For several months, Edens Real Estate—which owns and operates the Merchants Walk Shopping Center in East Cobb—has listed a Marshalls retail store (1311 Johnson Ferry Road) in its directory as a soon-to-be-occupant of some of the former Stein Mart space.
While there’s no indication on the exterior of what’s coming, we checked recently with Edens to get some more information.
East Cobb News was told last month that Edens doesn’t comment about such matters regarding its tenants, and we were referred to a spokeswoman for The TJX Companies, Marshalls’ parent company.
She said in response to our request for information that “although we appreciate your inquiry, Marshalls has not announced any store changes in Marietta at this point.”
These aren’t uncommon replies from corporate retail companies, who like to announce openings and relocations on their own time.
But we continue to get queries from readers, and have contacted TJX again and will post more when we get an update about when the store may be opening.
Marshalls has been located in East Cobb as an anchor the East Lake Shopping Center for many years, but Brixmor, the landlord of that property, has the Marshalls space listed on its directory as being available.
In January, ToNeTo, an Atlanta blog focusing on retail and restaurant news, cited an unnamed Marshalls source saying that the store would be moving from East Lake to Merchant’s Walk and taking up most, but not all, of the Stein Mart space.
There’s not much space available at Merchant’s Walk. Roadrunner Sports has moved from a space adjacent to the Stein Mart space to Suite 310, and the Verizon Store has moved to Suite 90, where Nuvo Salon was located.
Next Door, Suite 70, the old Calico Home space, is available.
Suite 470, the free-standing building near Whole Foods were Verizon was previously located, will become a One Medical location.
The former 18/8 men’s clothing store (Suite 120) also is vacant. Suite 440, which had housed a Bar Method fitness studio, will be occupied by a Perspire Sauna Studio.
Marshalls would occupy most of the former Stein Mart location, according to a Merchant’s Walk map posted by Edens Real Estate, the retail center owner.
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The following Cobb food scores for the week of April 11 have been compiled by the Cobb & Douglas Department of Public Health. Click the link under each listing for inspection details:
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As it did in 2019, the East Cobb Business Association is sponsoring a Cityhood debate. (ECN photo by Wendy Parker)
Two debates on the upcoming East Cobb Cityhood referendum have sold out for citizens wishing to attend in person.
The East Cobb Business Association has scheduled a debate for next Tuesday, April 19, at the Olde Towne Athletic Club (4950 Olde Towne Parkway) from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
On May 4, the Rotary Club of East Cobb is organizing a debate at Pope High School (3001 Hembree Road) from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The ECBA is not livestreaming its debate but said a recorded video of the event will be posted on its website.
Blaine Hess of the Rotary Club told East Cobb News that livestreaming plans are in the works but “I am not 100% sure what the logistics are currently” and those will be announced when they’re finalized.
Those are the only debates that have been agreed to by the Committee for East Cobb Cityhood, which is spearheading the Cityhood referendum, and the East Cobb Alliance, which opposes Cityhood.
The Rotary Club sent out a message Tuesday afternoon saying it had reached its capacity limit of 500 people at the Pope auditorium and asked those who had signed up that “if your plans change and you can not make it to the event, please cancel your order so somebody else can come!”
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County department heads speaking during a Cityhood town hall meeting in March at the Sewell Mill Library.
The group pushing for East Cobb Cityhood is demanding that Cobb government officials stop holding town hall meetings and making public statements about the four upcoming Cityhood referendums in the county, including a May 24 vote in East Cobb.
Craig Chapin, chairman for the Committee for East Cobb Cityhood, sent a letter on Monday to Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid, alleging that the county is actively “campaigning against the referendums.” More:
“Based on the available facts, it appears Cobb County has violated Georgia law in its efforts to defeat the four Cityhood initiatives in Cobb County’s respective Referendums. Cobb County has, at the least, allowed county officials and employees to oppose Cityhood efforts, on County time and through official County channels. And they have done so by promoting baseless speculation in the guise of ‘education.’ Worse, the County’s ‘education’ consists of half-truths and even outright lies.”
The Cityhood group’s letter demands that the county also using public resources “to oppose the Cityhood Referendums. We have previously expressed our concern on the implicit and explicit bias in Cobb County’s awareness campaign and activities with the opposition ballot committee(s) to a group of Cobb executives. Not only has the unlawful behavior not been curtailed, but it also continues at an increasing velocity.”
You can read the full letter by clicking here; copies were sent to the other four Cobb commissioners, County Manager Jackie McMorris and County Attorney Bill Rowling.
Cityhood committee spokeswoman Cindy Cooperman also forwarded a copy of the letter to East Cobb News.
Cobb communications director Ross Cavitt told East Cobb News late Tuesday afternoon that Rowling is preparing a formal reply to the letter, and insisted that the county’s efforts are neutral.
