It’s time to apply for homestead exemptions. A homestead exemption is savings on property taxes available to homeowners who meet certain qualifications, such as residency.
Use the online form at cobbtax.org/property/exemptions.php to submit a 2024 Homestead Exemption application. Applications must be received, or USPS postmarked, by April 1 to be accepted for this tax year.
Other exemptions you can apply for include disability, state veterans disability, state senior age 65, Cobb County School Tax exemption for homeowners over 62 and more.
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!
After we published a story on Jan. 28 about a series of lane closures along a busy part of Johnson Ferry Road, some readers had a lot of questions.
Cobb County government announced “urgent” repairs of gas lines but didn’t have much more information when we reached out.
We’ve just heard from and been in touch with Atlanta Gas Light, and can share a number of major details for a project that is expected to last until mid-March.
Spokeswoman Ashley Hoffman told us first off that it’s not an emergency at all, but part of a routine maintenance process.
“It’s not urgent,” she told East Cobb News Monday. “This is what we refer to as an indirect inspection.”
Hoffman said in response to our initial report that “regular inspections and maintenance efforts help ensure this level of reliability and are a part of a routine maintenance process, not an emergency or urgent repair” and that “the inspection will cause minimal disruption for those in the community.”
She said right now Atlanta Gas Light crews are doing initial surveying to see about major issues that may require repairs or other service.
She said that to her knowledge, lane closures haven’t begun yet—we haven’t noticed any and we’re located in the inspection area as well—and she’s checking to find out more.
We’ll post more specifics about days, times and areas of the Johnson Ferry corridor when those closures come about. Hoffman said she’s contacting the crews since the scope of the project is so fluid and because the inspection area is extensive.
The area of the closures is greater than what was initially announced as well, stretching from Bishop Lake Road to Oliver Palms Walk—that’s the side street next to the Mt. Bethel Church Cemetery just above Lower Roswell Road.
“A rolling lane closure will be utilized to control traffic during the indirect inspection of the pipe,” Hoffman said. “The road will remain open except for the small span of the affected lane as the operation moves from start to finish.”
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!
Organizers of the Taste of East Cobb festival have announced that the 2025 festival date is May 3, at the usual venue, Johnson Ferry Baptist Church (955 Johnson Ferry Road).
That’s a Saturday, and as in previous years it runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Here’s what’s on tap:
A delicious variety of menu items from East Cobb’s finest restaurants
A Kids’ Zone with huge inflatables and fun hands-on activities, including sand art, and face painting.
Great live entertainment, featuring performances by local school bands. Last year’s event featured Walton High School, Wheeler High School, Dodgen Middle School, and Dickerson Middle School.
The event is a major fundraiser for the Walton Band Parent Association, and organizers are accepting applications for restaurants, sponsors and other exhibitors (click here for details).
The cost for restaurants and exhibitors is $350 and sponsorships range from $800 to $3,000.
East Cobb News has been a sponsor the last two years and we’re excited about making it three in a row!
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!
After some tornado-like weather with heavy winds and downed trees overnight Sunday, the weather week in East Cobb will be dipping back into below-freezing temperatures.
Overnight lows throughout the week will fall into the 20s most nights, with highs surging above 50 only on Tuesday.
Monday’s weather will be sunny with highs in the high 40s, then cloudy on Tuesday, with the wind gusts of this week winding down.
On Wednesday rain is in the forecast, with highs in the mid 40s.
On Thursday, we may not get above freezing, with highs expected in the mid 30s and overnight lows into Friday into the high teens.
The sun will return later in the week, and the weekend will be a little warmer, with highs in the 40s Friday and Saturday.
Next Sunday highs will be in the low 50s, starting a warming trend that could get temperatures back into the 60s early week after next.
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!
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!
That’s the first thing I thought this week when I saw the outpouring of support for our February fundraising drive.
We’re trying to surpass the January total of $750 in reader contributions, and halfway through the campaign we’re more than halfway past that mark.
Thank you so much to all who have contributed!
Can we get past $1,000! I think so, and I hope you will help!
Especially encouraging is that most of this reader revenue is for recurring monthly donations.
We’ve been asking readers to donate as little as $6 a month—it can be more if you like or any amount you choose—as we strive to add 1,500 new recurring contributors through the spring.
That’s a big goal, to be sure, but East Cobb News was born on big dreams—to serve you, our readers, with professionally reported news and useful community information—that serves you and our advertisers.
We rely on both sources of revenue to keep giving you local news that you love, and we’d love to have your support if you haven’t donated yet.
