About Buckhead reporter. (Sandy Springs, GA) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 2, 2020)
BH 2 | Community Facebook.com/TheReporterNewspapers ■ twitter.com/Reporter_News ^Community Briefs ROBBER WITH RIFLE STEALS $500 FROM MAN AT SHOPPING CENTER A rifle-carrying robber stole $500 in cash and other items from a man using an ATM at a local shopping center on Dec. 17, according to an Atlanta Police re port. The victim, a Buclchead resident, re ported that he and his wife arrived by ve hicle around 7:15 p.m. at the Peachtree Battle Shopping Center at 2333-2365 Peachtree Road in Peachtree Hills. He withdrew $500 from a Bank of America ATM. When he was returning to the ve hicle, a male approached him with “what appeared to be a black semi-automatic ri fle,” according to the police report. The robber said, “Give me your cash.” After taking the $500, the robber also took the victim’s phone and debit card with PIN number, according to the police report. The suspect left the shopping cen ter and headed south on Peachtree Road. The report says that police officers notified the Loudermillc Video Integra tion Center, the hub of the police de partment’s network of thousands of vid eo and license-plate reader surveillance cameras. The center “was unable to pro vide any footage of the incident or sus pect,” according to the police report. Anyone with information can contact police at crimestoppersatl.org. MAYOR CALLS FOR SHIELDING RECORDS OF LOW-LEVEL MARIJUANA OFFENSES Mayor Keisha Lance bottoms is order ing that records of minor marijuana pos session charges be restricted from em ployers’ background checks and other “public view.” Her administrative order, issued Dec. 16, includes offenses of possession of 1 ounce or less of marijuana. It also covers offenses under a law repealed 12 years ago that criminalized being in the area of illegal drug sales with the intent to use them. The order calls for restricting the re cords of such offenses to only “law en forcement for criminal justice purposes,” according to a city press release. “The fact remains that communities of color are disproportionately affect ed by the lingering stigma of victimless, minor offenses — even long after the ac cused have paid their debts,” said Bot toms in the press release. “This outmod ed practice deprives our communities and workforce of brilliant and promis ing minds, all because of an unfair jus tice system that can and will be course- corrected.” The order calls for a process for re stricting the offenses to be in place by Feb. 1. The officials directed to coordi nate the plan include the chief operat ing office, the city attorney, the city solic itor and the chief judge of the Municipal Court of Atlanta. FIRE RESCUE DEPARTMENT TO GET PAY BOOST, MAYOR ANNOUNCES Atlanta Fire Rescue Department per sonnel will get pay raises in a $15.6 mil lion plan announced Dec. 11 by Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, a response to con cerns about hiring and retention. The raises will be spread over the next three-and-half years, according to a city press release. The city press office says that, in combination with 3.1% raises from the last two budgets, the total will amount to a 25% increase in base pay for firefighters. The money will come from “a com bination of budget reprioritization, re purposing of one-time items and base line revenues,” the press release said. The raises will appear in paychecks Jan. 31, backdated to Jan. 1. The effort followed a study commis sioned by the Atlanta Fire Rescue Foun dation and concerns that other nearby departments were offering better pay. “As first responders, Atlanta’s fire fighters are on the front lines of dan ger each and every day,” Bottoms said in the press release. “When an indepen dent study confirmed they were under paid, it was this administration’s duty to respond in the urgent and meaningful manner they deserve. With this signifi cant investment, our compensation will be competitive to support and enhance AFRD’s recruitment and retention rates.” Department Chief Randall Slaughter in the press release praised the move as a “historic day.” TWO YOUTHS WOUNDED IN SHOOTING Two youths — one 11 years old and one 18 — were wounded in a Dec. 14 shooting in Buclchead, according to the Atlanta Po lice Department. Police said in a written statement that the victims are thought to be “members of a group involved in an ongoing feud with students attending the same local school who were targeted by the shoot ers.” Police responded to the shooting call at 9 Peachtree Ave. in Garden Hills around 8:20 p.m. The 11-year-old had a gunshot wound to a leg and the 18-year- old was wounded in the abdomen and an arm, according to police. Police described both victims as “sta ble, alert, conscious and breathing” when they were transported to hospitals. ATL AUTHORITY APPROVES $27B TRANSIT PLAN AS FIRST STEP IN SEEKING FUNDS The Atlanta-Region Transit Link Au thority board on Dec. 13 approved a $27 billion transit expansion plan for met ro Atlanta, the authority announced, the first step in seeking some federal and state funding. The new authority is coordinating service and expansion of 10 transit sys tems in 13 metro Atlanta counties. One goal is to seek funding in a more coordi nated way. The “ATL Regional Transit Plan” ap proved by the authority’s board is a list of all locally approved transit projects, with some cost-benefit analysis, evalua tion and prioritization. The plan includes all of the projects submitted by DeKalb and Fulton coun ties following earlier public processes. MARTA’s major service expansion within the city of Atlanta is already pro ceeding under its own sales tax, but the authority’s plan includes some related projects, such as the Clifton Corridor rail line between Lindbergh Center and Emo ry University.