“We’re not trying to take sides on this,” Cavitt said. “We’re trying to provide information to the many questions we’re getting from the public” about the cityhood initiatives “and that’s what we’re going to continue to do.”
Cobb officials were holding their fourth in a series of Cityhood town hall meetings Tuesday evening at the Cobb Civic Center, and a town hall for the Vinings referendum is scheduled for next week.
They held a meeting in late March at the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center (ECN coverage here) and have created what county officials are calling a Cityhood Resource Center.
The East Cobb Cityhood committee’s letter accuses Cobb officials of using county resources to participate in legislative hearings and activities when the East Cobb bill was being considered in the Georgia General Assembly.
In particular, Cupid is accused of “unlawfully” engaging “without the approval of the BOC [Board of Commissioners],” a lobbyist to fight the bill.
That lobbyist was identified as former Cobb Commission Chairman Sam Olens. His law firm, Dentons, has been hired by the county to do lobbying, but Cupid has said publicly Olens has not lobbied on the cityhood issues.
The letter also alleges that county officials shared “misleading, incomplete and factually inaccurate information” about the financial impact to the county budget should all four Cityhood referendums (East Cobb, Lost Mountain, Vinings and Mableton) pass.
The county is saying the loss to its annual budget would come to $41 million and savings would amount to $4.3 million; the East Cobb Cityhood group says it “is a blatant misrepresentation of the facts by the county with the intent to dissuade voters. The county has disclosed it intends to redeploy these funds for other roles not currently filled having nothing to do with the Cityhood efforts.”
The letter doesn’t indicate what it thinks the actual financial numbers are. (While Cobb officials have said fire services in the proposed City of East Cobb would be $12 million a year, a financial feasibility study conducted for the East Cobb Cityhood group estimates the annual expenses would come to $5.7 million.)
The East Cobb Cityhood group’s letter also states that Cavitt and Cobb commissioner Jerica Richardson attended a meeting of the anti-Cityhood East Cobb Alliance in March, and that “neither has made any attempt” to attend or participate in East Cobb Cityhood group public meetings.
“This demonstrates a clear bias and is evidence of supporting the anti-city campaign,” the letter states.
The letter took issue with comments by Cobb public safety officials who’ve said response times in a City of East Cobb would increase (East Cobb is the only one of the four proposed cities that would provide police, fire and E-911 services).
The East Cobb Cityhood group also is accusing the county of providing “misleading and inflammatory literature” at town hall meetings.
The East Cobb group is demanding that questions directed to the county about cityhood “shall be funneled through a named and appropriate resource at the director higher or level.”
The group also wants the county to allow Cityhood groups to “respond and share data and responses to the County’s questions and information.”
Finally, the East Cobb Cityhood group is saying its letter is also serving as an open records request for the county to provide how it prepared financials and have the county commission a state-approved university to conduct an impartial third-party financial analysis of the four cityhood ballot measures.
The letter concludes:
“Cobb County is knowingly presenting biased, incomplete, and inaccurate information to the public. Meanwhile, the County has stated that it has no official position on the cityhood initiatives. While this disclaimer implies neutrality, Cobb County’s behavior has been anything but neutral. As far as we are aware, no County official has ever said anything positive about the cityhood proposals. In fact, Cobb’s desire to thwart the Cityhood efforts are clear as highlighted above and designed to create fear, uncertainty, and doubt in citizens’ minds—illegally influencing their vote.”
The first of two debates on East Cobb Cityhood will take place next Tuesday at Olde Towne Athletic Club. The debate between the Committee for East Cobb Cityhood and the East Cobb Alliance is sold out.
The East Cobb Business Association, which is sponsoring the event, said it would be recorded and posted on its website.
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The May 24 primary has taken on additional significance in East Cobb due to the Cityhood referendum that also will be on that ballot.
There will be Democratic and Republican primaries for county, state and federal offices and non-partisan primaries for county and state judicial seats.
(Here’s our previous post summarizing who’s qualified for which offices. Cobb Elections will be posting a countywide sample ballot soon.)
If you’re not registered to vote, you have until April 25 to do so. You can check your registration status by clicking here. To check your registration status, register, or if you have moved, change your registration here.
If you wish to vote via absentee ballot, you have through May 13 to request one, and you can do that by clicking here.
Advance voting will take place for the primaries and the East Cobb Cityhood referendum (see our Cityhood tab for more) from May 2-20 at designated times and locations (see flyer below).
The Cobb Elections office said it also will be providing wait-time estimates at CobbElections.org during the advance voting period. Voters can vote early at any location in the county.
Voters who will be casting their ballots on the May 24 election day will do so at their assigned precincts.
A photo ID is required to vote in-person and absentee, and you can check which ones are accepted by clicking here.
