Disney on Ice's Pablo Saccinto sits down with us to talk about the upcoming show in Duluth, life on the road, how he started skating, and his favorite Disney movies.
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The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners has postponed voting on using eminent domain to take land owned by a Black family for a century. The family, who sold some of the land to the county previously, were determined to hold on to their property, which includes Lake Sheryl, stating they had plans for its future. A public backlash over plans to create a historical park, which appeared to show the county wanted to recreate slave quarters, had forced the county to delay the vote. Board members are expected to hear from the family and the Gwinnett Historical Restoration and Preservation Board.
The Livsey family met with members of the press on Friday morning to share their memories about growing up on the property, which includes Lake Sheryl, in south Gwinnett. They also made it clear that the land is not for sale.“We do not intend to sell,” said Dorethia Livsey, who is the family’s matriarch. “We have plans for the future, but the main thing is right now to hold onto our land and not to let anyone take it.”
Confederate groups, including two Gwinnett County men, are suing county leaders to restore a Confederate memorial on the Lawrenceville Square. The lawsuit asks the court to order the monument, which was removed and put in storage by the county in 2021, be restored to its former location. The lawsuit is a refiling of a lawsuit filed last year and reflects the Georgia Supreme Court ruling that residents of a county can sue their local government to have a Confederate monument, taken down by the county, put back up. The monument was placed on the historic courthouse grounds in 1993 but was removed after becoming a target of vandalism in 2020. The lawsuit argues that removing the monument violates state law.
A federal grand jury has indicted Christopher Burns, a Berkeley Lake man who has been missing for two-and-a-half years, on 10 counts of wire fraud, two counts of mail fraud, and four counts of money laundering for his role in a $10 million investment fraud scheme. Burns, a financial adviser who conducted business through four different companies, is accused of defrauding investors by promising them safe investments that would yield high returns, while actually using their money to pay back other investors and fund his lavish lifestyle. Burns has been missing since September 2020, but the FBI is searching for him.
Two students at Radloff Middle School are facing disciplinary action after allegedly attacking a classmate with a belt and racial slurs. The school's principal has described the incident as "inappropriate and despicable behavior" and has assured parents that the school will not tolerate violence or racial slurs. A teacher is also reportedly under investigation over whether they did anything to stop the attack. The school has not released further details of the investigation, citing student privacy laws and a "personnel matter."
Andrea Alabi, the Number 2 person in the Fulton County Solicitor's Office and former Gwinnett County District Attorney's Office employee, is planning to run against her former boss, Patsy Austin-Gatson, in the next Democratic Party primary. Alabi accuses Austin-Gatson of being "in over her head" and not addressing critical crime-related issues. Austin-Gatson was elected in 2020, defeating Danny Porter and becoming the first Black person to hold the office. Alabi would like to partner with schools and parents to deter children from making bad decisions and work on second-chance initiatives while focusing on violent crime. Austin-Gatson disputes claims that her office is not getting enough convictions, stating that her office has gotten 59 convictions since she took office in January 2021.
The Mountain Park community has not reached a consensus over the proposed redevelopment of the former Olympic Tennis Center property on the Gwinnett-DeKalb county line in the US. Some residents were excited about the proposal, which features a Costco-type business as an anchor, but others found it lackluster and wanted to know why a better proposal wasn't put together for what county officials had long described as a "gateway" project. The proposed development, which is set to cost around $125m, is expected to include 255 apartments, some green space, three restaurants with drive-thru lanes, and a Costco.
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