Category: Top Stories

City of Brookhaven pays off all overdue Georgia Power bills for residents, businesses

City of Brookhaven pays off all overdue Georgia Power bills for residents, businesses

by | Oct 21, 2020 | , , | 0

The city of Brookhaven says it has paid off overdue electric bills of more than 2,500 residents and businesses with over $777,000 in federal pandemic relief funds. The credit was already applied to bills of all Georgia Power customers within the city that were more than 30 days overdue and dated between March and Oct. 16. The 2,446 residential accounts and 110 business accounts were identified without an application process or verification that they were unpaid due to the pandemic’s economic impacts, according to city spokesperson Burke Brennan. To settle the overdue bills, the city spent $777,616 of its...

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Buckhead kidnapping-robbery suspect may have committed Sandy Springs crime; police release sketch

Buckhead kidnapping-robbery suspect may have committed Sandy Springs crime; police release sketch

by | Oct 21, 2020 | , , , | 0

The Atlanta Police Department has issued a sketch of a suspect in two Buckhead kidnappings and robberies who may also be responsible for a similar incident in Sandy Springs. Two women were kidnapped and robbed in Buckhead last month in separate crimes that may have been committed by the same suspect — a man who entered their vehicles, forced them to withdraw cash from a bank, and threatened their lives if they called police. The Sandy Springs Police Department is “investigating a kidnapping with a very similar m.o.,” said SSPD spokesperson Sgt. Salvador Ortega. “Our detectives are working with...

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Atlanta City Council to consider short-term rental registration; passes ‘party house’ ban

Atlanta City Council to consider short-term rental registration; passes ‘party house’ ban

by | Oct 21, 2020 | , , , | 0

The Atlanta City Council will consider establishing a system to register and tax short-term home rentals via legislation filed Oct. 19, the same day the council approved a ban on “party house” operations in residential areas. The flurry of short-term rental legislation after years of stalled proposals follows yet another idea still in council committee consideration. Last month, City Councilmember Howard Shook of Buckhead’s District 7 filed legislation seeking to ban short-term rentals in all single-family neighborhoods, a proposal that seems unlikely to pass but has sparked discussions. Shook — who is a neighbor of one of Buckhead’s currently...

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Oct. 20 Atlanta/Sandy Springs COVID-19 report: 295 more diagnoses; 14-day trend rises

Oct. 20 Atlanta/Sandy Springs COVID-19 report: 295 more diagnoses; 14-day trend rises

by | Oct 20, 2020 | , , , , | 0

The cities of Atlanta and Sandy Springs together saw 295 new COVID-19 diagnoses between Oct. 16 and Oct. 20 update reports from the Fulton County Board of Health. The number of cases increased in all of the main local ZIP codes. The 14-day trend increased in both cities and in all but one of the ZIP codes. As of Oct. 20, the part of Atlanta within Fulton County had 13,215 COVID-19 diagnoses, up from 12,955 on Oct. 16. Sandy Springs had 2,730 diagnoses, up from 2,695. Atlanta remained the number one city in the county for COVID-19 diagnoses at...

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Dunwoody Charter Commission recommends electing City Council, but not mayor, by less than a majority

Dunwoody Charter Commission recommends electing City Council, but not mayor, by less than a majority

by | Oct 20, 2020 | , , | 0

Dunwoody City Council candidates could be elected with less than a majority of the vote under a recommendation from the city’s Charter Commission, which rejected a similar proposal for mayoral candidates. Currently, candidates for mayor and City Council must receive a majority of the votes — 50% plus one — to win the office. If no candidate wins the majority, a runoff election is held. The Charter Commission recently recommended a legal change that would allow City Council candidates to win with a 45% plurality of the vote. At an Oct. 19 meeting, the commission rejected a similar change...

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City of Dunwoody proposes 4% budget cut for 2021; property tax unchanged for now

City of Dunwoody proposes 4% budget cut for 2021; property tax unchanged for now

by | Oct 20, 2020 | , , , | 0

The city of Dunwoody proposes reducing its 2021 budget by about 4% due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic impacts. The city proposes keeping the property tax rate the same for now, but says that might have to change if revenue troubles continue. The current property tax millage rate is 1.74 for homestead properties and 2.74 for other properties. “While having this low a tax rate has been a matter of pride for many years, the city must revisit this decision, especially in light of reductions in businesses licenses, commercial property values and hotel/motel taxes,” a city memo reads. The...

