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Nearly two years after having his murder conviction overturned in the “hot car” death of his young son, Justin Ross Harris has been released from a Georgia prison.
But he’s been transferred to the Cobb County Adult Detention Center, where he is to finish serving a sentence on other related charges.
The Georgia Department of Corrections announced that Harris, now 43, was released from the Macon State Prison on Sunday, Father’s Day.
That’s where he had been since Dec. 2016, after being convicted by a Glynn County jury for the death of his 22-month-old son, Cooper.
Harris left the boy in his vehicle in June 2014 while he worked as a web developer for Home Depot in Vinings. He said during his trial that he forgot about the child, but prosecutors allege he wanted to kill his son to get out of a troubled marriage.
The boy was pronounced dead of hypothermia after being inside of Harris’ SUV for several hours, as temperatures rose above 100 degrees.
The jury in Brunswick, in Glynn County—the trial was moved to the Georgia coast due to pretrial publicity—returned a guilty verdict, and Harris was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
He also received 12 more years for misdemeanor charges of criminal attempt to commit sexual exploitation of a minor and distributing harmful materials to minors.
During the trial, Cobb prosecutors presented evidence about Harris’ extramarital activities and sexually lewd activities and communications with girls and women.
Harris’ lawyers claimed that including that evidence was prejudicial, but Judge Mary Staley Clark rejected those objections, as well as their motion for a new trial after the conviction.
In June 2022, the Georgia Supreme Court overturned the conviction, saying that the sexual offenses should have been tried separately from the murder charge.
Last May, Cobb District Attorney Flynn Broady said his office would not retry Harris because “crucial motive evidence that was admitted at the first trial in 2016 is no longer available to the State due to the majority decision of the Supreme Court.”
Prosecutors who tried the case under former DA Vic Reynolds have been critical of Broady’s action, as has Sonya Allen, a deputy district attorney in Fulton County.
She defeated Broady in the May 21 Democratic primary and is running unopposed in the November general election.
Allen cited the Harris case as among her reasons for running and indicated that if elected she may conduct a review for a possible retrial.
According to Cobb Sheriff’s Office records, Harris was booked in the Cobb jail Sunday, on two misdemeanor counts of distribution of obscene materials to minors, a sentence that has two years remaining.
He served 10 years in state prison for a conviction of sexual exploitation of a child.
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According to final, unofficial results, Howard received 73 percent of the vote with all 37 precincts reporting.
Howard tallied 1,738 votes to 641 for Whorton, and he won 35 of the 37 precincts.
The Georgia Secretary of State’s Office has updated results at this link. They must be certified by the Cobb Board of Elections.
Howard advances to the November general election, but it is unclear what the District 2 boundaries will look like and who the Republican candidate may be.
For the primary and runoff, District 2 included a good portion of East Cobb, but the electoral maps are under a legal dispute that could change them.
There is a hearing Thursday in Cobb Superior Court before Judge Kellie Hill on that matter.
Democratic first-term Commissioner Jerica Richardson was drawn out of her seat during legislative reapportionment in 2022, and she and her Democratic colleagues are observing maps drawn by the Cobb delegation, citing “home rule” powers that apply to local governments.
Most of East Cobb was included in the legislative maps in District 3, which is represented by Republican JoAnn Birrell, who was re-elected to a fourth term in 2022.
Richardson opted to run for the 6th Congressional District, but was routed in the May 21 primary by incumbent Democrat Lucy McBath.
In the District 2 maps being observed by the Cobb commissioners and Cobb Elections Board, the only Republican to qualify is Pamela Reardon, a local GOP activist.
In the legislative map, Reardon lives in District 3 and could be disqualified if those boundaries change.
But another Republican, Alicia Adams of the Kennesaw area, is challenging the county-observed maps after being disqualified. She filed to run according to the District 2 legislative maps.
But East Cobb Democratic activist Mindy Seger challenged her qualification based on residency requirements, and the Cobb Elections Board concurred.
Adams has appealed that decision in Cobb Superior Court. Hill asked for oral arguments to be heard this week following a recent decision by the Georgia Supreme Court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by two Cobb residents against the county “home rule” maps.
Another Cobb judge, Ann Harris, ruled in January that the county maps were unconstitutional, saying only the legislature can conduct reapportionment, and that home rule powers do not include redistricting.
Near the end of its ruling, the Supreme Court did acknowledge that there are “very serious Constitutional issues” with the county commission Democrats’ adoption of the “home rule” maps.
But Adams’ legal challenge could prompt a ruling on the legal merits of the county “home rule” maps, possibly before the general election.
It’s possible the District 2 primary and runoff results could be thrown out and new elections ordered before November.
