Tuesday, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced the following key appointments to her administration. Chief Financial Officer – Mohamed Balla (Effective July 7, 2021) Mohamed Balla most recently served as Deputy Commissioner of the Office of Financial Administration. In that role, Mr. Balla led the Department’s financial functions including financial planning & analysis, budgeting & reporting, capital […]
Posted inMoney
Metro Atlanta entrepreneur owns the largest Black-owned nightlife chain
Atlanta-based entrepreneur Dennis McKinley is the owner of Cru Hemp Lounge, which is now the largest black-owned nightlife chain and largest hookah lounge chain in the United States Cru holds locations in Atlanta, Georgia (in Lilburn, Edgewood, Peter Street and Midtown); Houston, Texas; and Charlotte, North Carolina. “CRU Hemp Lounge, which was created over 10 […]
Posted inMore Headlines
Victor Hill’s lawyer blasts leak of report
The attorney for a Georgia sheriff charged with federal civil rights violations on Sunday blasted the public release of a review panel’s report urging the governor to suspend the sheriff from office. Attorney Drew Findling told reporters the three-page report leaked to news outlets “poisons a potential jury pool” that will eventually hear the charges […]
Posted inHawks
Young scores 35, Hawks top Embiid, Sixers 128-124 in Game 1
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Trae Young put an early smackdown on Philly that had the Hawks in control of Game 1 and finished the win with a lob to John Collins for a one-handed jam. Collins punched the air in celebration — and the Hawks took a moment to exhale after a hefty lead was nearly […]
Posted inElection Central
New audio of 2019 phone call reveals how Giuliani pressured Ukraine to investigate baseless Biden conspiracies
Never-before-heard audio, obtained exclusively by CNN, shows how former President Donald Trump’s longtime adviser Rudy Giuliani relentlessly pressured and coaxed the Ukrainian government in 2019 to investigate baseless conspiracies about then-candidate Joe Biden. The audio is of a July 2019 phone call between Giuliani, US diplomat Kurt Volker, and Andriy Yermak, a senior adviser to […]
Posted inElection Central
‘A lot of anxiety’ for Democrats as Biden agenda stalls
Hopes for a big infrastructure investment are teetering. An ambitious elections and voting bill is all but dead. Legislation on police brutality, gun control and immigration has stalled out. After six months of Democratic control in Washington, the party’s progressive wing is growing increasingly restless as campaign promises go undone — blocked not only by […]
Posted inFeatured Stories
A ‘Covid crime wave’ is one reason Buckhead residents want to break away from Atlanta
In Atlanta’s well-to-do community of Buckhead, the debate over becoming an independent city has been brewing off and on for decades. Now, amid a spike in crime, calls to split from the capital have grown louder than ever. “We filed for divorce and our divorce is final,” said Bill White, chairman and CEO of the […]
Posted inElection Central
Trump to GOP: Support candidates who ‘stand for our values’
Donald Trump on Saturday pushed Republicans to support candidates who are loyal to him in next year’s midterm elections as the former president launched a new more active phase of his post presidency. Trump, 74, teased the prospect of another presidential bid of his own in 2024, but vowed first to be an active presence […]
Posted inFood
DeKalb County Board of Health partners with community organizations to expand Healthy Bucks Voucher Program
Starting this Monday, the DeKalb County Board of Health is partnering with three community organizations to provide farmers market vouchers through the Healthy Bucks voucher program – the Diabetes “You Can Win” Foundation, Inc., Lithonia Head Start, and the Ruby A. Neeson Diabetes Awareness Foundation, Inc. Healthy Bucks, modeled after a similar program in New […]
Posted inMore Headlines
Judge grants prosecutor’s recusal request from police case
A judge on Friday granted a request from the district attorney in Atlanta to recuse her office from prosecuting the police officer who fatally shot Rayshard Brooks and instructed the state attorney general to appoint another prosecutor. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who took office in January, had argued that actions by her predecessor, […]
Posted inEducation
YMCA on MLK receives award from Atlanta Urban Design Commission
The YMCA of Metro Atlanta received an Award of Excellence at the 2021 Atlanta Urban Design Commission (UDC) Design Awards in the contextual infill category for its design of the Y’s Leadership and Learning Center on May 28th. The Award of Excellence recognizes physical projects, programs and people located in the city of Atlanta that […]
Posted inEntertainment
Tom Hanks says movies and TV shows must ‘portray the burden of racism’
Award-winning actor Tom Hanks has urged filmmakers to tackle racism more often, suggesting that Black history and the societal impact of racism is underrepresented in the entertainment industry and the American education system. In an op-ed for the New York Times Friday, days after the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa race massacre, Hanks wrote that […]
Posted inHawks
Capela is backbone of Hawks — and quite a trash talker, too
If Trae Young is the unquestioned star of the Atlanta Hawks, then Clint Capela is the backbone. A pretty good trash talker, too. The burly, 6-foot-10 Swiss center has given the Hawks the gritty defensive presence they so desperately needed. Without Capela, it’s hard to envision Atlanta preparing for its first appearance in the Eastern […]
Posted inElection Central
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez backs Maya Wiley for New York City mayor
New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorsed civil rights lawyer Maya Wiley on Saturday in the race for New York City mayor, a sign of growing progressive momentum behind Wiley’s campaign with less than three weeks until the June 22 Democratic primary. Wiley now has the support of two of the state’s highest profile members of […]
Posted inElection Central
Georgia Republicans pass resolution that censures Sec. of State Brad Raffensperger
Saturday afternoon at Jekyll Island, Georgia Republicans passed a resolution to censure Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger because he defended the state’s election process and refused to take up former President Donald J. Trump’s grievances regarding the 2020 Presidential Election. In the resolution, it claims Raffensperger and current Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan “denied that there […]