The Cobb County School District has hired Cumberland-based Freeman Mathis & Gary to represent the district in an ongoing federal lawsuit over its school board district map passed by the General Assembly last year.
The lawsuit was first filed in the Northern District of Georgia in June by a coalition of civil rights and left-leaning groups, alongside several Cobb parents, alleging the map disenfranchised voters of color.
The map redrawing the boundaries of the seven-member board was supported by its Republicans, who hold a 4-3 majority.
Echoing arguments made by Democratic lawmakers while the map was fiercely debated at the Capitol, the lawsuit accused the maps of “intentionally discriminating against communities of color, particularly Black and Latinx voters, by ‘packing’ them into a small number of districts to dilute their voting power.”
The filers of the lawsuit asked the court to declare Districts 2, 3 and 6 — held by the board’s three Democrats — unconstitutional and direct the state to come up with a new map. The legal challenge of the maps was made on behalf of several groups, including the League of Women Voters of Marietta-Cobb, the New Georgia Project Action Fund and the Georgia NAACP, along with several Cobb parents, according to the initial filing.
The plaintiffs are represented by the Southern Poverty Law Center, American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia, Southern Coalition for Social Justice, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and the law firm Schulte, Roth & Zabel LLP.
Thousands of fans flocked to The Battery Atlanta and Truist Park on Saturday to attend the return of Braves Fest.
After a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the festival featured a wide variety of family-friendly events including on-field activities, interactive experiences, baseball clinics and live entertainment.
The free event allowed fans to interact with Braves players and coaches while also sharing their excitement for the upcoming season.
Infielder Vaughn Grissom, All-Star outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. and strikeout pitcher Spencer Strider were among the many Braves players who attended the festival.
Grissom said Saturday’s Braves Fest was his first, adding that he enjoyed spending quality time with his fans.
One of the events, “Bowl with the Braves,” allowed fans to bowl a frame and nail a strike alongside players at Punch Bowl Social. Festival-goers also had the opportunity to sit at the Bally Sports South broadcast desk and snap a picture.
Walton repeated as boys’ team champion in the Cobb County Swimming and Diving Championships at Mountain View Aquatic Center on Saturday.
The Raiders won their second straight county title and fourth in five years in decisive fashion, scoring 1,215 points to place far ahead of runner-up Lassiter. Harrison was third, followed by Kennesaw Mountain and Allatoona to complete the awards platform. Walton was also dominant in the individual and medley events, winning seven of the 12 finals.
The Raiders swept the relay events. The quartet of Sonny Panessa, Jacob Linartas, Liam Long and Jesse Franks won the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1 minute, 40.02 seconds, while the foursome of Griffin Lovett, Charles Barry, William Iglar and Franks won the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:27.76 and the team of Theodore Thomas, Daniel Cushing, Panessa and Long were the winners of the 400 free relay at 3:08.19.
The Walton girls continued their dominance of county swimming as they won their sixth consecutive girls’ team title in the Cobb County Championships at Mountain View Aquatic Complex on Saturday.
Walton scored 1,046 points to edge out runner-up Lassiter. Third-place Pope, was followed by Wheeler and Harrison on the podium. While Walton won the team title, Lassiter dominated the individual and relay events – winning eight of the 12 finals.
Elizabeth Tilt helped lead the way for Lassiter as she won two events – the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 50.13 seconds and the 200 freestyle at 1 minute, 48.23 seconds.
Finnly Jollands also won two events for the Trojans – winning the 50 freestyle with a time of 24.08 and the 100 backstroke in 56.91.
Cold weather and cloudy skies Saturday morning did not stop hundreds of people from gathering at the Marietta Square Farmers Market to purchase fresh fruits, veggies, kitchen staples and more.
The farmers market, located just off Mill Street, operates year-round and has an average of 54 vendors every Saturday.
From handcrafted spices and raw honey to homemade empanadas and fresh bread, farmers market customers can chose from a variety of fresh products that aren’t offered at local supermarkets.
Many stopped at the Georgia Peach Truck booth, which offered a cornucopia of fresh apples and citrus fruits. Mirhi Sirmon, who was running the fruit stand Saturday morning, said she’s been with the Atlanta-based company for over 10 years and enjoys coming the Marietta Square Farmers Market.
Sirmon said they only sell peaches in the summer but still offer seasonal fruits year-round. Sirmon added that the growing popularity of Georgia Peach Trucks has allowed for business to prosper even in the winter. And it seems celebrities are also fans of the fruit stand — Sirmon said she sold a bag of Pink Ladies apples last year to Alton Brown, a Marietta resident known for his culinary shows on Food Network and Netflix. Stephanie Coston, Director of Operations at the Historic Marietta Branding Project, said the Marietta Square Farmers Market has been going on for about six years. Coston said she and her husband go to the market every Saturday morning. The Marietta Square Farmers Market is open 9 a.m. to noon every Saturday year-round at 41 Mill St. in Marietta. For more information, visit mariettasquarefarmersmarket.com.
There’s the annual State of the Union address delivered by the president. Georgia governors give State of the State speeches, and in Cobb County, county chairs and mayors have annual speeches focused on their respective jurisdictions.
Thursday night, Austell Police Chief Scott Hamilton, just five months into his tenure, localized the practice even more with a “State of the Police” address.
Before a crowd of about 75 people at Austell First United Methodist Church, the chief presented his vision of the department going forward, and painted a picture of sweeping changes he’s already implemented. Hamilton was hired in August as the city’s first Black police chief. A former deputy chief for the Cobb County Police Department, he spent 27 years working for the county, the only department he had ever known. Hamilton’s predecessor was Bob Starrett, who left amid a Georgia Bureau of Investigation probe into paperwork discrepancies in the department’s K-9 unit.
The investigation was closed last summer, but the GBI this month said the case had been reopened, “based on additional elements of the investigation that needed to be clarified.” Hamilton said he didn’t know where the investigation stood, other than what had been reported in the news recently.
In his address, Hamilton emphasized modernizing the department’s equipment and internal processes, improving community relations and increasing its visibility on the streets of Austell.
A new science, technology, engineering, arts and math lab has opened at Marietta Sixth Grade Academy.
The Home Depot built the school’s STEAM lab, which math teacher Amy Miller said will offer students an array of educational opportunities, including working with robotics and drone technology.
Miller said it had been challenging for teachers to implement the full STEAM curriculum in their classrooms before the lab.
The Home Depot completed the weeklong makeover of the room, which is accentuated by the company’s signature orange throughout.
MSGA student Simon Johnson said he is excited about what the lab has to offer him and his fellow students, noting the space could be used for after school clubs. Grant Rivera, the superintendent of Marietta City Schools, thanked Home Depot for its help. He then turned to the students and told them to look at the room full of teachers, parents, volunteers and representatives of various companies who had a hand in building the lab.
#CobbCounty #Georgia #LocalNews
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