The sixth metro Atlanta location of One Medical has opened in East Cobb at Merchant’s Walk Shopping Center (1311 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 604) in the former Verizon space near Whole Foods.
One Medical offers same- and next-day in-office visits and 24/7 virtual healthcare via its mobile and web app. Features include full lab services, mental and physical health check-ins, chronic illness management, wellness visits and COVID-19 PCR testing.
Individual memberships cost $199 per year, and One Medical is a benefit sponsored by employers who cover the membership fees.
There are more than 125 One Medical locations across 16 U.S. markets. For information visit https://onemedical.com/.
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The 184th Marietta Campmeeting is scheduled for July 15-24, and Peter Vien, the organization’s president, has released a partial list of featured speakers for the revival event.
The celebration kicks off on Friday, July 15, with a morning service at 11 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. service featuring Dr. Ike Reighard, the senior pastor of Piedmont Church in East Cobb, and CEO of MUST Ministries.
On Sunday, July 17, Rev. Kristin Lee, Sr. Pastor, East Cobb UMC, the home church of the Campmeeting, will be speaking. Other speakers include Rev. Johnny Foster of East Cobb Baptist Church, Dr. John Hull Eastside Baptist Church and Rev. Darrell Rice, VP/Community Revitalization, City of Refuge Atlanta.
Schedule updates are being made on the Campmeeting Facebook page and website. The Methodist affiliated Campmeeting, which began in 1837, resumed last year after being cancelled in 2020—for the first time since the Civil War—due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Campmeeting takes place at the Marietta Campground (2300 Roswell Road) and the public is invited to attend services and other events, including an ice cream social and watermelon cutting and childrens’ services.
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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has extended a suspension of the gasoline sales tax a second time, through the middle of August.
Kemp made the announcement this week, ahead of the July 4 holiday weekend, as gas prices in the state and metro Atlanta are in something of a holding pattern.
He cited continuing issues with “the federal government’s gross mishandling of inflation and to renew efforts to address supply chain issues” for extending the tax suspension, which was authorized by the Georgia legislature in April.
The latest extension lasts until Aug. 13, after most schools in Georgia have resumed. Georgia motorists pay a 29-cent excise tax on every gallon of gasoline.
According to AAA-The Auto Club Group, the average gas prices in Georgia have fallen to $4.40 a gallon, down seven cents from last week.
That average is a little higher in metro Atlanta and in East Cobb.
The group estimates that it costs $66 to fill a 15-gallon tank of regular gasoline, around $22.35 more than this time last year.
The national average, according to AAA, is around $4.80 a gallon.
For more Georgia gas price data from AAA-The Auto Club Group, click here.
AAA is estimating that more than 1.5 million Georgians will be traveling more than 50 miles this weekend, more than 3 percent higher than 2021 and more than 4 percent since 2019.
Most of that travel, around 1.4 million, will be via automobile, estimated to be the highest since 2001.
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The following Cobb food scores for the week of June 27 have been compiled by the Cobb & Douglas Department of Public Health. Click the link under each listing for inspection details:
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The signature event in Cobb County for Independence Day is the parade and Glover Park celebration in the City of Marietta on Monday, but there are plenty of other events around the county and in East Cobb to enjoy the holiday.
The Mohs family fireworks in East Cobb in 2021.
In East Cobb, the Mohs family will be setting off “professional quality” fireworks around 9 p.m. or sunset at their home at 465 Shadowlawn Road.
That’s three houses up from the intersection of Paper Mill Road, and you’re asked to park in the parking lot at Sope Creek Elementary School (3320 Paper Mill Road).
They said NO parking will be allowed along Shadowlawn or in the Mohs driveway, but there will be transport via a neighbor’s golf cart between the home and the school parking lot for those needing a lift.
In a NextDoor post(which includes a video of last year’s fireworks), Diana Mohs said attendees are welcome to bring blankets or folding chairs, and can arrive early to take a garden tour and visit the Koi fish pond.
The fireworks should last 30-45 minutes, and kids will get glowsticks. Bottled water and some snacks will be provided.
In Marietta, the Let Freedom Ring Parade begins at 10 a.m. Monday at Roswell Street Baptist Church and continues east on Roswell Street to the Square.
More than 110 entries, 2,000 participants and an estimated 30,000 spectators are expected.
