Sprayberry Crossing redevelopment called ‘a true mixed-use property’

Sprayberry Crossing developer
Atlantic Residential, developer of The Reserve at The Ballpark near SunTrust seen above, is proposing a 3- or 4-story apartment building, senior living, townhomes and retail on the site of Sprayberry Crossing.

Last Friday Sprayberry Crossing Action group leaders met with Richard Aaronson of Atlantic Realty, which is proposing a mixed-use development at Piedmont Road and Sandy Plains Road to replace the blighted, mostly abandoned shopping center there.

On Tuesday Shane Spink, one of those community leaders, reported on the meeting, and said he was impressed with the developer’s willingness to listen and make changes and adjustments to the plan.”

He said Atlantic Realty “took a few of the suggestions to go back to the drawing board.”

While the news about Atlantic Realty’s proposal has generated a positive reaction—for the most part—on the Sprayberry Crossing Action Facebook page, the most sensitive part of the project remains over some of the details of the residential plans.

Spink admitted his “top concern” was whether the townhomes would be for sale or rentals, since Atlantic has built some of the latter, but said he was “very pleased to hear that the townhomes will be ‘for sale’ ownership homes.”

About the overall development, here’s what Spink said they were shown:

“Please let me emphasize that what we looked at was a true mixed-use property and not a giant apartment complex like others have tried to describe this as. Here is the preliminary breakdown of what we saw:

  • For Sale Townhomes
  • Luxury Apartments w/Pool
  • Senior Living
  • Senior Living Amenities Center/Pool
  • Ground Floor Retail/Restaurant Space
  • Office/Workshare Space
  • Large Front Lawn Green-space

“In my opinion it doesn’t get more ‘Mixed-Use’ than that.”

Spink said none of the apartments will have three bedrooms and there will be more with one bedroom than two. That’s similar to what’s being built in the Powers Ferry Road corridor, mostly to prevent school overcrowding.

More exact details, Spink adds, are coming next week, and a community meeting will follow in the fall. Spink told East Cobb News there isn’t a set date for that meeting, but it could happen in October.

Understanding the concerns some have over the apartments, Spink urged residents to keep in mind  that “this an opportunity to transform our area for the better. In a few years we will come up on the 50th anniversary of Sprayberry Crossing being built and that’s a long time for any shopping center but especially for one that has been so neglected for so long.”

Back in the 1970s, land was more abundant in Cobb and “sprawling retail centers were all the rage. Fast forward to today, retail is dying, land is scarce, populations are growing and new ideas for use have transformed areas all over the country. This is one of those new ideas.”

You can read his full post here, and check out what’s been a very vibrant comments section.

 

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Cobb Master Gardeners to hold open garden sessions in September

Cobb Master Gardeners open garden

Every month the Master Gardener Volunteers of Cobb County holds an “open garden” session for the public to learn about and enjoy natural settings tended to by their members, as well as ongoing gardening projects.

Next week, they’ll be holding two open gardens at locations around Cobb as part of a countywide promotion of their programs, on Thursday, Sept. 14 and Saturday, Sept. 16, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. each day. Five venues are in or near East Cobb:

  • Wright Environmental Education Center (2663 Johnson Ferry Road);
  • Crossroads Community Garden (2661 Johnson Ferry Road);
  • McFarlane Nature Park (280 Farm Road);
  • Hyde Farm (726 Hyde Road);
  • Chattahoochee Nature Center (9135 Willeo Road, Roswell).

The following locations will have the same dates and times at open garden events:

  • Woodland Garden at Smith-Gilbert Gardens, 2382 Pine Mountain Road, Kennesaw;
  • Rose Garden at Smith-Gilbert Gardens, 2382 Pine Mountain Road, Kennesaw;
  • Period and Cherokee Garden at Green Meadows Preserve, 3780 Dallas Hwy, Marietta;
  • Green Meadows Preserve Community Garden, 3780 Dallas Hwy, Marietta;
  • Plant a Row for the Hungry, 657 Old Mountain Road, Marietta;
  • William Root House Museum & Garden, 80 North Marietta Pkwy, Marietta;
  • Reconnecting Our Roots Community Garden, 271 Lemon St, Marietta;
  • North Marietta Neighborhood Community Garden, 342 Pine St, Marietta;
  • Cobb County Water System: Wildlife and Rain Garden 660 South Cobb Dr, Marietta.

Most of the events have free admission, except for the Chattahoochee Nature Center and the Smith-Gilbert Gardens, which will charge an entry fee.

The following open garden will be Thursday only, also from 9-1:

  • Center for Children and Young Adults, 2221 Austell Road, Marietta.

The Wright Center in East Cobb is a regular venue for the monthly open garden sessions. In April, the grounds at Johnson Ferry and Post Oak Tritt Road were designated a wildlife sanctuary by the Atlanta Audubon Society.

Janis Hylton, a volunteer at the Wright Center, says this about the upcoming open garden sessions:

“Come hike the trails, bird-watch, enjoy nature and the native plants, check out the ‘Invasive Plants Jail,’ view the frogs in our recently-enlarged frog pond, and ask Master Gardeners questions. You are welcome to bring a lunch for a picnic on our picnic tables.”

Parking is available at the adjacent Chestnut Ridge Christian Church.

 

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Good Mews evacuates cats from Ga. coast before hurricane

Good Mews hurricane evacuation

It’s been a busy Labor Day weekend for staff and volunteers at East Cobb-based Good Mews, who traveled to a Glynn County shelter for an evacuation of 50 cats as Hurricane Dorian approaches the southeastern United States.

Shelter manager Kendra Ledlow and three Good Mews volunteers were making the 5-hour trip back to metro Atlanta Monday afternoon.

