As shops at The Avenue East Cobb continue to open—around 40 tenants are open for business now—the retail center’s management has scheduled some outdoor activities in the summer months (we noted previously a car show that took place in late June.)
On July 23 there will be the third in a series of Dinner & Drive-In Movie Nights, with a Christmas in July theme. Santa Claus will arrive in a convertible and show the movie The Grinch, around dusk.
Coming up on Aug. 22 will be the Chalk It Up! Birthday Bash for BoB, a fundraiser and celebration of the Box of Balloons non-profit. Families will reserve a parking spot for a donation to the organization and decorate it with chalk for prizes.
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A Cobb GIS Map of COVID-19 deaths by ZIP code, with icons showing the locations of long-term care homes. For more details click here.
Since we began breaking down COVID-19 cases, deaths and other data in Cobb County and specifically East Cobb, we’ve been getting queries from readers imploring us to dig further into the numbers.
Some think the seriousness of the virus is overstated considering the high number of people who test negative and the very high percentage of those who recover.
They worry that a slide back into lockdowns would not only devastate the local economy, but some wonder if there isn’t an intent to close things down until after the November elections.
Others think we’re not doing enough to illustrate the spread of a virus that’s killed and sickened far too many people, and that we should hunker down until the case numbers decline, or a vaccine is developed.
Most just want to know how to better understand numbers that are floating around in incredible quantities, and from an increasing variety of sources.
The biggest problem is the limited range of the data that is community-specific, and especially pertaining to East Cobb.
On Friday a total of 339 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Cobb County, a weekday single-day high since the Georgia Department of Public Health began issuing daily updates in March.
(A total of 556 new cases were reported in Cobb on Monday, July 6, reflecting a lag due to the Independence Day holiday weekend.)
As of Friday in Cobb County, there were 6,708 confirmed cases of COVID-19, fourth-highest in Georgia, and 250 deaths, second only to Fulton County.
On Saturday, Cobb’s case count rose by 232, to 6,950 cases, and three more deaths were added, for 253 overall.
Those are staggering numbers, and some readers have been asking us what exactly do they mean? It’s easy to see graphs and charts showing big jumps in cases alone and get very jittery. How concerned should we be?
What’s the larger context we should be thinking about? Who’s getting the most sick and dying the most, and who’s experiencing only mild symptoms or none at all?
Cobb and Douglas Public Health figures showing higher case rates for younger age groups. For more local data click here.
This more recent crest of cases—which is disproportionately affecting younger age groups—is not bringing with it the death rates we saw in the spring, when many elderly and at-risk people were the primary casualties.
The Cobb and Douglas Public Health website, like the state’s, has a lot of valuable information, but quite often it’s hard to parse data that readers say they want us to examine.
CDPH breaks down cases by age group, but not deaths. It also tracks the test positivity rate (how many people test positive against all those it tests), which is at 6.76 percent in Cobb, up from around five percent just a few weeks ago.
Those are figures noted by Dr. Janet Memark, director of Cobb and Douglas Public Health, who issued a public health alert last week as a result.
CDPH has tested 18,571 people in Cobb County. If you factor in those 253 deaths, that’s 1.36 percent of people in Cobb who’ve been tested for the virus—at least by our public health agency—who’ve died.
If you measure deaths against what as of Saturday is now 6,940 positive cases (what’s called a case fatality rate), that figure is 3.6 percent.
Cobb government’s Geographic Information Systems department also has been tracking COVID numbers, focusing mostly on data stemming from case and death counts.
How many of those who are testing positive these days are seriously ill? Beyond hospitalization numbers, which have been going up in Cobb and elsewhere in Georgia but are still considered manageable, that’s unclear.
How many people have mild or no symptoms at all also isn’t known. Since anyone is being encouraged to get tested, it would be helpful to know how many asymptomatic cases there are. But that’s data that isn’t readily available.
In East Cobb, we’ve had 1,271 confirmed cases of the virus, and 44 deaths. That’s up from 1,034 and 41 a week ago. But that’s about all that we know, for now.
As we noted in that last report, 16 of those deaths were in ZIP Code 30068, in East Cobb, which has a number of long-term care homes.
While that information has been helpful, it’s become public only in recent weeks. There’s nothing more in the ZIP Code data to indicate the infection rate (those who test positive against those tested) and the case fatality rate.
