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Jonathan Cribbs

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Intense budget cutting leads to green solutions

There might be a silver lining in the heavy budget cutting at the DeKalb County School System. Now, it seems, students might get a greener school district because it saves money. Amid several plans to cut more than $56 million from the school distric...

Legislators move forward with Decatur, Avondale annexation despite protests

A group of local residents, business owners and county and city officials packed an office near the State House on Feb. 1 to address before DeKalb County’s House delegation the proposed annexation of commercial land along College Avenue by the cities of Decatur and Avondale Estates.
A small tract of land along College Avenue came one big step closer to being annexed by Decatur and Avondale Estates this month. The DeKalb County delegation of state House members – a group of 20 legislators – granted approval on Feb. 1 to state...

Orlando developer to buy GM plant in Doraville

An Orlando development company plans to purchase the shuttered General Motors plant in Doraville to turn it into a large commercial and residential center. Details, including the 165-acre site’s sale price, remain under wraps, but the developer, Ne...

Federal program to pay for 200 locals to find ‘green’ jobs

Two hundred struggling DeKalb County residents could find themselves in new “green” jobs through a federal program. Goodwill Industries International will partner with DeKalb County to train south county residents for jobs in areas such as weathe...

Lewis chooses high school reporters for first interview about $15K raise

If you want to get DeKalb County schools chief Crawford Lewis’ defense of a recent $15,000 raise, looking in the local newspaper wouldn’t necessarily get you anywhere. Not unless you’re talking about Chamblee High School’s student newspaper. ...

Lawmakers renew Avondale Estates annexation efforts

A sign against annexation in on E. College Ave. in Avondale Estates
A state senator from Avondale Estates still hopes to annex a portion of unincorporated land west of the city’s gateway to clean up blighted areas and some businesses. State Rep. Stephanie Benfield said she plans to speak this month with DeKalb Coun...

Race for Johnson’s Congressional seat heats up

A crowded host of Democratic politicos announced this month their intentions to run against Rep. Hank Johnson, a month after the ailing Congressman announced he’s been struggling with Hepatitis C. Former DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones announced his...

Principal brainstorming leads to ‘FATHER-nonymous’ at Rock Chapel Elementary

Program designed to lure more father figures to students’ educational lives
Patrick S. Muhammad brainstormed the phrase “FATHER-nonymous.” It got about 50 men – fathers, grandfathers and neighbors among them – to come to Rock Chapel Elementary School last month for FATHER-nonymous: Known Fathers Dedicated to Taking T...

Sheriff introduces new sex offender monitoring programs

DeKalb County Sheriff Thomas Brown a group of local media how to use his office’s new sex offender tracking software. The public can access portions of it to track offenders living near them. Photo by Jonathan Cribbs
A projector screen showed an overhead, satellite photograph of a neighborhood somewhere in DeKalb County. A series of red dots spotted the top of a small cluster of trees. In the middle of the trees sat a basic, ranch-style home roughly 30 yards back...

Lewis: Serious budget trauma headed for the district

DeKalb County School System Superintendent Crawford Lewis predicts the school district will face a budget deficit next year of more than $50 million. Photos by Jonathan Cribbs
The DeKalb County School System is headed for serious budget trauma, Superintendent Crawford Lewis said this month. Over the last four years, the school district has slashed the budget by more than $10 million each year, and this year is no different...