Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
The owner of the Bay Breeze seafood restaurant in Northeast Cobb wants to operate a liquor store at that location.
But after the Cobb Business License Division Manager and the agency’s review board denied that request earlier this year, the matter will be going to the Cobb Board of Commissioners next week.
An agenda item for Tuesday’s meeting indicates that there will be a public hearing after Bay Breeze appealed the denials, which were issued due to distance requirements to nearby homeowners.
More than a dozen citizens also sent e-mails to the Cobb Business License office opposing a liquor store.
Documents filed for Tuesday’s meeting indicate that the building at 2418 Canton Road is 177 feet from a residential property line. The county code allows denial of an alcoholic beverage license if a location is within 300 feet.
Some businesses, especially restaurants, often appeal those decisions to get waivers that are typically approved on a routine basis.
But retail liquor stores can be a different matter.
BSC Packing LLC and owner Steve Constantinou said in the appeal that it is seeking a license to operate a daily package store at the current Bay Breeze site, which is just under 10,000 square feet.
The building sits in front of the Chimney Cottage neighborhoood, where much of the opposition has come from.
In July, the license review board upheld the initial denial for an alcohol license. BSC Packing has retained attorney Parks Huff of the Sams Larkin Huff law firm to represent it at Tuesday’s hearing, which is conducted like a court proceeding.
But opposition to a liquor store has been brewing for months.
Agenda item documents include e-mails from last November to the business license agency from nearby residents, who said there are other liquor stores in the area and another such business would be detrimental to the community.
They include Carol Brown of Canton Road Neighbors, a civic association, who said that there are safety concerns because of more frequent vehicular traffic stemming from a liquor store.
She noted that the Bay Breeze property was zoned neighborhood retail commercial (NRC) in 2007 “and therefore may escape close scrutiny” for the final plans,
Another resident counted seven package stores and 11 gas stations selling alcohol in a two-mile radius. Bay Breeze is located on Canton Road just below a busy intersection with Piedmont Road.
A Chimney Cottage resident wrote to the license review board that a liquor store “would attract an undesirable element and detract from an otherwise wholesome family environment. With everything going on in today’s society, this is just not something I want to worry about.”
East Cobb News has left a message with Huff seeking comment.
In its notice of appeal, BSC Packing said the store would start with three employees who would be trained on proper alcohol sales policy and would be subject to termination for sales to minors.
The applicant also said that a video recording, storage and retrieval system would be established that is “commensurate with the size and layout of the store and parking lot after converting from a restaurant.”
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
The Cobb Department of Transportation has announced the first public information meetings for the Cobb Mobility SPLOST, the proposed 30-year transit tax that’s up for a referendum vote in November.
What it’s calling “MSPLOST talks” will take place at four Cobb library branches on Wednesday, Sept. 18, from 5-7 p.m.
The locations include the Mountain View Regional Library (3320 Sandy Plains Road).
Cobb DOT said the meetings are open houses and will have no formal presentations. Other locations will be at the Smyrna, North Cobb and Stratton library branches at the same time.
“Drop in to learn about the proposed initiatives, ask questions, and share your thoughts on how MSPLOST funds will be utilized to benefit our community,” Cobb DOT said Thursday in a social media posting.
Under state law, government agencies cannot advocate a position on a referendum vote.
But Cobb commissioners have approved a $287,000 contract with Kimley-Horn, an Atlanta consulting firm, to provide what’s called “educational” information and resources about the proposed tax, including holding public meetings.
Last week, Cobb DOT unveiled its MSPLOST website and is expected to hold further public meetings to be announced.
The tax, if approved by voters in the Nov. 5 general election, would collect one percent of sales tax to fund expanded bus services, transfer stations and related services and facilities, for a total of $11 billion.
Currently Cobb consumers pay six cents’ worth of sales taxes, including SPLOSTs (Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax) for Cobb government and schools.
Among the projects that would be funded with the transit tax is the construction of a bus transfer station in the Roswell-Johnson Ferry Road area and the restoration of two bus routes through East Cobb that were eliminated during recession budget cuts.
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!
3rd Act Productions, an Alpharetta-based community theatre organization, is staging “Final Audition, Last Chance for the Role of a Lifetime,” a comedy that opens Friday at 8 p.m. at The Art Place Theatre (3330 Sandy Plains Road).
According to promotional information, “this is a heartfelt and hilarious play about pursuing a dream.”
The comedy is set in 1993 in Chicago, and opens with the “voice of legendary Chicago TV & radio host, Bob Sirott, informing all about the big news of the year while playing the greatest hits of 1993, one of the best musical years of the 90s.
“FINAL AUDITION centers on the story of Sally Cochrane, whom after 30 years of heartache and struggle trying to make it as an actress in Chicago, is ready to give up on her dream and go back to Normal (Illinois). But when she learns that famous director, Nick Michaels, is returning to his hometown to cast his next Broadway play with Chicago actors, Sally is torn between doing one final audition or just going back to Normal.”
The play will run in 10 performances from Sept. 6 through Sept. 14. For more information and tickets visit Finalaudition.net.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
The 26th annual EAST COBBER Magazine parade and festival returns on Saturday, Sept. 14.