We don’t even know the age, gender or racial breakdowns by ZIP Code, or how many of those cases involved people with other underlying health issues.
This is information that might calm the fears of many citizens, fears that have been skyrocketing in recent weeks.
Right before Friday’s numbers came out, Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce said he wouldn’t issue a mask mandate, as some mayors have done in Georgia, because he thinks it’s unenforceable.
After Friday’s numbers were reported, the Cobb County School District issued revised reopening plans that do not require staff or students to wear masks.
That’s set off a firestorm of emotion and anxiety that figures to get even more heated before classes start next month.
How masks became such a fraught issue is a topic for another column, but it does show the continuing uncertainty, not just over data, but how to interpret it and how to develop strategies to combat the virus.
We are drowning in data without having a better understanding of it. Other data that might better explain how many people seriously become sick, or not, is harder to come by.
Yet politicians and public health officials keep peddling the same pedestrian messages they have since March—wash your hands, practice social distancing, and wear a mask in public.
Gee, thanks Mom.
After four months, this is all they can still say? This isn’t reassuring the public any more than continuing to extend emergency orders, as the governor and judges have done, at least until August, and possibly into the fall.
How much longer will business owners, employees, students and parents, religious worshippers, sports fans and everyday citizens be told to continue placing their lives and well-being on indefinite hold?
How much longer will there be public demands to mask up, and lock down, healthy people? Especially school children, who are in an age group with the fewest virus cases of all? Is this even a good thing for our society to expect?
The numbers are all over the place, begging to be better organized, and so are the reactions to a crisis that seems to have no end.
Cobb County appears to be in good shape, based on data that goes beyond raw case and death counts.
However, those are the metrics that dominate government response, media coverage and good bit of public opinion.
They’re also feeding a social contagion that’s sweeping through our country faster than COVID-19, and that might be the most difficult outbreak of all to contain.
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After several employees of various Cobb courts tested positive for COVID-19, Cobb Superior Court Chief Judge Reuben Green has issued new orders regarding court operations.
In an order issued on Friday, Green said that four Cobb Superior Court employees, two in Juvenile Court Court, and one each in State Court, Probate Court and Magistrate Court have tested positive for the virus.
Green said there’s no information that any of them were exposed at work, but they are required to undergo 14 days of quarantine.
Infected employees must test negative before they are allowed to return to work, and contact tracing has taken place to inform those who may have been exposed to someone who’s tested positive for the virus.
In addition, Green said the work areas where those employees work are being deep cleaned, and that the Superior Courthouse is being disinfected this weekend.
In his order (you can read it here) Green said Probate Court and Superior Court operations “will shift back to a general presumption that all cases should be handled virtually via videoconference.”
Anyone who thinks a case needs to be heard in person, Green said, should contact the assigned judge’s chambers.
All persons entering Cobb courthouse buildings are required to undergo temperature checks and must wear masks, and social distancing guidelines are in effect.
Earlier this week a state judicial emergency that was to have expired on Sunday was extended for another month, to Aug. 11. Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Harold Melton’s order continues a prohibition on jury trial proceedings and most grand jury proceedings and issues guidelines for in-person and remote proceedings that are taking place.
Friday’s extension was the fourth since COVID-19 closures began, and the new deadline coincides with a continuing state public health emergency that was extended last month by Gov. Brian Kemp.
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When we talked last week with Cheryl Lassiter of the Marietta Campmeeting about a shortened schedule for this year’s event, she said the prospect of having those few services next weekend was “still pretty iffy.’
On Friday the decision was made to call off the whole thing, over concerns about growing COVID-19 cases in Cobb County and Georgia:
“It is with much prayer and consideration that Campmeeting leadership has decided to cancel our shortened Campmeeting this year. We hope you will join us in prayer for the safety and health of our nation during this time. We are already looking forward to Campmeeting 2021 when we can all be together safely again!”
As we noted in our story last week, Lassiter said the only other time the Campmeeting, which dates back to 1837, was cancelled was during the Civil War.
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The Cobb County School District on Friday issued updated reopening plans that “expect” teachers and other school employees to wear masks and “strongly recommend” that students wear them.
That language falls short of requiring masks, and a district official did not say late Friday afternoon whether those words could be interpreted as a mandate.
