A motorcyclist killed early Saturday was among the three fatalities reported across Georgia during the early part of the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Robert Clark, 56, of Mableton died in the crash, which happened around 1:30 a.m. Saturday on Dodgen Road near Allen Road in south Cobb County, according to Cobb police Sgt.

Georgia’s mild winter and spring gave state Department of Transportation crews and contractors a head start on the summer road construction season, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be plenty of projects underway between now and the fall. David Spear, spokesman for the DOT, said there will be no fewer than 20 major projects underway this summer on Georgia’s interstate highways, many of them in metro Atlanta.

This should be a stellar Memorial Day weekend, with plenty of sunshine, lots of baseball, jazz in the park and gasoline cheaper than anyone expected it to be heading into the summer vacation season. Some of the warmest temperatures so far this year are predicted, with highs climbing into the low 90s on Saturday for the first time since last September.

A Cobb County man convicted of moving in tenants and collecting rent on dozens of homes he didn’t own was sentenced Friday to 40 years in prison, Channel 2 Action News reported. Last week, a jury found John Eugene Harris of Smyrna guilty of 34 counts including burglary, forgery, theft by taking and racketeering in a house-stealing scheme involving his company, “New Life Granted.

The remains found in the Kennesaw area Wednesday morning are those of a Calhoun man missing since August 2009, Cobb County police said Friday. Norris Milton Dove Jr. was 47 when he was reported missing by his wife, Sgt. Dana Pierce with Cobb police said.

Several people were overcome by heat Friday morning during McEachern High School's graduation ceremonies. McEachern was holding graduation in Cantrell Stadium on the school's Powder Springs campus  late Friday morning when several people apparently became sick from the heat.

The Atlanta Regional Commission is hosting a series of telephone chats for residents in each of the 10 metro Atlanta counties about the upcoming regional transportation referendum. Cobb’s phone conference is set for June 6 at 7:30 p.m. and last for one hour.

Volunteers with the Costume Society of America will provide free conservation services to the Marietta Museum of History next week as part of the Society’s annual Angels Project. The Angels Project, held before the start of the Society’s annual symposium, features specialized CSA volunteers working with an area museum.

Heightened fears about a series of burglaries and fires targeting abortion and OB-GYN clinics around metro Atlanta have triggered heightened security across the country. The FBI, which is leading a joint investigation, , is looking at the cases as possibly domestic terrorism or civil rights violations, according to ATF spokesman Richard Coes.

Three bystanders said they didn't think twice when they saw a black Acura drive through the fence and into a Smyrna neighborhood's swimming pool Thursday morning. "We all jumped in," David Huebner told the AJC. It was a good thing they did. A man who apparently suffered a medical emergency was still wearing his seat belt when his sedan plunged into the pool around 11:30 a.

The Cobb County NAACP and the East Cobb Civic Association will host candidate forums next week for county candidates running for office in July. The NAACP forum begins at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the county government building, 100 Cherokee Street in Marietta, and will be broadcast on the county’s cable channel, TV23.

Southern Polytechnic State University in Marietta and Georgia Highlands College in Dallas will extend their collaborative partnership for three more years. GHC has offered classes on SPSU’s campus since 2005. The partnership offers GHC students a more traditional college experience and boosts SPSU’s diversity.

Doctors who expressed concerns about a controversial abortion bill at the State House say they have since been victims of a series of property crimes, the latest of which was a fire Wednesday at a Marietta abortion clinic. Investigators in Gwinnett and Cobb counties and in the cities of Lilburn and Sandy Springs will be comparing notes about their respective cases in the wake of the second fire this week, said Gwinnett police spokesman Cpl.

Cobb Commissioners became the first local government in the state to participate in federal immigration employment program on Tuesday by signing an agreement with ICE. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers program allows employers and local governments to use government tools to perform employment audits to hire legal workers.

The Town Center Area Community Improvement District will host a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday for Noonday Creek Trail. The event will begin the final leg of the trail, and once completed, the trail will be a connection to the Mountain-to-River Trail and west Cobb Trail.

