Author: On Common Ground News

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded $5 million to 20 homeless projects in DeKalb. These HUD Continuum of Care (CoC) program grants support national efforts to prevent and end homelessness. The grants also fund local efforts to permanently house and support those experiencing homelessness in the county. Project funds are restricted to serve the most vulnerable homeless populations as defined by HUD. Priority is given to the chronically homeless (those who have been homeless the longest), veterans, families and youth. DeKalb has made steady progress reducing the number of people experiencing homelessness through increased outreach, streamlined access…

OP/ED By Ed Williams Where is the American dream today?  We continue the struggle fifty-four years after the March on Washington. Many of our communities have high unemployment, poor education, and high crime and incarceration.    Many people have been faithful to the promises of America, and yet they are in peril and struggling to pay the bills and provide for their families.  Many of us continue to struggle, hoping for a better future.  We medicate our predicament to cover up the symptoms without addressing the root causes. In many communities, we do not control our economics, media, land, resources,…

By Valerie J. Morgan Bowing to pressure from the public, the Rockdale Board of Commissioners unanimously rescinded its contract on Feb. 13 for Greenhood Industries to conduct a feasibility study for mandatory uniform trash pickup and recycled household grease services. The 3-0 decision followed the Feb. 6 board work session where a crowd turned out to voice opposition to the contract, rejecting the idea they might be forced to use an outside hauler selected by county officials. Currently, there are several local trash service providers in the county. Residents may choose who they want to haul their trash. The…

The Rotary Clubs of Conyers and Rockdale hosted their annual luncheon in honor of the STAR Students and Teachers of the Rockdale County high schools on Feb. 15 at Conyers First United Methodist Church, 921 North Main St. N.W., Conyers. The Student Teacher Achievement Recognition (STAR) program, now in its 60th year, is sponsored by the Professional Association of Georgia Educators (PAGE). Since its creation by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the STAR program has honored nearly 26,500 students and the teachers they have selected as having had the most influence on their academic achievement. To obtain the 2018 STAR…

Stonecrest’s first municipal court was called to order on Tuesday, Feb. 13, at 9 a.m., Judge Michael Sheridan presided over the first court session that was held to adjudicate five city environmental ordinance violations issued by the city’s code enforcement officers. Lenny Felgin served as the city’s solicitor.  Deputies from DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office are slated to serve as bailiffs until Stonecrest establishes its own law enforcement division. Municipal court is scheduled for the second Tuesday of each month at 9 a.m. and the fourth Thursday at 6 p.m.

Justin Edwards, the son of DeKalb County activist Joel Edwards, will be laid to rest on Saturday, Feb. 17. Justin Edwards, 34, was shot to death on Feb. 10 by an unknown assailant as he and his girlfriend were headed home. Police said Justin Edwards had stopped to check out two flat tires in the parking lot of an abandoned building on Memorial Drive and Boulevard in Cabbagetown around 11:30 p.m. Witnesses told police that a suspect approached the car, fired shots and then ran. Edwards’ girlfriend wasn’t hurt. Joel Edwards told WSB TV he believes it was a targeted…

By Valerie Morgan Attorney Genet McIntosh Hopewell has announced her candidacy for DeKalb Superior Court Judge, challenging incumbent Courtney Johnson for the seat. The General Primary election is May 22. The longtime attorney said she is running to bring more fairness and compassion to the bench—something, she says, is woefully lacking under Johnson, who was elected in 2010 and re-elected in 2014. Hopewell said Judge Johnson does not treat people with dignity, pointing to an incident involving a public defender who urinated in her chair because Judge Johnson refused to allow her to take a bathroom break during a murder…

Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith to Give Reading at Emory Tracy K. Smith, the current U.S. poet laureate and Pulitzer Prize-winner, will give a reading of her poems on Saturday, Feb. 17, at 4 p.m. at Emory University’s Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts. The event is open to the public at no charge. Tickets are not required, but seating will be limited. Books and a limited-edition broadside will be for sale at the reading, with a signing immediately after. Smith is the author of the critically acclaimed memoir, “Ordinary Light,” and three books of poetry. She won the…

By Dr. Toni G. Alvarado In March 2015, I received an email from a 4th grade school teacher in Houston, TX asking me if I would be available to speak with the family of one of her students who had been removed from the school for psychological evaluation after raising her hand in class and announcing that she was planning to commit suicide because she did not like the color of her skin. You can imagine the emotions that gripped me after reading this email. I immediately connected to this story because of my own childhood struggle with being dark…