As in the past, the parade starts at 10 a.m. at Mt. Bethel Elementary School, then marches down Johnson Ferry Road to Olde Towne Parkway.
The event’s community festival takes place at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church (955 Johnson Ferry Road) from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Laren Brown, the magazine’s owner, said that more than 60 local groups are expected, totaling 3,000 participants, with an audience expected of more than 10,000 attendees.
The participants include scout troops, marching bands, local businesses and civic organizations and more.
A special feature is the VIP treatment for teacher of the year honorees at local schools. “We know many families move to East Cobb for the excellent schools, and this is a unique way to celebrate and recognize our outstanding educators,” Brown said.
The festival includes entertainment, arts and crafts, concessions, carnival games, and local businesses. The presenting sponsor is CertaPro Painters returns, along with Custom Disposal and The Auto Accident Attorney as additional sponsors.
A traffic reminder that we’ll be repeating as the date gets closer—police will be shutting down north- and southbound lanes of Johnson Ferry Road between Roswell and Lower Roswell between 9:45 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. See route below.
Woodlawn Drive will be open, but traffic will be affected. For information, contact Laren Brown at 770-640-7070 or laren@eastcobber.com.
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!
A coalition opposed to the Cobb transit tax referendum in November will kick off its campaign next weekend in East Cobb.
The Cobb Taxpayers Association announced Tuesday that a number of elected officials and others will be in attendance at the event on Saturday, Sept. 14, from 12-2 p.m. at Grace Resurrection Methodist Church (1200 Indian Hills Parkway).
The group is leading efforts against a 30-year, one-percent sales tax that, if approved by voters, is expected to collect more than $11 billion to expand bus service in Cobb.
Among the projects that would be funded with the tax is the construction of a bus transfer station in the Roswell-Johnson Ferry Road area and the restoration of two bus routes through East Cobb that were eliminated during recession budget cuts
Guest speakers at the kickoff event include:
Yashica Marshall, candidate for Board of Commissioners, District 4
Ed Setzler, State Senator
Bob Barr, former US Congressman, current president of the NRA
Alicia Adams, candidate for BOC, District 2
Jim Jess, chairman emeritus, Franklin Roundtable (formerly the Georgia Tea Party)
Salleigh Grubbs, chair of the Cobb County GOP
Pam Reardon, candidate for BOC, District 2
Denny Wilson, South Cobb local political activist
According to the CTA, the event is designed to “get YOU fired up and ready to roll up your sleeves to volunteer in our campaign to defeat this odious tax.”
There will be sign-up sheets for phone-banking, canvassing, distributing leaflets, waving signs at major intersections and putting up yard signs.
“It will give you the opportunity to experience the fact that you are not alone in this fight to save our county,” CTA said in its announcement Tuesday.
Last week, Cobb government unveiled an education page about the referendum that was produced by Kimley-Horn, an Atlanta consulting firm the county is paying $287,000 for outreach efforts, including town halls this fall.
Cobb commissioners voted 3-2 to put the proposed sales tax to a referendum, with three Democratic commissioners voting in favor, and two Republicans opposed.
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!
Senior Sam Mitchell is wearing Matt Hobby’s jersey No. 70 this season in his honor.
The Pope High School football team is playing host to Sprayberry on Friday in a key region game and East Cobb rivalry matchup.
Friday’s game also has been designated as the “Matt Hobby Classic,” a fundraising event honoring the late Greyhounds player and to benefit the Rally Foundation, which raises funds for research and treatments for childhood cancer.
Hobby was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma in 2003 and died in 2006, shortly after graduating. The foundation was being formed at the same time by a Pope parent, and each season a home game serves as a fundraiser.
Buckets will be passed around the stands during the fame Friday in the “4Quarters4Research” for fans to fill with loose change. More than $300,000 has been raised for the Rally Foundation since its inception.
You can learn more about Matt hereand the annual fundraiser here. Special T-shirts also are on sale with proceeds going to the Rally Foundatin.
The varsity football player who is wearing Hobby’s No. 70 jersey this season is senior offensive lineman Sam Mitchell.
He was chosen over the summer for embodying Hobby’s spirit.
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!
Cobb Schools’ Athlete of the Week (AOW) program is a weekly recognition of male and female student-athletes performing at high levels in their sport, classroom, and school communities. The program is made possible by support from BSN Sports.
This week’s winners are seniors from Kell and Pope. Mary Babcock plays volleyball for the Longhorns, and John Stuetzer plays football for the Greyhounds.
Mary Babcock, Volleyball, Kell
A four-year starter for the Longhorns, Mary recently logged 1500 career assists, a Kell school record. She also has a 94% serve percentage. She has helped lead the team to the Sweet 16 in 2022 and final 4 in 2023. Mary has been playing volleyball for 6 years and started in the 7th grade. She has also played Club Volleyball with several local teams.
“Mary has been an integral part of our team’s success for the last 3 seasons,” said her coach Joseph Auriemma. “She is a player every coach would want on their team. She has a fast instinct and plays with high intensity.”