Voters will choose from among Democratic, Republican or non-partisan ballots. Non-partisan candidates will be listed on the party ballots, but no party-affiliated candidates will appear on the non-partisan ballot.
Before the primary, there will be a special election runoff to fill a legislative seat that includes East Cobb and some of Fulton County.
The May 3 runoff between Democrat Dustin McCormick and Republican Mitchell Kaye will determine the successor to Matt Dollar, a Republican who resigned his seat representing District 45 in February.
There will be absentee and advance voting for the runoff. Advance voting will take place at the East Cobb Government Service Center (4400 Lower Roswell Road) on Saturday, April 23, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and from April 25-29 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Absentee voters can drop off their ballots there during those times at a drop box inside the building, as well as at the main Cobb Elections office (736 Whitlock Ave., Marietta) from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday.
The winner will hold the seat only through the end of the year, the end of Dollar’s term.
McCormick has qualified for the May 24 primary for the redrawn District 45. The Republican primary candidates are current District 43 State Rep. Sharon Cooper and Carminthia Moore.
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2636 Sunny Lane, 30067 (Red Oak Park, Wheeler): Southern Point Home and Design to Adam and Rachel Stigall; $490,000
721 Huntington Place, 30067 (Stratford, Wheeler): Gary Sterston, Trustee, Dechomiai Asset Trust to Joseph and Jessica Maskery; $365,000
681 Foxcroft Circle, 30067 (Stratford, Wheeler): Walter Pomp to I One Homes; $430,000
April 1
250 Pine Valley Drive, 30067 (Atlanta Country Club, Walton): Jay Jeffrey and Cynthia Goodwin to Niket and Priti Jindal; $3.1 million
3900 River Overlook Parkway Unit 1, 30067 (Willows by the River, Walton): Joseph Collins and Theresa Whitney to Johnson and Grace Samgnanakan; $256,000
3113 Greenfield Drive, 30068 (Indian Hills, Wheeler): Cynthia Crain to Kimberly Gilman and Nancy Benninger; $465,000
3927 Sentry Walk, 30068 (Indian Hills, Walton): Laurence and Abigail Pachon to John and Nooshin McKinney; $810,000
1486 Monarch Court, 30062 (Glen Crest, Sprayberry): Matt Hellmann to Sarkar Sounak & Kumra Anuradha; $571,500
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A bulldozer attacks the roof of the former Bruno’s grocery store comes down as the demolition of the Sprayberry Crossing Center began on Monday.
Joe Glancy and Shane Spink grabbed sledgehammers and took a few hearty belts at the exterior of what had been a Bruno’s grocery store on Monday afternoon.
“It felt good,” Spink said to a group of around 100 people who witnessed a long-awaited moment:
The beginning of the end of the Sprayberry Crossing Shopping Center.
After decades of blight, inviting crime and rodents and just being an ugly eyesore with a pothole-ridden parking lot, what once had been one of East Cobb’s trendy retail centers will be leveled for a mixed-use development.
Glancy and Spink, who spearheaded a community push for redevelopment via their Sprayberry Crossing Action Facebook group, had the honor of taking a ceremonial first swing, along with with Cobb Commissioner JoAnn Birrell.
To say it was cathartic was an understatement.
“Everybody who lives around here probably wants to take a swing,” Spink said.
Joe Glancy and Shane Spink began community organizing around Sprayberry Crossing redevelopment more than four years ago.
While there was little they said they could do—aside from imposing a meager blight tax on the property owner, NAI Brannen Goddard—a residential developer was taking note.
Atlantic Residential, an Atlanta-based apartment builder, would soon be in talks with NAI Brannen Goddard to buy the assemblage on Sandy Plains Road, between East Piedmont Road and Post Oak Tritt Road.
Three years after proposing a mixed-use development, including a lengthy and contentious rezoning process, Atlantic Residential is planning to start construction on townhomes, senior apartments and retail space later this year.
The residential component is being called East Cobb Walk and includes 102 for-sale town homes and a 55-and-older apartment building with 102 units to be named Evoq East Cobb.
“I’m happy with stuck with it,” said Richard Aaronson, Atlantic Residential’s CEO and founding partner.
“It’s just a fantastic location,” he said, explaining his company’s patience. “It was too good of an opportunity to pass up.”
Along with the rebuild of Sprayberry High School, “this area is going to look completely different,” Aaronson said.
He said the anticipated price point for the townhomes could be in the high-$400,000 range, designed to attract young families and first-time homebuyers.
From L-R: Atlantic Residential CEO Richard Aaronson, Cobb commissioner JoAnn Birrell, Cobb Police Precinct 4 commander Maj. Brian Batterton and community leaders Joe Glancy and Shane Spink.