After several years of diligently building not just an engaged audience, but cultivating dynamic relationships with so many of you, we’re asking for your support today to help sustain this community resource.
If what you see here at East Cobb News is of any value to you, please click below to show your support.
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Simply put, there’s nothing else like East Cobb News in this market. There’s nobody else coming to you every day, several times a day, with general-interest news like local government and schools, public safety, small business and real estate, arts and entertainment, recreation, community events and those who are helping others in need.
That’s because East Cobb News was designed to serve everyone invested in this community,
We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished, and we hear so many compliments from you about what you get here.
Now is the time to show that you value what East Cobb News means for you.
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Levant Oven has opened at 1275 Powers Ferry Road, Suite 130, in the same shopping center as Micro Center, and in the former space of Liberty Pizza.
As noted in the title, the restaurant’s menu items are from the Levant, the eastern Mediterranean region, featuring Manakanish pies, based a flatbread from that part of the world dips, salads, vegetable plates, drinks and desserts.
Kapow Sushi and Thai is open at the Olde Mill Shopping Center (3101 Roswell Road, Suite 116), in the former House of Ming space.
It was known formerly as Ocean Sushi Kitchen, and features a variety of Japanese fare highlights an extensive menu, along with some Thai items.
The Mayan Kitchen is a taqueria at 2595 Sandy Plains Road, Suite 101, occupying the former Catfish Hox location.
It’s open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and is open seven days a week.
Aapka Food Adda, or AFA, is open at 2995 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 410, in the same retail center as Montana’s and Mzizi Coffee.
The restaurant features Indian vegetarian dishes.
At the former Roll On In location at Woodlawn Point Shopping Center (1100 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 365) is Handmade Dumplings and Noodles, with a Chinese menu.
Taichi Bubble Tea, Ramen and Poke Bowl is open at the Pavilions at East Lake (2100 Roswell Road Suite 2148), where’s AJ’s Seafood was located.
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!
With virtually no discussion, the Cobb Board of Education on Thursday extended the contract of Superintendent Chris Ragsdale through February 2028.
The 6-0 vote took place after an executive session. In the last two years, the vote was largely along 4-3 partisan lines, with the board’s Republicans in favor and with the Democrats opposed.
Democratic board member Becky Sayler was absent from the meeting.
Ragsdale’s latest one-year extension continues his annual salary at $350,000. Unlike a fiery meeting last year, this year’s extension came without much incident.
After a series of votes after executive session, board chairman David Chastain said “we have another personnel motion.”
That was introduced by newly elected board member John Cristadoro of Post 5 in East Cobb, and immediately all six members in attendance raised their hands.
Afterward, there was a smattering of applause from the audience.
Ragsdale said that “I appreciate the vote of support and confidence.”
During a public comment session before the vote, some of Ragsdale’s familiar critics spoke out against what they anticipated would happen.
Former Cobb school counselor Jennifer Susko, wearing a “No Confidence in Ragsdale” shirt, noted that attendees at board meetings now have to walk through metal detectors at the Cobb school district central office as a safety measure not employed at the schools.
She’s been among those protesting Ragsdale and the board’s Republican majority, and which got involved in a scuffle before a board meeting in September 2023 that led to a lawsuit against the district.
“No one ever claimed that y’all’s biggest fear in the lobby—East Cobb moms in orange cardigans—were a threat,” she said.
“Chris said metal detectors don’t work, until it’s supposedly about yourselves in this building. Meanwhile, families in South Cobb, in your schools, where actual gun violence has occurred, have asked for the same protection and been routinely ignored.”
(At a Thursday work session, district officials unveiled the addition of new canine teams trained to detect weapons in school buildings.)
Susko added that when Ragsdale’s contract “is rubber-stamped, by the good old boys, and he smirks and uses his favorite defense mechanism, ‘thanks for the vote of confidence,’ we’ll all know that that the truth—’no confidence in Ragsdale’—echoes in his head, no matter how much he tries to drown out the people of Cobb County.”
School board members also voted Thursday to opt out of HB 581, a law passed by the Georgia General Assembly, designed to cap property tax rates.
Like Cobb government, however, Cobb schools have stated that its current exemptions are more beneficial to parents and taxpayers.
The district claims that it would lose an estimated $43 million under the new homestead exemption law, which “could force the District to cut teacher salaries, increase class sizes, or otherwise harm student learning.”
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!
