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Drought may not be over yet
Georgia's five-year drought was nearing an end, according
to weather experts. The state and many cities recently lifted
water bans, rain finally fell on a regular basis in the fall
and lakes approached full levels. Augusta
Chronicle/AP
Rome fears Atlanta grip on its water
Thirsty Atlantans might be able to gulp down even more of
the Etowah River’s water if a proposed bill on interbasin
water transfers passes, critics of the measure say. Rome
News-Tribune/Saturday
GBI identifies more bodies than expected at Tri-State
Crematory
Georgia Bureau of Investigation officials, who have worked
for the past year to identify remains found at Tri-State Crematory,
say they are winding down the active identification process.
Rome
News-Tribune/Saturday
Mortgage loan law problems start to hit home with buyers
Consumers are starting to pay the price for problems in the
state's predatory lending law and the time it's taking lawmakers
to fix it. Atlanta
Journal-Constitution/Saturday
Budget battles remain priority
It's been the main focus of this year's General Assembly session,
and this week, the state budget promises to take front and
center once again as lawmakers take a break from their daily
sessions to home in on the state's finances. Augusta
Chronicle/Morris
For Perdue, budget the biggest battle he
faces. Q&A with Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue. Athens
Banner-Herald/Sunday
Lt. Gov: Republicans holding bills hostage
Democratic Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor says he’s fed up with
trying to work with the Republican-led Senate leadership.
Gwinnett
Daily Post/AP/Sunday
Funding challenges to blame; GRIP projects now under siege
The state Department of Transportation has been building highways
at the most frenzied pace in the state's history. Athens
Banner-Herald/Morris
Perdue's votes may reveal his choice for flag
While Gov. Sonny Perdue won't say right now which flag he'd
choose, a look at Perdue's Senate voting record might provide
a clue to which way he's leaning. Macon
Telegraph/Saturday
Minority officials face new challenges
Three Georgia Democrats debuting in Congress this year were
elected amid a Republican sweep spanning from governor to
dog catcher. Augusta
Chronicle/AP
Massage therapy or prostitution? Lawmakers
want to know
A bill before the Georgia House would overhaul the state's
rules governing massage therapy, setting up a state board
to license massage therapists and inspect their workplaces.
Augusta
Chronicle/AP
Bill seeks to check child workers’ past.
Marietta
Daily Journal
Governors enter sprawl fray
State governors are beginning to push "smart growth"
agendas at the state level. But Georgia --- with Atlanta's
rampant sprawl that gobbled up more than 600,000 acres of
land for development over 15 years --- has yet to hear Gov.
Sonny Perdue's plan to deal with growth. Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
Senator adjusts to new duties
It's 7 a.m. at the state Capitol, and Eric Johnson is unpacking
boxes in his spacious office next door to the Senate chambers.
Augusta
Chronicle/Sunday
* LEGISLATURE
2003: Cobb legislator, 24, off to impressive start. Atlanta
Journal-Constitution/Sunday
Sweep by GOP revives rightists
When Georgia Republicans captured the Governor's Mansion and
took control of the state Senate last fall, no one celebrated
harder than religious conservatives. Augusta
Chronicle/Morris/Sunday
State Rep. Massey now part of a smaller delegation
due to redistricting. Gwinnett
Daily Post/Sunday
* Map casts
Dean out of county
State Sens. Nathan Dean (D-Rockmart) and Don Thomas (R-Dalton)
had little to say Sunday on a new proposed Senate map that
would put their districts out of Bartow County. Cartersville
Daily Tribune/Sunday
* Local delegation
not in favor of tax increases
The General Assembly has been in session for more than five
weeks and much of its time has been spent addressing budget
problems, both in the current fiscal year and in the 2004
fiscal year. Dalton
Daily Citizen/Sunday
Lobbyists want power stripped from utilities
The bill would require the power companies to justify to a
Public Service Commission judge every line they add by showing
the need and proving that they have picked the best route.
Augusta
Chronicle/Morris/Sunday
* Cherokee Dems working to
up local presence. Cherokee
Tribune
Bob Barr plots return to power
Announcement of 6th District run expected on Monday. Atlanta
Journal-Constitution/Sunday
Barnes emptied emergency fund after losing job
Two weeks after his re-election defeat, Gov. Roy Barnes spent
most of the remaining money in the Governor's Emergency Fund
despite a looming budget shortfall that has his successor
slashing programs and proposing tax increases. Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
Hartsfield stays No. 1 in passenger volume
Despite the sour economy, Atlanta is still the busiest airport
as measured by passenger volume. Atlanta
Journal-Constitution/Saturday
* Atlanta overreaches with
Fortune 500 rank
For the past year, local boosters have been tooting their
horns saying that Atlanta has the third-greatest concentration
of Fortune 500 corporate headquarters among U.S. cities. Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
For now, CNN looks to fly solo
The demise of merger talks between CNN and ABC News may have
signaled the end of CNN's courting days. Atlanta
Journal-Constitution/Saturday
* Development threatens to
bury old cemeteries.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Can Lakeshore Mall stay afloat?
