Editor’s Note: Help us get to 250 monthly donors in June!

https://eastcobbnews.presspatron.com/
Please become a donor today by clicking the graphic above! And thank you!

We hope you’ve enjoyed your Memorial Day weekend and the start of summer!

Here at East Cobb News we took a bit of a break from our usual schedule and took stock of the generosity of our readers.

Thank you so much for those of you who have pledged your financial support for the work we do at East Cobb News, giving you the local news that you love!

We provide this community resource free to readers, including our popular Sunday newsletter, and we want to keep it that way.

But as I have mentioned over the last couple of weeks in this space, I am considering the option of a paywall. We have a growing audience—around 60,000 unique monthly visitors on average, and more than 9,300 newsletter subscribers.

But while we are a frugal operation, we also have increased business costs, and we want to expand our coverage of the news in this large, busy community.

Nothing has been decided yet about charging for access, but as I laid out at the start of the year in launching the 1500 Club, we want to get to 1,500 recurring monthly donors by the end of the year.

That’s less than 20 percent of our newsletter subscribers, for example.

Please contribute today!

It’s an ambitious goal but I know we can do it, because we have a growing, engaged audience of readers who tell us all the time how much they appreciate what we do.

Now is the time to show it, and shortly I’ll be explaining how we use the donations that we get from readers. We want to be upfront with you about where the money goes.

As we close out May, I’ve set a goal of getting to 250 recurring monthly donors by the end of June. If we can do that each month, we’ll surpass 1,500 by the end of the year.

But first things first. At this time, we have fewer than 50 recurring monthly donors. We really do need your support now more than ever!

We’re suggesting a reasonable amount—$6 a month—but you can contribute more if you like. While we appreciate yearly and one-time contributions, we really want to have recurring monthly donations.

We have a safe and secure online payment platform, Press Patron, that you can manage easily.

Help keep East Cobb News free—please donate today!

With 250 monthly donors, we will bring in $1,500 a month at that $6 amount—there’s that 1500 number again—that will help us in a significant way. In my next column I will detail what that funding will support.

We also will be offering other incentives at higher payment tiers, which I also will outline in the near future.

Before you get too busy with your summer, please think for a moment about how much you value East Cobb News and make a contribution accordingly.

Nobody else is doing this in our community, and our plans are to keep giving you the local news that you love for a long time to come.

Let us know what you think about all of this: e-mail me at wendy@eastcobbnews.com. I’m interested in hearing from you.

Thank you for your support of East Cobb News!

Support local independent journalism—and discover the power of local!

 

 

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Editor’s Note: Donate today! Support local news that matters!

Another big week of news this past week meant another very busy week for us here at East Cobb News reporting on all of that for you.

We featured a loaded end-of-school-year package on everything from the new budget, graduation ceremonies, principal reassignments, vals and sals to the superintendent’s charged remarks about apartments that drew a lot of response.

We also broke the news of an Einstein Bros. bagel shop coming here soon—our readers love restaurant news!—and a real-time update about the long-term Lower Roswell Road traffic project that is already becoming a headache.

Judging from our traffic and engagement numbers, we’re giving you exactly what you come to East Cobb News to find out.

Please contribute today!

It’s local news that matters and we know how much this matters to you!

And as we noted last week, we’re seeking more financial support from readers, and we’re appreciative of those who have donated.

But after a few months of strong support earlier this year, we’re not getting that now. We don’t know if we can keep giving you this news for free.

This isn’t a step we’re taking lightly, and we don’t want to do it. We want local news to be accessible to all, but we’re considering some options to charge for access.

And as the school year ends and the summer begins, we’d like to ask you to take a moment today to consider making a donation if you haven’t already.

We’re suggesting a $6 monthly recurring donation as part of our 1500 Club plan to boost reader support. You can donate more if you like, but we think that’s a reasonable ask.

We know money can be tight and people are busy with their lives, but we remain hard at work no matter the time of year. The summer can be really busy, news-wise, and we’re not going to slow down if it does.

But readers love what we do! They tell us so! When we have good meaty news weeks like the last two, we get more newsletter subscribers and we have plenty of comment threads going on about some of these stories.

Help keep East Cobb News free—please donate today!

But we need readers to do more than just tell us what they like about East Cobb News. Here’s the time to show us that appreciation!

We have just a few dozen supporters, and we want to get to 1,500. That sounds like a high bar, but that 1,500 number is only a fraction of our newsletter subscribers, and an even smaller number of our overall readership.

I’m very proud of what we’ve built up here, from scratch, when so many news outlets have more name recognition and resources.

The truth is many news outlets rely on reader support to fund significant aspects of their news and business operations.

Soon I’ll be detailing how we use the contributions we receive from you, and to offer you incentives to contribute.

I’ve been doing a goodness-of-my-heart ask for a few months now, and it’s clearly not working. I blame myself for not being more proactive sooner about soliciting reader support. I haven’t been good at explaining what it takes to sustain a news site like this.

There is nowhere else to get this kind of news coverage, but we need your help. East Cobb News is community-driven, devoted to the people who live and work here, and who contribute to our daily lives.

For nearly eight years now, we’ve been giving you the local news you love, but we can’t sustain this on love alone. We’re not just a news source, but a small business. We keep our expenses to a minimum, but we do have costs, and some of them are rising.

If you have donated, thanks! If you haven’t and are ready to do so now, please click below. Our Press Patron platform is safe and secure and easy to use.

I wish for you all to have a great Memorial Day holiday weekend and a start to your summer, and we’ll come back with more details in June about how you can support East Cobb News.

Let us know what you think about all of this: e-mail me at wendy@eastcobbnews.com. I’m interested in hearing from you.

Thank you for your support of East Cobb News!

Support local independent journalism—and discover the power of local!

 

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

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!

 

Editor’s Note: Apartments and the future of Cobb schools

Editor's Note: Apartments and the future of Cobb schools
The Cortland Watermark complex off Roswell Road is in the Wheeler High School attendance zone, which has the highest number of apartments in the East Cobb area.

As far as broadsides go, this one was a doozy, even for him.

Cobb County School District Superintendent Chris Ragsdale has made a habit of making pointed commentary in recent months about a number of topics, especially school safety issues and sexually explicit materials in school libraries.

He typically has read from lengthy, prepared remarks, often with his critics in mind, anticipating their latest complaints against him, and responding in kind.

But at a Cobb Board of Education work session Thursday, he appeared to be seriously taken aback by numbers presented during a routine presentation of demographic trends as they may affect Cobb schools.

They were flashed on a screen by James Wilson, a former Cobb and Fulton superintendent who heads Education Planners, a private Marietta company that briefs the Cobb school board annually.

The figures that jumped out—that more apartment units have been approved in Cobb County since 2006 than any other jurisdiction in metro Atlanta—brought with it a torrent of sharp, unrehearsed retorts by Ragsdale.

Those numbers? A total of 20,671 multi-family units have been permitted in the last two decades in Cobb, just ahead of DeKalb County, and well above Gwinnett County, which has a population nearing one million, far bigger than Cobb’s roughly 775,000 inhabitants.

“I’ve never seen this kind of data,” Ragsdale interjected during the presentation. “That is more than disturbing . . . that is alarming.”

A slide presented by Education Planners to the Cobb school board showing metro Atlanta apartment permits since 2006.

