The Cobb County Public Library System announced that for three days next week, the Mountain View Regional Library will be closed for “a large entrance door replacement project.”
The library system said in a release Thursday that the branch at 3320 Sandy Plains Road will be closed from Thursday, Sept. 11, through Saturday, Sept. 13, and is scheduled to reopen the following day, Sunday, Sept. 14.
As a regional library, Mountain View is one of the few Cobb branches that is open on Sundays.
During the closure, curbside pickup services for reserved items will be available from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Thursday-Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Mountain View book drops will remain open throughout the closure period.
The closest branch is the Gritters Library at 880 Shaw Park Road, which will be open during the Mountain View closure Thursday-Friday are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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Last month we noted that a number of East Cobb restaurants and eateries will be taking part in Cobb Foodie Week, a promotion of Cobb Travel and Tourism, and that’s slated to run starting Saturday through next Saturday, Sept. 13.
A number of the local restaurants are at Avenue East Cobb (4475 Roswell Road), which released the following details about what each place there will be promoting:
Peach State Pizza: 10% off all food items
Press Waffle Co.: Buy One Waffle, Get One Waffle 50% Off
Round Trip Brewing: 15% Off Any Adult Entrée
Smallcakes 20% Off A Six Pack Of Cupcakes
Tin Lizzy’s Cantina: Buy 2 Tacos, Get 1 Free
Tin Pin: Free $5 Game Card With Purchase
And here are the others:
Biscuits and More (3162 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 140), 20 percent off any order of $20 or more.
Camps Kitchen and Bar (Paper Mill Village), free garlic knots with purchase
Cuban Diner (1484 Roswell Road), 10 percent off one entree
Green Coyote Cantina (Paper Mill Village), free queso with purchase
Marlow’s Tavern (Merchants Walk), $10 Off Order Totaling $30 Or More
Marlow’s Tavern (Sandy Plains Shopping Center), $10 Off Order Totaling $30 Or More
Mezza Luna Italian Restaurant (Pavilions at East Lake), $5 off any house wines
Pho Hoa & Jazen Tea (Market Plaza), Free 16oz Milk Tea With The Purchase Of Any Large Pho
Seed Kitchen & Bar (Merchants Walk), Three-Course Meal For $45
You can sign up for a digital pass to redeem at any participating restaurant throughout the county.
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Sabrina Gao set up a GoFundMe page and said of her mother, Jasmine Chen, that “I would really like to surprise her and try to help her rebuild everything.”
Chen has owned Chin Chin for the last 15 years, and was called to the scene in the early morning hours Tuesday as the standalone restaurant on 617 Johnson Ferry Road burned to ground.
Cobb Fire said 911 calls came shortly after 1 a.m. In her GoFundMe message, Gao said that she woke up to her mother on a phone call telling her about the fire, and she soon followed.
“I took my sister with me and drove to her restaurant at 2 in the morning. . . . My family is devastated.”
Gao, who attended Walton High School, said the restaurant became something of a second home for her and her siblings, who grew up without their father around.
“It makes me sad to think about how my mom feels. . . . My mom would always take me and my siblings to ChinChin to watch after us since she didn’t want us to be home alone.”
Gao has set a fundraising goal of $15,000, and has raised nearly $2,000 in the first day.
Cobb Fire said the restaurant’s roof collapsed and the fire spread quickly, and with more than 30 firefighters on the scene the blaze took nearly five hours to put out. The cause is still being investigated, according to district chief Justin Green.
“She is lost right now without a clue on what to do,” Gao said of her mother. “Lots of people lost their jobs today, but my family and I lost our homes today.”
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A color rendering of RaceTrac’s proposed gas station and convenience store fronting Barrett Parkway.
The Cobb Planning Commission on Tuesday voted to continue a proposal by RaceTrac Inc. for a 24/7 gas station on the former site of an historic home.
Planning Commission member David Anderson moved for a 30-day delay with a 5-0 vote to further study traffic data and to gauge the impact to schools and nearby neighborhoods.