“She also balances responsibilities between family, volleyball, work, and school. She is a role model for others and is well-respected by her teammates, coaches, teachers and friends. This is a well-deserved honor for this young lady,” Coach Auriemma said enthusiastically about his Athlete of the Week.
“She is an outstanding student both on and off the court,” agreed Kell Athletic Director Oneisha Young. “She excels in the classroom and always has a smile on her face, no matter what challenges come her way.”
John Stuetzer, Football, Pope
In last week’s home win over Dunwoody, John had an exceptional game with five touchdowns. He scored three on receptions and two on the ground, contributing 30 points to the Greyhounds’ first victory of the season, 41-27. He tallied more than 300 total yards with 266 through the air and 35 rushing. John is committed to Florida State next year to play baseball for the Seminoles.
“He is a top-tier talent and a spirited student-athlete who plays with great passion,” said Pope AD Josh Mathews. “A lot of people are excited to see him compete in football and baseball and the fact that he is wearing a Pope jersey exemplifies the great talent that we have here.”
AD Mathews mentioned that John also demonstrates his great passion for Pope by showing up as a fan to support his classmates. “He treats others with great respect and constantly exhibits humility and appreciation for others,” he said proudly.
In the classroom, John is a solid student who balances a rigorous academic load while playing multiple sports, which is uncommon in today’s world of specialization in high school sports.
“He is very deserving of this award after his spectacular effort last week, but we are most proud of the growth he has shown in his career at Pope. We look forward to watching him reap the success he has earned through hard work and commitment to his crafts,” AD Mathews concluded proudly.
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!
Cobb Commission District 3 boundaries and voting precincts (in light green), just posted to the Cobb Elections website. For a larger view click here.
More than two years after they were approved by the Georgia legislature, Cobb Board of Commissioner districts are finally being reflected on county government websites and in other official documentation.
That’s because commissioners on Tuesday voted to adopt the maps after losing an appeal over the “home rule” maps commission Democrats adopted in 2022 but that were ruled unconstitutional by a Cobb judge last month.
For voters in East Cobb, however, a lengthy saga of chaos and confusion is only partially over.
While almost all of East Cobb is in District 3—represented by Republican commissioner JoAnn Birrell—District 2 Commissioner Jerica Richardson, whose “home rule” district included some of East Cobb where she lives—is declaring herself a “de facto” commissioner.
Her colleagues declined on Tuesday to give notice of a vacancy in the new District 2, where she is not a legal resident. The legislative maps drew her out, prompting her and her two Democratic commissioners to attempt to use home rule authority to assert reapportionment powers the Georgia Constitution has delegated only to the legislature.
If that vacancy is declared, she would have the right to challenge her removal in court. But during the discussion, Birrell said she thought Richardson should serve out the rest of her term.
“We don’t have answers to a lot of questions” regarding her status on the Cobb commission, Jerica Richardson said, calling it “a deep, deep Constitutional crisis.”
The vote was tied at 2-2 (Richardson had to recuse herself), and commissioners didn’t indicate if they would take up the matter again.
Her term expires on Dec. 31. Richardson, who did not seek re-election amid the home rule controversy, said on a “community huddle” call with constituents Thursday that as far as she’s concerned, “the seat is vacant, but I don’t know that it is,” a reference to having no formal notice of a vacancy.
She said she’s not sure at the moment what powers, if any, she may still have, especially about sitting in official meetings and taking votes.
“I still want to know if there is some authority under which I’m operating,” Richardson said on the call, adding that it’s a “deep, deep Constitutional crisis.”
Cobb commissioners don’t have another official meeting until Sept. 10.
But the question of whether some of her appointees may not be able to continue to serve—also due to district residency requirements—is uncertain as well.
Among them is David Anderson, Richardson’s appointee to the Cobb Planning Commission, which meets next Tuesday.
He’s a resident of what is now being recognized by the county as District 3, living in the area around Murdock Elementary School.
Planning Commission members serve concurrent terms as the commissioners who appoint them, so Anderson’s term also expires at the end of the year.
East Cobb News has inquired with the county about whether Anderson and other Richardson appointees may be affected by the new maps but has not received a response.
As for East Cobb voters who had been in District 2 under the “home rule” maps: While they got to vote in that race in the May primaries, they won’t be eligible to cast votes in the special elections that were ordered for early next year by Cobb Superior Court Judge Kellie Hill.
She vacated the primary results in Districts 2 and 4 because the Cobb elections board also used the “home rule” maps.
The official District 2 runs along I-75 and includes most of the Smyrna/Cumberland area, pushing as east as the western side of Powers Ferry Road.
Here are the precincts in East Cobb that went from District 2 under the “home rule” maps to District 3 under the state maps commissioners adopted this week:
Chestnut Ridge 01
Dickerson 01
Dodgen 01
Eastside 01
Eastside 02
Fullers Park 01
Hightower 01
Murdock 01
Mt. Bethel 01
Mt. Bethel 03
Mt. Bethel 04
Powers Ferry 01
Roswell 01
Roswell 02
Sewell Mill 01
Sewell Mill 03
Sope Creek 01
Sope Creek 02
Sope Creek 03
Terrell Mill 01
Timber Ridge 01
Birrell and Keli Gambrill, the other Republican commissioner from District 1 in North and West Cobb, were re-elected in 2022 using the state maps.