IF YOU’RE GOING: The Marietta Police Department said that roads along the parade route will close 45 minutes before and during the parade, and that roads surrounding the Square will be closed all day.
WHAT’S ON TAP: The Festival runs from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., featuring free live concerts, arts and crafts show, food and carnival games, followed by fireworks at dark.
Here’s the full schedule:
10 a.m. Let Freedom Ring Parade
10 a.m.-9:00 p.m Festival – Arts & Crafts, Kid’s Zone, Festival Food, Free Concerts
12 p.m. Concert featuring Scott Thompson
2 p.m. Bell Ringing Ceremony
2:30 p.m. Concert featuring the Atlanta Concert Band
7 p.m. Concert featuring Josh Jones
8 p.m.-9:30 p.m. Concert featuring Departure: The Journey Tribute Band
TIGHT PARKING: Police are encouraging attendees to use a ride share because of a limited number of parking spots. The parking lot at First United Methodist Church will be closed due to a state fire parking law, and businesses on and around the Square will be open on their own holiday schedules.
TO PICK UP AND DROP OFF PASSENGERS: You’re asked to use the intersection of Lawrence and Waddell streets.
DON’TS FOR THE DECKS: Fireworks are not allowed on any of the decks around the Square; nor will open alcohol containers or consumption.
MAPS: Here’s a look at downtown Marietta parking availability.
MORE INFO: The city of Marietta has all of the July 4 particulars here.
At The Battery Atlanta, the Atlanta Braves will be playing Monday night at Truist Park against the St. Louis Cardinals, followed by fireworks. First pitch is 7:10 p.m.
If you’re going to try your hand at fireworks, keep in mind the Cobb ordinance about when you can do that, and how to do it safely.
From Cobb Government:
Cobb County Code bans the use of fireworks from 9 p.m. to 10 a.m. This is spelled out in the county’s code under the noise ordinances. Violations are a misdemeanor offense and you can view the noise ordinances by going here: Cobb County Noise Ordinance
Use of fireworks in Cobb County parks Pyrotechnics are prohibited at ALL county parks per County Ordinance § 90-63. Sec. 90-63. – Restricted or Prohibited Uses of Park Facilities 1. Pyrotechnics prohibited It shall be unlawful for any persons to possess, display, use, set off or ignite any firecracker, fireworks, smoke bombs, rockets, or other pyrotechnics.
Exemptions carved in by state law The state legislature has spelled out several exemptions to county code in O.C.G.A. § 25-10-1 et seq. This allows exemptions to county ordinances for use of fireworks on specific dates and times.
December 31 (New Year’s Eve) – Fireworks may be discharged until 1 a.m.
January 1 (New Year’s Day) – Fireworks may be discharged until midnight.
On the last Saturday and Sunday in May – Fireworks may be discharged until midnight.
July 3 – Fireworks may be discharged until midnight.
July 4 – Fireworks may be discharged until midnight.
On the first Monday in September – Fireworks may be discharged until midnight.
To view the Georgia code section regarding fireworks visit: O.C.G.A. § 25-10-2
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The Cobb Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs offers free pickup spikeball activities for adults each Wednesday at Terrell Mill Park.
Spikeball, according to Cobb Parks, “is a team sport played by two teams of two players. Opposing teams line up across from each other with the Spikeball net in the center. Once the ball is served players can move anywhere they want. The object of the game is to hit the ball into the net so that the opposing team cannot return it.”
The pickup sessions are free and take place each Wednesday from 6:30-10 p.m. at the turf field at Terrell Mill Park (480 Terrell Mill Road).
Spikeball sets will be provided but participants may bring their own.
For more information click here or contact Conor Hoyne at 770-528-8861.
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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The proposed budget of $1.15 billion does not include an increase to any millage rates, including the general fund, the primary source of revenues that comes from property taxes.
But due to a 12.63 percent increase in the Cobb tax digest this year, that constitutes a tax increase according to state law, since a “roll back” in the millage rate to equal the current FY 2022 budget of $1.04 billion is not included.
Public hearings must be held by the Cobb Board of Commissioners advertising a tax increase, and they are scheduled as follows, with adoption scheduled for July 26:
Tuesday, July 12 at 9 a.m.
Tuesday, July 19 at 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, July 26 at 7 p.m.
