the complete replacement of the bridge over the CSX railroad line was on the agenda for consideration.

Meetings This Week
- DeKalb County Board of Commissioners — Board of Commissioners | Sep-29, 9:00 AM | key topics: data center zoning regulations, street drifting and unauthorized camping penalties, Flat Shoals Parkway sidewalk design contract, 10-year Watershed Capital Improvement Plan

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Permits
- 4 Eagle Row NE — Emory University filed an electrical permit tied to the 2026 Winship 5K on Saturday, October 3rd at McDonough Field. Expect road closures and foot traffic near campus that morning.
- AMC N DeKalb 16 — $200K commercial permit for retail/mercantile work at the theater, closed status. Sounds like routine kitchen/concession upgrades given the hand sink installs.
- 1888 Westminster Way — $60K accessory structure permit, closed. Homeowner's extending the back garage to add a sunroom and tool room.
- Tesla Dealership parking lot — $85K permit, closed. Tesla's adding 8 private EV charging stations and ground equipment to the existing lot.
- Oxford Rd — $625K single-family permit, closed. Big one: a second-story primary suite addition plus interior renovations on an existing two-story home.
- 795 Gatewood Rd — Commercial permit, closed. New tenant's adding fire alarm modifications, including speaker/strobes on the first floor, for a guest room addition.
- 1784 N Decatur Rd NE — Commercial HVAC permit, issued. Crews are swapping out an existing air-cooled chiller, likely at an Emory-area building.
- 1365 Clifton Rd NE — Commercial alteration permit, still needs additional materials before approval. This one's converting an existing suite into a concierge primary care clinic, a sign of continued medical buildout near Emory's healthcare corridor.

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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.