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!
Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump
The Georgia Secretary of State’s office this week finalized the names appearing on the Georgia general election ballot for U.S. President.
That’s the first time that more than four candidates have qualified for the Georgia presidential ballot since 1948.
Georgia figures to be a swing state again as the race between the two leading party candidates is polling closely, following their recent political conventions.
In addition to Democratic Party nominee Kamala Harris and Republican nominee Donald Trump, two third-party candidates qualified, as did two independent candidates.
Chase Oliver of Atlanta is the Libertarian Party candidate, while Jill Stein qualified for the third time to head the Green Party ticket.
The independent candidates are Cornel West, a longtime professor, author and political activist, and Claudia de la Cruz, a political organizer and pastor from New York.
The latter is officially with the Party for Socialism and Liberation but qualified as an independent. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger overruled a state administrative court ruling that denied her, Stein and West Georgia ballot access, according to the AP.
The administrative law judge had ruled that third-party and independent candidates should be left off the Georgia ballot, following challenges from Democratic interests. All but Oliver are on the political left, and in 2020 Georgia’s presidential race was one of the closest in the country.
Chase Oliver, Libertarian; and Jill Stein, Green Party.
Democrat Joe Biden was declared the winner by fewer than 12,000 votes, but Trump—who edged out Hillary Clinton in Georgia in 2016—and his supporters have been claiming election fraud ever since.
Trump and 18 others were indicted in Fulton County earlier this year for allegedly trying to overturn the Georgia results. While some have pleaded guilty or negotiated other pleas, Trump has been able to delay that prosecution by trying to get Fulton County District Attorney disqualified.
Those proceedings have been put on hold, until likely after the election, by the Georgia Court of Appeals.
Another candidate who had been attempting to qualify was Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who was running as an independent after leaving the Democratic primary races.
But he dropped out of the race last week and endorsed Trump.
Under Georgia law, Democrats, Republicans and Libertarians automatically qualify for the presidential ballot.
Cornel West and Claudia de la Cruz, independents
In 2020, Cobb voters gave Biden a majority of the vote, while Trump won a slim majority of the precincts in East Cobb.
Harris, the sitting vice president who was nominated by the Democrats when Biden declined to seek re-election, appeared in Savannah this week with her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, also have appeared in Georgia since the Republican convention in July.
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!
Cobb County government has begun its rollout of an “education” campaign for the proposed 30-year, $11 billion transit tax referendum.
What’s being called the Cobb Mobility SPLOST (Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax), or M-SPLOST, is the main ballot issue for local voters in the November general election, and this week the official information website for that referendum was launched.
It contains a project list, maps, financial figures, ballot language and more. Here’s what voters will see on their ballots:
“Shall a special 1 percent sales and use tax be imposed in the special district consisting of Cobb County for a period of time not to exceed thirty years and for the raising of funds for transit and transit supportive projects? These projects will be as defined in O.C.G.A. § 48-8-269.40, and will be inclusive of the approved project list within the Atlanta-Region Transit Link Authority Regional Transit Plan (ARTP).
“If imposition of the tax is approved by the voters, such vote shall constitute approval of the issuance of general obligation debt of Cobb County in the principal amount not to exceed $950,000,000 for the above purpose.”
Like the Cobb government and Cobb school SPLOSTs, the M-SPLOST would collect one percent of sales tax revenue on the dollar to fund the creation of more than 100 miles of new bus routes, along with transfer stations.
That includes restoring bus routes through East Cobb that were cut during the recession, as well as construction of a transfer station in the Roswell-Johnson Ferry area.
Those supporting the tax say Cobb needs more transit options with a growing population that’s expected to surpass one million by 2025. Opponents say the tax is too long and that ridership figures haven’t demonstrated enough demand for such a system.
The proposed high-capacity bus route through East Cobb, along Roswell Road, that’s on the M-SPLOST transit tax referendum.
Earlier this year, the MDJ reported that ridership across the overall Cobb bus system has plummeted from 3.7 million annual trips in 2014 to just under 1 million trips in 2022, and that the decline began well before COVID-19.
A total of $6 billion from the referendum would be used to build out and expand “high capacity” transit, including the East Cobb route.
But that route—designated as an Arterial Rapid Transit route, or ART—wouldn’t be built during the first decade of the transit tax, according to build-out projection maps on the M-SPLOST website.
Another East Cobb route is a “Rapid Route” that would connect the East Cobb transfer station with the Dunwoody MARTA Station, heading down Johnson Ferry Road.
Here’s a further breakdown of what transit-tax revenues would fund if the referendum passes:
73 Miles of Bus Rapid Transit
34 Miles of Arterial Rapid Transit
325 Miles of Expanded Local, Commuter, and Rapid Transit
6 New/Enhanced Transit Facilities
100% Countywide Microtransit Coverage
Increased Paratransit Service
$1 Billion investment in Transit Supportive Projects
Earlier this year, the MDJ reported that ridership across the overall Cobb bus system has plummeted from 3.7 million annual trips in 2014 to just under 1 million trips in 2022, and that the decline began well before COVID-19.
