1. South Fulton residents could get a vote on incorporation.
South Fulton residents might get to decide after all whether they want to live in a city of their own making. A bill that would allow Fulton County's last unincorporated area to vote on whether it wants to be a city was resurrected Tuesday a week after was defeated in committee. And in resurrection, it was approved unanimously by members of the Senate's State and Local Governmental Operations committee. Its next hurdle is the Senate, then it must return to the House for approval. Its outcome is still uncertain. Even this much progress, though, was exciting for Rep. Roger Bruce, D-Atlanta, who sponsored HB 514. Read more.
The University of Georgia women's swimmers and divers, perennial national title contenders, will rely heavily on three seniors at the Women's Swimming and Diving championships, which run Wednesday through Saturday at Georgia Tech's McAuley Aquatic Center. The Bulldogs, who recently stumbled to a third-place finish in the SEC championships, will seek to win their third national title over the past four seasons. The Bulldogs have won six NCAA titles, including the 2013 and 2014 crowns, and have been the national runner-up eight times. In the past 17 seasons, Georgia has been first or second at the NCAAs 14 times. Georgia Tech also hosted the NCAA Swimming and Diving championships in 2006. Read more.
3. Georgia House panel passes resurrected MARTA expansion bill.
An effort once presumed dead to expand MARTA's rail system found new life Tuesday when a House committee inserted it in another bill. Senate Bill 369, which the House Regulated Industries Committee passed as a substitute to a fireworks bill, would allow the city of Atlanta to hold a November referendum to determine whether to levy a half-percent sales tax to fund a MARTA expansion. The bill would also create two regions within Fulton County, addressing continued differences between north and south Fulton over a MARTA expansion. Read more.
4. 1 victim found, 2 still missing after East Point fire.
Two people were able to climb out windows and escape when fire destroyed an East Point home early Tuesday. But three people were trapped, believed buried in the charred debris as portions of the home collapsed. A portion of a front brick wall was the only part of the ranch-style home still standing Tuesday afternoon as the search continued for victims. Nearly 12 hours after fire ripped through the Hogan Road home, investigators located one victim with the help of machinery used to sift through debris. But two additional victims had not been located late Tuesday afternoon, according to East Point's interim fire chief, William Ware. Read more.
5. How much time do metro Atlantans waste in traffic?
Atlanta has once again been reminded that finishing a book on CD in one-way traffic is not normal. The city ranked No. 9 on INRIX's list of the top 10 U.S. cities with the worst traffic based on the average time wasted per commuter. According to the transportation analytics company, metro Atlantans spend 59 hours per commuter per year in traffic congestion. Los Angeles topped the list with its commuters each spending 81 hours per year on the road. All 10 of America's worst cities for traffic spent more time in traffic than all of Europe's highest ranking cities. According to INRIX, the high instances of commuters trapped in traffic is largely connected to positive economic changes in U.S. cities – higher employment rates, lower gas prices and economic growth. Read more.
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