Sunday, May 19, 2013
The live coverage is over, but replay the live blog to see what all the hype was about.
President Barack Obama gave the 129th commencement address speech on a wet and rainy Sunday afternoon, May 19th, at Morehouse College. Obama began his remarks to an excited yet wet crowd,most of whom had been seated as early as 6 am. at approximately 11:30 am. The sky opened just before the speech began, and the crowd was treated to a steady downpour throughout. Obama quipped that, “I would be out there with you, but the Secret Service gets nervous.” Obama was greeted with a big cheer when he emerged from a building adjacent to the stage with Morehouse College president John Silvanus Wilson, a former White House aide. The invocation was given by Rev. Raphael Warnock of Ebenezer Baptist Church, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous church. …
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
The June 3 meeting will be streamed live.
The DeKalb County School District (DCSD) budget hearing scheduled for 3 p.m. on May 15 has been postponed until 12 p.m. on June 3. The hearing will accompany a DeKalb County Board of Education committee of the whole. The Board of Education will meet at 6 p.m. on June 10 for a called meeting at which the tentative budget may be adopted. The final adoption of the budget and tentative millage rate hearing will take place at 6 p.m. on June 26. All meetings will be held in the J. David Williamson Board Room, Robert R. Freeman Administrative & Instructional Complex, 1701 Mountain Industrial Blvd., Stone Mountain. The meetings will be televised on PDS-TV24 and streamed live right here. The proposed DCSD budget can be accessed here. Community …
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Stone Mountain state Rep. Michelle Henson was one of several DeKalb Democrats who attended Monday night's legislative town hall meeting.
At a meeting that seemed to be designed to slow the on-rushing train of cityhood, Democrats in DeKalb’s legislative delegation urged residents to consider a variety of issues before deciding to incorporate. “You all have gotten our attention in a very substantial way; we hear you,” said state Sen. Jason Carter (D-42) told the several hundred people in attendance. “I’m not sold on the idea of creating new cities, but the fact that we have so many people here tonight is a good sign.” The meeting was held this past Monday at Clairmont Hills Baptist Church, and was hosted by state Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur). Oliver has been an outspoken opponent of the way that cities are created in Georgia, most recently during the debate over …
Thursday, May 2, 2013
The event is scheduled to take place at the Lou Walker Senior Center in Lithonia today.
Rep. Hank Johnson, whose district four includes Lithonia and Stone Mountain, is scheduled to visit the Lou Walker Senior Center today, May 2, where he'll honor 20 volunteers age 55 and up, according to his office. The 2013 Senior Corps Volunteer Recognition comes ahead of Senior Corps Week 2013, May 6-10. The press release states that the volunteers serve through one of three Senior Corps programs.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Board members and parents will gather at 6:30 p.m. in Stone Mountain.
The DeKalb County Board of Education will participate in a Meet and Greet with the public today, April 30 at 6:30 p.m. at Redan High School, 5247 Redan Road in Stone Mountain. An announcement Monday said the gathering is "in keeping with the State of Georgia's Open Meetings Act" and added, "while a quorum of Board members will be present, no action will be taken." The meeting is being hosted by the South DeKalb Parent Council.
Monday, April 29, 2013
In case you ride MARTA, read about their new security protocols.
Our friends at MARTA have just sent Cascade Patch a press release about the security changes that they are implementing after the deadly Boston Marathon bombings. According to the written statement by Cara Hodgson, MARTA is "heightening security on the transit system." Hodgson says that there are no imminent threats towards the transit system or its riders, but that they want to be proactive and take this opportunity to be even safer. MARTA is taking the following proactive measures: The MARTA Police Department (MPD) is working directly with federal, state and local agencies, including the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA) and the Transit Security Administration (TSA) in Washington, D. C. to stay updated on any recommendations …
Saturday, April 27, 2013
County commissioners have postponed a decision on changes to a maligned animal shelter.
DeKalb Commission actions indicate to me that some of the members' votes are totally selfishly political and they care not for the welfare of the animals. If they did, the "dog pound" would not still be a debacle. Only citizen pressure has brought them this far. Without that outside pressure, I doubt any movement toward a modern animal facility and adoption services would have even occurred to them. Lifeline was a very bright spot in the quest to improve the animal situation in DeKalb and I applaud the Commission and the CEO for approval of their contract - even after a long period of consideration. I have asked via one method or another that the CEO and Commission think about "killing two birds with one stone" (oops, maybe a bad …
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
The county's school district has a $728 million budget for the next fiscal year.
The DeKalb County School District will hold three public hearings on the district's estimated $728 million budget for the 2014 fiscal year. The hearings will be held at 6 p.m. on April 29 and May 8 at the district's headquarters at 1701 Mountain Industrial Boulevard in Stone Mountain. The third date will be announced at a later time. The hearings will be broadcast live on PDS-TV24 and on the DCSD website. The public is encouraged to share feedback by emailing budgetfeedback@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us From a press release by DeKalb County School District Will you be attending, or watching? How do you feel about the way the school district handles their finances? Tell us in the comments-
The breakfast, presented by DeKalb Commissioner Stan Watson, will take place May 4 at Chapel Hill Middle School in Decatur. Watson's Super District includes parts of Stone Mountain.
Keith Parker, general manager and CEO of MARTA, and Cedric Alexander, DeKalb's new police chief, will be among the guest speakers at commissioner Stan Watson's DeKalb Legislative Community Cabinet Breakfast on May 4, his office has announced. The breakfast, from 9-11 a.m., takes place at Chapel Hill Middle School, 3535 Dogwood Farms Rd., in unincorporated Decatur. Delores Crowell, regional director, AT&T external affairs, and Debra Moss, manager, customer relations at Atlanta Gas Light, are also scheduled guest speakers at the event. Watson's Super District 7 is in the eastern part of DeKalb and includes parts of Stone Mountain, Lithonia and Tucker.
Monday, April 22, 2013
The Georgia Dual Immersion Program supports advanced-level skills in world languages.
Rockbridge Elementary School in Stone Mountain is one of six schools in Georgia to be awarded a grant for materials and professional development in the 2013-2014 school year. The school is receiving a grant of $15,000 for start-up and training costs to implement dual-immersion instruction in French, a language deemed vital to the economic development of the state and region. “Based on what global companies in Georgia tell us, we have set a goal for Georgia to have twenty dual-immersion programs in place by 2020,” said State School Superintendent Dr. John Barge. “These programs will help ensure a Georgia workforce that is fluent in languages and skilled at cultural interactions that are necessary for the economic development of our state …
Terry
4:28 pm on Monday, May 20, 2013
If I remember correctly, Obama is half white, half black. It's a shame he is only proud of his African heritage. more ›