The county estimates that average daily ridership on the transit system could surpass 40,000 by 2025, near the end of the sales tax period. Currently, that figure is only around 3,000 riders a day.
The consulting firm Kimley-Horn put together the website and is responsible for flyers, brochures and other forms of communication, as part of a $287,000 contract with the county.
The M-SPLOST website and other materials are supposed to be neutral on the subject of the referendum—not advocating a position on the issue.
But transit tax referendum opponents are skeptical. Language in the “M-SPLOST Funding” section explains what would happen either way:
If the MSPLOST is approved by voters, the MSPLOST will ensure that the cost of Cobb County Transit is shared by all consumers who purchase goods within the county. This shift would distribute the funding responsibility across all residents, businesses, and non-residents (including commuters and tourists). Additionally, increased transit funding provided through dedicated financial streams like the proposed MSPLOST enhances Cobb County’s ability to secure matching funds, making us more competitive for grant awards.
If the MSPLOST is rejected by voters, Cobb County will, for the foreseeable future, continue to operate CobbLinc with local property taxes as the primary revenue source, supplemented by standard federal funds and customer fares.
Cobb transportation staff will hold public meetings regarding the referendum in the fall, but those details have not yet been announced.
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!
A reader alerted us earlier this week to the fact that the Power-Jackson Cabin located on Post Oak Tritt Road, and that has been the subject of an urgent historic preservation effort, was no longer there.
Cobb Landmarks, a local historic preservation non-profit, has been raising funds to have the cabin removed and relocated elsewhere in East Cobb, to Hyde Farm, with other 1840s-era farming structures.
On Thursday, the organization said the task was completed this week, during a process of tagging, disassembling, relocating.
Cobb Landmarks raised more than $70,000 to do the work, after getting approval from the Cobb Board of Commissioners in April for $321,000 in 2011 SPLOST funds for professional restoration work on the cabin at Hyde Farm.
It’s been more than a year since the preservation effort got underway, following a rezoning request on the wooded property where the cabin stood.
The Power-Jackson Cabin, possibly built before 1840 by farmer William Power, was located on 13 undeveloped acres on Post Oak Tritt Road near McPherson Road that was part of a recent zoning case.
Landowner Kenneth B. Clary sought rezoning for a single-family subdivision, but issues over the cabin and possible Power family burials complicated the issue.
Hyde Farm is where another Power family cabin exists, as part of a working 1840s farm that was in family hands until the 1990s. Cobb PARKS oversees that property off Lower Roswell Road.
At one zoning hearing, cemetery preservationists also noted that a young mother—likely Power’s daughter—and two infants are buried on the site, further complicating development efforts.
Cobb Landmarks said there’s evidence suggesting the Power-Jackson Cabin may be the oldest standing structure in Cobb County, even predating the establishment of the county in 1832.
As for the possible burial grounds, the organization said that while “their exact location remains uncertain, we took precautions to avoid disturbing the suspected burial area during the disassembly of the cabin.”
The restoration work will be performed by Leatherwood Inc., a Tennessee-based company that restored 13 structures at Hyde Farm in 2014.
Cobb PARKS also is awaiting word on a request submitted to the National Park Service to add Hyde Farm to the National Register of Historic Places.
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!
Dr. Marianna Kovtich (in white suit) with staff and members of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce at the Modern Dental Center ribbon-cutting.
We reported a few months ago on the Mt. Bethel Community Center being sold to be converted into a dentistry practice.
That business has now opened. Modern Dental Center recently opened its doors at 4608 Lower Roswell Road earlier this month, providing “general cleaning for children and adults, veneers, bonding, crowns, bridges, implants, and treatment for sleep apnea,” according to a release.
Leading the practice is Dr. Marianna Kovitch, a board-certified dental sleep medicine specialist certified by the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine.
She has had a fellowship from the International Congress of Oral Implantology in 2015 and a fellowship from the Academy of General Dentistry in 2018, where she also served as past president of the Georgia chapter.
“My mission is to provide exceptional dentistry you can trust in a comfortable, pain-free environment,” says Dr. Kovitch.
She said the center provides patients with the latest in technology and comfort, including a beverage station, Bose headphones, ceiling televisions and an electric car charger.
Dental services features include a 3D scanner for x-rays with a low radiation exposure using the Vatech Green CBCT system. There’s also a diode dental laser for gum recontouring, treatment of ulcers and periodontal disease.
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!
Cobb commissioners voted Tuesday to adopt commission electoral maps approved by the Georgia legislature more than two years ago, after using different maps that were recently ruled unconstitutional.
But commissioners couldn’t pass a resolution that would have begun a process to vacate the seat held by Jerica Richardson because her East Cobb residence is no longer in District 2.
On Tuesday night, a lengthy meeting created more heated rhetoric—along partisan and racial lines—and included a citizen launching a blistering tirade at another commissioner.
It also created more confusion about how long Richardson may be in office. County code requires that commissioners vacate their offices if they don’t live in their districts.
The board voted 3-2 to adopt the legislative maps, but with Richardson recusing herself, commissioners were knotted 2-2 on approving a motion to declare a vacancy.