He tore into the Cobb Board of Commissioners, accusing them of ignoring previous concerns the Cobb school district has had about the impact of high-density zoning, especially apartments.

Even though the school district has a representative attend zoning hearings, Ragsdale claimed that “there is absolutely no attention paid” and “we continue down this path with absolutely zero impact and zero attention and zero concern is being displayed at the approval of development.” 

He mentioned the likely impact of such runaway multi-family growth, including split sessions, and referenced Florida, where he said there are high schools with seven thousand students or more. 

“I don’t know how much we need to pull the big red switch or alarm, but this is seemingly status-quo now,” Ragsdale said of the commission’s alleged neglect about school impacts on their zoning decisions.

While Cobb school enrollment is expected to level out over the next few years, Ragsdale’s greater concern is rising transience in schools with growing numbers of apartments.

Those include most school attendance zones in South Cobb, in Smyrna-Cumberland-Vinings and the Town Center-KSU area as well around Wheeler High in East Cobb, where apartments abound and many schools are well over capacity.

“I’m afraid people have either poked their heads in the sand or just really don’t care. And, I’m afraid it’s the latter,” Chris Ragsdale said.

He said that an increase in this trend will “continue to have a detrimental impact on schools’ performance, whether they’re perceived or real.”

In addition, more than 300 units were approved last year in the city of Powder Springs, for a new apartment complex that will dramatically affect attendance in the McEachern zone, where single-family housing has been the rule.

On Friday afternoon, Cobb County government issued a brief statement from Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid, inviting the Cobb school district and other “stakeholders” to discuss the matter at her meeting venue, next Wednesday.

“Rather than relying on public statements, I believe our residents benefit most from working together to examine the data and its context,” she said in the county statement. “Through open dialogue, we can reach shared understanding and develop solutions that support our schools, citizens, and students across Cobb County.”

Except that next Wednesday is right in the middle of Cobb graduation ceremonies, which run all week.

Surely she had to know that, right?

This is what happens when two entities don’t have any kind of working relationship at all. In fact, to say that there’s any relationship between the school district and the county would be a stretch.

This isn’t the first time Ragsdale has taken aim at the county, and especially the chairwoman. Two years ago, he blasted her for “derogatory comments” she made about the quality of schools in South Cobb, where she lives. 

(Cupid previously home-schooled her two sons, who now attend Woodward Academy.)

She also hired Jennifer Susko, a former Cobb school counselor who is one of Ragsdale’s biggest public critics, for a short-term diversity role.

So there’s some friction there.

Ragsdale’s comments this week generated some heat on the usual social media channels, where his remarks were called classist, and even smacked of racism and fear-mongering.

There were parents, school advocates and even a prominent zoning attorney on one thread debating the merits and demerits of apartments, and that’s a valid subject worthy of examination at another time.

Cobb commission special elections scheduled as dispute lingers
Education topics didn’t come up during Lisa Cupid’s State of the County address this week.

Ragsdale’s rhetorical shots this week certainly opened up that subject, and related topics about development, for wider scrutiny.

That’s why he should take up Cupid’s offer—not during graduation week, of course—because these conversations haven’t been happening. 

Cobb’s reputation for attracting new residents largely because of the schools can be a double-edged sword. Ragsdale’s worried that too much of the wrong kind of growth will tarnish that track record, and that’s understandable.

But the reality is that Cobb continues to be a magnet, for schools, employment and other reasons, and demand for housing will not slow down because some schools don’t have room, or some have a lot of kids who live in apartments.

The Atlanta Regional Commission is projecting we’ll have a million people by 2050. Ragsdale knows that, and as the district enrollment projections revealed this week, most parts of the county will be fine. East Cobb has been on a flat line for some time now, and our schools are expected to remain that way.

Not only is there little room to build much of anything in this part of the county, what does come in is very limited.

Just a week or so ago, the new Evoq at East Cobb senior apartment complex had a grand opening, on what had been the former Sprayberry Crossing Shopping Center. The initial plans were for 125 market-rate apartments for all ages, but those were nixed when Commissioner JoAnn Birrell opposed them, following community opposition (more than 100 townhomes are also being built there now).

 

Many of the new apartments being built across the county are one- and two-bedrooms, designed more for all-adult households than families. A good number of those are like Evoq, for renters 55 and older.

To say that there’s a blank check everywhere in the county on zoning isn’t accurate. 

Neither are Ragsdale’s claims about large high schools in Florida, which following a quick check reveal only a few have more students than our biggest, at around 3,000 or so.

As for his complaints about his representatives being ignored at zoning meetings, well, I haven’t heard them say much of anything for months. School impacts are included in every residential case analyzed by the Cobb zoning staff. 

Are Cobb school officials not being invited to speak, or have they just given up? Are they being dispatched to the meetings at all? The superintendent wasn’t clear about that.

Unlike Cupid, Ragsdale doesn’t have affordable housing issues to contend with. The median home price in Cobb is more than $500,000 now, and the median rent is creeping over $1,300. Many families can’t afford even that low-ball, one-bedroom rate. 

But some of her proposed solutions have been half-hearted, then dropped (like accessory dwelling units).

The county’s well-paid consultant is methodically crafting a Unified Development Code that’s also generated complaints by commissioners who feel left out of the process.

Cupid recently began public meetings about the county’s strategic plan that might be strengthened by a better understanding of what the public schools mean to the community. Schools are mentioned nowhere in that document, in fact.

Nor did Cupid discuss school topics during her first State of the County address this week. But she’ll trot out another similar speech to the Cobb Chamber of Commerce next month.

There may not be time for a schools-county dialogue before then, but it needs to begin, and soon. Before the public, and with the kind of good faith effort that’s been absent for far too long.

You can listen to their most recent remarks below, but imagine that: Cupid and Ragsdale . . . in the same room, speaking to, and not at, or past, one another.

I’ll even bring the popcorn.

 

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Editor’s Note: Help keep East Cobb News free—donate today!

Editor's Note: Please contribute to our March fundraiser!
Nobody else in East Cobb is giving you the depth, range and importance of news like we do—every day! Please support the work of East Cobb News today!

Over the weekend we published stories that resonated with our readers—the apparently permanent closing of a favorite restaurant in the East Cobb area, and the story of a local couple being detained by immigration authorities after living here for many years.

We saw it not only in the traffic numbers, but in the conversations they generated, and we’ll be following up both stories as more developments arise in both of them.

It’s what we do at East Cobb News—provide you with local news that matters, that goes deeper into this community than any other information source. We’d like your financial support to help us do that, and you can click below to do that here.

Please contribute today!

It’s what we’ve based our editorial and business models around, and they do go hand-in-hand. East Cobb News is a reader-focused, community-driven news, information and local business promotion source, first and foremost.

We make this resource free to all readers because we want local news to be accessible to all. As we’ve told you before, local news is bearing the brunt of what’s happening in the changing media landscape, and most outlets have decided to lock down that access to their readers.

There’s nothing more frustrating that logging into a news website that already throws up a paywall—urging you to “unlock” their precious content—then being subject to automatic videos and other intrusive messages before you get to read a story.

Or even more maddening, they make you keep logging in every few days, despite having an active account that’s paid-up.