No one was injured in a Wednesday morning fire at a Cobb County obstetrics and gynecology office near Marietta. But investigators were still trying to determine the cause Wednesday afternoon. "When we arrived, there was smoke all in the third floor," Denell Boyd of the Cobb County fire department told the AJC.

If you go to almost any public meeting in Cobb County — no matter the topic — conversation is most likely to turn to the proposed regional transportation referendum. And the voices you’ll hear are often opponents strongly sharing their misgivings. With the county’s commission chairman’s race about to officially launch, the conversation is expected to get even more intense as campaign rivals attack incumbent Tim Lee’s support of the transportation plan that early on included a controversial rail line in Cobb.

Thunderstorms headed east out of the metro Atlanta area Tuesday night, giving way to cloudy skies and temperatures dipping to the low- to mid-60s by daybreak Wednesday. "Drier air rolls in tomorrow and the rest of the week," Channel 2 Action News meteorologist David Chandley said.

A Cobb County judge Tuesday handed down a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for a man convicted of shooting and killing another man in a shopping mall parking lot, Channel 2 Action News reported. A jury on Monday found Rosano Wensley Bundel of Douglasville guilty of killing George Tabetando on Nov.

Authorities issued a lookout Tuesday for a man they described as a serial bank robber responsible for two heists earlier this month in Cobb County. Surveillance videos from the two robberies show the suspect sucking on a big blue lollipop in one, and talking on a cellphone in both.

The Popeyes restaurant chain said Monday it has apologized to the college student asked to leave a Cobb County location because he had his service dog with him. Taylor Gipson, 20, has Type 1 diabetes and relies on a British Lab named Bear to alert him to rises or drops in his blood sugar levels, he told the AJC.

The state of Georgia grants thousands of dollars in tax credits for each job created within designated "opportunity zones" -- areas with high unemployment, vacancies or other signs of economic distress. Lately, Atlanta and a number of job-hungry neighbors -- including Smyrna, Alpharetta and Marietta -- have succeeded in getting parts of their cities named as such zones, or are trying to win state approval.

A Cobb County woman is accused of stealing nearly $1 million dollars since 2001 from the company where she worked, according to an arrest warrant obtained by the AJC. Angela Lynn Williamson, 43, of Marietta, was arrested Monday at a business in Kennesaw and charged with 11 felony counts of theft by taking, Cobb County jail records show.

In his last job as a consultant he was caught on tape angrily confronting the investigator who launched the statewide review of suspicious test scores. This time, James Wilson, has been hired to help the Cobb County School District convince voters to support a sales tax referendum.

A Cobb County jury Monday convicted a man who shot and killed another man in the parking lot of the Cumberland Mall shopping center on the busy Thanksgiving Day holiday weekend, Channel 2 Action News reported. Rosano Wensley Bundel of Douglasville was found guilty of killing George Tabetando on Nov.

Students in Cobb County will get another day off over the winter holiday as well as a couple more days off during the rest of the school year That is one result of the austerity budget approved by the county school board Monday. Another result: more crowding in classrooms.

A Smyrna man died Saturday while competing in a triathlon on the Georgia coast. Christopher Petty, 44, was in the swimming portion of the Jekyll Island Turtle Crawl Triathlon when he suffered an apparent cardiac arrest and was rescued from the water by event lifeguards, according to Jekyll Island Authority spokesman Eric Garvey.

Cobb County mailed out about 230,000 annual assessment notices on Friday and almost half the properties dropped in value. The value drop for the 107,000 or 46.5 percent of the properties, is due to market conditions or to state law requirements. Only about 600 properties increased in value due to market conditions.

Cobb Senior Services will hold a free health fair on Wednesday in Marietta. Activities will be catered toward seniors age 55 and older, their caregivers and adult children. Hearing, glucose, blood pressure, cholesterol and skin cancer screenings will be provided.

