Author: On Common Ground News

ATLANTA – MARTA’s Board of Directors on July 27 approved several projects in the City of Atlanta and DeKalb County and awarded a $226 million contract to New Flyer for fixed-route and MARTA Rapid buses.   The five-year contract with New Flyer includes 198 buses: 63 battery electric and 135 compressed natural gas (CNG). The first six MARTA Rapid 60’ articulated battery electric buses arrive next year and will be used for operations on the region’s first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line in Summerhill when it opens in 2025. Twelve additional articulated 60’ battery electric buses follow for Rapid lines on Campbellton…

ATLANTA, GA – Attorney General Chris Carr today announced that Dionte Johnson, 30, of Atlanta, has been convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison for assisting in the trafficking of an underage female. These crimes occurred at the Economy Hotel in Fulton County, where Johnson previously worked as a clerk. He is the sixth defendant to be convicted and sentenced to prison as part of a larger investigation that involves the trafficking of this juvenile victim. “Dionte Johnson used his role as a hotel clerk to further facilitate the trafficking of a child, and now he will spend his…

DECATUR, GA – The DeKalb County Board of Ethics will conduct a meeting on Thursday, Aug. 3, 6 p.m. The meeting will be held via Zoom at https://dekalbcountyga.zoom.us/j/88137432677. Join by phone at 602-333-0032 or 888-270-9936 and use conference code 171493. Agenda I. Call to Order and Welcome to the Public II. Adoption of Agenda III. Approval of the Minutes of the Regular Board Meeting of January 19, 2023 IV. Approval and Correction of the Minutes of the Special Called Meeting of March 13, 2023 V. Approval of the Minutes of the Special Called Meeting of July 20, 2023 VI. Introduction…

GWINNETT COUNTY, GA– The Gwinnett County Police Department has arrested Aurelio Angeles Bautista, 36,  of Dalton, after he pointed a green laser at the police helicopter flying in Pleasant Hill Road and Satellite Boulevard. On July 22, 2023, the air unit was conducting an air security check when they were hit by a green laser pointed at the cockpit. The helicopter’s flight crew was able to pinpoint the origin location of the laser and directed officers to contact two individuals at the location. After investigating, Bautista was arrested for Pointing a Laser at an Aircraft and booked into…

ROCKDALE COUNTY, GA —The Clerk of Superior and State Courts along with the Georgia Superior Court Clerks Cooperative Authority will be offering free online notary training on Aug. 9, 10:30 a.m. There are a limited number of spaces available. If you have any further questions log onto WWW.ROCKDALECLERK.COM or contact 770-278-7900. To log onto Zoom, click: https://gsccca-org.zoom.us/j/85194695831

Longtime Council President and former Fulton County Superior Court Judge Marvin S. Arrington Sr. will lie in state inside the Council chamber on Thursday, July 27 10 a.m.-4 p.m., at Atlanta City Hall, 55 Trinity Avenue SW. The Council chamber was named in honor of Arrington in 2019. Tributes to celebrate his remarkable life and contributions are scheduled for noon inside the chamber. A celebration of life will be held on Friday, July 28 at 11 a.m. at Ebenezer Baptist Church, 101 Jackson Street NE. The services will be broadcast live on the Atlanta City Council’s website and social media…

ATLANTA –Due to the continued sweltering heat,  the City of Atlanta  is extending the days that it is opening the cooling center at the former  MLK Natatorium located at 90 Boulevard, NE Atlanta.  The center, which opened again today, July 26, from 1– 6 p.m., will open on the following days: Thursday, July 27, 11a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, July 28, 11a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, July 29, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, July 30, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, July 31, 11 a.m. to 6p.m. . Water will be provided at the center.

 DEKALB COUNTY, GA– DeKalb County Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs announces county pools and facilities will be open on a modified schedule from Aug. 6 through Sept. 4. The pools listed below will be open only on Saturdays and Sundays from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Open until Aug. 6 Kittredge Pool, 2535 North Druid Hill Rd. Atlanta, 30329 Open until Aug.13 Tobie Grant Pool, 644 Parkdale Drive, Scottdale, GA 30079  Open until Sept. 4 *Exchange Splash Pad, 2771 Columbia Drive, Decatur, GA 30034 Gresham Pool, 3113 Gresham Road, Atlanta, GA 30316 Lithonia Pool, 2501 Park Drive, Lithonia, GA 30058 Medlock…

DECATUR, GA— DeKalb County Commissioner Larry Johnson and the Center Helping Obesity in Children End Successfully (C.H.O.I.C.E.S.) extends their partnership to help parents get a healthy jumpstart on preparing for their children to go back to school. The expo will take place on Saturday, July 29, 10 a.m., at the Intergenerational Center at Exchange Park, 2771 Columbia Drive, Decatur. During the expo, families will receive free school supplies, in addition to access to the mobile food pantry, thanks to partners like the Atlanta Community Food Bank. The mobile food pantry will allow families to take home fresh produce…

CONYERS, GA—Interested in farming,  community gardening or backyard? Join State Rep. Doreen Carter (D-Lithonia) and Rockdale County Commissioner Sherri Washington on Thursday, July 27, to learn about federal agriculture resources that are available. The agriculture resource forum will be held on Thursday, July 27, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. at the JP Car  Community Center in Conyers. The guest speaker will be Arthur Tripp Jr., state executive director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency in Georgia. Participants will learn about services provided by the federal Farm Service Agency, such as various safety net programs, commodity price…