The vote came after concerted opposition to a request to rezone 2.009 acres at 2595 Bells Ferry Road where the McAfee House once stood.
The applicant wants to rezone the land from planned shopping center (PSC) to neighborhood retail center (NRC) for a 24/7 fueling facility with a convenience store.
The McAffee House was a home built in the 1840s and was a Union general’s command post during the Civil War, and has been relocated to Cherokee County.
But more contemporary concerns brought out citizens who spoke against RaceTrac’s proposal.
They included Max Ramsey, a fourth-grader at Bells Ferry Elementary School, who spoke about the pollution coming from a gas station open all hours.
“This will not be good for our health,” he said, adding fears of crime that could stem from the new facility as a result.
A Bells Ferry ES parent, Erin Quackenbush, raised some of the same issues, and added traffic and school capacity concerns.
The school is undergoing a replacement renovation to address overcrowding, and new development in the area that will add more traffic in a congested area.
She also alleged that Cobb Commissioner Erick Allen, whose district includes the area, may have a conflict of interest because he’s received an endorsement from RaceTrac in the past.
The Cobb County School District also objected to the RaceTrac proposal, and Cobb DOT officials said in response to questions from Anderson they weren’t aware of additional capacity produced by the Bells Ferry ES construction that might affect traffic flow.
Cobb DOT had estimated that 5,000 trips a day could pass by the RaceTrac business, mostly vehicles passing through a busy intersection.
Kevin Moore, the attorney for RaceTrac, reiterated several times that the land owned by Medford Family LP was strictly commercial, and wanting to use it for a gas station and convenience store “is not inherently evil.”
In 2023, a car wash was proposed for the land, and the Planning Commission recommended approval. But the request was withdrawn by the applicant due to what it said were other business obligations.
Planning Commission member Nadia Faucette asked Moore if RaceTrac was looking at “any other options” to service the area aside from the Bells Ferry Road property “if this does not go through.”
There was a smattering of applause, and then Moore replied by saying that “I’m not aware of any other options that they have in particular. I am aware of this option which they consider ideal.”
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State Rep. John Carson of East Cobb said he has filed a Title IX sex discrimination complaint against Pope High School’s athletics department for a policy regarding female sports eligibility.
Carson said in a release he filed a complaint with the Atlanta Division of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, which enforces Title IX.
That’s a federal education law that bans sex discrimination in educational institutions receiving federal funding.
In his complaint, Carson said that female varsity and junior varsity basketball players were told they could not participate in other sports at the same time, but that male basketball players were not subject to the same policy.
Carson, a Republican who represents District 46 that includes Northeast Cobb, said the policy was implemented in the spring, and that he sent a written complaint to the Cobb County School District in April after hearing from parents.
“This restriction does not apply to their male counterparts, many of whom are allowed to play multiple sports simultaneously and openly without consequence,” Carson said in the release, announcing the complaint, which stems from some of the girls also wanting to play flag football (a sport in which Pope is a current state champion).
“As I said in my letter to the Cobb County School Board, please let the girls play.”
East Cobb News has left a message with the Cobb school district seeking more information, and received this vague response, which didn’t answer any of the issues raised by Carson in his complaint:
“As the school shared with families last year, athletic practices apply to all of our students, both boys and girls.
Schools across the county and metro follow a clear athletic practice: students should finish one sports season before starting another, unless both head coaches and the principal agree to an exception.
This helps protect the health of student athletes by limiting fatigue and preventing injury, especially when sports seasons overlap. Our goal is to support the health, safety, and success of every student-athlete in Cobb.”
Updated: The conservative Cobb Voice website suggested that Carson “may have cried wolf” with his complaint, and included an excerpt from an April message from Pope principal Matthew Bradford saying that female athletes can play basketball and flag football:
“In the same way, both boys and girls have the same opportunity, schedule permitting, to try out and/or play in two sports simultaneously when seasons overlap.”
The Cobb Voice—whose contributors are not identified, opined that:
“Some are asking whether Rep. Carson is truly defending fairness or simply meddling in matters best left to educators. Local athletic policies are developed by coaches, principals, and administrators who work directly with students. By injecting politics into a process governed by local control, Carson risks overstepping his role as a state legislator.