The truth is that most traditional news outlets—newspapers, magazines and television and radio stations—treat their online operations as afterthoughts. I know this from experience, and when I set out to create East Cobb News, I was adamant about changing this.

It wasn’t going to be the newspaper or radio station online, but the community news source that put the community first.

For nearly eight years now, we’ve worked hard to live up to that promise, and sought feedback—good, bad or otherwise—from readers about how to make East Cobb News better.

In recent months, I’ve been asking readers for voluntary financial contributions, and many of you have responded so generously.

I thank all of you who have, and I’d like to ask those of you who have not to consider making a donation. Click the button below to provide your support.

Become a regular supporter!

I don’t want to charge for access to East Cobb News, and I know this can be annoying to keep reading these solicitations for donations.

I’d rather not write them at all, but frankly, if we don’t get more reader support, East Cobb News may be putting up a paywall.

I don’t want to do that, but we’ve got to generate more reader revenue to keep giving you the local news that you love.

I don’t know what a pay model for East Cobb News would look like, but we have only a few dozen financial supporters right now.

Yet our audience is healthy: More than 9,000 newsletter subscribers, nearly 20,000 combined on our social media channel, and thousands more who find us via search engines.

Our readership is growing, and our ability to cover more news, upgrade our technology and support our expanded business challenges is growing too.

Local business advertising accounts for most of our revenue, but many independent local news outlets like ours also ask readers for their support. Businesses of all kinds need multiple revenue streams to stay afloat and grow, and we’re not any different.

While we don’t have the overhead costs like legacy outlets, we do have things we need to pay for and invest in to make East Cobb News sustainable in the long run.

We are reader-focused at the heart of it all, and so we need readers to step up and contribute.

What you get is unlike anything else in this community—daily news as it happens—without being charged for it. There’s no paywall, and we want to keep it that way because our mission includes making local news accessible to all.

If this really matters to you, we’d like for you to become a regular supporter of our community-driven approach to local news.

If you could take just a moment to set up a recurring donation on our payment system linked just below—we’re suggesting $6 a month, but it can be any amount you like, monthly, annually or one-time—we would appreciate it very much!

Help keep East Cobb News free—please donate today!

 

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

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!

 

 

Editor’s Note: Support local news during Small Business Week

Editor's Note: Support local news during Small Business Week

I write this a few days removed from another terrific Taste of East Cobb, where we were a sponsor once again, and as National Small Business Week begins.

Running a small business can seem like a roller coaster, and those two events exemplify the emotional ride that can take place perfectly.

It was heartening to hear from readers who stopped by our table on Saturday to tell us how much they appreciate East Cobb News, and the deeply hyperlocal approach we take to covering stories and promoting local businesses.

On the other hand, it was head-scratching to learn what amounts to be lip service once again being paid to small business from the political and business establishment.

When asked during an interview recently about offering tariff relief for small businesses, President Trump was annoyed by the question. “You pick up a couple of little businesses? What about the car business? They’re going to make a fortune.”

With all due respect to the auto industry—which has received government subsidies the Moms and Pops could never dream of—so much for looking out for Main Street over Wall Street. This isn’t a partisan complaint, because previous presidents of both parties, as well as members of Congress, have demonstrated the same lack of concern for many years.

Already in the chaos of the tariff rollouts we’ve seen the corporate rich get exemptions in China (Apple) or ask for them (Nike, Adidas, etc.). These are multi-billion global brands that spend lavishly on campaign contributions and lobbyists to get what they want from politicians, at a minimum concessions to cover their lost profit margins.

But as we reported last week with the story of The Queen’s Pantry import retailer here in East Cobb, small businesses are facing uncertainty that could sink them entirely.

Some think it could be as devastating as business shutdowns during COVID. I hope that’s not the case.

I write this as a small business owner who didn’t stop publishing during the pandemic, even as my financial sustainability was seriously threatened. Advertisers were facing extinction as well, and I know some business owners who had to shut down for good after having lost everything.

At East Cobb News, I felt like we owed it to our community to provide all the latest updates, and we did this for months. There were times I wondered how much longer I could shoulder on.

But we’re not just a local news provider, we’re one of the hundreds of small businesses in East Cobb that persevered and carried on during a very difficult time, and grateful to still be around.

Looking back, that’s when I probably should have begun asking readers for their financial support, like I’m asking for yours today.

Please donate today!

The value of what we do every day was noticeable by so many of you during COVID, and on so many other occasions, and you have told us so.

I know and have met so many local business owners in East Cobb, including Sam Garmon at The Queen’s Pantry, who bend over backwards to serve their customers and who want to make an impact in the community.

They volunteer their time, show up at community events, give away products and services and reach out to truly help others, especially those in need.

Whatever you do this week, please patronize your favorite local businesses, and tell them how much you appreciate them! The next few months could be make-or-break for many.

What we do is about so much more than the bottom line, but some admittedly are seeing a bottom line that could be looking very grim real soon.

As newspapers continue to decline or just wither away altogether—a 157-year-old publication in upstate New York folded recently with newsprint tariffs being the final straw—the prospect for local news is getting more challenging as well.

At East Cobb News, we’re not expected to be affected by the tariffs, and we don’t have the kind of overhead that a newspaper requires.

But we do ask readers to consider what they appreciate when they visit our site, get the newsletter, or check our social media pages for updates.

What you get is unlike anything else in this community—daily news as it happens—without being charged for it. There’s no paywall, and we want to keep it that way because our mission includes making local news accessible to all.

If this really matters to you, we’d like for you to become a regular supporter of our community-driven approach to local news.

If you could take just a moment to set up a recurring donation on our payment system linked just below—we’re suggesting $6 a month, but it can be any amount you like, monthly, annually or one-time—we would appreciate it very much!

Become a regular supporter!

 

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

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!

Editor’s Note: May the force of your donation support ECN!

As April comes to an end, we’d like to thank readers who’ve pledged their support to East Cobb News during this month.

It’s hard to believe that May is almost here—starting with the Taste of East Cobb festival Saturday that we’re proud to be sponsoring again, and culminating with the end of another school year.

We know you’re busy during this time of year, but we’d like to ask for your financial support as we continue into another month, and into the summer season.

If you like what you get here, we’d like you to consider becoming a regular supporter of our community-driven approach to local news.

If you could take just a moment to set up a recurring donation on our payment system linked just below—we’re suggesting $6 a month—we would appreciate it very much!

Please donate today!

East Cobb News has been deeply focused on this community for nearly eight years now, fully committed to giving you the local news that you love!

We do this with jedi-like passion for our community, the place we’ve long called home!

That includes giving you useful information beyond the headlines with such features as our calendar listings and community guide.

When you donate to East Cobb News, the powerful force of local news is with you, every day. We publish several times a day, Monday through Saturday, and round up all the top headlines of the week on Sunday with our East Cobb News Digest newsletter.

East Cobb News doesn’t charge for our content or our newsletter, and we want to make local news accessible to all. But we do ask readers for financial contributions if they value what we do.

We know that y0u do—we hear from many of you all the time—and we also know that there is a limit on your time and money.

So we can keep providing this community resource, East Cobb News—the only daily news outlet serving this community—we’d love to have your help, if you haven’t donated before.

Press Patron, our online platform is safe, secure and easy to use, and you can manage your account however you like.