When asked by East Cobb News to explain the difference between “expect” and “recommend,” John Floresta, the district’s chief’s strategy accountability officer, said he was reading from the district’s new guidelines.
On Friday the district launched a new website, called Cobb Learning Everywhere, that details what parents and students can expect if they choose classroom instruction or a remote option.
Earlier this week, Cobb school board member Charisse Davis said the board was notified by Superintendent Chris Ragsdale that a mask requirement was forthcoming. But a district spokeswoman said Davis was improperly making public information that had not been finalized.
On her Facebook page, Davis reiterated on Friday night that she and other board members got an e-mail from Ragsdale “communicating that the district would be communicating that under new guidelines masks would be mandatory. There was no mention of keep it to yourself, and I fully expected the link to go out at about the same time which is how things have been done. Well…between Tuesday and now the superintendent changed his mind.”
Marietta City Schools and the University System of Georgia announced mask mandates earlier this week.
The district released the new guidelines, and procedures for choosing an instructional option, as part of its weekly COVID-19 updates, which you can find here.
Starting Monday, and continuing through July 22, parents can make their choices at the district’s ParentVue portal for classroom or remote learning for the fall semester. A few more details:
Students who are new to the District must first register as a Cobb student here. Once the school approves the registration, a ParentVue account will automatically be activated.
If parents already have a student enrolled in the District but do not have an active ParentVue account, the registering parent will need to contact the student’s school for activation.
“COVID-19 has brought more complications to schools than I have ever seen in over 30 years in Cobb County,” said Cobb Schools Board Chair Brad Wheeler. “The beliefs that have made our schools some of the best in the country will keep us that way. All students will have the opportunity to learn, and all students will see what a community can do when we use our differences to make us stronger.”
Cobb schools will be asking the Cobb Board of Commissioners this week for $8.1 million in CARES Act funding to expand distance learning capabilities in anticipation of students and their parents choosing to stay at home.
The reopening update calls for the mask recommendations, social distancing and cleaning practices in place, and additional health and safety protocols that include hand sanitizing stations at schools.
Parents are encouraged to inform staff if their children get sick and to keep them home if they have symptoms or are diagnosed with COVID-19. There will be isolated areas at the schools for students and staff who show symptoms of the virus.
School buses also will have hand sanitizers, and field trips will be suspended until further notice. Buses will be wiped down and disinfected after morning and afternoon runs each day.
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After several jurisdictions in Georgia—including the City of Atlanta—issued face mask mandates this week, Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce said Friday he won’t be doing that.
In his weekly newsletter, Boyce said while “there are those who support imposing a county mandate on face coverings,” Gov. Brian Kemp’s executive order on June 30 states that cities and counties cannot take public health actions “that are more or less restrictive” than the state.
Boyce also said that while other elected officials are imposing mask requirements in response to rising COVID-19 cases in Georgia, “I cannot support this kind of governance. Moreover, while such a mandate looks great on paper, it puts an unsustainable burden on public safety personnel. They would be the ones responsible for enforcing this behavior on more than 760,000 people in the County. This expectation is unreasonable.”
Boyce said he’s making a “nice ask to wear a mask” by encouraging citizens to wear a face covering whenever possible “as a matter of personal and public health.”
Last week, Gov. Kemp went on a statewide tour encouraging mask use, but said he wouldn’t be making it mandatory, even though he warned rising COVID cases could affect the college football season. Kemp also said on Thursday that local mandates are not enforceable.
Other cities that have issued mask mandates include Athens-Clarke County, Savannah and Brookhaven.
Georgia’s COVID-19 cases have spiked in recent weeks, to more than 106,000 in all. On Thursday, 2,837 more confirmed cases were reported, and for the past week the test positivity rate in Georgia is nearly 13 percent.
UPDATED:
On Friday the Georgia Department of Public Health reported a one-day record of 4,484 new reported COVID-19 cases and 35 additional deaths statewide.
By Friday, Cobb’s case totals had grown by 339 to 6,708. The single-day high for Cobb is 556 new cases on Monday, July 6, likely reflecting a reporting lag due to the Independence Day holiday weekend.
Georgia has 2,965 deaths, although the seven-day average for fatalities is the lowest it’s been since March. A total of 250 deaths have been in Cobb County, two more than Thursday, and second in Georgia to 321 deaths in Fulton County.