The future of Colonial Lakeshore Mall has become a hot debate
again among Hall County shoppers. Gainesville
Times/Sunday
For sale: Three teams, slightly used
On the very day AOL Time Warner announced that it lost almost
$100 billion last year -- the largest annual loss in the history
of American business -- the company's chief executive was
on the phone to Terry McGuirk, who oversees the Braves, Hawks
and Thrashers for the conglomerate. Atlanta
Journal-Constitution/Sunday *
What Atlanta's sports teams mean to AOL. Atlanta
Journal-Constitution/Sunday
Midtown growth rises from lost dream
A dreamer known as "The Swede" helped lay the foundation
for the current buzz of activity in Midtown. Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
* Security gets a boost as
state ports boom. Atlanta
Journal-Constitution/Sunday
Empowerment Zone replacement unveiled
The newest version of a federal program in Atlanta to fix
blighted areas may be run by a downtown organization that
has a track record of providing affordable housing by packaging
public and private financing. Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
International Corridor impressive for its economic clout
Asian population growth and buying power is creating a new
International Corridor, this time among big box retailers
and shopping centers that dot the landscape near Gwinnett
Place mall. Gwinnett
Daily Post/Sunday
Asian-themed shopping center also targets mainstream.
Atlanta
Journal-Constitution/Sunday
Colleges create agroterror resource
The University of Georgia and the Georgia Institute of Technology
have created the Center for Security in Agriculture and the
Environment, the country's leading source of expertise on
agroterrorism. Augusta
Chronicle
More woes for Life U.
Life University's founder and former president is suing the
chiropractic school, claiming it breached his severance agreement.
WSB-TV
* Mace: Staff cuts unlikely
at UGA
As legislators continue to tighten the state's fiscal belt,
the University finds itself in a precarious position -- trying
to maintain quality education while in the midst of financial
turmoil.
Red & Black/Friday
* Head Start could face
budget cuts LaGrange
Daily News/Sunday
Tech, Emory working to pave way for technology
For decades we have known about the problem, and struggled
for ways to ease it, if not solve it. That's the problem of
technology transfer -- how to get neat ideas into the marketplace.
Atlanta
Journal-Constitution/Sunday
* Bainbridge College among
nation’s fastest growing
Bainbridge College ranked 38th among the fastest growing community,
technical, tribal, junior colleges and two-year campuses of
four-year colleges in the United States, according to an analysis
by a national publication. Bainbridge
Post Searchlight/Friday
A whale of a tale
Buried in a research laboratory for 20 years and in South
Georgia limestone for about 41 million years before that,
a 12-foot-long creature is finally showing its fierce grin
here at Georgia Southern University's campus museum. Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
Newcomers dive into English
Gainesville Middle School has a program that helps students
with limited English skills prepare for that advancement.
Gainesville
Times/Sunday
New Emory Arts Center benefits university
& community. WPBA-TV
Oprah donating $5 million more to Morehouse.
Atlanta
Journal-Constitution/Friday
Let black museum tell 'whole story'
Atlanta chimes in on national African-American institution.
