Monday, March 30th

He was kicked off the Georgia Bulldog football team after a domestic violence arrest in Athens. Now Jonathan Taylor has been booted by the Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa for the same reason. The 21 year-old defensive lineman was arrested over the weekend and booked into the Tuscaloosa County jail after a complaint filed by a 24 year-old woman.

We have this morning the names of the winners of this year’s Alec Little Environmental Awards. Bruno Giri, a leader in efforts to protect waterways and improve water quality in the Athens area, and Sue and Ed Wilde, who for years have waged war on invasive plants in public natural areas, will be honored in a ceremony set for next month. The Alec Little Environmental Award was established in 1991 to honor Alec Little of Athens, who worked closely with many environmental organizations in Georgia before his death that year. It was the first major prize to recognize individuals and organizations for outstanding efforts in environmental activism and education in the Athens area.

Athens-Clarke County firefighters were busy overnight, battling a house fire on Athens’ west side. The blaze closed a stretch of Whitehead Road.

The Institute of Higher Education marks its 50^th anniversary with a conference that continues today at UGA: the conference that began Sunday wraps up tomorrow at the Georgia Center.

William Graves visits the University of Georgia today: he’s a finalist to be the next dean of the UGA grad school. Graves is an associate dean of the graduate school at Iowa State University.

Today’s campus blood drive gets underway later this morning: it starts at 10 and lasts til 3 at UGA’s Hodgson Office Building complex.

The GBI will investigate a deadly shooting in Jefferson: a 3 year-old was killed in what Jefferson Police say appears to have been an accidental shooting. It happened Sunday.

Madison County Commissioners meet this evening, a 6:30 session at the Madison County Government Complex in Danielsville. Commissioners will hear from Sheriff Kip Thomas, who will talk about plans for expansion at the Madison County jail. They’ll also get an update on Madison County road projects.

The Oglethorpe County Zoning Board meets tonight: it’s a 7 o’clock session at the Oglethorpe County courthouse in Lexington.

There are now indictments for the owner of a Hall County day care center: Minnie Sue Dupree and two staff members at her Discovering Basics Day Care in Clermont face charges stemming from a June 2014 incident in which a toddler was severely burned by scalding water.

A teacher in Forsyth County has resigned after her drug arrest in Hall County: 27 year-old Alisen Mooney taught at North Forsyth Middle School. She was booked into the Hall County jail after her arrest on charges of illegal possession of prescription painkillers.

It opens this morning in Gwinnett County: a new diverging diamond intersection on I-85 over Jimmy Carter Boulevard near Norcross.

State lawmakers are forming a committee to study the process of creating new cities. The objective: to create a standardized set of rules for incorporation to avoid the currently complex process. Legislation to create the cities of Tucker, LaVista Hills, South Fulton and Stonecrest is still alive under the Gold Dome.

Day six of jury deliberations today in Atlanta: a dozen defendants in the Atlanta Public School System cheating trial, accused of changing student answers on standardized tests.

Three teenagers from Mechanicsville are arrested in Atlanta: they’re suspected in a string of auto thefts, cars stolen from valet parking lots in Midtown Atlanta.

The annual investors' report released by Home Depot addresses the data breach discovered last year.  The Atlanta Business Chronicle reports an investigator for the payment card networks alleges the retailer was noncompliant with some security standards at the time of its data breach. Home Depot says it expects the payment card networks to continue to file claims against it that could have a substantial effect on its financial state.

Domestic passengers have a new entrance at Hartsfield-Jackson. The entrance opened over the weekend off Riverdale Road in Atlanta and is marked by a 35-foot tall monument sign. Airport officials say they want the domestic entrance to be much like the one that already greets travelers to the international terminal and the new entryway should also relieve traffic congestion.

A Columbus couple faces tax fraud charges: Ken and Lakeisha Degourville have been indicted by a Muscogee County grand jury. The Degourvilles own a tax preparation firm. They’re accused of filing upwards of 2,000 false returns using their customers’ tax information and pocketing their tax refunds.

Today begins what is scheduled to be the last week of the Georgia legislative session: there is still work to be done on the transportation funding bill. Lawmakers are in session tomorrow and again on Thursday.