Birrell, who said Sprayberry Crossing redevelopment has been high on her priority list—as well as that of her predecessors, Sam Olens and Tim Lee—saluted residents and community leaders.
“Y’all got the ball rolling, you got the community involved,” she said before wielding a sledgehammer to the Bruno’s building. “It was brought to the forefront to the community.”
Numerous site plan revisions were made in response to opposition by some residents to a general apartment building that was eventually nixed because Birrell wouldn’t support it.
A planned grocery store fell through right before the rezoning case was voted on by county commissioners. Lidl pulled out due to issues over locating the main entrance to the redevelopment on Sandy Plains Road.
Birrell, who is up for re-election this year, stressed that the planned senior apartments “cannot be converted to multi-family.”
Some residents who are skeptical of that claim have vowed to work to defeat Birrell, who has an opponent in the May 24 Republican primary.
While the redevelopment wasn’t exactly how supporters initially envisioned it, Aaronson said that “today is the beginning of something great.
“Today we begin to reverse that eyesore you’ve had to live with,” he said.
As a bulldozer commenced tearing down the Bruno’s roof, the crowd hooted and applauded.
Aaronson said that demolition is expected to take 60 days, and pending permitting issues, construction could start as early as August.
Cobb Commissioner JoAnn Birrell takes the first crack at the Bruno’s demolition.
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General manager Michael Masters demonstrates the bagel boiling process that customers can watch (via window at right), with a stone oven in the background.
What’s the difference between a standard bagel and a New York—make that Brooklyn—bagel?
Boiling and baking them, said Michael Masters, general manager of the 101 Bagel Café that opened late last week in East Cobb.
It’s a process that’s done on the premises, in the former Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop at 4811 Lower Roswell Road, at Johnson Ferry Road.
Specifically, Masters explains, it’s all about the water used for the boiling, and a 14-step process to get rather close to the taste of the Catskills water that made New York bagels famous.
“It’s very special water,” he says, “and you can taste the difference.”
Masters, who previously was GM of the first 101 Bagel Café, says these bagels have a crisper taste.
“I’ve eaten more bagels over the last four years than I did in my entire life before this,” he said.
The flavors, and the toppings, are endless. The bagels can be plain, wheat, garlic and onion, egg, sesame, poppyseed, cinnamon and raisin and blueberry.
His favorite is jalapeño cheddar, and there’s Asiago cheese and plain bagel colored rainbow-style.
As for the cream cheese schmears, customers can also choose from jalapeño cheddar, strawberry, honey almond, bacon and scallion and a nova lox spread, among others.
Those also are made at the store, which also sells muffins, omelettes, wraps, melts, soups, hashbrowns, juices, coffee and energy drinks.
As Masters talked, staffers were busy setting up and accepting deliveries. The store had a soft opening on Friday, and owner/operator Rob Miller said a ribbon-cutting and more formal promotions will be coming soon.
The East Cobb location is the third 101 Bagel Café to open since the initial spot on Cobb Parkway near The Battery in 2018.
There’s another in Duluth, and in the coming months locations will open in Dunwoody and Milton.
East Cobb was an easy choice, Miller said, given a sizable Jewish community with three synagogues here (and three more in Roswell) and established bagel eateries nearby.
“I know Bagelicious [on Johnson Ferry Road] has been around forever,” said Miller, who moved to Atlanta from Miami three years ago.
A former behavioral psychologist, he ran a coffee shop and events space there, his foray in the food business.
As he was settling in Atlanta, the COVID-19 pandemic struck.
While the initial 101 Bagel Café was affected for a time by closures, the situation meant that “I had to get creative with my business.”
A mobile app was created and curbside service was introduced, and Miller said his employees for the most part “stuck with us.”
Supply chain issues and inflation have prompted a price increase for a bagel—it’s $1.59, up from $1.29, Miller said, but he vowed that “they’re not going up for the next 12 months.”
He has a business partner who shares his commitment to stay focused on incremental growth in carefully selected locations.
The East Cobb store has a viewing window for customers to watch the boiling and baking process, and there are three large tables inside.
A patio in front will have up to six tables, and Miller’s longer-term plans are to have some live musical entertainment.
101 Bagel Café 4811 Lower Roswell Road, Suite 1112 Hours: 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily Website
Patio tables and chairs will soon front what had been a Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop at Lower Roswell and Johnson Ferry roads.
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The demo begins at 1 p.m., and the Sprayberry Crossing Action Facebook group has provided some details and the above map.
You can enter Sprayberry Crossing at three points, but keep in mind that there is fencing around the retail center.
What you can’t do is park in the parking areas around nearby businesses and the Parker Chase School.
Shane Spink of Sprayberry Crossing Action said that the school will be towing vehicles that are parked illegally.