Atlanta
Journal-Constitution/Sunday
Ecologists play beyond Phinizy Swamp in Augusta
The Southeastern Natural Sciences Academy, a nonprofit organization
dedicated to environmental education and research, has a wide
trail of accomplishments in its wake - including a nature
park that played host to 7,000 pupils in 2002. Augusta
Chronicle/Sunday
* Filtering
will hike sand cost
Glynn County got the state's permission Friday to nourish
the St. Simons Island beach, along with a condition for construction
that could potentially double the cost of the project. Brunswick
News/Saturday
Environmental agency can't fix marsh
Because the transportation department is exempt from some
of the state's marsh and water protection laws, there's little
environmental regulators can do to enforce cleanup operations
in Brunswick. Athens
Banner-Herald/AP/Sunday
* EPD requests
new well at Ball
This week, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD)
directed more testing for the Ball Metal Container Plant in
Moultrie, the site of a toxic spill in the late 1980s. Moultrie
Observer
Rail-trail could get on track
A request for federal transportation funding could breathe
new life into a project that aims to renovate abandoned rail
lines in Athens for walking and biking trails, and includes
a renovation of the ''Murmur'' railroad trestle. Athens
Banner-Herald/Saturday
Vidalia onion may hold clues to cancer
The red-clay dirt in which Vidalia onions are grown also contains
feeble levels of selenium, a trace mineral that is being tested
nationwide to see whether it can help prevent prostate cancer
in men. Augusta
Chronicle
Hospitals boost economy
Rome’s two hospitals have a combined economic impact
of $622 million, according to a report by the Georgia Hospital
Association. Rome
News-Tribune
* Report: Tanner
pumped $283 million into 2001 economy
Tanner Health System contributed $283.3 million to the local
economy in 2001, according to a recent report prepared by
the Georgia Hospital Association, the state’s largest
hospital trade association. Carrollton
Times-Georgian/Sunday
* Hospital helps contribute
money, jobs to Cordele
Crisp Regional Hospital contributed $68,942,704 to the local
economy in 2002, according to a recent report by the Georgia
Hospital Association. Cordele
Dispatch
Macon hospital taking technological leap
Physicians at Coliseum Medical Centers will be using the talents
of another mechanical wonder - the da Vinci Surgical System
- to assist in performing surgery. Macon
Telegraph
State opens fraud inquiry
More state agencies are investigating alleged corruption at
the Community Mental Health Center of East Central Georgia.
Augusta
Chronicle/Sunday
Grayson takes steps to create anti-smoking
laws. Gwinnett
Daily Post/Sunday
DeKalb's tougher indoor smoking law in effect
now. Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
Arena provides Gwinnett, Hall a new place to play. Gainesville
Times/Sunday
Augusta escapes area code division
Because the economy has slowed and plans are being made to
limit the block distribution of telephone numbers, area codes
aren't multiplying as quickly, said Stan Shepard, a regional
spokesman for BellSouth. Augusta
Chronicle
Sewer money flowing in Atlanta City Hall
Contracts worth millions of dollars have gone to politically
connected firms for Atlanta's multibillion-dollar plan to
fix its aging sewer system. WSB-TV
Old phone tower coming down a piece at a
time
For nearly 50 years, the AT&T tower, a red-and-white steel
monstrosity, has served as a Macon landmark and, most say,
a Macon eyesore. Macon
Telegraph
Alpharetta foreclosures soar as techies flee.
Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
Brunswick mayor faces petition drive
Residents angry at Brunswick's elected officials have until
March 17 to gather 2,000 signatures that would force a recall
election of the mayor and two commissioners. WXIA-TV/AP
Atlanta clean-up plan may bite dust
Mayor Shirley Franklin's team to clean up Atlanta could be
a casualty in a tussle with City Council members over how
to spend a $17 million surplus. Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
Fight for city manager still hot topic
Floyd Griffin has been mayor of Milledgeville for just more
than a year, but that year has been a contentious one with
the City Council voting to change the city's charter and strip
the mayor of many of his duties. Macon
Telegraph/Sunday
Aviation museum in line for more than $300,000
in federal funds
The Museum of Aviation and the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame
received key funding boosts Friday as the Fiscal Year 2003
Omnibus Appropriations bill was passed by Congress. Macon
Telegraph/Saturday
Cobb legislators dismiss tax for arts center.
Marietta
Daily Journal
ARC to look at tax options
Officials pledged Friday to find the money needed to fix the
region’s transportation problems — even if it means
taxes. Gwinnett
Daily Post/Sunday
- Regional MARTA solution revisited
Metro Atlanta's leaders are once again talking about regionalizing
MARTA, a controversial idea residents of their counties
have rejected for 25 years. Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
SPLOST deal cut
Last-minute agreement paves way for Chatham County and Savannah
voters to decide fate of one-cent tax in a March 18 referendum.
Savannah
Morning News/Saturday
* City, county
at odds over SPLOST
Cartersville officials feel the city does not get its fair
share of Special Purpose Local Option sales tax funds. So
they hope they can one day have their own. Cartersville
Daily Tribune/Saturday
Harrell pushes for penny tax
If legislation is passed, Snellville residents could vote
as soon as November on paying one more penny to the government.
Lobbying for the Gwinnett Municipal Association, Mayor Brett
Harrell is the first to push the idea in Gwinnett. Gwinnett
Daily Post/Sunday
Any site changes will require nod
A regional planning official says the proposed $250 million
World Children's Center in Harris County would have to follow
its final site development plan if its rezoning application
is approved and could not do anything it wants on the 541-acre
tract up for rezoning. Columbus
Ledger-Enquirer
Expansion of Highway 72 in Colbert in limbo.