Author Wendy Wax will be the featured speaker during the Cobb Library Foundation’s Booked for Lunch event on Wednesday. Wax, a Florida native and current suburban Atlanta resident, has written books that have been included in the Rhapsody Book Club. Her latest novel, Ten Beach Road, tells the tale of three women bankrupted by a Ponzi scheme.

Gov. Nathan Deal will be the keynote speaker for the 60th annual Atlanta Regional Military Affairs Council Luncheon on Tuesday at the Cobb Galleria Centre. The luncheon is held to honor service members and recognize their sacrifices for the country. The event will also include a ceremony for fallen soldiers and the presentation of the 2012 USO Patriot of the Year Award.

For nearly two years, a four-legged friend has followed 20-year-old Taylor Gipson of north Fulton County everywhere he goes. Whether he's in classes at Kennesaw State University or at a restaurant with his family, Gipson's British lab, Bear, is also there.

For the second Friday in a row, a Cobb County bank was robbed by a man sucking a lollipop. Cobb police are looking for the man who stole an undisclosed amount of cash from the Regions bank at 2048 Macland Crossing Circle in Marietta. The man, who had a lollipop in his mouth, walked in just before noon and showed a teller a note that said he had a gun, investigators said.

It was a birthday party for an old middle school buddy with drinking and drugs when former U.S. Marine and Iraq war vet Zachary Gamble started talking about the atrocities he’d seen in combat and the night took a turn for the worse. A Cobb County detective testified in court Friday that Gamble’s friend asked him to leave.

Sandy Springs police said two suspects in a robbery outside a Bank of America were captured Friday, but the search continued for others. The robbery victim told Channel 2 Action News that he was headed into the bank in the 8700 block of Roswell Road to make a deposit when a money pouch was grabbed from his hands.

Cobb officials will break ground on the Cobb Community Transit Mobility Center on Tuesday at the CCT offices in Marietta. The mobility center is being built to accommodate CCT paratransit operations, including reservations, scheduling and dispatch. The facility will also include a learning center to provide travel training for seniors and people with disabilities.

The Mableton Day Coalition will host a Mableton Day celebration for area residents on Saturday at the Mable House Arts Complex. The event will include a 5K race, live entertainment, vendor booths and a car show. The celebration, organized by three Mableton community groups, is meant to foster pride in the south Cobb area, introduce residents to the area’s businesses and gain volunteers for various outreach programs.

Keep Cobb Beautiful will host an electronics recycling day on Saturday in Marietta. Computer monitors, microwaves, telephones, video games and other small electronics will be accepted at no charge. Televisions will be accepted for $10. Residents can also donate shoes to the Soles4Souls organization that delivers footwear to people in need all over the world.

Developers are set to begin construction of the Sanctuary at Kennesaw, a mixed-use development of student housing and retail shops. The housing portion of privately financed and managed project is valued at about $40 million and will include multi-bedroom units to house 850 Kennesaw State University students.

The Cobb County school board failed to agree on a 2012-13 budget Thursday night. The board previously approved a tentative $842 million general fund budget that sliced five days from the school calendar and cut 350 teaching positions, increasing average class sizes by two students across all grades.

Parts of metro Atlanta could see a repeat Friday of strong storms similar to those that left scattered damage across the area Thursday evening. Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Karen Minton said  the storms -- like those Thursday -- will be widely scattered Friday afternoon and evening.

A wrong-way driver touched off a multicar wreck on I-285 in Cobb County early Friday. Six vehicles were involved in the wreck, which happened before 3:30 a.m. on I-285 northbound near Atlanta Road, according to Channel 2 Action News. No serious injuries were reported.

A Cobb County man could get more than 60 years in prison after a jury found him guilty Thursday of moving in tenants and collecting rent on homes he didn’t own, Channel 2 Action News reported. John Eugene Harris, of Smyrna, had been charged with multiple offenses including burglary, forgery, theft by taking and racketeering in a house-stealing scheme involving his company, “New Life Granted.