Original post:
The polls have closed in Tuesday’s runoff elections that includes the Democratic Party race for District 2 on the Board of Commissioners.
Jaha Howard and Taniesha Whorton were vying for the right to earn a spot on the November ballot.
Democrats hold a 3-2 edge on the commission. Chairwoman Lisa Cupid and Commissioner Monique Sheffield, both Democrats, are up for re-election in November.
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The Cobb Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to continue a requested site plan change by the Whataburger hamburger chain for a proposed restaurant in Northeast Cobb.
The vote was 5-0 to delay a hearing until July; the case was initially scheduled to be heard in May but was continued.
During a Tuesday zoning hearing, Cobb Zoning DivisionManager John Pederson said the applicant needs another month to work on the plans, which require changing stipulations in uses of the property where the O’Charley’s restaurant was located on Shallowford Road at Sandy Plains Road.
The stipulations include restrictions against a fast-food restaurant and anything with a drive-through service. Whataburger wants to convert the 7,000-square-foot building for a sit-in restaurant with double drive-through service.
The land was rezoned in 1999 and an Other Business approval in 2000 permitted the opening of the O’Charley’s, which closed last year. The 1.3 acres at 3550 Sandy Plains Road formerly belonged to the Gordy family.
Any changes on those former Gordy properties in the area include a review by a special architectural control committee.
That process still hasn’t taken place, and Commissioner JoAnn Birrell said Tuesday she wants that completed before the matter comes up for a hearing.
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The following East Cobb residential real estate sales were compiled from agency reports and county property records. They include the street address, subdivision name, high school attendance zone and sales price:
May 28
99 Pheasant Drive, 30067 (Fox Hills, Wheeler): $695,000
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“People still say they appreciate me,” Jaha Howard said. “Conflict is connected to real solutions.”
After turning heads—and occasionally clashing with his colleagues and school district leaders—during his single term on the Cobb Board of Education, Jaha Howard is sounding a more low-key tone as he campaigns for an open seat on the Cobb Board of Commissioners.
Howard finished first in a five-way Democratic primary with 33 percent of the vote on May 21, and will be facing first-time candidate Taniesha Whorton (previous story here) in Tuesday’s runoff election.
Both live in the Smyrna area of District 2, whose boundaries are being disputed in the courts following a reapportionment battle that drew incumbent Jerica Richardson out of her seat.
And both are actively seeking votes in East Cobb in the early hot summer amid low turnout.
Howard sees it as an opportunity to do some serious ground-level retail campaigning.
“There’s a lot of direct connection with voters who tend to vote,” he said in an interview with East Cobb News earlier this week. “We’re having the most success calling voters in East Cobb.”
He said the personal conversations have been fruitful, and his campaign has been targeting seniors with direct mail.
“People in East Cobb were paying a lot of attention over the last few years,” Howard said, referring to his school board tenure, which lasted from 2019-2022.
A precinct map shows polling stations won by Howard in Green, Whorton in brown, Allen in blue and Kevin Redmon in turquoise. Click here to see precinct details. .
“They appreciated that we were asking questions that they wanted answers to.”
Howard—whose school board campaign for Post 2 in the Smyrna area was managed by Richardson—was a central figure in a number of controversies, including demands for greater equity and diversity initiatives in the Cobb County School District, the district’s COVID response and racial disparities.
In 2021, Howard and the board’s two other Democrats, include Charisse Davis—who represented the Walton and Wheeler clusters—requested a special review from the district’s accrediting agency (which ultimately reversed its findings).
That set off several more months of open sparring during 2022, during which Howard gave up his seat and ran unsuccessfully for Georgia School Superintendent.
In reflecting on his school board tenure, Howard said that the political change that’s come to Cobb in recent years has been difficult for some.
(Republican dominance in local government since the late 1980s is now down to a single seat on the school board.)
“For people who did not want to hear honest conversations, it was divisive,” Howard said. “It depends on how you see it.”
He said that on the other hand, he’s been told that he and his Democratic school board upstarts “were a breath of fresh air. People still say that they appreciate me. Conflict is connected to real solutions.”
Howard said his campaign priorities for commissioner are public safety and economic development.
“The people who take care of us,” he said in reference to first responders, “need to be taken care of” in terms of salaries, housing and health services and related resources.
As for local small business growth, Howard—whose pediatric dentistry practice in Vinings has grown from 3 to 20 employees—said “we need to make sure entrepreneurs have what they need.”
He didn’t outline specifics for those areas, or for other hot-button issues that have galvanized citizens recently.
After leaving the school board, Howard was appointed to the Cobb Transit Advisory Board by Chairwoman Lisa Cupid.
