Community News

City of Atlanta

Screen on the Green back with ‘Future’

It’s “Back to the Future” today when Screen on the Green returns to Centennial Olympic Park. The free public film showcase, now in its 10th year, kicks off at sunset with the Michael J. Fox classic film.

Formerly held at Piedmont Park and moved downtown due to the drought, Screen on the Green shows one movie each Thursday for five consecutive weeks in the summer. Presented by Turner’s Peachtree TV, the event runs from 6 to 11 p.m. and includes performances from local artists. Movies begin at sunset.

Peachtree TV spokeswoman Gina McKenzie said organizers have not begun discussing whether Screen on the Green will return to Piedmont Park in 2010 or later years.

Moviegoers can bring their own food or buy on-site, but leave your adult beverages at home. (They’re available for purchase at the event.) All coolers, baskets and backpacks will be checked by security.

The event runs rain or shine, except in the event of lightning, McKenzie said.

Sponsored by the Sunshine House, the rest of the lineup is “Dreamgirls,” June 4; “Field of Dreams,” June 11; “Home Alone,” June 18; and “Ghostbusters,” the winner of an online vote, June 25. KATIE LESLIE

St. Joseph’s center to focus on robotic surgery

St. Joseph’s Hospital on Wednesday announced the formation of the Visconti Center for Robotics, which houses minimally invasive robotic technologies for surgeries.

The center includes the daVinci surgical system for cardiac, urologic, thoracic, gynecologic and general surgery procedures.

The center also includes the MAKO plasty technology for partial knee replacement procedures, as well as the Hansen Sensei Robotic Catheter System for advanced cardiac electrophysiology procedures, including treatment of atrial fibrillation.

As conceived, the Visconti Center for Robotics will replace the current outpatient surgery area on the ground floor of the Stella Maris Outpatient Center on Saint Joseph’s Sandy Springs campus. When completely remodeled, the Visconti Center will feature five uniquely designed robotic surgery operating rooms, six extended-stay observation rooms and 12 pre- and post-surgery prep/recovery bays. CRAIG SCHNEIDER

Grady awards contract for tech improvements

Grady Memorial Hospital officials selected a vendor Wednesday to perform $38 million worth of information technology improvements.

Grady selected Epic Systems Corp. of Wisconsin to overhaul the entire system, which includes admissions, patient tracking and electronic medical imaging. The improvements are expected to speed a patient’s admission to the hospital as well as track their care and billing.

It will reduce errors, Grady CEO Michael Young said.

Work on the system will begin next week and should be completed by September 2010. CRAIG SCHNEIDER

Zoo Atlanta euthanizes ailing antelope

Bingo, the oldest male eastern bongo antelope in North America, was euthanized Sunday at Zoo Atlanta, zoo officials said Wednesday.

Zoo spokeswoman Simone Griffin said Bingo, at age 17, was the fourth-oldest bongo in captivity worldwide.

Bingo was born May 5, 1992, at Miami Metrozoo and had lived at Zoo Atlanta since 2002.

The decision to euthanize Bingo was made after his health began to decline suddenly Saturday, Griffin said.

A necropsy will be performed at the University of Georgia’s College of Veterinary Medicine. MIKE MORRIS

Cobb

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

Former teacher charged in sex assault of student

A former English teacher at Marietta High School has been charged with sexually assaulting a 17-year-old female student, according to police.

Christopher Richard King, 36, was arrested at his home Wednesday afternoon, said Officer Jennifer Murphy with Marietta police.

King, who also served as the journalism teacher at the school, resigned Tuesday, said Thomas Algarin, a spokesman for Marietta schools.

King had been employed with the district since 2004. During the recent school year, he taught sophomore English classes, Algarin said. ALEXIS STEVENS

Man charged with trying to steal pricey wine

A man accused of stealing high-priced wine from Costco denies the allegations, his attorney says.

Maximilian Edward Mamahit, 37, was jailed Tuesday evening on allegations he switched the UPC labels on three bottles of wine, according to an arrest warrant.

Mamahit faces a felony shoplifting charge of exiting the store with three bottles of wine valued at nearly $2,400, according to police. He was arrested and booked into the Cobb County jail.

Mamahit was out of jail early Wednesday morning on $3,500 bond. A court date has not been set, said his attorney, Thomas Nagel. ALEXIS STEVENS

DeKalb

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

Meetings set for input on Dunwoody land use plan

Dunwoody will hold a series of meetings to obtain public input as city officials prepare a comprehensive plan.

“This is the policy document that will guide future land use decisions, budgeting decisions and infrastructure decisions,” Community Development Director Jennifer Peterson said.

Public outreach meetings are scheduled for Monday, June 23, July 7, Aug. 3 and Sept. 24 at the Dunwoody United Methodist Church at 1548 Mount Vernon Road. All meetings are to begin at 7 p.m.

