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General visits Fort Gordon
Fort Gordon's contributions are "very compelling"
in the face of 2005 base closures, the head of all Army training
programs and classes said Monday. Augusta
Chronicle
Court upholds city's tax freeze law
Columbus' tax assessment freeze is not unconstitutional, the
Georgia Supreme Court ruled Monday, reversing a lower court
ruling and rejecting every argument by challengers seeking
to overturn the 20-year-old law. Columbus
Ledger-Enquirer
Call goes out for donations to assist tornado
victims
State emergency aid workers pleaded for donations Monday to
help victims of a tornado that killed six people last week
in South Georgia. The storm leveled part of Camilla, a town
south of Albany, leaving dozens homeless. Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
Lack of funds delay I-20 work
Columbia and Richmond County motorists can thank a lack of
state funding for a delay of yet another Interstate 20 construction
project, which had been set to begin as early as this summer.
Augusta
Chronicle
High court allows power lines
The Georgia Supreme Court on Monday unanimously threw out
a Cobb County moratorium that forbids the construction of
above-ground electric transmission lines. Atlanta
Journal-Constitution, Marietta
Daily Journal
Court rules for property tax freeze
The Georgia Supreme Court upheld a law Monday that freezes
property taxes for longtime homeowners in several metro Atlanta
communities. The court reversed 6-1 a ruling that challenged
the constitutionality of a similar property tax law in Muscogee
County in which the assessed value of a home is automatically
frozen at the purchase price until the property is sold again.
Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
CDC may know cause of mystery illness
Scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
say they may have found the viral cause of the mystery pneumonia
that has swept the world, sickening hundreds in an expanding
epidemic. Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
War coverage in the Atlanta
Journal-Constitution.
Moody airmen perish en route to rescue
Six airmen from Moody Air Force Base died when their HH-60G
Pave Hawk helicopter crashed while en route on a rescue mission
to save two Afghan children at 8:30 p.m. Sunday. Valdosta
Daily Times * Moody airmen
killed in Afghanistan WALB-TV
15th Infantry soldier wounded in Iraq
A soldier with Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry
Regiment is apparently the first 3rd Brigade casualty in Operation
Iraqi Freedom. The Fort Benning soldier, whose name is being
withheld until his family is notified, was wounded Sunday
morning near An Nasiriyah. Columbus
Ledger-Enquirer
TV images confirm fears of prisoners' kin
The Pentagon identified the pilots as Chief Warrant Officer
Ronald D. Young Jr., 26, of Georgia, and Chief Warrant Officer
David S. Williams, 30, of Florida. Mr. Young's family said
today at home near Atlanta that one man in the Iraqi broadcast
was their son. New
York Times, *
WTVM-TV, *
WGNX-TV
* Local POW:
We always planned on going home
There are more Iraqi claims of Americans taken prisoner and
more concerns the Iraqis may mis-treat the men and women they've
captured. A local man who was a prisoner of war in World War
II knows all too well what being held captive is like. WMAZ-TV
* Watching too
much coverage of war on TV may be unhealthy
Some television viewers are finding it hard to turn away from
round-the-clock coverage of the war in Iraq. Gainesville
Times
* Experts see
increase in Veterans trauma
Most Americans keep up with the war news. But not like John
Kieffer. The Vietnam veteran from Town 'N Country stays glued
to his television until 2:30 a.m., watching CNN until he can't
stay awake. His wall map of Iraq is so packed with U.S. and
Iraqi troop movements and positions, it could have been lifted
from Central Command's operations center. WRBL-TV
POW from Georgia
A Lithia Springs soldier who grew up wanting to fly was declared
a prisoner of war on Monday after his helicopter did not return
from an attack mission south of Baghdad. Atlanta
Journal-Constitution, Georgia soldier now POW.
Rome
News Tribune
House takes troop support personally
A move to honor U.S. troops by the Georgia House of Representatives
on Monday had special meaning for one legislator. State Rep.
