Author: On Common Ground News

There will be a Special Called Meeting on Wednesday, December 27, 2017 at 6 p.m. for the second reading and adoption of the Ordinance to change the meeting dates for the 2018 Calendar Year and Adoption of the 2018 Fiscal Year Budget.  Work Session will follow immediately.  The meeting will be held at the Stonecrest City Hall, 3120 Stonecrest Blvd. Stonecrest, Georgia.

Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04), a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee, issued a statement following reports that the Trump Administration is prohibiting top health officials, including those at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), from using a list of seven words or phrases when preparing 2018 budget documents. The forbidden terms are “vulnerable,” “entitlement,” “diversity,” “transgender,” “fetus,” “evidence-based” and “science-based”: “From the very beginning this administration has dealt in fake news and alternative facts, so it is no surprise that it would impose language restrictions on agency employees,” said Johnson.“Censorship and the propaganda that results is dangerous.…

The New Year will bring new restrictions on bars, clubs and other late-night establishments that serve alcohol in DeKalb County. The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners unanimously passed an ordinance on Dec. 12 to roll back the hours for serving alcohol. Establishments must stop pouring Sunday through Wednesday at 2 a.m. The last call for alcohol Thursday through Saturday will be 2:30 a.m. In addition to the new hours, which will be uniform throughout the county, late night establishments must close 30 minutes after they stop pouring. The new law becomes effective at 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 1. Commissioner Jeff…

The city of Stonecrest and Smart Reach Digital are launching a digital marketing campaign in Seattle, Washington to win Amazon’s HQ2 headquarters. Employees at Amazon’s Seattle headquarters, along with CEO Jeff Bezos, will receive pop-up messages on their smart phones and other devices about the benefits of creating Amazon as a corporate city,Mayor Jason Lary said during a press conference at City Hall on Dec. 13. Lary said it is important that Amazon knows the city is serious about its bid for the company’s second world headquarters, which would bring 50,000 jobs to the area. The ads, Lary said, are…

Rockdale County is preparing to remember the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in a way the county has never before honored the civil rights leader. As the nation remembers King on Jan. 15, his birthday and the national holiday, Rockdale plans to hold its first ever parade and celebration in Olde Town with a rainbow of citizens. Rockdale County Think Tank Executive Director Josie Dean, with the blessings of the Rockdale County Board of Commissioners and the city of Conyers, is working with a dedicated team to organize the event.  Dean said the parade is going down Main Street…

DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond fulfilled a promise made in January to usher in a new era of government transparency and financial accountability by proposing a FY2018 budget free of deficit spending. Officials say the budget that will be delivered to the Board of Commissioners on Dec. 15 bucks the trend of county budgets that included millions of dollars of deficit spending and unstable or non-existent fund balances. “We have gotten our fiscal house in order by ending deficit spending and building a $75 million fund balance, or rainy day fund. We must take the next critical step and address long-festering…

DeKalb NAACP’s recruitment drive, launched in October, has yielded 103 people who have registered to become volunteers with the DeKalb County School District. Officials said 31 of those who registered attended the first training session, which was held on Dec. 12 with Deputy Superintendent Vasanne Tinsley at the school district’s Administrative Instruction Center. NAACP Education Chair Lance Hammonds said people from all walks of life have signed up to volunteer. “We’re very encouraged by the turnout and the feedback we have received from those who want to get involved in our schools,” said Hammonds. “We have young and old, working…

Stonecrest District 2 Councilman Rob Turner and his wife, Vicki B. Turner, District 5 DeKalb County School Board member, are launching a monthly community breakfast meeting that will focus on relevant issues and promote community resources. The Turners are hosting the inaugural Cultural Exchange meeting on Jan. 13, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., at Ray of Hope Christian Church’s Family Life Center, 2778 Snapfinger Drive, Decatur. “We will be hosting the Cultural Exchange community breakfast on the second Saturday of each month (unless otherwise noted). The meeting will provide stakeholders with current updates as it relates to their quality of…

Rockdale County Parks and Recreation will create public canvases in two communities as part of the Rockdale Youth Mural Exhibit (RYME). The first mural, at the J.P. Carr Gymnasium, will represent the facility’s historical significance and be completed during Black History Month. The J.P. Carr complex is built on the former site of the J.P. Carr School, the school for African-American students in Rockdale County during segregation. The facility is named after brick mason John Philip Carr, a prominent leader in the black community, who donated the land in 1950 to replace the school after it was destroyed by fire. The…

Kerri Redding, a reputed member of the Gangster Disciples, was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted for the murder of 19-year-old Christopher Kenyatta. DeKalb Superior Court Judge Gail Flake handed down the sentence on Dec. 12. Redding, 26, was found guilty of murder, felony murder and aggravated assault. Kenyatta’s body was discovered on July 6, 2016 by a passerby walking along a trail behind the Treehills Parkway apartment building in Stone Mountain. He had been fatally shot in the chest. According to the investigation, Redding and the victim were involved in an ongoing dispute over money. Witnesses reported…