ORIGINAL REPORT CONTINUES:
Boyce said voluntary mask-wearing to help slow the spread of virus “is a learned behavior that is better achieved by cooperative engagement rather than legislative fiat. I believe our efforts will ultimately achieve the desired outcome of normalizing the wearing of face coverings. This health precaution is one that is reinforced by a sense of personal accountability and respect for the health of others.”
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A salute to health care workers at the entrance to East Cobb Health Park.
Submitted info:
The Cobb2020 Partnership and the Cobb Chamber, sponsor an annual Health Hero Award recognizing qualified individuals and agencies who, through outstanding, significant and innovative activities and accomplishments, have made a significant positive impact on the health of the Cobb community.
Each year, the efforts of one individual and one business to improve and support community health and healthcare infrastructure are awarded. Through the first half of 2020, hundreds of Health Heroes have stepped up to assist local businesses and the community during the COVID-19 pandemic, displaying strong determination to protect employees and ensuring people have what they need to continue to work, live and play safely.
To be considered for the award, prospective nominees must:
Provide health and wellness services, support health issues, or support the healthcare workforce in Cobb County;
Currently live or work in Cobb County. Organizations must have a location in Cobb County; and
Be a member of the Cobb Chamber.
The application deadline is July 17th. Apply at cobbchamber.org/healthhero. The award will be presented during the Cobb Chamber’s Healthcare & Biotech Industry Council meeting scheduled for Tuesday, September 8th, 2020 from 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. at Wellstar Vinings Health Park.
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Each year, Northwestern Mutual recognizes financial advisors who go above and beyond in giving back to local communities through its Community Service Awards program. Earlier this year, through its Foundation, the company announced a donation of more than $310,000 in grants to nonprofit organizations on behalf of the 2020 recipients.
As part of the award, 16 company financial advisors are each recognized with a grant to benefit a nonprofit he or she is involved with. Local resident Mike Hendley, a financial advisor for Northwestern Mutual in Atlanta, has been recognized as a 2020 recipient of the award, receiving a $15,000 grant for MUST Ministries.
“Our Community Service Awards program honors advisors who go above and beyond in an effort to lift up their communities nationwide through action,” said Eric Christophersen, president, Northwestern Mutual Foundation. “Fueled by passion and commitment to service, these advisors continue to better the lives of others through volunteerism.”
MUST Ministries addresses the basic needs of individuals in the Atlanta area by providing food, housing, jobs, healthcare and clothing. Hendley first became involved with the organization 25 years ago, when a friend suggested they begin regularly volunteering together at a local organization. This became a lasting tradition, as Hendley continues to serve meals at MUST’s homeless shelter every month, in addition to serving on the organization’s board of directors and regularly participating in other volunteer activities.
“As a father of four, my biggest heartache is seeing the increasing number of homeless children at the shelter,” said Hendley. “I’m thankful to say that the funds from this grant will be used toward the construction of a new homeless shelter, designed to accommodate more women and children. It is our goal to build a shelter that provides dignity and respect to all who come to MUST needing our services while on the path to stability.”
To support those impacted by the global health crisis, MUST Ministries has converted 50 food pantries into curbside pick-up programs, where boxes of groceries are provided to every family that visits. In just eight weeks, the organization has fed over 42,000 people and helped 585 people find housing.
Since 1995, the company has donated more than $6 million to nonprofits through the Community Service Awards program. The 2020 winners were announced at the company’s regional meetings earlier this year, with grants to be presented to nonprofits throughout the country.
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Let East Cobb News know what your organization is doing, or share news about what people are doing in the community—accomplishments, recognitions, milestones, etc.
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Send the body of your announcement, calendar item or news release IN TEXT FORM ONLY in the text field of your e-mail template. Reformatting text from PDF, JPG and doc files takes us longer to prepare your message for publication.
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Drift Fish House and Oyster Bar at The Avenue East Cobb is closed until at least Saturday after one of its employees tested positive for COVID-19.
The restaurant sent a message Thursday afternoon that the employee “is safe and is in quarantine” and the premises are undergoing “a deep sanitization and disinfection.”