But Cobb Board of Education member John Cristadoro, whose Post 5 in East Cobb includes the Pope cluster, posted on his Facebook page Tuesday that “Given the seriousness of such an allegation, I hope a thorough review was conducted prior to its filing. If any concerns are found to be valid, I trust the district will take the necessary steps to address and resolve them.”
He also said that “From my experience, I also believe our coaches and athletic directors across Cobb County and across Georgia, recognize the unique challenges faced by multi-sport athletes and strive to make roster decisions with student safety in mind. Pope High School has made clear to families that this commitment applies equally to all students—boys and girls alike.”
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The daughter of the restaurant’s owner has started a fundraiser: “I would really like to surprise her and try to help her rebuild everything.”
ORIGINAL REPORT:
A fire has destroyed most of the standalone building that has been the home of the Chin Chin Chinese restaurant in East Cobb for nearly three decades.
The early Tuesday morning blaze consumed most the restaurant’s facility at 617 Johnson Ferry Road.
It’s located just south of Lower Roswell Road and across from the entrance to Parkaire Landing Shopping Center, in between a Waffle House and Dunkin Donuts.
Cobb District Fire Chief Justin Green told East Cobb News that a 911 call was received around 1 a.m. Tuesday, and firefighters arrived on the scene a few minutes later to find smoke and fire coming through the roof of the building.
Crews were inside when the roof collapsed, and the fire took five hours to contain, with more than 300,000 gallons of water needed to put it out.
Green said around 35 firefighters and other personnel were on the scene—five engines, three ladder trucks, a rescue vehicle and two battalion chiefs—and that no one was injured.
Two lanes of Johnson Ferry Road southbound were closed while fire crews were on the scene early Tuesday morning.
Green said the cause of the fire is still being investigated, and that it might take longer than is usual due to the roof collapse.
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As I was leaving church on Sunday one of the ladies from the altar guild was handing out roses from the bouquets that adorned the worship space.
They were as aromatic as they were lovely, and they certainly brought a smile and a warm glow. You could say I was feeling a little rosy, with some extra leisure time looming due to the Labor Day holiday.
As much as I enjoy bringing you East Cobb News every day of the week—including our popular newsletter on Sundays—I’ve really been looking forward to this respite. A little recharging goes a long way to continue the mission I set out when I began East Cobb News eight years ago.
It’s been the dream of mine to serve the place where I grew up with local news and useful community information. It’s what I started doing at the beginning of my career, and did so again during nearly two decades at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
In case you missed the news, the AJC announced this week that at the end of the year they’ll discontinue a print edition and will be switching to all-digital publishing.
After 157 years, Atlanta won’t have a daily newspaper, and for many of us who worked there, it’s a nostalgic and bittersweet feeling.
But 17 years ago this week, as I closed out my tenure there in an online editing position, I sensed that what I was doing then was the future of local news.
That understanding has guided my work ever since, including a stint editing East Cobb Patch, formerly part of AOL’s hyperlocal news network.
And it fueled the desire to bring independent, homegrown local news—every day, timely and relevant—to East Cobb with what you’re reading now at East Cobb News.
While what the AJC is doing is considered something of a risk, I think it’s inevitable, and I wish my old place well.
There are naysayers about the value of online media, but I firmly believe this where the future of local news and local business advertising will be best realized.
And at East Cobb News—where nobody else does what we do, every day—that future is now and has been for a while. I remain bullish about this because I know what kind of audience we’ve built here, and that comes to rely on what we do every day.
We’ve been at this since 2017, and we intend on staying at it for a long time to come—giving you the local news that you love, and that makes a difference in this community.
East Cobb News promotes local businesses with dynamic digital advertising—and we’ve been busy as well signing up new advertisers that we’re excited to share with you soon.
With our growth has come some additional costs, and while we’re thrifty, we have bills that come due every month.
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Put a better way, here’s how to think about what you can do to help us out:
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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!