Howard said he supports expanding transit, but was initially concerned about the 30-year length of the transit tax referendum that’s being put on the November ballot. But that length was necessary to qualify for federal funding.
“I’m a big fan of investing in our infrastructure,” he said. “What we need to have are better and clearer communications about our vision—what the projects are, and how it benefits us.”
Howard said other issues he’s stressing as he campaigns are the effects of inflation as they pertain to county employees.
“We have to be able to keep up with that,” he said, referencing the county’s challenge of hiring and retaining personnel.
“That’s going to come at a cost.”
But as citizens continue to grapple with rising property tax assessments—those bills just went out a few weeks ago—Howard acknowledged that it’s “one of the first things that comes up. It’s a shock, how rapidly” assessments have gone up over the last 2-3 years.
When asked if he favors rolling back the millage rate to offset those increases, Howard said that “we have to put all options on the table” with the objective “to put the least burden on homeowners.”
Commissioners delayed voting on a proposed stormwater tax until August after community opposition. Howard said he understands the pain taxpayers are feeling on a number of fronts, but “we’ve kicked the can down the road” for far too long to address a stormwater system that needs to be upgraded.
“At some p0int, we’re going to have to deal with it,” he said. “There’s no easy way out of a shared responsibility.”
While the partisan squabbles on the commission have taken on a different dynamic than the school board, Howard believes there’s nothing wrong with a healthy difference of opinion.
“Some people might see doom and gloom” when observing those open disputes, he said, but it’s good to “hear them out loud in a constructive way.”
But he asserts the priority should be for the board to determine “what’s right and what’s best for our county.”
Howard admitted that regardless of the issues, including housing affordability and zoning and development, that “people still want Cobb to thrive.”
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The District 2 map with precincts identified by code. For a larger view, click here.
Voters in East Cobb will help determine the Democratic Party candidate for District 2 on the Cobb Board of Commissioners in Tuesday’s runoff election.
Voters will cast ballots at their regular precincts from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. They must provide a photo or other official form of identification when they get to the polls.
The candidates are Jaha Howard, a former member of the Cobb Board of Education, and Taniesha Whorton, a former administrative assistant with the Cobb County Police Department.
They finished first and second, respectively, in a five-way primary on May 21.
Turnout has been light, with fewer than 1,000 casting votes in the advance voting period for the runoff last week.
District 2 is an open seat after current first-term Democrat Jerica Richardson decided to run for Congress.
She finished far behind current U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath in the Democratic primary for the 6th District.
Richardson was drawn out of her commission seat during reapportionment. She and the other two Democratic commissioners approved other maps that would place most of East Cobb in District 3.
It’s unclear at the moment who else will be running in District 2 in the general election in November.
Republican Alicia Adams filed to run in District 2 under the legislative maps, but was disqualified due to the map disputes.
She is challenging her disqualification in Cobb Superior Court, and a hearing is scheduled next Thursday before Judge Kellie Hill.
Cobb Republican activist Pamela Reardon qualified to run in the District 2 boundaries that are being observed for the Democratic Party.
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Juneteenth marks the ending of slavery throughout the nation at the end of the Civil War. On June 19, 1865, nearly two years after President Abraham Lincoln emancipated enslaved Africans in America, Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas, with the news. More than 250,000 African Americans embraced freedom by executive decree in what became known as Juneteenth or Freedom Day.
Cobb County Government offices will be closed Wednesday, June 19, in honor of the holiday.
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An official grand opening party took place on Saturday.
“We’re stoked to be expanding into East Cobb and to serve our German-style beer for the East Cobb community.” Craig Mycoskie, CEO and head brewer at Round Trip said.
“We’ve built this brewery as a communal space in the spirit of a Bavarian beer hall with the idea that people will interact, have fun, and build meaningful relationships over delicious craft beer.”
Here’s more from what we received late Friday afternoon:
“The beer lineup across 10 taps will focus on “typical and üntypical” German-style beer–mirroring the approach at the West Midtown location–and will include favorites Straight Outta Munich Spezial Helles, Instant Krüsch Extra Pale Kölsch, Oktoberfest Märzen, Dunkel Platz, Vicarious West Coast IPA, and more. The two-vessel, five-barrel brewhouse will allow for experimentation and East Cobb beer exclusives.
“In addition to the 4,000-square-foot taproom, Round Trip East Cobb will feature fast-casual food options, an indoor/outdoor bar, a private patio, and an event space for up to 78 people. The menu features travel-inspired fare that pairs well with German-style beer, including hot dogs, bratwursts, cheesesteaks, pretzel bites, and occasional specials as well as options for vegetarians and kids.
