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This week's Buzz (click)
>A primary concern--the July 15 primary
>Updates on voter count, registration, county by county
>Dueling sushi restaurants coming to Rome
>Moving: New homes for Nissan, pharmacy, Medical Clinic
>Business Buzz: Braves' numbers up 300 per game this season
>Peaks & Valleys, the Baseball Edition
>Our thanks for a record-setting May
Floyd-RehabCare deal for Specialty Hospital completed: A joint venture between RehabCare Group Inc. and Floyd Healthcare Resources regarding operations and the eventual expansion of The Specialty Hospital has been finalized> Specialty
Traffic crackdown to stop I-75 northbound traffic near Red Top today> AJC
Sports
>Norman Arey's Sports: Norman's computer is out; look for his next column on Tuesday>Arey
>Tourists sweep Braves; Rome hits the road for four-pack> Sports
WeatherCenter
> Partly cloudy, high of 86, 30 percent rain chance> WeatherCenter
Downtown Headlines
>Consider it freebie week in downtown Rome (museum admission, First Friday). Plus a free plug of our new favorite dessert, Rocky Road 'gelato'> Downtown Headlines
Gas watch/Local prices climb again (updated 6/2)
>Statewide average 'steady' at $3.90: A year ago, we were paying $3.00 for a gallon of unleaded and were fuming about it. This morning, the statewide average is at $3.90, down a penny since last week. Some local prices dropped a few cents.
| Bartow | Chattooga | Floyd | Gordon | Polk | Georgia | |
| Range | $3.68- $4.15 | $3.90- $4.00 | $3.86- $3.96 | $3.79- $4.07 | $3.90- $3.99 | $3.90 |
| Links | Cartersville | Summerville | Rome | Calhoun | Cedartown | State |
A primary concern: The July 15 primary
For the next two weeks, you'll be hearing a good bit about getting new and lapsed voters "qualified" to cast ballots in the July 15 primary. The books close Monday, June 16.
The issue: Generating enough buzz to get voters interested in the primary. In Gordon and Bartow counties, there's a few local races to generate a buzz.
In Bartow, the House District 15 race between Republican incumbent Jeff Lewis and challenger Paul Battles is a key race and so is the district attorney's primary between Joe Campbell and challenger Christian Coomer.
In Gordon, GOP voters will help decide the Campbell-Coomer race (the district includes both counties) as well as the party nominee for sheriff (Matt Massingill vs. Mitch Ralston).
In Floyd County, the marquee draw is the superior court clerk's post between Democrats John Harkins and Barbara Penson. Both have put together aggressive, active campaigns. As of this writing, both have stayed mostly positive as well. With no Republican challenger, the primary winner takes over for Joe Johnston in January.
Floyd Democrats will join statewide colleagues in selecting the U.S. Senate candidate to face Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss this fall as well as District 4 contender for the state Public Service Commission. (Click ballot)
Floyd Republicans have nothing on the local ballot but two races on the PSC to decide: District 4 and District 1.
What it all means: Unless Harkins and Penson can get the vote out, turnout for the primary looks bleak.
>The PSC races won't excite local Republicans but look for many to crossover to vote in the Harkins-Penson race. Since they'll pulling a Democratic ballot, look for some Republicans to mix in a little of Rush Limbaugh's Operation: Chaos by tinkering with the U.S. Senate vote.
>Democrats have a somewhat interesting battle with the U.S. Senate nominee in addition to the court clerk's race.
>Even more of a concern: A possible runoff for the Democratic U.S. Senate race. Turnout on Aug. 5 could be below 10 percent statewide.
No matter how many turn out, huge numbers of Northwest Georgians are eligible to vote in the primary this year. Here's the county-by-county count, as of May 1:
| County | Bartow | Chattooga | Floyd | Gordon | Polk |
| Qualified | 47,320 | 11,680 | 43,141 | 23,504 | 18,672 |
For more on qualifying or the upcoming primary, contact election officials at:
>Bartow County: 770-387-5098 or click Bartow.