“Aubie,” a black Labrador retriever in training with the Cobb County School District and provided by Global K9, a security solutions provider.
The Cobb County School District will be adding two canine detection teams as part of its efforts to bolster safety in schools.
At a Cobb Board of Education work session Thursday, officials introduced the “Vapor Wake” system, in which officer-led teams with specially trained dogs identify “person-worn or concealed-carried explosives and firearms,” according to the district.
The program includes a partnership with Global K9 Protection Group, a private company based in Opelika, Ala., that provides canine-focused security solutions.
The dogs are trained to “continuously sample the air for concealed firearms and explosives, tracking potential threats even while in motion. This cutting-edge detection capability provides real-time security monitoring, allowing for a swift response to potential threats.”
Major universities, sports arenas, theaters and other entities use Vapor Wake.
“We want our families to see for themselves that our schools are the safest in our community,” Cobb school board chairman David Chastain said in a district statement. “These canine teams are another example of us identifying and addressing threats before they happen.”
The Cobb school district has canine teams that aren’t specifically trained in Vapor Wake.
At the work session, Global K9 personnel presented “Dakota” and “Aubie,” two Labrador retrievers will be working in Cobb schools, and who are undergoing training.
Much of what Cobb schools is doing regarding safety has been done in confidence. When the district announced in October a partnership with a private national intelligence firm, it didn’t initially identify that company.
News reports revealed that it’s Servius Group, which includes former federal military and intelligence staffers who will be using counterintelligence techniques, data science and machine-learning components to conduct risk assessments at other schools and other measures that haven’t been clearly spelled out.
“This is a different situation in that we want to scream from the mountaintops that we have these canines, officers in use and they are able to detect weapons with 100 percent efficiency,” Cobb superintendent Chris Ragsdale said.
“We want everybody to know that. We want the world to know that where we have these canines there are going to present and be able to prevent weapons from entering the school.”
Keith Turner of Global K9 said the company was formed in 2018 with 20 employees, and currently has nearly 600 personnel, employing canine teams in more than 160 cities and localities.
The Vapor Wake contract, which will cost the Cobb school district $80,000, includes continuing training and recertification.
He said the company can sell dogs, “but what I want to sell is the idea of family.”
The company’s client base includes the Atlanta Braves, Six Flags theme parks, various stadiums and performing arts venues in California and elsewhere, and the Chicago and New York City police departments.
He said the Vapor Wake technology “is proven,” with the dogs trained to source particles in the air.
He said the technology is unobtrusive and won’t “hit on a cell phone, on a laptop,” unlike some metal-detecting devices.
“This is a dangerous odor,” Turner said. “It could be a smokeless powder, it could be potassium nitrate, anything with residue.”
Ragsdale said “it’s hard not to be excited” about something “that’s 100 percent effective.
“If we’re going to say student and staff safety is our top priority, then we need to do everything we can to ensure that that top priority remains attainable.”
But school board members did have some questions about Vapor Wake and the program.
Nichelle Davis asked about students and staff who didn’t like dogs or who were allergic to them.
Turner said he wasn’t aware of any such cases with his company’s trained animals, and wanted the program to engender a feeling of friendliness and safety with the dogs.
Randy Scamihorn wanted to see something of a demonstration at the open work session, but was told that would be provided in executive session for security reasons.
He also wanted to know if the handlers would be uniformed, and Ragsdale said “we’re getting down into the weeds that we’re not going to talk about now.”
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!
The Chattahoochee National Park Conservancy (CNPC) will honor the late President Jimmy Carter with the Hightower Award at its annual Party for the Park fundraiser on March 25, 2025. This signature event, supporting the preservation and enjoyment of Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (CRNRA), will be held for the first time at Ivy Hall in Roswell Mill, overlooking Vickery Creek, a treasured part of the national park system that Carter himself helped establish.
A lifelong advocate for environmental conservation, President Carter signed the legislation creating Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area as a unit of the National Park Service on August 15, 1978. His enduring commitment to public lands and environmental stewardship has left a profound impact on Georgia and beyond. The Hightower Award, named in honor of longtime CRNRA Park Ranger Jerry Hightower, recognizes those whose efforts and dedication have had a lasting and positive impact on the CRNRA and its community.
“President Jimmy Carter’s vision and leadership were instrumental in the creation of CRNRA,” said CNPC Board President Peter Coffman. “His dedication to conservation and public lands has left an incredible legacy, not just for our park here in Georgia, but across the country. It is a great honor to recognize him with the Hightower Award and to celebrate the impact he has had on preserving the places we cherish.”
