Author: On Common Ground News

Pointing to many ways it would help their local priorities, county leaders from across the country pushed for the House of Representatives to pass the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which the Senate passed on a bipartisan vote Aug. 10. The legislation would provide $973 billion over five years from FY 2022 – FY 2026, including $550 billion in new investments for all modes of transportation, water, power and energy, environmental remediation, public lands, broadband and resilience. Learn More Legislative analysis for counties: The Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act  “The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will support counties…

DEKALB COUNTY, GA–Embattled DeKalb County Elections Director Erica Hamilton will be on extended leave of absence effective Sept. 9 and new leadership will take the helm to oversee the upcoming Nov. 2 General Elections, officials said in a statement today (Sept. 8). The announcement of Hamilton’s leave comes as the county prepares for advance voting for the General Election. Hamilton, and Sam Tillman, former Board Chairman of the DeKalb County Board of Elections, came under fire following the June 2020 primary concerning a number of issues including long lines, insufficient equipment and their failure to follow through on…

Advance Voting Oct. 12-29, General Election Nov. 2 DECATUR GA—DeKalb’s Board of Registration and Elections recently approved changes to four polling locations ahead of the Nov. 2 General Election. Due to various issues including ongoing construction at previous polling locations, some voters in Chamblee, Doraville and Stonecrest may be assigned a new polling location this election cycle. DeKalb Voter Registration and Election also announced that impacted voters will receive correspondence in the mail with information regarding their new polling location. Previous Polling Location New Polling Location Chamblee Civic Center 3540 Broad Street Chamblee 30341 Chamblee Public Safety/Municipal Court, 4445…

By Andrew Wells, Stonecrest  Resident There is an old parable about a man who planted a fig tree in a vineyard and appointed a keeper to tend to the tree. He went to the tree one day wanting figs but found none. He asked the keeper of his vineyard, “Why does this fig tree cumbereth (use up/provide a troublesome obstruction to) the ground?” The man made a deal with the vineyard keeper to allow the keeper to dress and fertilize the ground around the fig tree. And, after a period of time, he would come back to check…

DEKALB COUNTY GA–Two DeKalb County high schools are cancelling football games scheduled for this Friday, Sept. 10, due to positive COVIS-19 tests. The 3-0 Miller Grove Wolverines is canceling its game at Pebblebrook. The cancellation was an effort to allow Pebblebrook to find another opponent, said Mark Brock, DeKalb County School District’s Athletics specialist. Additionally, the 1-1 Clarkston Angoras will not play at Creekside Christian Academy on Friday. Creekside cancelled the game due to injuries and COVID complication within its program, Brock said. Below is the DCSD’s varsity football schedule for this weekend: Miller Grove running backs Jayden Brown…

STONECREST, GA –Stonecrest Parks and Recreation and District 3 Councilwoman Jazzmin Cobble have planned a day of family fun on Saturday, Sept. 18, 4 to 9 p.m, at Fairington Park. The headlining attraction is the Screen on the Green showing of Toy Story 4 (PG) at dusk. An Entrepreneur Expo will surround the green and feature food trucks, pop-up food carts and tables, plus local artisans, and other vendors. It’s an opportunity for the community to learn more about people charting their own course, while supporting local talent. Community members of all ages also will be treated to…

DECATUR, GA–The DeKalb Board of Registration and Elections will hold its regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021, at 4:30 p.m. This meeting will be conducted via teleconference (Zoom). Simultaneous public access to the meeting will be available via livestream on DCTV’s UStream channel https://video.ibm.com/channel/dctv-channel-23. To make a comment, join via Zoom at https://dekalbcountyga.zoom.us/j/97184078303  or by phone at 1-888-270-9936 and use conference code 171493. To access the agenda, click here. Public comments of two minutes or less may be made live via the teleconference. For those joining the meeting by telephone, please be aware that phone numbers may be displayed…