Top Stories Archives - Reporter Newspapers

Woman charged with nearly striking Brookhaven Police officer with car arrested in Las Vegas

by Dyana Bagby | Oct 15, 2019 | Brookhaven Reporter, Public Safety, Top Stories | 0

The woman charged with nearly striking a Brookhaven Police officer with her car while fleeing a Sept. 19 traffic stop has been arrested in Las Vegas. Essence Barkley, 24, of Brookhaven was arrested Oct. 14 by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. She eluded capture in Brookhaven on Sept. 19 after leading police on a 20-mile, high-speed chase and is wanted on various charges by police in Atlanta, Brookhaven and Chamblee. She now faces several other charges in Las Vegas. She will face those charges before being extradited to Georgia, according to a Brookhaven Police press release. In Brookhaven,...

Dunwoody slows pace on proposed law to add protections for cyclists, pedestrians

by Dyana Bagby | Oct 15, 2019 | Dunwoody Reporter, Top Stories | 0

Dunwoody City Council members pulled the levers Oct. 14 to slow the pace on passage of a proposed ordinance to add protections to cyclists and pedestrians beyond what state law requires. The council voted at 5-1 to wait until November before voting on the proposed “vulnerable road user” law. If approved, Dunwoody would become the first city in Georgia with a VRU. Councilmember Tom Lambert, sponsor of the legislation, voted against deferral because he wanted to vote Oct. 14. Councilmember Pam Tallmadge was absent. The law would mirror much of what the state law says when it comes to...

Sandy Springs gas leaks caused by contractors cutting lines, officials say

by John Ruch | Oct 14, 2019 | Public Safety, Sandy Springs Reporter, Top Stories | 0

A string of gas leaks that snarled some major streets in Sandy Springs over the last week was due to contractors accidentally cutting lines, officials say. The gas leaks included: Oct. 7: Hilderbrand Drive and Blue Stone Road Oct. 7: Dunwoody Place at Northridge Oct. 9: Boylston Drive at Mount Vernon Highway Oct. 14: Northridge Parkway and Dunwoody Place The Oct. 14 leak was caused by a contractor working on a Fulton County sewer line, according to the city. Officials could not immediately name the contractors and projects that caused the other leaks. Mekka Parish, a spokesperson for Atlanta...

I-285’s 50th anniversary marked in Perimeter Mall exhibit

by John Ruch | Oct 12, 2019 | Arts & Entertainment, Brookhaven Reporter, Buckhead Reporter, Dunwoody Reporter, Sandy Springs Reporter, Top Stories | 0

The I-285 highway’s official 50th birthday will be marked with a traveling history exhibit that debuts Oct. 13-19 at Dunwoody’s Perimeter Mall. Known as the Perimeter, the 64-mile-long beltway around Atlanta opened in sections in the 1960s. The final piece opened on Oct. 15, 1969. The highway underwent major expansions in the following decades. The Georgia Department of Transportation is currently rebuilding the I-285/Ga. 400 interchange in Perimeter Center and has controversial – and now delayed – plans to add toll lanes in another massive expansion. Organized by GDOT, the exhibit includes photos of I-285 in its debut and...

Early voting in Brookhaven, Dunwoody city elections starts Oct. 14; sample ballot available

by Dyana Bagby | Oct 11, 2019 | Brookhaven Reporter, Dunwoody Reporter, Politics, Top Stories | 0

Brookhaven and Dunwoody citizens are headed to the polls to elect new mayors and new council members and can cast a ballot before Election Day beginning Oct. 14. Early voting in both cities runs weekdays, Oct. 14 through Nov. 1, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. There is no voting on the weekends. Election Day is Nov. 5. In Brookhaven, early voting is at Briarwood Recreation Center, 2235 Briarwood Way. Dunwoody’s early voting is at the Dunwoody Library, 5339 Chamblee-Dunwoody Road. Read about the candidates in the Reporter’s Dunwoody Voters Guide and Brookhaven Voters Guide. The Reporter Newspapers is holding...

APS chief blasts tax breaks, defends job; gains Buckhead Council support

by John Ruch | Oct 11, 2019 | Buckhead Reporter, Education, Politics, Slideshow, Top Stories | 0

Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Meria Carstarphen renewed her blistering criticisms of tax breaks on luxury developments — while acknowledging such stances may have cost her the job — at an Oct. 10 meeting where the Buckhead Council of Neighborhoods agreed to join her advocacy. Carstarphen’s Buckhead appearance came a month after the Atlanta Board of Education controversially and still somewhat mysteriously said it had decided not to extend her contract. That makes for an awkward situation where she has about eight more months to serve under her current contract and is actively stumping for the board to reverse its decision....