For more information, visit www.dunwoodyga.gov or contact Peterson at jennifer.peterson @dunwoodyga.gov. RALPH ELLIS

Fulton

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

Search on for robber of East Point bank

East Point police were searching for a suspect Wednesday in a late-morning bank robbery.

The robbery happened about 10 a.m. at the Regions branch in the 2800 block of Main Street, East Point police Detective Cliff Chandler said.

Chandler said no shots were fired and no one was injured before the robber fled with an undetermined amount of money.

Police searched the MARTA rail station across the street from the bank, but Chandler said investigators didn’t know how the man made his getaway. MIKE MORRIS

Gwinnett

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

15-year-old girl found dancing at strip bar

A man and woman were charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor Friday night after Gwinnett County police busted an alleged illegal strip club operating out of a Lilburn bar with dancers as young as 15 years old.

The owner of Lucky Billiards on Indian Trail-Lilburn Road, Jay Young Kim, was arrested, along with a dancer, Whitney Faith Blackburn.

Kim, 45, of Norcross, and Blackburn, 21, of Acworth, were released on bond Saturday morning.

According to a Gwinnett police incident report, an undercover officer went into the bar just before 11 p.m. Friday to investigate “numerous drug and possible prostitution complaints.”

When the dancers, who were dressed in underwear, saw the officer, they “immediately ran toward the back room behind a closed curtain and began changing their clothes,” according to the report.

When officers questioned the women, they discovered that one was only 15 years old, police said.

The underage girl was released to her mother’s custody, and Blackburn was booked into the jail on a misdemeanor charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. MIKE MORRIS

‘Family’ redefined for zoning ordinance

Gwinnett County has redefined the term “family.”

The County Commission voted Tuesday to change its zoning ordinance to restrict the number and constitution of people living in a house.

The change defines a family as one or more people related by blood, marriage, adoption or guardianship; not more than three unrelated people; or not more than two unrelated people and any minor children related to either of them.

The current ordinance defines a family as a group of not more than eight people occupying a single dwelling.

County officials say they receive about 300 complaints each year based upon occupancy limit violations.

The ordinance allows for variances in cases of unusual hardship. PATRICK FOX

Evermore CID’s fate rests with property owners

Property owners for the embattled Evermore Community Improvement District will decide today whether to keep or dissolve the self-taxing south Gwinnett business group.

No CID has ever been voted to be dissolved, board Vice Chairman Dwight Harrison said. A vote must take place every six years.

Two-thirds of the approximately 380 commercial property owners must vote to eliminate the CID for that to happen.

In addition, those owners must make up 75 percent of the value of the property within the CID, which stretches from the DeKalb County line to the city of Snellville along U.S. 78.

Property owners also will vote on whether to re-elect board members Kenny King and Emory Morsberger. The election will be at 1:30 p.m. at Inviting Events, 3485 U.S. 78. SHANE BLATT

Greater Atlanta

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

Fayette commissioner faces drug charge

A Fayette County commissioner was arrested over the weekend and charged with marijuana possession.

Robert Horgan, 45, was stopped by a Fayette County sheriff’s deputy around 6 p.m. Saturday for having expired tags. Sheriff Wayne Hannah said the deputy then smelled burning marijuana.

While the deputy searched the vehicle, Horgan admitted having pot in his truck and told the deputy where to find it.

Authorities found less than an ounce of pot in what looked like a small pill container, Hannah said.

The commissioner was arrested and charged with having expired tags and misdemeanor possession of marijuana. He was released from the Fayette County jail hours later.

Horgan has held the Post 1 seat since March 2006.

The commission will hold its next meeting at 7 tonight.

KATIE LESLIE

Georgia

Feds won’t mediate states’ water dispute

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Wednesday the federal government won’t try to broker a solution to a bitter three-state battle over water rights, but he urged Georgia, Alabama and Florida to seek a compromise outside of the courtroom.

“At the end of the day, the three states have got to come together and have got to figure out a way forward with a compact agreement between the three states,” Salazar said shortly after taking a helicopter tour of North Georgia’s reservoirs with Gov. Sonny Perdue.

The approach is in contrast to that of previous Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, who convened meetings between the three states at the height of a severe drought in the region in late 2007. The governors broke off the negotiations last year after saying they could not resolve the complex battle that began almost 20 years ago. There have been no formal talks since.

A federal judge in Florida heard arguments earlier this month by lawyers for Alabama and Florida, who are challenging how the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers parcels out water from North Georgia reservoirs among the three states. ASSOCIATED PRESS

Arson appears unlikely in school bus fires

GAINESVILLE —- Investigators say they have all but ruled out arson in the fire that destroyed or damaged nine school buses.

Gainesville Fire Chief Jon Canada said Wednesday that they know from security camera footage which bus caught fire first. He said there is no evidence on the tape to indicate it was deliberately set. He said investigators are concentrating on the electrical system of the bus where the fire began.

The buses burned at about 4:40 a.m. Friday at the school system’s school bus shop. ASSOCIATED PRESS