The cat shelter posted the above photo on its Facebook page and said that 18 of the cats will be delivered elsewhere upon arrival in Marietta, and the rest will be taken in at Good Mews. Without the rescue, they noted, the cats would have been euthanized.

Now Good Mews is asking for public donations, via its Best Friends/Strutt Your Mutt portal, to support its work of rescuing, caring for and preparing cats for adoption. Here’s what Good Mews is suggesting if you’re interested in helping out:

“For the first 32 people to donate $20 or more to our Strut Your Mutt team RIGHT NOW, you get to name one of our new kitties! To do this, write the suggested name in the note section of the donation page (see screenshot). This will automatically forward to our Good Mews hurricane evacuationteam captain. Once our new residents are settled in, we will also email a picture of your sponsored kitty!”

That screenshot is shown at the right.

Another way you can help out is at a benefit car wash this Saturday, Sept. 7, from 10-2 at Good Mews (3805 Robinson Road). Your $10 donation gets your car washed, and helps Good Mews earn “bonus dollars” from the Best Friends Animal Society. All the proceeds through Strut Your Mutt goes to the care of of Good Mews cats.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp called for a mandatory hurricane evacuation for the Georgia coast east of I-95 starting at noon Monday for the following counties: Bryan, Camden, Chatham, Glynn, Liberty and McIntosh.

By 8 a.m. Tuesday, all traffic along I-16 between Savannah with Dublin will be reverted to a “westerly contraflow,” meaning all lanes will be for outbound travel only.

 

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EDITOR’S NOTE: The admirable legacy of Johnny Isakson

Sen. Johnny Isakson and his wife Dianne in Normandy in June for the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. (Isakson office photo)

As the legacy of Johnny Isakson was being assessed this week by statewide media, and in Washington, D.C., news outlets, the view from home isn’t all that different, but with a few parochial twists.

Even before he became Georgia’s senior senator, a key leader in an emerging Republican majority in the state and a political elder statesman, Isakson was known simply as “Johnny.”

A personable, eager, hardworking real estate agent, he moved to what was to become East Cobb under the auspices of Northside Realty, founded by his father. This was in the mid-to-late-1960s.

He got involved in many business and civic activities, including the Marietta-Cobb Jaycees, the younger division of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce.

That’s how my father became acquainted with Isakson during that time, as Cobb County was going through its first boom period. The Jaycees also included George Lankford, later to become the first Republican elected to the Cobb County commission.

The Jaycees attracted many aspiring and ambitious types, some drawn to seeking political office. Isakson ran for the commission but lost in his first stab at elected office. My dad volunteered in the Lankford campaign but didn’t get involved in politics after that, as he built his own successful career as a home contractor.

Isakson continued taking an active role in community leadership as Northside Realty became a cornerstone of an East Cobb residential market that was just beginning to lay the foundation for the desirable homebuying market that it is today.

He took to politics like he took to selling real estate, utterly determined to succeed. That doggedness would serve Isakson well as a Republican because of the Democratic stranglehold on state, local and federal politics.

As a young legislator, he benefitted from Democrats who weren’t afraid to work across the aisle. When Republicans became the majority party, Isakson returned the favor without hesitation.

After losing a nasty battle for governor to Zell Miller, Isakson was called upon by Miller to head up a state board of education in disarray. Isakson took on the job.

Bipartisanship was never a dirty word to Isakson, a rarity given the increasingly polarized times that paralleled his ascent.

He would succeed combative Speaker Newt Gingrich in the East Cobb-based 6th U.S. House District.

After losing a U.S. Senate GOP primary, Isakson in 2004 won the first of three elections to that body, becoming the first Georgia Republican to ever do so.

That he won’t be able to finish out that third term due to health reasons has saddened many, including those who don’t agree with him politically.

That’s because for Isakson, a person’s politics aren’t a reflection of who they are as a human being. He’s unlike too many of his Congressional colleagues in both parties, as well as the current commander-in-chief, who exploit those differences for the purpose of intentional division.

Isakson is a committed conservative, to be sure, and he has fought hard for those positions and has been a loyal member of his political party. Some observers, especially those with a more liberal perspective, think he could have done more to publicly decry the tenor of the Tweets and other outbursts coming from the White House, among other things.

Earlier this year, Isakson did give Trump a tongue-lashing for comments about the late Sen. John McCain, one of Isakson’s closest colleagues and friends. That the president didn’t Tweet something in return, or respond in any other way, is noteworthy.

In an age of political showhorses, Isakson has always been a workhorse.

Treating people with respect has been a hallmark of his service as an elected official, something he cultivated as a young real estate agent in East Cobb many decades ago.

Eight years ago this month, on the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, Isakson stood in the pulpit at East Cobb’s Mt. Zion United Methodist Church, where he has taught Sunday School for many years.

He delivered remarks during an ecumenical service there that summed up so much of what Isakson has embodied in public life. He was resolute about U.S. objectives in cracking down on terrorism, but in doing so reached out to the Christian, Jewish and Islamic faithful in attendance.

That was one set of remarks among the many thousands of speeches he has given in more than four decades on the public stage, but it’s one I heard as so thoroughly decent and devoid of an agenda.

It was refreshing, as was Isakson’s example in so many other ways. He spoke out against an anti-gay resolution adopted by the Cobb commission in the early 1990s that prompted Atlanta Olympic organizers to cancel related events in the county.

The county has come a long way since Isakson stepped into the spotlight, and that’s not a coincidence.

Whether you agreed with his votes and politics or not, his humble leadership style and the personal values he put into practice every day will certainly be missed, especially in these fractious times.

