Brookhaven News - Reporter Newspapers

Gov. Kemp to issue statewide shelter-in-place order, close schools through current year

by John Ruch | Apr 1, 2020 | Brookhaven Reporter, Buckhead Reporter, Coronavirus, Dunwoody Reporter, Education, Public Safety, Sandy Springs Reporter, Top Stories | 0

Gov. Brian Kemp will issue a statewide shelter-in-place order and order public schools to remain closed through the end of the school year in response to the coronavirus pandemic, he announced April 1 in a televised press conference. The shelter-in-place order will run April 3 through 13, Kemp said. He said details are in the works and will be announced April 2. Kemp had been under political pressure to issue such an order, including from some local cities. Controversy arose when his chief of staff recently blasted such orders as an “overreach.” Kemp previously ordered schools to remain closed...

Atlanta Police report four members with COVID-19; other local departments report none

by John Ruch | Apr 1, 2020 | Brookhaven Reporter, Buckhead Reporter, Coronavirus, Dunwoody Reporter, Public Safety, Sandy Springs Reporter, Top Stories | 0

The Atlanta Police Department reported four officers or staff members diagnosed with the COVID-19 coronavirus disease as of March 27. Meanwhile, other local police departments report no cases on their forces so far. APD’s first known COVID-19 case was an officer who worked at police headquarters downtown. APD is declining to say where the other affected employees worked, citing privacy. APD’s ability to police the city is not affected, the department says. The Brookhaven and Dunwoody police departments have not had any officers tested for or diagnosed with COVID-19, according to spokespeople. Sandy Springs Police Department spokesperson Sgt. Salvador...

Rabid raccoon found on Brookhaven/Chamblee border

by John Ruch | Apr 1, 2020 | Brookhaven Reporter, Dunwoody Reporter, Public Safety | 0

A rabid raccoon was found March 28 in the area of Gainsborough Drive and Chamblee-Dunwoody Road on the Brookhaven/Chamblee border, according to DeKalb County. The area where the raccoon was found is about a quarter-mile from Dunwoody’s Georgetown neighborhood as well. Rabies is a fatal viral disease spread through saliva, typically by animal bites. Animals can be infected at any time of year. Residents should make sure pets are up to date for preventative vaccination and should eliminate outdoor feeding stations and access to garbage cans, DeKalb County said in a press release. Anyone who has been bitten or...

Local police departments field complaints about pandemic emergency order violations

by John Ruch | Apr 1, 2020 | Brookhaven Reporter, Buckhead Reporter, Coronavirus, Dunwoody Reporter, Public Safety, Sandy Springs Reporter, Top Stories | 0

Local police departments have begun fielding complaints about violations of pandemic emergency orders. Most say they have not issued citations yet. People gathering in parks in violation of social-distancing orders have been a common concern in Brookhaven, Dunwoody and Sandy Springs, say police officials. Maj. Andrew Senzer, the commander of Buckhead’s Zone 2 Atlanta Police Department precinct, did not respond to questions about citations, but circulated an email March 25 about the issue in parks. “As I drove around today, I observed that many of the parks and recreational facilities had fairly robust crowds, including individuals playing tennis,” Senzer...

‘Overreach’ or ‘action’?: The politics of local shelter-in-place orders

by John Ruch | Apr 1, 2020 | Brookhaven Reporter, Buckhead Reporter, Coronavirus, Dunwoody Reporter, Politics, Sandy Springs Reporter, Slideshow, Top Stories | 0

The shelter-in-place and business closure orders issued by local cities in response to the coronavirus pandemic are increasingly politicized along familiar Georgia lines: rural/urban, Democratic/Republican and state/local. Some local cities and Democratic state legislators have been pushing Republican Gov. Brian Kemp to issue a statewide shelter-in-place order. Kemp has issued some broad orders — including a statewide shuttering of bars and nightclubs — but otherwise declined, saying it should be up to local control. But his chief of staff ignited controversy by blasting such orders on social media as “overreacting” by governments with “judgment clouded by power” — comments...

Letter: What one family has learned from the pandemic isolation

by Reporter Newspapers | Mar 31, 2020 | Brookhaven Reporter, Buckhead Reporter, Commentary, Coronavirus, Dunwoody Reporter, Sandy Springs Reporter | 0

Our refrigerator died during the first week of the COVID-19 quarantine. You know, the refrigerator holding our double amount of groceries for our family of six. We have a small extra refrigerator in our garage which we transferred items to, but, true story, my daughter and son, being ever so helpful at the ages of 9 and 7, bumped into each other while transferring frozen blueberries and a glass jar of Frank’s RedHot Sauce. Glass shattered, the hot sauce made the scene more horrific than it actually was (thankfully no one was injured and certainly no blood to be...

