12 people treated after East Atlanta deck collapse

City of Atlanta

Man pleads guilty to

illegal trade in shark fins

A Florida man on Friday pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Atlanta to illegally dealing in shark fins. Mark Harrison, 47, of Southport, Fla., pleaded guilty to violating federal fish and wildlife trafficking laws. The fins can be used to make shark fin soup, a centuries-old Chinese delicacy. Harrison, who has represented himself as the country’s largest shark fin buyer, was charged after a U.S. Fish and Wildlife inspector looked over his shipment as it passed through Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in August 2007. The shipment included at least 215 fins from three protected species of shark, authorities said.

BILL RANKIN

Cobb

Acworth * Austell * Kennesaw * Mableton * Marietta * Powder Springs * Smyrna * Vinings

Alcohol-related death case delayed

A court appearance for the Cobb County woman accused of supplying alcohol to a teen who later died has been delayed, Solicitor Barry Morgan said. Kecia Evangela Whitfield of Powder Springs was arrested Jan. 30 for allegedly giving four teenagers a nearly half-gallon bottle of spiced rum. One of those teenagers, 16-year-old Garrett Reed, died shortly after midnight Jan. 24 when he crashed his car on Midway Road. Reed was a junior at Harrison High School. Toxicology reports showed that Reed’s blood alcohol content was 0.133 at the time of the accident. Whitfield’s appearance in state court was postponed from Friday until Aug. 3, Morgan said.

ALEXIS STEVENS

Teachers create online science course

One current and one former teacher at South Cobb High School have been awarded a contract to develop an online eighth-grade health-science course for the Georgia Virtual School division of the Georgia Department of Education. Ellen Katzowitz and Michelle Hutchinson recently finished designing the course, which explores careers in medicine, nursing and health informatics, along with the roles of safety, infection control, communication, leadership and teamwork in health care.

CRAIG SCHNEIDER

School board sets up

free SAT training class

Students will still get a chance to apply for an SAT preparation course for free this coming school year. The Cobb County School Board voted this week to take $125,000 out of its reserves to pay its share of the program. The Scholastic Aptitude Test is a factor in college acceptance. About 600 students took advantage of the free prep course last school year, district officials said. MARY LOU PICKEL

Bike safety event planned in Acworth

The Acworth Police Explorers will hold a bicycle safety event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 20 at the Acworth Super Target at 3378 Cobb Parkway in Acworth. Elementary aged youth need to bring a working bicycle and a safety helmet so they can learn how to ride safely The event is free and no registration is required. Target will provide snacks and raffle two new bicycles. Information: 770-974-1232.

RALPH ELLIS

DeKalb

Avondale Estates * Chamblee * Clarkston * Decatur * Doraville * Dunwoody * Lithonia * Pine Lake * Stone Mountain * Tucker

State board won’t renew academy’s charter

The state Board of Education has voted unanimously to deny the charter school renewal petition of Academy of Lithonia.

State administrators said the school did not meet its academic goals on state standardized tests among other things. The academy struggled to meet achievement benchmarks during its initial charter term but was eventually granted a renewal in 2006. School officials said this week that they were working to address student performance problems and needed more time. Board members voted to renew several other charters, including Chamblee Charter High in DeKalb County, which was renewed for five years.

D. AILEEN DODD

Fulton

Alpharetta * Chattahoochee Hills * College Park * East Point * Fairburn * Hapeville * Johns Creek * Milton * Palmetto * Roswell * Sandy Springs * Union City

Alpharetta Elementary

to add eight classrooms

Fulton County Schools are planning to start work this summer on a 14,000-square-foot, eight-classroom addition to Alpharetta Elementary School. The details will be discussed at a public meeting at 6 p.m. June 25 in the school cafeteria. The school is at 192 Mayfield Road in Alpharetta.

NANCY BADERTSCHER

Tax preparer barred

from filing for others

A Fulton County man has been permanently barred from acting as a federal tax preparer after being investigated for filing false returns for others, according to court documents. The U.S. Justice Department filed a complaint against Derrick Jackson and his businesses, Tax Wisdom and International Tax and Accounting Services, in May. Saying Jackson failed to answer the complaint, the court filed its injunction this week. Documents show that Jackson has prepared taxes since at least 2002, doing at least 513 returns over a four-year period. He allegedly misapplied IRS codes to prepare the fraudulent returns for customers, which included filing phony W-2 forms and claiming false deductions.

MASHAUN D. SIMON

Gwinnett

Berkeley Lake * Buford * Dacula * Duluth * Grayson * Lawrenceville * Lilburn * Norcross * Snellville * Sugar Hill * Suwanee

Commission to review potential budget cuts

Gwinnett County Commissioners will consider about $23 million in reductions to its $1.7 billion 2009 budget at its regular meeting Tuesday. County Finance Director Aaron Bovos said Friday the cuts will include about $7.4 million in scheduled expansion of police and courts, about $13 million in capital improvements and another $2.7 million in service enhancements. About $4 million in cuts involve the proposed addition of 47 police positions. So far this year, police have added 11 positions. Those jobs are not threatened by the prospective reductions, County Administrator Jock Connell said. PATRICK FOX

Evermore CID reduces tax rate on businesses

The board of directors for the Evermore Community Improvement District on Friday rolled back the property tax rate from 5 mills to 4 mills. “Everyone feels the pain … and the board felt like many businesses needed the tax relief,” interim Executive Director Jim Brooks said. The Evermore CID is a self-taxing group of 489 property owners on U.S. 78 from the DeKalb County line to the city of Snellville. The 20 percent net reduction means the CID’s tax revenues will go from $1 million a year to $800,000. SHANE BLATT

Lilburn to show teens inner workings of city

Teens, Lilburn wants you.

