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Poet Laureate named to honor society

Monday, April 29th, 2013, 6:39am

ATLANTA -- U.S. Poet Laureate and Emory University faculty member Natasha Trethewey has been named to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Emory announced the appointment this week. The 2013 class is set to be inducted at a ceremony on Oct. 12 at the Academy's headquarters in Cambridge, Mass.

Emory Provost Claire Sterk calls Trethewey a dedicated and gifted teacher.

Trethewey is the director of the university's creative writing program. She is also serving as the 19th Poet Laureate and is in residence through May 2013 at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

Trethewey is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning poetry collection "Native Guard," which was published in 2006, as well as several other poetry collections and a book of creative nonfiction.

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Dalai Lama coming to Emory, Gwinnett

Submitted by Beth Sawicki, Where U Live Producer

Tuesday, April 23rd, 2013, 10:57am

ATLANTA -- His Holiness the Dalai Lama will return to metro Atlanta this fall for a series of events.

The Dalai Lama is a Presidential Distinguished Professor at Emory University and will be on campus Oct. 8-10.

He will also give a public talk at the Arena at Gwinnett Center on Tuesday, Oct. 8, beginning at 9:30 a.m. The event will feature two lectures -- "The Pillars of Responsible Citizenship in the 21st Century Global Village," and a panel discussion called "Secular Ethics and Education."

Tickets go on sale this week and include admission to both talks. They can be purchased beginning at 10 a.m. on Friday, Apr. 26.

To buy tickets, called the Arena at Gwinnett Center box office at 1-888-9-AXS-TIX or visit gwinnettcenter.com.

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DeKalb Deputy COO resigns

Submitted by Beth Sawicki, Where U Live Producer

Thursday, April 11th, 2013, 10:34am

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. -- DeKalb County Chief Operating Officer of Infrastructure Ted Rhinehart has resigned.

Rhinehart's last day with the county will be Apr. 30. He is leaving to join a leading enterprise software company, according to DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis.

"Ted has had a remarkable 10-year career in DeKalb County," Ellis said in a statement. "We wish him the very best in his future endeavors."

Before becoming Deputy CEO in 2009, Rhinehart was DeKalb's Public Works Director, a position he held for more than six years.

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DeKalb music official in running to lead FAMU marching band

Submitted by Associated Press

Monday, April 8th, 2013, 7:47am

DeKalb music official in running to lead FAMU marching band

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- A DeKalb County Schools official is in the running to lead the famed marching band at Florida A&M University.

University officials say the search committee will meet Monday with two candidates for director of the Marching 100.

The two candidates are former Ohio University music professor Sylvester Young and Don Roberts, who is the instrumental music coordinator for DeKalb Schools.

In January, FAMU officials said they were starting over in their search for a new band director. They had planned to appoint Jorim Reid of North Carolina Central University, but they said Reid and the university disagreed over the duties of the band director.

The university changed the job following the hazing-related death of drum major Robert Champion.

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New police chief sworn in

Submitted by Beth Sawicki, Where U Live Producer

Monday, April 1st, 2013, 10:25am

DECATUR, Ga. -- Cedric Alexander is now officially the DeKalb County Police Chief.

Alexander was sworn in Monday morning at the DeKalb History Center in downtown Decatur.

He will spend the rest of the day visiting various locations throughout the county, including Cedar Grove Middle School, the Lou Walker Senior Center and the Oak Grove Market.

April is National County Government Month. DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis said the county will spend the month raising public awareness about the roles and responsibilities of local government.

This year's National County Government Month theme is Smart Justice: Creating Safer Communities.

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Gov. Deal fires back at civil rights leaders over DeKalb School Board

Submitted by Paul Crawley, 11Alive Reporter

Tuesday, March 12th, 2013, 9:22pm

Gov. Deal fires back at civil rights leaders over DeKalb School Board

ATLANTA -- Governor Nathan Deal (R-Georgia) announced Tuesday that he will name replacements Wednesday morning for 6 DeKalb County School Board members he suspended on February 25th.

His office also released a list of 60 possible candidates out of 403 that were interviewed by a special nomination panel since last Friday.

Deal acted under a 2011 law to remove the school board members after the DeKalb's accreditation was put on probation due to a "dysfunctional" board.

On Tuesday he also fired back at some civil rights leaders who've accused him of acting as a dictator with questionable racial intentions.

They met with him Monday to criticize his action as an unconstitutional disenfranchisement of DeKalb County voters.

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DeKalb County School Board elects new leader

Submitted by 11Alive on Wednesday, February 20th, 7:06 pm

DECATUR, Ga. -- The DeKalb County School Board elected Dr. Melvin Johnson as chairperson of the embattled school board on Wednesday afternoon during an executive session.

Before being named chairman, Johnson, a retired DeKalb County Deputy Superintendent, represented District 6 which includes feeder schools to both Stone Mountain and Stephenson high schools.

Early Wednesday, DeKalb County's controversial school board members, faced with the possibility that Gov. Nathan Deal may remove them from office, have suddenly decided to fight him.

The board members have been taking steps to sue Gov. Deal to try to stop the process that could lead to their removal.

Their lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Fulton Superior Court, just a block from the Georgia State Capitol, claims that the state law empowering the governor in certain circumstances to replace elected school board members violates the state constitution.

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