The Cobb County school board failed to agree on a 2012-13 budget Thursday night. The board previously approved a tentative $842 million general fund budget that sliced five days from the school calendar and cut 350 teaching positions, increasing average class sizes by two students across all grades.

Next week Cobb County will become the first Georgia municipality to participate in a volunteer federal program aimed at hiring legal workers. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers program allows employers and local governments to use government tools to perform employment audits to potentially curtail the use of fake documents and employing illegal workers.

Cobb County firefighters were on the scene of a blaze early Thursday that caused major damage to a tire and auto repair shop in Powder Springs. The fire broke out in the predawn hours at Mac's Tire Service on Austell-Powder Springs Road. No injuries were reported.

Cobb County police say they are looking for three men who claimed to be police officers as they tried to break into a Marietta home early Wednesday. The incident occurred around 5 a.m at a residence on Chisholm Trail. A male resident heard the perpetrators banging on the back door demanding to be let in because they were the police, investigators said.

Cobb County will honor its fallen officers on Thursday in Marietta Square as part of Law Enforcement Week. The annual “Never Let Them Walk Alone” memorial is hosted by the Kermit C. Sanders Lodge 13 of the Fraternal Order of Police. Channel 2 Action News anchor Monica Pearson will be the featured speaker.

A Douglasville man died Wednesday morning after a motorcycle he was riding collided with an sport-utility vehicle in Mableton, Cobb County police said. Vernon Patterson was riding his black 1979 Harley Davidson FLH eastbound in the left lane of Veterans Memorial Highway at 7:25 a.

A pedestrian struck by a car in Cobb County last weekend has died, police said Wednesday. Jennie Coston, 55, of Marietta was hit about 10 p.m. Sunday as she tried to cross South Cobb Drive near Appleton Drive in Marietta, according to the Cobb County Police Department.

The candidate count is up to five in the race for commissioner in Cobb’s southwest district, currently represented by Woody Thompson. Thompson, the commission’s only Democrat, has been quiet about his reelection campaign. He is being challenged by law student and community activist Lisa Cupid, businesswoman Connie Taylor, Air Force Master Sergeant Michael Rhett and community organizer Monica DeLancy.

Cherokee County's River Ridge High School is one of 240 schools in the nation to receive the Yearbook of Excellence Award from Jostens Yearbooks. The award recognizes yearbook staffs for creating an inclusive yearbook, generating school engagement and successfully managing the yearbook creation process.

Emily Lam of SKA Academy in Duluth and Raquel Charles of Sequoyah High School in Cherokee County have received National PTA Reflections Outstanding Interpretation awards. Emily won for visual arts and Raquel won for dance choreography. Winners are chosen in six arts categories along with 188 awards of excellence and merit.

Cobb County has been certified as a Georgia Work Ready Community for having a skilled workforce and the educational infrastructure to drive economic growth. The designation requires counties to demonstrate a commitment to improving public high school graduation rates through a measurable increase and drive residents who haven’t received a high school diploma to take the GED.

A Cobb County teenager was arrested after he allegedly sent naked pictures of himself to three juvenile girls, according to police. Lawrence Tyler Colin, 17, of Mableton, was charged with having obscene material, a misdemeanor, and booked into the Cobb County jail Saturday evening, booking records show.

Two teenagers were injured Tuesday evening in a single-car wreck on a west Cobb County road. The wreck happened about 6:15 p.m.Tuesday in Nichols Road near Mars Hill Road between Powder Springs and Acworth. Cobb police spokesman Michael Bowman told AM750 and 95.

Cobb County Commissioners denied a zoning request Tuesday for a south Cobb-area waste transfer station’s plans for expansion. The decision came after months of stops and starts during which residents in the surrounding community lobbied hard against the plan.

A Roswell man allegedly caught peering into a woman's apartment window early Saturday committed the same crime five years ago, according to police records. In the recent incident, Michael David Quinn, 37, started running when he was spotted at an apartment window by a Milton police officer, according to an incident report obtained by the AJC.