Carl Rogers' son, Capt. Carlton Rogers, is a Marine Corps
fighter pilot deployed to Kuwait. Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
Writers of computer viruses get politics
bug
Computer viruses that a couple of weeks ago promised photos
of naked women as an enticement may now claim to have a satellite
photo of the war scene in Iraq. If you get an e-mail that
mentions Iraq in the subject line, be doubly cautious. It
may contain a computer virus. Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
Budget passes easily
The General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a mid-year budget
Monday that relies on leftover revenues, reserve funds and
spending cuts to avoid raising taxes. Athens
Banner-Herald/Morris
- Midyear state budget sent to Perdue
The Legislature passed and sent to the governor Monday a
midyear budget that uses reserves and heavy spending cuts
to offset a $620 million shortfall and does not need new
taxes to fund. Marietta
Daily Journal
- Knife used to balance '03 budget
State lawmakers approved a midyear budget Monday that plugs
a $620 million shortfall largely with spending cuts. But
the question of tax increases remains unsettled. Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
- * Budget crisis leaves
state lawmakers pressed for time
The General Assembly has less than 14 days to wrap up the
2003 session, leaving state lawmakers with a lot to get
done in little time, members of the Bartow County delegation
said. Cartersville
Daily Tribune News
Cityhood advanced for Sandy Springs
The state Senate voted 30-25 Monday to approve a bill that
would give residents of Sandy Springs and other large unincorporated
areas a way to create their own cities. Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
Indigent defense reforms debated
South Georgia lawyers who represent the poor say making them
run for election or subjecting them to centralized state control,
as proposed by legislators, are not the right foundation to
rebuild the state's indigent defense system. Florida
Times-Union
Jones County to send water authority request
to Legislature
The Jones County Commission is expected to finally ask the
state Legislature today for a water authority. If the "enabling
legislation" is approved, an authority could be formed
to take over the county's water and sewerage systems. It would
act independently of the commission. Macon
Telegraph
Perdue in poll: 45% 'favorable'
Fewer than half of Georgians --- 45 percent --- give Gov.
Sonny Perdue favorable marks for his first two months in office,
according to a recent Atlanta
Journal-Constitution poll.
UPS updates logo to renew its image
Starting today, the world's largest delivery firm is ditching
the familiar string-tied box that has adorned its corporate
symbol since 1961 in favor of a simpler brown and gold shield.
The Sandy Springs company also wants to be known only by its
initials, UPS. Atlanta
Journal-Constitution, Columbus
Ledger-Enquirer/AP
EarthLink, BellSouth expand service agreement
Atlanta companies EarthLink Inc. and BellSouth Corp. have
expanded an agreement to offer high-speed Internet service
throughout BellSouth's markets.
Atlanta Business Chronicle BellSouth, EarthLink add
to pact. Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
Post founder wins injunction to halt limitation
of role
A Cobb County judge has granted Post Properties founder John
Williams a temporary injunction to prevent the board of the
company he created from limiting his role with the firm. Marietta
Daily Journal
- Founder sues Post Properties
The story behind John Williams' surprise departure as chairman
of Post Properties has taken a nasty, public turn. Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
Tenet restructures operations, Burfitt to
lead Southern region
Tenet Healthcare Corp. has consolidated its operating divisions
from three to two, with Reynold J. Jennings becoming president
of Tenet's expanded Eastern Division and W. Randolph Smith
becoming president of Tenet's enlarged Western Division. Atlanta
Business Chronicle
HealthSouth workers help feds
Employees at beleaguered HealthSouth Corp. are helping federal
prosecutors mount their case in the alleged accounting fraud
at the Birmingham-based health care giant. Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
Delta decreases capacity due to war in Iraq
Delta Air Lines Inc. will decrease its network capacity by
approximately 12 percent in response to declining passenger
demand due to military action in Iraq. Atlanta
Business Chronicle Delta to scale back on flights.
Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
Foreclosures growing in Gwinnett, metro-Atlanta
Home foreclosures continue running higher than normal in Gwinnett
and the rest of metro Atlanta.
The county had 350 home loans in foreclosure in March, according
to Equisytems, a firm that tracks data in a 13-county metro
area. Gwinnett
Daily Post
Southern Co. to reduce capacity at nuclear
plant in Waynesboro
Southern Co.'s 1,215 megawatt Vogtle 2 nuclear unit in Georgia
was cut to 15 percent of capacity to test a steam generator.