A release from Cobb government Thursday detailed the proposed millage rates that have been proposed for the FY 2023 budget, which would take effect Oct. 1:
General Fund 8.46 mills;
Fire 2.99 mills;
Debt Service (Bond Fund) 0.0 mills;
Cumberland Special Services District II 2.45 mills;
Six Flags Special Service District 3.50 mills.
The proposed budget would include revenues totalling $865 million from those millage rates, compared to $768 million in the current budget.
Most of the rest of the revenues would come from Cobb water system revenues.
Similarly, the Cobb Board of Education announced this week it also will be holding public hearings next July since it is retaining its millage rate for fiscal year 2023 with additional revenues.
The county has not yet posted the full FY 2023 budget on its website as Finance Director Bill Volckmann mentioned on Tuesday; here’s a copy of what was presented Tuesday to commissioners that runs 41 pages.
The budget would add 147 new full-time positions throughout county government, add a merit raise, raise the minimum wage to $17 an hour and add other recruitment and intention incentives to address that Cobb officials have said are critical staffing shortages.
Most of the increase in the tax digest, a projected $50 billion, is due to rising property assessments.
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More than 200 people attended the second annual Harmonies for Homes concert on June 27 at Atlanta County Club. The event raised more than $100K to go toward the building of Habitat homes in Cobb County.
The “under the stars” event took place on the 18thhole green of Atlanta Country Club. The event featured music and stories from three talented nationally acclaimed artists:
Edwin McCainhas been called the “great American romantic” by the New York Times.
Mark Broussardis a singer-songwriter whose style is best described as Bayou Soul, a mix of funk, blues, R&B, rock and pop, matched with distinctive southern roots.
Emerson Hartis the lead singer for the multi-platinum GRAMMY® Award-nominated alternative rock institution Tonic that has racked up six Top 10 songs.
This year’s concert was presented by Bercher Homes and produced by Mooncrush.
Other sponsors included:
Habitat Hero Sponsors: Young Contracting Foundation and Gieryn Family Foundation.
Hope Giver Sponsors: Miller Mechanical Engineers and Contractors and S.A. White Oil Company.
Helping Hand Sponsors: Salon Studios Beauty Mall, Stadium Spot, Alayne and George Sertl, Ann and Sheldon Taylor, Natalie and Tom Epperson
Heart to Heart Sponsors: Jan Pro, Innovative Construction, Allstate, ReMax, Mauldin & Jenkins, Lotus Vinyl, Allen Southern Properties, Brotherhood of Occidental Builders, Sheri and Tain Kell, Ronan P Doherty, and Bion and Kaye Jones.
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East Cobb Presbyterian Church (4616 Roswell Road) will begin what it’s calling an Embrace Grace support group for single moms beginning August 7.
The group is open to all single moms who need encouragement and support, and at the end of the 12-week semester the mothers will be given a Baby Shower Extravaganza.
There is no cost to attend the program and child care will be provided for children up to the age of 4.
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Although the Cobb Board of Education earlier this month adopted a fiscal year 2023 budget of $1.4 billion without a millage rate increase, they haven’t formally adopted the property tax rate.
That’s because the Cobb tax digest was officially approved earlier this week by the Cobb Board of Tax Assessors.
The Cobb school district fiscal year begins on Friday, and next week, the school board will have the first of three required public hearings on the millage rate.
The 2022 Cobb tax digest has grown by 12.3 percent, to a record nearing $50 billion.
Much of that is due to increased property tax assessments in Cobb County, and the school district is taking in $65 million more in local property tax revenues than it did in 2021.
But because the district is proposing to keep the millage rate of 18.9 mills, that constitutes a tax increase according to state law, and public hearings must be held before the school board sets the tax rate.
Two hearings will take place next Wednesday, July 7 at 11:30 a.m. and 6:05 p.m. in the board room of the Cobb County School District central office, 514 Glover St., Marietta.
The final hearing is July 14 at 6:30 p.m. in the same venue, before the Cobb school board’s monthly business meeting where the millage rate will be set.
The Cobb school district has had a property tax millage rate of 18.9 mills since 2007. State law requires local governments and school districts to advertise a tax increase if they take in more revenue from the previous year and do not roll back the millage rate to reflect the previous year’s revenue amount.
The “roll back” rate would be 16.719 mills.
Cobb County government, which unveiled its proposed fiscal year 2023 budget on Tuesday, also is keeping the general fund property tax rate the same as last year, but revenues are going up.