Athens
Banner-Herald
'Overdue' A-C ordinance upsetting some
Landlords of rental property in single-family neighborhoods
are up in arms over a proposed rental registration ordinance
some Athens-Clarke County commissioners are calling ''long
overdue.'' Athens
Banner-Herald
Downtown Watkinsville slated for makeover. Athens
Banner-Herald/Sunday
Sewer system slated for expansion in Hoschton
With residential developers studying potential building
sites, city leaders have decided to increase the sewage treatment
plant's size by 500 percent, allowing it to accommodate 1,300
new homes, according to estimates. Athens
Banner-Herald/Saturday
Milledgeville's 'coup de grace'
"The dictionary defines "coup de grace" as
"a death blow." In the case of Milledgeville city
government, the City Council is seeking to kill the office
of mayor before mid-term. The Milledgeville council adopted
a resolution in January that asks the state Legislature to
change the city's form of government from Mayor/Council to
Council/Manager." Macon
Telegraph
Righting a wrong
"Georgians watched with dismay and disgust in 2001
as Democratic legislators chopped up counties and communities
in their attempt to draw legislative and congressional districts
that would enhance the party's representation." Savannah
Morning News
And the verdict is ...
"A couple of months into a Republican governor's term
and we've already got a "constitutional crisis"
because a Democratic officeholder doesn't agree with him?
Oh, come on! A constitutional crisis is when a Yankee army
is on Georgia's borders." Rome
News-Tribune
No way Perdue can stay on sidelines in flag debate
"When Sonny Perdue ran for the governor's seat, he did
not campaign as a "facilitator" or a "moderator."
He promised to be a leader. So it's disappointing now to watch
Perdue reduce himself to a referee in the flag battle."
Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin: Perdue must choose principle
over politics and scrap flag referendum
"Revisiting the Confederate battle flag will divide us
and turn back the clock in Georgia. This referendum will not
heal us; it will harm us." Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
Settling the flag flap
"Sonny Perdue kept his promise last week. If Georgia's
governor gets his way -- and he should -- Georgians would
get the chance next year to vote on the state flag."
Savannah
Morning News/Sunday
Governor's ethics platform shaky
"If the first ethics bill from Gov. Sonny Perdue and
his Republican Senate majority is any indication of the governor's
commitment to ethics reform, voters cannot have much confidence
in the rest of his ethics platform." Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
Ethics reform tough
"The call to toughen up the state's ethics laws helped
get Sonny Perdue elected governor. One of the more popular
proposals would bar lawmakers and state officials from contacting
the Department of Corrections or the state Board of Pardons
and Paroles on behalf of a convict." Augusta
Chronicle/Saturday
Raising bar on indigent defense
"This week, the state Senate will consider one of the
most important bills of the session: Senate Bill 102, which
would reform Georgia's shameful system of providing lawyers
to poor criminal defendants. Gov. Sonny Perdue has already
made reform of indigent defense a high priority. And last
Friday, the speaker of the House announced that he, too, will
support fundamental reform."
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Concerted effort can cement Athens' place as the best
music town
"Rolling Stone magazine's recent pronouncement of Athens
as the nation's No. 1 college music town should ring a bell
with our community leaders interested in economic development."
Athens Banner-Herald
UGA must make progress, not excuses, in minority applicants
"Last week's announcement that African-American admission
applications to the University of Georgia sank 40 percent
from the previous year was simply a warning shot from a ship
we already knew was there." Athens
Banner-Herald/Sunday
Bill Shipp: Running some alternatives up the old flag
pole
"As we contemplate the coming referendum on the state
flag, Georgians should consider at least one historical note:
Our past governors were not as determined as Sonny Perdue
to keep their campaign pledges." Athens
Banner-Herald/Sunday
Cecil Bentley: Upcoming flag vote won't end this great
debate
"Two years and two weeks ago, House Bill 16 was approved
by the state Senate, then signed into law by Gov. Roy Barnes.
Most Georgians won't recall that bill by number, but few,
if any, can escape the controversy its passage created by
changing the design of our state flag." Athens
Banner-Herald/Sunday
Grocery tax: No sale
"Georgia House Speaker Terry Coleman wasted little time
last week in killing a nearsighted proposal to bring back
a statewide sales tax on groceries." Savannah
Morning News/Saturday
Alvin Peabody: Trade, tourism director a good choice for
Georgia
"Glenn Cornell is viewed as one of Gov. Sonny Perdue's
best appointments so far. Three weeks ago, Perdue named Cornell
commissioner of the Department of Industry, Trade & Tourism."
Gainesville
Times/Sunday
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