“Rest assured, we have been meeting and exceeding all state and local safety requirements. We are doing everything in our power to ensure a safe dining experience for our guests, and to provide a safe place to work for our team,” the message said.
The tentative reopening is Saturday for dinner service. Drift said it also has alerted Cobb and Douglas Public Health and “is closely following their guidance.”
A few other restaurants in East Cobb also have closed for similar reasons. Earlier this week Paradise Grille was closed for two days after an employee tested positive for the virus.
Drift and Seed Kitchen and Bar, both owned by East Cobb restaurateur Doug Turbush, reopened their dining rooms on June 9. Turbush’s three Seed Hospitality Group businesses closed in March; Seed and Drift began serving takeout only in late May.
Seed remains open, and resumed lunch service this week. The Stem Wine Bar, also owned by Turbush and located adjacent to Seed at Merchants Walk, has been closed since March.
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The Cobb County School District will be asking the Cobb Board of Commissioners on Monday for federal COVID-19-related funding to enhance distance learning options.
The district will make its presentation at a commission work session at 9 a.m. Monday. You can watch here on Cobb TV, the county’s public access channel, or tune in Channel 23 on Comcast cable.
The CCSD is seeking $8.125 million for “digital content acquisition, open education resources, and its own in-house content development.
“These costs will cover curriculum content development for every core subject, professional learning, translation, support and maintenance, and allow schools that currently spend their own discretionary funds on curriculum to instead spend those funds on other resources,” according to the proposal.
The work session agenda item explains the details, and the matter is up for commission action on Tuesday.
The Cobb school broke down the proposed costs here in Tuesday’s agenda item. The Tuesday meeting, which starts at 9 a.m., also can be seen online at the above link and on TV.
Cobb schools are in the process of offering parents the option of having their students go back to the classroom or continue a remote option that was undertaken when schools closed in March due to COVID.
Students who stay at home will be offered a separate curriculum, along with dedicated teachers who will instruct only via online.
The start of classes is being delayed two weeks in Cobb, to Aug. 17, to continue preparations and as concerns grow over a rising number of COVID cases in the county.
The Cobb school district is facing a deficit in the vicinity of $60 million for fiscal year 2021, which began on July 1. The district will be presenting its proposed budget next week to the Cobb Board of Education. The FY 2020 budget was $1.1 billion.
The district is currently operating on a special spending resolution this monthwhile the school board formulates a budget delayed by the delay in the legislative session.
Initially state budget reductions were projected to be around 14 percent, which would have left Cobb schools with an $80 million deficit, but the final cuts were around 10 percent.
The Cobb school district has received $16 million in federal CARES Act spending through the Georgia Department of Education.
The Cobb commission received $132 million in CARES Act funding, and has spent $50 million to assist small businesses and another $1 million for low-income renters affected by COVID closures.
The online content the Cobb school district wants to acquire would expand the district’s CTLS online learning portal (Cobb Teaching and Learning System) that’s also accessible for parents.
The curriculum content proposed includes open education resources for both classroom and remote environments, as well as “curated content” reviewed and approved by credentialed educators, and licensed content.
The agenda item said the Cobb school district’s proposal is “a complete content solution” that would cost “a fraction” of a similar acquisition recently by the Chicago Public Schools, which is spending $253 million over five years.
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Angela Christian, the center’s project manager and board coordinator, said the auction gets underway Friday at 9 a.m. and ends next Friday, July 17, with a Facebook Live event. Here are the details:
A wide range of items will be available for bid including an Atlanta Braves package, a State Farm Arena experience package, a Dan Reeves autographed football, a New York Prime Steak House four-course dinner and wine pairing, a one-year membership to the High Museum of Art, and Chick-fil-A for a year.
Auction items may be previewed in advance and accessed for bidding at www.tnc20.givesmart.com.
The auction will conclude with a Facebook Live stream hosted by TNC program participants on July 17 at 4:30 p.m.
Visit https://www.facebook.com/TommyNobisCenter to attend. Funds raised through the auction directly support Tommy Nobis Center’s programs and services for youth and adults with disabilities.
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Let East Cobb News know what your organization is doing, or share news about what people are doing in the community—accomplishments, recognitions, milestones, etc.
Pass along your details to: editor@eastcobbnews.com, and please observe the following guidelines to ensure we get everything properly and can post it promptly.