Three public hearings have been scheduled for July before the Cobb Board of Commissioners is scheduled to adopt the budget on July 26.
You can view more budget and financial information at the Cobb County School District by clicking here.
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The Cobb fiscal year 2023 operating budget proposed Tuesday would create 147 new positions in county government as part of a concerted effort to address what have been labeled serious staffing and employment issues.
The proposed budget of $865 million from all millage rates is up from the current fiscal year 2022 adopted budget of $768 million.
The overall proposed budget from all revenue sources is $1.15 billion, up from $1.04 billion. The majority of those additional revenues comes from water bills.
General fund revenues—which are paid for in property taxes—would rise from $496.7 million to $564.2 million for FY 2023.
There is not a proposed property tax increase for the general fund millage rate, which is 8.46 mills. Due to the Cobb tax digest increasing by 12 percent this year, that still constitutes a tax increase, since the millage rate will not be rolled back.
County officials said budget documents will be made available on its website at this link; you can watch Tuesday’s budget presentation, which lasts around two hours, by clicking here.
At a Cobb Board of Commissioners work session Tuesday, Cobb finance director Bill Volckmann said the budget figures don’t include costs for a class-and-pay compensation system that will be implemented in September.
Many of the priorities are aimed at employee recruitment and retention, and Chairwoman Lisa Cupid said the new positions are in response to feedback from constituents.
“We want to make sure our employees are valued because that’s how we provide value to our citizens,” said Chairwoman Lisa Cupid, who’s complained for years that previous commissions haven’t adequately staffed, paid and retained employees in critical positions.
“I feel like we can stand tall knowing we’ve been responsive to the years of concerns and the culmination of that over the last year.”
Among her priorities is an increase in the minimum wage for county employees to $17 an hour, which is up from around $9-$10 an hour.
There is a performance-based merit raise (budgeted at 3.5 percent), continuing a step-and-grade compensation system for public safety employees, increased funding for capital maintenance projects and more funding for Cobb and Douglas Public Health and the Department of Family and Children’s Services.
The proposal also would reduce the number of years for employees to be vested in the county pension system from 10 years to five years.
Cupid summarized some of the new positions, saying some would be added for Cobb DOT for road projects and maintenance and code enforcement and some public safety positions.
The proposal includes new positions in the Cobb Police Department, seven new positions the Fire and Emergency Services Department and six new jobs in the Emergency 911 Department.
Volckmann said another 32 jobs would be created in the court system.
She said an unspecified number of new jobs would be created in the Cobb Parks, Recreation and Public Affairs Department organize special events and programming.
Cupid said that was to address “sense of place” issues that came up during three failed cityhood referendum efforts, including one in East Cobb.
She also said the budget would include funding to conduct a “disparity study” relating to businesses owned by women, minorities and disabled veterans.
Commissioners Keli Gambrill and JoAnn Birrell, the board’s two Republican members, said they couldn’t support the disparity study.
Gambrill also expressed concern about how the employee pay raise costs may be funded over the long term.
“While we do have a [tax] digest growth that will cover this change, and this increase this year, we might not have this digest growth in two years,” she said. She said that would especially affect renters who’ve received federal COVID-related assistance the last two years.
“The last time we had a tax increase [2018] it hit them the hardest, because commercial property owners are not exempt with the homestead exemption,” Gambrill said. “This will have a future impact to the most critical needs right now in our county.”
County department heads had requested more than 650 new positions across the board, coming to $178 million in new spending.
Earlier this month commissioners approved a request to spend federal COVID-related American Rescue Plan Act funds for outsourced salaries and staff retention bonuses in “critical” positions in transportation, water, and parks and recreation.
Most of the new proposed jobs would be in what Volckmann said were departments that didn’t have many vacancies, with the exception of Cobb DOT.
Cupid said filling current vacancies would be emphasized before the new positions. Cobb government has been producing content in recent weeks about staff shortages, claiming a reported 1,000 vacancies across all government agencies.
Birrell expressed concern about requesting additional jobs with so many existing vacancies.
Volckmann said as an example that in the police department, most of the vacancies are for officers. The new requests, he said, would be for specialty positions.
“We made it very clear that these are critical positions,” County Manager Jackie McMorris said, addressing Birrell. “If you asked them to go back and cut more, ‘is to do your job, continuously, without the resources you need to do it,’ that’s not fair to them.”