More on Isakson from the AJC‘s Jim Galloway and with MDJ editors. Isakson also spoke this week to longtime Atlanta newsman Denis O’Hayer at WABE-FM.

 

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MUST Ministries to hold new shelter event at Indian Hills

MUST Ministries wants to an expanded homeless shelter and service facility for those in need, and is holding several “preview” events in September for its upcoming fundraising campaign.MUST Ministries summer lunch program

One of those events will be in East Cobb, at Indian Hills Country Club, on Wednesday, Sept. 11 from 7:30-8:30 p.m.

MUST Ministries is calling the information meetings a “first look” opportunity for anyone who may be interested in hearing more about the plans.

The capital campaign, called “Build Hope a Home,” is aiming to raise more than $10 million. The facility, which would be located near its current site on Cobb Parkway near Bells Ferry Road, would include a food pantry, a clothes closet and job training center for those in need.

The current shelter, which has a capacity of around 70, is in a former church. MUST estimates it turns away more than 200-300 people a month seeking shelter.

MUST provides services to 33,000 people in poverty in an eight-county area, and its Loaves and Fishes Community Kitchen serves an estimated 80,000 meals a year.

At the first look events, individuals will meet with MUST board members and leaders over dessert to hear the plans.

The event is free, but you’re asked to RSVP at mustministries.org a week before the event. There are other similar meetings around the county; details are at the link.

Earlier this week, MUST sent out a message saying it’s running low on a number of regular categories of food it keeps in supply. Included on the “urgent needs” list are the following:

  • canned mixed vegetables
  • peas
  • jelly
  • cereal
  • canned chicken
  • chili
  • beef stew
  • laundry detergent
  • shampoo

You can drop off those and other foods and supplies Tuesday-Saturday 9-5 at at the MUST Donation Center, 1280 Field Parkway, Marietta.

If you’re attending Noshfest Sunday or Monday, the suggested donation for admission is two canned goods per family for MUST Ministries.

You can also donate online.

 

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East Cobb football update: Pope, Sprayberry gain first wins

Pope and Sprayberry got their first wins on Friday night in East Cobb rivalry contests in the second week of the high school football season.Sprayberry football, East Cobb football

The Yellow Jackets got off to a tough start in an opening loss to South Forsyth last week, and was facing Wheeler, which they hadn’t beaten since 2007.

But Sprayberry took an early 14-0 lead and never relinquished it in a 21-14 win at Jim Frazier Stadium.

Both touchdowns were scored by Damarion Owens, a junior running back, and the Yellow Jackets (1-1) didn’t give up any points until Wheeler ran a kickoff for a touchdown in the second half.

East Cobb sports updateAt the Hound Pound, Pope played its first game of the season against East Cobb Lassiter, coming off a 47-3 loss to Harrison.

The Greyhounds never trailed in a 23-3 win. Pope led 14-0 at halftime, and for the second straight game, the Trojans (0-2) managed only a field goal. Last year, Lassiter’s only win in a 1-9 season came against Pope.

Walton was coming off a come-from-behind victory over Norcross in the Corky Kell Classic last week as it entertained another Gwinnett team, Collins Hill, in the Raiders’ home opener.

After trailing 6-0 most of the game, the Raiders took a 10-6 lead with less than six minutes to play. Walton got a field goal from Conor Cummins and touchdown run from KD Stokes.

But then Collins Hill got the ball and drove 70 yards, getting a nine-yard touchdown play as the clock expired for a 12-10 win.

The loss for Walton (1-1) was only the second regular season setback for third-year Raiders coach Daniel Brunner.

Coming Up

More East Cobb rivalry games are in store on Friday, as Pope visits Walton and Kell (1-0) is at Lassiter.

Sprayberry stays home to play South Cobb, which was trounced 46-0 by McEachern.

Wheeler (1-1) returns home to play Shiloh.

 

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Marietta Blues Bash moving to new East Cobb event space

Brick and Ivey, Marietta Blues Bash

The Extension, a Marietta-based non-profit agency, provides recovery services for those with addictions and who have been homeless.

Its annual fundraiser, the Marietta Blues Bash, is coming up on Sept. 12, and this year it’s being held at Brick and Ivey, a new event space next to Hoyle’s Kitchen + Bar (1440 Roswell Road).

Here are the event details The Extension is putting out, and they’re expecting tickets to go quickly:

Join co-host Cobb County Commission Chairman Mike Boyce for our annual Marietta Blues Bash event.

For the last 32 years, The Extension has saved, transformed, and restored the lives thousands of men and women struggling with drug and alcohol addiction in our community. 

Enjoy a traditional low country boil meal by Southern Charmed Catering featuring shrimp, Andouille Sausage, corn, baby red potatoes, southern collard greens, Wisconsin Cheddar macaroni and cheese and select pies to finish the meal.

Kenney Bentley Presents and his band will be paying tribute to jazz and blues greats. The silent auction will feature sports memorabilia, tickets to entertainment and sporting events and travel opportunities.  

There is a $50 suggested donation per person. Sponsorships and reserved tables for eight are currently available. For more information, call Renee McCormick at 770-590-9075 x309 or visit us online at www.theextension.org/bluesbash

 

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The Art Place launches new website, announces fall programs

There’s a new look—and a new link—for the online presence for The Art Place, which also has released some details of what’s its offering this fall.

The old website isn’t being updated any longer, but here’s the new URL, where you’ll find information on upcoming art classes (and registration links), as well as art gallery events, Center Stage North community theater showings and more.

The Art Place (3332 Sandy Plains Road) also rents out its black box theater and conference rooms and classrooms for private events.

Some fall classes have already begun (here’s a full listing of what’s available) and there’s also a signup link to arts and other classes offered by the Cobb Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department.