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 Bells Ferry Civic Association is opposing plans for a RaceTrac gas station on a busy intersection in Northeast Cobb where an 1840s-era historic home was recently relocated.
The BFCA sent a written letter to Cobb zoning staff last month, before an attorney for the applicant asked for a continuance and submitted a new site plan and additional stipulations.
A request by RaceTrac, Inc. to rezone 2.009 acres at 2595 Bells Ferry Road and across from Bells Ferry Elementary School is on the Cobb Planning Commission agenda for Tuesday.
The applicant wants to rezone the land from planned shopping center (PSC) to neighborhood retail center (NRC) for a 24/7 fueling facility with a convenience store.
What was called the McAfee House was the headquarters for Union Gen. Kenner Garrard, whose cavalry troops guarded the Noonday Creek valley after Northern troops seized Big Shanty in June 1864, in the run-up to the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain.
Earlier this year the house was relocated by preservationists to Cherokee County. In 2023, a car wash was proposed for the land, owned by the Medford Family LP, and the Cobb Planning Commission recommended approval. But the request was withdrawn by the applicant due to what it said were other business obligations.
In its letter (you can read it here) the BFCA referenced a glut of gas stations in the area—it counted 10 within two miles—as well as alcohol sales and gasoline fumes near the school and an adjacent KinderCare child care facility.
The civic group also referenced the historical nature of the property, asking that “prior to any development on this property, it is essential that a thorough search be conducted for Indian and Civil War artifacts, trenches, gravesites, and other items of historical significance. Furthermore, a memorial plaque needs to be erected at the corner of Bells Ferry and Barrett Pkwy to identify and commemorate an important part of our county’s history.”
In its analysis, the Cobb Zoning Staff offered brief historic preservation comments, saying that it recommending “an archaeological survey and report before any development occurs. Any artifacts discovered during the survey should be donated to an appropriate museum.”
The staff is approving recommendation (full analysis here) with none of the variances requested by RaceTrac.
Last week, RaceTrac attorney Kevin Moore submitted a stipulation letter (you can read it here) that includes an eight-foot landscape buffer around the property, and agrees with the historic preservation comments about doing an archaeological survey and report if rezoning is approved.
The Cobb Planning Commission meeting begins at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the second floor board room of the county office building at 100 Cherokee Street, Marietta. You can view the full agenda by clicking here.
You also can watch the hearing on the county’s website and YouTube channels and on Cobb TV 23 on Comcast Cable.
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The Dodgen Middle School Chamber Orchestra recently received one of the highest honors possible—the opportunity to perform at the 2025 Midwest Clinic! The junior high musicians and their chaperones will head to Chicago during December’s Holiday Break.
“An invitation to perform at the Midwest Clinic is the highest honor any orchestra or band can receive in the nation. It is the equivalent of winning the Super Bowl,” said Dodgen Orchestra Director Ashley Culley. “We applied by audition with a recording and a video. A panel of judges chose us from hundreds of applicants based on our performance.”
The Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference offers workshops, exhibits, and performances. Over 18,000 attendees come from all 50 states and more than 40 countries to participate, listen, and learn. The Midwest Clinic offers educators and students a memorable opportunity to network and enjoy all things music.
The Dodgen MS Chamber Orchestra is one of only two middle school orchestras invited to perform at the 2025 Midwest Clinic. They are the only ensemble (band or orchestra) selected from the state of Georgia this year. The Dodgen Chamber Orchestra includes 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade students.
“Directors Ashley Culley and Evelyn Champion have led their orchestra programs for many years and have earned many performance honors and accolades, but this is a dream come true for these directors and their students,” said Dodgen Principal Dr. Patricia Alford. “Performing at The Midwest Clinic is a rare privilege, and I am so proud of these teachers and their students! I know they will represent Dodgen and Cobb very well.”
The students have been preparing for this since they held an orchestra minicamp in July. This allowed the students to get to know each other and their music. The entire Midwest Clinic performance has already been planned and approved, and includes a wide variety of styles and difficulty levels. The students rehearse four mornings a week before school with additional after-school rehearsals to prepare for this major performance.
