With more vacant homes in Fayette County due to foreclosures, the county’s building permit and inspection office has seen an uptick in inspection requests for code violation citations.

It has been nearly four years since Matt Forshee moved to Fayette County to lead its economic development efforts. Forshee will continue to serve as CEO of the Development Authority until March 31 when he will become president of the Athens Economic Development Foundation.

Fayette County property owners wishing to file a “return of value” have until April 1 to get it done. The filing is open to property owners who disagree with the value placed on their properties last year.

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

A traffic stop conducted by a Fayetteville police officer ultimately netted a two-year prison term for a Riverdale man who admitted to impersonating a federal law enforcement officer between 2005 and 2009.

The Free File Alliance, a coalition of industry-leading tax software companies partnered with the Internal Revenue Service, today encouraged American taxpayers to take advantage of the IRS Free File program. All taxpayers with an adjusted gross 2009 income of $57,000 or less can visit www.IRS.gov to prepare, complete and e-file their federal tax returns at no cost.

On Feb. 27, the Fayette County Republican Party will host a Roast of U.S. Representative Lynn Westmoreland at the Tyrone Depot. Westmoreland, of Grantville in Coweta County, entered Congress in January 2005 after serving 12 years in the Georgia House. He represents Georgia’s 3rd District, which stretches from the southern suburbs of metro Atlanta into Middle Georgia.

Southern Regional Medical Center in Riverdale has announced plans to begin providing open heart surgery as early as Jan. 1, 2012.

Peachtree City police are investigating the death of a University of Georgia student who was found unresponsive early Sunday morning at a residence in the Bradford Estates subdivision.

Detectives also want to speak with witness who intervened on girl's behalf

Fayette sheriff’s detectives are asking the public to be on the lookout for a black man who attempted to abduct a young girl in the Landmark mobile home community Wednesday, Feb. 17.

The man, depicted in this police sketch, approached the girl from behind as she was walking home and asked her to help him find his dog, detectives said. The girl said no and began running toward her home on Greenview Boulevard, detectives said.

State Representative Virgil Fludd, D-Tyrone, wants to add a “temporary” 1 percent income tax surcharge on Georgia’s highest earners as a way to raise more than $200 million for the state’s beleaguered budget.

Peachtree City firefighters rescued three dogs from a house fire that occurred early this morning during a heavy electrical storm.

It was a special night for the Fayette County Lady Tigers, in more ways than one, but McIntosh’s girls and Fayette County’s boys would like to put it in the past. (Read more)

Fayette County officials are looking at establishing new fees for permits and violations that are not currently assessed by the county’s permits and inspections department.

It is almost time for the annual Race for Riley fundraiser to benefit the Joseph Sams School in Fayetteville. A pre-event fundraiser will be held Feb. 22 from 5-8 p.m. at the Sprayberry’s Barbecue location on Ga. Highway 34 across from Walmart near I-85 in Newnan.

Volunteer cops sworn in; each paid own way through academy

Peachtree City’s police force has two new cops on the street at a deep discount.

Residents Phil Jones and Eric Semon were sworn in Thursday as the city’s first reserve police officers. Both have graduated from police academy, taking classes at night ... and at their own cost.

Councilman wants SPLOST funds to balance budget

A bid to halt the design of the widening of the Lake Peachtree cart path bridge fell flat Thursday night.

The Tyrone Town Council Thursday approved a design and engineering proposal for a Valleywood Road drainage project. Planners will have to wait for the go-ahead from Town Manager Richard Newbern since the right-of-way for the project has not been obtained.

Some on PTC council want it added to budget talks

A proposal to institute a new $25 fee for tree removal permits in Peachtree City has been postponed yet again.

Peachtree City police arrested two suspects Tuesday afternoon in connection with three entering auto cases.

The suspects were caught thanks to a witness description of the getaway vehicle as it left the Mellow Mushroom restaurant, police said. The suspects were apprehended at the Chick-fil-A in the Kedron Village shopping center, police said.

On February 17 the Peachtree City Police Department arrested Frank McGhee, age 45, of 706 North Avenue in Griffin. He was charged with four counts of Felony Shoplifting and four counts of Felony Retail Property Fencing.

The Peachtree City Council Thursday postponed a request to lift the city’s multi-family housing moratorium to consider rezoning a 4.8 acre site off Ga. Highway 54 East for a senior apartment complex.

A request for a variance to allow a 165-foot cellphone tower in the industrial park off Dividend Drive and Kelly Drive was denied by the Peachtree City Council Thursday night.

The fire last week that destroyed several of Fairburn’s historic two- and three-story downtown businesses at Campbellton Street and U.S. Highway 29 is still under investigation, but fire Chief Jody Weller said Wednesday that arson has been ruled out as a cause.

There is a Thin Blue Line running through the city of Chattahoochee Hills today.

That thin blue line stretches along Vernon Grove Road and is emblematic of the service of Lt. Mike Vogt, a longtime officer who gave his life in the line of duty Monday afternoon after being allegedly shot while in his patrol car by 44 year-old Robert Cook who was arrested Wednesday.

The idea of potentially expanding the Coweta County Jail and a methodology to accomplish that need moved one step closer to reality Feb. 16 when commissioners approved the award of a needs assessment and space analysis to low bidder Mark Goldman & Associates. Goldman was one of four bidders responding to the Request for Proposal.

A search of the area near a residence on Kensington Drive off Reese Road in east Coweta over the weekend revealed the body of 36 year-old David Brightwell in a lake behind the home.

Developer Scott Seymour got the go-ahead on minor changes to the Fischer Crossings commercial development on the northeast side of Fischer Road and Ga. Highway 34/54. Coweta County commissioners Tuesday voted 4-1 in favor of the proposal. That vote is expected to result in the opening later this year of a multi-screen theater.

Eagle Scout projects can take many forms. For Starr’s Mill High School senior JohnMark Conklin, the idea of collecting staple foods and water for earthquake victims in Haiti was just the thing to do. JohnMark is partnering with New Hope Church South and with Tyrone-based Operation Mobilization to collect rice, beans and water and to have it shipped to the Caribbean island.

Starship Enterprises Adult Novelties & Gifts has upped the ante on its bid to conduct business at its proposed location on Ga. Highway 34 at Thomas Crossroads. The company has filed a federal lawsuit claiming Coweta County’s actions to prevent the store’s opening is unconstitutional.