As CNPC’s largest annual fundraiser, Party for the Park is a celebration of the community’s commitment to preserving and enhancing CRNRA. Guests will enjoy hors d’oeuvres, drinks, a silent auction, and a program featuring special guest speakers, all in support of ensuring a sustainable future for the park. Proceeds from the event will directly fund trail rehabilitation, habitat restoration, and community engagement initiatives that enhance visitor experiences.
“Party for the Park is a celebration of our community’s commitment to preserving and enhancing Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area,” said CNPC Executive Director Brittany Jones. “This park is a place of adventure, reflection, and connection, and we all have a role in keeping it thriving. The funds we raise go right back into the trails we hike, the waterways we paddle, and the habitats that make this place so special.”
Chattahoochee National Park Conservancy (CNPC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official friends group and primary philanthropic partner for the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (CRNRA), a unit of the National Park System. Its mission is to enhance CRNRA by building community, enriching lives, and catalyzing support to ensure a sustainable national park for future generations. Through conservation initiatives, trail restoration, volunteer programs, and community engagement, CNPC works to preserve and improve this treasured greenspace. Learn more at chattahoocheeparks.org.
ABOUT CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER NATIONAL RECREATION AREA
Designated as a unit of the National Park System in 1978, Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area preserves and protects the natural and cultural resources of the 48-mile Chattahoochee River corridor from Buford Dam to Peachtree Creek. The park annually welcomes over 3,000,000 visitors.
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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!
Joshua Moehling, a noted crime fiction novelist, will visit the Bookmiser store in East Cobb Wednesday, Feb. 19, as part of a national book tour.
His latest work is “A Long Time Gone,” the third in his Ben Packard series of novels.
Here’s what the book is about:
“Deputy Packard is off work—he’s on leave, pending an investigation into a shooting—which gives him the time to investigate some new information about the disappearance of his older brother, Nick, who left their lakeshore family home when they were just kids, never to be seen again. The new information attracts his mother, Pam, to northern Minnesota, as much to check in on Ben as to explore where Nick may be buried. Pam—one of Moehling’s greatest creations—is a New Age, crystal wearing, sex-positive, Wiccan practitioner who would like nothing more than to see Ben find a boyfriend and does everything in her powers to hook him up. While the search for Nick takes a bit of a back seat, Ben can’t help but pursue a far more expansive and contemporary investigation that exposes corruption among County officials. See why so many people were happy to see Ben out of the picture? Add to this another story, brief but hugely meaningful, that provides yet more information about Nick. It’s amazing how Moehling keeps all these narrative balls in the air, but even more amazing is how they eventually come together. For those who love classic mysteries, police procedurals, and family drama.”
Moehling’s appearance at Bookmiser (3822 Roswell Road, Suite 117) will be from 6-7:30 p.m. and will include a book discussion of the Ben Packard series, which includes “Where the Dead Sleep” and “And There He Kept Her.”
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!
Cobb County first responders have picked Valentine’s Day to unveil a new, life-saving tool. Cobb County Fire & Emergency Services will become one of the first departments in the state to carry blood products in a program called pre-hospital blood transfusion. The program will equip select emergency response units with packed red blood cells (PRBCs) and plasma to enhance trauma care and improve survival rates for critically injured patients.
“Every second matters in trauma care, and by administering blood products at the point of injury, we can provide life-saving interventions sooner,” said Nick Adams, EMS Division Chief. “This program represents a major advancement in pre-hospital emergency medicine and underscores our commitment to delivering the highest level of care to our community.”
This initiative is made possible through a partnership with LifeSouth Community Blood Centers, a nonprofit organization that provides blood products to hospitals and emergency responders across the region. Research has shown that early administration of blood products in the field can significantly reduce trauma-related mortality by stabilizing patients before they reach the hospital.
“We are excited to begin this new partnership with Cobb County Fire & Emergency Services and are grateful for the opportunity to support the vital work they do in our community,” said Lori Russell, LifeSouth Community Blood Centers District Director of Georgia. “Cobb County blood donors can help our efforts by donating blood with LifeSouth.”
The program will launch on February 14, which is not only Valentine’s Day but also National Donor Day. Cobb Fire & Emergency Services Medical Operations (MedOps) team will be the first unit to carry PRBCs and plasma. The paramedics assigned to MedOps have received specialized training and certification in administering blood products in the field, ensuring they are prepared to deliver this critical intervention safely and effectively.