>Chattooga County: 706-857-0739
>Floyd County: 706-291-5167 or click Floyd.
>Gordon County: 706-629-7198 or click Gordon. Ballots: Democrat or GOP.
>Polk County: 770-749-2103 or click Polk.
>Georgia Secretary of State's Web site> Click Here
Up next: Dueling sushi restaurants
Temporary signage is up for Ru San's at the new Five Points center on North Broad close to the new home of Troy's Barbecue. Ru San's is part of a group that also has stores in the metro Atlanta market and around the southeast (click Ru San's Athens for a sampling). Thai Van Nguyen is behind the permitting process.
>Blue Fin also opening soon: The community's other new retail center, River Center, is getting its own sushi restaurant with Blue Fin.
>Insiders say: At one point, both shopping centers were angling for Blue Fin (originally planned as a Japanese steakhouse, according to earlier reports). Now we get dueling sushi spots, giving Sumo a run for its money.
On the move
>Heritage Nissan in business on the bypass: New and used cars are available starting today at Heritage Nissan's new quarters at 1500 Veterans Memorial Parkway while used cars remain also available at the Martha Berry/John Davenport site. The auto dealership's new campus has been in the works for several months.
>Winslette Pharmacy has grand opening ceremonies set for Monday as the business jumps from the west to east side of Alabama Highway. A drive-through, a gift shop and larger quarters now occupy the former home of Nancy's Pancake House and Shoney's near the former West Rome Kroger.
>Northwest Georgia Medical Clinic just about ready: Motorists on Riverbend Drive saw a very crowded parking lot in front of the new Riverbend Medical Center in recent days. Northwest Georgia Medical Clinic opens for appointments on Wednesday (see recent update).
Business Buzz
Braves' attendance looks great two months into 2008 season: Those two sellouts to see Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz helped boost season-to-date attendance for the Rome Braves. As of Sunday, May 31, the Braves were averaging 3,672 tickets sold through 25 home games (91,923 since opening night April 3). That's up 300 people per game over the 3,372 tickets sold for each game in 2007. The record is 3,979 per game set in the inaugural season in 2003.
Sincerely Yours expands hours: Sincerely Yours is now open on Mondays. The store at Midtown Crossing near Gondolier's restaurant is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Private appointments for brides are still available by calling 706-234-6078.
Peaks and Valleys: The highs and lows of Northwest Georgia
Peak to the Cartersville High baseball team: The Purple Hurricanes earned their fourth state AAA title since 2001 in a final-game pounding of Stephens County, 13-1. CHS continues to be a powerful force in state high school baseball.
Peak to Rome Braves pitcher (briefly) John Smoltz: The future Hall of Famer made two rehab stops in Rome last week to the delight of more than 10,000 fans. Smoltz made time for fans even as he addressed the injury concerns that sent him here in the first place. Smoltz continues to be one of the statesmen of Major League Baseball. (Mills Fitzner photo)
Valley to the Rome Braves: One home win in all of May? Twenty games out of contention for the first-half title? Let's get a little shake-up under way before "season two" starts in mid-June. The Braves have made two trips to the playoffs in five seasons and certainly have the talent for a third trip this year. The fans continue to be supportive with an average draw of 3,672 people per game, 300 ahead of the 2007 pace.Time to play ball, guys.
Thank you for another record month
We again thank you for a record month for the Hometown Headlines family of Web sites. We saw more overall hits, more daily hits and more unique visitors than any month in our four-plus years of serving Northwest Georgia.
Our monthly totals, comparing last month and May 2007:
>Average daily hits: 48,420 in 2008 vs. 26,950, up 80 percent.
>Average daily unique visitors: 1,226 in 2008 vs. 985, up 24.5 percent.
>Monthly hit count: 1,501,041 in 2008 vs. 835,469, up 80 percent.
Since launching in January 2004, we've recorded more than 30 million hits and dispatched more than 500,000 e-mail alerts to "subscribers" of our free daily and breaking news updates.
We're especially grateful for your continued support as competition increases for your online time both locally and with dozens of new services and social media outlets now available.
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