Just click the link below! And thank you so very much!

Become a regular supporter!

 

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

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!

Editor’s Note: Please shower us with April reader donations!

Editor's Note: As springtime blooms, a thanks to readers

The last full week of April is supposed to bring some rainy relief to this hot spell we’ve been having—and wash away the pollen too!

As we head into the final third of the month, we’d like to ask East Cobb News readers to support the work we do giving you the local news you love.

Spring’s been blooming this month, and we know you’ve been busy enjoying the great outdoors that surround us here in East Cobb, as well as spring break.

But if you could take just a moment to set up a recurring donation on our payment system linked just below—we’re suggesting $6 a month—we would appreciate it very much!

Please donate today!

While corporate media outlets hammer you with prompts and paywalls, promising to “unlock” for you their content with frustrating and cumbersome technology, East Cobb News comes to you for free.

We don’t charge for our content or our newsletter, and we want to keep it that way. But we do ask readers for financial contributions if they value what we do.

We know that y0u do—we hear from many of you all the time—and we also know that there is a limit on your time and money.

For us to keep growing, or flowering, if you will, East Cobb News—the only daily news outlet serving this community—we’d love to have your help, if you haven’t donated before.

Press Patron, our online platform is safe, secure and easy to use, and you can manage your account however you like.

Just click the link below! And thank you so very much!

Become a regular supporter!

 

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

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!

 

 

Editor’s Note: Please contribute to our April fundraiser!

Editor's Note: Please contribute to our April fundraiser!

Yes, I am showing you a photo of a cute pet to get your attention for something else.

My little cat Whisper (aka the Big Bopper) is as camera-shy as I am, but I couldn’t help myself when he jumped into the car the other day as I had the window down.

He knows I keep of a bag of treats with me, and went right for it after I snapped this picture.

Once rewarded, he wanted no further attention—that’s how felines are, after all, and I didn’t mind.

He knows where to come when he needs something, and that’s what pet owners sign up to do.

We do it out of love for these creatures, and ask for nothing in return.

I find some parallels to publishing this local news site. I began East Cobb News to serve the community with daily news and information that wasn’t available anywhere else.

It has been a labor of love, especially building it into a sustainable business that will stand the test of time.

One of my objectives was to make local news accessible to everyone. That’s why there’s not a paywall, unlike many corporate media outlets.

But even though East Cobb News has a true hyperlocal, down-home focus, we do have expenses. Local business advertising provides most of the revenue, but we’re asking for readers to help support us financially.

Over the last few months, so many of you have generously done that. I know it can seem annoying, but we’d like for those of you who have not contributed to consider doing so.

We raised around $1,000 from readers last month. That may not sound like much, but it goes a long way. And every dollar is appreciated! Click below if you’re ready to help out right now!

Please donate today!

We’re off to a slow start this month—especially coming off spring break—but I’d like to ask those of you who enjoy East Cobb News, and value what you get here, to consider becoming a recurring donor.

We’re suggesting $6 a month, but you can donate at whatever amount you like, whether is on a monthly, annual or one-time basis.

If we could get to $1,000 a month again in April, that would be fantastic!

Why do we do this, every week, to ask for your support?

The state of local news in many communities is dire. In East Cobb, we launched this site more than seven years ago to address that dearth here, and many of you have responded.

We think we’ve built up a good following of engaged residents who appreciate what happens here, and that turns to East Cobb News to find out.

We have nearly 9,300 newsletter subscribers, for example, and that has grown organically. We appreciate people spreading the word about East Cobb News, which is produced for you—the citizen, voter, homeowner and stakeholder in this community.

We get reader comments all the time—many positive, some with complaints, but we welcome and value them all the same. They help us to serve you better.

I just got an e-mail from a reader who’s moved out of the area, but continues to read East Cobb News. Why? Here’s what she told us:

“You are so great at traditional ‘just the facts’ news with a balance of information and happenings. It is so refreshing. I hope your work is rewarding in every aspect. Local news is so critical to all of us. Thanks for all you do to continue to make it happen.”

Yes, this work is very rewarding—the most gratifying of my professional career in journalism, which spans more than 40 years. And yes, local news is very critical for everyone who lives in any community.

And absolutely yes, I want to continue to make it happen.

But I’d like to ask you to help me with this.

I feel blessed to have grown up in East Cobb, like my reader’s children did, and have always appreciated what the people and institutions here did to nurture me along the way.

Unlike my cat’s treats, I like to think of what we produce for you at East Cobb News to be more than just occasional noshing. You come here when you want to know what’s going on, but I’d like for you to think of this site—and the community resource we aim to be—as contributing to the social capital of East Cobb.

If you find value in what you get from East Cobb News, please consider making a donation today, if you haven’t already.

Press Patron, our online platform is safe, secure and easy to use, and you can manage your account however you like.

Just click the link below! The Big Bopper and I thank you so very much!

Become a regular supporter!

 

Editor’s Note: Noting 50th anniversaries, reader complaints

Walton gym, East Cobb volleyball
The new Walton fine arts performing center and gym sits on land that once housed the original classroom building.

I’m old enough to remember how things were in East Cobb before some of the landmarks of the community we all know today came into being.

Next weekend, there will be an extravaganza at Walton High School to mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of the school.

An open house from 1-4 p.m. on Saturday, April 19 will include food, music and plenty of shared memories, as alumni revisit and reconnect with one another. The entire community is invited, and the event is free to the public.

It was in the fall of 1975 that Walton opened, on land across from a subdivision on Bill Murdock Road and near Pine Road.

The school was meant to relieve overcrowding at Wheeler High School, where I had just finished my freshman year, and remember that well.

We were on split sessions during that time, and like Walton would soon come to know, we had vastly outgrown a small, single-story campus building.

In those days, school buildings were constructed with money derived from bond issues. In other words, you built the school you could with the money you had at that time, and not necessarily the one that you needed for the long term.

Not long after Walton opened, it too became overcrowded, and in 1981 Lassiter opened, followed by Pope in late 1980s.

This was the second major “boom” period of growth in East Cobb.

As a result, so much has changed, as we now live in a community with nearly 200,000 residents, many drawn here to the public schools.

Both Wheeler and Walton have been rebuilt with sales tax revenues and house state-of-the-art space for classrooms and other activities. Sprayberry High School is undergoing the same process.

Pope and Lassiter have received sparkling performing arts and gymnasium space to accompany their main facilities.

These are more than buildings for education and extracurriculars; they’re community hubs that have helped create a sense of place.

So are our many faith communities. When I was a kid, it was basically Protestant churches. As I entered high school, Holy Family and Transfiguration were being planned to cater to Roman Catholics.

And in that same year of 1975, the Jewish community in Cobb finally had a place of worship they could call their own. Congregation Etz Chaim came into being that year, and moved to its current location on Indian Hills in 1980.

It’s one of three synagogues in East Cobb, and later this month will be observing its Golden Anniversary.

As our Jewish friends and neighbors observe Passover and as Christians prepare for Holy Week, it’s a reminder of how far East Cobb has evolved as a welcoming community for people of all faiths and creeds.

* * * * * *

Not long ago I received a note from a reader who had unsubscribed from our weekly newsletter, saying that she “hated” the format.

I e-mailed her to find out what she didn’t like about it, and she replied that “I struggled with the different font sizes and so many different sections, multiple bullet points.”

