Thursday, March 12th

The state Labor Department reports an increase in the Athens unemployment rate: it was 5.7 percent in January, up from 5.4 percent in December. The Department says the rate increased as the four-county Athens metro area lost 1,700 jobs, many of which were temporary and part-time jobs related to the holiday season. Gainesville had the lowest unemployment rate in the state in January, checking in at 5.2 percent.

Athens-Clarke County Police investigate a reported shooting. Police say the victim was taken to Athens Regional Medical Center for treatment of what were described as non life-threatening injuries. He tells police it happened during an argument with another man outside a residence on Warren Street. In another reported crime involving a gun, a man tells Athens-Clarke County Police he was robbed at gunpoint, losing jewelry to two men he says left the Arcadia Street crime scene in a Silver Toyota Camry.

The Athens-Clarke County Commission’s Environmental Buffer Committee meets this evening: 6:30 at the Government Building on Dougherty Street.

A tour of the Middle Oconee Water Reclamation Facility is on tap for today. It’s underway at noon at the facility on Will Hunter Road.

Jackson County Commissioners are considering the conversion of the Gordon Street Center in Jefferson as new headquarters for the Jackson County parks and recreation department.

There is now a June 16 election date in Auburn, a special election to fill a vacant seat on the Auburn City Council. Dorissa Shackelford resigned her Council post after taking a job in another city. There are three days of candidate qualifying later this month: March 25 through 27 at Auburn City Hall.

Banks County is getting new jobs: Vanguard Trucking is expanding its operations, setting up shop on vacant property near the Atlanta Dragway in Commerce. Initial plans call for about two dozen new payroll positions.

The University of North Georgia appoints a Vice President for University Advancement: the job goes to Jeff Tarnowski, who is now a vice president at Georgia Perimeter College. He'll join UNG as a replacement for former VP Andrew Leavitt, who left to become a university chancellor in Wisconsin.

The Gainesville City Council meets this morning, a 9 o’clock work session at the Administration Building in Gainesville.

Hall County Commissioners meet this evening in Gainesville. The Commission’s monthly voting session starts at 6 at the Hall County Government Center in Gainesville.

White County officials identify the victim of a Tuesday car fire as Betty Jean Fortner. They say the 46 year-old died in the blaze that burned a vehicle in Cleveland. The GBI is investigating and says, for now, foul play is not suspected.

A Gwinnett County couple pleads guilty to $1.4 million worth of Medicaid fraud. The husband and wife from Lilburn are looking at three years of house arrest.

Protesters march through the streets of downtown Decatur to call attention to DeKalb County’s second police killing in three months, which they contend was an unjust use of force. An unarmed naked man was shot by a DeKalb County Police Officer earlier this week.

Decatur City School Superintendent Phyllis Edwards has tendered her resignation, stepping down from the post she's held for the past 12 years. Edwards says she will stay in office in Decatur through the end of the school year before returning to her native south Florida.

Peachtree City is in the market for a new police chief: William McCollum is out, resigning amid reports that he could face misdemeanor charges stemming from the New Year's Day shooting that seriously wounded his wife. It's a shooting he maintains was accidental, and the DA in Fayette County apparently agrees, saying earlier this month he would not be seeking felony charges in the case.

An inmate in the Bibb County jail is in trouble for allegedly ordering out for drugs. 33 year-old Susan Hammond was in jail on shoplifting and assault charges. She is accused of using a jail phone to arrange for delivery of prescription painkillers. Officials say Hammond was planning to sell the drugs to other inmates at the lockup in Macon.

Food left on a hot stove in Fitzgerald gets the blame for the blaze that burned a home and killed a woman. Hers in the latest in a string of fire deaths around the state: three late last week in Thomasville, others in Macon and Johns Creek.

The economic forecasters at Georgia State University say the state will add almost 98,000 new jobs in 2015.

The Georgia House signs off on a package of pay raises for Georgia judges, district attorneys, and public defenders. Uber and Lyft drivers would have to undergo background checks under a bill headed to the state Senate after overwhelming passage in the Georgia House.