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MARCH 2021 • VOL. 15 — NO. 3
Sandy Springs Reporter COMMENTARY
Lessons learned as pandemic anniversary arrives
SUMMER CAMPS P25 through 28 1
EVENTS YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS IN MARCH P7
Pandemic Then and Now
Violent crime is up while overall rate drops BY BOB PEPALIS
P16
build the road, which is projected to cost as much as $60 million. Though city officials have said they expect more funding for the project in the next transportation special local option sales tax (TSPLOST) referendum, it won’t be enough to cover all construction costs. And voters could reject a five-year extension of the tax. “They are going two houses deep, so you
An increase in violent crime reported by the Sandy Springs Police Department in the city in 2020 matches national trends shown in the increase in homicides and aggravated assaults during the year of the pandemic and social unrest. The SSPD’s annual report said the overall rate of reported crime was down 8% from 2019. More violent crimes, including aggravated assault, robbery and murder were reported in 2020 than in 2019, the SSPD reported in the city’s “2020 Year in Review” document. For property crimes, vehicle theft and arson showed an increase in 2020. Larceny, entering auto and burglary cases dropped in 2020 from the previous year’s figures. Homicides, aggravated assaults and gun assaults began increasing dramatically over 2019 numbers in late May 2020, according to “Pandemic, Social Unrest and Crime in U.S. Cities,” a report on 2020’s national crime rates produced by the Washington, D.C. think tank the Council on Criminal Justice. The think tank’s report said it wasn’t clear why reports of those crimes increased. That timing coincides with the start of racial justice protests over George Floyd’s death at the hands of police. Criminologists in the report say it’s too soon to tell whether there is any connection. Crime statistics come with many qualifications. Not all crimes are reported to police, and some that are reported turn out not to be crimes or are classified as different offenses later. The six homicides investigated by SSPD in 2020 is an example of the statistical com-
See NEXT on page 15
See VIOLENT on page 29
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Inside an authentic Cuban sandwich shop P8
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Hear DIY songs named for local towns
FILE/PHIL MOSIER
In March 2020, shoppers formed long lines inside the Kroger at City Walk on Sandy Springs Place in the crush to stock up before pandemic lockdowns. A year later, the Kroger has posted signs about a mask-wearing requirement and the chain is home to COVID-19 vaccinations. For local reaction to the pandemic’s grim first anniversary, see our story on p. 20.
Next question for Hammond Drive widening: Who pays?
P10
BY BOB PEPALIS
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Now that the city has a design for turning the two-lane section of Hammond Drive into a complex, four-lane version, the next question is whether residents have the appetite to pay for it. Some nearby residents wonder what the city will do with the property purchased for the road if it never gets enough funding to
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