1.4 inches so far, more on the way; flood watch until Tuesday
-Latest summary: We had a few rumbles overnight and nearly 1.4 inches of rain through 6 a.m. Another half to three quarters of an inch possible today.
-Flash flood watch through Tuesdays> Watch
-On the commute: Metro Atlanta got hit hard; some flooding, road closures> AJC & DOT map
-Cancellations, postponements: None to report. Please send details by clicking E-mail.
-Updated information: WBHF 1450 AM or listen to the webcast here.
Your forecast:
--Monday: 100% chance of showers, thunderstorms, before 2 p.m. High near 81. Rainfall: half to three quarters of an inch.
-Monday night: 30% chance of showers, thunderstorms before 8 p.m. Low around 53.
-Tuesday: Mostly sunny; high of 85, low of 52.
-Extended forecast> Click / Regional radar
The Buzz of Northwest Georgia: (click)
-Qualifying: The week that was - and was it a week.
-Five top surprises from who did, didn't run for office.
-Tea party steams over RNT cheap shot; 500 gather last week.
-Business watch: Hearth & Harvest closes; more brewing?
-Today's Focus: What goes in to helping Shorter transform from a college to a university next month.
Sunday update/Bartow County Jail 'in-take' reports> Click & Click
Norman Arey's Sports Roundtable> Arey
-It's undeniable that college football conference expansion is coming soon.
Rome Braves> Sports
-Saturday: Braves win second straight on road, 6-2 over Greensboro.
-Braves' Jordan Schafer to rehab in Rome.
-No game Sunday.
-Home stand starts tonight at 7 vs. Hagerstown.
-We'll have weather updates all day on game conditions Monday.
-10:30 a.m. games Tuesday, Thursday.
-Mills Fitzner's latest home game photos> Click
Qualifying: The week that was -- and was it a week.
It started with the Preston Smith bombshell (running for attorney general) and didn't stop through 11:59 a.m. Friday, the last seconds of candidate qualifying. What was also a bit stunning: the name of those who didn't run this year despite a lot of chatter about who's in, who's out. A few gut checks and a rare dose of keeping one's word kept a few other 2010 races from getting downright interesting.
Some of the post-scripts:
-Surprise No. 1: Just one Democratic candidate qualified for the county races in Floyd. Looks like nobody learned from the "Garry Fricks Syndrome" of 2008. That is, run a candidate if, for no other reason, the so-called favorite takes ill or does something to torpedo his/her own campaign. Like a traffic stop caught on video.
-Surprise No. 2: No Republican opposition for Rep. Barbara Massey Reece, D-Menlo, whose district includes parts of Chattooga and Floyd, and no GOP opponent for third-term aspirant Rep. Rick Crawford, D-Cedartown, whose territory includes Polk and three South Floyd precincts.
-Surprise No. 3: No formal opposition for U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey although there are claims of an independent's bid (click Jeff Anderson). If nothing else, we expected more candidates here to position themselves for post-reapportion congressional races.
-Surprise No. 4: Is it just a coincidence that both Lumsdens were the only candidates to local GOP opposition? Eddie Lumsden is seeking a second county commission term; Teresa Lumsden another term on the county board of education. Rumblings have it that this is pay back for supporting Bryan Shealy's re-election bid in 2008. Brian Barcomb won that head-to-head race. Watch these two races.
-Surprise No. 5: The county separatist whispers. After Smith's announcement to run for attorney general, a lot of calls and e-mails flew about Floyd "losing" the District 52 seat if no one ran against Barry Loudermilk. The three-term House member -- who's district included a healthy chunk of East Floyd -- faces Republican Jeff Knight in the July primary and the winner faces Democrat Mike Burton -- of Cave Spring, part of Floyd -- in November. Does which county the candidate calls home -- Floyd, Bartow, Gordon -- really matter when it comes to what they do in Atlanta? It sounds more like concerns about a soon-to-be extinct power base.
Tea party group gets last laugh: Motorists on Turner McCall Boulevard saw something they haven't seen much of in recent years-- a packed parking lot in front of Village Theaters, running from the former Johnny Carino's site to Applebee's. The reason: More than 500 people packed MB's to take part in the Rome/Floyd, Ga., Tea Party 2010's Constitution Night gathering and hear Joel Foster. The use of MB's as a site drew a below-the-belt, snarky comment from the Rome News editorial "bored" and the membership responded in kind. When any group of citizens gathers, especially one of this size and no matter where the venue, what's the punch line? We can't think of any political event in recent years that has drawn that large a crowd, except perhaps last year's healthcare hearings by Rep. Phil Gingrey.
Hitting the campaign trail immediately: As the General Assembly wrapped up business Friday and Preston Smith attended his final Senate meetings (more or less), he didn't get much of a break. Smith was in Cobb County Saturday morning to meet with other attorney general (and statewide) candidates at the Sixth Congressional District's forum.
Track the 2010 candidates: You'll find a list of who's qualified for what and campaign announcement statements on our Politics page. Each qualified candidate is invited to send an announcement declaration of no more than 400 words as well as a mug shot (color; jpeg format, please). Send to: druck@hometownheadlines.com
-These will be the only such statements accepted this campaign cycle. Our coverage this year will be taking a different shape and tone.
