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(AP) -- HEAVY RAIN
Rainstorms strike metro Atlanta
ATLANTA (AP) - Metro Atlanta commuters had to deal with heavy
rain early Wednesday, and a flood watch was issued for the area.
Officials in Pickens County in north Georgia closed their
schools for the day, citing widespread power outages.
The National Weather Service issued several weather advisories,
including a high wind warning for mountain counties and a tornado
watch for southwest Georgia.
Rainfall totals through 5 a.m. included .65 inch at
Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, .74 inch in downtown
Atlanta and 1.03 inches in Peachtree City.
ATLANTA MAYOR
Atlanta mayor's race narrows; too close to call
ATLANTA (AP) - Former state lawmaker Kasim Reed and City
Councilwoman Mary Norwood are locked in a close race for mayor of
Atlanta.
With 98 percent of precincts reporting, Reed led Norwood by just
620 votes. Both candidates were at 50 percent.
Under Georgia law, the runner-up can petition for a recount when
the margin of victory is less than one percent of the total vote.
Norwood spoke with supporters Tuesday night and said she was not
conceding and was open to requesting a recount.
Reed and Norwood have waged a hard-fought battle across the city
and over the airwaves in the month leading up to Tuesday's runoff.
RICHARDSON-ETHICS
Ga. House speaker faces call for ethics probe
ATLANTA (AP) - House Speaker Glenn Richardson faces a new call
for an ethics investigation after his ex-wife accused him of having
an affair with a lobbyist.
Susan Richardson's claim comes just weeks after Richardson
revealed that he tried to commit suicide.
Susan Richardson said in an interview with WAGA-TV in Atlanta
that she knew of the affair and provided e-mails between her
ex-husband and the lobbyist. The lobbyist was working for Atlanta
Gas Light at the time.
The alleged affair was the subject of a 2007 ethics
investigation that was later dismissed for lack of evidence.
House Minority Leader DuBose Porter said yesterday that Susan
Richardson's claims "confirm what we knew all along."
Richardson said earlier he had no plans to step down as speaker.
GEORGIA BUDGET
Georgia's bottom line gets a boost
ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia's rainy day fund is getting a
badly-needed boost.
The state auditor has identified $54 million in lapsed funds
from the fiscal year 2009 budget that will be returned to reserves.
Gov. Sonny Perdue also said that the state had saved $35 million
in debt service by refinancing approximately $658 million in bonds.
Perdue said that every dollar saved means less that has to be
cut from the already lean state budget.
The state is wrestling with a budget hole that's forced state
deep cuts to agencies and furloughs for state workers.
DELTA AIR LINES-OUTLOOK
Delta executive urges restraint on capacity
ATLANTA (AP) - A Delta Air Lines executive is urging other
carriers to be careful not to increase the amount of flying they do
too quickly.
Chief Financial Officer Hank Halter said at a New York investor
conference Wednesday that even if a modest recovery occurs in 2010,
the world's biggest airline hopes the industry maintains flat
capacity.
Capacity is measured by the amount of available seats a carrier
offers, times the miles flown.
Halter says Delta could eventually increase capacity 1 percent
to 2 percent once demand shows strong signs of coming back. He says
demand won't really gain steam until passengers feel that the
recession is firmly in the rearview mirror and it is safe to spend.
Many carriers have shed capacity over the last 18 months.
FAKE REPORT
Ga. ex-cop charged with making fake theft report
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - Athens-Clarke County police say a former
officer has been arrested on charges he wrote a fake theft report
and used it to bilk a credit union.
Athens-Clarke Police Chief Jack Lumpkin says 45-year-old Robert
Lee Houston III was arrested on Tuesday. Lumpkin says Houston wrote
a fake report in September 2008 claiming that checks had been
stolen from him.
He says Houston used the report to persuade the credit union to
reimburse him for $200 in overdraft fees he said he incurred after
money was stolen from his account.
Police say Houston was fired in January for an unrelated
domestic dispute.
COUNTY-TAXES
Ga. county raising property taxes
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (AP) - The Gwinnett County Commission,
seeking revenue to help pay for emergency services, courts and
recreation, has approved a property tax increase of about 20
percent.
Commission members approved the increase by a 4-1 vote Tuesday
night. The owner of a $200,000 home will receive an additional bill
for $160 for 2009 taxes.
The measure is expected to produce about $52 million in revenue.
About one-third of the money will be used to retire debt and
compensate for a drop in commercial values predicted for next year.
About $15.7 million will be applied to public safety, including
staffing three fire stations and adding 55 uniformed police
officers.
ELDERLY WOMAN BILKED
Ga. police: Man poses as officer, leaves with $18K
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) - Savannah-Chatham police are looking for a
man who they say impersonated a police officer and bilked an
84-year-old woman out of $18,000.
Metro police spokeswoman Veda Lamar Nichols said the man
allegedly told the woman he was an officer investigating fraud on
her bank account.
Nichols told the Savannah Morning News in a Tuesday story that
within 45 minutes on Nov. 17, the man took the woman to two Bank of
America branches in Savannah and withdrew $9,000 at each.
Nichols said police believe a second man involved in the scheme
defrauded the woman of another $1,000 on Nov. 13.
She said charges were pending and the investigation was ongoing.
Anyone with information in the case is asked to call detectives
at 912-651-6735 or CrimeStoppers at 912-234-2020.
(Copyright ©2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
