(APN) ATLANTA — Brian Westlake, a high school teacher who ran in 2010 for the Democratic nomination for Georgia School Superintendent, is challenging State Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur) for the House District 82 seat. Westlake, who is an advocate for public education, takes issue with State Rep. Oliver’s support of Gov. Nathan Deal’s proposed Opportunity School District (OSD), […]
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With additional reporting by Barbara Payne. (APN) ATLANTA — Voter referenda for proposed cities of LaVista Hills and Tucker, both in north DeKalb County, are moving forward to be on the November 2015 ballot, despite a conflict between the proposed maps for LaVista Hills and City of Atlanta annexation of Druid Hills neighborhood. City of Atlanta annexation efforts […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — Yesterday, Thursday, March 26, 2015, the House Judiciary Civil Committee voted to amend SB 129, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) bill, to expressly state that eradicating discrimination is a compelling government interest, thus prohibiting religious freedom being used as a justification for discrimination. LGBTQI equality advocates celebrated the amendment, introduced by State Rep. Mike Jacobs […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — Three proposed cityhood referenda bills–Tucker, La Vista Hills, and South Fulton–are zooming through the General Assembly. All three bills have passed the Georgia House in advance of last Friday’s Crossover Day, which was March 13, 2015, and are up for consideration by the Georgia Senate. The cityhood bills were introduced on Monday, March 02, 2015; passed […]
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(APN) ATLANTA – The House Governmental Affairs subcommittee of the Georgia Legislature voted on Friday, December 19, 2014, on the boundary lines between the proposed new cities of Tucker and LaVista Hills. I-285 is roughly the dividing line, with some of the neighborhoods north of Northlake in LaVista Hills, and a smaller area south of Northlake in Tucker. Chairman Rep. […]
Read moreBy Gloria Tatum and Barbara Payne (APN) ATLANTA — It seems the prize of 23,000 North DeKalb County residents and the lucrative Northlake commercial district is still up for grabs. The cityhood effort that comprised the former proposed cities of Briarcliff and Lakeside, now merged as LaVista Hills, could not resolve the proposed boundary lines with the proposed city of […]
Read more(APN) DEKALB COUNTY — State Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Dekalb County) hosted a town hall meeting on Monday, May 06, 2013, at the Clairmont Hills Baptist Church to discuss a variety of cityhood proposals involving DeKalb County. Numerous legislators from the Dekalb County Delegation attended including State Sens. Jason Carter (D) and Fran Millar (R), as well as […]
Read more(APN) ATLANTA — Just over a year since the Board of Commissioners of Fulton County rejected pay-to-play reform, and just a few months since Mayor Kasim Reed bashed the notion of pay-to-play reform during remarks before the City Council of Atlanta, Common Cause Georgia and its ethics reform partners have made great strides in gaining support for pay-to-play reform, both […]
Read more(APN) ATLANTA — HB 949, a bill that would slightly reduce the number of petition signatures required by an independent or third party candidate running for office in Georgia, has passed the Georgia House Committee on Governmental Affairs. While the bill would not change the percentages required for independent and third party candidates running for office statewide or locally–that […]
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