Atlanta
Business Chronicle
GE Hydro gets $7 million contract
GE Hydro, a subsidiary of Atlanta-based GE Power Systems,
has received a contract of more than $7 million to upgrade
and install two generators at the Jaybird Hydroelectric Powerhouse
in northern California. Atlanta
Business Chronicle
Firearms Training Systems gets Air National
Guard contract
Firearms Training Systems Inc. reported the Air National Guard
awarded the company a $3.3 million contract for the delivery
of additional new digital systems, upgrading of existing systems
and a variety of weapons simulators, courseware and service.
Atlanta
Business Chronicle
Emory gets $10 million research grant
Emory University was awarded a $10 million grant Monday to
research treatment of advanced prostate cancer. Athens
Banner-Herald
SCAD makes list of beloved colleges
People all over the world are developing a fondness for
the Savannah College of Art and Design. SCAD opened just over
20 years ago with 71 students and today enrolls 5,800 students
from 80 countries and every state in the union. Each year
SCAD grows by 300-500 students. Savannah
Morning News
* Brunswick
school system adjusts to rising gas prices
As diesel prices rise, the Glynn County system's approximately
100 buses operate at the same capacity, said Howard Mann,
director of transportation. Brunswick
News
Judge hears arguments in Shorter College
suit
A ruling is not expected for at least another week in a legal
battle between Shorter College and the Georgia Baptist Convention.
Shorter attorney Bruce Brown argued the liberal arts school
in Rome needs its independence from the GBC _ which the college
has been affiliated with since 1959 _ to keep accreditation
by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. AccessNorthGeorgia.com
Gov. Harris to deliver commencement speech
Former Georgia governor Joe Frank Harris, who served as the
state's chief executive from 1983-91, will be the speaker
for undergraduate commencement at the University of Georgia
on May 10. Athens
Banner-Herald
* Freshman dorm
policy effective in 2004
The decision to require freshmen to live on campus has been
informally discussed for several years, but now there's nothing
informal about it. Red
& Black
Residents blast board over school split
Residents concerned about a controversial plan to split Kennesaw
and Big Shanty elementary schools were given a chance to have
their say on Monday, but many said they felt their opinions
were falling on deaf ears. Marietta
Daily Journal
Macon parents aim to lift school transfer
order
Some elementary school parents are trying to gauge interest
in eliminating a federal desegregation order that allows hundreds
of students to transfer to popular north Macon schools. Macon
Telegraph
Removal of dams would bring whitewater back to Chattahoochee
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will host a public meeting
to discuss the removal of two downtown dams that would create
rapids flowing past downtown Columbus. Columbus
Ledger-Enquirer
No required meningitis shots for college students
After calling for mandatory meningitis shots for college students,
Georgia lawmakers are backing off and saying only that students
should be warned of the risks of not getting a vaccine. Augusta
Chronicle/AP
Experts: U.S. not ready for toxin attack
Easy to find and easy to produce, botulinum toxin is the most
poisonous natural substance on Earth. In the hands of a bioterrorist,
a single gram -- the weight of a paper clip -- could kill
more than 1 million people. Federal officials fear the nation
is both vulnerable to such an attack and ill prepared should
one occur. New
York Times/AP
* Hospital gets
green light for NICU expansion
Rockdale Hospital received the go-ahead this week to double
the size of its neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Currently,
the Level II NICU has four beds in the nursery. With the expansion,
the unit will have eight nursery beds and a dedicated room
for respiratory therapists to work with newborns requiring
ventilators. Rockdale
Citizen
New law to guard patient privacy
A new medical privacy law is creating changes --- some
obvious, but many subtle --- at hospitals and doctors' offices.
Charts are being hung with patient names facing toward doors,
not into hallways. Computer filters are preventing casual
onlookers from viewing data-filled screens. Sign-in sheets
are coming with peel-off strips so the next people in line
won't see names. Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
Masters event permits OK'd by committee
In keeping with Augusta's party tradition, several special
events licenses - which allow business owners to expand operations
into unlicensed areas such as parking lots - went before an
Augusta Commission committee Monday. Augusta
Chronicle
Organizers of Augusta Showcase take to skies
to plan Masters Week pitch
On Monday, members of the group made a practice airplane flight
over the area to see what sites to point out to executives
who will be in town to see the golf tournament and receive
a sales pitch about why they should locate here. Augusta
Chronicle
'Roadshow' will stop in Savannah
"Antiques Roadshow,'' the PBS treasure-hunt TV series
that has made flea markets hip again, is headed to Georgia
for the first time since 1997. The first stop on the show's
summer tour will be at the Savannah International Trade and
Convention Center on July 12. The next three tapings will
be conducted in Chicago on July 26, Oklahoma City on Aug.