Co-owner Amy Mycoskie, Round Trip’s director of hospitality, said there will be a Pilsener Patio Party on July 27, as well as Oktoberfest from Sept. 21-29 and other special events to be announced. Round Trip also is available for private events and those can be booked on the restaurant website, with special deals through October.
Round Trip opened in Midtown Atlanta in February 2021, and the brewery distributes three beers through Savannah Distributing all year long – Straight Outta Munich, Instant Krüsch, and Vicarious – as well as seasonally available options, including Oktoberfest Märzen starting in July.
Hours are Monday-Thursday 11am-9pm, Friday and Saturday 11am-10pm, and Sunday 12:30pm-7pm.
Round Trip Brewing Co. is located at 4475 Roswell Road, Suite 1560. | Facebook | Instagram | Tik Tok | X
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A special needs student who was left out of the main portion of Sprayberry High School’s graduation ceremony last month pleaded with Cobb Board of Education members Thursday to make sure something like that doesn’t happen to anyone else.
Ashlynn Rich, an honor student and varsity athlete at Sprayberry, spoke during a public comment period Thursday night at school board meeting.
Shortly after her remarks and those of her mother, Linda Ramirez, who had filed a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Education, Cobb County School District Superintendent Chris Ragsdale issued a formal apology.
Rich, who has Down Syndrome, was given her diploma with several other special-needs students before Sprayberry’s ceremony began. During the formal commencement, however, they waited in a hallway and were escorted out of the Kennesaw State University Convocation Center before the event had concluded.
“Graduation is a special moment and I wanted to share it with my friends, just like everyone else,” she said. “I don’t want any other student to go through what I did.”
Ragsdale said that Rich’s exclusion from Sprayberry’s commencement was “not a policy issue but a personnel issue” and he could not elaborate more. He said that “it appears to be a decision made by an individual employee, perhaps with the best intentions, that should have been made by a parent.
“On behalf of the district, I apologize to Ashlynn and her family,” Ragsdale said, as the audience broke out into applause. “What happened should not have happened.”
The Cobb school district gives parents of special-needs students options for how they want their children to participate in graduation ceremonies. Ramirez was told that Ashlynn could graduate with a small group of peers at the school, with her full class at KSU or both.
Ramirez has said she wanted her daughter to take full part in graduation at KSU, but learned about different plans right before the ceremony.
“Her exclusion was not just an oversight,” Ramirez said at Thursday’s meeting. “It was a significant and painful moment of discrimination.
“My daughter was made to feel different, separated from her peers, in a moment that she had earned. The act of segregation not only hurt Ashlynn but also sent troubling messages about how we value our students with disabilities.”
Ragsdale did say new measures were being put into place to ensure that the parents of special-needs students have input into their child’s graduation. That process will include a written agreement between school staff and parents before the ceremony.
In the aftermath of Sprayberry’s graduation, the Cobb school district initially responded to outcries on social media, saying that’s “the worst place to find accurate information about students and schools.”
But a few days later, the district acknowledged what had happened with Rich, and said that it didn’t meet the district’s standards for graduation.
During his remarks Thursday, Ragsdale said that his staff began investigating the incident following concerns from board members and the administration.
He said the new consultation process will be “ensuring there are no misunderstandings, and no employee is making a decision without the clear input of a parent or guardian of a student with an exceptionality.”
At the meeting Thursday, Ragsdale and board chairman Randy Scamihorn met with Rich and Ramirez and other supporters, who wore red in support of Rich’s favorite color.
Rich, who also operates a homemade baked goods business, intends to go to college and study culinary arts.
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The planned special events facility (in dark brown) would be located adjacent to the Cobb County School District central office in Marietta. For a larger view click here.
A citizens group that scrutinizes Cobb County School District finances on Thursday released a rendering of a planned $50 million special events center and criticized Superintendent Chris Ragsdale again for a lack of details.
In remarks at a Cobb Board of Education work session, Watching the Funds-Cobb leader Heather Tolley-Bauer said that her group has been asking for details for more than a year, to no avail.
“Now we know why they wanted to keep the details a secret,” she said in disclosing a 190,000-square-foot building near the district’s central office in Marietta that includes 148,000 square feet of space for an 8,000-seat basketball arena, as well as two hospitality suites.
Those details have not been previously acknowledged by the district.
In addition, there will be 41,000 square feet of space for conferences and banquets, and more than 1,500 parking spaces.
Watching the Funds-Cobb posted the above rendering on its Facebook page after the work session, saying it came from an unidentified “concerned citizen.”
Tolley-Bauer said the new details reveal what she claims are skewed priorities.
She said that the taxpayer-funded Macon Centreplex, which is the host of state high school basketball championships, was losing more than $2 million a year in recent years when a third-party management company was brought in, and while it’s cut some of those losses, the facility still operates in the red.