Trump impeachment protesters face off at U.S. Rep. McBath’s Sandy Springs office

by Dyana Bagby | Oct 9, 2019 | Brookhaven Reporter, Dunwoody Reporter, Politics, Sandy Springs Reporter, Slideshow, Top Stories | 0

The war in Washington over the House-led impeachment investigation into President Trump came to Sandy Springs on Oct. 9 as protesters converged on U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath’s office for the second time in a week. McBath voted last month to begin an impeachment inquiry into the president, making her a target of the Republican National Committee’s new “Stop the Madness” campaign. Local Democrats want to make sure the RNC knows McBath has support in the 6th Congressional District and organized their own rally as a counter-protest. McBath bashed the RNC and the “Stop the Madness Atlanta” protest in a...

Toll lanes construction delayed by years; some free I-285 lanes coming sooner

by John Ruch | Oct 8, 2019 | Brookhaven Reporter, Buckhead Reporter, Dunwoody Reporter, Sandy Springs Reporter, Top Stories | 0

Toll lanes on Ga. 400 and top-end I-285 will come one to four years later than expected – opening between 2027 and 2032 — in a newly revised construction schedule. But some parts will be built sooner than that — including new, non-toll lanes on I-285 — and the overall $11 billion project and public input process remains unchanged. The Georgia Department of Transportation says the changes came from construction industry input on the scale of the work and better phasing to allow time and attract bidders to smaller-sized pieces of the project. GDOT spokesperson Scott Higley and project...

Emory breaks ground on new facility as part of planned $1B redevelopment of Executive Park

by Dyana Bagby | Oct 8, 2019 | Brookhaven Reporter, Top Stories | 0

Emory Healthcare’s new Musculoskeletal Institute is expected to be finished in 2021 as part of the first phase of a planned multi-year project to work to transform the outdated office complex into a $1 billion contemporary “live-work-play health innovation district.” Emory and Brookhaven officials held a ceremonial groundbreaking for the new building Oct. 4. The approximately 180,000-square-foot facility is to serve as Emory’s central location for musculoskeletal services and research on bones and muscles. No start date for actual construction to begin is know, but the building is expected to be finished in 2021. The institute is the beginning...

Worker killed on 285/400 project fell from overpass, police say

by Hannah Greco | Oct 8, 2019 | Brookhaven Reporter, Buckhead Reporter, Dunwoody Reporter, Public Safety, Sandy Springs Reporter, Top Stories | 0

The worker killed on the I-285/Ga. 400 interchange reconstruction project Oct. 3 fell from a portion of a new overpass, according to Sandy Springs Deputy Chief of Police Keith Zgonc. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which governs employee safety issues, is investigating the incident and cannot comment on details, said Eric Lucero, a spokesperson for OSHA’s Southeastern regional office. The name of the worker has not been released. The worker was an employee of a contractor, not of the Georgia Department of Transportation, according to GDOT Communications Director Scott Higley. GDOT’s “Transform 285/400” project is reconstructing the highway...

City Springs bricks and seats now available for naming

by Hannah Greco | Oct 8, 2019 | Making a Difference, Sandy Springs Reporter, Top Stories | 0

People and groups can now have their names and messages engraved on a brick outside of City Springs or on a seat inside its Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center. The $300 bricks and $1,000 seats – or $1,200 for a combo donation – are available on the City Springs website here. Both programs allow donors to personalize a brick or seat with a personal name or brief message, subject to city approval. About 1,500 bricks are available for engraving and will be installed along a prominent pathway in front of the curving fountains on the west side of City...

Police seek vehicle stolen in Buckhead carjacking

by John Ruch | Oct 7, 2019 | Buckhead Reporter, Public Safety, Top Stories | 0

A midnight carjacking on Oct. 7 in Buckhead has police seeking the SUV stolen from the victim. According to the Atlanta Police Department, the victim was sitting in his parked Range Rover at 308 Pharr Road when three people approached him. One of the people pointed a firearm at him and demanded the vehicle. The victim left the vehicle, and the suspects were last seen driving it on Pharr toward Peachtree Road. The vehicle is described as a white 2014 Range Rover RRV with Georgia license plate number RJV4694. Anyone with information about the incident can contact police at...