The city is looking for youngsters ages 13 to 18 to be part of the second Lilburn Youth Public Service Academy.

The program offers a peek into local government. Up to 15 participants will tour City Hall, do a service project and brainstorm ways to govern the city. The program is free and will be held July 21, July 23-24. To register, go to www.cityoflilburn.com.

SHANE BLATT

Rankings put schools among top employers

Gwinnett County Public Schools has been lauded in a national publication as one of the best workplaces for minorities. The district was ranked No.14 on Black Collegian Magazine’s list of “Top 100 Employers of the Class of 2009” for its commitment to recruiting and retaining diversity. Gwinnett Schools was sandwiched between Wal-Mart Stores, No. 13 on the list, and No. 15 Microsoft Corp. Enterprise Rent-a-Car was ranked No. 1.

D. AILEEN DODD

Greater Atlanta

Cherokee * Clayton * Coweta * Douglas * Fayette * Forsyth * Henry * Paulding * Rockdale

We did want to demolish a house, but …

A Texas-based real estate firm did hire a company to destroy a vacant home on land near Carrollton. But the house that was knocked down on Monday wasn’t the right one, said Chris Nines, chief financial officer for Forestar Group Inc., and the house Forestar wanted demolished is still standing. Al Byrd’s family home at 11 Byrd Trail in the Clem community was destroyed. Forestar owns about 300,000 acres of land in Georgia and east Alabama, Nines said, including property a short walk from Byrd’s home. “We wanted the home torn down,” said Nines, who said clearing the property could potentially make it more attractive to a buyer. Forestar hired Southern Environmental Services, based in Marietta, to handle the ground clearing at 3050 Ga. 16, Nines said. Southern Environmental in turn hired a demolition crew from another company, he said. Neither company could be reached for comment Friday. Forestar supplied the company with photos of the home to be destroyed and the address, Nines said. But the wooden home with a green roof is still standing. And the brick and stucco home —- built by Byrd’s father in 1950 —- is a pile of rubble. ALEXIS STEVENS

Disabled sports program gets short-term funding

Disabled students will be able to continue playing interscholastic sports through a scaled-back program coordinated by the American Association of Adapted Sports Programs Inc. The state Board of Education voted unanimously this week to provide $225,000 in short-term funding for the association, which regulates sports competition for the disabled in much the same way the Georgia High School Association oversees Friday night football and other traditional high school sports. The state Department of Education had planned to wipe out AAASP’s $705,000 in state funding, effective June 30.

NANCY BADERTSCHER

Work on I-985 may cause traffic delays next week

Cable barriers are going up on I-985 in Hall County, starting next week, and motorists could see some delays. The work is scheduled to begin on southbound I-985 from Ga. 13 to south of Ga. 53 on Wednesday and take about a month. Crews also will close the inside lane of I-985 north on Wednesday for guardrail work.

NANCY BADERTSCHER

Hospital to receive

$478,000 donation

The Southern Regional Medical Center Auxiliary will donate $478,000 to the hospital at its 38th annual conference Tuesday, with at least $358,000 going to purchase new equipment. The auxiliary has raised more than $1 million for the Clayton County hospital since 2005.

STEVE VISSER

State

Cumming tax protester sent to federal prison

A Cumming man was sentenced to three years and 10 months in federal prison Friday for obstructing tax laws, not paying his taxes and hiding his income. Daniel Edward Turner, 43, also was ordered to pay $114,053 to the IRS and fined $5,000. Federal prosecutors said that between 1998 and 2004 Turner submitted almost $500,000 in bogus financial instruments —- called bills of exchange —- to the U.S. Treasury Department and IRS to pay his tax liabilities. BILL RANKIN

Dentistry student wins national research award

Atlantan Alpesh Patel, a senior in the Medical College of Georgia’s School of Dentistry, recently placed first in the American Association for Dental Research’s Dentsply/Caulk Student Research Group Award Competition. The competition, open to undergraduate dental students, recognizes original research. Patel was recognized for his research on the use of blue curing light —- typically used to harden dental fillings —- to inhibit the growth of oral cancer cells.

SHELIA POOLE

A dozen people were injured early Friday when a deck collapsed at a bar in East Atlanta Village.

The incident happened shortly before 2 a.m. at My Sister’s Room at 1271 Glenwood Ave., according to Atlanta police dispatchers. Seven of the injured were taken to Atlanta Medical Center, and another five to Grady Memorial Hospital.

Elizabeth Spencer, night administrator at Grady, said five women were being treated for injuries that she described as “not serious —- certainly not life-threatening.” All of those taken to Atlanta Medical Center were released by 8:30 a.m., according to Kendra Gerlach, hospital spokeswoman.

The club is closed for renovations and hopes to reopen June 25, manager Patryce Yeiser said Friday evening. She said the rest of the deck was demolished and there are no plans to rebuild it.