“They are very excited about their performance in Chicago. They talk about it every day in class. They know what a tremendous honor it is to be selected to perform at the Midwest Clinic. We hope they learn that perseverance and hard work really do pay off,” said Director Culley.
“We are sincerely grateful to all of the families that continually support their young musicians throughout this journey to the Midwest Clinic. We would also like to thank Principal Alford and the Dodgen administration and faculty. We couldn’t accomplish this without the full support of the entire Dodgen community,” Director Culley concluded.
A Midwest Clinic “Preview Concert” will be held on Thursday, December 4, at 7:00 pm in the Walton High School Theater. All are invited to attend.
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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Friday issued an executive order suspending Cobb Superior Court Clerk Connie Taylor while she faces charges of destroying government records and violating her oath of office.
Kemp issued the executive order after a three-member review commission he appointed determined that Taylor’s indictment by a Cobb grand jury “does relate to and adversely affect the administration of the office of Clerk of the Superior Court.”
If she is convicted, Taylor could be removed from office. Earlier this week, she pleaded not guilty to two counts of destroying government records and two counts of violating her oath of office.
Taylor, a Democrat first elected in 2020, was indicted July 31 after the Georgia Bureau of Investigation conducted a probe into the matter following allegations that Taylor tried to direct an employee to delete government e-mails and financial records in response to an open records request in late 2022.
Taylor had come under fire for personally pocketing $425,000 in passport fees, on top of her $170,000 annual salary.
Under state law, court clerks are allowed to personally keep such funds. But Rebecca Keaton, Taylor’s predecessor, forwarded some of those monies to the county’s general fund.
Maya Curry, who worked in the clerk’s office, said Taylor ordered her to destroy records about the passport application fees when The Atlanta Journal-Constitution filed an open records request seeking that information.
According to Curry, Taylor said that “we’re just going to Donald Trump this thing,” a reference to deleting any files or records that would be germane to an open records request.
The Attorney General’s Office is leading the legal proceedings after Cobb officials, including judges, recused themselves from the case.
Taylor’s attorney, former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, hasn’t commented on the case.
After Friday’s announcement of Taylor’s suspension, Cobb County government issued a statement saying “we respect the Governor’s order. Since the Clerk of Superior Court is a constitutional officer and not under the authority of the Board of Commissioners, we will not be commenting further. Our focus remains on ensuring that county services continue without interruption.”
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Mark Saturday, Sept. 6 with a big, bold circle and keep 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. wide open for a whirlwind of pet-loving, art-dazzling, community fun! This family-friendly bash at the Sewell Library and Cultural Center is your ticket to supporting local furballs and showcasing artistic pizzazz.
The kiddos will have a pawfect experience at crafts, story time, and face painting. Come shake paws with Rose, the superstar comfort dog from the Cobb District Attorney’s Office. Thanks to our buddies at Cobb Animal Services, you can match up with a pet and adopt a forever friend for free. Don’t forget to peruse the Best in Show animal art exhibit.
Enjoy free pet adoptions courtesy of Cobb Animal Services, and don’t miss the special Gotcha Day Celebration for Rose, the beloved comfort dog from the Cobb District Attorney’s Office. Get creative with hands-on crafts, enjoy a youth storytime, explore the Best in Show art gallery, and be there for the exciting exhibition awards announcement at 1 PM. This family-friendly event is the perfect way to support local animals and artists alike!
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A former executive with the Atlanta Braves who helped the team draft and sign of some its most recent stars has passed away.
Roy Clark, 68, who lived in East Cobb, died on Aug. 22, and had been experiencing heart issues in recent years.
He was called “the Dale Earnhardt of scouting” for his work with Braves from 1989 to 2008 and from 2015 to 2018. During those periods, he evaluated and signed Jeff Francoeur, Brian McCann, Charlie Morton, Freddie Freeman, Craig Kimbrel, Jason Heyward, Mike Soroka, Austin Riley and A.J. Minter, among others.
Freeman, Morton, Riley and Minter were key players during the Braves’ World Series championship season in 2021.