“We don’t understand why you prioritize conference rooms and suites over classrooms and labs,” Tolley-Bauer said. “Are you here to educate our kids or run an events management business? Because one has a high return on our investment and the other will cost us and our children millions in tax dollars for years to come.”
Ragsdale and the board did not respond to Tolley-Bauer’s comments during the work session—they typically don’t engage in public comment.
In response to a request from East Cobb News seeking comment, a district spokeswoman provided the following statement:
“The District is excited to share more details, once design possibilities become confirmed and construction plans and shovels hit the ground. For now, imagine possibilities like graduations with enough space for everyone, science fairs, robotics competitions, band performances, academic competitions, 5th grade graduations, sporting competitions, staff recognitions, and other events–all with enough space for student and staff families and friends.
“Whatever the final design of the facility, it won’t use classroom dollars and will be one of the best multi-purpose values in the state.”
Cobb currently holds graduations and some large-scale events such as teacher of the year luncheons by renting space from other entities.
Board member Becky Sayler of Post 2 in South Cobb pressed for details of the planned facility in March, when the board was asked to hire a construction manager, saying that “I remember getting big-picture ideas, but I still have not seen details for an expense of this magnitude.”
She voted against that hire, as well as the decision to proceed with the facility in a 2023 vote. Sayler said she wanted to see feasibility, cost savings, budget impact, maintenance and staffing costs, but Ragsdale said that ““all that information was covered.”
Watching the Funds-Cobb, which disputes the need for a facility at all, has cited information from an open records request showing that the Cobb school district spent $45,000 last year to rent the Kennesaw State University Convocation Center, where most graduations are held.
Ragsdale has said repeatedly that the KSU arena—which seats around 4,000—isn’t big enough to accommodate the people who want to attend graduations.
“For far too long, we have had families that cannot have grandparents on both sides attend a once-in-a-lifetime event,” he said in March 2023.
“I think it’s very pressing. Literally, we owe this to the parents. We have tried to find a solution for this for years.”
He initially asked for the special events center to be on a project list for the current Cobb Education SPLOST (Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax) in 2021.
Two years later, Ragsdale proposed the special events center again, with funding to come from the proceeds of property sales of former school properties, including the original campuses of Mountain View and Brumby elementary schools in East Cobb, as well as capital outlay reimbursements.
A previous board also approved spending $3 million to purchase two parcels of land next to the district’s headquarters on Glover Street in Marietta where the special events center will be located.
But Watching the Funds-Cobb also expressed concerns about traffic issues for major events. In a release sent out after the work session the group said it obtained a letter “on the condition it not be shared” that “reveals that the district plans to use shuttle buses to transport visitors to the event and conference center.”
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Walmart announced Thursday that the Walmart Neighborhood Market grocery store in East Cobb (3101 Roswell Road) will be closing on July 12.
In a release, Walmart said that the decision to close the store was made after “a careful and thoughtful review process” and that “this store hasn’t performed as well as we hoped.”
A Walmart Supercenter retail store is closing in Dunwoody the same day.
Company spokeswoman Alicia Anger said the East Cobb store’s pharmacy also is closing on July 12, and that “our pharmacy staff will work with customers to transfer prescriptions to another convenient Walmart location.”
Anger said that “this decision was based on a range of issues concerning financial performance. There is no single cause for why a store closes and these are never easy decisions. . . While our underlying business is strong, this specific store hasn’t performed as well as we hoped.”
She said the store’s 92 employees are eligible to transfer to other Walmart stores, including six in and around Marietta.
The East Cobb store, which opened in 2014, has been the anchor tenant at the Olde Mill Shopping Center (Roswell at Olde Canton Road), and has been the only Walmart Neighborhood Market in the area in recent years.
The company also had stores on Canton Road and at Sandy Plains Road that have closed in recent years. The East Cobb store is surrounded by multiple Publix locations, as well as Kroger, Whole Foods, Aldi and Lidl.
Walmart also has a grocery section in its retail store on Johnson Ferry Road.
Kroger opened its first Atlanta-area “super store” on Powers Ferry Road last summer.
There are more than 5,000 Walmart Neighborhood Market locations across the country, and the company has been expanding with larger stores that opened recently in Florida and in Vine City in Atlanta. The stores feature expanded produce sections, as well as meat, deli and bakery options.
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Cobb Commissioner Jerica Richardson recently dedicated a new park-style bench in honor of the former owner of a popular Chevron gas station in East Cobb.
Her office on Wednesday released the accompanying photos and information about a celebration last week for Cicero Leonard “Lyn” Powell, who owned the Chevron station at the northwest intersection of Roswell and Johnson Ferry roads.