Each month The Art Place showcases the work of local artists, and next Thursday is the opening reception for a month-long gallery show featuring fused glass artist Nancy Cann starting at 7 p.m.

On Oct. 4, The Art Place will present and interactive glow event, “Art in The Dark,” from 7:30-10 p.m., featuring art installations, hands-on activities, a glow wall and theater in the dark.

The Art Place also is the home for Center Stage North, which will have staging of the play “Point of Order.” from Oct. 11-19.

The community theater organization also recently announced its 2020 season and will soon be selling subscriptions.

The Art Place, which is part of the Cobb Parks and Recreation Department, works in conjunction with the volunteer support of the Mountain View Arts Alliance, which helps raise funds for classes and events and conducts outreach.

The Art Place has resumed fall hours, and is open Monday-Thursday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. through Oct. 25.

For information email: info@artplacemarietta.org or call 770-509-2700.

 

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Georgia officials prep for Dorian; emergency in 12 counties

Georgia Hurricane Dorian

Hurricane Dorian is gathering speed as it moves over the Bahamas and toward the Florida Atlantic Coast, and south Georgia is bracing for the storm.

The metro Atlanta area isn’t expected to be affected by the storm, which the National Weather Service is rating at Category 3 as it’s about 600 miles from Florida. The map above was released by the NWS Friday morning.

Dorian is expected to make landfall Tuesday morning in a wide projection cone that’s prompted a state of emergency for 12 counties in south Georgia.

Gov. Brian Kemp issued the declaration Thursday afternoon for the following counties: Brantley, Bryan, Camden, Charlton, Chatham, Effingham, Glynn, Liberty, Long, McIntosh, Pierce, and Wayne.

The Jacksonville NWS map below, also from Friday morning, shows increasingly wet and windy conditions along Florida’s First Coast and the Georgia coast.

Georgia Hurricane Dorian

The NWS forecast for Cobb and metro Atlanta doesn’t call for much in the way of any impact from Dorian. The weekend and Labor Day will be dry, hot and sunny, with highs in the low 90s.

There’s 30 percent chance of rain on Sunday, and a 20 percent chance returns Tuesday and could remain for the rest of the week.

Lows will hover around 70 and highs are forecast for the high 80s and low 90s next week.

The state has issued a number of links that are good in the case of any kind of emergency:

  • View updates from Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency here.
  • Visit Ready Georgia for weather alerts and emergency preparedness tips.
  • Follow Georgia 511 for real-time traffic information.
  • Learn what to do before, during, and after a flood here.
  • Report power outages by contacting your power provider. The two main providers in Georgia are:
    • Georgia Power (contact here or at 888-891-0938)
    • Georgia electric membership cooperatives (EMCs) (find your local branch here)
  • Call your local non-emergency police line to report a downed tree in a main road.

 

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Restaurant news: Flying Biscuit Cafe returning to East Cobb

Flying Biscuit East Cobb

Several years after leaving East Cobb, the Flying Biscuit Cafe is returning.

Like Mellow Mushroom, it’s coming back to the Johnson Ferry Road corridor, albeit in another location.

After Flying Biscuit left East Cobb in 2010, its freestanding space at Woodlawn Commons was occupied by Chase Bank, next to the Fed Ex store.

There’s a sign in the window at the old La Vida Massage space at Parkaire Landing Shopping Center indicating Flying Biscuit will open soon there, but there’s not a specific date indicated.

The Flying Biscuit space at Parkaire is 3,000 square feet, according to Jamestown Limited Partners, the retail center’s management firm.

We’ve contacted Flying Biscuit and Jamestown to get more details and will update here when we get them.

Ironically, La Vida is now located in the same Woodlawn Square retail center where Flying Biscuit once had been.

Flying Biscuit announced recently it was opening in the Castleberry Hill neighborhood in Atlanta and last year opened a restaurant in Toco Hills near Decatur. It also opened a new restaurant in South Carolina and is reopening a location in Houston.

According to its website, the Atlanta-based company operates 20 restaurants in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Texas. Twelve of them are in metro Atlanta, including Kennesaw, Roswell and Sandy Springs.

The Loyal Tavern (formerly Loyal Q and Brew) closed up at Parkaire after less than two years in business. That space had been vacant for a few years before that. The Pollo Tropical space at Parkaire has been converted into a Regions Bank.

Other restaurants and eateries at Parkaire include Ted’s Montana Grill, Johnny’s New York Pizza, Sakura, Cold Stone Creamery, Moe’s, Subway and Taco Bell.

H/T to The Current Hub.

Related stories

 

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Friday Night Lights: East Cobb rivalry games continue

Friday Night Lights East Cobb

There are two rivalry games on tap Friday night in East Cobb as the high school football season continues. Last week’s openers included thrilling late wins by Kell and Walton in the Corky Kell Classic.

Wheeler (1-0) visits Sprayberry (0-1) in a game featuring the two oldest high schools in East Cobb. Last year, the Wildcats roared 40-20, snuffing out a late Yellow Jackets comeback with an interception that was returned 91 yards for a touchdown.

That was the first Wheeler-Sprayberry game since 2013. This will be the first taste of that rivalry for new Wheeler coach Bryan Love, who started out his tenure in strong fashion last week with a 42-19 Wildcats win over Lambert.

According to the Georgia High School Football Historians Association, Wheeler leads the rivalry against Sprayberry 33-13.

Pope will open its season at home on Friday against Lassiter, which fell hard to Harrison 47-3 for new coach Sean Thom.

In last year’s game, Lassiter won for the only time in the season by a 20-13 count. The Trojans were 1-9 overall, and Jep Irwin resigned to take a coaching job in Kentucky.

