Clarkston, GA — The city of Clarkston held a town hall meeting on July 27 to hear public input about recent problems at city hall involving City Manager Shawanna Qawiy.  The meeting’s highlights included accusations, bizarre statements from the city manager’s brother about the racial purity of the city’s police chief, and the surprise resignation of […]

This story has been updated. Clarkston, GA — Clarkston City Manager Shawanna Qawiy, who has faced allegations of creating a toxic work environment and questions about how the city has awarded contracts, will keep her job through January, if not longer. City Councilmember Susan Hood, who was one of three votes in favor of taking action […]

DeKalb County, GA — On July 27, the DeKalb County District Attorney announced the indictment of Abdurrahim Jalal, 53, who is accused of blowing up an ATM at North DeKalb Mall back in March. “Abdurrahim Jalal, 53, was indicted Wednesday by a DeKalb County Grand Jury on charges of Use of a Destructive Device with Intent […]

Clarkston, GA — Earlier this month, Clarkston City Manager Shawanna Qawiy demoted Police Chief Christine Hudson and hired John Pearson as the city’s director of police services. There’s a problem, however. Pearson was never sworn in as a city officer and wasn’t on the city’s payroll, but was still issued a badge, gun, and city police […]

By Tim Darnell, Atlanta News First ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — A federal judge on Thursday ruled in favor of DeKalb County residents who were seeking to collect signatures for a referendum on the controversial Atlanta Public Safety Training Center. According to the Stop Cop City Vote Coalition, U.S. District Court Judge Mark Howard […]

DeKalb County, GA — Local police departments will be hosting national night out events on Aug. 1. The Avondale Estates Police Department will be hosting an event from 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 1, at the Town Green, located at 64 N. Avondale Road. The family-friendly event will kick off the start of the new […]

Avondale Estates, GA — Toll Brothers is building 33 townhomes in Avondale Estates and the project is near completion. The Avondale Estates City Commission, at its July 26 meeting, discussed the final plat and infrastructure for the project. The project is located at 3039 Wells Street. The city commission will vote at its next regular […]

Clarkston, GA — Nearly a week after Clarkston’s finance director raised questions about payment requests he received from City Manager Shawanna Qawiy, Clarkston’s City Council shows no signs that it plans to take any action or investigate the matter further. A new legal analysis by the city attorney obtained by Decaturish raises new questions about contracts […]

DeKalb County, GA — The Decide DeKalb Development Authority board on July 26 voted to assist The GLOBE Academy to secure a $25 million bond to purchase and upgrade a new lower campus. The GLOBE Academy is a dual language immersion charter school for kindergarten through eighth-grade students. Admission for DeKalb County students is via […]

There’s a Barbie inside of me. She is sometimes quiet. She is sometimes bold. I’ve always loved Barbie. As a child, she was my friend and my playmate. I didn’t have TikTok and 1,000 streaming channels. I had a doll with a dream house. She is the reason I love to tell stories, why I’m […]