Author: On Common Ground News

  Georgia’s motor vehicle system will be updated and unavailable for six-day period LAWRENCEVILLE—Gwinnett County Tax Commissioner Richard Steele is advising Gwinnett residents that the state’s motor vehicle system will be unavailable Jan. 13-18 while it is being updated, which means no tag or title work can be processed during that time. “Gwinnett residents with birthdays Jan. 13-18 will want to renew by Jan. 12 to avoid late fees,” Steele said. “I advise anyone with a birthday after Jan. 12 to renew as early as possible to avoid possible problems.” During the update Jan. 13-18, all methods to renew…

ATLANTA – Members of the Georgia House Democratic Caucus (GHDC) Subcommittee on COVID-19 are calling on the Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) to establish a call center to improve communications regarding  the backlog of Unemployment Insurance (UI) requests. State legislators will hold a virtual press conference to discuss their concerns on Friday, Dec. 4, 11:15 a.m. via Zoom.  The Zoom meeting is reserved for the media.    “The lack of communication from the Georgia Department of Labor is unacceptable, and it must find a way to help people get paid before the Christmas holiday,” said State Rep. Sandra Scott.…

The Rockdale County Board of Elections and Registration will hold a virtual Special Meeting on Friday, Dec. 4, 2020 at 10 a.m., for the purpose of considering Saturday voting on Dec. 19 for the upcoming General Runoff Election to be held on Jan. 5, 2021. The meeting is scheduled as follows: WHEN:            Friday, Dec. 4, 2020 TIME:               10 a.m. WHERE:          VIRTUAL MEETING VIA ZOOM Online Via Zoom:  Join Zoom Meeting Join https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7049887949  Meeting ID: 704 988 7949 One tap mobile: +13126266799,7049887949# U.S. (Chicago) +16465588656,7049887949# U.S. (New York)

WASHINGTON, D.C. —  Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04), chair of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet, introduced a resolution this week calling on Congress to award the Freedom Riders the Congressional Gold Medal. More than 40 members of Congress – including more than a dozen members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) – joined Rep. Johnson to co-sponsor the bill. The Freedom Rides, which lasted from May to November 1961, included more than 400 black and white Americans who risked their lives to challenge Jim Crow laws – particularly public transportation – in the South. Despite enduring…

By Rick Burke, Navy Office of Community Outreach PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii – Petty Officer 2nd Class Amberia Simpson, a Snellville, Georgia native, is serving at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility as part of the largest mobilization of reservists in Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) history. The mobilization is tied directly to the COVID-19 pandemic. Simpson is a 2005 Shiloh High School graduate, 2009 Columbus State University graduate and 2017 Purdue University graduate with master degrees in public health education. She is one of the reserve sailors deployed to the Navy’s four public shipyards as part of the Surge…

The Rockdale County and Newton County Democratic Parties will host the “Race to the Senate 2021” campaign rally on Saturday, Dec. 5, 1 to 3 p.m., at 1400 Parker Road in Conyers. The rally aims to energize and encourage voters living along the I-20 corridor and throughout Georgia to cast ballots for U.S. Senate candidates Jon Ossoff and the Rev. Raphael Warnock, and Public Service Commission District 4 candidate Daniel Blackman in the general runoff election set for Jan. 5. “The long road of Georgia being red for over 30 years is now broken. It is time we take our…

The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday (Dec. 1) authorized negotiations with Fuqua Acquisitions II, LLC to develop a signature project on the site of the former Olympic Tennis Center in the County’s southern corridor off U.S. 78 along the border with DeKalb County. After serving as the site of tennis competition in the 1996 Olympics, the center fell into disuse. Gwinnett County, seeing an opportunity to revitalize an area at one of the major gateways into Gwinnett, acquired the 26-acre site in 2016. To acquire the property, the County did a land swap with the tennis venue’s owners,…

ATLANTA – Former Atlanta City Councilmember Kwanza Hall was elected in a  Dec. 1 special election runoff to finish the unexpired term of longtime friend and mentor Congressman John Lewis who passed away of pancreatic cancer in July. With the unofficial vote count tabulated, Hall received 52% of the vote and earned the right to fight for the 5th Congressional District in the Winter term.  Hall, a former member of the Atlanta Public School board and former Atlanta City Councilman, will be sworn in shortly after the vote is certified and will be eligible to vote on key issues.…

LITHONIA—The Cigar Bar, Old Skool Car Club and Israelite Ent are partnering to host a toy drive and car show on Dec. 13, 1 to 6 p.m. The holiday event, which will assist families in need, will be held at 2617 Panola Road. The community is asked to donate an unwrapped toy, a non-perishable food item, and or clothing such as coats, hats and shoes.  The toys and goods will be distributed through partnerships with the Division of Family and Children Services, Lanier Levett and the Boyce L. Ansley School. In addition to assistance provided through the holiday event, various…