Pope is considered a contender in Region 6 of Class 6A but is looking for its first win over Lassiter since 2014.

Lassiter leads the all-time series with Pope 19-8.

Walton (1-0) has its home opener at Raider Valley against Collins Hill, which is making its season debut. This is a rematch of last year’s Corky Kell Classic game won by Walton. Collins Hill won the first two meetings against the Raiders, in 1999 and 2013.

Kell is off this week.

Kickoff time for all three games Friday is 7:30 p.m.

East Cobb rivalry games will continue next week when Pope plays Walton and Kell meets Lassiter.

 

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Cobb population growth rises slightly in 2018, to 766,400

East Cobb ZIP Code map, Cobb population growth

The population of Cobb County keeps going up, but not as much as nearby counties and the city of Atlanta.

According to the Atlanta Regional Commission, Cobb added 8,100 new residents in 2018, bringing the overall county population to 766,400.

The ARC released its population estimates on Wednesday, and Cobb is the third-largest county in metro Atlanta. During the current decade, the county’s population has grown by 78,322, reflecting a slower growth rate than previous decades. The ARC said Cobb added more than 150,000 people each decade between 1980 and 2000.

Fulton and Gwinnett counties added the most residents, while the highest growth rates occurred in Cherokee and Henry counties and the City of Atlanta. The ARC figures the metro population now is 4.6 million people in the 10-county area (Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry and Rockdale, the city of Atlanta and 73 municipalities in those counties).

Cherokee County’s population grew more than Cobb’s for the first time, with 8,200 additional residents in 2018. Cherokee, which had a population of 91,000 in 1990, now is at 262,700, according to the ARC estimates.

For more information about ARC’s population estimates, check out ARC’s latest Regional Snapshot. The numbers are figured by using building permit data, school enrollment trends, occupancy rates and other data.

The ARC breakdown doesn’t include population trends within counties, except cities as noted above, so there isn’t a calculation for East Cobb.

When Cobb went over 750,000 in population in 2017, we estimated that the four main ZIP codes that make up East Cobb, plus the Cobb slice of Roswell 30075, eclipsed 200,000 people.

We looked at info on the very useful Georgia Demographics website, which has ZIP Code-specific data that isn’t as readily available from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Those figures have gone up by a few thousand, to around 208,000, according to the Georgia Demographics estimates. By ZIP Code, here’s how East Cobb stacks up now:

  • ZIP Code 30062: Population 67,248; Whites 68%, Blacks 12.4%, Asians 8.8%; Median household income $94,437; Average age 40.4 years old;
  • ZIP Code 30066: Population 54,126; Whites 70.3%, Blacks 10.2%, Hispanics 8.1%; Median household income $91,364; Average age 40.7 years old;
  • ZIP Code 30067: Population 46,888; Whites 53%, Blacks 28.2%, Hispanics 9.5%; Median household income $55,681; Average age 33.2 years old;
  • ZIP Code 30068: Population 32,006; Whites 77.3%, Asians 7.6%, Hispanics 6.6%, Blacks 6.1%; Median household income $108,105; Average age 44.5 years old.

The Roswell ZIP Code 30075 includes the extreme northeast portion of Cobb County, or about 8,100 residents of the 53,200 population of the ZIP Code. The Georgia Demographics data didn’t make any county splits, but 30075 overall breaks down as follows: Whites 77.7%, Blacks 9.5%, Hispanics 5.9%; Median income $109,786; Average age 42.9 years old.

The 30062 and 30066 populations were up slightly from two years ago, while 30067, 30068 and 30075 held steady or were down slightly.

For 2040, the ARC is projecting Cobb’s population to be at 885,062, an increase of 157,541 people since the 2015 Census update.

 

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Traffic alert: Interstate North Parkway closure through Friday

Interstate North Parkway closed
Cobb Govt. photo

UPDATED THURSDAY, 5:05 P.M.

Here’s what Cobb commissioner Bob Ott’s office released just a little while ago:

The break was on our 12-inch line that connected directly to the Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority’s 48-inch line. It was determined that we do not need this connection, so our repair eliminated the connection to the Water Authority’s line. Water was restored to 400 Interstate North Parkway around 7:45 p.m. last night. The line we repaired yesterday began leaking today. We have a crew onsite now to resolve the problem.

The CCMWA expects their contractor to complete this work by 6 p.m. today. This work does not affect our customers.

The road remains closed, but there is access to the 400 building. CW Matthews will repair the road tonight after the CCMWA’s contractor finishes his work. Road work should be finished tomorrow between 6 a.m. and noon.

ORIGINAL REPORT, WEDNESDAY, 4:35 P.M.

If you commute to and from this part of the Cumberland area be advised: A massive water main break has forced the closure of a portion of Interstate North Parkway until at least midday Friday.

Cobb officials released the above photo of the gushing break in front of the 400 Interstate Parkway North building. That’s near Cumberland Boulevard and the newly opened Bob Callan Trail extension, and in a heavily traveled corridor of office parks.

They said water service is shut off only to this one building. Here’s more of what was released around 4 p.m. Wednesday:

Work to repair the water main break at 400 Interstate North Parkway near Cumberland Blvd will take longer than initially thought. Crews will not be able to get in to repair the roadway until later Thursday.

  • Interstate North Parkway will remain CLOSED between Cumberland and Powers Ferry until midday FRIDAY;
  • Cobb DOT has arranged traffic flow so there is access to all businesses in the area.

For enlarged view of map and updates click here.