Send the body of your announcement, calendar item or news release IN TEXT FORM ONLY in the text field of your e-mail template. Reformatting text from PDF, JPG and doc files takes us longer to prepare your message for publication.
We accept PDFs as an accompaniment to your item. Images are fine too, but we prefer those to be JPG files (more than jpeg and png). PLEASE DO NOT send photos inside a PDF or text or any other kind of file. Of course, send us links that are relevant to your message so we can direct people to your website.
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The Madison Reed Color Bar hair coloring chain has opened at Merchants Walk in East Cobb, one of three new locations in its foray in metro Atlanta.
The Merchants Walk location (1311 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 568) opened on June 13, according to a company release, next to Fab’rik. COVID-19 restrictions are in place.
Madison Reed, which opened in 2014 and is in six metro areas nationwide, offers a membership program featuring unlimited roots visits for $55 a month, as well as a free gloss service and additional products and services.
Customers can also purchase those products for home use and be taught how to use them by colorists on staff.
Safety procedures include mandatory masks for employees and customers, temperature checks for staff before each shift, no more than seven people inside at a given time, sanitizing chairs between customer visits and regular cleanings in common areas.
The East Cobb salon is opening with limited hours, from 10-6 Tuesday-Saturday.
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While the fiscal year 2021 budget to be proposed next week will not include an increase in the millage rate, it also won’t include a “rollback” millage rate to counter a rise in the county’s tax digest.
That’s why Cobb government is required by law to announce a proposed property tax increase of 3.66 percent in the general fund, when public hearings also begin next week.
The budget proposal and tax digest details are to be presented to the Cobb Board of Commissioners at a work session on Monday, with public hearings starting on Tuesday.
Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce has said he wants to maintain the current general fund millage rate of 8.46 mills. The budget commissioners will adopt later this month includes other services with their own millage rates, and the proposals are as follows:
Fire, 2.86 mills;
Debt Service (Bond Fund), 0.13 mills;
Cumberland Special Services District II, 2.45 mills;
Six Flags Special Service District, 3.50 mills.
The general fund “rollback” rate—what would produce the same total tax revenue from the current digest without reassessments—is 8.161 mills. If adopted as proposed, the increase would come to an increase of 0.299 mills.
A home with a fair market value of $300,000 would have an annual increase of $32.89. A non-homestead home with a fair market value of $425,000 would see an increase of $50.83.
The county said in a statement issued Tuesday that “the continued recovery of the Cobb real estate market is the primary reason for this modest growth in property values and this corresponding increase in the county’s property tax digest.”
The current tax digest is a record $39 billion. The general fund budget for FY 2020 is $475 million. The public hearings are scheduled as follows:
Here’s the full budget and millage rate public hearing schedule, and keep in mind there are three separate hearings each for the budget and millage rate:
Monday, July 13, 2 p.m.—Recommended FY 2021 budget presented to commissioners at work session
Tuesday, July 14, 9 a.m.—First public hearing
Tuesday, July 21, 6:30 p.m.—Second public hearing
Tuesday, July 28, 7 p.m.—Third public hearing and board adoption
That last meeting is also slated for final budget adoption. More Cobb budget information can be found here.
Here’s more from the Cobb Tax Commissioners Office on the county’s millage rate history, and the millage rates compared to the six cities in the county.
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Cobb Board of Education member Charisse Davis said Tuesday that the Cobb County School District will be requiring masks after all.
Davis, who represents the Walton and Wheeler clusters, announced on her Facebook pagethat masks will be required for students and staff, and that “exemptions will be granted as needed. That is all the information I have right now from the superintendent.”
The district has not made an announcement; East Cobb News has contacted a district spokeswoman, and here’s the response she provided:
“While information was provided to the Cobb Board of Education, it was not meant to be released publicly at this time. In an effort to be as accurate as possible, we will continue to provide details for the 2020-2021 school year when those details are finalized.”
Last week Cobb school superintendent Chris Ragsdale said that while mask use would be “absolutely” encouraged, he was not making it mandatory.
Shortly after that, Marietta City Schools said masks would be required. On Monday, the University System of Georgia also mandated masks for staff and students at all of its campuses, including Kennesaw State University.
