Month: August 2024

Absentee ballot request period for Cobb/Ga. voters underway

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Absentee ballot request period for Cobb/Ga. voters underway

Registered voters in Cobb County and Georgia who wish to vote absentee by mail for the Nov. 5 general election have until Oct. 25 to request their ballots.

According to Georgia law, you don’t have to have a reason for requesting an absentee ballot but can do so only between 78 and 11 calendar days before an election.

(You can download an application by clicking here.)

Applicants must sign a signature physically—not electronically—and provide their date of birth and other voter identification information on the ballot.

Friends, family members or other individuals assisting an individual with an absentee ballot request may do so, and are required to provide a signature on the application. The ballot will be mailed to the voter.

Applications can be sent via the following methods:

  • E-mail: Absentee@cobbcounty.org
  • Fax:  770-528-2458
  • Mail: Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration
    P.O. Box 649
    Marietta, GA 30061-0649
  • In-Person: Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration Office
    995 Roswell St. NE
    Marietta, GA 30060

All absentee ballot applications will be reviewed by the Cobb Board of Elections and Registration. Once you receive an absentee ballot, you must fill it out and return it before the polls close on election day.

Cobb Elections has more details on options around absentee voting.

Here’s more general information about absentee voting from the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office.

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East Cobb residential real estate sales, July 29-Aug. 2, 2024

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Old Paper Mill, East Cobb real estate sales
Old Paper Mill

The following East Cobb residential real estate sales were compiled from agency reports and Cobb County property records.

They include the street address, subdivision name and sales price listed under their respective high school attendance zones:

Kell

4375 South Landing Trail, 30066 (North Landing): $466,800

Lassiter

5041 Canopy Drive, 30066 (Tanglewood North): $1.15 million

3551 Woodshire Trail, 30066 (Northampton): $875,000

2139 Clementine Drive, 3o066 (Churchill Falls): $495,000

4399 Wood Creek Drive, 30062 (Raintree Forest): $700,000

3025 Oaktree Landing, 30066 (Windsor Oaks): $1.09 million

3241 Winterberry Circle, 30062 (Whitfield): $560,000

2361 Netherstone Drive, 30066 (Waterford): $632,000

4227 Arbor Club Drive, 30066 (Arbor Bridge): $540,000

4329 Dover Crossing Drive, 30066 (Dover Crossing): $675,000

4245 Highborne Drive, 30066 (Highland Pointe): $560,000

Pope

2311 Woods Field Lane, 30062 (Heatherleigh Woods): $953,200

2264 Brownlee Drive, 30062 (Brownstone): $600,000

2697 Tritt Springs Trace, 30062 (Post Oak Springs): $485,000

2991 Byrons Green Court, 30062 (Byrons Pond): $1.16 million

2562 Chimney Springs Drive, 30062 (Chimney Springs): $840,000

3290 Carriage Way, 30062 (Mar-Lanta): $490,000

3257 Hickory Bluff Drive, 30062 (Hickory Bluff): $502,500

2268 Fox Hound Parkway, 30062 (Fox Run): $595,000

2710 Twin Creek Court, 30062 (Post Oak Springs): $524,900

Sprayberry

2704 Stillwater Lake Lane, 30066 (Stillwater Lake): $567,000

1517 Wood Valley Drive, 30066 (Oak Creek Estates): $465,000

4099 Christacy Way, 30066 (Thornbrook): $495,000

1551 Blackjack Drive, 30062 (Blackjack Hills): $550,000

2527 Waterstone Way, 30062 (Autumn Lake): $413,000

2660 Shaw Road, 30066 (Pine Valley Farms): $377,000

2558 Cajun Drive, 30066 (Maner): $400,000

1603 Sprayberry Drive, 30066 (Sprayberry Heights): $505,000

142 Bluffington Way, 30066 (Old Bells Ferry, Sprayberry): $399,875

2974 Sloans Way, 30062 (Christophers Corner): $320,000

Walton

1210 Windsor Estates Drive, 30062 (Windsor Estates): $1.65 million

3010 Royal Oak Drive, 30068: $1.85 million

2117 Kinsmon Drive, 30062 (East Hampton): $1.14 million

4972 Kentwood Drive, 30068 (Cobblestone Manor): $1.415 million

4961 Secluded Pines Drive, 30068 (Rose Oak): $800,000

1280 Adams Oaks Landing, 30062 (Enclave at Adams Oaks): $1.28 million

4425 Cove Island Drive, 30067 (Kings Cove: $568,000

3651 Clubwood Trail, 30068 (Indian Hills): $675,000

895 Banford Court, 30068 (Hampton Woods): $1 million

3537 Princeton Corners Lane, 30062 (Princeton Corners): $785,000

817 Muirfield Trail, 30068 (Pinecrest): $785,000

1296 Hilton Drive, 30062 (Sewell Springs): $390,000

4679 Oberlin Way, 30068 (Princeton Lake): $775,000

Wheeler

3305 Sulky Circle, 30067 (Ward Meade Farm): $1.15 million

734 Huntington Place, 30067 (Stratford): $530,000

289 Grand Manor Drive, 30068 (Grand Manor): $600,000

2918 Gant Quarters Drive, 30068 (Gant Quarters): 4815,000

762 Old Paper Mill Drive, 30067 (Old Paper Mill): $680,000

748 Sharp Mountain Creek, 30067 (Sibley Forest): $1.215 million

644 Inglis Drive, 30067 (Dogwood Park): $530,000

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Here’s what you didn’t hear about Cobb school book removals

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Here's what you didn't hear about Cobb school book removals
JoEllen Smith

If you were watching the Cobb Board of Education meeting Thursday night, on two occasions the livestream was paused.