The Cobb Alcohol Taskforce needs volunteers to help conduct a community assessment. Volunteers are also needed to participate in the survey. The survey asks opinions, use and attitudes about alcohol, and is being conducted as part of a statewide alcohol prevention program.

The Cobb Chamber of Commerce will host its annual business-to-business expo on Thursday at the Cobb Galleria. The expo is a networking opportunity for businesses to interact with more than 1,500 potential customers, vendors, executives and other business owners.

A Marietta mother got a Mother’s Day surprise from the Georgia Lottery: A $206,502 jackpot in the Fantasy 5 drawing for Sunday. The numbers on Blakely Wolf’s ticket matched all five winning numbers, lottery officials said. “My husband called me into the living room this morning and told me,” said Wolf, who has a 9-year-old son.

A Marietta man who falsely claimed to have been hired by terrorists to build a weapon that could bring down an airliner was sentenced Monday to nearly three years in a federal penitentiary, authorities said. Henry Guy Jones pleaded guilty last month to lying to federal agents when he told them of the alleged plot, in which he was to build a weapon that could contain a combustible, poisonous or toxic device that would be released on board a commercial passenger plane, prosecutors said.

Foreclosure notices in metro Atlanta during May held steady, avoiding both the longed-for decline and a feared second wave of rising numbers. “Things are very consistent right now,” said Barry Bramlett, the CEO of Equity Depot, the Kennesaw-based real estate analysis firm that gathers the data.

Rain that was heavy at times on Sunday had diminished to mostly drizzle by the Monday morning commute, but a chance of showers remains in the forecast through midweek. Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Karen Minton said the chance of rain is 40 percent on Monday and 20 percent Tuesday and Wednesday, with sunny skies forecast for Thursday and Friday.

It took birds to ground a south Cobb-area waste transfer station’s plans for expansion: After months of deliberations, Cobb County’s planners are recommending against the plan, and county commissioners could reject the proposal Tuesday. The Bankhead C&D Transfer Station in Mableton along Veterans Memorial Highway had petitioned the county for a zoning change to allow it to take in household garbage.

Thanks to a compromise worked out by Harrison and Roswell high schools, the Mill Creek High School girls soccer team won't have to miss their prom Saturday night. But they can put away their cleats. The soccer season ended Saturday afternoon for Mill Creek, shut out 1-0 by the defending state champ Harrison.

An early Saturday fire that Douglas County authorities have labeled as “suspicious” destroyed a century-old, dilapidated cotton mill that has stood vacant for many years. The overnight fire at the General Western Cotton Mill on East Broad Street (Bankhead Highway) in Douglasville resulted in no injuries, according to Wes Tallon, a spokesman for the Douglas County Board of Commissioners.

A pair of civil lawsuits have been filed months after a Cobb County nurse anesthetist was sent to prison for sedating female dental patients awaiting surgeries and sexually assaulting them as they lay unconscious. Paul Patrick Serdula, who was sentenced to life plus 25 years, also videotaped his assaults on the patients, among them a 15-year-old girl.

If you’re going to introduce a new jazz program, it might as well be one created by an industry heavyweight. “Jazz Roots: A Larry Rosen Jazz Series” will debut in Atlanta at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre this fall, the fourth market for the concert event that launched in Miami in 2008 under Rosen’s guidance.

Cobb County police are looking for the man who robbed a bank Friday morning while sucking a lollipop. The incident happened at the Wells Fargo bank at 5010 Floyd Road in Mableton. The suspect, with a lollipop in his mouth, entered the bank around 10:30 a.

Once again, the state is preparing to put the I-75/I-575 toll project out to bid, in June. The project would build optional toll lanes along I-75 and I-575 in Cobb and Cherokee counties, from the Perimeter to Hickory Grove Road and to Sixes Road. The cost approaches $1 billion, to be funded largely by gas taxes paid by all Georgia drivers -- whether or not they drive the toll lanes -- and by tolls.