Since October 22, Cobb has recognized electoral maps (left) that kept Richardson in District 2 (in pink) that were ruled unconstitutional last month. On Tuesday commissioners approved state maps that put most of East Cobb in District 3 (yellow).
If that resolution had passed, the county would have had 10 days to declare a vacancy in a process that allowed for Richardson to contest her removal in court.
On Wednesday, Cobb government issued a statement saying that Richardson is still a commissioner, but didn’t indicate for how long.
The statement said that the failure to pass a resolution declaring the District 2 seat vacant allows Richardson “to continue serving as the district’s representative.”
During Tuesday’s lengthy discussion, Republican Commissioner JoAnn Birrell, whose District 3 includes most of East Cobb in the state maps, said she didn’t want Richardson to have to leave immediately.
“I do struggle with this,” Birrell said, “but I don’t support this, giving notice kicking her out. I think she should finish her term.”
‘Two years of hell’
Commissioner JoAnn Birrell called the map dispute “two years of hell.”
Richardson is part of the three-Democrat majority that voted in Oct. 2022 to adopt maps drawn by former State Rep. Erick Allen, then the Cobb legislative delegation chairman, that would have kept Richardson in her seat.
They claimed “home rule” authority to adopt those maps after the legislature approved maps that placed Richardson, who moved to a home off Post Oak Tritt Road in 2021, into District 3.
But Birrell and fellow Republican commissioner Keli Gambrill were among those saying that the Georgia Constitution allows only the legislature to conduct county reapportionment.
They read statements into the record before casting votes in meetings starting in January 2023 objecting to the “home rule” maps.
Birrell didn’t like the Allen maps because her district would be majority Democratic. She said that “she looked at all scenarios to keep Jerica in District 2, but the numbers didn’t warrant that. . . .
“It has been two years of hell going through this.”
Sheffield had previously noted that legislators told them that “when we draw maps we don’t consider political parties. It’s for the citizens of Cobb County.”
Gambrill was an initial plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging those maps and later eventually dismissed by the Georgia Supreme Court due to a lack of standing.
Another legal complaint was filed by Republican Alicia Adams in April, after she was disqualified from running in District 2 under the home rule maps that were being followed by the Cobb Board of Elections.
On July 25, Cobb Superior C0urt Judge Kellie Hill ruled in favor of Adams, declaring the “home rule” maps unconstitutional.
Hill also ordered special elections for early 2025 in District 2 and District 4, since those maps were used for May primaries.
Richardson is a first-term Democrat who decided not to seek re-election earlier this year, opting instead for an unsuccessful Congressional bid, as the map dispute lingered.
Her term expires on Dec. 31. The same goes for District 4 Commissioner Monique Sheffield of South Cobb, who won a May Democratic primary based on the county-adopted maps.
They voted against the resolution to adopt the legislative maps on Tuesday.
Sheffield, who on Monday described the partisan squabbling on the board as “political Crips and Bloods,” wanted to pull the item for further discussion. She also was “all for” seeing Richardson complete her term.
But Birrell, who has been insisting her colleagues “follow the law,” said the matter has dragged on too far.
“This has to end tonight,” she said. “It has gone on too long.”
While what happened to Richardson “isn’t fair,” Birrell continued, “the bottom line is we don’t have the authority to draw a map.”
She, Gambrill and Chairwoman Lisa Cupid voted in favor of adopting the state maps.
Cupid continued to claim that “a great harm” was done to Cobb by the legislature in bypassing local delegation courtesies during reapportionment.
On the motion to declare a vacancy, Gambrill and Cupid voted in favor, while Birrell and Sheffield voted against.
‘You are a joke’
After Richardson returned to the dais, several public commenters had their say.
One of them, East Marietta resident Don Barth, tore into Cupid and Sheffield.
Barth is a Democrat who was disqualified in District 2 by the Cobb County Democratic Committee in the primaries for not living in that district according to the home rule maps.
A frequent public commenter, Barth greeted commissioners by saying, “you are a joke,” and ramped up the rhetoric from there, attacking Cupid, Sheffield and Cobb County Attorney Bill Rowling in particular.
“You wonder why there’s no trust? You earn trust. You haven’t earned anything lady,” he said to Cupid. “You have been the worst thing for Cobb County.”
But Cupid cut off his comments after he yelled at Sheffield, with him shrieking that “I don’t work for you, you work for me!”
Sheffield said his comments, and their tone, made her feel “threatened.”
Barth replied that “you are a drama queen!”
After repeating that line twice, he was removed from the podium and escorted out of the room by law enforcement.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
A 30-day extension for a judicial emergency in Cobb Superior Court has been issued by Chief Judge Gregory Poole, stemming from serious issues with the court clerk’s office new online filing system.
Cobb Superior Court Chief Judge Gregory Poole
Poole said in a release issued by Cobb government Wednesday that the emergency will continue through Oct. 6, due to a “significant backlog” in updating the system with documents.
He issued the initial emergency earlier this month, saying that serious filing issues and delays are plaguing the new system and prompting many court proceedings to be ground to a halt.
Without informing judges, Cobb Superior Court Clerk Connie Taylor installed a new court filing system in June that had repeated malfunctions, and that were prompting delays in converting documents from the old system in some cases by weeks and months.