You also cannot gain access behind the back driveway of the Zaxby’s at Sandy Plains Road at Post Oak Tritt Road.
The entry points will be on Sandy Plains between the Sprayberry Bottle Shop and the former SunTrust Bank, on East Piedmont next to the Walgreen’s and on East Piedmont at the Tiny Stitches.
The Bruno’s portion of the property will be redeveloped for townhomes, with retail in the middle and a senior apartment building constructed on the portion of the land nearest East Piedmont.
Townhomes also will be built next to the senior building, behind the retail space and fronting the Mayes Family Cemetery that will remain protected.
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Cobb Sheriff Craig Owens (with microphone) greets Foundation golf outing participants at the Atlanta County Club.
The Cobb Sheriff’s Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit organization committed to improving the quality of life for Cobb County Sheriff’s Office personnel, underserved communities and citizens of Cobb County, celebrated its first anniversary April 1 at a golf outing at the Atlanta Country Club in East Cobb.
More than 110 participants took part in the fundraiser, along with the support of more than 50 business and community leaders.
S.A. White Oil Company, Inc. and Axon were presenting sponsors.
The Foundation has created several units, including a Care and Compassion Fund and a Fallen Personnel Fund, and assists Cobb citizens in need through the Citizens Fund and the Community Engagement Fund.
Among those outreach efforts include support via the Citizens Fund, in coordination with the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office Domestic Violence Unit and the Sheriff’s Office Community Engagement Unit, to provide funding for an urgent hotel stay for safe refuge for a mother and her child.
In another situation, a Cobb Sheriff’s Deputy was assisted through the Care and Compassion Fund to obtain childcare for his young child after his wife died following childbirth.
The Founding Board of Directors is comprised of business and community leaders, including:
(Chair) Brent C. Brown, Chairman & CEO, Chesley Brown International, Inc.
(Vice Chair) Frank Wigington, President, Frank Wigington Landscaping Company, Inc.
(Treasurer) J. Dan Oliver, Chairman & CEO, Vinings Bank
(Secretary) Ravi Puri, Chief Growth & Portfolio Officer, Americas Capgemini
Governor Roy E. Barnes, Senior Partner, The Barnes Law Group, LLC.
Eddy Benoit, Jr., Chairman & CEO, The Benoit Group
Phyllis G. Collins, Attorney, Phyllis Law
George “Buddy” Darden, Former Member, U.S. House of Representatives
Steve Ewing, President & CEO, Wade Ford Dealership
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Members of the Committee for East Cobb Cityhood at the bill-signing ceremony with Gov. Brian Kemp in February.
A lawsuit was filed this week trying to stop a referendum on Vinings cityhood, with implications for similar upcoming votes in East Cobb and Lost Mountain.
That’s because bills passed by the Georgia legislature this year calling for referendums in those three areas of Cobb on May 24 include language that’s being challenged on state constitutional grounds.
The lawsuit was filed Monday in Cobb Superior Court by Joseph Young, a Vinings resident who is a state lobbyist and was legislative director to former Gov. Roy Barnes (you can read the suit by clicking here).
The suit, filed against Cobb County and Elections Director Janine Eveler (her name is misspelled as “Everler” throughout the court filing), alleges that the Vinings bill is unconstitutional because it violates Georgia’s home rule laws.
The lawsuit, assigned to Cobb Superior Court Chief Judge Robert Leonard, is asking that the referendum either be removed from the May 24 ballot or delayed to the Nov. 8 general election.
A hearing has not been scheduled.
Georgia cities must provide at least three services from a list of 14 specified under state law.
But home rule laws also give cities and counties discretionary powers to choose which services they provide. The lawsuit alleges that the legislature cannot dictate what services a city can provide under a local law, which the Cobb cityhood bills were.
Young’s lawsuit contends that the Vinings bill would require a new city, if approved by voters in a referendum, to provide specific services: planning and zoning, code enforcement and parks and recreation.
A spokeswoman for the Committee for East Cobb Cityhood said Friday that the Vinings lawsuit “is a flagrant attempt to legislate from the bench.”
In response to an inquiry from East Cobb News, Cindy Cooperman said that the Vinings, East Cobb and Lost Mountain bills “are modeled on the laws that created other municipalities in Georgia, like Sandy Springs, Milton, and Stonecrest.”
She noted Young’s political ties and wondered why he didn’t testify against the Vinings bill when it was being considered by the legislature.
Section 1.12 of the East Cobb bill (you can read it here) states the following about service provision, in lines 157-161:
“Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, the city shall exercise the powers enumerated in subsection (a) of this section only for the purposes of planning and zoning, code adoption and enforcement, parks and recreation, police and law enforcement services, fire and emergency services, and those items directly related to the provision of such services and for the general administration of the city in providing such services.”