That’s because public commenters were reading from sexually explicit books the Cobb County School District has pulled from library shelves.

Earlier on Thursday, Superintendent Chris Ragsdale announced 13 more removals, following seven books that have been pulled in the last school year, due to graphic and obscene content he said are not age-appropriate for minors.

For the last year, some parents have blasted Ragsdale for “banning” books they allege have more to do with minority and LGBTQ students than adult content, and discourage students from embracing a culture of reading.

Recently, other parents and citizens have begun to respond to those charges, and in explicit fashion to match the content at hand.

One of them is East Cobb resident JoEllen Smith, who went up to the dais and handed out a copy of her remarks, topped by a photocopy of a graphic scene from one of the books, “Gender Queer,” depicting two boys engaging in oral sex.

She started her remarks by saying that “the Democratic candidates running for school board are saying the superintendent is banning books. Not true. The books they’re fighting for are kiddie porn, and probably illegal if owned by an adult.

“Here’s from a book that normalizes pedophilia and and incest. A 12-year-old girl has a baby by her father. Here’s the quote.”

At that point, Cobb school board attorney Suzann Wilcox said she could not let those sequences be aired due to federal regulations that “prohibit certain language and material from being broadcast.”

The district livestreams public meetings on its website, and they are shown on two cable systems—Comcast and Charter.

Wilcox said “we’re not going to stop you from reading, but . . . I’m going to give our technical team a moment to adjust and then you can resume.”

While those in attendance in the board meeting room heard the explicit language, here’s what viewers saw, with no audio, for a few moments:

Here's what you didn't hear about Cobb school book removals

East Cobb News has obtained a copy of the text and the graphic that Smith, a local Republican activist, gave to board members.

Smith’s verbal remarks are from other books that have been removed in Cobb.

While we are not subject to such regulations, we are not reproducing them fully in this post but linking to them here and here, so discretion is advised if you are interested in what was said.

When the livestream resumed, Smith concluded her remarks by saying that “there are hundreds of pro-LBGT books that don’t include kiddie porn. And it’s unfairly conflating homosexuality to pedophilia which is stigmatizing our gay youth.”

That was first instance of remarks not being aired in Cobb since the school book controversy first flared up last year.

Similar actions have taken place at other school board meetings around the country in recent months.

Sharon Hudson

In April, a pastor was reading from “Push”—one of the books recently removed in Cobb—during a Broward Board of Education meeting in Florida when his microphone was cut off. 

Last year, the Forsyth County School District was ordered to pay more than $100,000 in legal fees for trying to ban parents from reading from explicit books during school board meetings in 2022. 

Before Smith spoke on Thursday, parent Sharon Hudson—a frequent critic of the book removals—chastised Ragsdale for his latest action.

Wearing a “Read Banned Books” shirt, she described herself as a Christian conservative Republican, but said there hasn’t been porn in Cobb schools. 

“If he thinks it’s inappropriate, he’ll ban it and continue his reign of censorship,” she said. “No parent or student rights—just his decision of what they can and cannot read.”

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Cobb schools to hold ‘digital learning’ day on Monday

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The first of three “digital learning days” in the Cobb County School District for the current school year takes place Monday, so there won’t be the usual school and bus traffic out on the roads.Campbell High School lockdown

These school days are due to professional development for teachers at the schools. There won’t be live face-to-fact instruction; students will work from home with teacher-created assignments uploaded to the district’s online portal, CTLS.

The district said at the elementary level, teachers “will provide assignments designed to reinforce and extend previously taught standards and learning targets” and assignments will not be graded.

Students in middle school and high school will receive 30-minute assignment for each class “based on standards and learning targets.” Those materials “can include pre-recorded videos, shared articles, questions for reflection, etc.”

The other digital learning days in the 2024-25 school year are scheduled for Oct. 14, 2024, and March 3, 2025.

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Cobb Elections Board opposes county’s redistricting appeal

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Days after the Cobb Board of Elections and Registration set calendar dates for special commission elections, its attorneys filed a motion opposed to the county’s continuing efforts to litigate a redistricting saga that has dragged on for nearly two years.

Cobb Elections Board opposes county's redistricting appeal
Cobb elections board attorney Daniel White.

Elections board attorney Daniel White wrote in a filing in Cobb Superior Court on Friday that its opposition to continued legal action over county “home rule” maps is rooted in “the need for final resolution” in the dispute.

White said that the elections board didn’t have “a preferred outcome” in two legal cases over the county’s decisions to use commission electoral maps that differed from those the Georgia legislature approved in 2022.

“The only preference that Cobb BOER had regarding the Home Rule Map dispute was to see it resolved one way or the other,” the filing states (you can read it here).

“To the extent that Cobb County now seeks to undo that resolution or to drag this case into a prolonged appeal, Cobb BOER is opposed to that effort.”

The motion was filed in the court of Judge Kellie Hill, who ruled last month that the commission’s Democratic majority didn’t have authority under the Georgia Constitution to adopt their own maps.

She sided with another Cobb judge who ruled in January in another case that only the legislature can conduct county reapportionment.

Hill has scheduled a hearing for Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. to hear the county’s request for intervention, following an emergency motion filed last week.

The controversy began in October 2022, after legislative maps drew Democratic Commissioner Jerica Richardson out her District 2 residence in East Cobb.

Richardson, Cupid and District 4 Commissioner Monique Sheffield claimed the county had home rule authority to draw electoral maps and approved the use of maps drawn by the Cobb delegation.

Those maps were never voted upon by the legislature, which adopted maps proposed by Cobb Republican lawmakers.