DeKalb Board of Education District 1 candidates discuss priorities in virtual forum

by Hannah Greco | Mar 30, 2020 | Brookhaven Reporter, Dunwoody Reporter, Education, Top Stories | 0

With the DeKalb County Board of Education District 1 seat election around the corner, one candidate is focused on accountability and another is focused on interpersonal relationships with other board members in the district. The Dunwoody Homeowners Association on March 29 held a virtual forum for the District 1 election, which is scheduled for May 19. The District 1 seat includes voters from Dunwoody, Brookhaven, Chamblee and Doraville. Adrienne Duncan, president of the association, moderated the forum with the two candidates, Andrew Ziffer and Anna Hill. The full forum can be viewed on the association’s website, here. “I have...

What your local ‘stay at home’ orders say

by John Ruch | Mar 29, 2020 | Brookhaven Reporter, Buckhead Reporter, Coronavirus, Dunwoody Reporter, Public Safety, Sandy Springs Reporter | 0

All Reporter Newspapers communities are under some form of “stay at home” or “shelter in place” order due to the coronavirus pandemic, and most are under at least two with differing details. Click your areas below for details about the orders that apply to you. Meanwhile, the gist is likely more important than details: Only go out if you need to, and stay at least 6 feet away from anyone else when you do. And if you’re sick, don’t go out until you’re well. State of Georgia (soon to to be much broader, according to Gov. Brian Kemp) DeKalb...

Developer wants to build 61 for-sale townhomes in Brookhaven’s Lenox Park

by Dyana Bagby | Mar 28, 2020 | Brookhaven Reporter, Buckhead Reporter, Top Stories | 0

A developer hoping to avoid the controversy of past rezoning requests to build apartments in Brookhaven’s Lenox Park on the Buckhead border is proposing to build 61 for-sale townhomes it says would be the “best fit” for the currently vacant property. Atlanta-based Minerva Homes seeks to rezoning the approximately 5-acre grassy field at 1035-1065 Lenox Park Blvd. from “office institutional” to a residential townhouse district. The developer was scheduled to go before the Brookhaven Planning Commission on April 1. The developer’s application, filed with the city in February, notes that past attempts to build apartments on the site have...

Local DeKalb Schools parents, students adjust to tech and stress of virtual learning

by Hannah Greco | Mar 28, 2020 | Brookhaven Reporter, Coronavirus, Dunwoody Reporter, Education, Top Stories | 0

As school district shutdowns for the coronavirus pandemic drag into a third week, parents and children are facing drastic changes in routine. Several parents of students in Dunwoody and Brookhaven schools in the DeKalb County School District recently shared their experiences of coping with the new situation. Some say their children are doing well with virtual learning because of set schedules, while others are not sure the online method is working as well as the classroom environment. Some are concerned for their children’s mental well-being. On March 26, Gov. Brian Kemp issued an executive order to have all public...

DeKalb County CEO issues stay-at-home order with exceptions

by John Ruch | Mar 27, 2020 | Brookhaven Reporter, Coronavirus, Dunwoody Reporter, Top Stories | 0

DeKalb County is the latest jurisdiction to weigh in with a stay-at-home emergency order — including broad exceptions for exercise and certain kinds of business — during the coronavirus pandemic. The order takes effect at 9 p.m. on March 28 and continues until further notice. The order from DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond echoes many provisions of previous orders from Gov. Brian Kemp and the cities of Atlanta, Brookhaven and Dunwoody, but is not identical. The order says it applies to all individual residents, while only “strongly encouraging” non-essential businesses to cease most operations, and that visitors from elsewhere are...

An editor’s note on our pandemic coverage

by John Ruch | Mar 27, 2020 | Brookhaven Reporter, Buckhead Reporter, Commentary, Coronavirus, Dunwoody Reporter, Sandy Springs Reporter | 0

Dear Reporter readers, Like many of you, we at the Reporter are forced by this pandemic to work from home. Unlike some of you, we are at least still working. The shutdowns required to restrain the spread of the coronavirus are having a brutal impact on the local economy. We’re feeling your pain, too. The Reporter is a small, local business. We advertise other businesses. Our staff lives in the communities we cover, shopping locally and keeping money in the local economy. So we are all in this together. If you have a business to advertise, we’d appreciate your...