Among the new proposed jobs is an events coordinator for Cobb parks, recreation and cultural affairs.
McMorris said existing staff are constantly overextended handling groundbreakings, ribbon cuttings and special events for the many activities that take place at those facilities.
When Birrell asked what an events coordinator would do during slower periods, McMorris interjected: “There is no off-season in Cobb. It’s not just the mowing and the Little League.
“There are events year-round. There are events you ask them to prepare for. There is plenty of work for that events coordinator to do.”
County department heads, McMorris continued, showing some emotion, are so conservative that “they don’t want to ask you for the basic things that they need.”
Three public hearings on the budget and millage rate have been scheduled for July, with adoption scheduled for July 26:
Tuesday, July 12 at 9 a.m.
Tuesday, July 19 at 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, July 26 at 7 p.m.
Fiscal year 2023 begins Oct. 1 and continues through Sept. 30, 2023.
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The community is invited to attend the groundbreaking for Memorial Park, hosted by the Cobb Veterans Memorial Foundation at 10 a.m. Friday, July 7, at 502 Fairground Street SE, Marietta. The park plans feature a 142-foot “Star Tower” monument and honor walls listing names of veterans from each of the country’s military branches. It will also have a plaza for events, two reflection pools, and a service hub providing information to veterans and their families. Construction is expected to be completed in 2024. View the invitation here.
RSVP to kmichonet@cobbvmf.com If you plan to attend, please park in the Cobb Civic Center parking lot.
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Aaron Tullar, the owner of Peachtree Computers—which operates two stores in metro Atlanta— sends in the above photo and information about his third store, that’s just opened in East Cobb at Woodlawn Square Shopping Center.
He started the business 14 years ago in Roswell, then expanded to the Cumberland area. The store offers free diagnostics on devices brought in, and has remote and onsite support services, both for PCs and Macs.
Peachtree Computers is located at 1205 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 128. Hours are Monday-Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Contact: 678-528-0087 or support@peachtreecomputers.net.
Vanderlande, a Dutch international logistics automation company, recently opened 152,612 square-foot facility, located at 3054 Chastain Meadows Parkway with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
It’s part of a 27-acre campus that keeps the company’s U.S. headquarters in Cobb County, employing more than 1,000 people (previous post here).
NuSpine Chiropractic, which recently expanded into the Atlanta area, has opened a clinic in East Cobb at 2960 Shallowford Road, Suite 302, in the Sandy Plains Centre.
It’s a franchise company that launched in 2019 and has more than 200 locations across the country.
Hours at the Sandy Plains Centre clinic are from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. Contact: 404-492-8199.
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Cobb County officials will be asking commissioners Tuesday to set what they’re calling a “Guaranteed Maximum Price” to complete the building of the new Cobb Police Precinct 6 in Northeast Cobb.
According to an agenda item, the new station to be located next to the Mountain View Aquatic Center was earmarked with $5 million in funding from the 2016 Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax.
But the estimated price tag for the facility has grown to more than $5.5 million, according to the agenda item, which is recommending a build-out in stages.
“Due to currently elevated construction costs, budgeted funding is insufficient to complete build-out of the entire facility as designed,” states the agenda item.
The initial phase would include the construction of the exterior, front office spaces and a community room area, and provide space for on-site equipment access.
“When additional funding is identified, continuation of the project will be revisited at that time,” according to the budget item.
County officials are requesting $536,973 from county reserve funding to complete the project.
The new precinct initially will not have a patrol zone and instead will house police specialty units. Groundbreaking was held last November, after commissioners approved a two-phase contract with the Batson-Cook Company.
The first phase costs are $723,980 for design and other work. In the agenda item for Tuesday, the proposed Maximum Guaranteed Price for construction is $4,736,378, bringing the overall costs to $5,460,358.
Most of the East Cobb area is currently covered by Cobb Police Precinct 4, located on Lower Roswell Road.
That precinct runs from the Powers Ferry Road area to the east side of Canton Road.
Commissioners also will be asked on Tuesday to formally accept $73,824,239, the second of two lump sums from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Those funds are designated for state, local and other governments as part of the continuing response to COVID-19 and can be used for infrastructure upgrades, rental and small business assistance and support for essential workers.
There also will be a public hearing at the start of the meeting for the initial draft of Cobb County’s 2040 Comprehensive Plan 5-Year Update.
