Author: On Common Ground News

Super District 7 Commissioner Gregory Adams, in partnership with 25 To Art, The Sauce Creative Agency and Just About Blessing You (JABY) Inc. will host a Fall Arts Festival on Saturday, Oct. 27, 1 to 6 p.m., at Wade Walker Park, 5585 Rockbridge Road, Stone Mountain. The family-friendly festival is free. There will be live music and entertainment from local artists, a game truck, food, candy, arts and a costume contest. Bring your lawn chairs and blankets.

The DeKalb County Board of Registration and Elections will accept yellow or white absentee return  envelopes through 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 6.  The statewide vendor inadvertently printed absentee return envelopes on white stock, instead of the normal yellow stock. Because of the high volume of absentee requests and to maintain efficiency in processing requests, the white envelopes were used until a new shipment could be received. Either yellow or white envelopes are acceptable.   Advance voting is underway and will run through Friday, Nov. 2.  Voting sites and times can be found at www.dekalbvotes.com under “Current Election Information.” Sample ballots and…

Mega Millions just keeps getting bigger and better. As a result of robust sales, Friday’s Mega Millions jackpot has been bumped from $868 million to $900 million – the largest in the game’s history and second largest in U.S. history. Additionally, Wednesday’s Powerball jackpot has grown to $345 million, combining with Mega Millions for more than $1.2 billion in jackpots. “Georgians love big jackpots, so this is an exciting time for us,” Georgia Lottery President and CEO Gretchen Corbin said. “As our jackpots continue to grow, we are grateful to our players and retailers for their support. While our…

  The DeKalb County Board of Registration and Elections will accept yellow or white absentee return envelopes through Tuesday, Nov. 6, 7 p.m. The statewide vendor inadvertently printed absentee return envelopes on white stock, instead of the normal yellow stock. Because of the high volume of absentee requests and to maintain efficiency in processing requests, the white envelopes were used until a new shipment could be received. Either yellow or white envelopes are acceptable, officials said. Advance voting is underway and will run through Friday, Nov. 2. Voting sites and times can be found at www.dekalbvotes.com under “Current Election Information.” Sample…

by Mark Brock, DeKalb County Athletics The No. 2 ranked Chamblee Lady Bulldogs lead a group of eight DeKalb County teams kicking off the volleyball state playoffs on Saturday at various sites. Chamblee (39-6) via its third consecutive Region 5-5A title gets to host a pair of Class 5A State Tournament matches on Saturday. Coach Lorri Reynolds Lady Bulldogs take on Johnson-Gainesville (1-23) at 11:00 am following the Decatur/Kell match with the winners advancing to the second round on Tuesday, Oct. 23. All-Area 5-5A players junior Becca Evans and seniors Hannah Cain and Camille Van Leer lead Chamblee into…

  Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary has named the members of the city’s new SPLOST Citizens Oversight Advisory Committee. The committee members are: Swain Waters, Phyllis Douglas, Shawn Jones, Dave Marcus, Erica Dixon, Lemuel Hawkins, Darrel Taylor, Michelle Emanuel, Eric Carrington, Kerry Williams, Plez Joyner, and the mayor. Lary announced the appointments during the Oct. 15 City Council meeting. The 12-member committee will ensure that the city is accountable for the funds generated by the 1% tax that voters approved in 2017.  SPLOST will generate an estimated $47 million for the city over the next five and a half years. The…

ATLANTA — The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Georgia has filed a lawsuit against Secretary of State Brian Kemp and all county registrars demanding they provide due process for Georgia voters whose absentee ballots or applications are being rejected due to an alleged mismatch of signatures. The case was filed on Tuesday, Oct. 16, on behalf of the Georgia Muslim Voter Project. At issue is a state law that allows election officials — who have no handwriting-analysis expertise — to reject an absentee ballot if they think there is a signature mismatch in the voter’s paperwork, without giving prior notice…

ATLANTA – The Georgia Legislative Black Caucus (GLBC) will hold a press conference on Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018, at 10:30 a.m. at the Gwinnett County Courthouse to discuss recent issues with absentee ballots in Gwinnett County. “Gwinnett County limited early voting locations during the 2008 presidential election,” said State Rep. Sandra Scott (D-Rex), GLBC Vice-Chair. “In another example of voter suppression, early this year the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners postponed the MARTA vote until March 2019, instead of putting the referendum on the ballot during the General Election this November with the other referendum items for voters to decide…

By Valerie J. Morgan The Stonecrest City Council on Monday (Oct. 16) approved the annexation and rezoning of 11.63 acres at 6024 Covington Highway to MR-R2 (medium density residential) for a mixed-use development that would include a 160-unit townhome development. The council’s approval paved the way for Halpern Enterprises to bring its 24-acre parcel, which was split by the City of Stonecrest boundary, in its entirety into the city. The site was originally two parcels and was part of a plan for a large mixed-use project involving Halpern Enterprises, DeKalb Hospital Authority and Sunstate International, city officials said. Halpern is…

As early voting gets underway this week, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Georgia and the Georgia State University Black Law Students Association are presenting a panel discussion that features former DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis. For the first time since the State Supreme Court unanimously reversed his wrongful conviction, Ellis will speak publicly about his ordeal of being wrongfully prosecuted. Ellis, now political director for the ACLU of Georgia, is one of three Georgians featured in a video series, “Voices of Smart Justice,” which the ACLU is debuting to highlight the importance of electing candidates in 2018 who…