Interstate North Parkway closure

 

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Sen. Isakson retiring due to ‘mounting health challenges’

The office of U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson announced Wednesday that due to health reasons, he will be resigning his seat with three years left in his term.Isakson blisters Trump

Here’s the message from Isakson, 74, an East Cobb Republican, who’s been rehabbing from a fall in his Washington apartment and has been battling Parkinson’s disease.

He also announced he had kidney surgery this week:

“After much prayer and consultation with my family and my doctors, I have made the very tough decision to leave the U.S. Senate at the end of this year. I have informed Georgia Governor Brian Kemp today that I will resign my Senate seat effective December 31, 2019.

“I am leaving a job I love because my health challenges are taking their toll on me, my family and my staff. My Parkinson’s has been progressing, and I am continuing physical therapy to recover from a fall in July. In addition, this week I had surgery to remove a growth on my kidney.

“In my 40 years in elected office, I have always put my constituents and my state of Georgia first. With the mounting health challenges I am facing, I have concluded that I will not be able to do the job over the long term in the manner the citizens of Georgia deserve. It goes against every fiber of my being to leave in the middle of my Senate term, but I know it’s the right thing to do on behalf of my state.

“I look forward to returning to Washington on September 9 when the Senate goes back into session. And after December 31, I look forward to continuing to help the people of Georgia in any way I can and also helping those who are working toward a cure for Parkinson’s.”

Isakson’s term ends at the end of 2022. Under Georgia law, the governor will appoint a successor until a special election in 2020.

That means both Georgia senate seats will be on the ballot next November. Republican Sen. David Perdue, the junior senator, has indicated he will be seeking a second term.

The winner of the special election for Isakson’s seat would serve two years, with that office then being up for a six-year term in 2022 elections.

Here’s the letter Isakson wrote to Kemp.

Walton High School

An East Cobb civic icon

Isakson was a pillar of the East Cobb business and civic community before he ever ran for public office. The founder and president of Northside Realty, Isakson was called upon by Cobb school superintendent Kermit Keenum in the early 1970s to help the district find land for a badly needed middle school and high school in fast-growing East Cobb.

As he noted in 2017 at the ribbon-cutting for the new Walton High School building (in photo above), the properties he located on Bill Murdock Road for what were to become Walton and Dodgen Middle School cost less than $5,000 combined.

He and his wife Dianne, whom he married in 1968, raised three children, who attended school in the Walton cluster. They have eight grandchildren and are members of Mt. Zion United Methodist Church on Johnson Ferry Road.

When Isakson was elected to the Georgia House in 1976, he was one of the first Republicans in what was becoming known as East Cobb to win public office. While in the lower house, he ran for governor in 1990 but lost.

Two years later, he won a seat in the Georgia Senate, where he served for one term, then left to run for the U.S. Senate. Isakson lost a GOP runoff to succeed the retiring Sam Nunn, who was followed by Max Cleland.

Serving in Washington

After U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich announced in 1998 he would not seek re-election, Isakson ran for and won the 6th District seat that includes East Cobb, serving until he won his first U.S. Senate term in 2004.

While in the Senate, Isakson has been chairman of the Veterans Affairs and Ethics committees.

In 2015, Isakson announced he had Parkinson’s disease, but ran for a third term the following year and won the general election with 54 percent of the vote.

He is the first Republican in Georgia history to win three U.S. Senate terms and is the only Georgian to be elected to the Georgia House and Senate, as well as the U.S. House and Senate.

Isakson also has served as chairman of the Georgia Board of Education.

Georgia has become a more competitive state politically since his last election. The 6th District seat that had been in GOP hands since 1979 was narrowly won by Republican Karen Handel in a special election in 2017 that was the most expensive race in U.S. House history.

But she lost last year to Democrat Lucy McBath. Statewide, Democrats ran close races, including governor.Sen. Johnny Isakson

A fiscal and social conservative, Isakson has been hailed for his moderate temperament and earned a reputation for working across the aisle during his political career.

Earlier this summer, Isakson led a bipartisan Senate delegation to Normandy to observe the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

Perdue has been a staunch and unapologetic defender of President Donald Trump. Earlier this year, Isakson blistered the president for his comments about late Sen. John McCain, a close friend of Isakson, making good on remarks from the Senate floor he had made earlier that anyone who “tarnishes the reputation of John McCain deserves a whipping.”

“I never worry about what I’m doing politically or practically in the Senate as long as I think I’m doing what’s right,” Isakson said in an interview on Georgia Public Radio.

In 2017, Isakson was named the East Cobb Citizen of the Year by the East Cobb Area Council of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce.

Isakson was unable to attend due to duties in Washington, but then-Chamber president David Connell remarked that “if you looked up a definition of a statesman and a public servant, you’ll see a picture of Johnny Isakson.”

Local, state, national reaction

McBath issued the following statement about Isakson Wednesday afternoon:

“Sen. Johnny Isakson’s last 4 decades in public service show his deep commitment to serving the people of Georgia and this country. He will be missed in our delegation & Sen. Isakson and his family are in my prayers.

Gov. Kemp’s office issued this statement with First Lady Marty Kemp, the daughter of a former legislative colleague of Isakson, that says in part:

“Georgia should be most thankful for is the high standard that Johnny held as a true gentleman, a fighter for his constituents, a trusted advocate for our nation’s veterans, and one of the greatest statesmen to ever answer the call of service to our country. Marty and I are forever grateful for the friendship that Johnny and Dianne have shown us over the years and wish them the very best in the years to come. I will appoint Senator Isakson’s replacement at the appropriate time.”

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, Isakson’s former chief of staff and a possible appointee to fill his seat:

“I will be forever grateful that he was willing to take a chance on me in 2004 and that he has served as a mentor to me ever since. Whenever I am confronted with a tough decision, I often ask myself, ‘What would Johnny do?'”

