Author: On Common Ground News

GWINNETT COUNTY– In response to increasing COVID-19 cases numbers, Gwinnett County is requiring all employees and strongly encouraging visitors to wear face masks or face coverings while inside county buildings and facilities effective July 18.  Mask requirements for visitors inside courtrooms will be at the discretion of the presiding judge.  Gwinnett County’s COVID-19 Community Level — which is determined by hospital bed usage, hospital admissions and the total number of new COVID-19 cases in the community — is high, officials stated. Officials did not state the actual number of cases.   “When community levels are high, the CDC recommends wearing…

STONECREST, GA–Vaughn Irons, Principal, Stonecrest Resorts, has been awarded a new construction hotel franchise that will be built under the first BOLD by Wyndham, a new program designed to engage and advance more Black entrepreneurs on their path to hotel ownership. Developed with insight and support from existing and aspiring Black hoteliers, BOLD, which stands for Black Owners and Lodging Developers, aims to expand awareness for the unique challenges faced by Black entrepreneurs while using the scale and resources of Wyndham to help address those challenges and increase the number of Black hoteliers. Irons said today (July 14) that the…

ATLANTA–Jason Lary, founding mayor of the City of Stonecrest, was sentenced in federal court on Wednesday, July 13, to serve four years and nine months in prison for COVID relief fraud charges. Supporters who attended the hearing asked the judge for leniency in hopes that Lary’s declining health and positive contributions to them and the community might sway the judge to sentence him to serve at home. Their comments did not. In handing down the sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr. said he would not sentence Lary, 60, to serve his time at home as Lary and…

DECATUR, GA – The DeKalb County Board of Ethics will conduct a board meeting on Thursday, July 21, at 6 p.m. The meeting will be held via Zoom at https://dekalbcountyga.zoom.us/j/88137432677 Join by phone at 602-333-0032 or 888-270-9936 and use conference code 171493. Agenda I. Adoption of Agenda II. Approval of the Minutes of June 16, 2022 III. Administrative Items A. Policy Re: Swearing In of Board Members B. Proposed informal advice on Ethics Code Line 336-37 C. Update on newly hired Ethics Officer IV. Ethics Cases A. Robert Buckler v. Jeff Rader and Kathy Gannon [Case No. 2017-24] V. Public…

ATLANTA–David T. Howard Middle School and David T. Howard National Alumni Association, Inc. (DTH NAAI) will celebrate the official dedication of the Walt “Clyde” Frazier Gym Court/Gymnasium on Tuesday, July 19. The dedication will be held 10 a.m. until noon, at David T. Howard Middle School, 551 John Wesley Dobbs Ave., NE, Atlanta. Frazier, an acclaimed NBA basketball player, is a member of the graduating class of 1963 at the former David T. Howard High School in Atlanta, GA. He learned basketball on a rutted and dirt playground, the only facility available at his all-Black school in the racially segregated…

ATLANTA – The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) Board of Directors advanced pre-development work on two Transit-Oriented development (TOD) projects on the East/West Line, by awarding master planning contracts for Indian Creek and H.E. Holmes rail stations and approval to issue a TOD Request for Proposals (RFP) for Indian Creek. The board awarded the master planning contracts to WSP for Indian Creek and HKS for the H.E. Holmes station. Both firms bring teams with a depth of experience in both planning and community engagement. Indian Creek and H.E. Holmes are end-of-line stations, residing at the westernmost and easternmost points…

ATLANTA — Prime Day may be over, but scammers probably aren’t calling it quits yet. The Better Business Bureau(BBB) is warning that con artists are sending phony emails and texts that look like messages from major retailers, instructing you to redeem the reward points accrued during your shopping days. Just hit delete on these phishing messages! How the scam works You receive an unsolicited email or text message that appears to be from a major retailer. (BBB has seen scammers use the names of Amazon, Kohls, and Costco… but scammers can spoof any company.) The subject line reads, “You Have…

ATLANTA – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is reminding businesses in Georgia to apply for working capital loans before the Aug. 5 deadline. The disaster loan program is available to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture, and most private nonprofit organizations affected by severe flooding that occurred on Sept. 7-8, 2021. The deadline to submit economic injury applications is Aug. 5, 2022. The declaration includes Bartow, Cherokee, Cobb, Douglas, Fulton and Paulding counties in Georgia. These federal Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) are for working capital needs caused by the disaster and are available even…