Coronavirus Updates: Georgia opens two mega-testing sites

A Pennsylvania-based company that maintains and operates more than 300 cemeteries nationwide will step up its upkeep of four Georgia cemeteries following a state probe. The state launched an investigation following complaints about seven Georgia cemeteries StoneMor Inc. operates. The state put four cemeteries on “conditional registration with heightened supervision” for two years, while relevant issues at the three other cemeteries were remedied.

The Gist: Georgia public safety officials are reminding Georgia residents once again to stay safe on the roads during Memorial Day weekend and not to become a statistic during what can be a dangerous weekend on Georgia roads. The holiday travel period: When you think of Memorial Day, you may...

Less than six months ago, Gov. Brian Kemp announced plans for an electric vehicle manufacturing plant east of Atlanta he touted as the largest economic development project in Georgia history. That record fell Friday as Kemp unveiled an even bigger EV facility, a Hyundai plant west of Savannah expected to...

Early voting ahead of next week’s Georgia primaries ended Friday with an all-time high of more than 850,000 voters either casting a ballot in person or returning an absentee ballot. Those totals represented a 168% increase over early voting ahead of the last gubernatorial primaries in 2018 and a...

Former Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine has been indicted on federal charges of conspiring to commit health-care fraud and money laundering, the Justice Department announced Friday. According to information presented to a federal grand jury, Oxendine conspired with Dr. Jeffrey Gallups and others to submit fraudulent insurance claims for more...

A report by the Brookings Institution found that, despite data showing that income levels are up, real estate and stock market prices have risen and credit card debt has decreased, Americans don’t feel better off. And as has now been widely reported, much of this sentiment is due to...

A State Transportation Board committee voted Wednesday to approve an agreement with a roadbuilding consortium to redesign the interchange of I-285 and I-20 east of Atlanta. The $685.5 million project is aimed at smoothing traffic flow through an interchange rated as the nation’s 25th worst bottleneck last year. The...

Each day, parents send their little ones off to school to discover their places in the world – many of them by bus. But, the familiar yellow buses that we trust to safely transport our children could be affecting their performance in school. This is why an investment in EV infrastructure including school buses is crucial.

The Jan. 6 committee is asking a Georgia Republican Congressman to cooperate with its investigation. On Thursday, the select committee investigating the Jan. 6th attack on the United States Capitol sent a letter to Rep. Barry Loudermilk, a Republican who represents Georgia’s 11th Congressional District. At issue is a...

Former Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Harold Melton stands in front of a portrait of the Georgia Supreme Court that includes him. Melton argued in the Supreme Court on behalf of health insurer Anthem this week. Two health-care players embroiled in a legal controversy that could affect hundreds of thousands...

ALPHARETTA — A man who began his career as an Alpharetta police officer, may be returning to the city as its new City Administrator. The City of Alpharetta announced today that Chris Lagerbloom is the sole finalist for the City Administrator position. Lagerbloom currently serves as City Manager of...

Cherokee County property owners have begun receiving their annual assessment notices and may see inflationary increases in their assessment values due to trends in real estate and inflation. The average assessment increase is about 23 percent. According to the Tax Assessor’s Office, 100,575 parcels in Cherokee County have increased in...

MABLETON — A 23-year-old man was shot and killed by police Thursday night after police say he pointed a gun at family members and police officers. The Cobb County Police Department asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to conduct an independent investigation of the shooting. No officers were injured during the incident.

Larry Edward Foxworth has been charged with two counts of committing a federal hate crime and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence for repeatedly firing a pistol into two convenience stores last summer near his home in what prosecutors say was an attempt to kill victims based on their race, color or national origin.

Primary challengers to Georgia’s last two sitting Republican governors’ reelection bids didn’t fare well. Ray McBerry garnered only 11.6% of the vote against then-Gov. Sonny Perdue in 2006. David Pennington did a little better against then-Gov. Nathan Deal in 2014, collecting 16.7% of the vote. Former U.S....

LAWRENCEVILLE — The Gwinnett County Police Department needs assistance identifying the person of interest in the theft of a gun safe. On April 18, two individuals smashed a rear glass door of a home in Sugarloaf Country Club and stole a 200 pound gun safe. The safe was loaded...

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s office made 17 arrests without incident this week during the second phase of Operation Family 2022, a concentrated effort to make warrant arrests for domestic violence charges, according to Sheriff Melody Maddox. The successful operation cleared 25 outstanding warrants on May 18 and May 19...

Georgia is home to more than 50 species of fireflies — or lightning bugs — more than any other U.S. state. The dancing light patterns we enjoy in our gardens and landscapes are an important, and nostalgic, part of Georgia summer evenings. To protect these insects and ensure that we continue to enjoy them, it is important to understand their lifecycle and habitat needs.

Cherokee County School District’s Class of 2022 will walk across the stage for graduation ceremonies next week. The ceremonies for Cherokee County’s 2,936 graduating seniors will once again be held at First Baptist Church of Woodstock at 11905 Highway 92 in Woodstock. The ceremonies will be streamed on www.fbcw.org so family and friends who are unable to attend still can participate.

ATHENS — An Athens family survived a late night house fire thanks to working smoke detectors, Athens-Clarke County fire officials say. At 11:43 p.m. on May 18, firefighters were dispatched to a report of a structure fire located on Chesterton Drive. The first unit arrived on the scene at 11:48 p.m. and reported that a two-story wood-frame home had heavy fire involvement along the roofline.