In the midst of an environmental PR disaster, BioLab is quickly becoming a household name in America for all the wrong reasons, but I and other Conyers residents have long been familiar with the environmental hazards at the company. I’ve lived in Conyers for nearly 20 years, and for the past eight I’ve known of […]
Public Safety
Posted inPublic Safety
Atlanta Public Safety Groups to Join First Crime Survivors March on Washington
A near-death experience helped Aswad Thomas understand the connection between those who enact violence and their victims — and the many ways America is failing both. “There’s this false dichotomy that victims and quote-unquote perpetrators are different. No, we’re often in the same household,” Thomas said earlier this month, during a southwest Atlanta event for […]
Posted inEducation, Public Safety
Father of Suspected Apalachee High School Shooter Arrested as Atlanta Parents React
The father of the 14-year-old boy accused of opening fire at Apalachee High School in Winder and killing four people on Wednesday was arrested Thursday and charged with murder for allegedly allowing his son to possess a gun. Colin Gray, 54, has been charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder, […]
Posted inEducation, Public Safety
4 Killed in Apalachee Shooting; Local Atlanta School Districts Boost Safety Measures
Local school districts in Atlanta say they are preparing for the days ahead with heightened security after a deadly shooting at a Georgia high school 45 miles outside of Atlanta left four dead and nine injured Tuesday morning. A 14-year-old student has been identified as the shooter at Apalachee High School in Barrow County, according […]
Posted inHousing, Public Safety
‘You Are A Slumlord!’: Fairburn & Gordon Tenants Clash With Owners
Cherry Gary didn’t mince words Wednesday morning during a tense Municipal Court of Atlanta confrontation with one of her landlords. “You are a slumlord! … And everything y’all have needs to crumble!” Gary told Behzad “Ben” Beroukhai, one of the co-owners of A&B Apartments LLC, the parent company of the troubled Fairburn & Gordon I […]
Posted inPublic Safety
Should I Call 311 or 911?
Atlanta’s E911 system has faced public scrutiny in recent years for long wait times, but dialing 911 is still the quickest way to get the police or fire department dispatched to your location. While hiring more dispatchers is one part of the solution, the city has also said that non-emergency calls coming to 911 contributed […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Public Safety
Know Before You Vote: Duties of the Fulton County Sheriff
The Fulton County sheriff’s position is up for election this year in November. In a deep-blue county like Fulton, where President Joe Biden got more than 70% of votes in 2020, the race to watch this year may not be November’s general election, but instead the May 12 Democratic primary – for sheriff. The incumbent, […]
Posted inPublic Safety
AUC Students React to Jacksonville Mass Shooting, Local Bomb Threat
The past few days have been tense on HBCU campuses amid violent threats and increasing concerns about racist attacks. A white supremacist shot and killed three Black people at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday — but he was first seen putting on a tactical vest on the campus of a nearby […]
Posted inPublic Safety
CSX Officials Offer Limited Solutions to Idling Trains in Hunter Hills
Idling trains that block streets and walkways in Atlanta’s Hunter Hills neighborhood for several hours are “inexcusable,” railroad officials from CSX Transportation told residents in a community meeting Wednesday night. But shorter blockages that have obstructed motorists, school children, and emergency vehicles may be unavoidable right now, they said. The railroad officials said government intervention […]
Posted inPublic Safety
Atlanta’s ‘Broken Promises’: $67M for Cop City, Violence Prevention Left Behind
This story was published in partnership with The Trace. In December 2021, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms sent a news release announcing the formation of the city’s first-ever Office of Violence Reduction. The office was to be charged with coordinating efforts between community-led violence intervention programs and dispersing some $5 million in grants to organizations […]