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Fundraising for Buckhead’s highway-capping HUB404 park will resume

Fundraising for Buckhead’s highway-capping HUB404 park will resume

by | Oct 19, 2020 | , , | 0

A fundraising campaign for “HUB404 Atlanta GA,” a proposed park capping Ga. 400 in central Buckhead, will resume after the recent pandemic-related pause, according to the treasurer of the group planning it. “COVID put everything on the back burner,” said Jim Durrett, treasurer of the HUB404 Conservancy, at an Oct. 19 meeting of the Rotary Club of Buckhead. But, he said, the Conservancy board met last week “and decided now is the time for us to come out of hibernation and yawn and stretch.” He did not give a new timeline for the fundraising. Durrett said the pandemic shutdowns...

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Police seek suspect in Buckhead kidnappings-robberies

Police seek suspect in Buckhead kidnappings-robberies

by | Oct 19, 2020 | , , | 0

Two women were kidnapped and robbed in Buckhead last month in separate crimes that may have been committed by the same suspect — a man who entered their cars, forced them to withdraw cash from a bank, and threatened their lives if they called police. The Atlanta Police Department is seeking the suspect, who is described as a Black man with an Afro and shown in surveillance video as wearing a T-shirt, pants and ball cap, all dark in color. He gave his name as “Robert” to one victim. Both crimes happened within several hundred feet of each other...

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Breaking down Georgia’s health coverage plan after Medicaid waiver is granted

Breaking down Georgia’s health coverage plan after Medicaid waiver is granted

by | Oct 17, 2020 | , , , , , | 0

Federal health officials gave formal approval Oct. 15 to Gov. Brian Kemp’s request for a waiver to expand health coverage options for low-income Georgians. States have to seek federal permission for changes in certain healthcare programs, and Gov. Kemp submitted two proposals for federal waivers several months ago. The plan under the newly granted Medicaid waiver is called Pathways, and it would increase eligibility for uninsured single adults with incomes up to 100% of poverty, about $12,000 annually. There are strict eligibility rules, called  “qualifying activities,’’ where an individual must fulfill at least one. These include working at least...

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Gunshots fired inside Buckhead’s Lenox Square mall during robbery attempt; suspects and victim arrested

Gunshots fired inside Buckhead’s Lenox Square mall during robbery attempt; suspects and victim arrested

by | Oct 17, 2020 | , , | 0

The victim of an alleged attempted robbery inside Buckhead’s Lenox Square mall Oct. 16 fired a gun at his attackers, then was arrested himself on a warrant and other charges, according to the Atlanta Police Department. Two robbery suspects also were arrested. According to APD, the incident happened around 4:45 p.m. within the Neiman Marcus department store in the mall at 3393 Peachtree Road. Treonta Deon Williams, 30, told officers that, as he was checking out at a cash register, four males attacked him and attempted to steal his bag. Williams drew a firearm and fired shots at the...

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From lemons to butterflies: Dunwoody’s Spruill Gallery unveils new mural

From lemons to butterflies: Dunwoody’s Spruill Gallery unveils new mural

by | Oct 16, 2020 | , , , | 0

Lemons transitioning into monarch butterflies adorn the smokehouse at Dunwoody’s Spruill Center for the Arts Gallery as the first mural in what is planned as an annually rotating exhibit. Christopher Michaels’ “Find Your Wings” was unveiled Oct. 10 at the gallery at 4681 Ashford-Dunwoody Road. It replaces the famous “Everything Will Be OK” mural, which will find a permanent home at Brook Run Park. “Find Your Wings” is a personal piece for Michaels and his wife Amanda. It refers to her recovery from devastating injuries suffered when a driver hit her in a crosswalk as she left one of...

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Oct. 16 Atlanta/Sandy Springs COVID-19 report: 202 more diagnoses; 14-day trend rises

Oct. 16 Atlanta/Sandy Springs COVID-19 report: 202 more diagnoses; 14-day trend rises

by | Oct 16, 2020 | , , , , | 0

The cities of Atlanta and Sandy Springs together saw 202 new COVID-19 diagnoses between Oct. 13 and Oct. 16 update reports from the Fulton County Board of Health. The number of cases increased in all of the main local ZIP codes. The 14-day trend increased in both cities and in all but one of the ZIP codes. As of Oct. 16, the part of Atlanta within Fulton County had 12,955 COVID-19 diagnoses, up from 12,795 on Oct. 13. Sandy Springs had 2,695 diagnoses, up from 2,653. Atlanta remained the number one city in the county for COVID-19 diagnoses at...

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