Author: On Common Ground News

ATLANTA–As part of the recently announced Nightlife Division under the Mayor’s Office of Film and Entertainment, Mayor Andre Dickens and city leaders will host the city’s first-ever Training Day—a series of workshops designed specifically for nightlife industry leaders to learn about the city’s policy and regulatory information in the nighttime industry. The training day will be held on Saturday, April 23, noon. Dickens and city leaders including Phillana Williams, director of the Mayor’s Office of Film & Entertainment; Deputy Chief Timothy Peck, Atlanta Police Department: and Chief Roderick Smith, Atlanta Fire & Rescue Department, will discuss the initiative at…

WASHINGTON , D.C.– The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission will host an online roundtable, “Untapped Potential: Reimagining Equity for Workers with Gaps in Employment History,” to discuss the challenges workers face when re-entering the workforce after periods of unemployment. The event is part of the Hiring Initiative to Reimagine Equity, a joint OFCCP-EEOC effort to boost diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility efforts in hiring and recruitment practices to advance equal employment opportunity and help provide workers with access to good jobs. Speakers will highlight the barriers faced by caregivers, older workers, people…

ATLANTA– Gov. Brian P. Kemp today announced the establishment of a Healthcare Workforce Commission to address challenges in the hiring and retention of healthcare workers, including nurses, physicians, respiratory therapists, emergency medical personnel, and other clinical and nonclinical personnel. “Our healthcare heroes have been through it all during the pandemic, and we thank them immensely for the sacrifices made and dedication shown,” said Kemp. “To ensure the future health of Georgians and Georgia’s healthcare system, it is imperative for the public and private sector to come together and examine  current needs and identify strategies for workforce recruitment and retention. I…

DECATUR, GA—On Earth Day, Friday, April 22, DeKalb County Super District Commissioners Ted Terry and Lorraine Cochran-Johnson will join Roots Down for a commemorative celebration to encourage a greener, more environmentally friendly DeKalb. Roots Down works with local governments, universities, and organizers to shift the paradigm of landscapes, create greener jobs, fight climate change and feed others. Starting at 10 a.m. at the Toco Hills Library, the commissioners and Roots Down will announce several green initiatives each has enacted and advocated for to further DeKalb’s status as an eco-friendly county. Commissioner Terry plans to discuss details about: County plastics…

DEKALB COUNTY, GA– The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Unit, working with U.S. Marshals and the DeKalb Police Department Gangs Unit, arrested two suspects in the kidnapping of a woman from a gas station in Decatur. Atlanta resident Quentin Williams, 21, and Rodrequicge Allen , 19, of Covington, Georgia were arrested on April 20 and charged with Kidnapping, a Felony. Williams and Allen made advances to Monqua Johnson against her will while she was at the Exxon gas station on Glenwood Road on March 20, according to warrants. When she declined, the suspects allegedly abducted her and put her…

DECATUR GA—The DeKalb County Grand Jury has indicted the owner of a Dunwoody home daycare center in connection with the death of a 4-month-old baby and other allegations of abuse related to children in her care.   Jurors returned a 20-count indictment on April 19 against 46-year-old Amanda Hickey on charges of Murder in the Second Degree, Cruelty to Children in the First Degree (seven counts), Cruelty to Children in the Second Degree (two counts), Simple Battery (three counts), and Reckless Conduct (seven counts).   The charges against Hickey stem from the Feb. 3, 2021 death of a baby boy in…

SNELLVILLE, GA—Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04) recently visited Brookwood High School to congratulate 17-year-old Niheer Patel as the winner of the 2022 Congressional App Challenge. Officially launched by the U.S. House of Representatives in 2015, the nationwide challenge allows students to compete against their peers by creating an application (app), or game for mobile phones, tablets, or computer devices. Congressman Johnson’s Congressional App Challenge is open to all students in the 4th Congressional District of Georgia. The competition highlights the value of computer science and STEAM education (Science, Technology, Art, Engineering and Math). “The app challenge allows us to…

LITHONIA, GA– The final community engagement sessions to shape the conceptual design of the future of DeKalb’ County’s first Black public school building will take place at the Lithonia Woman’s Club, 2564 Wiggins Street, 1-4 p.m. on April 24 and May 7. Thes sessions are part of a months-long effort to solicit community feedback and shape a conceptual design that will guide future activation and preservation of the historic Bruce Street School. The conceptual design process will wrap up in June. Also known as the Lithonia Negro School and the Lithonia Colored School, the Bruce Street School was built and run…

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – The U.S. Department of Labor announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking public comment on proposed revisions to Wagner-Peyser Act regulations to include Employment Service staff in public employment offices in state merit systems, and improve service delivery for migrant and seasonal farmworkers. The proposal, by the department’s Employment and Training Administration, would ensure that states and territories are equipped universally to use cross-trained Employment Service staff to assist in processing unemployment insurance claims, assist claimants and promote reemployment when demand for these services rises substantially. Currently, only state merit staff can adjudicate unemployment insurance claims. “The proposed changes would return the…