1. Debate over carrying guns into Atlanta Botanical Garden revived.
A lawsuit revolving around whether people with gun permits should be allowed to openly carry firearms into the Atlanta Botanical Garden could have sweeping implications for other favorite attractions across Georgia. Revived by the Georgia Supreme Court on Monday, the lawsuit — brought by Phillip Evans and the gun rights group GeorgiaCarry.org — argues gun owners should be allowed to carry firearms to the privately owned Botanical Garden because it sits on city-owned land. Currently, Georgia law allows private businesses to ban firearms on their properties, but people can carry guns in many publicly owned facilities, such as Stone Mountain and other state parks and in the airport outside of security checkpoints. Read more.
2. DeKalb school leaders propose $955 million budget 2016-2017.
DeKalb County School District officials announced an annual budget nearly $76 million more than the one for the previous school year, sparking questions on spending and fears of another economic crisis. There's nothing to worry about, Superintendent Steve Green told the board during his first budget presentation since taking over the district's top job last summer. The 2016-2017 fiscal year begins July 1. Chief Financial Officer Michael Bell said the proposed $955 million budget includes a districtwide 3 percent pay raise as well as money for recruitment and retention bonuses. Read more.
3. Don't let criminal record deter applicants, U.S. tells colleges.
Colleges and universities that ask applicants about criminal histories could be keeping those potential students from pursuing higher education, federal education officials said Monday. To make college more accessible for all, the U.S. Department of Education is recommending alternatives to these questions, as part of its new "Beyond the Box" initiative announced Monday. The initiative follows the "ban the box" campaign by civil rights groups to have employers remove the criminal-record check box on hiring applications. Questions on college applications about criminal records can have the same negative impact, officials said. Read more.
4. No baseball player has ever compiled a day like Bryce Harper did on Sunday.
Bryce Harper brought one of those pink bats most major leaguers use on Mother's Day to home plate at Wrigley Field seven times Sunday. He never swung it. Six times, the Chicago Cubs walked him, tying a major league record. Once, they hit him. No player in baseball history had ever compiled a day like his: seven plate appearances, no official at-bats. He saw 27 pitches. Two were strikes. Harper went 1 for 4 in last weekend's four-game series with the Cubs. They walked him 13 times. None of the last 11 times he appeared at the plate count as official at-bats, because he walked 10 times and hit a sacrifice fly. Read more.
5. Duo charged in rape cases involving Kennesaw State students.
Two men accused of sexually assaulting a Kennesaw State University student at a home near campus have been charged in the case, according to Cobb County police. And one of the men, also a KSU student, is accused in a separate assault in March, records showed. On Nov. 14, a woman told police a man removed her from her bedroom at a house on Wetherbyrne Road, about a half-mile from the KSU campus, an arrest warrant states. The woman told police she was put on a couch and blacked out, and it was hours later before she regained consciousness. But while the woman was on the couch, she was assaulted by two different men, Romelo Alfred Lewis, 21, and Tyree Robert Mew, 23, who took turns, according to police. Read more.
About the Author