It was hard for her to read this on her phone—which is how three-quarters of you read the newsletter and all East Cobb News content.

She said she still follows what we post on Facebook, and “realize what you’re doing is a thankless job. I do love being informed and know what’s going on in our community—so thank you.”

Again, this is all very helpful for me, and I apologize if any of you have a negative or unsatisfying experience. I want to know if you’re unhappy or disappointed with what we do here at East Cobb News—it’s how we get better—so don’t hesitate to reach out.

Whether it’s about technology or content or anything else, I do keep these things in mind as I contemplate changes.

For the time being, I will experiment with giving you the newsletter in a condensed fashion, with non-featured items listed under either “This Week’s News” or “Living” tabs, to see how that goes.

Let me know what you think—I’m always open to suggestions that would improve your experience. Get in touch via e-mail: wendy@eastcobbnews.com. Our aim is to make it more relevant and useful for you, because that’s what we’re all about.

* * * * * *

The Power of Local—which is not only our theme but a core of our mission—comes from being in this community every day, and being all-in in this community, whether it’s covering stories, talking with prospective advertisers or sharing some goodwill about what makes this place so special for all of us.

If you find value in what you get from East Cobb News, please consider making a donation today, if you haven’t already.

We’re asking for a $6 donation on a recurring monthly basis, but you can contribute whatever amount you like, either monthly, annually or on a one-time basis.

Press Patron, our online platform is safe, secure and easy to use, and you can manage your account however you like.

Just click the link below and thank you so much!

Become a regular supporter!

 

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

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!

 

Editor’s Note: As springtime blooms, a thank-you to readers

Editor’s Note: As springtime blooms, a thank-you to readers

A beautiful first Saturday in April wasn’t meant to spend indoors.

I got up this morning and drove around East Cobb, taking in the gorgeous scenery in so many neighborhoods, of flowers, trees and landscaping bursting with the spring in full bloom.

I later ventured to the Marietta Square area, where the Marietta Farmers Market was underway, and legions of pedestrians were milling about, sampling the hand-made goods from vendors and visiting the many shops, restaurants and artisanal businesses that make it such a popular weekend destination.

Back in our community, and after a late breakfast at Biscuits and More on Johnson Ferry Road, I did some serendipitous subdivision grazing, checking out neighborhoods like the one above off Murdock Road I hadn’t visited before.

No matter what street you turn down these days, you’re sure to view such splendorous sights. That’s one of the things my late mother missed the most about East Cobb and the Marietta area after she retired to Florida, and occasionally I took photos like the one above and e-mailed them to her.

These indeed are the most pleasant weeks of the year, as far as I’m concerned—once the pollen doses fall off, that is—and there isn’t much time to savor it.

We tried the spicy Brunswick stew at Heavenly BBQ this week, and it was delicious!

At the end of another busy week in East Cobb, milling around also a good way to clear my head before I write this column, and finish the newsletter that many of you get on Sunday.

In case you missed it, this week we talked to the proprietor of the new Heavenly BBQ on Sandy Plains Road (where Willie Jewell’s used to be), and covered the grand opening of the new Cobb Police Precinct 6, close to the Mountain View Aquatic Center.

We also reported on how citizen protests prompted a delay by Cobb DOT in cutting down trees in the medians on Columns Drive, where so many go to walk, bike and take in a scenic thoroughfare near the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.

Instead of wholesale cutting, they’re going to remove only the trees that pose a safety hazard, with the details to come.

Those are just a few examples of the kind of feature stories that we provide for East Cobb residents every week, demonstrating what I like to call The Power of Local.

We’ve also signed up to be a sponsor of the Taste of East Cobb for the third year in a row, and they’re still accepting food and other vendors and other sponsors. It’s May 3 at the usual place—Johnson Ferry Baptist Church—and as far as I’m concerned it’s the signature spring event around here.

It embodies everything we do at East Cobb News, where readers and local businesses always come first.

As I write this I’m also taking stock of the tremendous privilege and opportunity I have to serve all of you with community news and information, and to help promote local businesses.

I’ve been using this space in recent weeks to ask for financial contributions more frequently than usual, and for those of you who have donated, thank you!

Cobb delays Columns Drive median tree-cutting after protests
East Cobb residents gave Cobb officials an earful about not cutting down trees on Columns Drive, and they heard them—loud and clear.

We received $900 from readers in March, and because we want to keep East Cobb News free and accessible to all, please know that your support goes a long way to continue to give you the local news that you love!

I don’t want to belabor this too much longer, because my real intent is to turn this weekly column into a summary of stories we’ve posted during the week, as I started above, and include other little tidbits of community life that you can’t get anywhere else.

The Power of Local comes from being in this community every day, and being all-in in this community, whether it’s covering stories, talking with prospective advertisers or sharing some goodwill about what makes this place so special for all of us.

Let us know what you think about East Cobb News, suggest stories, etc.: wendy@eastcobbnews.com. Our aim is to make it more relevant and useful for you, because that’s what we’re all about.

And if you find value in what you get from East Cobb News, please consider making a donation today, if you haven’t already.

We’re asking for a $6 donation on a recurring monthly basis, but you can contribute whatever amount you like, either monthly, annually or on a one-time basis.

Press Patron, our online platform is safe, secure and easy to use, and you can manage your account however you like.

Just click the link below and thank you so much!

Become a regular supporter!

 

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

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!

Editor’s Note: Please contribute to our March fundraiser!

Editor's Note: Please contribute to our March fundraiser!

Over the weekend I shared with readers that we need to finish strong in our March fundraiser to reach a monthly goal of $1,500 in contributions.

In the days since, we’ve gotten a nice boost, and thanks to all of you who have donated!

With March almost over, we’re around $750 in reader contributions. I’d like to see us get to $1,000 for the month, and I think that can be done—and we’d like to get your help to do it.

Please donate today!

The state of local news in many communities is dire. In East Cobb, we launched this site more than seven years ago to address that dearth here, and many of you have responded.

We think we’ve built up a good following of engaged residents who appreciate what happens here, and that turns to East Cobb News to find out.

We have nearly 9,300 newsletter subscribers, for example, and that has grown organically. We appreciate people spreading the word about East Cobb News, which is produced for you—the citizen, voter, homeowner and stakeholder in this community.

We don’t charge readers, because we believe local news should be accessible to all. But we do have expenses, and we are trying to expand what we cover as we develop a news business that is unique to this community.

We got some encouraging messages in recent days from readers who appreciated our coverage of concerns over anti-Semitic incidents in local schools.

That’s the kind of coverage readers have come to expect from East Cobb News, which blends traditional news reporting with useful community news and information.

We’re no non-sense, and try to ensure that the news we provide you is straightforward and relevant to you.

If you find value in what you get from East Cobb News, please consider making a donation today, if you haven’t already.

We’re asking for a $6 donation on a recurring monthly basis, but you can contribute whatever amount you like, either monthly, annually or on a one-time basis.

Press Patron, our online platform is safe, secure and easy to use, and you can manage your account however you like.

Just click the link below and thank you so much!

Become a regular supporter!

Editor’s Note: Ending March fundraiser with a big flourish!

Editor's Note: Ending March fundraiser with a strong flourish!
Click here or on the links in this column to support East Cobb News today!