Clark joined the Kansas City Royals in 2022 and also worked for the Cleveland Guardians, Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers during his career.
A native of North Carolina, Clark played baseball in college and was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in 1979, and played three seasons of minor league baseball.
Survivors include his wife Debbie and their three grown children. A celebration of life service will be held will be held Friday, Sept. 5 at 1 p.m. at H.M. Patterson and Son-Canton Hill Chapel at 1157 Old Canton Road in East Cobb.
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Some Cobb veterans showed up in dress uniforms. Others were attired to indicate the details and places of their military service.
On Tuesday a few dozen of them showed up to convince Cobb commissioners to spend an additional $1 million in county funding for a veterans memorial.
But even after their emotional comments, commissioners turned down the request by a 4-1 vote.
Commissioners had an extra $175 million to allocate in current 2022 Cobb SPLOST (Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax) revenues, due to healthy economic activity.
According to SPLOST regulations, only projects on the list that were submitted to voters for the sales tax referendum are eligible for the additional funds.
But while the Cobb Veterans Memorial, which has been in the works for a decade at the behest of county officials, was on the 2022 SPLOST list, it wasn’t on the list of items eligible for the $175 million in additional revenues.
Commissioner JoAnn Birrell
So Commissioner JoAnn Birrell of East Cobb proposed taking $1 million in her contingency account for the development of Ebenezer Downs Park and transfer that amount to the veterans memorial to complete the project.
But she couldn’t get any of her colleagues to go along, and was openly frustrated at the proceedings.
“How can you put a price tag on our veterans?” Birrell asked, near the end of delivering prepared remarks.
Due to construction cost increases, the veterans memorial, which is being proposed for a site at Larry Bell Park in Marietta, was priced at nearly $8 million.
The county had already committed $3 million—$1 million in previous SPLOST allocations and $2 million from Birrell and Chairwoman Lisa Cupid in other discretionary funds.
Another $1 million been raised by the Cobb Veterans Memorial Foundation, a non-profit. The foundation reduced the scope of the memorial to get the cost to just under $5 million, cutting out a POW memorial and honor walls.
Cobb has an estimated 60,000 military veterans, and Birrell asked those in attendance Tuesday to stand, and they did, to applause.
Vietnam veteran T.D. Jorgensen
One of them, Skip Bell, a member of the memorial’s board, said that “it’s easy to say you love and support veterans.
“Everybody says that. You are in a position,” he told commissioners, to prove that support.
But that didn’t sway new Commissioner Erick Allen, whose District 2 includes the proposed memorial site.
He noted that other park projects on the list for additional revenues “aren’t getting anything over and above what was on the original list” and pledged to help raise the money from private sources to close that $1 million gap.
He added that the original memorandum of understanding didn’t intend for the memorial to be a county-funded project, and said the elements of the memorial that don’t have funding now could be added later.
“We can break ground today with the funding that has been raised and with the funds that have been committed,” calling his suggestion a compromise.
Allen also said it was “insulting” to hear accusations that his opposition to another $1 million in county funds was likened to “spitting on the veterans coming home from Vietnam.”
Cobb Veterans Memorial Foundation president Donna Rowe
But Donna Rowe, the memorial foundation’s board president and a former captain in the U.S. Army nursing corps in Vietnam, recounted that history from her perspective, and rattled off the changing cost estimates and county stipulations for getting the work done.
“We cannot do this in phases,” she said in response to Allen, thanking Birrell and Cupid for their “undying devotion” to getting the memorial built.
After the vote, Marietta resident Donald Barth, a frequent public commenter, said the memorial can be completed without more public funding.
“We are going to have a memorial and we all know it,” he said. “We need people who will move the ball forward.”
That summed up the thoughts of some of the veterans who were hoping for a different vote.
“There are Americans who are going to support this with or without you,” Vietnam veteran T.D. Jorgensen said, thanking Rowe and the others advocating for the memorial.
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Earlier this week Cobb DOT posted the aerial photo above showing the extended turn lane that’s being built on Little Willeo Road at Johnson Ferry.