Davis’ message was shared on a Facebook group devoted to Cobb schools topics, and many parents approved. Others expressed concerns about making young children wear them. One commenter said she is a Cobb schools teacher who hasn’t been told anything about a mask mandate.
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On Monday the U.S. Small Business Administration released the names of companies, non-profits and other entities that received emergency loan funding under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
The funds were approved by Congress to help businesses recover from closures due to COVID-19. What the SBA released on Monday are those employers who received between $150,000 and $10 million.
What follows below is a selected—but not complete—list of East Cobb businesses, non-profits and other employers who have received PPP funding of $150,000 or more.
Some of those East Cobb entities include for-profit companies, several private schools and child care centers, numerous churches and a synagogue, the Indian Hills Country Club, Ginepri Tennis at Olde Towne Athletic Club and assorted non-profits.
Among the companies of note are restaurants and real estate firms, hair salons and dentists, and the Retail Planning Corp., which leases retail space at Woodlawn Square and other shopping centers in metro Atlanta.
The independent non-profit investigative journalism organization ProPublica has put together this searchable database of companies receiving PPP loans in amounts of $150,000 and higher.
The SBA also has released a spreadsheet of those getting $150,000 or less, but is not identifying any of those companies.
A total of 156,810 Georgia companies have received loans, the vast majority of them (138,519) getting less than $150,000.
Among the criteria for receiving the money is for employers to spend most of it on retaining and paying employees. Companies that do that can have their loans turned into grants that don’t have to be repaid.
Private banks and financial institutions make the loans, which are guaranteed by the SBA.
Most of the funds were distributed nationally in April (nearly $350 billion) in federal CARES Act funding, and in May, with another $310 billion when the initial funding ran out.
Another $130 billion is available, and applications for that funding opened on Monday and will be taken until Aug. 8. Click here for more information, and about the PPP in general.
Here are links to ProPublica database info for companies in the following East Cobb ZIP Codes:
A few East Cobb businesses and other entities of interest are noted here. The PPP listings include the name of the company or entity, address and the number of employees retained:
$2-$5 Million
AIKG LLC—Andretti Karting and Indoor Games (1255 Roswell Road), 500
Atlanta Oral and Facial Surgery (1000 Johnson Ferry Road), 266
JCK USA, Ltd.—Contractor (1343 Canton Road), 0
Tip-Top Poultry (327 Wallace Road), 500
$1-2 Million
Dupree Plumbing Co., Inc (869 Worley Drive), 118
Heather & Linebeck Engineers, Inc. (2390 Canton Road), 0
Hewatt Electrical Contractors (785 Lee Waters Road), 76
Infomart, Inc. (1582 Terrell Mill Road), 117
Mt. Bethel Christian School (4385 Lower Roswell Road), 152
Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church (4385 Lower Roswell Road), 160
Peachtree Biosearch (4985 Lower Roswell Road), 47
PMTD Restaurants, Inc.—KFC and Taco Bell franchisee in Ala. and Ga. (3535 Roswell Road), 330
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A proposal to rezone a portion of the Sandy Plains Village shopping center for townhomes is being delayed at least for a month.
The Cobb Zoning Office sought the continuance after initially recommending denial of an application by the retail center’s owners, Site Centers Corp., for 41 residential units, plus some additional retail space (previous ECN post here.)
That case was to have been heard Tuesday by the Cobb Planning Commission. Instead, consideration has been pushed back to the planning board’s Aug. 4 meeting.
Site Centers wants to convert a vacant 67,000-square-foot retail space that was to have been an indoor entertainment center into the residential development.
In its analysis, zoning staff said the proposal doesn’t conform with the Cobb County Comprehensive Plan. Site Centers is seeking a planned village community (PVC) designation at a property zoned for neighborhood retail commercial (NRC).
The staff said that other residential and commercial properties are zoned for a lower density and would be adversely affected by the townhomes.
The nearby Chatsworth subdivision has single-family homes zoned for 1.68 units an acre. The townhome density as proposed would be 2.57 units an acre.
Traffic issues also concerned zoning staff, which recommended the applicant conduct a traffic study to gauge the impact for a heavily used trio of roads that surround the shopping center—Sandy Plains Road, Woodstock Road and Mabry Road.
