2013: A Year in Review in Decatur-Avondale Estates Patch

If there was a theme to what readers of Decatur-Avondale Estates Patch were focused on in 2013, it would be: development.

Planned developments and those still on the drawing board were the issues that were of most concern to readers.

The ongoing drama over the planned Walmart at Suburban Plaza off North Decatur Road, though technically not in the city limits, was among the biggest stories this year.

Carter's planned $40 million redevelopment of 315 West Ponce de Leon Ave. into a mixed-use project also drew a lot of interest and attention from readers.

As in many other communities across the country, parents, in the wake of multiple shootings at schools, have been concerned about their children's safety.

For parents of kids at Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy in unincorporated DeKalb, their worst fears became reality when a 20-year-old gunman entered the school and barricaded it, threatening to kill those inside.

The world would soon learn his name — Michael Brandon Hill — but it also would learn the name of the hero who convinced him to give up peacefully — Antoinette Tuff.

Here are the year's most popular stories:

• Walmart Explains Why it Wants to Be in Suburban Plaza
• Shots Fired, Gunman Apprehended at DeKalb County Elementary School
• $40 Million Development Project Planned for Decatur
• Bishop Restaurant to Open Near Pallookaville in Avondale Estates
• Lenox Place Parents Hold Protest 'Walk' Over Rezoning
  
• Oakhurst Woman Dies Following Suspected Assault in Home
  
• Teens Robbed in Decatur Square
• Taco Mac in downtown Decatur reopens
  
• Decatur Showcases Restaurants in New Initiative
  
• Books Again Plans to Close Store, Go Online-Only