Sunday, June 15, 2014

TriCities HS top students sees disadvantages as path to make her "better and stronger."

Olga Lopez-Gomez was the top student in the Class of 2014 at Tri-Cities High School is
In her valedictory speech, “I tried to get across they should endure everything that comes their way, even if it’s very difficult. We’re all living with disadvantages. … That shouldn’t bring them down but toughen them up to be better and stronger.”

In high school, she also enjoyed math club, STEM Academy and the DECA marketing club, where she competed all four years and this year served as club president and school store manager. Club advisor Valencia Parks admires Olga’s gifts and determination.

“She wants so much out of life and she goes full force,” Parks said. “She’s a fireball. … She’s very persistent in whatever it is she’s trying to do. She’s just academically gifted. She’s a leader. … Olga goes above and beyond with everything she does.”

She is profiled in the Georgia Bulletin.
 

 

Friday, June 13, 2014

Live music, relocates to East Point

Screen Shot 2014-06-13 at 2.47.41 PM

Live music and food is now here in East Point.


The new place opens on its doors on Saturday, starting at noon to 8 p.m.


The promotion encouraged "musician, actors, poet, singers, all are welcomed" to stop by the open house.


[mappress mapid="90"]

 

Downtown East Point eatery opens



Debbie's Delight opened a few weeks ago. Neighborhood Facebook fans gave it high marks so I ordered breakfast there. It also gave me the chance to meet a person who I've followed on FB for some time.

Location:


The diner filled a spot that unfortunately has has a many incarnations of food restaurants, from Thai to a catering service. Its storefront faces East Point Street , a the intersection with White Way, in the heart of downtown.

What does it look like?


IMG_0254

There is ample room in this uncluttered, minimalist restaurant. It has wooden floors and planks of blonde wood as paneling. At breakfast, sunlight made the place even more welcoming.

 


 

Food


IMG_0249

After getting my coffee, the waitress quickly brought over my quesadilla filled with egg and cheese. I chose the meat option of bacon, because it is bacon. But there was also the option of ??  The meal, which was cut into thirds, came out nicely browned, giving the quesadilla a nice crunch.  It also came with sides of salsa and sour cream.  The salsa added spicy flavor to the meal.

My companion wanted to some food to go, which created a bit of snafu. The menu promoted Coke products, but the waitress said none were available. She also said the turkey sausage  she ordered wasn't so great, but she said that wasn't the restaurant's fault.

The price for the meal:

$9 for the Breakfast Quesadillas


$1.99 for coffee.


Total: $11.87.


The place takes credit and debit cards.

 

Downtown East Point already has two breakfast places, Thumbs Up, with its American diner favorites, and Suszy Qs, a three meats and a side Southern style of restaurant. Debbie's could make a go of it, especially if it extends its hours to Sunday to lure the waiting crowd which spills out of Thumbs Up.

[mappress mapid="88"]

 

Thursday, June 5, 2014

East Point PD looks to red light cameras at dangerous intersections

East Point is looking at installing red-light cameras at "at various intersections throughout the city that have statically shown high accident rates," according to a city document.

The goal is to curb reckless driving, according to city documents.

At least three of these high-tech camera could be watching traffic and waiting to get a snapshot of scofflaw ignoring a stop signal, according to the request for proposal posted on East Point's website.

The document does not identify which intersections where drivers and cars would be photographed. There also aren't any statistics of car crashes in the city.

But the proposal quotes findings to show these cameras improve safety:
Studies have shown that installation of red-light camera systems save lives. A study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found red light safety cameras lowered red-light running fatalities by 24% and the rate of all types of fatal crashes at signalized intersections by 17% in a study of 14 large U.S. cities. Source: “Effects of Red Light Camera Enforcement on Fatal Crashes in Large U.S. Cities.” Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, February 2011.

Here are reports exploring whether the camera are a municipal money maker or safety tool:

Sealed bids are due July 9.