Under the emergency, there was an extension of deadlines for filing motions, setting court calendars and other proceedings.
In his extension announced Wednesday, Poole said that some documents dating back to November 2023 haven’t been uploaded, and that issues over notices, schedules and calendars remain.
“Court staff have also been confused by procedural changes in stamp-filing original documents, and indigent defendants are still being charged for access to documents,” the county release said.
“The Chief Judge continues to believe that these types of issues and conditions continue to raise serious due process and other constitutional concerns.”
The emergency order applies only to Cobb Superior Court, which handles felonies, major civil litigation, divorces, child support matters and more. State Court, Magistrate Court, Probate Court and Juvenile Court systems in Cobb are not affected by the order.
Taylor is a state constitutional elected officer whose term expires this year. A Democrat, she easily won the party primary in May over three opponents despite being dogged by controversy.
She acknowledged personally pocketing $425,000 in passport fees—court clerks are allowed to do this—a sum that far exceeded her predecessors.
Taylor allegedly ordered one of her staffers to destroy documents related to the matter, telling her to “Donald Trump this thing.”
By end of last year, Taylor’s office was falling behind filing documents to the court systems, sometimes by several months.
She told Poole some of those issues were caused by staff shortages in her office.
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!
Tritt Elementary School in East Cobb was evacuated early Wednesday after a fire broke out in an HVAC unit, according to the Cobb County School District.
The district said that students weren’t in the school building (4355 Post Oak Tritt Road) and everyone is safe after Cobb Fire units responded.
Cobb Fire said the fire is considered minor but an adult inside the building was hospitalized for smoke inhalation and no firefighters were injured.
Chris Smith, the Cobb Fire public information officer, said a call reporting smoke at the school was received shortly after 7 a.m. and units arrived at 7:12 a.m. to find smoke coming from a wall HVAC unit at the front of the school building and in a hallway.
He said the fire was contained by 7:16 a.m. and crews then used pressurized ventilation fans to remove smoke from hallways.
Fire units left the scene by 8:15 a.m., Smith said.
“We are currently assessing the building and any necessary changes to the schedule,” the Cobb school district said in a statement.
School buses were diverted to Hightower Trail Middle School, where Tritt classes are being conducted Wednesday, according to a district spokeswoman.
She said classes are expected to resume at Tritt on Thursday.
The person taken to a hospital was identified as a staff member, not a teacher or a student, “and is recovering well without significant injuries,” the spokeswoman said.
Joe Ovbey, who has two children who attend Tritt, told East Cobb News he tried to drop them off at 7:15 a.m. but was turned away.
He said he brought his children home as buses were taking students to Hightower Trail.
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!
Cobb commissioner Monique Sheffield—second from right—said that “we have become nothing more than political Bloods and Crips. . . . No offense to the Crips and Bloods.”
Instead of hammering out the beginning steps toward resolving a long, bitter dispute over electoral maps, Cobb commissioners on Monday launched into some of their harshest rhetoric yet on the matter.
During a work session to go over Tuesday’s meeting agenda, the partisan—and even racial—divides that have marked the saga boiled over more than they ever have.
The county opted last week to accept a Cobb Superior Court judge’s ruling that “home rule” maps adopted in late 2022 by the commission’s Democratic majority violated the Georgia Constitution.
As a result, the Cobb County Attorney’s Office proposed a resolution to adopt legislative-approved commission maps and give legal notice to vacate the District 2 seat—which had included some of East Cobb—due to residency issues.
That resolution is supposed to be on Tuesday night’s meeting agenda, but the work session Monday left that in doubt.
(You can watch the full discussion of the home rule issue in the video below.)
A notice to vacate, if approved, could mean that Democratic incumbent Jerica Richardson—who did not seek re-election—may have to leave office before her term expires at the end of December.
But Comissioner JoAnn Birrell of East Cobb—one of two Republicans on the board—wanted her colleagues to repeal the “home rule” maps before doing anything else.
They were approved by the Democrats, claiming “home rule” exceptions under state law, after Richardson was drawn out of her East Cobb home. The Republican-led legislature did not consider maps approved by the county’s Democratic-majority legislative delegation that kept Richardson in District 2.
But in late July, Judge Kellie Hill said the Cobb’s action was unconstitutional because only the legislature can conduct county reapportionment. She also ordered special elections for next year to redo the results of primaries in District 2 and District 4 that were conducted with the “home rule” maps.
Birrell’s request to repeal those maps was opposed by Chairwoman Lisa Cupid, who said that action was not on the agenda and hadn’t previously been discussed in work sessions.
“Until [the home rule maps are] repealed, we can’t move forward with any notice” regarding the vacancy, insisted Birrell, who reiterated a desire for outside counsel.
She and fellow Republican commissioner Keli Gambrill questioned the advice commissioners were getting from their in-house legal counsel.
Gambrill said she noticed that during an executive session on the issue, the county attorney’s staff kept separate sets of notes, with two in red (indicating the two Republican commissioners) and three others in blue (noting the Democrats).
“This is strictly political at this point,” Gambrill said. “Is our counsel going by the law or going by the majority?”
