What has been billed as Fayetteville’s premier shopping and luxury apartment venue hit a snag last week when anchor store prospect LA Fitness pulled out.

Fayetteville Police investigated what was thought to be fireworks or gunshots early Monday morning, only to find bullet holes in the walls and a window of a Heritage Lake Drive home.

Fayetteville Police do not have much to go on but are searching for two subjects involved in a May 15 burglary at Radio Shack at Fayette Pavilion.

Time spent in jail can provide the initiative to avoid future incarceration. But that was not the case for 31-year-old Forest Park resident Manuel DeJesus Leyva, who spent years in jail on a Fayette County armed robbery conviction, only to be arrested May 16 by Fayette Drug Task Force (DTF) undercover agents after he fled Fayette Pavilion in what was to be a drug transaction involving methamphetamine.

The Peachtree City Council has begun the detailed process of examining permitted uses for each zoning district in the city.

As gas prices rise and traffic congestion increases, residents are starting to look for other transportation options to get them back and forth to work. One option that has been bandied about for years is implementing a commuter rail system, and that effort may finally be getting closer to reality.

The following arrests were reported by local law enforcement agencies for the past week. All persons are considered innocent until proven guilty:

An $8,000 SkillsUSA Lowe’s Education/Chapter Improvement Grant will help fund the school system’s first-ever landscape management program for students with mild cognitive disabilities.

Four-day summer work weeks are one of several cost saving measures the Fayette County Board of Education is implementing in what is shaping up to be a tight budget year.

sidelines 5-20 by Kevin Wandra

Traffic predicted as biggest problem with only one way in, out

The Peachtree City Planning Commission voted unanimously Monday night to recommend approval for a shopping center to surpass the city's size guidelines.

(Photo courtesy Gwen Brown)

A man was rescued from a house fire in downtown Fayetteville early Friday evening by city firefighters.

The victim, in his mid-40s, was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation but did not suffer life-threatening injuries, said Fayetteville Fire Lt. Bill Rieck.

The hit won't be as costly as originally proposed, but Peachtree City businesses will get a sting on their city taxes starting next year.

A Forest Park man was apprehended Friday morning on Huntington Court after fleeing undercover Drug Task Force (DTF) agents during a buy-bust involving methamphetamine at nearby Fayette Pavilion.

Officials from the Fayette County Fire and Emergency Services division told the Tyrone Town Council Thursday night that all options are being explored to find a solution to Tyrone’s troubled fire station.

Peachtree City staff will be looking into the possibility of lifting its recent ban on "brown bagging," which would allow residents to bring their own alcohol at local restaurants.

New shopping center would downgrade traffic at Planterra

The developer’s traffic study is projecting that nearly 700 vehicles will go in and out of a proposed shopping center on Ga. Highway 54 West on any given weekday between the peak hours of 4 and 6 p.m.

Group rental fees scuttled for now

A proposal to charge $10 to $20 a year for each person meeting at regular "groups" at the Gathering Place in Peachtree City was tabled by the City Council Thursday night.

The guest speaker at Peachtree City’s 10th Annual Memorial Day Celebration on Monday, May 26th, will connect the dots between today’s Global War on Terror and the 1983 bombing of the U.S. military barracks in Beirut, Lebanon.

James Mathis, a 2007 graduate of Sandy Creek HS and a freshman at Norfolk State University (NSU), has been accepted into the 2008 Louisiana State University (LSU) Physics & Aerospace Catalyst Experiences in Research (PACER) Program. Mathis, two NSU colleagues, along with NSU Physics Professor Dr. Wendy Hinton, will be joined by a second team of students and Dr. Hien Vo from the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico to conduct research under the direction of Dr. T. Gregory Guzik, LSU research professor of particle science and astrophysics.

These current U.S. soldiers met some of our local World War II veterans participating in the Honor Flight on Wednesday. The veterans toured the WWII Memorial among other stops during their whirlwind, day long tour of Washington, D.C.

Atlanta Christian College announced today (May 15) that Peachtree City and Newnan are “the top two venues under consideration” for the school’s next location.

It’s a literary accomplishment, literally.

The rezoning for what should be a physical landmark in Coweta and southwest metro Atlanta received approval May 13 as county commissioners signed off on what will become the eight-story Piedmont Newnan Hospital. Originally zoned RC Rural Conservation, the property is now designated O-I Office Institutional.

The city of Senoia is looking for a few good volunteers. Senoia stages the area’s largest Memorial day celebration, and during Tuesday’s meeting of the Downtown Development Authority, chairman Suzanne Helfman asked the authority members to see if they knew of anybody who would like to volunteer for the event. The city is also looking for some donated golf carts for the day to help shuttle the veterans to and from the parade area.

Numerous athletes throughout Fayette County have made a name for themselves in sports such as football, baseball, basketball and soccer, among many others.

Carly Winstead, a 2nd grade teacher at Elm Street Elementary School in Newnan, was announced as the Coweta County 2008 Teacher of the Year Tuesday night, at the school system’s Werz Drive Central Office.

The Newnan-Coweta Chamber of Commerce is offering significant discounts on employee medical, dental and life insurance for companies with two-50 enrolled employees. Available discounts include:

Fayetteville police have arrested five teenagers from Fulton County for an incident at The Banquet Hall off Glynn Street on Jan. 27.

Landmark swept Athens Christian, 6-3 and 15-1 to advance to the Class A baseball quarterfinals.

Landmark will take on the winner of Lanier County and Schley County next Tuesday. The Lanier/Schley series is tied 1-1.