Author: On Common Ground News

ATLANTA – The House Democratic Caucus met and elected its key leaders on Nov. 10. The Minority Caucus elected the following caucus members for leadership positions: State Rep. James Beverly (D-Macon), House Minority Leader State Rep. Billy Mitchell (D-Stone Mountain), House Minority Caucus Chairman State Rep. Erica Thomas (D-Austell); House Minority Caucus Vice-Chairman State Rep. David Wilkerson (D-Powder Springs), House Minority Whip State Rep. Deborah Bazemore (D-South Fulton), House Minority Chief Deputy Whip State Rep. Park Cannon (D-Atlanta), House Minority Caucus Secretary State Rep. Mary Robichaux (D-Roswell), House Minority Caucus Treasurer  Representative James Beverly represents the citizens of District…

STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. – DeKalb County School District (DCSD) kicked off the re-launch of its My Brother’s Keeper Program Nov. 11. Former President Barack Obama launched My Brother’s Keeper in February 2014 to address persistent opportunity gaps facing boys and young men of color and to ensure all youth can reach their full potential. In 2015, the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance (MBK Alliance) was launched, inspired by My Brother’s Keeper, to scale and sustain this mission. The mission of DCSD’s My Brother’s Keeper Program is to ensure student success by supporting academic achievement, service and mentorship for young men…

Today, DeKalb Voter Registration and Elections began the state-mandated process of counting the ballots by hand. Two shifts of approximately 150 tabulators (total of 300) will count the ballots at the future home of rhe Stonecrest City Hall, which is located in the former Sam’s Club at 2994 Turner Hill Road, Stonecrest. Shift 1 will work from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Shift 2 will work from 3:30 to 11 p.m.   The teams will hand count more than 373,000 votes by the state-mandated timeline of Nov. 18.   DeKalb VRE’s ‘Count on DeKalb’ risk limiting audit plan prioritizes…

The DeKalb County Board of Registration and Elections will hold a special called meeting on Thursday, Nov. 12, at 1 p.m. for the purpose of considering certification of the results of the election held on Nov. 3, 2020. The meeting will be held at the date and time indicated so that certification can be completed as soon as possible to allow the Board to begin a hand recount of the Presidential race as directed by the Georgia Secretary of State.

The 640,000 square foot robotics fulfillment center bordering TSCID is operational. At full capacity, the Stone Mountain/Highway 78 facility is set to employ more than 1,000 workers. “The Amazon robotics fulfillment center is the first of its kind in Georgia, and we are excited to see them open and ship their first packages,” said Gwinnett County Commission Chair Charlotte Nash in a news release. “This project has created a number of jobs, and will continue to be a catalyst for future development in this region.”

Tucker Summit (TSCID) congratulates and welcomes Senator-elect Kim Jackson to Senate District 41. Jackson won the election over Republican opponent William Freeman with 79% of the vote.Jackson replaces Steven Henson, who retired. Henson was a former TSCID board member. Jackson, a 35-year-old Episcopal priest, said she is dedicated to serving District 41 by advocating for mass public transit and bringing new economic development opportunities to the district. Tucker Summit CID also congratulates DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond and DeKalb Commissioner Steve Bradshaw on their re-election.

ATLANTA–Beginning Monday(Nov. 16), all licensed Georgia child care providers may apply for a second round of Short Term Assistance Benefit for Licensed Entities (STABLE) payments from the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL). Funding for these payments comes from the federal Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act passed by Congress earlier this year. In the first round of STABLE payments, DECAL awarded more than $38.8 million in financial support to 3,789 licensed child care providers. DECAL Commissioner Amy M. Jacobs said the second round of STABLE payments will be paid to licensed child care providers who are…

DeKalb County Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs and the Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance have launched a “Leave No Trace” campaign to urge visitors to the Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve to help preserve the park, located at 3787 Klondike Rd., Stonecrest. All patrons are welcome to take only pictures and encouraged to “Leave No Trace” during trips to the nature preserve by treading lightly and staying on the bare granite as they walk. It is imperative to not disturb puddles, sandpits, rock piles or any other part of the rock face. Rare and endangered species live in these innocuous patches…

ATLANTA—Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler have issued the following statement calling on Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to resign: “The management of Georgia elections has become an embarrassment for our state. Georgians are outraged, and rightly so. We have been clear from the beginning: every legal vote cast should be counted. Any illegal vote must not. And there must be transparency and uniformity in the counting process. This isn’t hard. This isn’t partisan. This is American. We believe when there are failures, they need to be called out — even when it’s in your own party. There have…

The DeKalb County School District’s (DCSD) four-year graduation rate for the Class of 2020 is 75.97, based on data released from the Georgia Department of Education. The 2020 graduation rate is a 2.56 percent increase over the 2019 rate of 73.41. Sixteen of 24 DeKalb high schools (67%) demonstrated a four-year graduation rate increase. The following six schools increased their rate by more than 5%, with the most notable improvement of double-digit gains occurres at Columbia High School and Stone Mountain High School. Both schools have met exit criteria and are removed from the state identified CSI Graduation Rate improvement…