The latter is being recommended as the entry point for the townhomes, but zoning staff said that’s too close (20 feet) to the intersection of Mabry and Woodstock, and suggested the applicant make significant changes to provide “uninterrupted access distance.”
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Seven Cobb library branches reopened Monday—including East Cobb, Mountain View and Sewell Mill—with limited services noted here previously.
The library system also is alerting patrons whose cards expire on or near July 31 that they’ll have a couple extra months to renew to those cards.
The new deadline is Sept. 30, and the system estimates some 50,000 patrons will be affected. They’re now being told to ignore the automated renewal notices with the July 30 deadline.
The branch hours for those that are open now is 10-8 on Monday and 10-6 Tuesday through Saturday; for now there are no weekend hours.
Patrons won’t be allowed inside long, and they are being encouraged—but not required—to wear masks inside the branches.
You can do limited browsing, check out materials and pick up those placed on hold, apply for or renew a card, use public computers and seek reference and information assistance.
You won’t be able to sit down and read and use electronic devices other than the computers, use study or community rooms or make use of the creative studios at the Sewell Mill branch.
All programming events also are virtual-only for the time being.
For more information about what to expect when you visit a library branch click here.
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UPDATED: Paradise Grille reopened on Wednesday. Here’s another message from the owners, who said every other staff member has tested negative for the virus:
“The silver lining out of this, is we feel so relieved that our staff are safe and taken care of and we can truly give you a safe space to relax, eat some great food and get away from the news.”
ORIGINAL STORY:
Another restaurant in East Cobb is closing temporarily after an employee tested positive for COVID-19.
The Paradise Grille at Highland Plaza (3605 Sandy Plains Road) announced Monday it would be closed until Wednesday to undergo a thorough professional cleaning, including “Every. Single. Surface.”
Paradise Grille owners Justin and Joe Barrett said in a message Monday that the employee has a mild case of the virus and that “we are praying for a quick recovery.
“As you know businesses are not required to close, but that’s not who we are. We want to do everything right,” they continued.
Every employee will be tested for the virus, and every surface in the restaurant will be disinfected after every use. Employees will be masked and gloved and will have their temperatures taken before every shift.
“We are obviously devastated,” the Barretts said. “We did know it was an eventuality, this virus is everywhere.”
Paradise Grille is scheduled to reopen Wednesday at 11 a.m.
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!
To view the Cobb ZIP Code hover map, click here. Source: Cobb and Douglas Public Health.
For the fourth day in a row, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Cobb County rose by 200 or more, reflecting a continuing surge in positive tests in Georgia.
In East Cobb, the overall figure has gone over 1,000.
That’s an increase of 877 cases since Monday, easily eclipsing a previous weekly high of 685 last week in only five days.
Five more deaths were reported in Cobb during that time, with the 245 cumulative total the second-highest in the state,
Across Georgia, there were 2,784 new cases on Friday, bringing the total number of cases to 90,493. A total of 2,856 deaths have been reported in Georgia, a jump of seven from Thursday.
The new cases in East Cobb rose from 849 last week, with one new reported death, in ZIP Code 30066, bringing the community total to 41.
Cobb and Douglas Public Health has been compiling confirmed case and death totals by ZIP Code, and here’s the latest for those in East Cobb, which has 1,034 as of Thursday:
30067: 317 cases, 8 deaths
30062: 297 cases, 12 deaths
30066: 241 cases, 9 deaths
30068: 155 cases, 16 deaths
30075: 24 cases, 0 deaths
The Cobb COVID count at the start of the week was 4,630. But 247 more cases were reported Tuesday and 204 on Wednesday, when Dr. Janet Memark, director of Cobb and Douglas Public Health, issued a public health alert.
The Cobb case total jumped by 220 on Thursday and 206 on Friday.
He also embarked on a tour of Georgia to urge mask-wearing, warning that the college football season could be in jeopardy if the case numbers keep rising.
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Alexandria Said sends word about a Wheeler High School graduate, Ashton Cordisco, who’s one of five finalists nationwide in a contest for college scholarship money from the Duck Tape Company.
The contest rules require contestants to made a design out of duct tape, and here’s what Ashton, who’ll be attending the Savannah College of Art has—ahem—fashioned.
In order to help him out, you’ve got to click here so he can get votes in the final round. The winner gets $10,000 in college aid from the company, and voting ends July 10.
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!