Lost Mountain’s bill includes a charter calling for the provision of planning and zoning, code enforcement and sanitation services.
All three bills have been signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp. A fourth Cobb cityhood bill in Mableton is yet to be signed, but it doesn’t contain the same language about specific provision of services.
A Mableton referendum would take place in November.
“We are confident that the Court will see this lawsuit for what it is, frivolous, and not permit this interference with any of the cityhood referendums,” Cooperman said.
The response echoes comments by the Vinings Exploratory Committee, the group behind Vinings Cityhood, which called the lawsuit “an attack on the democratic process.”
The lawsuit comes as debates are nearing for the East Cobb cityhood referendum.
The first, on April 19, is being sponsored by the East Cobb Business Association. Another, on May 4, is being organized by the Rotary Club of East Cobb at Pope High School.
Cobb County government is continuing its series of cityhood town halls with a session on Tuesday at the Cobb Civic Center, starting at 6:30 p.m.
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Erik Tekenbroek, a senior at Johnson Ferry Christian Academy in East Cobb, has been named the recipient of a $5,000 scholarship by the Delta Community Credit Union.
The scholarship is based on outstanding academic achievement, community involvement and an essay submission.
Tekenbroek is considering Hillsdale College and Cornell University with plans to major in finance with a career goal of becoming a financial planner.
He is one of five students in Georgia to receive the Delta scholarship.
“We are proud to support these hard-working students so they may focus on pursuing their academic goals,” Delta Community CEO Hank Halter said. “We hope these students will, in turn, achieve their career aspirations and develop as leaders in their chosen professions who share our commitment to foster collaboration and prosperity in local communities.”
In addition to its Scholarship Program, Delta Community also offers an annual Philanthropic Fund, more than 160 free financial literacy classes and workshops annually through its award-winning Financial Education Center, and quarterly scholarships for students attending Historically Black Colleges or Universities.
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Before a lengthy process that culminated last fall in controversial fashion, East Cobb Church Senior Pastor Rev. Jamey Dickens was fond of saying of his congregation that “we want to love where we live.”
The leader of the newest of the North Point Ministries family of churches said community goodwill has been a focal point of its efforts to build a new facility at Johnson Ferry and Shallowford roads.
During months of delays for site plan and other revisions, Dickens said that “I had so many personal conversations [with nearby residents]. I walked in the neighborhood.”
But while nearby residents had no issue with the church, some heatedly objected to the high-density residential component of the mixed-use development, as well as traffic and stormwater issues.
And they were incensed in October when a site plan was filed days before Cobb commissioners were set to vote on the rezoning case, and without seeking community input.
Commissioners voted 3-1 to approve the project, which includes 44 townhomes and 51 single-family detached homes in a zoning category opponents said is too dense for the community.
“I never wanted people to feel divided,” he told East Cobb News in a recent interview.
But he said taking the time to work through site plan, traffic and stormwater details were worth it.
“I’m proud of the fact that we did spend so much time talking about it,” Dickens said. “That’s what the process is there for, and I do think it made [the development] better.”
In December, North Point completed the purchase of all 24 parcels of the 33-acre tract from the land development company of retired attorney Fred Hanna and his wife’s homeless ministry non-profit for an estimated $10 million, according to county deed records.
The Hannas insisted on selling their land all at once, complicating the rezoning case. A leader of a group of residents in opposition publicly stated it may not have been approved had a church not been applying. So did a member of the Cobb Planning Commission.
But a resident near the North Point development, attending a meeting of the anti-Cityhood East Cobb Alliance, said his concerns about the rezoning were satisfied and “it made me a believer in local government” at the county level.
Dickens said the church has submitted an application for a land disturbance permit, and groundbreaking for the 125,000-square-foot church building and accompanying parking lot could take place by the end of the year.
North Point has sold 20.3 acres of the property assemblage for for the residential portion to be developed by Ashwood Atlanta.
A floodplain study was completed by the Federal Emergency Management Administration to determine the number of homes that could be built.
Cobb government spokesman Ross Cavitt said in a statement that the study “apparently resulted in a larger floodplain than expected, resulting in the loss of 20 units by the developer.”
We’re working to get more details of the site plan changes that have been made since the post-rezoning review process.
Dickens said a “conservative” estimate for the church opening would be in the first quarter of 2024.
“We’re taking it one step at a time,” he said.
Meanwhile, East Cobb Church is continuing to hold Sunday afternoon services at Eastside Baptist Church.
(On Easter Sunday, however, the church will have a 10:30 a.m. service at East Cobb Park.)
Dickens said the church currently has around 600-700 members, and it could grow to more than 1,000 in the new building.
“We just want to be a church that loves our community,” he said.
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What has been dubbed “Sunday Funday” at East Cobb Park for several years—a series of spring free concerts—has a new name.
