Dear Patch readers: Recently we launched a new look for our local listings pages, changing the name from "Directory" to "Places" on our navigation bar. You'll notice on our Places page an increase in featured local listings as well as an easier way to rate and review businesses you have visited.Here are a few things to check out: Rate your neighborhood right from our Places page and quickly reshuffle listings by clicking "Get More" at the top or bottom of the page. To rate a listing, simply click the number of stars under the business name. Have something to say about a listing? Write a …

Are you a graduate or the proud parent of a graduate? Yes, it's graduation season, and whether it's your preschooler moving on to the big K, or your college senior heading out into the real world, you can brag about it on Patch. First, make sure you are a registered user of Virginia Highland-Druid Hills Patch (if you aren't, click on Sign Up in the top right corner of the home page). Once you are logged in, scroll to the bottom of the home page and under Contribute on the right side, click "Announce something to everyone." In the announcement template, fill out all the fields, and make sure …

Sept. 11, 2001 — A day that is etched in the minds of every American. A tragic day that almost 10 years ago changed this country in so many ways. But on May 1, 2011, President Barack Obama announced that Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the September 11 terrorist attacks that killed almost 3,000 Americans, was killed by United States forces at a mansion in Pakistan. “The death of bin Laden marks the most significant achievement to date in our nation’s effort to defeat Al Qaeda,” Obama said in a prepared statement late Sunday night. “Justice has been done.” Bin Laden, the leader of Al …

Beginning May 4, Virginia Highland-Druid Hills Patch will be making room for local bloggers on the site. We're looking for bloggers who can riff on various topics, share their personality and engage our readers in discussions. Patch is more than a news site, it's an online conversation about your community. Are you passionate about core issues in the neighborhood? Are you an expert craftsman or hobbyist who can share do-it-yourself tips? Do you have strong opinions about local government? Can you just make us all laugh? Can you write compellingly? Then, we want to hear from you. This isn't a …

Virginia-Highland and Druid Hills Patch wants to remind residents to set your clocks one hour ahead at 2 a.m. Sunday morning for daylight-saving time. Although we lose an hour of sleep this weekend, we gain an extra hour of sunlight for the spring and summer months. Clocks change back to standard time Nov. 6.

Know a great kid who made Eagle Scout, or did your soccer team take the championship? They may be our next Virginia Highland-Druid Hills Patch Whiz Kid honoree. Each week, Patch will seek suggestions from readers for individual kids, youth groups, teens, and even sports teams that wow us with their accomplishments. We want to hear about these amazing children and teens and select one each week as the Virginia Highland-Druid Hills Whiz Kid. Submit your nomination by sending an e-mail with the information to jaclyn.hirsch@patch.com. Be sure to include all of the following information: Nominator…

A call to moms throughout Virginia Highland, Morningside and Druid Hills: We need your voice. Patch is recruiting a small coterie of moms–between three and five dedicated souls–to help launch a new project aimed specifically at mothers in our community. These people will make up our Moms Council, which will help us answer other moms' questions, find notable kids throughout the community and reach out to other moms who want to see their perspective on Patch. We're looking for enthusiastic volunteers who are interested in offering their knowledge as a parent to others who could use it. And we'…

To me, New Year's Eve has never been a "holiday" that is important to plan weeks or even days ahead of time. I usually just figure out my plans as opportunities or invitations arise and take it from there. From dining out to hitting the hottest club, I've tried different ways to celebrate the New Year. If you're like me and waited until this week to decide how you're planning to ring in the New Year, check out some of these suggestions that might make your decision a bit easier.   If you have an itch to get out of the house and dance the night away, tonight is the night indulge. Check out …

Tuesday, Dec. 28, is National Chocolate Day, according to most calendars. Some calendars list it as Oct. 28, and I even found one that dedicated a whole week to chocolate in March. I like the idea of that! Nonetheless, most people regard today, Dec. 28, as National Chocolate Day. Being that the closest official Ghirardelli Chocolate store is in Birmingham, Ala., I thought I'd bring you some suggestions of chocolate products you can get your hands on around the neighborhood. 1) Chocolate cupcakes are one of my favorite foods, and Belly General Store, 772 N. Highland Ave., knows how to make …

For the past several weeks we've been working to build this site, finding writers to cover the news in Virginia Highland, Druid Hills, Morningside and Lenox Park, building the most complete directory around, creating a community calendar and making it easy to use. We wanted to take this time to tell you why we're here and what this site is all about. Simply put, it's about you. We've built Patch so that you have plenty of opportunities to comment on stories, share your opinions, post photos and announcements and add events to the community calendar. We hope that our site will strengthen the …