1. Snellville Mayor Tom Witts under investigation for unpaid taxes.
The mayor of Snellville is under investigation for allegedly failing to pay his personal state taxes and those for workers at a business he owns, Gwinnett County's District Attorney said Tuesday. Mayor Tom Witts, who was elected in November, is also accused of co-mingling campaign, personal and business funds, in violation of state law, District Attorney Danny Porter said. In addition, Porter said, Witts improperly received payment for work his company did for the city while he was mayor. Witts has not been indicted or charged with any crimes. Reached Tuesday, he said he was at lunch and would have to comment later, but he didn't return several phone calls or an email. Witts' attorney also did not return a phone call seeking comment. Read more.
2. Fire that killed Atlanta doctor involved in 'flammable liquid or gas.'
Firefighters found an unexplained quantity of flammable liquid or gas at the scene of an intense house fire in which an Atlanta doctor was found dead in the backyard pool on Saturday. The Atlanta Fire Department's incident report on the 6:15 p.m. fire at the 900 block of Oriole Drive listed a liquid or gas as a "contributing factor." The report also listed the cause of the fire as "intentional," although fire authorities say that was a preliminary judgment and that they are continuing to investigate the blaze as an arson. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution obtained the report Tuesday through the State Open Records Act. Read more.
3. Barbs keep flying in PulteGroup CEO drama.
The Pulte family, locked in a public spat over the direction of the homebuilding firm it founded 66 years ago, said Tuesday it has no plans to reverse PulteGroup's move to Atlanta two years ago. Bill Pulte, the grandson of 83-year-old founder and major shareholder William Pulte, said the company is "very committed to Atlanta." His comment came a day after the abrupt announcement that PulteGroup CEO Richard Dugas, 50, will step down next year. The company cited the Pulte family's dissatisfaction with Dugas' tenure — including the 2014 headquarters move to Atlanta from Detroit. Read more.
4. Judicial watchdog chairman resigns, cites political interference.
The chairman of the board that serves as a watchdog over the state's judges resigned Tuesday, writing that the work of the Judicial Qualifications Commission is threatened by political and other outside forces that are interested only in protecting jurists connected to the right people. In a letter to the Board of Governors for the State Bar of Georgia, Cartersville attorney Lester Tate said he was resigning as chairman and as a member of the Judicial Qualifications Commission because of a series of attacks on the JQC and its authority to investigate judges. Just a few weeks ago, the Legislature approved a proposed constitutional amendment, which the voters will consider in the fall, to abolish and then recreate the commission. Read more.
5. Hawks, Emory to partner in state-of-art practice facility.
The Hawks and Emory Healthcare announced plans Tuesday to partner on a long-awaited sports medicine center and training facility at a news conference at Philips Arena. The 90,000-square-foot complex will cost $50-plus million, according to a person familiar with the situation, and be privately funded. It will be located on Executive Park Drive in Brookhaven. Plans for the facility are complete and the groundbreaking is expected in mid-May to be ready for the 2017-18 NBA season. The Hawks' currently practice facility is part of Philips Arena and has long been considered substandard. The team spent several million dollars before this season to upgrade the weight-room and locker-room areas. The entire basketball operations staff will move to the new complex. The arena space now occupied by the staff will be open for other developments. Read more.
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