She and Cupid began raising their voices over one another, then Gambrill took aim at Richardson, who said she would recuse herself from a vote, saying “this item is being sent directly to me . . . I’m leaving my future up the four of you.”
Richardson said a vote to repeal the maps would be a home rule act that has been ruled unconstitutional and that “you can’t have it both ways.”
Monique Sheffield, a first-term Democrat from District 4 in South Cobb, blamed Republican lawmakers for bypassing local delegation courtesies during reapportionment in 2022.
“This is very political and it started at the statehouse when Commissioner Richardson was drawn out of her district,” Sheffield said.
“What’s happening in Cobb County is what’s happening nationally. People are dug in on their side, regardless of what is right.
“We have become nothing more than political Bloods and Crips,” she added, making a reference to criminal gang rivals. “No offense to the Crips and Bloods.”
That remark drew some chuckles, but the nearly 40-minute discussion was far from a laughing matter.
Sheffield took a bleaker turn, saying Richardson had received “nasty and disgusting” text messages that “takes me back to a time where people were not welcome in this country. People are still not welcome.
“When you have a young commissioner who decides to move in an area still within her district and she’s drawn out, but when she’s told she should move to an urban area, and that someone wants to ‘protect’ their community, that may not resonate to some of you but that resonates to me.”
When a spectator objected to that comment, Cupid said “you can get up and leave.”
Sheffield said that if Richardson were a Republican, “would we see all of this here? I don’t think we would.”
Richardson didn’t say anything in response to Sheffield’s comments.
The last two years, commissioners have heard “we want her out of her seat. We want blood, we want blood,” Sheffield continued, pounding her fists on the table.
At that point, Birrell interjected: “I didn’t say that.”
Sitting just a couple of feet away, Sheffield turned to her and said: “I didn’t say that you did. . . . This is an indictment on whoever feels that way.”
Later, Birrell said that her request to repeal the “home rule” maps isn’t about any of that.
“This is following the law and upholding the Constitution of the United States, the state of Georgia and Cobb County,” she said.
“The only way to settle this once and for all” is to publish public notices like were done with the “home rule” map approval process with two public meetings before voting to repeal them.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
The Cobb Chamber’s Board of Directors have named Melissa Cantrell, President and CEO of CDH Partners, as its 2026 Chairwoman of the Board.
Cantrell will succeed Chris Britton, Regional President of Brasfield & Gorrie, who begins his term as Chairman of the Board in 2025. Cantrell will start her term in January 2026 as Board Chairwoman and will serve as Board Chair Elect in 2025.
“It is an honor to be entrusted to serve as the 2026 Board Chairwoman. My passion for serving our business community and helping them achieve their goals has been fueled by the mission of the Chamber. By building the foundations of our community with a prioritization on the needs of our businesses, we’re laying the groundwork for a more vibrant and sustainable future,” said Melissa Cantrell. “I am proud to contribute to the Chamber’s vision to create a future for Cobb that makes Cobb County a dynamic place to live, work, and play!”
Cantrell is a long-time investor in the Cobb Chamber and its economic development strategy, SelectCobb. She has served on the Cobb Chamber Board of Directors and SelectCobb Board of Directors since 2015. Her most recent role has been the 2024 Member and Community Programs Chair on the Cobb Chamber’s Executive Committee. Cantrell also served as a judge for the Cobb Chamber’s 2024 Small Business of the Year award. Cantrell and her team at CDH Partners were named the 2023 Small Business of the Year.
Cantrell has also served on many Cobb Chamber committees, including the building transition taskforce, Leadership Cobb Selection Committee, Leadership Cobb Education/Workforce Day, Armed Services Program Day, and as a Marietta Area Council Director. She is a graduate of the 2014 Leadership Cobb class and an active member of the Leadership Cobb Alumni Association. She is a current class member of the Honorary Commanders program.
As President and CEO of CDH Partners, Cantrell leads the firm’s operations, plans and strategies, resourcing, employee growth, and budgets. She is also the principal of CDH Partners’ education studio, where she delivers innovative architectural design and master planning to public and private education clients.
Cantrell is a member of several industry organizations, including the Georgia Chapter of the Association of Learning Environments, the United States Green Building Council, the Georgia Association of Physical Plant Administrators, and the Georgia Board of Architects and Interior Designers. She shares her expertise with several community organizations, such as the Kennesaw State University College of Architecture Advisory Council, the Marietta High School Architecture Program Advisory Council, and the One Cumberland Board of Directors. Cantrell is also currently serving on the Cobb Chamber’s taskforce for the county’s Unified Development Code project.
“Melissa Cantrell is a remarkable leader with a proven track record of excellence and innovation. Her extensive experience as President and CEO of CDH Partners, coupled with her deep commitment to our community and chamber, makes her an ideal choice to chair the Cobb Chamber Board of Directors in 2026,” said Sharon Mason, President and CEO of the Cobb Chamber. “Melissa’s vision, strategic thinking, and ability to bring people together will be invaluable as we continue to advance our mission. I couldn’t be more excited to have her at the helm, and I look forward to the incredible impact she’ll make in this role.”
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!