The Cobb elections board followed the home rule maps in the May primary and disqualified a Republican candidate, Alicia Adams, who lived in District 2 in the legislative maps but not in the home rule maps.

Hill ruled in favor of Adams, throwing out the primary results, and ordered new elections in District 2 and District 4. Richardson did not seek re-election; Sheffield won the Democratic primary in District 4.

On Monday, the elections board set two sets of dates to re-do the primaries: from Feb. 11 to April 29 if there are general election runoffs in November; or from March 18-June 17 if there are not runoffs.

But on Tuesday, Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid was adamant that the county intervene in the Adams case, to which it had not been a party.

In addition to extra funding needed for for special elections, she said “a great harm” was done to the county when the legislature ignored the delegation maps (the county’s filing is here).

In filing a motion to intervene, Assistant Cobb County Attorney Elizabeth Monyak said that Hill’s injunction “could potentially deprive half of Cobb County from having any representation on the BOC until June of 2025 at the earliest.”

In his motion, however, White said the county’s enabling legislation allows commissioners [in this case districts 2 and 4] to serve their terms until their successors are elected.

JoAnn Birrell and Keli Gambrill, the two Republican commissioners, have objected to the home rule maps since they were first put in use in January 2023, and reiterated their opposition on Tuesday.

“Follow the law,” said Birrell, whose District 3 includes most of East Cobb under the legislative maps.

The elections board, which received an additional $2.4 million from commissioners this week to conduct the November elections, is ready to move on as well.

“It is past time for the voters of Cobb County to have a final resolution regarding the Home Rule Map issue,” White wrote.

“The County chose not to intervene in this case for over four months . . . and has now moved to intervene only after it is not satisfied with the outcome.”

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“The case law is clear that

 

Dungeons and Democrats event set for East Cobb candidates

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Dungeons & Democrats: The Campaign Campaign is coming to East Cobb on Aug. 25 featuring local candidates in a unique way. Submitted info from the organizers:

At this event, four local candidates running in competitive Republican-held districts will take the stage for a lively dinner theater-style performance playing a custom tabletop roleplaying game.

The event began as a way for JD Jordan (Senate District 56) to combine a hobby with his desire to connect with voters in novel ways outside of a typical political setting. Jordan recruited Eric Castater (House District 45), Micheal Garza (House District 46), and Laura Judge (Cobb Board of Education Post 5) to join his adventuring party.

This event will take place from 4 – 7 pm on August 25th at Round Trip Brewing Company in East Cobb (4475 Roswell Rd Suite 1600, Marietta, GA 30062).This date was chosen as a nod to DragonCon, the massive fan convention that takes place annually in Atlanta during Labor Day weekend.

The host and designer of the game is Alex White, a local sci-fi and fiction author. White has written several novels, including entries to the Alien and Star Trek franchises. They are currently working on the newest Alien video game, Alien: Rogue Incursion.

The ticketed fundraising event will feature a three hour show, a costume contest, and giveaways.

The candidates featured are as follows:Dungeons and Democrats event set for East Cobb candidates

  • JD Jordan, who is running for Georgia Senate District 56. Senate District 56 includes western Roswell, East Cobb, as well as portions of Woodstock and Holly Springs. President Biden won 43% of the vote in this district in 2020.
  • Eric Castater, who is running for Georgia House District 45. House District 45 includes East Cobb. President Biden won 47.2% of the vote in HD45.
  • Micheal Garza, who is running for Georgia House District 46. House District 46 contains portions of East Cobb and Southeastern Cherokee County. Biden earned 44.1% of the vote in 2020.
  • Laura Judge, who is running for Cobb County Board of Education Post 5. Post 5 covers East Cobb running from Marietta to the Fulton County border. Biden earned 48.6% of the vote in this district.

Tickets are available for purchase at: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/dungeonsanddems

Despite this being a ticketed event, we invite all members of the public to watch the event via a livestream broadcasted on Twitch. The broadcast will begin at 3:45 at https://www.twitch.tv/ftrstrategies

“When JD approached me with this concept, I leapt at the chance to put it together because I think that it accomplishes three very important things,” said Mo Pippin, co-owner of FTR Strategies, “Firstly, it lives up to our mission of finding creative and innovative ways to meet our community members wherever they are. Secondly we are creating an opportunity for people of all ages and backgrounds to come together over an interest that has persisted since the 80s as a beloved activity for generations of people. Thirdly and most importantly, this gives community members a space to see these candidates as who they truly are – fellow nerds, hobbyists, musicians, and storytellers.

“The campaign trail often shows one dimension of what it takes to be a candidate for office; we want to break the traditional perception that people have built regarding who can be a candidate and what a candidate is supposed to be like. These are our neighbors running grassroots campaigns while maintaining full-time jobs and personal lives. We hope this event serves as an opportunity for people to engage with us in a lighthearted and interactive environment.”

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Kell PTSA holding Krispy Kreme fundraiser through September

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Submitted information:Kell PTSA holding Krispy Kreme fundraiser through September

Kell High School PTSA has a special invitation to team up with Krispy Kreme to enjoy a simple and sweet fundraiser this August & September 2024.
A Krispy Kreme Digital Dozens fundraiser let’s Kell High School PTSA run a virtual campaign where your community purchases Original Glazed doughnuts online, to redeem for fresh-made dozens whenever they crave (no expiration), at their nearest Krispy Kreme store!
The best part, 50% or more of each sale is donated back to your cause. Learn more & get started below. 

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Cobb school district removes 13 more sexually explicit books

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Several months after pulling books from libraries due to sexually explicit content, the Cobb County School District announced Thursday it has removed 13 more from circulation.Cobb school district removes 13 more sexually explicit books

They include acclaimed “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling’s first novel for adults.

Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said at a Cobb Board of Education work session Thursday that the 13 books were removed after being found to contain sexually explicit and graphic content.

He said the removals were part of a continuing effort to review books and other materials in district libraries and curriculum offerings.

“We are declining to provide access to materials with sexually explicit content in the same way we decline to provide access to rated-R movies and—in compliance with federal law—use internet filters to prevent students from accessing websites with adult content on school district computers,” Ragsdale said, reading from prepared remarks.

“We make no judgment on whether these books have any literary merit or whether some parents do not object to their children being exposed to lewd, vulgar, or sexually graphic content. There are many rated R movies that are award-winning films; however, it would be inappropriate to provide children with unrestricted access to them in a public school.”

Rowling’s 2012 novel “Casual Vacancy” was among those removed in the latest review.

According to Compass Book Ratings, the book has “many sexual references” as well as mentions of pornography and mature discussions of sex, as well as descriptions of sexual activity and scenes of abuse, rape and incest.

The district has come under criticism by some parents and others for removing books with literary merit, but Ragsdale was adamant—as he has been in announcing previous removals—that exposure to such content is a matter best left for parents.

“Cobb parents can decide if and when their children are allowed to view content in their homes that is not appropriate for unrestricted access in our schools,” he said.

The other books removed include the following titles:

  • “Laid: Young People’s Experiences with Sex in an Easy-Access Culture,” edited by Shannon Boodram
  • “Crank,” by Ellen Hopkins
  • “Tricks,” by Ellen Hopkins
  • “Push,” by Sapphire
  • “Milk and Honey,” by Rupi Kaur
  • “It Starts with Us,” by Colleen Hoover
  • “The Infinite Moment of Us,” by Lauren Myracle
  • “Identical,” by Ellen Hopkins
  • “Boys Aren’t Blue,” by George M. Johnson
  • “Juliet Takes a Breath,” by Gabby Rivera
  • “Monday’s Not Coming,” by Tiffany Jackson
  • “City of Thieves,” by David Benioff

Those books were added to another seven that have been pulled in the last year, including in April and August 2023.

Those decisions have been criticized by parents and others claiming they’re book bans.

At a later school board meeting Thursday, parent Sharon Hudson—who calls herself a conservative Republican—blasted Ragsdale’s latest removals as another example of his “authoritarian rule” while wearing a shirt that said “Read Banned Books.”

She other accused him of removing some books because they have themes featuring minority and LGBTQ students.

Another parent read from a previously removed book, “Flamer,” calling it inappropriate. But as she did so, the district’s live-stream was paused due to what board attorney Suzann Wilcox said were federal regulations due to indecent content.

At the work session Thursday afternoon, Ragsdale defended the latest removals, saying they weren’t taken lightly.

“This is a very surgical process. These are twenty works out of the over one million books in the District’s media centers.

Our team’s mission—a mission it performs exceptionally well—is teaching, not parenting.”

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East Cobb Weekend Events: Brazil fair; Leo Frank service; more

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Leo Frank memorial
Temple Kol Emeth in East Cobb will observe the 109th anniversary of the lynching of Leo Frank in a special service on  Sunday.

This weekend offers a variety of public events in East Cobb that culminates with the somber observance of one of the darkest chapters in local history.

The Marietta History Center is holding its annual Rummage and Book Sale Thursday-Saturday from 10-4, with free admission for that fundraiser, with proceeds benefitting the center.

Books, photography, militaria, children’s items, home décor, and more will be priced to sell; if you want to visit the rest of the museum (1 Depot Street), regular admission prices apply except on Saturday, when it’s free.

Saturday features a new community event, the Little Brazil Foundation Community Fair. The newly formed group will be featuring products, services and Brazilian culture and raising funds for its service projects from 12-8 p.m. at the East Gate Shopping Center (1802 Lower Roswell Road). Admission is free, and there will be food, music and other festivities.

Saturday also is the final day of a month-long exhibit at the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center (2051 Lower Roswell Road). More than 50 artworks in the Roswell Fine Arts Alliance’s Flower Stories exhibit can be seen for the final time from 10-5.

If you want to learn about what the Cobb Sheriff’s Office is all about, staffers will be on hand Sunday for a Coffee Connection session from 9-11 at Duck Donuts (1281 Johnson Ferry Road). Bring your questions about law enforcement and learn about the department’s community initiatives.

As the weekend draws to a close, those working to close a saga more than a century old will gather at Temple Kol Emeth (1415 Old Canton Road) starting at 5 p.m. for the 109th Yahrzeit of Leo Frank.

Kol Emeth Rabbi Emeritus Steven Lebow has been leading efforts to get Frank exonerated for a 1913 murder of a Marietta girl; after his death sentence was commuted two years later, a Marietta mob dragged him out of a Georgia prison and lynched him from a tree near what is now Roswell Road and Frey’s Gin Road on Aug. 17, 1915.

It was the first known lynching of a Jew in American history; Frank was posthumously pardoned in 1986 but Lebow and former Gov. Roy Barnes have recently renewed efforts for exoneration.

The Atlanta Jewish Times updates the story; here’s our coverage from 2018 when a memorial was unveiled near the lynching site.

