Author: On Common Ground News

Deanna Johnson Cauthen, host of The Working Woman Radio Show, and Angela Paul, CEO of MathPlus Educational Services, have teamed up to create SchoolShare Atlanta, a directory that allows parents to find other parents who can supervise their children’s online learning while they are at work. “With Covid-19 being our reality, and kids not being able to go back to school, there are a lot of parents who don’t know what to do and are really stressed out,” Cauthen said. “As a former homeschooler, I felt like this was an opportunity for me to give back, and connect people with…

ATLANTA–The Georgia Senate and House Democratic Caucuses filed an amici curiae brief in Fulton County Superior Court on July 27, opposing Gov. Brian Kemp’s legal action to overturn the City of Atlanta’s requirement to wear face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. The legal brief, filed at 10:43 a.m., Monday, seeks both to support the city in protecting the health, safety, and welfare of Georgia residents and to understand and limit the scope of the Governor’s emergency powers the state legislature granted him in March of this year. The brief comes after Kemp filed legal action to prevent the Mayor…

The special election to fill the U.S. House of Rep. District 5 seat, which became vacant with the death of Rep. John Lewis, will be held Sept. 29, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced today (July 27).  Qualifying for the special election will be in the Elections Division of the Office of Secretary of State in Atlanta on Wednesday, July 29, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.,; Thursday, July 30, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Friday, July 31, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.  State officials have had to move swiftly in order to meet election deadlines and prepare ballots in the…

Story Update: Rockdale County Board of Commissioners Chairman Oz Nesbitt released this statement today (July 27): As Chairman, manager of day-to-day county operations, it is my chief and primary responsibility to be as fiscally responsible of the taxpayers’ dollars. In doing so, that includes talent acquisition through recruitment, talent retention as well as talent assessment. Eighty percent of the “people business” is centered around customers and the delivery of services. Sometimes county bureaucrats become complacent and forget the vision, “Rockdale is a perfectly-positioned community with a rock-solid approach dedicated to excellence in customer service, quality of life and global…

The DeKalb County Police Department is seeing the public’s health in identifying an elderly man who was found and is now in a local hospital. The man was transported to the hospital after he was found on Flat Shoals Road on July 15. The victim does not have any identification and is non-verbal, authorities said. Anyone who recognizes the man is asked to call the Special Victims Unit at 770-724-7710.

Congressman Hank Johnson A Michigan man has been arrested and indicted on federal charges of threatening Georgia’s Congressman Hank Johnson through a voice mail. Johnson represents the Fourth District, which includes portions of DeKalb,  Gwinnett, Newton and all of Rockdale county. Authorities say the voicemail threat was made because of gun control legislation Johnson introduced. Johnson told On Common Ground News that the threat was left on his office’s voicemail, which was retrieved the next day by a staffer and reported to House security.  Federal prosecutors say Martin Dale Osborn…

Teachers and other support staff for the DeKalb County School District will be spared from drastic work reduction cuts as students return to classes virtually in August in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to avoiding staffing cuts, all DeKalb school district employees will receive a mid-year raise as planned, officials announced today, July 24. The DeKalb County Board of Education approved the district’s 2020-21 budget today in a 6-1 vote, with School Board member Joyce Morley voting against the measure. Morely called the budget “punitive,” saying that district employees, especially teachers, should not have to…

DeKalb County Police are investigating the shooting of an 8-year-old boy that happened today, July 24, around 4 p.m. at the Eastwyck Village apartment complex, located off of Candler Road near Interstate 20. Authorities said the child was shot in the shoulder. He was with a 17-year-old male when the shooting occurred. The 17-year-old was grazed in the leg during the shooting. The boy was transported to a local hospital where his injury is listed as moderate, police said. No suspects have been arrested, as investigators are still trying to determine the motive of the shooting, said…