2021's top stories read on mdjonline.com
Jan. 1—Listed are the 20 stories that were most read on mdjonline.com over the course of 2021.
1. Lenders foreclose on Town Center Mall
Feb. 2, 2021
Town Center at Cobb mall was foreclosed upon by its lenders. Deutsche Bank, as lead lender and trustee for a $200 million loan granted on the mall in 2012, claimed the property from Simon Property Group.
2. Kennesaw woman among four dead in Capitol Hill riots
Jan. 7, 2021
D.C. Metropolitan Police announced that Rosanne Boyland, 34, of Kennesaw, was among the four people who died during the assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. A fifth, Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, was injured during the assault and died of a stroke Jan. 7. Four officers who responded to the assault would die by suicide in the months that followed.
3. Cobb's Town Center Mall may be headed for foreclosure
Jan. 27, 2021
Battered by the waves of online shopping and a pandemic that has gutted retail stores, Town Center at Cobb was believed to be headed for the sales block. In legal notices posted that month in the MDJ, Deutsche Bank Trust, in its capacity as lead lender for the mall, announced it intended to foreclose on the property.
4. Court records: Cobb special ed teacher indicted for forcing 5-year-old to stay in soiled pants for hours
Aug. 29, 2021
A Cobb County grand jury indicted Kelly Lewis, a Frey Elementary School special education teacher, who authorities said forced a 5-year-old special needs child to remain in soiled clothing for hours in 2019 to prove a point about restroom habits.
5. I-75 north in Cobb reopens after wreck that left at least one dead
Feb. 11, 2021
Interstate 75 reopened to northbound traffic nearly seven hours after a multi-vehicle wreck that left at least one person dead. As many as 20 cars were involved in the morning wreck just north of Barrett Parkway on I-75.
6. Braves' Dansby Swanson engaged to soccer player Mallory Pugh
Dec. 2, 2021
One month after homering to help the Atlanta Braves win their first World Series championship in 26 years, Dansby Swanson has another reason to celebrate. The former Marietta High School star proposed to his girlfriend, Mallory Pugh. Pugh, a veteran U.S. national soccer team player, accepted.
7. Robbery suspect at large; second dead, third arrested, linked to Atlanta murder
Feb. 5, 2021
A teenager died, a man was in custody and a third person alleged to have committed an armed robbery in Mableton was at-large after a highway chase that began in Cobb and ended in Atlanta.
8. Marietta man charged with homicide after six-car crash on I-285
Feb. 8, 2021
Police said Rony Perez-Lucas, 23, of Marietta crashed a car on Interstate 285 and left it there. He was later charged with vehicular homicide after police said that crash caused a series of others, killing one person.
9. Cobb Schools to be subject of 'unusual special review' by accrediting body
April 22, 2021
Cobb Schools received notice of a special review that Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said could endanger the district's accreditation.
10. Three Cobb residents charged with Mableton murder
March 3, 2021
Cobb County residents Tyler Thomas, Kalvon Hinnant and Tyanna Buford were arrested in connection with the deadly Nov. 8, 2020 shooting and killing of a man at the Upland Townhomes apartment complex in Mableton.
11. Warrant: Man incited crowd of 20 in NE Cobb to beat passenger, damage car with children inside
Sept. 5, 2021
Francis Malyam Mboob, 19, of Stone Mountain was facing 17 charges, including four felonies, after police said he encouraged a crowd to block an intersection, break the windows out of a motorist's car and beat at least one person inside while children in the vehicle watched.
12. Cobb police charge woman in case of toddler found in Chattahoochee
July 2, 2021
The Cobb County Police Department issued charges against Stone Mountain's Breyanla Cooper, 27, with concealing the death of a toddler whose body was found floating in the Chattahoochee River.
13. Cobb County to require masks in public facilities beginning Friday
Aug. 17, 2021
Masks were required in all Cobb County government facilities beginning Aug. 20, 2021. The mandate was enforced on anyone who entered public facilities, including contractors, vendors, employees and visitors who couldn't physically distance.
14. COVID claims two more Cobb School District educators
Jan. 21, 2021
Cobb County School District educators Dana Johnson, a first grade teacher at Kemp Elementary School, and Cynthia Lindsey, a Sedalia Park Elementary school paraprofessional, died due to COVID-19 complications.
15. Kennesaw State QB Ladarius Clardy shot, killed in Florida
July 1, 2021
Ladarius Clardy, a backup quarterback for the Kennesaw State University football team, was killed in a shooting in his Florida hometown.
16. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson selling Powder Springs chateau
Jan. 18, 2021
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson placed his eight bedroom, 15,000-square-foot Powder Springs home on the market for $7.5 million. The property, a 45-acre estate at 1401 Bullard Road, was designed as an "equestrian estate," featuring a "working 12-stall barn, riding arena with viewing deck, (and) hay barn."
17. Four Braves, retiring Posey win Silver Slugger awards
Nov. 11, 2021
The Atlanta Braves players picking up Silver Slugger awards were first baseman Freddie Freeman (third career award), second baseman Ozzie Albies (second), third baseman Austin Riley (first) and pitcher Max Fried (first). Longtime San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey also earned his fifth Silver Slugger award.
18. Cobb, Marietta high schools named on list of top in the state
May 9, 2021
Three Cobb high schools made the list of top high schools in Georgia, according to rankings from U.S. News and World Report. Marietta High School also ranked in the top 100.
19. 'A fresh star': mall manager on future of Town Center at Cobb
Feb. 26, 2021
Weeks after the foreclosure was finalized on the courthouse steps in Marietta, Town Center at Cobb mall was open for business. The mall was under management by CBRE Group, a Dallas-based brokerage and management firm called the "world's biggest real estate firm" by Real Estate Weekly.
20. 'We have a severe problem on our hands,' Cobb health director says
Aug. 13, 2021
Hospitalizations in Cobb County were up sevenfold from June, with critical care and medical/surgical beds across all hospitals "critically low." The rate of COVID-19 infection in Cobb, at 493 cases per 100,000 people, is nearly five times what is considered high transmission (100 cases per 100,000 people).