That’s the right turn onto Johnson Ferry northbound from that’s subject to quite a few back-ups.
Cobb DOT said that the project, funded with current 2022 Cobb SPLOST funding, is expected to be finished in September.
Jamerson Road at Davis ES
As we noted last week, Cobb DOT is enhancing safety features on Jamerson Road at Davis Elementary School, where a boy was seriously injured near the crosswalk in June.
Cobb Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved spending $146,966 for a project that would realign traffic lanes and install a rapid flashing rectangular beacon at a crosswalk. Signage has already gone up.
Preston Veal, 12, a student at Mabry Middle School, is recovering after being hit by a van while crossing Jamerson Road near the school after shooting basketball there. He was hospitalized with numerous broken bones and internal injuries, according to a GoFundMe page set up to help pay for his medical expenses.
“Thank you,” Commissioner JoAnn Birrell told Cobb DOT director Drew Raessler before the vote.
“The neighbors thank you, the schools thank you and our prayers go out” to Veal and his family.
Coming Holly Springs Road changes
Cobb DOT announced last week that there will be improvements on Holly Springs Road, near St. Andrews Way, from September-December.
The center turn lane on Holly Springs near that intersection was being “misused,” and that DOT said it has heard from the public.
The project will repurpose portions of the two-way left turn lane along Holly Springs with “dedicated left turn lanes and small medians.” for more information, click here.
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The public will be able to witness this amazing showcase at The Rooftop at Crabapple, located at 12630 Crabapple Road, #340 Milton, GA 30004, starting on November 14, 2025, and continuing until November 15, 2025.
The artists that make up the collective in the belief that visual art is a God-given universal language that is effectively spoken to receptive hearts through the hands of a creative, whether it be through whimsical or meditative paintings, organically molded pottery ware, or sculptures produced from salvaged metals.
A new legacy, rooted in the old. The Revel Arts Collective honors a 25-year history of art in the Alpharetta/East Cobb/Roswell/Milton area. First established in the heart of Alpharetta in 1997, The MAC was an early champion of local artists, earning acclaim from publications like Creative Loafing and the Roswell/Alpharetta Neighbor. The gallery, described by critics as a “visual feast” and a champion of the arts, spent a decade showcasing unique art and fostering a vibrant creative community. The MAC’s legacy inspired a new generation.
In 2024, five women—a career artist, a retired English teacher, a corporate bigwig, a graphic designer, and an art educator—came together with a shared vision, forming the Revel Arts Collective.In November 2024, their inaugural exhibition celebrated this artistic heritage by featuring three generations of The MAC’s founding family. The turnout was amazing: over 300 people attended the show, which was generously hosted by local realtor Jenny Doyle. With more than 75 artworks sold, the community proved its love for local art. The collective is just getting started.
Find the perfect holiday gift at this year’s art show. Our artists will have original, one-of-a-kind work on display, with a wide range of pieces available to fit any budget. Give a thoughtful gift that will be treasured for years to come, created by artists whose work is held in collections across the country.
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!
Tommy Nobis Center is proud to announce the return of its Student Advisory Board, now entering its fourth year of inspiring and empowering the next generation of leaders across Metro Atlanta. This unique, semester-long program offers high school juniors and seniors the opportunity to make a difference in their communities while gaining valuable real-world experience through leadership, philanthropy, and service.
Student Advisory Board members will contribute valuable perspectives and serve as youth ambassadors, helping to shift mindsets and narratives about people with disabilities. Students will also have opportunities to earn volunteer hours, engage with community leaders, and be considered for one of three college scholarships.
“Our Student Advisory Board continues to be a powerful platform for young leaders who want to make a difference,” said Monica Oliveira, Director of Development. “Not only do they grow as individuals and emerging leaders, but they also play a key role in building a more inclusive future for all.”
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!
A real estate investor whose attempts to redevelop land in the South Marietta Parkway-Powers Ferry Road area were unsuccessful four years ago is proposing another high-density residential community there again.