“Music in the Park” debuts Sunday, but otherwise the event will feel similar to concert-goers.
The Friends for the East Cobb Park volunteer organization has scheduled four concerts through the middle of June at the concert shell in the back of the park.
And Wellstar remains as the presenting sponsor.
Sunday’s concert lasts from 4-6 p.m. and features the indie folk duo of Rusted Melody.
Other concerts are slated for May 8 (LooSe ShoEs band); May 29 (Bach to Rock—performed by and for kids) and June 12 (The Woodys—a Fleetwood Mac and 70s rock cover band).
You’re welcome to bring your own food and drink, chairs and blankets to enjoy the music on the back quad.
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Tommy Nobis Center, a Marietta-based nonprofit that helps individuals with disabilities enter or return to employment, will host its 24th Annual Galaxy of Stars Luncheon Friday from 12 to 1:30 p.m. at the Georgia Aquarium.
Galaxy of Stars is Tommy Nobis Center’s premier annual fundraising event and awards ceremony honoring the incredible talents of people with disabilities and the community champions who help empower individuals on their journey to independence and success.
This year’s theme is “45 Years of Empowerment.” Tommy Nobis Center will look back at its rich history of serving the community and celebrate the thousands of people whose lives have been changed by their programs and services over the years.
“We look forward to a meaningful event commemorating an incredible four and half decades of empowering people with disabilities and their families,” said President & CEO Dave Ward.
Honorees include former Atlanta Falcons Coach Dan Reeves for Lifetime Achievement, Community Champion Jim Budzinski, Family Member Advocates Marlon and Libby Longacre, and Tommy Nobis Rising Star Clarence Wine.
There will be an online auction accompanying this event starting March 28. For more information, go to https://tommynobiscenter.org/galaxy-of-stars. Funds raised through the event and auction directly support programs and services for youth and adults with disabilities.
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The following Cobb food scores for the week of April 4 have been compiled by the Cobb & Douglas Department of Public Health. Click the link under each listing for inspection details:
10 students from Wheeler High School have been named 2022 Georgia Scholars by the state Department of Education.
All six high schools in East Cobb and several students from those schools have been honored by the Georgia Department of Education and state school superintendent Richard Woods.
The state last week released its list of 2022 Advanced Placement Honor Schools, and are broken out in six categories. Kell, Lassiter, Pope, Walton and Wheeler are included in five of those categories, while Sprayberry is named in four categories.
Kell, Lassiter, Pope, Walton and Wheeler are named among the AP Schools of Distinction, which have at least 20 percent of students taking AP exams and have at least 50 percent earning a score of 3 or higher.
Kell, Lassiter, Pope, Sprayberry, Walton and Wheeler were named AP Humanities Schools (at least five students testing in an ELA course, two history/social science courses, one fine arts course and one world language course).
All six East Cobb high schools also were named AP Humanities Achievement Schools, including the description above and having with least 50% of all AP Humanities exams earning scores of 3 or higher.
Kell, Lassiter, Pope, Walton and Wheeler are AP STEM Schools, having at least five students testing in at least four AP STEM courses.
Those five also are AP STEM Achievement Schools (description above, and at least 50 percent of all AP STEM exams earning scores of 3 or higher).
In addition, Sprayberry was designated among the AP Access and Support Schools, which have at least 30 percent of AP exams taken by students who are African-American and/or Hispanic and 30 percent of all AP exams earning scores of 3 or higher.
The Georgia Department of Education also has named its 2022 class of Georgia Scholars. They excel in the classroom, participate in athletics and/or other extracurricular activities and take part in leadership opportunities.
The Cobb school district has 23 students named Georgia Scholars, including 10 from Wheeler High School. Here are the students named from East Cobb schools:
Pope: Christine Werts
Sprayberry: Riley Smith, Hannah Fischer, Jeremy Thomas, Kelynn Johnson
Walton: Kunling Tong, Shruthi Maharajan, Isabel Buyers, Alexa Weston, Fiona Guo, Joseph Walter
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Georgia elections law requires a runoff when the leading candidate does not receive a majority of the votes.
Two other candidates, both Republicans, also were running. Pamela Alayon received 733 votes, or 13.67 percent, and Darryl Wilson got 242 votes, or 4.49 percent.
The results are unofficial, but McCormick and Kaye have been leading all evening.
Both have have both come out publicly against East Cobb Cityhood; Dollar has been the chief sponsor of a Cityhood bill that passed the Georgia legislature calling for a May 24 referendum.
The special election was called by Gov. Brian Kemp to determine a successor to former State Rep. Matt Dollar, who resigned on Feb. 1. The winner will fill out the rest of his term this year.
McCormick is the only candidate in the special election who has qualified for the May 24 primary election in the new District 45.
