Author: On Common Ground News

DEKALB COUNTY, GA – DeKalb County School District (DCSD) is rolling out a new recruiting and retention program aimed at continuing to provide educational excellence and create professional growth opportunities for current and new employees. “As employers, we must adapt to the new labor market so that our District can cultivate and offer opportunities to only the best talent. For those reasons, we have reexamined the way we approach recruiting and retaining top employees for our scholars. We are proud of the new benefits we are offering. This is a great opportunity for those hoping to join a great…

DEKALB COUNTY, GA–DeKalb County announced today that it has launched a smartphone app, Edulog Parent Portal, to provide parents and guardians information about their child’s school bus ride. The launch of the new app follows the massive number of school bus drivers who did not report to work in the district’s Region on Sept. 10, prompting delays, canceled routes and chaos as parents scrambled to find alternate transportation for their children. School Board Chair  Vickie B. Turner said staff members have been meeting with bus drivers to address their concerns about pay increase, pensions and challenges in transporting students…

ATLANTA — The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is advisings consumers to use caution when doing business with PortaSpa, LLC, a Georgia-based company that sells portable spas and accessories. Complaints on file with BBB allege the company failed to deliver ordered products, did not provide requested refunds, did not communicate reasons for shipping delays with their customers, and provided poor customer service. PortaSpa, LLC has an “F” rating, which is the lowest on BBB’s rating scale due to recent unanswered complaints. A Bennington, Vermont consumer told BBB that she paid PortaSpa, LLC $144 for a portable steam sauna. After a month of waiting for an update, she attempted to contact the business to inquire about the approximate…

DEKALB COUNTY, GA– State Rep. Viola Davis (D-Stone Mountain) is providing information to make constituents aware of Georgia rental assistance programs for DeKalb County landlords and tenants whose finances have been impacted by COVID-19. “There are millions of dollars in federal aid available now to DeKalb County landlords and residents who need help paying their rent and/or utilities,” said Rep. Davis. “Georgians, especially those in the metro Atlanta area, are struggling to keep up with the rising costs of living. Our state and local officials are working to make this funding available to them, but many of these struggling…

You’re an entertainer that travels the globe, but COVID (like everything else) shut you down. What do you do instead? WATCH Joya Bravo’s story below to find out how this Rockdale County resident rebounded and continues to find ways to keep her calendar booked.

By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist   Nicholas made landfall as a hurricane, packing 75-mph winds, on the coast of Texas on Monday night, and AccuWeather forecasters say the slow-moving storm will unleash life-threatening flooding along the Texas Gulf Coast, around the greater Houston area and across parts of Louisiana. Due to the significant threat of flooding the storm will pose, Nicholas has been rated a 1 on the AccuWeather RealImpact™ Scale. Since making landfall Monday night, Nicholas has lost some wind intensity and was designated a tropical storm as of Tuesday morning. Regardless of the change in designation, forecasters say Nicholas will be able to unload…

ROCKDALE COUNTY,GA—Keep  Conyers-Rockdale Beautiful has set a new date for its Electronics Recycling & Paper Shredding event. The event, which was scheduled this month will be held in October, due to anticipated inclement weather. Officials said that the paper shredding truck used during the event is inoperable during rainy weather. The event will take place Oct. 23, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m., in the parking lot of the Rockdale County Annex, located at 1400 Parker Road, Conyers. In the event of rainy weather, the date is subject to change. The free, half-day event will provide the public a place to safely discard and…

DECATUR, GA–DeKalb County District 5 Commissioner Mereda Davis Johnson will host a “Tenant & Landlord Eviction Relief” virtual town hall on Thursday, Sept.16, 6:30 p.m. Participants include DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond, Congressman Hank Johnson, DeKalb County Chief Operating Officer Zachary Williams, and DeKalb County Clerk of State and Magistrate Courts Javoyne Hicks. The virtual town hall meeting will offer an opportunity for DeKalb County tenants who may be facing eviction and landlords who have filed a dispossessory to learn about how they can get eviction relief from DeKalb County. “We know that the eviction moratorium is coming to an end…

AARP Experience Corps brings students, seniors together DECATUR, GA—The DeKalb County Human Services Department is recruiting volunteers to participate in its tutoring program designed to help DeKalb students improve their reading skills. Participating DeKalb schools will include: Stoneview Elementary, Pine Ridge Elementary, Murphy Candler Elementary, E.L. Miller Elementary and Redan Elementary. Informational sessions will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 21, 10 a.m., and Wednesday, Sept. 22, at 7 p.m. via Zoom to provide more information to the public about the program. There is no cost to participate. Registration, however, is required. The links for the sessions are as follows: Sept. 21, 10…

Tucker will oversee DeKalb, North Fulton, Gwinnett, Forsyth and Rockdale counties    ATLANTA – Georgia Power has announced that Deon Tucker has been named the Metro North regional director in the Atlanta area, effectively immediately. In her role, she will lead the company’s external affairs activities for DeKalb, North Fulton, Gwinnett, Forsyth and Rockdale counties. She will also provide leadership and support for power delivery, customer service, sales, and community and economic development to bring value to customers. Prior to her current role, Deon served in Macon as a regional director, serving 136,000 customers in a 22-county area. Previously, she worked…