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East Cobb Food Scores: Flying Biscuit; Sam’s BBQ 1; more

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Sam's BBQ-1, East Cobb food scores

The following food scores have been compiled by the Cobb & Douglas Department of Public Health. Click the link under each listing for inspection details:

Addison Elementary School
3055 Ebenezer Road
August 13, 2024 Score: 100, Grade: A

Big Fish & Chicken
3190 Canton Road, Suite 108
August 15, 2024 Score: 95, Grade: A

Blackwell Elementary School
3470 Canton Road
August 15, 2024 Score: 100, Grade: A

Bruster’s Real Ice Cream
2044 Lower Roswell Road, Suite 100
August 15, 2024 Score: 91, Grade: A

Davis Elementary School
2433 Jamerson Road
August 14, 2024 Score: 100, Grade: A

Garrison Mill Elementary School
4111 Wesley Chapel Road
August 14, 2024 Score: 100, Grade: A

La Bella Pizza 
2635 Sandy Plains Road, Suite A-7
August 14, 2024 Score: 99, Grade: A

Lassiter High School
2601 Shallowford Road
August 13, 2024 Score: 100, Grade: A

Flying Biscuit
4880 Lower Roswell Road, Suite 70
August 14, 2024 Score: 85, Grade: B

Sakura Restaurant
4880 Lower Roswell Road, Suite 130
August 14, 2024 Score: 94, Grade: A

Sam’s BBQ 1
4958 Lower Roswell Road, Suite 116
August 14, 2024 Score: 80, Grade: B

Talk of the Town Catering and Special Events
2469 Canton Road
August 13, 2024 Score: 100, Grade: A

Yogli Mogli
3605 Sandy Plains Road, Suite 150
August 14, 2024 Score: 100, Grade: A

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2024 Cobb property tax bills mailed; payments due by Oct. 15

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Cobb equity report

Property owners in Cobb County have two months to pay their 2024 property tax bills.

The Cobb Tax Commissioner’s Office has mailed them out, and they’re due by Oct. 15.

The county said in a release Wednesday that  271,400 tax bills representing $1,335,906,523 were mailed out to residential and commercial property owners in unincorporated Cobb.

Property owners in Cobb’s seven cities are billed by their respective municipal governments.

More than half the revenue to be collected by Cobb will go for Cobb County School District operations, followed by the Cobb government’s general fund and the Cobb fire fund.

Here’s more from the county on how to make your payment:

Payments may be made online, by phone, mail, or in person. Processing fees may apply: 

  • Online at cobbtax.org via e-Check, debit, or credit card.
  • Phone automated system at 1-866-PAY-COBB (1-866-729-2622).
  • Mail to Cobb County Tax Commissioner, PO Box 100127, Marietta, GA 30061.

Visit our office in person at any of the following locations: 

  • Whitlock Office at 736 Whitlock Avenue, Marietta;
  • East Cobb Office at 4400 Lower Roswell Road, Marietta; and
  • South Cobb Government Service Center at 4700 Austell Road, Austell.

Drop boxes are available 24/7 for checks or money orders. Make payment to Cobb County Tax Commissioner at: 

  •  Whitlock Office at 736 Whitlock Avenue, Marietta; 
  •  North Cobb Office at 2932 Canton Road, Marietta; 
  •  East Cobb Office at 4400 Lower Roswell Road, Marietta; and 
  •  South Cobb Government Service Center at 4700 Austell Road, Austell. 

For questions or assistance, email tax@cobbtax.org or call 770-528-8600. 

Please visit Understanding Your Tax Bill at cobbtax.org for a detailed explanation of our 2024 tax bills. 

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Advance voting schedule for Cobb general elections approved

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East Cobb election results
Campaign signs from the 2020 general elections at a precinct on Indian Hills Parkway. ECN file photo.

The Cobb Board of Elections on Monday approved an advance voting schedule for the general elections that includes two Saturday voting days and one on the Sunday before the Nov. 5 election day.

Advance voting will take place from Oct. 15-Nov. 1 at a number of locations, including the East Cobb Government Service Center (4400 Lower Roswell Road) and the Tim D. Lee Senior Center (3332 Sandy Plains Road).

The East Cobb Government Service Center also will have a drop box for absentee ballots that are available only during advance voting hours.

Voters can go to any of the advance voting locations, or drop off absentee ballots at any of the designated drop boxes during the advance voting period.

Here are the specific schedules for the two advance voting locations in East Cobb:

East Cobb Government Service Center

  • Tuesday-Saturday, Oct. 15-19: 7 a.m.–7 p.m.
  • Sunday, Oct. 20: 12-5 p.m.
  • Monday-Saturday, Oct. 21-26: 7 a.m.—7 p.m.
  • Sunday, Oct. 27: 12-5 p.m.
  • Monday-Friday, Oct. 28-Nov. 1: 7 a.m.—7 p.m.
  • Dropbox open during above dates and hours

  Tim D. Lee Senior Center

  • Tuesday-Saturday, Oct. 15-19: 7 a.m.–7 p.m.
  • Monday-Saturday, Oct. 21-26: 7 a.m.—7 p.m.
  • Monday-Friday, Oct. 28-Nov. 1: 7 a.m.—7 p.m.
  • No Sunday voting
  • No dropbox availability

There will be no voting from Nov. 2-4.

On Tuesday, Nov. 5, voters will go to their assigned precincts to cast their ballots in person.

For more information, visit the Cobb Elections Advance Voting page.

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Sope Creek ES roof replacement on Cobb school board agenda

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The Cobb Board of Education will be asked on Thursday to approve spending $1.6 million for a new roof at Sope Creek Elementary School.Campbell High School lockdown

An agenda item states that the Cobb County School District will ask the board to award a contract to Roof Technology Partners of Woodstock to do the work, which is expected to be completed by August 2025.

It’s one of several renovation contracts on the board’s agenda that include Cobb Education SPLOST-VI projects at Ford Elementary School, Harrison High School and Kennesaw Mountain High School.

The board also will be asked to approve a contract for $4.535 to purchase 27 school buses and four van mail trucks.