It’s now the site of a Valvoline oil change shop that recently opened, and the bench is located on the southbound Johnson Ferry side.
According to Richardson’s office, “this tribute recognizes his hard work, kindness, and the positive impact he’s made in our community. His customers shared how Lyn’s station was more than just a business; it was a cornerstone of the community.
“We also want to extend a special thank you to Valvoline for generously sponsoring the bench.”
The Chevron station that opened in the 1970s closed in late 2020, and was demolished in early 2021. Commissioners approved a site plan amendment in 2022 to permit the oil change business.
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The Honorary Commanders Association, a cooperative effort involving the Cobb Chamber, Dobbins Air Reserve Base (ARB), General Lucius D. Clay National Guard Center, Georgia National Guard, Coast Guard, National Defense Force, and the Navy and Marine Corps, is seeking nominations for members of its 2025 class.
The Honorary Commanders Association annually selects community and business leaders and pairs them with military personnel in a yearlong program designed to give leaders an opportunity to learn about military activities, their impact on the economy and the various aspects of the national defense system.
Created by the Cobb Chamber in 1983, the association has grown over the years to include units of our nation’s Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Georgia National Guard, Coast Guard and National Defense Force. Each program covers a branch of service and includes a behind-the-scenes tour of local and regional military assets.
The deadline for nominations is July 8. Fill out the nomination form at www.cobbchamber.org/hca. The Honorary Commanders Association is sponsored by Atlanta Marriott NW at Galleria, Capital City Bank, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, and The Veterinary Clinic.
For more information about Honorary Commanders Association, contact Joel Blockton at 770-859-2348 or jblockton@cobbchamber.org.
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Richard Tischler, who has been the principal at Walton High School the last two years, has been named an assistant principal at Hightower Trail Middle School in East Cobb.
That appointment was one of several confirmed by the Cobb Board of Education in May. A number of those changes were made public during the May board meeting, including the appointment of Walton assistant principal Dr. Stephanie Santoro to succeed Tischler.
At Hightower Trail, Tischler will succeed Eric Gray, who was named assistant principal at Awtrey Middle School.
As previously noted, Simpson Middle School, Bells Ferry Elementary School and Murdock Elementary School also will be getting new principals for the 2024-25 academic year.
Classes begin Aug. 1, and the 2024-25 fiscal year begins on July 1.
Cobb school board minutes from May include the following appointments below principal level involving East Cobb schools, and all are effective July 9:
Elementary School
Michael Cappucci, reassignment to Assistant Principal, Brumby Elementary School from Assistant Principal, Clarkdale Elementary School
Middle School
Brittny Jones, reassignment to Assistant Principal, Smitha Middle School from Assistant Principal, Wheeler High School
High School
Dr. Amanda Shaw, reassignment to Assistant Principal, Wheeler High School from Assistant Principal, Smitha Middle School.
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The Senior Citizen Council of Cobb County is thrilled to share an upcoming opportunity that could greatly benefit seniors in our community—the “TRANSPORTATION SPLOST BRIEFING” presented by the Cobb Department of Transportation. This event is designed to provide valuable insights, resources, and networking opportunities specifically tailored to individuals over 55 in Cobb County.
This discussion will be regarding the upcoming MOBILITY SPLOST which will be voted on November 5, 2024, to fund many transit projects and improvements.
We encourage you to join us and other seniors to ensure that your voice is heard, and your needs are met in the realm of transportation. Let’s come together to advocate for better transportation services for seniors in Cobb County.
Come and learn what is in the Dept. of Transportation proposal and more importantly how the proposal will benefit Cobb senior citizens. We need as many Cobb seniors as possible to be part of this conversation.
Here is your chance to directly ask questions and share your concerns to County officials.
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Outgoing Cobb commissioner Jerica Richardson said “we’ve found as many compromises as possible” for the long-planned Lower Roswell Road traffic project.
Despite community pleas in opposition and a local district commissioner saying it’s not needed, the Cobb Board of Commissioners voted along party lines Tuesday to start on the long-planned Lower Roswell Road traffic project.
The 3-2 vote for a $7 million contract also was matched by similar votes to begin condemnation proceedings with two property owners and to begin preliminary utility relocation work.
Nearly $11 million has been budgeted in 2011 Cobb SPLOST funds for the project, which would add turn lanes, install a multi-use trail and make other changes along Lower Roswell between Woodlawn Drive and Davidson Road.
It’s been delayed for more than a decade, including in February, when a first vote was tabled by commissioners following community opposition.
The project would take two years to complete, and business owners told commissioners in February the median remains “a bad idea.”