9 and San Francisco on Aug. 16. Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
A-C alcohol ordinance about to get tougher
Establishments that sell alcohol to people under the age of
21 could feel the pinch of proposed changes to Athens' alcoholic
beverage ordinance. Athens
Banner-Herald
Milledgeville smoking ban stalls
City Councilman Ken Vance says his proposed ban on smoking
in public places may have stalled, but it isn't dead. Macon
Telegraph
Stolen shopping carts litter city
At a commission committee meeting Monday, Mr. Williams said
abandoned carts are plaguing his inner-city community. Until
governing officials get tough about the theft and eventual
abandonment of those carts, the carts will continue to be
an eyesore in the neighborhoods he represents, littering roadside
ditches and vacant lots. Augusta
Chronicle
Cobb board to hear review of parks
A parks master plan that will be presented tonight at the
Board of Commissioners meeting will conclude that Cobb is
years behind much of metro Atlanta in preserving greenspace,
officials say. Marietta
Daily Journal
Port proposes new road for Savannah
The $5.7 million connector road would disperse heavy truck
traffic away from residential neighborhood to more capable
roadways as the port and other businesses in the area continue
to grow. Savannah
Morning News
Metro counties enter Net era
In today's plugged-in society, county governments are offering
more online services to take the hassle out of common chores.
Time-strapped residents can pay their water bills online in
Cherokee County and, soon, their property taxes. Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
* Thomasville Sheriff's Department
plans to buy 33 bullet-proof vests
About half of the Thomasville Police Department (TPD) fleet
is about to be replaced. Replacements also are in line for
Thomas County Sheriff's Department officers. Thomasville
Times-Enterprise
Study: Solving homelessness requires regional effort
Atlanta needs a regional authority to tackle homelessness,
Mayor Shirley Franklin's task force on the topic told City
Council members Monday. Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
* Statesboro Red Cross chapter
ready to handle ‘donor surge’
The local chapter of the American Red Cross has contingency
plans in place if extra blood is needed for troops fighting
in Iraq, according to Nancy Martin, a Red Cross senior accounting
manager. Statesboro
Herald
Gwinnett residents try to keep warehouses 150 feet off
Seated in a circle of foldout chairs on the concrete floor,
the jeans-clad neighbors were pouring over Triad Properties
Corp.'s request to put two 330,000-square-foot warehouses
within 50 feet of their home lots. The hulking buildings would
be the latest additions to the Gwinnett Progress Center, a
1,500-acre industrial and office park off Ga. 316 northeast
of Lawrenceville. Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
Historic task: $25 million sought for restoration of Oakland
Cemetary
Some of Atlanta's most interesting dead people rest among
the roots of some of Atlanta's most magnificent oak trees
in the city's third-largest park. Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
Fire on Ga. 20 in Grayson injures driver, damages homes
Residents of Willow Trace subdivision in Grayson awoke to
a “wall of fire” in their back yards Monday when
a gasoline tanker truck exploded in the middle of the night.
Around 1:19 a.m., a tanker was in an accident on Ga. Highway
20 at Hillside Drive with another tractor trailer or large
truck. Gwinnett
Daily Post
- Speedy repairs reopen Ga. 20 in afternoon
At 1:30 a.m. Monday, two tractor-trailers collided on Ga.
20 near Grayson, spilling fuel and causing a fire that melted
200 feet of asphalt and scorched nearby homes. Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
Residents vary about arena
Ron Cross was a little surprised by the show of hands: More
than a dozen of the 50 or so people at Monday night's town
hall meeting said they would support Columbia County's helping
to pay for a new arena in Augusta. Augusta
Chronicle
* Hall County faces $17.5
million tax shortfall
Hall County Commission may have to trim some planned capital
projects as a result of a $17.5 million shortfall in its 1-cent
sales tax program. Gainesville
Times
Savannah slices into bond debt
The Savannah City Council has taken advantage of low interest
rates and an enhanced bond rating to save more than $200,000
annually through the refinancing of bonds. Savannah
Morning News
* Hall County
to delay hearing, vote on slow-growth plan
The Hall County Commission on Monday postponed for at least
six weeks a vote on proposals to slow residential growth.