For the month of March we’ve been asking readers to contribute a total of $1,500 for our donation drive.

With a little more than a week to go, we’re less than halfway there, and we’d like to ask those of you who have not contributed to consider doing so.

As of this writing, we’ve received $625 in donations thus far in March, and thanks to all of you who have provided support! Your generosity helps us as we strive to give you local news that you love, and the kind of daily community connection that you can’t find anywhere else.

East Cobb News was created in 2017 to serve readers and advertisers directly, without the filter of a corporate media organization. We don’t do the news for anyone else but those people who live and work here and who are invested in this place that we call home.

We are truly local, independent, and totally focused on the news needs of our citizens, and the local businesses who provide the primary financial support for what we do.

As little “indies” or mom-and-pops, hyperlocal publishers around the country that I know are utterly devoted to their communities too.

We’re embedded with our friends, neighbors, fellow church members, Little League parents and PTA volunteers on a daily basis. It’s one of our biggest advantages, in fact, but there are tradeoffs.

Please donate today!

I know one such publisher in Wisconsin, whom I met at a publishers’ conference a few years ago. This week she revealed something truly startling to me.

For the first time since she launched her site nearly eight years ago, she finally took a day off.

Fortunately we haven’t been in that situation, but we can relate to what it takes to keep East Cobb News up and running, with fresh and relevant stories that really matter to you, and to continue to build a small business that’s sustainable for many years to come.

Unlike much of corporate media and like my friend’s publication, we don’t have a paywall, because we believe local news needs to be accessible to everyone.

But if you value what you get nearly every day from East Cobb News (we try to take Sundays off!), please consider supporting us today.

March is the start of spring, and East Cobb News is springing into a new season with vigor and commitment, with a passion for serving this community that is from the heart.

We want to continue to make it better and more useful for our readers, and we’d like to have your help in doing so.

We’re asking for a $6 donation on a recurring monthly basis, but you can contribute whatever amount you like, either monthly, annually or on a one-time basis.

Press Patron, our online platform is safe, secure and easy to use, and you can manage your account however you like.

Just click the link below and thank you so much! As my Wisconsin publishing friend told her readers this week, “thank you for reading, for sharing, and for believing in the power of local journalism.”

Become a regular supporter!

Editor’s Note: Your donation supports news you can trust!

Editor’s Note: Your donation supports news you can trust!Click here or on the links in this column to support East Cobb News today! Thank you!

In journalism circles, trust is a high value. So is credibility.

They’re core values, in fact, for reporters, editors and news organizations everywhere—hard to obtain, easy to squander and almost possible to retrieve if they’re ever lost.

But many in the public are skeptical, especially as traditional outlets continue their rapid decline.

I was reading recently about how the decline of “objectivity” as an organizing principle for journalists has coincided with mass layoffs at many of our leading newspapers, and as political tensions have been roiling over the last decade.

By “objectivity,” I’m referring more to the process of news gathering than anything else. Pure objectivity is impossible, because journalists are subjective creatures like all other humans.

We all have our biases, but I was trained early on to set aside my views for the job at hand—informing the public. That’s just basic professionalism, but it seems to be a lost value these days.

The issue at the heart of the above link—and it’s rather long and dense piece that’s primarily of interest to people like me—is that some journalists seem to be doing their work for other journalists, or to go along with the trendy issues in our profession.

Quite often, they have little to do with journalism. The career fallout has been harsh, and I know a number of people who have been affected by these reductions. I feel their pain, because twice I’ve been forced to leave corporate media jobs.

At East Cobb News, being independent and being devoted to local news means we can take a different, more authentic approach. In fact, I started this site to get back to what’s really important—reporting directly for the readers of this community.

Last week I mentioned that one such person here in East Cobb donated $300 to our March fundraising drive. I was so deeply touched, and I e-mailed to ask why. Here’s what she told me:

“I was responsive to your request for donations because I so appreciate your service to the East Cobb community in keeping us informed of happenings (big and small) that matter to our daily lives and bring us closer together. And you do so in a manner that is non-partisan and straightforward.”

If I could copy and paste and laminate my mission statement for all to see, this is how it would read.

Please donate today!

I’m deeply honored to know people here feel this way about what we’ve done at East Cobb News, and I’ve heard from others who feel the same way.

Of course, there are those who think we could do better, or that we’re biased somehow. Some think we’re in cahoots with the Democratic-led Cobb commissioners, others think we go too easy on the Republican-majority Cobb school board.

Others still say we go too hard on either.

Depending on who you ask, we’re either Commie libtards or MAGA Trumpers.

That’s a very vast ocean indeed, and we’re somewhere in between.

We’ve built East Cobb News on the premise that party affiliation or political/social/cultural views aren’t as important as community affinity.

And we built it especially for readers, regardless of their views, much less those of this editor and publisher.

This month we set a goal of raising $1,500 from readers. About halfway through, we’re only a third of the way there. But I think we can reach that number, and even exceed it, because I know there are plenty of you who share the above reader’s appreciation for what East Cobb News means to you.

If you have already donated, thank you! If you have not, please support the work we do. If you value what we do—based on the values of trust and credibility—consider a modest monthly recurring donation. You can give an amount of your choosing, either monthly, annually or on a one-time basis.

Unlike other corporate-owned outlets, East Cobb News does not charge for reader access. While we’re a for-profit entity, we’re not unlike those who ask readers for their assistance in not just preserving, but strengthening local news.

Nor do we charge for our newsletter—one of the more popular ways readers keep up with East Cobb News—and we invite public comments on all our stories. We’ve got a healthy, vibrant community that comes online to discuss the top headlines of the day, and I’m proud of what’s been built up here.

Press Patron, our online platform is safe, secure and easy to use, and you can manage your account however you like.

Just click the link below and thank you so much!

Become a regular supporter!

 

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

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!

Editor’s Note: A great start to our March fundraising drive!

Editor’s Note: A great start to our March fundraising drive!
Click here or on the links in this column to support East Cobb News today! Thank you!

Well, I don’t know what to say to this but: Wow!

When I asked readers last week to help us get to $1,500 in donations for the month of March, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I checked the totals thus far.

We’re already around a quarter of the way there, after only a few days!

Thank you to all of you who have donated in March, and especially a reader who contributed $300! That’s the biggest single donation we’ve received in this and previous requests for reader support.

I’m so touched by that gesture, but we know that not everybody can donate that much.

When I started the “1500 Club” it was with the goal of having 1,500 readers make recurring monthly donations.

I still want to reach that figure, but for the month of March, we’re simply asking for $1,500 in reader donations.

In February we surpassed the $800 mark, and I think this new goal is definitely achievable.

It’s a big goal, but this news site was founded on big dreams, and we’ve been able to do so much more than I initially envisioned.

I want to continue to grow this site and its role in our community and give it a lasting presence for many years!

If what you see here at East Cobb News is of any value to you, please click below to show your support.

We’re asking for $6 a month as a recurring monthly donation, but you can give an amount of your choosing, either monthly, annually or on a one-time basis.

Please donate today!

Your contribution powers the work of East Cobb News in serving this community like no one else—with daily stories about local government, schools, public safety, small business, transportation, the arts, community service and more—and grows an engaged audience as a result.

