Hometown Mobile: Thursday updates

Soggy, stormy Thursday possible: Rain chance, 80%

Current Radar in GA - Columbus region

Map: Intellicast.com

Keep an eye on today's weather: We could be in for more rain and some storms later today as a front pushes in from the northwest. The forecast calls for an 80 percent chance of heavy rain today, a 70 percent chance of thunderstorms tonight and a 60 percent chance of more rain on Friday. The plus side: afternoon highs will dip into the upper 80s with overnight lows in the upper 50s Saturday and Sunday.

-Thursday: 80% chance of rain, high of 90; low of 72; 70% chance of rain.

-Friday: 60% rain chance, high of 86, low of 65.

-Your extended forecast> Weather / Local radar > Radar

-Track any storm reports on the police scanner> Click

Chamber seeing 'right kind of activity': So says Al Hodge, president and CEO of the Greater Rome Chamber of Commerce during a meeting with small business owners Wednesday. Chamber representatives spent time meeting with Atlanta-area prospect last week, Hodge says, and one contact made a trip to Rome/Floyd this week to see what's available. In fact, the chamber had a visit Tuesday, two Wednesday and one set for today, Hodge says. One group saw both the Florida Tile and Mohawk plants sitting idle in Shannon. They also saw the 100 acres at Ga. 140 and 53, and the land development leaders hope to buy depending on the Nov. 3 SPLOST vote. While Hodge stresses there are no announcements pending, "We are having the right kind of activity."

Number of the day, 2.336: Add a dollar sign in front of the two and you have the average cost of a gallon of unleaded in Georgia as of this morning. You'll find gas selling for a dime cheaper, $2.23, in parts of Gordon County. Prices are down almost 20 cents from a month ago and more than $1.73 a gallon from a year. You'd almost think the summer travel season has two full weeks left for parents and students.

Scoop of the day/Sunday in National Ice Cream Day: Seriously, it was so designated by Ronald Reagan in 1984 so that makes this the 25th anniversary. To celebrate, Bruster's at 1911 Shorter Ave. SW is offering free one-ounce samples on Sunday.

-One more deal while on Shorter: Join Sonny's BBQ's e-mail list and get a $5 off coupon on orders of $25 or more> Click

-Coming Friday: Latest restaurant inspection scores and winery updates.

'The Druck Report' local business update premieres Monday on WRGA: Local business news, updates and analysis premiere Monday at 7:45 a.m. on WRGA 1470 AM. The weekday program will deliver a different perspective on current and upcoming business reports found on Hometown Headlines each day. Retail, restaurants, residential and commercial real estate, banks and credit unions, healthcare, tourism, colleges, media and sports/business will anchor our reports. Join us each weekday at 7:45 a.m. for The Druck Report. For more: Click E-mail

Downtown Headlines:

-Latest updates on downtown entertainment from Bryan Mullins

-'Fixer Upper' at DeSoto to help Free Clinic Friday night.

Norman Arey's Sports Roundtable

-Quick! Name more than two quarterbacks in the Southeastern Conference.

Rome Braves' updates:

-Braves go long, win big, 12-10 over Grasshoppers.

-Tonight: Rome vs. Greensboro; 7 p.m.

-Latest Braves' photo gallery by Mills Fitzner> Gallery