The meeting starts at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the second floor board room of the Cobb government building (100 Cherokee St., downtown Marietta).
The full agenda can be found here; there are two public comment sessions at the start and near the end of the meeting.
The meeting also will be live-streamed on the county’s website, cable TV channel (Channel 24 on Comcast) and Youtube page. Visit cobbcounty.org/CobbTV for other streaming options.
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The Noonday Creek Trail Head at Bells Ferry Road (ECN file photo).
The Cobb Department of Transportation is seeking public feedback on the possibility of extending the Noonday Creek Trail as part of its 2018 Greenways and Trails Master Plan.
The Noonday Creek Trail Scoping Study began this spring, and Cobb DOT is proposing the extension run from the Bells Ferry Trailhead northward to Noonday Creek Park.
“This study aims to evaluate various options for closing this critical gap in the regional trail network between Bells Ferry Road and Shallowford Road,” according to Cobb DOT, which is accepting comments through July 8.
The aim is to assist Cobb DOT in understanding “how people use the existing trail and nearby public spaces” and “get ideas for a potential future extension of the trail.”
More information and a link to the survey can be found by clicking here. To enlarge the map below, click here.
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Elected officials in Cobb County and Georgia reacted along predictable partisan lines Friday to a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that struck down a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion.
U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath
By a 6-3 vote, the Court reversed Roe v. Wade, which in 1973 gave women a constitutional right to privacy under the 14th Amendment.
Friday’s ruling (you can read it here) upheld a 2018 Mississippi law banning abortion after 15 weeks. The Supreme Court also struck down a 1992 ruling, Casey v. Planned Parenthood, that reaffirmed federal abortion rights.
“The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled; and the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives,” concluded the court majority, all appointed by Republican presidents.
The three dissenting votes were from justices appointed by Democratic presidents. The ruling had been anticipated after a draft majority ruling written by Justice Joseph Alito was leaked to the Politico publication in May.
In Georgia, abortions are illegal after 20 weeks from fertilization (or 22 weeks after a woman’s last menstrual cycle), with exceptions for a threat to the mother’s life or if a baby’s health is severely compromised.
In recent years, the GOP-dominated legislature has been trying to impose more severe restrictions.
Gov. Brian Kemp
In 2019, HB 481, the Living Infants Fairness and Equality (LIFE) Act, or the so-called “heartbeat bill” was passed that made abortion illegal in Georgia once a doctor could detect cardiac activity in a fetus (typically around six weeks).
That bill, sponsored by State Rep. Ed Setzler, an Acworth Republican, and Ginny Erhart, a Republican from West Cobb, is considered one of the harshest in the nation.
It contains exceptions for rape and incest, if the life of the mother is endangered or if a doctor determines a fetus is not viable for medical reasons.
But women also must file a police report in the case of rape or incest.
The law was struck down by a federal judge in 2020 on constitutional grounds. The state appealed to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which said last year it could not issue a ruling until the Supreme Court decided the Mississippi case.
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who is up for re-election this year, hailed the Supreme Court ruling as “a historic victory for life.”
By mid Friday afternoon, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr had filed notice with the 11th Circuit in Atlanta to lift the stay on the law. Unlike some other states, there is not an automatic trigger provision for the Georgia law.
“There is, simply put, nothing left of the Plaintiff-Appellees’ argument that Georgia law imposes an unconstitutional burden on the practice of abortion,” said the notice.
State Rep. Sharon Cooper
Stacey Abrams, Kemp’s Democratic opponent in the November general election, said that “if you’re a woman in Georgia, you should be terrified right now.”
U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat who is up for re-election in November, said that “I’m outraged by the Supreme Court’s decision. As a pro-choice pastor, I’ll never back down from this fight. Women must be able to make their own health care decisions, not politicians.”
His Republican opponent, former UGA football star Herschel Walker, who supports a total ban on abortions, said the court ruling “sends the issue of abortion back to the states, where it belongs. I stand for life and Raphael Warnock stands for abortion . . . I won’t apologize erring on the side of life.”
Two pro-life Republican lawmakers from East Cobb opposed the heartbeat bill. State Rep. Sharon Cooper and Sen. Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick, retired medical professionals, said at the time that the bill would be ruled unconstitutional.
Kirkpatrick was out of town attending a funeral and was formally excused from voting when the bill came up for final Senate action. Cooper, the chairwoman of the House Health and Human Services Committee, voted no on final passage.
