Enhance lives across communities
December 12, 2013 Leave a comment
Take care of yourself on your commute. Instead of driving alone to and from work, choosing a commute alternative like carpooling, vanpooling, riding transit, walking or biking can help keep your healthy and strong.
Try one change a week and see how it goes. For more information on commute options, click here.
December 11, 2013 3 Comments
Each year, the experts at PNC Wealth Management calculate their “Christmas Price Index,” which looks at all the items in the song The 12 Days of Christmas and figures out how much it would cost to buy all of them today.
This year, if you bought everything the way the song sings, where you are purchasing that day’s gift plus all the stuff from the previous days, you would be spending a whopping $114,651.18, which is a 6.9% increase compared to last year.
Here’s the full breakdown:
• A partridge in a pear tree. The partridge is $15 and the pear tree dropped in price by 3.2% from 2012, down to $184.
• Two turtle doves will cost you $62.50 per dove.
• Three French hens also remain the same price as 2012, totaling at $165. A month-long MARTA pass is significantly less.
• Four calling birds increased from $519.96 to $599.96, a 15.4% jump.
• Five gold rings will run you $750 altogether.
• Six geese-a-laying will be $210, or $35 per goose. That’s roughly equivalent to a month of high-speed Internet to make teleworking possible.
• Seven swans-a-swimming tends to be the most volatile on the index, however this year have remained steady at $1,000 for each swan. You could save more than this each year by carpooling to and from work a few days per week instead of driving alone.
• Eight maids-a-milking cost $58—in other words, each one gets one-hour minimum wage of $7.25. You can earn more than that in monthly gas cards by riding in a 4-person carpool.
• Nine ladies dancing vaulted with a 20% increase this year, costing $840 per dancer.
• Ten lords-a-leaping cost a heaping $5,243.37.
• Eleven pipers piping are around $240 a piece.
• Twelve drummers drumming will cost $2,854.80 total.
Everything costs more these days. That’s why as everyone looks for a fresh start in 2014, it has never been more important to examine your household budget and look for ways to save. Metro Atlanta households spend more on transportation costs than we do on food. So once the holiday season wraps up, consider signing up with the Clean Air Campaign for Georgia Commute Options programs, and see how much you could be saving on your commute.
It all adds up.
October 14, 2013 Leave a comment
Simply Delicious
Simply Delicious: Healthy Food to Celebrate the Season. Wednesday morning join the fun and funky Wylde Center Chefs and learn scrumptious recipes, tips, and tricks to enjoy fall foods in this special free Living Greenclass at the Decatur Library. Wednesday October 16, 10:30-11:30am, Free.
Walk With A Doc
Walk With a Doc features Dr. Khurram Khan this week, an Assistant Professor Of Medicine, Division of General Medicine and Geriatrics from the Emory University School Of Medicine and the Wesley Woods Outpatient Center. See you every Wednesday for a walk at 11am including this week October 16 @11am, Free.
Bike to Work Commuter Breakfast is held in May and October, two delightful months to commute to work by bike. The challenge is issued by the Clean Air Campaign, Georgia Commute Options and local organizations interested in clean air, active transportation, and alternate travel modes., We’ll be out front on Sycamore Street at a table full of coffee, juice, and baked goodies from Java Monkey to encourage, reward, and support all those who choose to bike to work that day and stop by. Local partners in the Decatur bike community will be on hand to answer questions about gear, clothing, bikes, routes, bike buddies, tall tales and such. Here’s the facebook event for more info and if you will, RSVP so we’ll have just the right amount of refreshments. See you October 17 @7am-9am on your way to work, Free.
October 3, 2013 1 Comment
http://thechampionnewspaper.com/bike-to-work-decatur-residents-take-challenge/
Our city is friendly for bike commuting, or at least has growing infrastructure to support the effort: bike lanes, bike racks, sharrows (that symbol of an arrow over a bike that indicates share the route), off road paths, bike shops, traffic calming, and bike boxes. More will come if we use it, and that’s the way things always work right? If you build it they WILL come. So, here WE are: a team of 5 Decaturites who are trying bike commuting for the month of October, and 3 of us for the first time. It’s all part of a fun metro area Bike to Work challenge led by Clean Air Campaign, full story at the link below.
Team photo will come next week when we all meet face to face for the first time. That’s right, we don’t even all know each other, but we are all interested in trying this new transportation alternative in a supportive friendly environment so we formed a team, as have many across the metro area. Check out the fun team names at http://www.atlbiketowork.org/ and keep an eye on us ‘Decatur Active Living Wheels’ and note that although the challenge just started, we are in 2nd place!
So, stay tuned to meet Laura the teacher, Zach the planner, Cheryl the community leader, Paul the bike shop guru, and me Tracie the active living champion. We’ll let you know how it goes and you let us know if you are out there bike commuting too!
http://www.atlantaintownpaper.com/2013/10/bike-work-challenge-october-long/
September 6, 2013 1 Comment
In a bicycle friendly city like Decatur we love to see students biking all the time and this Fall there are two opportunities for TEENS to have a voice. 1) Share your story as Momentum Magazine offers and 2) be sure to enter the October Bike Challenge open to teens aged 13-18. Just click School Challenge at: http://www.atlbiketowork.org/ and while you are at it, invite mom & dad to bike to work and participate in the challenge too championed by the Clean Air Campaign.
Bike to Prom (pictured). If you’re a teenager who regularly bikes to school, it’s time to tell your story. There are lots of planners and engineers working to get more cyclists on our streets, but we really need to hear from some teenagers! What’s your story? Momentum Magazine has four categories that they’re curious about, pick one and share your story: http://www.urbanthinkers.ca/high-school-cyclists/
August 31, 2012 Leave a comment
The Clean Air Campaign is Challenging YOU to Bike to Work in October!
The challenge is for everyone – from avid bike riders to people who haven’t ridden a bike in years. It’s all about trying a cleaner and healthier way to get around. Some people ride into work, others ride to the bus stop or train station. Did you know you can take a bike on buses and trains?
Compete for Individual and Team Prizes
See how many miles you have biked
Find Bicycling Classes, safety tips and other resources
Challenge a friend. Challenge yourself. Have fun!
Register today at atlbiketowork.com.
The first 100 to register get a free water bottle and wristband!! So what are you waiting for?
June 14, 2012 Leave a comment
The Clean Air Campaign encourages employees to carpool, vanpool, telework, use transit, bicycle or walk to work. Participants can save throusand of dollars a year. They also have a commuter awards program where you log your commute and you are automatically registered to win a $25 gift card every month.
The Clean Air Campaign has been working with the City of Decatur to encourage employees to “gclean commute”. On Tuesday, they paid a “surprise” visit to Decatur City Hall to hand out information and to reward those employees who had a clean commute that day.
For more information about the Clean Air Campaign and green commuting, visit www.logyourcommute.org. They will even help you to find someone to carpool with!
June 6, 2012 1 Comment
Public Works Employee David Goode was working on a project at Active Living and was rewarded for riding transit to work.
The folks form the Clean Air Campaign are working with the City of Decatur to encourage employees to make their commutes “greener” by taking transit, carpooling, or walking and biking to work. They have planned a series of “surprise visits” to various city departments to reward the “green commuters”.
On Tuesday, they visited the Active Living Department and gave out prizes to several employees and distributed information. We look forward to having them visit the other city departments during the month of June.
Active Living Director Greg White parked his car at Avondale Station and rode his bike into work.
Gael Doyle
Greg White
saraeholmes
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