By delivering advanced treatment directly to patients, this initiative seeks to improve survival rates and outcomes for those suffering life-threatening bleeding before they reach the hospital.
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!
Experience musical solace as the Georgia Symphony Orchestra and Chorus present ‘Lux Perpetua: Light of Hope’ on March 9, 2025, at Marietta’s historic Zion Baptist Church. This inspiring performance features Gabriel Fauré’s haunting classic, “Requiem,” along with selections from the British choral school, an African-American spiritual, and a Buddhist mantra set by a contemporary Canadian composer.
GSO Music Director and Conductor Timothy Verville will lead the orchestra and 100-plus members of the GSO Chorus alongside GSO Chorus Director Bryan Black in this inspirational performance.
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!
The Cobb County Public Library events calendar for Mid-Winter Break features a range of programs for young children, students and adults. School is out for students and educators Feb. 17-21 for the Cobb County and Marietta City school districts, and for many independent schools and homeschool families.
Activities during the week at Cobb libraries cover arts and crafts, music, STEM projects, story sharing, games and dance.
Upcoming scheduled youth programs at CCPL locations include:
Pokémon Meetup, a game program for children in grades 1-5, is 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 15 at Mountain View Regional Library, 3320 Sandy Plains Road, Marietta 30066. No registration is required. For more information, call 770-509-2725.
Pokémon Club for children ages 6-12 and families meets 3:30 p.m. Mondays at West Cobb Regional Library, 1750 Dennis Kemp Ln NW, Kennesaw 30152. Pokémon Club is a drop-in event. No registration is required.
Monday Teen Create, a chance for teens to engage in science and art by creating STEM experiments and art projects, meets 2:30 p.m. Mondays at Switzer Library. All materials are provided.
Tamil Storytime for children ages 5-8 and their participating adults, meets 3 p.m. on select Saturdays at Sewell Mill Library & Cultural Center, 2051 Lower Roswell Road, Marietta 30068. Guest presenter Jeya Maran leads the program featuring reading, songs and games all in the Tamil language. Registration is required. Visit cobbcat.org for details.
For information on CCPL events, visit cobbcat.org or call 770-528-2326.
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!
An aerial architectural rendering of the Bells Ferry ES reconstruction project.
UPDATED:
The Cobb school board Thursday approved the construction price maximum by consent.
ORIGINAL STORY:
The Cobb County School District has recommended a maximum price for the cost of major renovations and additions at Bells Ferry Elementary School in Northeast Cobb.
According to an agenda item, the Cobb Board of Education will be asked Thursday to set that price at $9.8 million and to approve Winter Construction of Atlanta as the contractor.
The funding will come from the current SPLOST VI sales tax for Cobb schools.
Setting a maximum price enables the contractor “to move forward to begin procuring long lead time equipment, sitework, utility relocation, and other enabling work in accordance with the planned schedule,” according to the agenda item.
Completion is estimated for July 2027.
The project will be discussed at a board work session starting at 2 p.m. Thursday, and is listed as an action item for the board voting meeting that begins at 7 p.m.
You can view the agendas for the public meetings by clicking here.
An executive session is scheduled in between the public meetings, which will take place in the board room of the Cobb County School District’s central office (514 Glover Street, Marietta).
The open meetings also will be live-streamed on district’s BoxCast channel and on CobbEdTV, Comcast Channel 24.
The current Bells Ferry facility at Bells Ferry Road and Piedmont Road was built in 1973, and currently enrolls 750 students.
The oldest portion of the main building will be rebuilt, and the school will get upgraded technology and communications equipment, including new computing and interactive devices for classrooms, telephone systems and replacing two playground areas.
The project will also prompt portable classrooms on the campus, and second- and third-grade classes will be relocated to nearby Chalker Elementary School starting in August.
At the evening meeting, the Cobb school board will be holding the last of three required public hearings on the district’s intent to opt out of a new state homestead exemption law. A vote on the measure also is scheduled.
HB 581 was passed by the Georgia General Assembly in 2024, and state voters approved enabling legislation in a November referendum to establish a statewide floating homestead exemption.
Those exemptions apply to counties, school districts and municipalities, and would place a cap on property tax rates based on an inflation rate set by the Georgia Department of Revenue.
The law was passed following concerns about dramatic property tax rate increases due to soaring assessments during periods of high inflation.
Like Cobb government, however, Cobb schools have stated that its current exemptions are more beneficial to parents and taxpayers.
