Author: On Common Ground News

DECATUR, GA— Voters in DeKalb County are heading to the polls today  June 21, for the primary election runoff. Polls opened at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. For the June 21 runoff only, three polling places have temporarily changed, meaning a voter will vote somewhere different than they did during the May 24 primary election. All impacted voters were notified by mail and signage has been placed at previous polling locations to redirect voters. The following changes are temporarily in place for June 21: Precinct ID Precinct Name 2022 May Primary Location 2022 Temporary June Runoff Location CY…

DECATUR, GA— The DeKalb Board of Registration and Elections meeting for the purpose of conducting its normal monthly business will be held on Monday, June 27, 2022, at noon. In addition to regular business, the Board will certify the June 21 primary runoff election results. This meeting will be conducted via teleconference (Zoom). Simultaneous public access to the meeting will be available via livestream on DCTV’s UStream channel at https://video.ibm.com/channel/dctv-channel-23. To make a public comment, join via Zoom: https://dekalbcountyga.zoom.us/j/97184078303 or dial in via phone toll free at 888-270-9936 and use conference code: 171493. Public comments of two minutes or less…

The thunderstorms dissipated, ushering in a pleasant, cool relief from the scorching heat just in time for Jazzmin R. Cobble to be sworn in as mayor of the City of Stonecrest on Friday, June 17, 2022.  The Philadelphia native made history, becoming the first female and second mayor of Stonecrest, DeKalb County, Georgia’s largest city. Stonecrest  boasts nearly 60,000 residents. Cobble also made history in 2017 when she became part of the inaugural City Council, elected as the first District 3 representative. DeKalb County Superior Judge Latisha Dear Jackson swore in Cobble as mayor. Cobble was flanked by her husband,…

ATLANTA – The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) Police Department (MPD) is searching for two suspects wanted for the armed robbery shooting of two people on board a southbound train at Peachtree Center Station on Tuesday, June 14, at 11:19 p.m. “We are asking the public to assist us with bringing these suspects into custody,” said MARTA Police Chief Scott Kreher. “MARTA has an extensive network of cameras throughout the system and our officers have a near perfect record of apprehending suspects. We will work with the public and neighboring jurisdictions to hold these suspects accountable and seek justice for the victims.” Two victims suffered gunshot wounds and were transported to Grady…

ROCKDALE COUNTY, GA—The early voting period for the upcoming runoff elections ended on Friday, June 17, with 2,148 ballots cast,a  low turnout based on Rockdale’s current 60,582 listed on “active voter rolls.” Election Day for Georgia’s runoffs is Tuesday, June 21, with several key races to be decided.  Rockdale Elections Supervisor Cynthia Willingham said the county is reminding those who plan to vote in person to go to their assigned precinct and carry identification with them on June 21, Election Day. Precincts will be open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Those who plan to vote by absentee ballot may deliver…

DECATUR, GA–In June 2021, DeKalb Commissioner Lorraine Cochran-Johnson allocated $100,000 from the District 7 discretionary fund for Discover DeKalb to retain C.H. Johnson Consulting Inc. for the purpose of conducting comprehensive market analysis for the feasibility of a new event and hospitality epicenter in DeKalb County. C.H. Johnson Consulting was joined by TVS Design, an Atlanta-based architecture and design firm, to assist with the study, which included industry trends, comparable case studies, and competitive and local markets. Subsequent phases of the project included a financial and operating analysis, site analysis, and a final report outlining the consulting team’s findings, conclusions,…

During its June 15 meeting, the Board of Voter Registration and Elections approved three emergency polling locations for the General Primary Runoff to replace previous locations. The former and current locations are listed below: From North Gwinnett Church to Riverside Elementary School located at 5445 Settles Bridge Road in Suwanee From Peachtree Elementary School to  Unity Atlanta Church located at 3597 Parkway Lane in Peachtree Corners From Trinity Lutheran Church to  Berean Baptist Church located at 1405 Hewatt Road Southwest in Lilburn Signage will be placed at the previous polling locations to alert residents where they should vote. The Primary runoff will be held Tuesday, June 21,…

STONECREST, GA –Privi Art Gallery, the first fine art gallery in East Metro Atlanta, has its launch in celebration of Juneteenth on Sunday, June 19 at 1 pm. The inaugural exhibit: ARTcestry: Building Legacy Beneath the Struggle explores the shocking and inspiring journey many minorities face when searching for their lineage and the legacy left for the next generation through artistic and photographic expression. The opening exhibit will highlight the works of six contemporary artists including Kevin Cole a mixed media artist and art professor whose work interrogates the relationships between color, music, and art; Abstract artist Zerric Clinton who…

DECATUR, GA–The DeKalb County Governing Authority today announced its intention to raise property taxes this year by 7.08 percent over the rollback millage rate. DeKalb County has six separate tax levies. Two of those levies (the general and hospital funds) are used in the required calculation for the rollback rate. The other tax levies (police, fire, designated, and the special tax district bond fund), when combined with the general and hospital levies, produce the same benchmark millage rate of 20.810 mills from last year. The combined millage rate for the general and hospital funds will exceed the rollback millage rate.…