-Will ripples of Oxendine/State Mutual PAC report in the AJC sweep GOP's convention this weekend in Savannah?
-Campaign Buzz as 'off year' heats up: town hall, tea party, even Facebook.
-First Bites: Bennett's Steakhouse in Cave Spring and a perfect rib eye.
-Monday Focus: Amid the hit-and-miss Italian restaurant craze, Provino's marks 10 years in Northwest Georgia by growing even more.
-Peaks & Valleys: The highs, lows of Northwest Georgia.
WeatherCenter/brought to you by Roman Court
-Monday: 60% chance of showers, thunderstorms, high of 73.
-Monday night: Partly cloudy, low of 53.
-Tuesday: Mostly sunny, high around 77.
-Live radar views: Click The State or The Region
-For more, click WeatherCenter
Norman Arey's Sports Roundtable / brought to you by Riverside Toyota
-Drugging and driving just don't mix; no more blue turf for ACC; Tebow is ubiquitous > Arey
Rome Braves updates> Click sports
-Braves open long road trip in Asheville tonight.
-Mills Fitzner's latest game photos> Click
Will Ox/State Mutual/Rome string play out at GOP convention?
The AJC, in a refreshing display of what newspapers should do to save themselves, exhibited some old-style fact-finding to deliver what will be the first nails in John Oxendine's gubernatorial coffin in doing a story about the Dee Yancey/State Mutual Insurance PAC funds.
Look for ripples of fallout in coming days with the most impact perhaps due at the Friday-Saturday Georgia Republican Convention set for Savannah.
The dynamics of the GOP bid to hold the office after Sonny Perdue's exit have changed so radically in recent weeks with Casey Cagle's exit and Nathan Deal's entrance. The AJC's story on Dee Yancey and State Mutual's ties to Oxendine contributions will be the next big swing in the GOP sweepstakes. Oxendine didn't need this revelation, especially at this point in the race.
Probably a dozen polls and 60 columns will surface in the days leading up to the convention, all analyzing where the GOP goes from here. Our guess is the only one smiling today is the District 9 congressman who's quickly moving to the frontrunner's spot, Nathan Deal.
As for the PAC money and State Mutual's involvement: Look for the Democrats to jump hard and heavy. The question is: will the State Ethics Commission follow?
Politics continues to heat up in the 'off year'
-By the numbers: We're no fans of anonymous polls but we note that Nathan Deal has a 67-33 percent lead over Oxendine in a Bartowgop.com poll. No other candidates had a vote as of late Sunday. That's stunning, given that Deal isn't well-known in this area and Oxendine has been campaigning for months. True, Deal represents a sliver of Gordon County but he gets no where near the media of Oxendine or District 11 Rep. Phil Gingrey. That will change.
-Local campaign season under way: We're 13 months away from the GOP primary and already Katie Dempsey is resuming her series of town hall forums. Tonight's session by the District 13 House incumbent addresses water issues. Dempsey has held forums on children's issues and education in the past. Any bets that the next one will tackle campaign ethics, especially PAC contributions?
-Call it the 'Friends' election: A Sunday night count shows Duane Reid's Facebook page dedicated to his re-election as a Rome commissioner had 91 friends--and growing. Look for Facebook, Twitter and other social media to have a big spot in Campaign 2009. One more group Reid can count on this year: AARP. The city commissioner turns 50 the day after Christmas (proving Facebook is for all ages).
-Busy week for the GOP: It starts with Dempsey's water forum tonight followed by an organizational meeting for the July 4th tea party. On Tuesday, Rome Young Republicans will meet to hear from Gary Black, a potential candidate for Agriculture Commissioner. And on Friday-Saturday: delegates will attend the GOP State Convention in Savannah.
First Bites: Bennett's Steakhouse & Grill, Cave Spring
It took Tracy Bennett and family some extra time to open Bennett's Steakhouse & Grill on the Cave Spring square. What they've created is a great, casual escape with the best rib eye we've had since our last trip to Ballenger's in suburban Subligna and a chicken stir fry that already tops the list for our next visit. We'd heard good reviews from friends and several others are longtime fans of the Bennetts' other local restaurant, The Meating Place in Cartersville.
About the food: The ribeye easily was the 14 ounces as stated on the menu. Properly marinated and cooked medium, it was the juiciest, best steak we've had in a few years. Toss in ample side dishes (the addictive corn nuggets are excellent and the large baked potato actually came wrapped in foil), great bread and a generous glass of wine or a $2.99 Bud, and you've had a good meal. The chicken stir fry got an immediate thumbs up even though the cooked, large onion slices dominated the mushrooms. Even the kid's cheeseburger (plain) with fries, a huge pink lemonade and a fresh chocolate chip cookie did the trick. And all for under $50.
Ambiance: The Bennetts have done a nice job with their restaurant in what was the site of Cave Spring's first cafe and later home to Martha Jane's Fudge & Gift Shop. Big, open windows provide great views to Cave Spring's cross roads. The decor isn't exotic but is family friendly.
Service: They're still shaking off the rust here. We were inside the entrance (which could use a little more marking of its own) for a good five minutes before the young staff made eye contact. Oral communication was another minute or three. But once "greeted and seated," it picked up thanks to an always-moving server, Turner. The last nit was the late arrival of the corn nuggets--which served as a tasty dessert.
