>With three months to go, Campaign 2008 takes off this week
>Events include party meetings, candidate events
>Calling an audible (or lack of one) on RHS football broadcasts?
>Aug. 12: It's Casey Cagle Day
>Synergy unites Cartersville arcade, restaurant
>By the numbers: Braves, election, Hometown
Skip Caray dies
Skip Caray, the voice of the Atlanta Braves for more than three decades, died in his sleep Sunday afternoon. He was 68. Caray, the son of another baseball legend, Harry Caray, and the father of Josh Caray, who calls games for the Rome Braves, and Chip Caray, would have turned 69 this month> Skip
>AJC's tribute to Caray> AJC
>Fans fill more than 10 pages on memorial guestbook overnight> Legacy
>Notes to Josh Caray: We're checking with WLAQ and the Rome Braves for information on sending notes to broadcaster Josh Caray. Check back soon.
WeatherCenter
>97 today with a heat index of 100 likely> WeatherCenter
>Another bad air day for Bartow, metro Atlanta on Sunday> Code Orange
Sports
>Norman Arey's Sports: How many arrests are enough? Wake Forest now sitting alongside the big boys> Arey
>Braves win third straight; beat Hickory, 5-3> Sports
>Plus: Recent game photos from Mills Fitzner> Photos
WeatherCenter
>Upper 90s again today and probably through Wednesday> WeatherCenter
Downtown Headlines:
>Kaleido-Snow moves on Broad; 'countdown' begins> Downtown Headlines
At T-minus three months to election day, candidates step it up
With a lackluster primary just about behind us (the runoff vote is Tuesday), the main act is prepping for a grand entrance. It hits prime time this week:
>Tuesday: Floyd County Republican Women meet at 11:30 a.m. at Sassafras Grille, Redmond Circle. Rep. Katie Dempsey will be the guest speaker. Also invited are the three Superior Court candidates: Jason Lewis, Jack Neidrach and Kevin Salmon.
>Tuesday: Jason Lewis, candidate for Floyd County Superior Court judge, also is due at Lions Club at noon at Coosa Country Club.
>Saturday, 11 a.m.: The GOP rally at Tillman Hangar, Richard B. Russell Airport, with U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey and local candidates.
>Saturday, 5:30-7 p.m., the Committee to Re-elect Tim Burkhalter Sheriff will host a campaign kick-off at Ana's Deli, 223 Turner McCall Blvd.
>Saturday, 6 p.m.: Post 3 County Commission hopeful Irwin Bagwell's barbecue at the Chamber's Mill Trout Farm.
You've already seen the campaign yard signs and Web ads, and both parties have held grand openings at the dueling headquarters on Broad Street. Now the focus shifts to the specific races and the candidates--opposing or otherwise.
Here's what we're seeing:
>Congress: Democrat Bud Gammon's low-key bid to upset U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey has signs popping up in interesting spots. Check the one in front of The Sports Page on Dean Avenue, for example.
-Superior Court judge: Don't be surprised to see the race featuring Jason Lewis, Jack Neidrach and Kevin Salmon emerge as one of the top political battles of the year. As one pundit put it, had others known of Larry Salmon's plans to retire, another dozen or so lawyers would have entered the race.
>House District 13: Incumbent Katie Dempsey has organized a continuing series of town hall meetings with special guest stars from House leadership. That's an incumbent's "right," we know, and Phil Gingrey is doing the same thing (next one in Calhoun on Aug. 11). What we're waiting to see is whether the Bob Puckett campaign will respond and just how much baggage from House Speaker Glenn Richardson that campaign will unload on Dempsey.
>House District 11: Because of the district's strong Chattooga County base, many believe it is a safe haven for incumbent Democrat Barbara Massey Reece. Eddie Lumsden gave her a good fight four years ago but it was clear her name and party were factors. Republican Betty Brady, also from the Chattooga side of the district, is thinking otherwise as that race heats up.
>House Districts 14, 16: We were surprised to see a challenger against Barry Loudermilk, R-Cassville, in this Bartow/Floyd district (Democrat Rick D'Arezzo) especially since he faced no opponents in 2006. We did expect a challenger (Bob Culver) for Democrat Rick Crawford in District 16 (Polk, south Floyd), and signs from both candidates already dot Polk County.
>Tax commissioner: Keep this one on your radar. The showdown between Kevin Payne and Ron Morris got off to a rocky start with Morris' tax records and he's got ammo to return fire. The question is when, not if.