New York Democrat Chuck Schumer, the Senate Minority Leader, issued this statement:

“One of the many fine adjectives to describe Johnny Isakson is a word not used enough in the halls of Congress these days: kind. Not only is Johnny a diligent and successful legislator, he is one of the kindest, most thoughtful senators. Independent of any party or politics, everyone will miss Johnny.” 

We’ll add more reaction from elected officials and others as we get it.

 

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Cobb schools to have early release for professional learning

Cobb school bus safety

Just a reminder if you’re out and about at lunchtime on Wednesday: Cobb schools are releasing early for a local professional learning day for teachers and staff. Here’s the schedule:

  • High school, 11:30 a.m.
  • Elementary school, 12:30 p.m.
  • Middle school, 1:30 p.m.

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Georgia gas prices continue falling as Labor Day holiday approaches

Georgia gas prices Labor Day

Information submitted by AAA Georgia:

Labor Day is quickly approaching and gas prices for the holiday weekend are lining up to be the lowest in 2-3 years. However, there are still a number of factors that could push prices higher before the holiday. 

Today, the average price for gasoline in Georgia is $2.42 per gallon. Drivers are currently paying 28 cents less than they did on Labor Day 2018 ($2.70) and 27 cents less than on Labor Day 2017 ($2.69).

“Labor Day travelers will benefit from lower oil prices this year as they fill up for their holiday road trip,” said Montrae Waiters, spokeswoman, AAA – The Auto Club Group. “Strong US oil production rates are holding oil prices about 15% below last year’s levels, effectively reducing the price of producing gasoline. Gas prices should remain low heading into the holiday, unless something unexpected threatens fuel supplies, like geopolitical tensions or a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico.”

Labor Day marks the end of the busy summer travel season, and the last big surge in gasoline demand before the fall. The expectation of strong demand can promote a slight and temporary bump at the pump before the holiday. However, after Labor Day, refineries begin their seasonal switch to winter-blend gasoline. Summer-blend gasoline is more expensive to produce than winter-blend, because the EPA requires more additives in the hotter months of the year. The combination of lower demand and fuel production costs typically restores downward pressure on pump prices through the end of the year. 

 

Find Georgia Gas Prices

 

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East Cobb food scores: Kale Me Crazy; Okko Ramen; Zama and more

Okko Ramen Asian Kitchen

The following East Cobb food scores from Aug. 19-30 have been compiled by the Cobb & Douglas Department of Public Health. Click the link under each listing to view details of the inspection:

Alto Senior Living Marietta 
840 Lecroy Drive
August 21, 2019 Score: 96, Grade: A

Arby’s 
2161 Roswell Road
August 20, 2019 Score: 98, Grade: A

Bitefull
2217 Roswell Road, Suite B1
August 21, 2019 Score: 96, Grade: A

Cazadores Mexican Restaurant
2731 Sandy Plains Road, Suite 160
August 19, 2019 Score: 97, Grade: A

Chick-fil-A
2530 Sandy Plains Road
August 27, 2019 Score: 99, Grade: A

Dunkin’ Donuts
611 Johnson Ferry Road
August 28, 2019 Score: 100, Grade: A

Kale Me Crazy
4475 Roswell Road, Suite 1620
August 20, 2019 Score: 96, Grade: A

Laredo’s Mexican Bar and Grill
1860 Sandy Plains Road, Suite 400
August 23, 2019 Score: 96, Grade: A

McDonald’s 
3011 Johnson Ferry Road
August 22, 2019 Score: 99, Grade: A

Okko Ramen 
3045 Gordy Parkway, Suite 108
August 20, 2019 Score: 93, Grade: A

The Rusty Barrel
138 Powers Ferry Road
August 22, 2019 Score: 97, Grade: A

Starbuck’s and Pizza Hut at Target
1401 Johnson Ferry Road
August 27, 2019 Score: 97, Grade: A

The SuperFood Company
2520 E. Piedmont Road, Suite 22
August 21, 2019 Score: 96, Grade: A

VFW Post 2681 Snack Bar
140 Powers Ferry Road
August 22, 2019 Score: 99, Grade: A

Which Wich Superior Sandwiches
1401 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 310
August 22, 2019 Score: 91, Grade: A

Wing Stop 
2900 Delk Road, Suite 100
August 21, 2019 Score: 84, Grade: B

Zama Mexican Cuisine
2550 Sandy Plains Road, Suite 300
August 21, 2019 Score: 99, Grade: A

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Cobb schools to hold dual enrollment information sessions

Submitted information:Cobb County School District, Cobb schools dual enrollment summit

Parents, students, and families are invited to learn more about Dual Enrollment opportunities and eligibility at the Cobb County School District Dual Enrollment Summit on September 4 at the Cobb Civic Center. Cobb Counselors will present informative sessions at 6:00-6:30 p.m. and 7:30-8:00 p.m.  

Colleges and universities will also be available to talk about the programs at their schools, including Georgia Tech, Kennesaw State University, Chattahoochee Technical College, Georgia State University, Young Harris College, Georgia Highlands College, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Georgia Military College.  

“Dual Enrollment not only provides an opportunity for eligible students to be challenged with the rigor of a college-level course, but it also cuts the cost and time after high school graduation in pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree,” said Cheryl Crooks, Cobb Schools Supervisor of Personalized Learning. “In addition, many students choose to build a career skill set in technology, business, computer science, public service, and healthcare while in high school. This increases opportunities for employment with high wages as they are completing their educational goals.” 