East Cobb News is among dozens of local independent online news sites that have emerged in recent years to offer grassroots news for their communities with an authentic local touch from publishers who are fully invested in everything that goes on there.

Unlike other corporate-0wned outlets, East Cobb News does not charge for reader access. While we’re a for-profit entity, we’re not unlike those who ask readers for their assistance in not just preserving, but strengthening local news.

Nor do we charge for our newsletter—one of the more popular ways readers keep up with East Cobb News—and we invite public comments on all our stories. We’ve got a healthy, vibrant community that comes online to discuss the top headlines of the day, and I’m proud of what’s been built up here.

Press Patron, our online platform is safe, secure and easy to use, and you can manage your account however you like.

Just click the link below and thank you so much!

Become a regular supporter!

Editor’s Note: Thanks for a fantastic February fundraiser!

Got a couple minutes?

I promise, my message to you for this last week of February won’t go longer than that!

I just wanted to thank readers for their contributions as we surpassed January’s donations totals!

We’re nearing the $800 mark, but I’d like to ask those of you who haven’t contributed to consider doing so today!

I think we can get to $1,000 in donations during these last few days of the shortest month, so please give what you can today, on a recurring monthly or annual or one-time basis.

Your donation will go a long way to help us continue to give you the local news you love!

Thanks so much!

If what you see here at East Cobb News is of any value to you, please click below to show your support.

Please donate today!

 

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

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!

Editor’s Note: The stretch run of our February fundraiser

We’re almost there!Editor's Note: Inviting our readers to join the 1500 Club!

Not just near the end of another month, but also close to surpassing our fundraising drive goal for February.

With just about a week left, we’re around $150 short of January’s totals, and in the shortest month of the year!

What we’d like to do during this stretch run of February is not only eclipse that $750 mark, but get to $1,000 for the month in reader donations.

We’ve been asking readers to donate as little as $6 a month—it can be more if you like or any amount you choose—as we strive to add 1,500 new recurring contributors through the spring.

That’s a big goal, to be sure, but East Cobb News was born on big dreams—to serve you, our readers, with professionally reported news and useful community information—that serves you and our advertisers.

We rely on multiple sources of revenue to keep giving you local news that you love, and we’d love to have your support if you haven’t donated yet.

After several years of diligently building not just an engaged audience, but cultivating dynamic relationships with so many of you, we’re asking for your support today to help sustain this community resource.

If what you see here at East Cobb News is of any value to you, please click below to show your support.

Please donate today!

Your contribution powers the work of East Cobb News in serving this community like no one else—with daily stories about local government, schools, public safety, small business, transportation, the arts, community service and more—and grows an engaged audience as a result.

East Cobb News is among dozens of local independent online news sites that have emerged in recent years to offer grassroots news for their communities with an authentic local touch from publishers who are fully invested in everything that goes on there.

We’re also citizens, parents, homeowners, business owners and volunteers like our neighbors. It’s just not where we work, but the place we call home.

At Eastsider LA, publisher Jesus Sanchez personally thanks his readers who contribute, because he knows they also are the sources of news tips, engagement ideas and suggestions for how to make his publication better.

Indeed, we’ve gotten advertising interest and business at East Cobb News because of the stories we publish—we’re truly hyperlocal, and many small businesses here find that to be an ideal way to reach new customers.

So thank you to recent contributors Barbara, Walter, Trevor, Eric, Arlys, Karen, Kristie, Amy, Michael and so many others for your support of East Cobb News.

With donations from just a few more of you, we can get to $1,000 this month.

Unlike other corporate-0wned outlets, East Cobb News does not charge for reader access. While we’re a for-profit entity, we’re not unlike those who ask readers for their assistance in not just preserving, but strengthening local news.

We’d like to suggest a monthly payment of $6—you can contribute more if you like, or at whatever amount of your choosing.

Our online platform is safe, secure and easy to use, and you can manage your account however you like.

Just click the link below and thank you so much!

Become a regular supporter!

 

Editor’s Note: Mid-February ECN fundraising drive update

Greetings again, East Cobb News readers.Editor's Note: Inviting our readers to join the 1500 Club!

With about a week and a half left in February, we’re asking you to help support the work we do here at East Cobb News, and have embarked on a fundraising drive to solicit your donations.

Last week I indicated that we want to surpass January’s total of $750 in reader support, and that remains the goal. It’s definitely doable!

But we need your help!

We’ve suggested a $6 monthly donation on a recurring basis, and many of you have answered the call. Thank you so much for contributing!

In fact, most of our contributions are of the recurring variety, and that’s ideal.

But you can give any amount you like, and in other time increments. Here’s a sampling of some recent contributions:

  • $50 one-time
  • $20 one-time
  • $12 monthly
  • $60 annual

. . . in addition to the $6 monthly donations.

If you value what you get from East Cobb News, please consider donating today.

Click here to donate today!

Unlike other media outlets, we don’t charge for the news. We want to keep it that way, and you support will further our efforts to keep our content accessible for all.

We want to make it easy for you to donate. We have a safe and secure online payment system, Press Patron, that specializes helping local news publishers.

After you sign up, you can designate the size and frequency of your contribution, and manage your account easily from there.

Here’s what we need to match January’s total: 35 of you coming on board at $6 a month on a recurring basis.

That’s all! We have tens of thousands of followers, from social media platforms to newsletter subscribers. We know there are plenty more than 35 of you that value East Cobb News.

Just click the link below to pledge your support.

Become a regular supporter!

As we head into the stretch run of the shortest month, we’d love to have more come on board as financial supporters of East Cobb News, where everything we do is for you!

Please consider giving today, at whatever amount suits you. We appreciate your support!

And thanks!

 

 

Editor’s Note: Help us reach our February fundraising goal!

Wow, what a response!Editor's Note: Inviting our readers to join the 1500 Club!

That’s the first thing I thought this week when I saw the outpouring of support for our February fundraising drive.

We’re trying to surpass the January total of $750 in reader contributions, and halfway through the campaign we’re more than halfway past that mark.

Thank you so much to all who have contributed!

Can we get past $1,000! I think so, and I hope you will help!

Especially encouraging is that most of this reader revenue is for recurring monthly donations.

We’ve been asking readers to donate as little as $6 a month—it can be more if you like or any amount you choose—as we strive to add 1,500 new recurring contributors through the spring.

That’s a big goal, to be sure, but East Cobb News was born on big dreams—to serve you, our readers, with professionally reported news and useful community information—that serves you and our advertisers.

We rely on both sources of revenue to keep giving you local news that you love, and we’d love to have your support if you haven’t donated yet.

After several years of diligently building not just an engaged audience, but cultivating dynamic relationships with so many of you, we’re asking for your support today to help sustain this community resource.

If what you see here at East Cobb News is of any value to you, please click below to show your support.

Please donate today!

Unlike other corporate-0wned outlets, East Cobb News does not charge for reader access. While we’re a for-profit entity, we’re not unlike those who ask readers for their assistance in not just preserving, but strengthening local news.

Simply put, there’s nothing else like East Cobb News in this market. There’s nobody else coming to you every day, several times a day, with general-interest news like local government and schools, public safety, small business and real estate, arts and entertainment, recreation, community events and those who are helping others in need.

That’s because East Cobb News was designed to serve everyone invested in this community,

We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished, and we hear so many compliments from you about what you get here.