Those items will be presented for discussion at a work session that begins at 2 p.m. Thursday in the board room of the CCSD Central Office, 514 Glover St., Marietta.

The items will be considered for a vote at a 7 p.m. business meeting at the same venue. An executive session will take place in between.

You can view the agenda for the work session and voting session by clicking here.

The open meetings also will be live-streamed on the Cobb County School District’s BoxCast channel and on CobbEdTV, Comcast Channel 24.

The executive session, which is limited to land, legal, personnel and student discipline matters, is closed to the public.

The work session agenda says there will be a video presentation of the first day of school and a presentation on student outcomes, but didn’t elaborate on the latter.

At the night meeting, recognitions include Walton High School’s athletics program receiving the Georgia Athletic Directors Association Director’s Cup for overall sports success in the 2023-24 school year.

Also to be recognized by the board will be Misa McFarlin, Tanushri Dhamotharan, and Edore Oseragbaje of Wheeler High School, who are the 2023-2024 SkillsUSA State Leadership Conference State Gold Award Winners for Career Pathway Showcase Business Management and Technology.

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Cobb special elections scheduled as map dispute lingers

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Cobb commission special elections scheduled as dispute lingers
Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid said Tuesday “a great harm was done to Cobb County” with legislative-approved electoral maps.

The Cobb Board of Elections is moving ahead with special elections for commission races as a long-standing legal saga over redistricting continues elsewhere in county government.

The elections board on Monday approved two sets of special-election schedules for Cobb Commission races in Districts 2 and 4 for early 2025 after Cobb Superior Court Judge Kellie Hill vacated May primaries for those seats.

If there are December runoffs from the November general elections, those special commission elections would start on Jan. 20 and end on April 7.

If there are not runoffs, the two commission seats would be determined in voting from Feb. 12 through June 17.

The special-election dates coincide with previously scheduled municipal elections in Cobb County, but would come after the commission seats of current commissioners Jerica Richardson (District 2) and Monique Sheffield (District 4) expire on Dec. 31.

It’s not clear what might happen with two vacancies on the commission, which would go from a 3-2 Democratic majority to a 2-1 edge for Republicans.

On July 25, Hill ruled that May primaries using “home rule” maps approved by the Cobb Board of Commissioners’ Democratic majority for the two district commission elections were unconstitutional, because they weren’t adopted by the Georgia legislature.

Cobb commissioners redistricting resolution
Cobb commission District 2 boundaries (in pink) and District 3 (in yellow), as adopted by the county on the left, and the legislature on the right.

Hill was ruling on a petition by Alicia Adams, a Republican who was disqualified in District 2 because she lives in the boundaries set by the legislature.

She filed her complaint against the Cobb elections board, which was honoring the “home rule” maps. The board Democrats in October 2022 claimed the county had home rule powers under the Georgia Constitution to conduct redistricting, after the legislature ignored maps drawn up by the Cobb legislative delegation.

But Hill affirmed a January ruling by Cobb Superior Court Judge Ann Harris that the county had no authority to redraw its own political maps, saying it was solely the responsibility of the legislature.

Late last week, the Cobb County Attorney’s Office filed an emergency motion to intervene in the Adams case, even though the county was not named as a defendant (you can read the motion here).

On Tuesday morning, Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid defended the county’s decision to seek intervention, saying “a great harm was done to our county” when the Georgia legislature ignored the Cobb delegation maps.

Home rule powers were claimed by the three Democrats—Cupid, Richardson and Sheffield—in a bid to keep Richardson in office.

The first-term Democrat was drawn out of her East Cobb home in the legislative maps, which placed most of East Cobb in District 3, represented by Republican JoAnn Birrell.

“There has been no effort to circumvent the Constitution,” Cupid said in remarks at the commission’s regular meeting. “However, there has been an effort to circumvent the votes of many voters who voted for each one of us who are sitting here today.

“There has been an effort to circumvent on trusting what the local delegation in putting forward a map for the Board of Commissioners. That has been a process over the 12 years that I have been here. There has been very little objection or question about why that was circumvented.”

Her remarks followed continuing statements by Birrell and Gambrill, the board’s two Republicans, who were opposed to the decision to try to intervene in the Adams case.

The home rule challenge, Birrell said, has gone on nearly two years “at taxpayers’ expense and should never have been done to begin with. We all took an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States, of the State of Georgia, and of Cobb County. Follow the law.”

Cobb GOP Chair Salleigh Grubbs

Gambrill—an original plaintiff in a related Cobb home rule case that reached the Georgia Supreme Court but was not decided on the merits—called Cobb’s action “the path of anarchy.”

In its emergency motion, the Cobb County Attorney’s Office noted that in addition to the “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in expenses that would be needed for special elections, Hill’s injunction “could potentially deprive half of Cobb County from having any representation on the BOC until June of 2025 at the earliest.”

Cobb Republican Party Chairwoman Salleigh Grubbs said during a public comment period earlier in Tuesday’s meeting that the county has only itself to blame for that.

“With the chaos you people have created, you’re going to make the taxpayers pay for that,” Grubbs said, “when it’s your responsibility and it’s your quest for power over Cobb County that has caused this situation.

“You refuse to acknowledge the fact that you violated your oath and Ms. Richardson should not be sitting on the dais. You have protected her at all costs in that seat so that you can have the majority.”

Richardson, who declined to seek a second term and instead launched an unsuccessful bid for Congress has not publicly commented on the matter.

Former Cobb school board member Jaha Howard won the Democratic primary in District 2 and Sheffield cruised in the Democratic primary in District 4.