RGM Properties Partnership, LLLP and McMullan Partners, LLC, based in East Cobb, are seeking rezoning of nearly 20 acres along Interstate 75, off of Powers Ferry Road and north of the Loop, for a residential development.
According to plans filed with the City of Marietta, the applicant wants to turn that property—most of it a wooded lot fronting the interstate—into a townhome-focused community of up to 119 units.
The homes would be built by Traton Homes Inc., a prominent homebuilder based in Marietta, and the applicant has hired high-profile zoning attorney Kevin Moore to represent it before the City of Marietta.
The application calls for 80 townhomes, with the rest single-family detached homes, for a density of 6.2 units per acre.
But the details present similar issues and concerns that foiled property owner Ruben McMullan’s attempts in 2021 to build a high-density residential development in the same community.
The Marietta City Council turned down plans for Laurel Park, which was proposed for 204 townhomes on much of the site that’s being proposed now.
That was part of a push by McMullan’s real estate interests to build in that vicinity. But Marietta also quickly rejected plans for what was proposed to be Nexus Gardens—featuring apartment buildings, a senior-living facility and restaurant and retail space—after heated community opposition.
That project also would have been accessed through neighborhood streets in the Meadowbrook subdivision off Powers Ferry Road, south of the Loop.
At the time, Moore said the Loop corridor between Roswell Road and Interstate 75 hasn’t seen new development in 50 years. The Nexus Gardens project, Moore said, is an opportunity that “would be fantastic for the city and fantastic for the nearby community.”
Before the 2021 vote, Moore whittled down the Laurel Park proposal—which stretched across 30 acres—to 134 units, but the council rejected both requests unanimously with little discussion.
There isn’t a name for the newly proposed community, nor are there any renderings. In its analysis, the Marietta zoning staff noted that a home would be demolished to create access to the new project from Crestridge Drive (see zoning map below). Three other residential lots, on Blanche Drive and Herbert Road, would be turned into another access point.
The analysis noted that projects like this usually require direct access to arterial and collector roads, but the RGM/McMullan proposal calls for access via local streets.
City zoning staff also noted that while the application says 80 townhomes would be built, the site plan (above) shows 113 units, with 52 of them three-story units, and the others two stories.
The analysis, which didn’t make a recommendation, also notes parking and stormwater runoff issues, and concerns expressed by the Marietta Fire Department regarding emergency access that may not meet city code. The city’s public works department also has asked for a traffic study to be done but the transportation department hasn’t offered any comments.
The zoning analysis concluded that the large wooded tract of land that’s zoned for large-scale retail along I-75 has never been developed for a reason.
“With access only available through existing single-family neighborhoods, developing a ‘regional retail center’ at this location does not appear feasible. Considering also current market conditions and the need for housing, rezoning the property for residential use is more suitable.”
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Here’s an update to our story on Friday about the sale of the former Eastvalley Elementary School site to the Roman Catholic Archiodecese of Atlanta:
Maureen Smith, a spokeswoman for the archdiocese, told East Cobb News on Monday that a church catering to the local Vietnamese community will be opening on the former Eastvalley site.
The Cobb County School District announced last week that it had sold the building and nearly 10 acres of property on Lower Roswell Road at Holt Road for $4.25 million.
Smith said the church will be named after Our Lady of Lavang, an apparition of the Virgin Mary that dates back to the late 1700s, when Catholics in Vietnam were suffering persecution. A basilica named Our Lady of Lavang was dedicated in the village of La Vang, near Hue in central Vietnam, in 1962.
This will be the third Vietnamese church in the Atlanta area run by the archdiocese, joining Our Lady of Vietnam in Riverdale and Holy Vietnamese Martyrs in Norcross.
The former Eastvalley site has been closed since 2023, when the new school campus opened on Holt Road, across from Wheeler High School.
The building opened in the early 1960s and includes 50,000 square feet of space.
Smith said that “there are no plans for major renovations or construction at this time. The church hopes to use the facility as-is for now.”
She didn’t have specific timeline for when the church would open, but said that “it will take some time to finish all the contracts and paperwork before we can start using it.”
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!
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