Bottom line: A great family meal and escape from metropolitan Rome to the always changing Cave Spring square. Another couple we met on the way out also had good words on their meal (great salmon). It is where we'll go next time we want a steak.
Just ducky in Cartersville this weekend: The annual Duck Derby is in its final days with a concert Friday night, a 5K run Saturday and the derby/festival on Saturday. You'll find an easy, secure way to purchase your ducks, including a Quack Pack (six), Quacker's Dozen (13) or VIP package (50 ducks plus other amenities), by clicking Quack. The events benefit the Advocates for Children.
-May 15: Duck Derby Concert, Riverside Park.
-May 16: Duck Dash 5K, Cartersville Soccer Complex. Details> Healthy Living
-May 16: Duck Derby Race and Festival, Riverside Park.
-For more, click www.advochild.org.
Dixie Highway 90-Mile Yard Sale set for June 5-7: You'll find yard sales up and down the Dixie Highway, the "granddaddy of I-75", which stretches from Marietta to Ringgold. Sponsored by the Georgia Dixie Highway Association (www.dixiehighway.org), those wishing to display goods can register with community contacts. Complete details: Dixie Highway
Provino's: Competitors, economy can't stop decade of growth here
Provino's parking lot was full by 12:10 p.m. Sunday thanks to Mother's Day diners and other post-church meet-ups.
By Natalie Simms
Over the years, there have been a lot of players in the local Italian restaurant market and Provino's Italian Restaurant has withstood all the competition for a solid decade--and continues to grow.
Restaurant staff attributes its affordable menu and good service in maintaining its success in a volatile market that has seen the closings of Johnny Carino's and Brick Oven Bistro along with the arrival of Olive Garden and Bella Roma in recent years. There's even another Italian place, Gondolier, across the Midtown Crossing parking lot.
"We've seen a lot of new restaurants come to town," says Bill Adams, manager of Provino's at 288 Shorter Ave. "And a lot of people try them but they always come back."
Provino's joined Rome's restaurant scene in February 1999. Adams says the moderately priced menu is popular with local families.
"We offer a good value and good service," Adams says. "We are a smaller, independent operation and not like the big chain restaurants like Olive Garden. We make all our food fresh with homemade sauces straight from our owner's family recipes from Italy."
Provino's was founded by Provino Bogino in 1977 in Atlanta. Today, there are 10 locations throughout North Georgia and Chattanooga. The restaurants feature "old-world style Italian food" from the Provino family recipes, along with their famous house salad and garlic rolls.
"Our business has been doing a little bit better this year over last," Adams says. "I believe it's because of our pricing and our service."
Adams says Provino's offers a number of weekly specials that draw lots of customers including the Early Dinner offer for $9.95 for any pasta specialty (includes salad and rolls). It's available before 6:30 p.m. Sunday-Thursday. Lunch specials are $4.95 for pasta, salad and rolls (the menu does change daily). And for families, kids eat free on Wednesdays (one child per one adult entrée).
"We also offer a free dinner on your birthday that includes entrée, salad, rolls and small dessert," Adams says. "It is pretty popular, although not as busy as our Chattanooga location that does up to 80 birthday dinners a night."
A new option available only at the Rome location is the "Take Home Family Dinner." The meals include salad, rolls and pasta. Prices start as low as $4 per person depending on menu.
Adams says the restaurant also serves a number of large parties. "We get lots of compliments from big parties about our flexibility and ability to create a menu to suit their needs," he says.
"Even in this economy, we're doing well. We always have room for more," Adams says.
For more information, call 706-378-9009 or visit www.provinos.com.
PEAKS & VALLEYS: The highs, lows of Northwest Georgia
Peak to J.B. Smith, new radio voice of the Rome Braves:
Photo courtesy of Mills Fitzner
Veteran cop J.B. Smith has a new beat this year -- the radio voice of the Rome Braves heard on WLAQ 1410 AM and The Ridge 95.7 FM. Smith's game calls are a welcome change as he doesn't broadcast but instead has a baseball-centric conversation with you about the game unfolding before him. He's already had some trademark calls, including "The hot dogs are hot, the cold ones are cold and we've got a seat waiting for you." Smith's voice has just enough age to crackle a bit and yet resonate as a Brave goes long--or jumps up for an impossible catch. Let's hope this rookie returns to the beat next year.
Peak to local tourism: More than $11.3 million was pumped into our economy last year thanks to meeting planners, tournament directors and motorcoach groups, according to the Greater Rome Convention and Visitors Bureau. Those dollars mean jobs and also serve as a potential lure to bring those folks back to Northwest Georgia again and again. We're especially high on sports-tourism dollars (the Rome Braves, NAIA football championship, tennis tournaments, baseball tournaments, etc.)
Peak to Art Walk 2009: The downtown wandering display of arts was an excellent idea, drawing crowds to more than 25 artists, from painters to woodcarvers to a teen-age blacksmith and more. It added more life to downtown on a Saturday already bustling thanks to local graduation and church events.
Valley (again) to the weather: Can we please get just one event in in downtown Rome without some rain this year? St. Petrick's Day, the first First Friday and even Art Walk had fair to moderate drizzles.
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