Later in the meeting Tuesday, commissioners voted 4-1 to approve $2.4 million in additional spending for the 2024 elections due to costs associated with the presidential election, as well as one-time costs for technology and equipment, security at polling stations and seasonal personnel (poll workers).

Cobb elections director Tate Fall said that funding includes more than $624,000 that is being earmarked for the commission special elections.

Gambrill voted against the measure.

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Avenue East Cobb property manager acquired by Parkaire owner

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Avenue East Cobb celebration
The public plaza at Avenue East Cobb is the centerpiece of the retail center’s redevelopment project in 2023. ECN file photo.

The Atlanta-based subsidiary of a commercial real estate company that completed the redevelopment of Avenue East Cobb last year is being purchased by another major commercial developer and property manager.

North American Properties announced Tuesday that its Atlanta unit is being acquired by Jamestown Properties, which manages major office and retail properties that include Parkaire Landing Shopping Center in East Cobb.

NAP said in a release that a Jamestown affiliate will “make an investment” in the new portfolio of properties, which includes Colony Square and Atlantic Station in Atlanta, The Forum in Peachtree Corners and others in New York, North Carolina and Kentucky.

NAP also is the developer of Avalon in Alpharetta and counts nearly $2 billion in assets in its Atlanta unit. The acquisition is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2024.

“Jamestown’s North Star is to create inspiring places that serve as the foundation of community life and reinforce a sense of place and belonging, while generating value for investors,” Jamestown president Michael Phillips said in a release.

“This acquisition will bolster our differential advantage in the market as a vertically integrated, mixed-use operator with a focus on placemaking. Their expertise around suburban placemaking is a great complement for our urban placemaking expertise, as well as our grocery-anchored shopping center business.” 

The acquisition comes as Jamestown is making a major push into suburban areeas.

Jamestown owns 22 properties in 19 states, and at Parkaire, the anchor is a Kroger store. Avenue East Cobb doesn’t have retail grocery, but has opened a number of new retail stores and restaurants in wake of the redevelopment.

Those include a Barnes & Noble bookstore, Press Waffle Co., Peach State Pizza and Round Trip Brewing Co. There is a major vacancy at Avenue East Cobb after Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar closed at the end of last year, opting not to renew its lease.

One of the two “jewel box” spaces built in the redevelopment also remains vacant.

NAP said its 200 employees, including top executives, will come under the Jamestown umbrella after the deal closes.

Jamestown has more than $11.7 billion in assets in the U.S., Latin America and Europe. Its other properties in metro Atlanta include Ponce City Market.

NAP, based in Cincinnati, opened its Atlanta office in 1996.

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Cobb Solicitor General to hold town hall meetings in August

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Submitted information and photo:Cobb Solicitor General to hold town hall meetings in August

Cobb Solicitor General Makia Metzger is hosting town hall meetings for the public this month, so citizens have an opportunity to meet and greet their Solicitor General.

“I’m excited for the opportunity to engage with our residents and deliver the programs we are working on which benefit the public,” Solicitor General Metzger said. “Providing easier access to citizens helps increase a clarity of what we do.”

Solicitor General Metzger announced last month she was having four town halls in the month of August in various parts of Cobb County to provide community engagement opportunities up close and personal. The meetings are scheduled from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.

The remaining town halls are as follows:

  • Wednesday, August 21, 2024, West Cobb Regional Library, 1750 Dennis Kemp Lane, Kennesaw
  • Wednesday, August 28, 2024, East Cobb Regional Library, 4880 Lower Roswell Road, Marietta

The town hall meetings will cover a range of initiatives and projects the Office of the Solicitor General is working on.  Residents are encouraged to attend so they can learn how the Office of the Solicitor General operates and how it can be of service when it comes to public safety.

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Cobb District Attorney warns of scam targeting defendants

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Submitted information:Cobb District Attorney logo

Cobb District Attorney Flynn D. Broady, Jr. is warning metro Atlanta residents of an imposter scam targeting defendants and their attorneys in which fraudsters pose as prosecutors from the Cobb District Attorney’s Office.

“Attorneys and their clients should be suspicious of emails asking for money to pay court costs and fines in exchange for closing a case and record expungement,” said Broady. “Please verify the authenticity of these emails before sending any payment, as these fraudsters claim to be from my office and claim they were acting with authority from Cobb Superior Court Judges.”

The Cobb County District Attorney’s Office does not solicit payments via email and will never ask for payment to close a case.

Please proceed with caution if you receive such a communication. Do not send any money or provide sensitive information.
•    If you have a current case, please get in touch with your attorney or the prosecuting agency to verify the information.
•    File a report with your local law enforcement agency.

Please visit the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division website for more information about imposter scams.

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Cobb Police give some details on officer-involved shooting

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The Cobb Police Chief on Monday took the unusual step to speak publicly about an officer-involved shooting that resulted in the death of a suspect at a Cobb Parkway pharmacy over the weekend.

Cobb Police give some details on officer-involved shooting
Cobb Police Chief Stuart VanHoozer

Stuart VanHoozer urged the media at a press conference to “look for corroborating evidence” before reporting on details of an incident that led to officers killing Nathan Jenkins, 32, late Friday evening, at a Walgreen’s store in the Cumberland area.

He referenced media reports that included “speculation” that the suspect was shot 25 times, had his hands up when officers fired and was possessing a cell phone and not a gun.

“I did not see any evidence” of those allegations, VanHoozer said at the press conference at Cobb Police Headquarters on Fairground Street in Marietta, adding that they were part of the ongoing investigation.

He asked reporters “to patiently wait for solid evidence” and not “conjecture” as the investigation into the shooting continues.

VanHoozer said the officers involved in the shooting have been place on administrative leave in the meantime.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is handling the investigation, and typically local police departments do not comment until those probes are completed.

