Author: On Common Ground News

ATLANTA, GA—The Georgia House of Representatives and the State Senate are accepting applications for interested students who want to serve as Pages during the 2025 Legislative Session. The Page Programs offer students ages 12-18 the opportunity to visit the State Capitol and serve for one day during the 40-day legislative session. The first day of the 2025 session is Monday, Jan. 13. This year’s House Page Program, which will begin on Jan. 27, began accepting Page Interest Forms on Jan. 2. Members sponsor students from their districts and their one-day service as a page is counted as a day present. Students receive an honorarium…

ROCKDALE COUNTY, GA–Health TRUST Rockdale, the grant-making division of the Hospital Authority of Rockdale County (HARC), will accept applications Feb. 3-7 for the first grant cycle scheduled for 2025.  Nonprofit or government agencies working to improve the physical and mental health of Rockdale residents are encouraged to consider applying.   Agencies interested in applying for a grant during the upcoming cycle should contact HARC Executive Director Julie Mills at 678-977-9280 or jmills@healthtrustrockdale.org prior to Jan. 31. Potential applicants should carefully review the grant program guidelines by visiting http://healthtrustrockdale.org/grant-program-guidelines.html.   Participation in a pre-proposal conference/orientation session is mandatory for all new applicants. Previous grantees…

DEKALB COUNTY, GA.–As a result of the inclement weather, DeKalb County libraries and parks will be closed Saturday, Jan. 11. For updated information about road closures and other pertinent information during the event, go to www.dekalbcountyga.gov. County residents are encouraged to sign up for DeKalb County’s high-speed emergency notification system, CodeRED that can quickly deliver time-sensitive messages via voice, email and text to targeted areas of the county during emergency situations.  To sign up for CodeRED, visit www.dekalbcountyga.gov and click on the CodeRed icon at the top of the page. During this inclement weather, residents are asked to dial 911 only for life-threatening…

ROCKDALE COUNTY, GA–As expected, the snow is falling and it is a beautiful sight! Sleet mix expected by early afternoon. Temperatures expected to stay cold through the weekend. Georgia is still under state of emergency. Hundreds of flights cancelled. Be safe! https://youtu.be/bcsGjaubgOc

ATLANTA – Gov. Brian P. Kemp today declared a statewide State of Emergency, effective immediately through Tuesday, Jan. 14, in preparation for the approaching winter storm expected to impact Georgia beginning this Friday.  Among other provisions, the State of Emergency order prohibits price gouging; suspends hours-of-service limitations for commercial vehicle operators involved in response activities; and temporarily increases weight, height, and length limits for commercial vehicles transporting essential supplies. The State of Emergency authorizes the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency (GEMA/HS) to activate the State Operations Center (SOC) and mobilize any needed resources to address potential impacts. GEMA/HS, the Georgia…

GWINNETT COUNTY, GA– The Gwinnett County Police Department is seeking assistance from the public in locating a stolen food trailer. The department sent out a notification concerning the truck theft today, Jan. 9. Thev food trailer was stolen from the 4000 block of Stone Mountain Highway in unincorporated Lilburn on Nov. 28, 2024. The trailer was last seen in the 100 block of Mount Zion Road in Atlanta on the day of the theft, being towed by a U-Haul box truck. The stolen trailer is 26 feet long, black in color, and has “Aunt Betty’s Halal Soul Food” written on…

DEKALB COUNTY, GA – The DeKalb County Board of Education has announced that it intends to opt out of the statewide adjusted base year ad valorem homestead exemption for the DeKalb County School District (DCSD). Georgia voters passed the statewide legislation known as House Bill 581 in Nov. 5, 2024 to provide property tax relief to homeowners. The bill provides relief to homeowners by offering a statewide “floating” homestead exemption that limits annual tax assessment increases to the rate of inflation that is based on the consumer price index. The bill also provides optional sales tax to offset property taxes.…

ALANTA, GA— Several government entities in the metro Atlanta area have announced closings or modified schedules ahead of the winter storm expected to hit on Friday, Jan. 10. Below is a list  of notifications On Common Ground News has received so far in its news coverage areas (DeKalb, Fulton, Rockdale and Gwinnett counties). We will update the list as needed.   DeKalb tax commissioner’s office will be closed Jan. 10 DEKALB COUNTY, GA– Due to potential inclement weather, all DeKalb County tax commissioner’s office locations will be closed Friday, Jan. 10 and will re-open Monday, Jan. 13. Customers may still contact…

DEKALB COUNTY, GA–As a result of the pending inclement weather, DeKalb County offices, senior centers, libraries, recreation centers, the Sanitation Division’s customer service desk and the Planning Department’s One Stop Shop will be closed Friday, Jan. 10. Public safety and other county employees who are required to maintain critical operations during the inclement weather event should check with their supervisors for instructions. County employees who are not required to deal with the emergency conditions in person will work remotely. For updated information about road closures and other pertinent information during the event, go to www.dekalbcountyga.gov. County residents are encouraged to sign…

ATLANTA- The American Association of Retired PersonsGeorgia (AARP) invites local, eligible, non-profit organizations and governments to apply for the 2025 AARP Community Challenge grant program. The deadline to apply is March 5, 5 p.m. EST.  AARP Community Challenge grants fund quick-action projects that help communities become more livable by improving public places, transportation, housing, digital connections, and more. Now in its ninth year, the program is part of AARP’s nationwide Livable Communitiesinitiative, which supports the efforts of cities, towns, neighborhoods, and rural areas to become great places to live for all residents, especially those age 50 and older.  The Community Challenge is open to eligible 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), and…