>Burkhalter vs. Hulsey II: The most intense race of the '04 campaign is off to a low-key start as Democrat Tim Burkhalter again faces Republican Steve Hulsey.
>County Commission Post 2 and Clerk of Court: Both Garry Fricks and clerk-elect Barbara Penson are pretty much assured those posts come January but we continue to hear rumbles of write-in challenges, especially in Penson's race. Her potential challenger is not John Harkins, who lost to her in the July 15 primary.
>School Board, District 3: Republican Brian Barcomb didn't wait for the primary before going public with his signs in his surprise race against Democratic incumbent Bryan Shealy. This was a race that wasn't supposed to happen.
>Election day turnout: Talk about night and day. Early predictions have at least 80 percent of voters taking part in the general election, a far cry from the nearly 11 percent who bothered to visit the precincts last month.
Football might not exactly be on the air this fall
The Rome High football community is simmering over rumored plans to do away with weekly broadcasts of the Wolves' football season.
The speculation, according to school insiders: Q102 will shift to a game-of-the-week format rather than straight RHS coverage. Some Rome games would be covered by the Q crew but not all regular-season games as has been done for years.
The RHS issue has made it to the state sports football vent (Football). We have e-mails into station executives on the report.
If true, don't be surprised to see economics get some of the blame. Advertising continues to drop for most traditional media plus the economy continues to force retailers and others to curtail what advertising they have been doing.
Still, there is nothing quite as Americana as the Friday night football game on the hometown radio station. Look for some option plays on RHS coverage.
It's Casey Cagle Day on Aug. 12
Casey Cagle, Georgia's lieutenant governor and presumed GOP nominee for the top spot in 2010, has a busy day ahead of him on Aug. 12. The agenda so far:
>10 a.m.: Floyd County Schools College & Career Academy, ribbon cutting, 10 a.m.. Cagle is among the invited guests for the ceremony.
>Noon: Cagle is the guest speaker at Seven Hills Rotary Club at Coosa Country Club. Meal: $12.
>Time to get campaignin': We expect a few campaign stops on behalf of local candidates as well.
Nice synergy at 'Play' between Cartersville businesses
One of the hotter business spots in Cartersville has been the northern end of Tennessee Street just a few blocks off U.S. 41. In recent years, Carmike 12 theaters and Guyton Park Village Center (home of Fuddruckers) have opened as has Slope's BBQ.
A new strip center has been added behind Slopes and north of the Carmike 12, and it is home to a unique synergy of businesses: FrankNSteak and Play Station.
Play Station is a modern--and clean--arcade with plenty of games and room between them. From "ice bowling" to Galaga to a virtual jump rope machine, Play Station is state of the art. Perhaps the most fun for older kids and adults is a game version of NBC's Deal or No Deal where you pick suitcases and make "deal" or "no deal" calls to get tickets (redeemed for prizes at the end of your visit). Thankfully, it comes without Howie Mandel but the banker is there as are the models holding 16 suitcases.
Play Station has party packages for kids and adults, complete with a karaoke room. You also can show a movie of your choice to entertain the kids.
Play Station is open 10:30 a.m. until 11 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Details: 770-382-3111 or www.playstationffc.com
The adjoining business is FrankNSteak, home to cheesesteaks, hoagies, salads, all-beef hotdogs, sandwiches and even bratwurst. Sides include green beans, mac and cheese, "freedom fries."
Our favorite menu listing is "The Skinny Elvis with sweet potato fries." Included: peanut butter, grape jelly and a half pound of bacon. Price: $5.59.
The restaurant is open Monday-Thursday, 10:30 a.m. until 10 p.m., until 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and from noon to 8 p.m. Sunday.
By the numbers:
3,430: The average attendance of Rome Braves' games this year through 54 games (July 30). Last year's full-season average: 3,372 per game. A big season of "promos," including BirdZerk's visit (right), help offset weather concerns (heat and rain). Photo by Mills Fitzner
13: The number of home games left for the Braves in the regular season. If the average holds up, Rome would close the year with attendance very close to 230,000 for the year. Next home stand opens Aug. 11 vs. the Hagerstown Suns.
91: Days to go before election day, Nov. 4. The last day for new or lapsed voters to register is Oct. 6.
1,593,168: The record-setting July hit count for the Hometown Headlines' family of Web sites, our third consecutive month with 1.5 million or more hits. The month's biggest surprise was the primary, July 15. Even with limited ballots in most areas, we set one-day traffic records for visits and unique visitors. We again thank you for spending a few minutes with us each day.
No comments:
Post a Comment