http://www.ajc.com The latest headlines from AJC en-us Copyright 2008, Cox Newspapers Inc., AJC Sun, 23 Nov 2008 13:29:15 EST Newspapers COXnet RSS Generator v1.0 http://img.coxnewsweb.com/C/08/17/52/image_1352178.jpg http://www.ajc.com 5 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/cobb/stories/2008/11/21/marietta_store_robbery_attempt.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/cobb/stories/2008/11/21/marietta_store_robbery_attempt.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Fri, 21 Nov 2008 23:19:17 EST A would-be robber apparently got more than he bargained for when he tried to rob a Cobb County package store. When a man wearing a hoodie and carrying a gun tried to rob the Windy Hill Package store, the owner fired a handgun at him, police spokesman Dana Pierce said. The owner of the store at 2425 Windy Hill Road in Marietta believes he shot the suspect as he ran from the store during the Nov. 15 robbery attempt. A store security camera captured the incident as it unfolded around 7:30 p.m. at the store near Cobb Parkway. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/cobb/stories/2008/11/21/cobb_killing_suspect.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/cobb/stories/2008/11/21/cobb_killing_suspect.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:26:00 EST Marietta police are looking for Richard Wayne Smith in connection with last week's robbery and stabbing that left a man dead inside a Franklin Road apartment. Smith, 21, has been on the run since police say he brutally stabbed George Nelson inside Nelson's home at Autumn View Apartments on Nov. 15, according to police spokesman Mark Bishop. Nelson, 42, was stabbed several times in the face, head and neck with a knife and a fork. Police say the suspect struck Nelson with another object to his head and stomped on his body. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/cobb/stories/2008/11/21/cobb_murder_suspect.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/cobb/stories/2008/11/21/cobb_murder_suspect.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Fri, 21 Nov 2008 12:08:27 EST A fugitive wanted for an Ohio murder was arrested at a Kennesaw motel Thursday night, authorities said. Cherokee County sheriff's Sgt. Jay Baker said investigators with the Cherokee Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad arrested an unnamed suspect in Woodstock for selling Ecstasy, and that arrest led to a search of a hotel room on Barrett Parkway in Kennesaw. During the search, investigators seized 179 Ecstasy pills and arrested Reginald Griffin, 29, of Kennesaw, Baker said. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/stories/2008/11/20/space_station_atlanta.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/stories/2008/11/20/space_station_atlanta.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Thu, 20 Nov 2008 21:21:10 EST Georgia Tech fans were treated to a live feed of space shuttle Endeavour and their alumni crew members on the Bobby Dodd Stadium video board Thursday night. Aboard the spacecraft are three Tech grads, pilot Col. Eric Boe and crew members Lt. Col. Robert "Shane" Kimbrough and Sandra Magnus. The crowd, already fired up by Tech's early 3-0 lead over Miami, cheered its approval as the astronauts were saluted between the first and second quarters. Among the Tech faithful at Bobby Dodd Stadium was one fan dressed as an astronaut. Earlier in the evening, the shuttle, docked with the international space station, passed over Atlanta at about 6:10, the school said. The station was visible as a moving star-like light in the sky. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/cobb/stories/2008/11/20/cobb_school_computers.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/cobb/stories/2008/11/20/cobb_school_computers.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:47:18 EST Attention Cobb parents: if you're planning to e-mail a teacher or other school system employee — or check your child's grades online — plan to do so before 5 p.m. Friday. That's when a major electrical upgrade is scheduled to begin. All information technology services, including Internet and e-mail, will be disabled. All IT services are scheduled to resume at 6 a.m. Dec. 1. Schools will be closed Monday through Friday of next week for the Thanksgiving holiday. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/stories/2008/11/19/federal_aid_atlanta.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/stories/2008/11/19/federal_aid_atlanta.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Thu, 20 Nov 2008 10:56:06 EST Georgia's largest local governments have all agreed to ask for federal money to create governmental house-flipping programs in hopes of propping up values in neighborhoods beset by foreclosures. In all, Atlanta and Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Clayton and Cobb counties stand to get about $81 million in federal aid through the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. There's a total of $153 million headed to Georgia. The program is part of the federal government's ongoing efforts to resolve the economic and foreclosure crisis. It allows local governments to buy problem foreclosures, fix them up and then sell or rent the properties to some of the same folks who have lost their homes during the crisis. They can also use it to create special financing to make the properties affordable. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/cobb/stories/2008/11/19/cobb_nebraska_child.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/cobb/stories/2008/11/19/cobb_nebraska_child.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Thu, 20 Nov 2008 10:09:25 EST Tysheema Brown may get the lifeline she was seeking when she drove 1,000 miles with her troubled 12-year-old to drop him off at a Nebraska safe haven last month. Officials at Boys Town High School in Boys Town, Neb., said Wednesday they are in contact with the Smyrna mother about the possibility of admitting her son. Meanwhile, Nebraska lawmakers voted to add an age-limit to the law that has allowed Brown and dozens of other parents to abandon teenagers in the state's care without fear of prosecution. Brown said last month the year she spent at the renowned school for at-risk teenagers changed her life. She tried unsuccessfully last spring to get her son into Boys Town after he was found guilty of stealing a camera at school. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/cobb/stories/2008/11/20/west_village_leases_cobb.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/cobb/stories/2008/11/20/west_village_leases_cobb.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:16:12 EST The developer of the 63-acre West Village mixed-use neighborhood in south Cobb County will be able to lease condominiums for a longer period, until the market improves enough to sell them. The County Commission has approved developer Branch Properties to lease the condos beyond the five years agreed upon when West Village was approved four years ago. The development, on Atlanta Road near I-285 in Vinings, has a mix of retail space, townhomes, single-family homes and condos. Rent on the condos is about $1,500 a month. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/cobb/stories/2008/11/19/cobb_swat.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/cobb/stories/2008/11/19/cobb_swat.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:19:19 EST The day after she filed paperwork to evict people living in a Marietta home she owns, Flore Anderson learned her rental property was the scene of crime. A two-hour standoff ended without incident Wednesday afternoon when three suspects surrendered to Cobb County police and SWAT team officials. Anderson said she has no idea who any of the three are. Last month, she found out her tenant -- Triscilla McMickens -- died Aug. 27 at age 41. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/cobb/stories/2008/11/18/marietta_schools_grant.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/cobb/stories/2008/11/18/marietta_schools_grant.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:13:41 EST If the city of Marietta and its school system get their wish, students may be able to walk or bike to school, rather than relying on the bus. The city and school system are joining forces to apply for a grant worth up to $500,000 designed to get students healthier and improve the community at the same time. The grant would be used to build sidewalks and improve crosswalks. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/cobb/stories/2008/11/17/cobb_child_killed.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/cobb/stories/2008/11/17/cobb_child_killed.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Tue, 18 Nov 2008 18:51:12 EST A 22-year-old Austell man has been charged with murder in the death of a baby at a Cobb County apartment complex. Orlando Dyer was arrested Thursday on aggravated battery and child cruelty charges after emergency medical personnel arrived at the Whisper Woods Apartment complex and found the 2-month-old girl not breathing and bleeding from the nose and mouth. The girl was taken off life support and pronounced dead Friday at Egleston Hospital, said Cobb police spokesman Sgt. Dana Pierce. The charges were upgraded Monday to felony murder. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/cobb/stories/2008/11/18/cobb_pedestrian_child.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/cobb/stories/2008/11/18/cobb_pedestrian_child.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:02:00 EST Altamesa Walker's children still don't completely understand the tragedy that thrust their family into the spotlight Monday. Walker, 31, and her children spent the night at her mother's Smyrna apartment Sunday night. Early Monday, they rose to start their journey to work and day care. As the family attempted to cross five-lane South Cobb Drive just north of King Springs Road to catch a bus, they were struck by a car. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/cobb/stories/2008/11/17/child_killed_pedestrian.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/cobb/stories/2008/11/17/child_killed_pedestrian.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Tue, 18 Nov 2008 11:06:51 EST Smyrna police do not expect to file charges against the driver that struck a mother and her four children early Monday, killing a young girl. The five were hit about 6:15 a.m. while trying to cross five-lane South Cobb Drive just north of King Springs Road, Smyrna police spokesman Michael Smith said. Four-year-old Brandee Kelley was killed in the accident, Smith said. Her mother, Altamesa Walker, 31, and the three other children were taken to a local hospital for treatment of injuries that he described as "superficial." Smith said the other children ranged in age from about 2 to about 6. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/cobb/stories/2008/11/18/cobb_airport_name.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/cobb/stories/2008/11/18/cobb_airport_name.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Tue, 18 Nov 2008 11:05:18 EST A proposed name change for Cobb County Airport-McCollum Field may have stalled on the runway. Supporters of renaming the Kennesaw airport Atlanta Executive Airport-Cobb County-McCollum Field say the new name would reflect its growing regional status. The airport advisory board, established in June to develop long-range planning for McCollum, recommended the name change after key businesses at McCollum proposed the idea. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/cobb/stories/2008/11/17/cobb_ramp_light.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/cobb/stories/2008/11/17/cobb_ramp_light.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Mon, 17 Nov 2008 18:34:37 EST Commuters through Cobb County on I-575 will encounter new ramp meters this week. The meters resemble traffic lights and control access to the interstate. Ramp meters from Barrett Parkway and Chastain Road onto I-575 north and south bound were activated Monday. On Tuesday and Wednesday, ramp meters at Bells Ferry Road and state road 92 will be turned on to control cars entering I-575 north and south bound during morning and afternoon rush hours. The lights are installed about two-thirds of the way down the entrance ramps and allow one vehicle at a time onto the interstate.