Dual enrollment courses are held on college campuses, online, and even high school campuses, but they are all taught by college professors. Beyond core classes, students can explore a variety of career tracks. They also have the potential to earn certificates ranging from Cisco Network Specialist, Marketing Management, and Diesel Equipment Technology to Healthcare Assistant, Nursing Assistant, and Carpentry. 

Some students may even earn an Associate degree or diploma, all while in high school. Participating universities in Georgia include the Technical College System of Georgia, University System of Georgia, and some eligible private colleges on GAfutures.org

“The vast array of career and college courses available with the Georgia Dual Enrollment program is expanding and is one of the most exciting opportunities available for Cobb high school students,” added Crooks, who is helping organize the information session for parents.   

 

For more information visit the Cobb schools dual enrollment page.

 

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East Cobb faith communities help dedicate new Habitat house

Habitat House, East Cobb faith communities

Submitted information and photo:

Nine Cobb County churches, two Mosques, a Synagogue and three corporations gathered yesterday in unity to dedicate the 19th Cobb County Interfaith Habitat Coalition home they built together for newest homeowner Belinda Arkoh.  

The 2019 Coalition included: Temple Kol Emeth Synagogue, Bethany United Methodist Church, Covenant United Methodist Church, Log Cabin Community Church of Vinings, Unity North Church, St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, First Presbyterian Church of Marietta, Smyrna First United Methodist Church, McEachern United Methodist Church, St. Catherine’s Episcopal Church, West Cobb Islamic Center and the Islamic Center of Marietta. Corporations include BB&T, Moore Colson and Pinkerton & Laws Construction of Atlanta.  

They all work in concert to do as their motto says, ‘We Build to Coexist, We Coexist to Build’. The annual coalition is co-chaired by Henry Hene, NW Metro Atlanta Habitat Board Member and Paul Wilson, both members of Temple Kol Emeth. 

The home on Old Bankhead Highway began on June 1. Volunteers from each organization built alongside the new homeowner each Saturday since to complete the home.

Belinda is a recent widow and mother of two children: a 4-year-old son and 2- year old daughter. Belinda has been a United States resident since 2007, and proudly became a naturalized citizen in 2013. She lost her husband and father of her two children in 2018.  

After living in a single bedroom apartment with her two children, they now have a home, yard, neighborhood and community. Belinda is professional seamstress and a devoted Christian who loves working in her community work and her church.

Pictured from left to right: David McKay, House Leader; Jessica Gill, CEO NW Metro Atlanta Habitat; Greg Lee, McEachern United Methodist Church; Paula Wilson, Temple Kol Emeth; Henry Hene, Coalition Co-Chair and NW Metro Atlanta Habitat Board; Paul Wilson, Coalition Co-Chair; Tony Phillips, Pastor McEachern United Methodist Church; Rabbi Steve Lebow, Temple Koh Emeth; Belinda Arkoh, homeowner; Amjad Taufigue, West Cobb Islamic Center; Rev. Avril James, Unity North Church; Jerry Zigler, Covenant United Methodist Church; Connie Bergeron, Dave Daniels, St. Catherine’s Episcopal Church; and Alan Nicely, Smyrna First United Methodist Church.

 

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Sterigenics CEO to brief Cobb commissioners after town hall

Bob Ott, Sterigenics
Cobb commissioner Bob Ott

After a heated town hall meeting last week at the Cobb Civic Center over toxic emissions coming from a Smyrna medical sterilization plant, the CEO of that company will address Cobb commissioners at a work session Monday.

It’s the first item on the work session agenda, which includes a presentation of the 2018 Cobb government pension report, an update on the Cobb 2050 Comprehensive Transportation Plan and updates of the 2005, 2011 and 2016 SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) programs from PARKS, Transportation, Facilities, Public Safety, Public Services and Information Technology.

(You can read through the agenda items here.)

The work session begins at 1:30 p.m. Monday in the second floor board room of the Cobb government building, 100 Cherokee St., in downtown Marietta.

According to the agenda summary, the commissioners “will receive presentations from Mr. Philip McNabb, CEO Sterigenics, Lauren Curry, [Georgia] EPD Deputy Director and Karen Hays, Chief, Air Protection Branch regarding the Smyrna Sterigenic Plant, their operational processes and their plan moving forward.”

More than 1,000 people turned out for the town hall in the wake of a report by Georgia Health News and WebMD that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency didn’t notify the state of three ethylene oxide hotspots it detected with higher cancer risks in Georgia for more than a year.

One of those hotspots is the Smyrna plant off Atlanta Road. Ethylene oxide is an invisible, odorless toxin that’s used to sterilize around half of all medical products that require it. It’s also been linked to higher cancer rates in areas near facilities that emanate the gas.

In 2016 the EPA upgraded the designation of ethylene oxide to a carcinogen.

In his weekly newsletter released Friday, District 2 Cobb commissioner Bob Ott wrote the following:

I want to emphasize here that there is much that we all now know, but there is also much that we don’t know yet. For example, until the air quality testing being done by Cobb, Smyrna and the City of Atlanta is complete, we do not know what levels of ethylene oxide from the plant are in our air. The testing is also going to give us the ambient amount of ethylene oxide in our air. Studies have shown that in most areas of the country there is some amount of ethylene oxide in the air. The testing sanctioned by the county and the cities will give us that information. The results should be known in about a month.
    
In talking with many of you I know that you are concerned about the health and safety of you and your families. I share your concerns and want you to know that the county is doing all it can to get factual data to determine the path forward.

Until we gather more information, I ask you to not make any rash decisions about moving or closing your business. The commissioners will have in short order factual data about the amount of ethylene oxide in our air and the health ramifications.

Ott mentioned the Monday work session, and included the following links for more information:

 

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