Cobb County can likely move forward with its July elections under a new district map drawn this week by a U.S. district court judge, barring an appeal to the judge's order. The map, drawn and ordered enacted by Judge Steve Jones, prevents the county from having to hold a costly special election.

That tall smoke stack of a coal-burning power plant that has towered over south Cobb County for the past four decades will soon be coming down, Channel 2 Action News reported. In April, Georgia Power fired up the second of three 840-megawatt units burning natural gas at Plant McDonough, along the Chattahoochee River across from northwest Atlanta.

Lisa Crossman, director of clinical and prevention services for Cobb and Douglas Public Health, received the Cobb Executive Women 2012 Glass Ceiling Award this week. The award was created in 1991 to recognize an individual with a history of promoting qualified women in their professional and personal development through workplace advancement.

Cobb County Commission Chairman Tim Lee will hold a town hall meeting on Monday in Mableton. The will be the last of four town hall meetings Lee has held in each of the four commission districts this year. Lee will discuss issues impacting the area, as well as, all of Cobb County.

Looking for a pet to call your own? The Cobb County Animal Control Shelter will hold an adopt-a-thon  from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  May 19 at 1060 Al Bishop Dr. in Marietta. Last year, the shelter held three adopt-a-thons placing about 180 pets. Officials hope to break new records with events this year.

A Cobb County man accused of stealing from his elderly father-in-law has been re-arrested on additional charges, according to police. Donald Eye, 53, was arrested last month after he allegedly stole the 83-year-old victim's identification and used it to open several credit card accounts, according to Eye's previous arrest warrant.

A woman charged with fleeing a hit-and-run accident in which a Smyrna motorcycle police officer was seriously hurt was released from the Cobb County jail Wednesday after posting $25,000 bond, Channel 2 Action News reported. Jennifer Karen Cook, 21, of Chamblee was charged with hit-and-run and serious injury by vehicle, both felonies, and failure to yield while making a left turn, a misdemeanor, in connection with the Tuesday afternoon accident.

Firefighters from Cobb County Fire and Emergency Services will be out Friday for the second of three days collecting donations for the Georgia Firefighters Burn Foundation. Money raised by Cobb firefighters in the annual “Give Burns the Boot” fundraiser will also go to Camp Oo-U-La, the state’s only camp exclusively for burn-injured children that is funded entirely by the Burn Foundation.

Cobb Commissioners approved Tuesday new licenses fees for Sunday alcohol package sales through the end of the year and established an annual license fee for retailers. The new fees are contingent on a July 31 countywide vote to allow Sunday alcohol sales.

Four Mexican nationals operating out of Cobb County were sentenced to prison Wednesday for making and selling counterfeit documents used by illegal immigrants to avoid detection in the United States, federal authorities said. “These defendants ran an operation that enabled many illegal aliens to get their hands on identification that made it appear as if they were legally in the United States,” U.

The Marietta school board is reviewing plans for a historic marker after a board member objected to the language used to refer to African-Americans. At issue is a marker for the all-black Lemon Street School, which operated in Marietta during the era of segregation.

Tateasa Adams, offered a position just a few days earlier, thought she was returning to Six Flags Over Georgia for a follow-up interview. She ended up in handcuffs, arrested on an outstanding warrant for missing a court date for two misdemeanor traffic violations in Gwinnett County.

Marietta police charged an 18-year-old man Tuesday with aggravated assault with intent to murder in the stabbing of a pawn shop employee during a robbery. Tomas Lopez Torres Jr., of Marietta, had been arrested Monday for the armed robbery of a Chevron gas station at South Marietta Parkway and Powers Ferry Road, police said.

The Marietta-Roswell Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. will host its annual community empowerment summit on May 19. Keynote speaker, radio personality and Rainbow PUSH-Atlanta executive Janice Mathis, will discuss how to vote smart during the 2012 elections.