Gainesville
Times
Former Oconee commissioner Wilkes dies at
76
Former Oconee County commissioner George A. Wilkes, who helped
enact the county's first land-use plan and zoning laws during
the late 1960s, died Friday of natural causes.
Athens
Banner-Herald
A real red flag
"Despite opposition from the business and tourist industries
across the state, legislation on Gov. Sonny Perdue's proposal
for a referendum on the Georgia state flag is being discussed
in the House this week. The best chance to bury the legislation
would be in the House, still controlled by Democrats. Although
there's a strong African-American constituency in the party
that would be expected to fight any effort to restore the
1956 flag dominated by the Confederate battle emblem, which
they see as a symbol of slavery and Jim Crow, there are many
white rural Democrats who perceive the old flag as a symbol
of their forebears' heroism and sacrifice in the War Between
the States." Augusta
Chronicle
Perdue must set course on transportation
issues
"Since taking office, Gov. Sonny Perdue has mostly been
asleep at the wheel on statewide transportation issues. Some
important initiatives are already drifting off course, and
there are telltale signs that his inattention could invite
more mischief and mayhem." Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
* Basketball
fiasco fading in media
"No matter if you're a fan of sports or not, the suspension
of basketball coach Jim Harrick and its residual aftershock
is no doubt the biggest story in Athens right now. And although
I'm in D.C. and constantly bombarded with President Bush's
daily rhetoric, dizzying "terror threat" announcements
and updates on the war, the cancellation of the basketball
season is certainly one of my biggest concerns too. But while
the sting of the season's abrupt end will remain for a long
time, it will be but a footnote in the basketball program's
records books." Red
& Black
* War leadership
assures Bush of four more years
"Latest news bulletin: There is good news tonight
for the Conservative Republicans who are in power in the United
States government. There is very bad news for Liberal Democrats
who are out of power and are fiercely looking for a blunder
by the Republicans so they might get back in power in 2004."
Americus
Times-Recorder
Jim Wooten: Lending bill's gray areas overlooked
"The emotional fight over Georgia's so-called "predatory
lending" legislation was simplistically cast as good
vs. evil. The reality is more complex. The good guys, those
on whom the "consumer protection" mantle of selfless
advocacy was bestowed, were in all accounts fighting to keep
greedy lenders who would steal the homes of elderly widows,
the bad guys, from "gutting" Georgia's Fair Lending
Act. The debate never got much more complicated --- though,
as House Speaker Terry Coleman (D-Eastman) discovered, it
did get more personal." Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
Bill Kinney: Findings of Marietta Task Force too crucial
to ignore
"Marietta Mayor Bill Dunaway’s redevelopment task
force issued its final report last week, and unfortunately
its important findings kind of got lost in the shuffle of
the more important news about war in Iraq. But those findings
are too crucial to be overlooked or ignored." Marietta
Daily Journal
* Pat Eidt: Liquor by drink
referendum in Norcross draws response
"Norcross citizens need to understand the facts of the
upcoming (June 17) "Liquor By the Drink" (LBTD)
initiative. I am a 55-year-old homeowner, living here for
two years. I am having a love affair with everything that
is Norcross! I love the people, the community, the park, the
businesses. After considering the pros and cons, I am in favor
of the LBTD initiative. I also fully understand the concerns
of many residents who oppose it." GwinnettForum.com
* Elliott Brack: As Sugar
Hill considers police, look at some history
"Before the Sugar Hill City Council may soon be a proposal
for that City to have its own police department. Councilman
Ron Johnson is proposing that Sugar Hill have its own force.
It's a good time to re-visit history. At the end of December,
1975, the City of Buford saw a way to cut expenses. By eliminating
its police department, the city figured it would save, at
that time, something like $250,000 a year, and still have
police protection. You see, if a city within a county does
not have police protection, the county is required by state
law to handle that aspect of public safety." GwinnettForum.com
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