Villages at Lafayette developer Heritage Creek Development made it through Fayetteville Planning and Zoning Commission last week and will take a proposal to amend the Villages at Lafayette Planned Community Development (PCD) agreement to the City Council Thursday for a first reading that would allow a 45,100-square-foot anchor at the site.

The proposal to amend the Planned Community Development (PCD) ordinance for the proposed Villages of Lafayette retail development on Ga. Highway 54 at North Lafayette Avenue was accompanied by a divergence of opinions March 25 at the regular session of Fayetteville Planning and Zoning Commission.

A proposal by Piedmont Fayette Hospital to add a fourth and fifth floor over the birthing center sailed through Fayetteville Planning and Zoning Commission March 25.

Unclear if bill will be voted on before session end this week

A bill that might have allowed Clayton County students to attend Fayette County Schools should Clayton lose its accreditation this fall was sent back to the House Rules committee Tuesday afternoon.

Thousands of local parents phone, email governor, legislators to protest school voucher bill

Nobody ever said language was easy. That certainly proved to be the case beginning nearly two weeks ago when Senate Bill (SB) 458 surfaced and set up the potential for Clayton County schools’ students to attend Fayette, Henry and other school systems if the Clayton system loses its accreditation in September.

[A rebuttal letter follows this column.]

A Column of Opinion — I’ve voted Republican for a quarter century, but I’m wishing I had some choices other than loony Democrats and hardcore “looking out for number one” Libertarians.

Latest exhibit: Senate Bill 458. Here is where ideological theory got pounded by political reality.

And its aftermath demonstrates how our GOP leaders — including senators Ronnie Chance (R-Tyrone) and Mitch Seabaugh (R-Sharpsburg), who are hard at work covering their posteriors before elections later this year — just don’t get it.

Change would forbid Clayton students from transferring to any public school ; vote expected Tuesday on House floor

What a difference a word can make. In the case of Senate Bill 458 those words are “shall” and “may.” But that problem appears to have been solved.

Chance says he was misled about initial amendment to bill

A Senate bill that would have required Fayette County's public school system to accept Clayton County students should Clayton schools lose their accredited status was dramatically changed at a committee hearing Wednesday afternoon.

Judge gives Hargrave 20 years in prison

A north Fayette man was found guilty Wednesday of molesting his 9-year-old niece when she visited his family from Baltimore between June 2005 and October 2006.

Tyrone Planning Commission Thursday paved the way for a recommendation that could lead to the construction of a commercial development at the intersection of Senoia Road and Rockwood Road. Proposed by Howard Guthrie for C-3 (Commercial) zoning over the current M-1 (Manufacturing), the 3.2-acre site at Shamrock Station would include a gas station, convenience store and a restaurant if approved by the town council.

Height limit is 4 feet in front yards

A Peachtree City couple will have to replace the security gate to their home in Smokerise Plantation because it’s taller than city ordinance allows.

Property owner Dick Shelley took his request to have 14 previously deleted permitted uses in the C-2 (Commercial) zoning district in 2004 reinstated in the table of uses. After a March 27 public hearing, Tyrone Planning Commission voted to recommend denial of the request to make a text amendment to the ordinance that would include the former uses.

The Peachtree City Optimist Club Easter Egg Hunt was a success with games and candy and appearanced from the Peachtree City Fire Department and the Easter Bunny. Below are the winners of the raffle or Bunny Prizes:

Our Lady of Victory Catholic School eighth grader, Kiela Pagsisihan, advanced on to the GISA (Georgia Independent Schools) spelling bee and placed 6th in the state finals. Two hundred and fifty-four students participated in the GISA state spelling bee. The competition included a written test, with the top twenty students advancing on to the oral competition. Photo/Special.

School bill amendment was concession to Democrats

A provision that would have forced Fayette and other school systems to accept students from Clayton County was tacked on at the request of Sen. Valencia Seay, who represents northeast Fayette County and west Clayton County, according to Ga. Senate President Eric Johnson.

Sen. Ronnie Chance (R-Tyrone) will host a community meeting about Senate Bill 458 and other education issues this Saturday at 9:30 a.m. at the Fayette County government complex.

The Coweta County Chapter of American Red Cross needs your help. The organization’s fourth annual HEROES fundraising campaign has a goal of $75,000. The effort will run April 27 through May 19 to help support ongoing disaster relief and health and safety programs for local residents.

The Coweta County Board of Education met last week to approve three new principal positions for the Coweta County School System.

Derek Pitts, principal of East Coweta High School, was approved as the principal of the school system’s new Middle School Alternative School program, which will begin in the 2008-09 school year.

The growth of Coweta County shows no clear sign of stopping.

Coweta County was the 16th fastest growing county in the state and saw its population grow from 114,178 in 2006 to 118,936 for a 4.2 percent year-to-year growth rate. Coweta was also the 67th fastest growing county in the U.S. for the past year.

It is not every day that community members openly advocate for a development proposal. But that is the case near Sharpsburg as local non-profit Council for Sustainable Growth (CSG) has established an information center to advocate for the county commission’s approval of the Twelve Parks proposal by Peachtree City developer Pathway Communities.

The revitalization of downtown continues.

The latest event that promises to draw more residents and visitors to the historic downtown is"Art Senoia." The art show debuts April 25 with an opening reception from 6:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m. at 20 Main Street in historic downtown Senoia. This is the first event of the newly formed Cultural Arts Committee of the Senoia Downtown Development Authority.

The Union City campus of Georgia Military College proudly announces that the following students have achieved academic distinction for the 2008 Winter Quarter.

Gov. Sonny Perdue sent an op-ed editorial to many of Georgia’s news outlets Thursday. In it, the governor strongly opposes legislation allowing store sales of alcoholic beverages on Sundays. Following is the governor’s editorial:

The tragic cost of Sunday alcohol sales

By Governor Sonny Perdue

Do no harm. It may sound like a simple concept, but it is one that I am afraid supporters of Sunday alcohol sales may have forgotten.

A lesson for everyone: if you catch a burglar in your home, beware. He may bite.

A Peachtree City woman found that out yesterday after she found a juvenile standing in her living room, police said.

House committee amends Senate bill withdrawing requirement if Clayton loses accreditation; Rep. Ramsey presents 1,500 emails to sway leaders

A Senate bill that would have required Fayette County's public school system to accept Clayton County students should Clayton schools lose their accredited status was dramatically changed at a committee hearing Wednesday afternoon.

Rep. Matt Ramsey (R-Peachtree City) said the requirement was dropped and the amendment has been accepted by the author of the bill, Sen. Eric Johnson (R-Savannah).

Ramsey said Fayette Sen. Ronnie Chance (R-Tyrone) worked with Johnson on the matter Wednesday. Chance ironically had cast a vote in favor of the "shall" version of the bill recently on the Senate floor.

Sup’t. DeCotis: ‘Once floodgates are open ... I don’t know how we’d pay for it’

The debacle in Clayton County over its public school system losing accreditation might have an affect across county lines, depending on the outcome of the recently passed Senate Bill 458 and its trip through the Georgia House.

The Peachtree City Planning Commission Monday gave unanimous approval of the schematic site plan for the proposed Line Creek retail development on Ga. Highway 54 and Planterra Way.

See our editorial opinion about the chief’s position – Click here.

The Fayette County Commission chambers is expected to be packed tomorrow night when a group of north Fayette residents hope to convince the commissioners to draw a line in the sand against future commercial development.