Cobb commissioners approved a conceptual plan in 2022. Further public feedback prompted DOT later in 2022 to redesign the project, including removal of a planned bike path and expanding a multi-use trail.
DOT officials said the project is necessary primarily to reduce crashes in the area.
The board’s three Democrats, including Jerica Richardson of District 2 in East Cobb, voted in favor on all three matters, while the two Republicans voted against.
One of them, JoAnn Birrell of District 3 in East Cobb, said there’s a reason one of her former colleagues—now-retired District 2 Commissioner Bob Ott—never brought the Lower Roswell Road project to a vote.
She said feedback she’s received against the project is “overwhelming,” estimating that to be 10-1 from messages, open houses and at meetings.
“I can’t support this,” Birrell said, “especially putting businesses out. It’s taken 14 years to come back.”
There have been numerous delays and redesigns, and objections from business owners to a median on Lower Roswell between Johnson Ferry and Davidson.
Keli Gambrill, a Republican from District 1 in North Cobb, said she doubted there’s enough funding left from a SPLOST 13 years ago to complete the Lower Roswell Road project.
She held up the proposed Cobb Mobility SPLOST project list, noting that the estimated costs totaled on that list exceed the estimated $11.2 billion that would be collected if the referendum passes in November.
Among the bus routes that would be added would be one along Johnson Ferry Road between Merchants Walk and the Dunwoody MARTA Station.
“This whole project flies in the face of promises made‚yes by a previous board to the business owners in that area,” Gambrill said. “I don’t think the county is being honest with the citizens . . . not knowing what the M-SPLOST is also planning to do with this area.”
Richardson said the two issues are not related, and that “we’ve found as many compromises as possible” to accommodate business owners.
A citizen opposed to the project, Leroy Emkin, said there have been 27 crashes along that area of Lower Roswell in the last decade, according to DOT figures, suggesting that roughly six crashes a year shouldn’t justify a median.
But Cobb DOT Director Drew Raessler has repeated previous statements that there were 40 crashes from 2009 and 2016 that could have been prevented with a median.
Pamela Reardon, an East Cobb resident running to succeed Richardson, blasted the vote afterward, saying that the 30 businesses that will be affected “have not had a voice, even though this board says they have.
“This is a useless project. It’s a waste of time. It’s a waste of money.”
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“Let’s give the voters the opportunity to decide,” Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid said.
Cobb commissioners voted along party lines Tuesday to place a long-term transit sales tax referendum on the November general election ballot.
It will be up to voters to decide if they want to tax themselves for 30 years and collect nearly $11 billion to build out a comprehensive bus-centered system, including restoration of previous routes in East Cobb that were eliminated more than a decade ago.
The commission’s three Democrats voted in favor of putting the Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax on the ballot, while the two Republicans voted against.
If approved, the one-percent tax would increase the amount of sales taxes paid in Cobb from six to seven percent. Cobb DOT would build out a countywide bus transit system, including high-capacity routes and transfer stations, adding 108 miles.
Here’s how the referendum will be worded on the November ballot:
The Atlanta Regional Commission estimates that Cobb’s population in 2025 will approach one million.
Those in favor of the tax say that relieving congestion and providing transportation for those without vehicles is necessary for economic and quality of life, especially seniors and those who are financially challenged.
Among the priorities is re-establishing a bus route through the heart of East Cobb, from Marietta and along Roswell Road to the Johnson Ferry Road area, where a transit center would be built.
Bus routes to Roswell and the MARTA Dunwoody Station would link with the East Cobb transit center in the Merchants Walk area, according to the project list (you can read it here).
Chairwoman Lisa Cupid, in calling the opportunity to expand public transportation in Cobb “transformational,” implored her colleagues to let citizens decide their future.
“What it comes down to is do we perceive that the future is worth it?” Cupid said. “That the opportunity is worth it? Yes, the details do matter, but the opportunity and the vision also matter.”
But Commissioner JoAnn Birrell of District 3 in East Cobb repeated her objection to the duration of the tax, compared to other Cobb SPLOST collections ranging from four to six years.
“I can’t support binding not just future boards for 30 years but citizens, kids and grandchildren,” she said. “They’ll be paying that.”
Cobb DOT Director Drew Raessler explained that the 30-year length of the cost is due to the substantial operational costs that will be involved, and that the longer collection period would qualify for federal matching funds.
In order to provide “sustainable funding,” he said, a transit program needs “to have that consistent resource,” Raessler said.
If the tax is approved, Cobb would take out revenue bonds totalling $11 billion to get the program started. Once the collections roll in, the major routes would be built out and the bonds be repaid. With federal funds, Cobb could spend nearly $15 billion overall for the transit expansion.
