ATL Report

The housing crisis has created a big problem for local governments — too many vacant lots.

Metro Atlanta has enough vacant lots ready for housing — 148,300 — to supply builders for the next five years, according to the national real estate research firm Metrostudy, which has an office in Atlanta. In a healthy market, the lot supply would be less than two years.

Many of the lots are being neglected, panelists said. In some cases, the cleared land is producing streams of mud when it rains, polluting waterways and lakes. Thieves are stealing unprotected manholes covers because the price of scrap iron is up. And people are dumping trash on the lots.  Continue here

Video of the latest robbery at the Kaleidescope store.  Check out the Video Here

A 14-year-old boy was killed and his 13-year-old sister was injured early Sunday when a truck crashed into their Cobb County bedrooms.

Police say Janette L. Eason of Dallas was likely drunk when she drove into the one-story home at about 3 a.m. after knocking down at least three mailboxes and small utility boxes in the Powder Springs neighborhood.  Read More

He denies his house is going forclosed.  He should of started his own Foreman Grills.

 Chipper Jones finally hit 400, but that doesn’t mean he can stop talking about .400.

He hit his 400th career home run Thursday against Marlins pitcher Ricky Nolasco. He joined Mickey Mantle (536) and Eddie Murray (504) as the only switch-hitters in baseball history to reach that mark. But just as one milestone is reached, another pursuit enters the third month of the sixth-month baseball season.

Jones, the Atlanta Braves’ third baseman, is trying to become the first player to hit .400 since Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941.

“I’d be lying if I said people don’t like attention,” Jones said. “We all like attention. It has been fun up to this point with the 400 homers and hitting .400, although I think that’s a little far-fetched to be talking about it the first week of June.”

Jones is hitting .420 after going 1 for 3 with a two-run homer last night at Turner Field.  Read On

ATLANTA —Sometimes no matter how many times you warn people about something, there are always folks who just don’t get the word, or pay attention. That happened to several drivers who had to do U-turns at either end of midtown Atlanta’s 14th Street bridge during Tuesday morning’s rush hour.

Barricades went up on both… read on .
Continue Reading »
14th Street bridged is closed

Caleb King’s scouting report states he’s the 3rd ranking running back in the nation.

At about 9:40 a.m., standing behind a podium and in front of hundreds of students, teachers, family and media members at the Greater Atlanta Christian Family Center, star running back Caleb King uttered the words that football fans from around the state had been longing to hear.
“After much thought and prayer,” King read from a prepared statement, “I have decided to wear red and black and become a Georgia Bulldog.”
The room erupted in applause as King placed a UGA hat on his head and smiled for the cameras. It was fitting that the cap was provided by Jill Southerland, who works in the school store and is the mother of starting Georgia fullback Brannan Southerland, since the two could be sharing the same backfield together soon.  Read On

Jan Brown loves the wine department at her neighborhood Whole Foods Market, but not the law preventing her from buying wine on Sunday.

“Sometimes you’re in a panic if you’re having people over for dinner and you can’t buy wine. It would be great if you could buy a bottle Sunday afternoon,” she said.

Only Georgia, Indiana and Connecticut prohibit beer and wine sales on Sunday, and a trade association is hoping to change that next year.

“Customers are requesting it and retailers are here for customer service,” said Kathy Kuzava, who heads the Georgia food industry association.

Her organization represents major retailers as well as with smaller independent stores. The Food Industry Association along with the Georgia Association of Convenience Stores plans to lobby the legislature to lift the ban on Sunday beer and wine sales, though not liquor sales.  Read On

Grammy-winning singer Whitney Houston’s Atlanta-area home is still up for sale after being advertised for foreclosure. Houston’s five-bedroom Alpharetta home had been advertised for sale earlier this fall, but the foreclosure was not carried out, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported in a correction of a story published Friday. The earlier story said the house had been sold in a foreclosure sale.  Read On

Lt. General Russel Honore, commander of the First U.S. Army, and head of the military relief efforts in New Orleans following the devastating Hurricane Katrina, will receive the Bernie Abrams Leadership Award at a dinner in Atlanta at Buckhead Grand Hyatt on Thursday, November 16, 2006. The award is given annually by the Atlanta Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) to an individual who demonstrates energy, valor, clarity of vision and a capacity for achievement. Read On