Now is the time to show that you value what East Cobb News means for you.

We’d like to suggest a monthly payment of $6—you can contribute more if you like, or at whatever amount of your choosing.

Our online platform is safe, secure and easy to use, and you can manage your account however you like.

Just click the link below.

Consider becoming a regular supporter!

We’re halfway through the shortest month, and it’s gratifying to know how many of you have stepped up to support the work of East Cobb News.

We’d love to have more of you do the same, if you haven’t already done so!

Please consider giving today, at whatever amount suits you. We appreciate your support!

Editor’s Note: The unrealized legacy of Jerica Richardson

Cobb adopts state electoral maps; Richardson in limbo

I wish the Georgia General Assembly had not drawn Jerica Richardson out of her seat on the Cobb Board of Commissioners during reapportionment in 2022.

It was unfair and unprecedented, as she stated many times during a two-plus-years legal battle over county electoral maps that confused citizens and cost them fruitless taxpayer-funded court challenges.

But it was not illegal.

When Cobb Republican lawmakers sidestepped local courtesy in ignoring county delegation maps and filed their own maps, it smelled of the partisan odor that comes with redistricting.

As it has for decades, and always will.

Richardson, an articulate and intelligent thirty-something Georgia Tech graduate, entered office in December 2020 full of new energy, new ideas and a younger generational vibe, and was stepping in the very big shoes left behind by Bob Ott.

She was conscientious in forming a “community cabinet” of citizen advisors on such topics as education, land use and traffic, and held online “community huddles” to preview meeting agendas.

She brought young people into the fold in myriad ways, including inviting high school students to conduct “capstone” projects on pressing local issues.

Richardson also worked with the local Brazilian community, a sizable contingent of citizens in the East Cobb and Cumberland-Smyrna area in particular.

These were admirable and endearing efforts to invite greater participation in civic life, and they are a positive part of the legacy she leaves behind in her sole term in office.

Halfway through, the District 2 Richardson had been elected to serve no longer included her East Cobb home.

But when Richardson and her two fellow Democratic colleagues conjured up dubious “home rule” claims in adopting those unapproved delegation maps, and using them to conduct county business, those actions were just as wrong.

They were also violations of the Georgia Constitution–as ruled by two judges in Cobb County–which gives sole county reapportionment powers to the legislature.

Richardson’s final appeal to remain in office—her term officially expired Dec. 31, and she didn’t seek re-election—was ignored Tuesday by the Georgia Court of Appeals.

She was trying to hold on until a special election to decide her successor is determined in April.

In recent months, following those emphatic court rulings of unconstitutionality, Richardson chose her most bristling rhetoric of the whole saga.

While she said at times her legal battle wasn’t about her but the rights of communities to draw electoral maps, at the very end Richardson claimed she had been the primary target all along:

“For the last four years, this office has been under attack by the entire state infrastructure because change is scary for so many. Unfortunately, the unknown is exploited so that power can be transferred from the hands of many to the hands of few.”

That three black Democratic women formed the ruling majority on the commission in a Cobb County dominated for decades by white male Republican elected officials is hard to ignore.

For most of her time in office, Richardson didn’t play to those or other cultural issues.

But at the height of the tensions in August, Democratic Commissioner Monique Sheffield referred to the partisan sparring on the all-female board, especially over the maps, as “political Bloods and Crips.”

Richardson’s vague comments this week are a bit much to absorb. “The entire state infrastructure” was out to get her. Really? In a state with 159 counties? And what exactly is the change that is feared?

We are left to guess.

As for the charge of transferring power, it’s very likely Democrats will still hold a 3-2 majority after the special elections.

The new District 2 includes areas along I-75, from Kennesaw and Marietta to Smyrna, which are not very Republican.

What I wish Richardson would have had done as she took her final bows was to offer an apology.

To those residents of East Cobb who for the last two years were uncertain over who their commissioner was supposed to be.

And for what’s estimated to be $1.5 million for the special elections in District 2 and District 4, after the primaries last year were voided because the “home rule” maps were used.

Acknowledging the chaos and turmoil that was caused by this dispute was a missed opportunity for Richardson.

When Republican Commissioner JoAnn Birrell of East Cobb, who’s not one to relish conflict or use profanity, called this episode “two years of hell,” it’s worth noting.

Yes, Richardson had the right to appeal her removal.

And yes, as Cupid once claimed, “a great harm” was done to Cobb by the legislature in bypassing local delegation courtesies during reapportionment.

But Cupid, who also has a law degree, had to have known where this dispute would end.

In decrying norm-breaking, you don’t break other norms. Especially the law.

That will also be a part of Richardson’s legacy, and that’s disappointing.

ECN 1500 Club Update: Please donate to our February drive!

Last month I asked East Cobb News readers to consider becoming monthly recurring donors so we can keep giving you community news that you can’t find anywhere else.Editor's Note: Inviting our readers to join the 1500 Club!

We’ve been committed to making our content free to all, and to build sustainability for the long haul. East Cobb News is reader-focused community news, whose ultimate aim is to serve you.

What I’m calling our “1500 Club” is continuing into the spring, with the goal of getting 1,500 readers to join the ranks of recurring donors.

Yes, that’s an ambitious goal, and so is our goal for February—500 new monthly contributors. Thanks to those of you who have contributed.

We raised $750 in reader revenue in January, higher than in recent months, and I’m very grateful to all of you for supporting the work of East Cobb News.

We also had an outstanding traffic month to start off the year, particularly with multiple weather events, so we know that you come to rely on East Cobb News. 

With your help, we want our fundraising total to surpass that in February.

Please donate today!

We recommend a monthly contribution of $6 a month—that’s a couple of cups of drive-through coffee— on our safe and secure payment platform, Press Patron. Signing up is easy, and you can manage your account from there as well.

Local news outlets of all kinds are asking readers to help support the work they do, and not just online startups like East Cobb News.

Did you know that The Marietta Daily Journal, which has been around for more than 100 years, has begun what it calls the Cobb Journalism Fund, to support its editorial efforts?

Through the non-profit Cobb Community Fund, that effort has generated more than $100,000 to fund a reporting position and related expenses for enterprise and investigative journalism.

The paper has done some good work through that vehicle, yet it still charges readers a subscription.

East Cobb News does not do that and has no plans to impose a paywall. We want local news to be accessible to everyone.

We’re not asking for anywhere near that total of money.

But frankly, we really need more readers to step up and support the work of East Cobb News. We’ve got a sizable and engaged audience, and know that you appreciate what you get here every day and in our Sunday newsletter.

We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished, and we hear so many compliments from you about what you get here.

Now is the time to show that you value what East Cobb News means for you.

We’d like to suggest a monthly payment of $6—you can contribute more if you like, or at whatever amount of your choosing.

Consider becoming a regular supporter!

As you can tell from the stories and other content here, East Cobb News gives you local news and useful community information in a simple, straight-forward way.

Similarly, inviting you to join the 1500 Club is a simple ask. I’ll get straight to the point:

We really need you to help us sustain this community news resource, now it its eighth year of operation.

East Cobb News is a for-profit business, just like the MDJ and many of the traditional local media outlets that are also asking readers for financial support.

Please consider giving today, at whatever amount suits you. We appreciate your support!