Raessler estimated that most of that work would be finished within the first decade. Cobb would be able to fund all transit operations with the sales tax, instead of paying for the Cobb Community Transit system costs as it does now, through the county’s general fund.
Earlier this year, the MDJ reported that ridership across the overall Cobb bus system has plummeted from 3.7 million annual trips in 2014 to just under 1 million trips in 2022, and that the decline began well before COVID-19.
The county estimates that average daily ridership on the transit system could surpass 40,000 by 2025, near the end of the sales tax period. Currently, that figure is only around 3,000 riders a day.
Citizens spoke in public comment periods on both sides of the issue, but most of the supporters addressed the board before the vote, and opponents against (commissioners hold two separate public comment periods, and speakers speak in order of when they sign up).
Jim Kerr of East Cobb, who has lived in a home near Wheeler High School for 52 years, said “it’s time to think long-term about transportation in Cobb County.”
He said that while he will benefit little from a decision to approve a sales tax for transit, “I know that Cobb is becoming older and more diverse and that’s not going to change . . . Not in my backyard fails to recognize that we are all in this together. ”
Kennesaw resident Alicia Adams said a 30-year tax poses too much uncertainty, especially for people struggling to pay their bills now.
Alicia Adams of Kennesaw, who is legally challenging her disqualification for the District 2 commission race, said wasn’t speaking for or against the tax, but sympathized with citizens who are struggling with those making ends meet.
“Right now, there are a lot of families that can barely make their rent and pay for groceries,” she said. “And you’re asking them to pay additional money.
“Do I care about those who can’t get around? The seniors? Yes, I care,” she said. “But we’ve got to do it in a way that’s not invasive.
“Are we willing to put our children, our future at stake for 30 years of uncertainty?”
Cobb DOT officials will soon roll out public information and “education” sessions before the referendum. It also must provide a ridership survey ahead of the vote, as directed by the ATL, the Atlanta-Region Transit Link Authority.
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On Saturday, the Cobb Interfaith Habitat Coalition (CIHC) and future homeowner Sandra hammered the first nails and raised the walls on the Coalition’s 24th house located in the City of Marietta.
Sandra serves as an Administrative Assistant in Development Services at the City of Marietta where she has worked since 2014. Her job helps to make the public’s experience with the City go smoothly. Sandra lives in an apartment complex in Kennesaw but is seeking a greater sense of community and financial stability through homeownership. An affordable mortgage did not seem attainable until she was selected through the City of Marietta Public Service Housing Program to build with Habitat. She will now benefit from affordable monthly mortgage payments that are not subject to major increases – which will enable her to retire comfortably in the future. Sandra most looks forward to cooking in a sunny kitchen, hosting holiday gatherings, and hopes to get a dog.
This year’s faith groups include 15 religious organizations and eight corporate partners. Religious partners include Smyrna First United Methodist Church, Bethany United Methodist Church, East Cobb Islamic Center, West Cobb Islamic Center, Temple Kol Emeth, Temple Sinai, Ahavath Achim Synagogue, St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, Log Cabin Church, Covenant Church, Unity North of Atlanta Church, Macland Community Church, McEachern Memorial United Methodist Church, First Presbyterian Church of Marietta, and Due West Methodist Church.
Non-Faith Based Sponsors include Pinkerton & Laws Construction of Atlanta, Atlanta West Carpets, Moore Colson, Fortune-Johnson, Foresite Group, Nissan, Burke-Moore and Sentinel Lake Neighborhood.
“The CIHC motto ‘We Build to Coexist; We Coexist to Build’ says it all about this dedicated group of partner religious and corporate organizations,” says Jessica Gill, CEO, Habitat for Humanity of NW Metro Atlanta. “The Coalition remains true to its mission to better the community through homeownership.”
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Advance in-person voting starts today, Monday, June 10, for the General and Nonpartisan runoff election. Three voting locations will be open 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. Monday -Friday, June 10-14:
Elections Main Headquarters, 995 Roswell Street NE, Marietta
East Cobb Government Center, 4400 Lower Roswell Road, Marietta
Ben Robertson Community Center, 2753 Watts Drive, Kennesaw
The May election resulted in two runoffs in the Democratic contest:
Cobb Commission District 2 (Includes East Cobb, Smyrna and Vinings. See the District 2 map here: https://bit.ly/3z1qsDt)
The runoff date is Tuesday, June 18.< Only those who voted using the Democratic ballot in the May 21 race, voted nonpartisan, or did not cast a ballot in the May 21 election are eligible to vote in this runoff.
Last week East Cobb News profiled Taniesha Whorton, one of the Commission District 2 Democratic runoff candidates. Shortly we’ll be posting our interview with her opponent, Jaha Howard.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