The Georgia Supreme Court has disbarred Powder Springs lawyer Robert E. Bach from the practice of law for abandoning clients, among other violations. Bach, who represented clients in bankruptcy cases, had been suspended from practice by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Atlanta, the court said.

A U.S. district judge will draw a new district map for Cobb County this week. If the plan stays on track, it would keep July elections on schedule and prevent the need for county residents to pay for a special election. Cobb officials were in court Monday for a hearing on the county's current map, which had been challenged by a Marietta attorney for not accurately reflecting the latest census numbers and for violating the one person, one vote principle.

The convicted killer accused of trying to snatch a 7-year-old girl from a west Georgia Wal-Mart has been indicted for the alleged attempted kidnapping. Thomas Andrew Woods, of Austell, remains in the Haralson County jail without bond following his grand jury indictment Friday.

The Junior League of Cobb-Marietta ended its 2011-2012 year last week with its annual meeting and awards presentations. During the year, 151 League members volunteered more than 10,000 hours with Cobb community organizations and programs including Cobb Diaper Day and the Kids in the Kitchen program.

Cobb County Commissioner JoAnn Birrell will hold a town hall meeting for constituents of her northeast district on Wednesday in Marietta. Birrell will discuss development around the district, as well as, improvements and issues throughout the county. The meeting begins at 6 p.

Jessica Colotl, the Kennesaw State University graduate who reignited a statewide debate over whether illegal immigrants should attend public colleges, received permission to remain in the country another year, her attorney said Monday. Federal officials first granted Colotl a one-year deferment from deportation in 2010 so she could finish her degree in political science.

Thunderstorms brought vivid lightning, strong winds and hail across metro Atlanta Sunday night and another round of severe weather is possible on Monday. Heavy rain from Sunday's storms apparently contributed to a wreck in south Fulton County that left two people dead.

In any given year, fewer than 2 percent of the City of Atlanta's employees are told by their bosses their performance needs improvement or is unacceptable. More than half are given top marks -- rated highly effective or outstanding, according to documents obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Channel 2 Action News.

A vehicle belonging to the agent who led the state's investigation of the Florida Highway Patrol's culpability in a deadly crash on I-75 has been vandalized by someone who apparently disagreed with its findings, state officials said Friday.

A Cobb County grand jury has indicted a former church volunteer with 15 counts of child molestation and aggravated child molestation for alleged sex crimes against children, Channel 2 Action News reported. Cesar Pastrana was arrested in February after he had inappropriate contact with students while volunteering at NorthStar Church in Acworth, police said.

Atlanta police say they have ruled out any connection between the Friday morning assault of a Kennesaw State University student and two attempted abductions early Wednesday in Reynoldstown and Edgewood. Police were comparing notes on the three cases after witnesses provided coinciding details that seemed to point to the same suspect.

Ten-year-old Sydney Fialkow is the winner of the National Uncle Ben’s Beginner’s contest! The fifth grader at the Epstein School in Atlanta won $20,000 and a $50,000 cafeteria makeover for her school. She was named the grand prize winner of the cooking and nutrition contest after more than 700 videos submissions and 45,000 votes.

A female student was assaulted on the Kennesaw State University campus Friday morning, authorities said. An emailed  statement from the university said the attack occurred around 6 a.m. at the KSU Place student housing, near the victim's vehicle. A text alert sent earlier to Kennesaw State students said it was a sexual assault, but officials are now saying the nature of the attack is unclear.

A 19-year-old Acworth man and his mother are both facing charges related to a crash that killed a motorcyclist in Cherokee County, authorities said Thursday. Giovanni Aragon-Mercado is suspected of having fallen asleep at the wheel and crossing the center line in his Lincoln Navigator about 5 p.

A Cobb County woman allegedly gave herself paycheck bonuses totaling nearly $173,000 while working as a payroll manager for a doctor's office, according to police. Patty Jean Holmes, 47, of Mableton, is accused of using her office computer to add cash advances on her paychecks while working for her Marietta employer between September 2010 and December 2011, according to her arrest warrant obtained by the AJC.