Georgia News Briefly — April 18, 2016

EPA drops planned ‘anti-racing’ rule

ATLANTA (Albany Herald) — Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens said Monday that the federal Environmental Protection Agency has withdrawn a rule that could have adversely affected auto racing two weeks after he joined a coalition of eight attorneys general who objected to the proposal.

The EPA announced Friday it would withdraw language requiring that certified motor vehicles, engines and emission control devices remain in their certified configuration, even if altered vehicles were used exclusively for competition or non-road purposes, Olens’ office said.

“I’m pleased the EPA listened and halted the proposal,” Olens said. “We will continue our fight against executive overreach.”

Georgia signed the letter with Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, and West Virginia.

Atlanta makes ‘boom town’ list

ATLANTA (TNS) — One of the 10 fastest-growing neighborhoods in the county is the area around Atlantic Station, according to an analysis released today.

A comparison of the nation’s ZIP codes shows that 30363 ranks among the nation’s leaders on a series of measures that indicate rapid growth and robust potential, according to Realtor.com, the official website of the National Association of Realtors.

The key measures: job creation, household formation, new construction and a five-year projection of household growth.

“The strength of the residential real estate market is closely correlated to growth in jobs and households,” said Jonathan Smoke, Realtor.com’s chief economist. “If anything, this is a road map for where builders should be thinking about where to break ground next.”

The number of households in the 30363 area is expected to grow by 15.7 percent during the next five years, according to Realtor.com.

Part of the calculation is the growth of the surrounding county. Fulton County is projected to have more than 10,000 new housing starts and 12,000 new jobs created during this year, according to the analysis.

DeKalb corruption inquiry finished

ATLANTA (TNS) — A special grand jury’s report exposed far-reaching allegations of corruption in DeKalb County, but no further charges are likely beyond those that landed suspended DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis in prison.

DeKalb District Attorney Robert James told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he didn’t find evidence crimes were committed by nine people the special grand jury recommended for further investigation.

The report three years ago raised suspicions of cronyism, irregular spending and bid-rigging that started in DeKalb’s Department of Watershed Management and extended to the highest levels of county government.

Condemned killer wants Italian meal

ATLANTA (TNS) — Daniel Anthony Lucas has asked for an Italian meal to be the last one he eats before his execution set for next week for the murders of a Jones County father and his two children.

According to the Department of Corrections, Lucas requested meat pizza, steak and cheese calzone, a stuffed portobello mushroom, chef salad with ranch and honey mustard dressings and orange juice.

Lucas, 37, will be given his last meal about three hours before the scheduled hour for his lethal injection, which is 7 p.m. on April 27.

If he is put to death, Lucas will be the fifth person Georgia has executed this year. Only twice since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976 has Georgia put executed five killers in a year — in 2015 and in 1987.

Lucas, then 19, and Brandon Rhode were burglarizing the Moss family home the afternoon of April 23, 1998, when the first of two children came home from school.

The younger of the two got home first.

Bryan Moss saw Lucas and Rhode through the front window, ransacking his family’s house, so the 11-year-old armed himself with a bat and went inside. Lucas shot the boy.

Kristin Moss came home next. The two men also shot the 15-year-old girl.

Rhode shot the father, Steven Moss, when he got to the house on Griswoldville Road in middle Georgia.

Then Lucas shot the children again to be sure they were dead.

Rhode was executed on Sept. 27, 2010.

Gwinnett eyes courthouse expansion

LAWRENCEVILLE (TNS) — Gwinnett County may move forward with a long-delayed expansion of its main courthouse and administrative building in Lawrenceville.

The Board of Commissioners on Tuesday will consider awarding a $74.6 million contract to Gilbane Building Company to build the 180,485-square-foot addition and a 1,500-space parking garage at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center.

Gwinnett officials say the county’s court system needs more room. The project would add space for up to 10 new courtrooms, a new jury assembly area and other facilities. It also includes renovating space at the existing building, which opened in 1988.

Most of the funding for the construction would come from a 2009 special sales tax for construction projects, with about $6 million coming from a contingency fund.

The courthouse expansion originally was to be completed in 2013. But with the economy in recession and county revenue plummeting, commissioners postponed the project in 2010.