Business Watch: Tips, trends, updates for the coming week
-Hearth & Harvest heart break: There are few restaurants in Northwest Georgia where we can vividly recall exactly what we had and how good it was. Every one we had at Hearth & Harvest did that--and its closing, while rumored for more than a month, was sad to report. Even other Cartersville restaurant operators Tweeted their regrets--while urging diners to stay local. The good news: sister restaurant Appalachian Grill remains in downtown Cartersville.
-More surprises to come? We're tracking another stunner and hope to have details by midweek.
-Rome City Market on the block Tuesday: At least that's the status from our last checks. There were hopes of someone bailing out the venture before Tuesday's auction but the plans for 248-250 Broad St. -- featuring an expanding Riverside Gourmet, Bussey Flowers and The Season 
-- might have derailed any bail outs.
-Lots of ribbon getting cut: The latest edition of "Friday Facts" from the Greater Rome Chamber of Commerce has four--count 'em, four-- ribbon cuttings scheduled. They are: The Garage on Wednesday, Edward Jones at 719 E. Second Ave., on Thursday and the remodeled West Rome Wal-Mart SuperCenter on Friday--while the new player is Foxworthy Studios at 137 E. First St. (11:30 a.m. May 13; photo, right)
College's year-long transition to Shorter University in final weeks.
A closer look behind why the name (not mission) is changing
By Natalie Simms
In less than a month, the name "Shorter College" will cease to exist and the new Shorter University will emerge as the educational institution embarks on a new phase of its history. While on the exterior, the public will notice a new name and logo; on the inside, the transition to brand the new university has been an extensive project a year in the making.
"It really is exciting to start with something new," says Dawn Tolbert, Vice President of Public Relations. "We are still going to be a private, independent institution and none of that will change because of our status. It is mainly a name change,but there is a lot we're going to be changing internally."
Tolbert says her "To-Do" list is five pages of single-spaced items to complete. Shorter staff members have been meeting every two weeks in recent months to work on preparations for the transition.
"We've been putting a lot of energy into every detail from getting logos for the shirts for our campus safety officers to signage to ID tags for faculty and staff," says Tolbert. "It's been a topic of conversation since the decision to become a university was approved in the fall of 2008, But since last June, we've been looking at all the details. There is a lot you can't do ahead of time but now it's getting down to the time it's got to be done."
Shorter partnered with Cagle Communications to develop the new university logo that will be unveiled during a special ceremony at 10 a.m. on June 1. The logo will be on the new entrance signage that is under construction.
"The new logo grows out of our existing college shield and uses some of the same elements and the same blue and gold colors," says Tolbert. "We're bringing in the athletic blue into the university brand and tie together with the Hawk that is slightly different… it will look great."
In addition to a new logo, Tolbert and her staff have been busy branding that new logo across everything the institution's name touches. From letterhead and envelopes to lamppost banners, logos on campus golf carts and its website.
"We will be changing all the content on our website to the new university look," she says. "Dana Thompson, our webmaster, put together five different designs and we've narrowed it down to one that will go live on June 1. She has put in tons of work to get it up and running."
Tolbert also has been working to remind faculty and staff of the university change and to keep current orders of existing letterhead and printed supplies to a minimum.
"I'm using the back of my business cards as post-its right now to use them up," she says. "We will be recycling and reusing any leftovers. We can cut down the old letterhead into scratch pads and use envelopes for on-campus mail… it will not be wasted."
The cost of the transition is not cheap but exact figures are not currently available. Tolbert says funds have been built into the school's operating budget to cover the cost of new signage and other transition items.
"A lot of the things were going to have to be replaced anyway such as our admissions publications," she says. "They have a lifecycle of three to four years and ours were five years old, so it was time to replace anyway. We are really replacing what offices have so they are not losing anything…we hope to see as little impact as possible on budgets."
Shorter officials hope the change to university status brings more growth in students and fundraising to the school.
"Shorter is already organized like a university in that we have several schools within the college such as the School of Arts, the School of Business, and School of Nursing and added to that, we have our adult and professional studies. So, we've been operating under the university model for years," says Tolbert.
"Many students thought that 'college' meant that we were not a four-year degree institution," she adds. "But we are a four-year institution and have graduate degrees. We will be a small university…definitely not the University of Georgia and never will be. We will be a regional teaching university, which is a great strategic development for us."
The university change comes at a great time as the school will be opening its new Ledbetter School of Business inside the Midtown Crossing shopping center this fall, as well as the new School of Nursing inside the Riverbend Center next to Coosa Medical Group.
"We've been fortunate to start from scratch on the new Ledbetter School of Business with signage and will also be able to carry the new brand over to our Nursing School," says Tolbert. "We've had to order lots of signage for the Business school including a monument sign and external lighted sign on the building. Our new budget starts June 1, so we'll have the allocated funds then to furnish the building to open Fall 2010."
In addition to all the internal re-branding, a celebration concert with Christian recording artists Rebecca St. James and Jonny Diaz will be on Tuesday, June 1, as part of the festivities marking the transition of Shorter College to Shorter University.
The concert will begin at 6 p.m. at the Rome City Auditorium, 601 Broad St., with In Pursuit, a local band that includes Shorter student Drew Carroll, as the opening act. Diaz will take the stage at 6:30 p.m., followed by featured artist Rebecca St. James at 8 p.m.
Advance tickets for the event are $5 for students and $8 for adults. All tickets will be $10 at the door; however, seating is limited and admission is not guaranteed. For tickets, call the Shorter College Box Office at 706-233-7288. Or order online at: https://hawkspace.shorter.edu/NetCommunity/june1concert.
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