Current State Rep. Sharon Cooper of District 43 and Carminthia Moore have qualified as Republican candidates.
The winner of the November general election will assume office in January, when a new legislative session begins.
ORIGINAL POST:
The polls have closed in a four-way “jungle” special election in Georgia House District 45 in East Cobb, and East Cobb News will be providing updates as they become available.
The Georgia Secretary of State’s office is providing real-time results at this link; as of 7:49 p.m., two candidates appear headed for a May 3 runoff.
Dustin McCormick, the only Democrat, has 1,153 votes, or 46.89 percent, while Mitch Kaye, a Republican former legislator, has 47 votes, or 38.5 percent.
Two other Republicans are in the race: Pamela Alayon, with 268 votes, or 10.9 percent, and Darryl Wilson, who has 91 votes, or 3.7 votes.
Here’s how advance voting went: McCormick 998; Kaye 887; Alayon 233; Wilson 79.
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A flash flood warning has been issued for Cobb County and much of metro Atlanta as heavy thunderstorms rolled into Georgia Tuesday morning.
The National Weather Service in Peachtree City issued the warning at 2:45 p.m. Tuesday, and it continues until 8:45 p.m. for Cobb, Cherokee, Fulton, Douglas, Clayton and DeKalb counties.
A flash flood warning means weather conditions are suitable for flash flooding to occur, especially near lanes and along rivers, streams and creeks.
Roadways also can flood easily during heavy thunderstorms, and in areas with drainage problems and low-lying areas.
The NWS said radar has indicated that between 1.5 and 3 inches of rain have fallen in the flash flood warning area since Tuesday morning, and that up to another half-inch of rain is forecast.
Cobb government said that some road are experiencing flooding, including George Busbee Parkway east of Frey Road, which is closed due for the time being.
Motorists are urged to use caution when traveling in heavy rains and to turn around if they see flooded roads.
The Cobb and metro area remains in a hazardous weather outlook area into Wednesday.
Portions of Georgia south of Atlanta have been under tornado watches and warnings, but none are forecast for the metro area.
Highs Tuesday in Cobb are forecast to be in the high 60s. The chance of rain in Cobb Tuesday night is 30 percent, with low temperatures around 60.
On Wednesday, the chance of rain will be 20 percent during the day and 70 percent into the evening.
The highs Wednesday will be in the upper 70s and lows in the high 50s.
Rain moves out of the area on Thursday, when it will be sunny with highs in the mid 60s.
Sunny weather is in the forecast for the rest of the week, with highs expected only in the mid 50s to mid 60s before warmer temperatures return next week.
For more information on local weather, click here.
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Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid’s 2022 State of Cobb County address last week was entitled “All In,” with messages of an expansive community laced throughout the presentation.
Public and civic leaders delivered those messages, and during a nearly two-hour-long event at Jim Miller Park on Thursday, greetings and entertainment included the Atlanta Braves Heavy Hitters drum corps.
After being sponsored for many years by the Cobb Chamber of Commerce, Cupid opted for a county-funded event. She couldn’t get her colleagues on the Cobb Board of Commissioners to approve the spending, however, and other entities, including Wellstar Health System, provided sponsorship.
Speakers came from the Atlanta Regional Commission and Cobb Chamber of Commerce.
During her remarks (which begin around the 58-minute mark below) Cupid, noted the increasing demographic diversity of the county.
She also said political changes in Cobb—with the Cobb Board of Commissioners going from Republican to Democratic control in the 2020 elections—being most notable.
Cupid is the first Democrat to head county government since the 1980s, and leads a 3-2 Democratic majority that’s made up of black females.
But Cobb Republicans in the Georgia legislature steered through reapportionment maps aimed at limiting Democratic representation on the Cobb commission, school board, legislature and Congress.
In addition, four cityhood referendums will be taking place in Cobb, including one in East Cobb in May.
“It has become very clear to me that the increased sensitivity to this board making similar decisions as boards in the past, and historic redistricting and cityhood efforts are signs of these shifts.
“They have been overwhelming at times, but I would not be standing before you if I did not see a silver lining in the challenges facing our county.”
She discussed the county’s desired response to inclusiveness, transportation, COVID-19 and public health, the county budget, public safety, affordable housing, innovations through technology, the proposed Unified Development Code.
“Our diversity is just not racially or geographically,” she said. “It’s economically. We are one of the state of Georgia’s most affluent counties, yet 70,000 of our residents live in poverty.”
She also asked how Cobb can “retain our strength as an affluent suburban county” without leaving other types of communities behind.
Cupid alluded to a total of nearly 700 new county employees that have been requested by government department heads to meet service demands for a county of more than 700,000 people.
“This is hard work that the board is going through,” she said, “but it is necessary work to get where we want to be.”
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