East Cobb News left messages with Kirkpatrick and Cooper on Friday seeking comment.
U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, a Marietta Democrat who represents East Cobb in the 6th Congressional District, denounced the Supreme Court ruling.
“Today, every woman in America has been made less free,” she said in a statement issued by her Congressional office. “Today, extremists on the Supreme Court have stripped away a woman’s right to make choices about her own reproductive health care. Today, our nation’s highest court has rolled back the clock and stripped women of their liberty.
“Today, SCOTUS overturned a half century of precedent, and Dobbs will now join Plessy as one of the most regressive decisions in our nation’s history.”
U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock
The latter is a reference to Plessy v. Ferguson, an 1896 Supreme Court “separate but equal” ruling that upheld segregation laws, saying they didn’t violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.
That ruling lasted for several decades, longer than Roe v. Wade, which prompted widespread activism from Christian conservatives and evangelicals.
The Cobb Republican Party posted a message on its Facebook page with a group photo of the Supreme Court saying “Prayers answered!!!” On Twitter, the message was “Life Wins!”
In 2018 Donald Trump became the first U.S. president to speak to the national March for Life rally in in Washington. His three Supreme Court justice nominees made up half of the majority that voted to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Bryant Wright, the retired pastor of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in East Cobb, tweeted “PTL! 50 years, at last a long awaited answer to prayer that every life is created in the image of God.”
The Catholic Church of St. Ann posted on its Facebook page a response from Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer of Atlanta hailing the ruling, saying that “No matter how the court ruled today, we will never stop working to protect women and their babies. Whether or not abortion is legal, we want women to know that we are here to support you, to accompany you and to love you and your babies.”
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Rozzo said that “after some weeks of getting the legalities worked out, the purchase was made official this week.”
In a message posted to the EAST COBBER website, Brown said that “I want to bring (the magazine) to the next level. I want to enhance what is already here. The EAST COBBER will continue to promote the exceptional people and events that make East Cobb such a great place to live and uphold the value the magazine has built over the years.”
Brown, 46, is a native of Oklahoma who has lived in East Cobb for 22 years.
She said in the message that she plans to revive the EAST COBBER parade and festival, which has not been held since 2019.
Cynthia Rozzo
Brown said she was drawn to taking over as publisher and owner because of “the brand itself and also the magazine is wanted and needed here . . . There’s nothing else like it in this area.”
Rozzo founded the EAST COBBER in 1993, publishing 11 times a year and peaking with a print circulation of more than 40,000.
The parade and festival began in 1995 but was halted in 2019 due to the COVID pandemic.
Since last year, publication of the EAST COBBER has been reduced to six times a year.
Rozzo, whose retirement is effective next Thursday, said Friday that there will be three more issues this year, and in 2023 the magazine will return to its 11-issue publishing schedule.
“I am thrilled EAST COBBER will continue to embody the vibrant, thriving East Cobb community under Laren’s very capable care,” she said.
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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced Friday he has filled two open seats on the Cobb Superior Court.
They are former Cobb District Attorney Vic Reynolds, the director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and Georgia Deputy Attorney General Julie Adams Jacobs.
Reynolds, whom Kemp appointed to head the GBI in 2019, will succeed Judge Tain Kell, who resigned in April to return to private law practice.
Jacobs, who has been in the Georgia Attorney General’s office since 2003, replaces Judge Mary Staley Clark, who retired effective May 1.
Reynolds and Jacobs will fill the remainder of the terms of Kell and Staley-Clark, through the end of 2024.
Reynolds was twice elected as Cobb District Attorney and also is a former Cobb Chief Magistrate judge, a lawyer in private practice and a former police officer.
Julie Adams Jacobs
He earned his law degree from the Georgia State University College of Law and received a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Georgia Southern University.
As deputy attorney general, Jacobs has been head of the commercial transactions and litigation division. She also has been a hearing officer in hospital acquisitions.
Jacobs is a graduate of Emory University Law School and earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Georgia State University.
Cobb Superior Court has 11 judges who are elected on a non-partisan basis and eight appointed senior judges, who are retired but hear special and occasional cases.
The Court hears major felony and criminal cases and complex civil litigation, as well as divorces and land property disputes and conducts jury trials.
In a release, Kemp’s office said the governor will appoint a successor to Reynolds at the GBI at a later date.
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!