“There are some questions that have popped up in the media that have caused us some concern,” VanHoozer said.

Some of those reports included interviews with the suspect’s father, who said his son called him after the shooting and he went to the scene, as well as Jenkins’ brother, who called it “an unjustified shooting.”

Jenkins’ father told WSB-TV that his son had experienced addiction and psychological issues in his past.

Jenkins, of Valdosta, was wanted on a number of warrants, and VanHoozer said they included failure to appear on a charge of a felony possession of a firearm and possession of a controlled substance and fleeing and attempting to elude police in Fulton County, and probation violations in Fulton and Lowndes County.

He said officers went to the Walgreen’s at 2670 Cobb Parkway at Windy Ridge Parkway at around 11:30 p.m. based on the outstanding warrants.

Police said initially that they got into an altercation with Jenkins inside the store, and he was shot by officers when they made contact. According to police, Jenkins was pronounced dead after being taken to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital.

VanHoozer said an unspecified previous traffic stop in which a suspect got away—he said police didn’t pursue him due to the department’s chase policy—may be linked, that “possibly that pursuit and this individual.

“That’s what led to that area [the Walgreen’s on Friday] in a continuing investigation,” VanHoozer said. Jenkins was “a wanted individual that we knew about.”

VanHoozer took a few questions, and was asked about an initial GBI report saying it found a gun on the scene.

“That was not our weapon,” VanHoozer said, but he deferred other questions to “give the GBI a chance to get its ducks in a row.”

He said the Cobb Police Department was extending its condolences to Jenkins family.

“We don’t want to see incidents end like this one ended,” he said.

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The Art Place to hold premiere for ‘Final Audition’ comedy

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Submitted information and art:

Katelin Chesna leads a talented cast of Atlanta actors in “Final Audition, Last Chance for the Role of a Lifetime,” an inspirational new comedy written, directed and produced by Chicago novelist and playwright, John Ruane.

Chesna grew up on the southwest side of Chicago only a few miles from the playwright, although they had never met until they both worked on a television series in Atlanta in 2020. It was there Ruane immediately recognized Chesna’s great talent and comedic abilities. She also has the inherent Chicago accent and sarcastic sense of humor required for the role.

“When I saw her perform, I made a mental note, so when I began organizing a production of my play here, I contacted her immediately,” said Ruane, who initially wrote the play in 1993. “After she read the play, I spoke with her on the phone. She told me that she thought I had followed her around and knew her life’s story. That’s how common the acting struggle is for so many performers across the country.”

A very talented professional ensemble joins Chesna, including Justin Dilley, Ryan Siegel, Noel Olken, Nicolette Acosta, Destinee Monet, Joseph McNabb and Harry Wendorff. The cast was selected through auditions, recommendations and Ruane scouting plays for talented actors in the Atlanta area.

“When I first saw Justin Dilley perform, I was blown away!” said Ruane, who spotted him in an ACT3 production. “And when I watched Harry Wendorff and Ryan Siegel perform, their talent and abilities popped right from their first.line. For Destinee Monet, I knew within five seconds of her audition that she was special. And watching Nicolette Acosta and Joseph McNabb performing theircharacters, they were both so good! Great talent jumps out at you immediately! Plus, I really lucked out when I learned Noel Olken, who had starred in my last play in Chicago in 1991, was now in Atlanta. He was the icing on the cake. It’s so exciting to find such a talented group of actors, who are willing to commit the time it takes to rehearse and perform in a play. I’m so grateful!”

“Final Audition” is the story of actress Sally Cochrane, who has worked for 30 years to land one big break to launch her career, but is ready to give it all up and go back to Normal (Illinois), when she learns world famous director, Nick Michaels, is returning to his Chicago roots to cast his next Broadway show, literally giving every actor cast their big break. Sally must decide if she will do one Final Audition or just got back to Normal.

The play will premiere at The Art Place Theatre in Marietta (3330 Sandy Plains Road) on Friday, Sept. 6 and run through Sept. 14. A total of 10 shows will be performed, including a discounted preview on Sept. 5. Tickets can be purchased on the website, www.Finalaudition.net. More information about the playwright’s books is available at www.johnruane.net. FinalAudition is produced by Ruane’s 3rd ACT Productions.

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Cobb Public Library System announces 2024 fall book sale

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Weekend events, Cobb Library Book Sale

Submitted information:

It’s the moment you’ve been waiting for! The Fall Book Sale will be held at Cobb Civic Center October 4-6, 2024.

Materials for sale include books for all ages in both hardcover and paperback, DVDs, Books on CD and audiocassette, magazines, and puzzles. Prices range from 10 cents to $4.00.

Find a price list here.

Cobb Civic Center is at 548 South Marietta Pkwy SE, Marietta, GA 30060. Hours for the sale are Friday and Saturday from 9 am to 5 pm, and Sunday from 1 pm to 5 pm. There is plenty of free parking.

Acceptable forms of payment are debit, credit, cash, and checks — Visa and MasterCard only.

On Friday until 1 pm electronic (scanning) devices are not permitted. While we hope you will buy lots of materials, we are only able to sell up to 2 boxes of items at a time on Friday until 1 pm. Please plan to pay and take items to your vehicle before coming in to shop some more.

On Sunday we will be working to sell out the Civic Center so please come to buy, buy, buy!

Sunday is BYOB (Bring Your Own Box) Day: fill any size box (you can bodily get back to your car) for a flat rate — $10 upper level only; $20 lower level only; $20 mixed.

All profits from this book sale go directly to buying more items for Cobb County Public Library’s 15 branches and bookmobile. For more information, please visit cobbcat.org.

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