Friday, May 18, 2012
Cowlick's Yogurt and Floats was named the Readers' Choice winner for best frozen yogurt.
The votes are in and Smyrna-Vinings Patch readers’ favorite place for a chilly treat is Cowlick’s Yogurt and Floats. Sub Zero Yogurt Bar held the lead for most of the week, but Cowlick’s rode a late wave of votes and comments to the finish line for the win. Michael Cook, a Cowlick’s manager, was excited to hear the news. “That’s awesome!” he said. “We were pushing for that. We made a sign and encouraged people to come and vote for us if you really like our yogurt. It seemed like it worked.” Here’s what some readers had to say about Cowlick’s: “Cowlicks is the best! They also do a lot of good things for the city. I hope they are around for a very long time!” “It's unreasonable how much I love Cowlicks. All the flavors are incredible, but …
Prosecutors say Harris would change the locks on foreclosed houses, pose as the landlord and lease them to unknowing tenants.
A Cobb County jury has found John Eugene Harris of Smyrna guilty of 34 counts of offenses ranging from burglary, forgery, theft by taking and racketeering. The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported Thursday that Harris’s company New Life Granted was operating a house-stealing scheme in which he posed as a leasing agent for homes that were in foreclosure and leased them to unknowing renters. Smyrna-Vinings Patch could not find any information about New Life Granted outside a Better Business Bureau listing giving the business an F due to concerns about New Life Granted's industry and insufficient background about the business. Harris, who represented himself at the trial, said the idea behind his company was to find homes he thought were …
Tim Stultz, Smyrna's school board representative, proposed balancing the budget through personnel cuts.
The Cobb County School District has to go back to the chalkboard after the Board of Education failed to approve the fiscal 2013 budget Thursday night. The school board has until June 30 to pass a budget for the year that starts July 1, but after the extensive, often passionate debate Thursday, the path forward is unclear. A special meeting will be scheduled to search for an answer. The seven board members staked out at least four distinct positions on the proposed $841.9 million budget—none of them matching the administration's recommendation. Superintendent Michael Hinojosa and Chief Financial Officer Mike Addison entered the meeting recommending the same budget that the school board passed April 26 on a preliminary basis. It features 350…
Thursday was beautiful with blue skies and puffy white clouds, but the weather took a turn for the weird in the evening with some Smyrna-Vining residents finding their patios and cars covered in hail.
Did you take photos of last night's hailstorm? Share them in Smyrna-Vinings Patch's Pics and Clips gallery.
Smyrna police arrested a 17-year-old after they say he sent lewd photos to a juvenile student at school.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Watch the video of Thursday night's Board of Education meeting to see how the budget failed, Teach for America passed and more.
We've replaced the live stream with the two-part recording of the 3½-hour school board meeting, so you can replay the parts of the meeting that interest you most. We'll have more from the meeting in the morning. In the meantime, we welcome suggestions for a budget that could win at least four votes. The Cobb County Board of Education is scheduled to vote tonight on the final fiscal 2013 budget, the school calendar that accommodates the approved furlough days, a contractor to prepare for a SPLOST IV referendum in March 2013, and the pursuit of donations and grants to support 25 Teach for America teachers in South Cobb starting in the 2013-14 school year. The board is meeting at 7 p.m. at the Cobb County School District's Central Office, 514…
The Crossings at Four Corners opened in January and is still looking for some tenants. What would you like to see there?
Visions for Vacancies is Smyrna-Vinings Patch's weekly feature that looks at a vacant building and asks readers what they'd like to see there. This is your chance to dream big. If it were up to you, what would you open there? Recently we asked what you’d like to see in the old Kroger location on South Cobb Drive. Now we’re crossing the street to The Crossings at Four Corners shopping center, home of the new Kroger and several vacant retail suites. Smyrna’s new Kroger opened with much fanfare in January and judging by the full parking lot it’s a popular shopping destination. Several of the suites in the shopping center now have tenants like T-Mobile and Nail Styles, but others have yet to be filled. The square-footage of the available …
The state's unemployment rate is 8.9 percent, Smyrna's 8.5 percent. How will pending layoffs impact these rates?
The Georgia Department of Labor announced Thursday that the state’s unemployment rate declined for the ninth straight month in April to 8.9 percent. This news comes a week after Cox Enterprises gave the department notice of pending layoffs at its Atlanta Journal Constitution distribution centers in Smyrna and Kennesaw. Smyrna’s unemployment rate for March 2012, the most recent data available, was 8.5 percent, but that could change when the layoffs take effect in July. Andy McDill, a media representative from Cox Enterprises, said the company is outsourcing the home delivery of the AJC. This means 102 employees at its Smyrna distribution center will be out of the job beginning as early as July 16. McDill could not say how many of the …
The man behind more than a dozen Atlanta eating and drinking establishments died Wednesday after an eight-year battle with cancer.
Metro Atlanta lost a beloved community man Wednesday morning. Atkins Park owner Warren Bruno, 64, died after an eight-year battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife and four children. Bruno helped open Smyrna's Atkins Park Tavern with his friend, owner Kevin Drawe, in 2003. Drawe told Smyrna-Vinings Patch that proceeds from Atkin's crawfish boil last month benefitted the Georgia Chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in Bruno's honor. Bruno founded what is now known as Virginia-Highland Summerfest in 1983, the same year he purchased Atkins Park Tavern on N. Highland Avenue. He later helped open Orsmby’s on Howell Mill Road. Overall, Bruno was involved in more than a dozen eating and drinking establishments in Atlanta, but his…
Check out CEPAC’s star-studded summer lineup that features a performance by Kristen Chenoweth and a new play by Tyler Perry.
The stars of the Disney Channel series “Imagination Movers” come to CEPAC Saturday, May 19. Catch one of two action-packed performances at 2 p.m. or 5 p.m. Tickets are $27 or $37 plus fees and can be purchased online. Tyler Perry makes himself at home at CEPAC the second week of June. Catch two performances of “Madea Gets a Job” Wednesday and Thursday, June 6 and 7 followed by the premiere of “The Haves and Have Nots” Friday and Saturday, June 8 and 9. Tickets to both shows are $27 plus fees. Buy them online. Kristen Chenoweth brings her debut tour to CEPAC Friday, June 22. The “Wicked” star performs in the John A. Williams Theatre at 8 p.m. Tickets are $37, $57, $77 and $125 plus fees. Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster. Son …
apm
10:41 am on Friday, May 18, 2012
Why would anyone propose increasing class size or reducing teacher count? Why don't any of the plans concentrate on finding cost reductions related to the purchasing side of equation before jumping straight to a staff reduction or class size increase? You can't tell me there aren't cost savings to be uncovered? It is harder to dig into expenditures and come up with cost savings but, truly, it is … more ›