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Governor signs mental health bill that adds coverage By JEFFREY ALBERTSON newsroom@appenmedia.com
CHAMIAN CRUZ/APPEN MEDIA
Construction on the Oxbo Road realignment project is set to resume in late April or early May. Interim Director of Transportation Dan Skalsky says construction stopped in 2021, with just 33 percent completion. Shown is the view from Pleasant Hill Church on Pleasant Hill Street in Roswell as of April 11.
Costs soar for Oxbo Road project Roswell council OKs additional $3 million By CHAMIAN CRUZ chamian@appenmedia.com ROSWELL, Ga. — The Oxbo Road realignment project, set to resume construction over the next 30 days, will carry a hefty new price tag. The Roswell City Council agreed to spend an additional $3 million for the
Roswell tourism goes on the road
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project at its April 11 meeting, in hopes of completing work by the end of 2023. The additional funding includes a blanket right-of-way agreement for $270,000, as well as a change order with E.R. Snell Contractor Inc. for $2,730,000, to be funded by TSPLOST 1 – the Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax approved by voters in 2016. In November 2021, the City Council deferred voting on a contract with E.R. Snell for a fraction of that amount, $616,802, saying city staff needed more
Gift-giving spirit leads shop owners
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time to determine what properties the city had control over and was ready to work on. Now, with the additional payment, the total project cost will climb to $18.4 million, which is more than double the original estimate of $7 million in 2016. Included in the new contractor payment is a $100,000 incentive to complete the project by October 2023, and a penalty if it is not.
See OXBO, Page 13 OPINION
“I like old Joe,” other antiquities
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ATLANTA — A bipartisan supported mental health and substance abuse bill became official with the signature of Gov. Brian Kemp at a State Capitol ceremony April 4. HB 1013, known as “The Mental Health Parity Act,” cleared the Legislature on March 30, passing 54-0 in the Senate and 166-0 in the House. In remarks delivered at the ceremony, Kemp said the bill ensures Georgians do not fight alone and applauded the full bipartisan support from the General Assembly. “Today has been a long time coming, this outcome is exactly what we hoped for,” Kemp said. “Everyone in the General Assembly made history today.” The legislation was sponsored by Speaker of the House David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge), who had marked it as a top priority. The 76-page bill brings sweeping changes to the treatment of mental health and substance abuse, including a state loan cancellation program and revised complaint filing and tracking procedures for private and state man-
See GOVERNOR, Page 20