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	Census forms start arriving WASHINGTON - Let the count begin. More than 120 million U.S. census forms begin arriving Monday in mailboxes around the country, in the government's once-a-decade population count that will be used to divvy up congressional seats and more than $400 billion in federal aid. Fast-growing states in the South and the West could stand to lose the most because of lower-than-average mail participation rates in 2000 and higher shares of Hispanics and young adults, who ... Read Article »
	Officials struggling with budget options Georgia state legislators are painstakingly working to plug a $1 billion hole in the state’s budget. Read Article »
	Senate OKs overhaul to property taxes ATLANTA - The state Senate has approved a wide-ranging overhaul of property taxes in Georgia. The Senate voted 54-0 for the measure on Thursday. Read Article »
	Governor proposes deep health care cuts ATLANTA - Georgia's hospitals and health-care providers were hammered as part of a new round of cuts proposed by Gov. Sonny Perdue on Thursday to deal with a gaping budget shortfall. With state tax collections in freefall, Perdue is pushing to cancel the state's weeklong sales back-to-school sales tax holiday. Georgians will also face a host of new or increased fees totaling some $96 million as the state scrambles to balance its books. Read Article »
	Indictments for alleged assisted suicide ATLANTA - A Georgia grand jury indicted four members of an assisted suicide group Tuesday on charges they helped a 58-year-old man with cancer kill himself. The four - the Final Exit Network's former president, its former medical director and two others - were formally indicted by a Forsyth County grand jury on charges of offering assistance in the commission of suicide, tampering with evidence and violating the state's anti-racketeering charges. Read Article »
	ID sought for body found in Effingham County CLYO - Sheriff's deputies Effingham County are investigating a human skeleton found in some woods in southern Georgia. Sheriff's spokesman David Ehsanipoor says authorities discovered the skeletal remains of an unidentified man Monday after someone called in a tip. The bones were found in woods near Clyo, 35 miles north of Savannah. Read Article »
	Committee OKs expanded gun carry bill ATLANTA - A bill that would allow gun owners with permits to carry firearms onto college campuses and into churches and bars passed a key Senate committee on Monday and could soon be headed for the full Senate. The Special Judiciary Committee voted 7 to 1 in favor of Senate Bill 308. State Sen. Mitch Seabaugh, the sponsor, reiterated on Monday that the bill is aimed at clarifying the firearms carry law for Georgia's 300,000 gun owners with permits to carry weapons. Read Article »
	Body of missing Darien teen found DARIEN - Authorities say the body of a 15-year-old McIntosh County boy was found in a rugged state wildlife management area after a 12-hour search. McIntosh County Sheriff Steve Jessup says a Georgia Department of Natural Resources ranger and other searchers found the body of Daniel Head Monday afternoon about three miles from the nearest paved road. Read Article »
	Gun goes off in Dublin classroom DUBLIN - Police in Dublin say a 15-year-old is charged with having a firearm on campus after a handgun he was carrying discharged in a classroom and a bullet fragment struck another student. Dublin Police Chief Wayne Cain says the 15-year-old told authorities he brought the gun to Dublin High School on Monday for self-protection. Cain says he was putting the gun in his backpack when it went off. Read Article »
	Georgia is finalist for education funds Georgia has been named one of 16 finalists in the first round of the Race to the Top competition, the U.S. Secretary of Education announced Thursday. Along with 14 states and the District of Columbia, Georgia scored in the 400-plus range to remain in the running for a piece of a nearly $5 billion pie. Read Article »
	Hearing on regional plan is March 10 The Coastal Regional Commission will have a regional public hearing to take comment on the Regional Plan of Coastal Georgia at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 10, 2010, at Quality Inn Hotel, 4300 U.S. Highway 17 South in Richmond Hill. Read Article »
	Georgia 15th in nation for domestic violence murders ATLANTA - A new report ranks Georgia 15th in the nation for killings of women by men in single-victim homicides, most of them murders connected with domestic violence. The report was released by the Violence Policy Center with help from two prominent Georgia advocacy groups. Read Article »
	State jobless numbers set another record ATLANTA - The Georgia Department of Labor says the state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to a record 10.4 percent in January, and Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond says the job crisis is getting worse. The rate tops the previous record of 10.3 percent set in December. It's also up 2 percentage points from the 8.4 percent at this same time last year. Read Article »
	Obama well received in Savannah SAVANNAH - Sounding a familiar clean-energy theme, President Barack Obama on Tuesday announced details of a proposed energy rebate program he hopes will spur demand for insulation and water heaters - and jobs for hurting Americans. Obama said the administration's "HOMESTAR" program would reward people who buy energy-saving equipment with an on-the-spot rebate of $1,000 or more. He cast the idea as one that would save people money on utility bills, boost the economy and ... Read Article »
	High court upholds Savannah death sentences ATLANTA - The Georgia Supreme Court has upheld death sentences for Darryl Scott Stinski, who was convicted of killing a woman and her 13-year-old daughter in 2002. In an opinion published Monday the court found that evidence presented in the case was sufficient to conclude "beyond a reasonable doubt" that Stinski was guilty of the slayings of 41-year-old Susan Pittman and her daughter, Kimberly. Read Article »
	Obama to talk home efficiency, jobs WASHINGTON - Consumers would collect on-the-spot rebates of $1,000 or more for buying insulation, water heaters or other equipment to make their homes burn energy more efficiently under a rebate program President Barack Obama is promoting. Obama was traveling to Savannah, Ga., on Tuesday to outline the Home Star program. Obama called for energy rebates in his State of the Union address, and officials hope the plan will be as popular as last year's Cash ... Read Article »