The district claims that it would lose an estimated $43 million under the new homestead exemption law, which “could force the District to cut teacher salaries, increase class sizes, or otherwise harm student learning.”
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!
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!
Two former public office holders will square off next month in the Democratic primary in special elections for the Cobb Board of Commissioners.
Former State Rep. Erick Allen and former Cobb Board of Education member Jaha Howard each received more than 40 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s special election in District 2, which includes a small portion of East Cobb (precinct-by-precinct results here).
They will be on the March 11 runoff ballot, since neither surpassed 50 percent of the vote.
Allen, who also was chairman of the Cobb legislative delegation, received 1,669 votes, or 46 percent, to 1,568 votes for Howard, or 43 percent.
Tracy Stevenson, a retired general contractor, had 432 votes, or nearly 12 percent.
The runoff winner will face Republican Alicia Adams in the April 29 general election.
The special elections were ordered by a Cobb judge after May 2024 primaries were invalidated due to electoral maps that were ruled to be in violation of the Georgia Constitution.
Cobb Elections estimates the special elections will cost around $1.5 million.
Jaha Howard
District 2 was held until last week by Jerica Richardson, a first-term Democrat who was drawn out of her East Cobb home by the Georgia legislature during reapportionment in 2022.
She and her two fellow Democrats on the commission voted to honor electoral maps drawn by the Cobb legislative delegation, then headed by Allen, that would have kept her in office.
Those “home rule” maps never received a vote in the legislature, but they were also used by the Cobb Board of Elections for the primaries.
Howard defeated Whorton in a Democratic runoff. At the same time, Adams appealed her disqualification under the “home rule” maps and won her legal challenge, setting off another wave of court battles involving Richardson.
Her last-ditch appeal to the Georgia Court of Appeals to stay in office was ignored last week, for now the commission has only four of its five members.
Richardson was not on the dais at Tuesday’s commission meeting.
In District 4 in South Cobb, Democratic incumbent Monique Sheffield easily won the primary, getting more than 72 percent of the vote in a race with attorney Yashica Marshall.
In the general election, Sheffield will face Republican Matthew Hardwick.
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Dr. Michael Cunningham became the seventh Fire Chief in Cobb County’s history after the Board of Commissioners confirmed his appointment Tuesday. The appointment, recommended by County Manager Dr. Jackie McMorris, followed an extensive search process after the previous Fire Chief’s retirement last year.
Dr. McMorris highlighted Cunningham’s diverse background, noting his leadership in representing Cobb County as a speaker, expert, and facilitator at numerous conferences, as well as his experience as an instructor and author. Cobb’s Public Safety Director echoed the praise.
“I believe we have one of the greatest fire services in the country, and I know you are honored to lead it,” Public Safety Director Michael Register told Cunningham.
“It is a humbling experience and an absolute honor to be standing before you,” Chief Cunningham said moments after the board confirmed his appointment. “To the men and women of this department, I am truly honored to stand alongside you and uphold our tradition of excellence in service to this community. I’m excited about the future.”
Chief Cunningham has served with Cobb County Fire & Emergency Services since 2005, rising through the ranks to Division Chief before becoming Chief of Staff. In this position, he managed the administrative system that guides the daily operations of the Fire Chief and senior command staff. He provided strategic counsel to the Fire Chief and other command staff members and performed oversight, project management, performance management, and policy direction in line with the department’s strategic plan.
An Air Force veteran, Cunningham holds a PhD in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, a Master’s degree in Business Administration, a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, a Bachelor of Science in Professional Aeronautics, and an Associate’s in Applied Science in Avionic Systems Technology. Additionally, Chief Cunningham holds the Chief Fire Officer (CFO) designation from the CPSE Commission on Professional Credentialing. He is also a graduate of the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government EXCEL Management Development Program and the 2023 Leadership Cobb program.
Cunningham’s appointment officially begins on February 17. However, Director Register appointed him Interim Fire Chief immediately after the meeting, enabling him to assume his duties right away.
Stephen White, who has been the Cobb Tax Assessor since 2013, has been appointed the Cobb Support Services Agency director.
He was appointed Jan. 27 by the Cobb Board of Commissioners and begins his new role on Feb. 17.
He succeeds Sharon Stanley, who has retired.
Cobb Support Services oversees a number of county departments, including information technology services, procurement, property and fleet management and the tax assessor’s office.
White has been with the tax assessor’s office since 2005, starting as a senior appraiser, and was named a deputy chief in 2010.
As assessor, he oversaw daily operations of the office and the compilation of the county tax digest.
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!
