Hall County School Board to hold public hearing on drug testing

The Hall County Board of Education will hold a public hearing Monday night to solicit comment about a proposal to expand mandatory, random drugs tests to include students who drive to school.

Water fight could go to US Supreme Court

The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington has declined Georgia's petition to reconsider a recent ruling that restricts the state's authority to tap Lake Lanier for more drinking water, leaving the U.S. Supreme Court as Georgia's only avenue for appeal.

DOT to pay $62,000 in fines over projects

The Georgia Department of Transportation is paying the Georgia Environmental Protection Division $62,500 in fines for violations in Hall and Forsyth counties, despite the fact that there was no actual pollution.

Gateway to hope: Efforts to fight domestic violence to be honored

Five founding members of the Gateway Domestic Violence Center will be honored tonight at the Gainesville Civic Center during the Gateway to Hope benefit.

Kitchen inspections

May 1 Chestatee Middle School 2740 Fran Mar Drive, Gainesville Score: 100, Grade: A Inspector: Laurie Wentworth May 4 Flowery Branch Elementary Radford Road, Flowery Branch Score: 99, Grade: A Walk-in cooler evaporator leaking condensate onto covered rolling cart. <font ...

Remaking the Islands: Plans are moving ahead for construction, renovation of Lake Lanier resort

BUFORD - The Lake Lanier Islands Development Authority on Friday approved a $11.03 million bid to build a new wastewater treatment plant for the 1,100-acre resort.

‘Beat the Heat’ gears up to provide fans

The summer heat soon will be rolling in, with high temperatures forecast in the upper 80s by the end of next week. The Gainesville Hall County Community Service Center is doing its part to make sure the senior citizens of Hall County stay cool.

Turn of the Tassel: Lisa Sutton

After volunteering at Northeast Georgia Medical Center last summer, Lisa Sutton made a decision.

Turn of the Tassel: Manse Jennings

Manse Jennings must have been an enigma to most of his high school teachers.

Special Olympian is all smiles

Robbie Gorsline is sure that his volleyball team will do well at the upcoming Special Olympics state tournament. "My team's the best. We're going to Emory, and we're gonna win," Gorsline said. The tournament, part of Georgia's Summer Special Olympics, will be held from May 31 to June 1 at Emory University.

GBI examining body found in Cherokee County; could be missing man

Authorities think they have found the body of a 31-year-old Forsyth County man who has been missing about two weeks.

Teens get a chance to start fresh

Fourteen teenagers arrested in March for underage drinking will get the chance to have the misdemeanor charges dismissed if they successfully complete a pretrial diversion program.

DOT moving on despite distractions

TOCCOA - Leaders of the state transportation board said Thursday that the Department of Transportation is quickly moving past the controversy over the commissioner and her relationship with a former board chairman.

Corps agrees to cut Lanier releases for two weeks

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has agreed to cut back on the amount of water it's releasing from Lake Lanier.

Thursday’s rain won’t help in long run

Drizzle, apparently, doesn't amount to much. Though Gainesville stayed under the shadow of cloudy skies and light rainfall for most of the day Thursday, the city accumulated a mere half inch of the much needed precipitation.

Probable cause hearing set for slaying suspect

A probable cause hearing is set for later this month after a Gainesville man made his first appearance Tuesday in Hall County Magistrate Court on murder charges.

Motion denied, trial date set in 2012 boating deaths

A Hall County Superior Court judge Tuesday denied a motion to dismiss the case against Paul Bennett, who is charged with eight counts of homicide by vessel in a Lake Lanier accident that killed two Buford boys.

Gainesville City Council faces more opposition to at-large voting at meeting

Gainesville has an ugly history of discrimination and the city's at-large voting system is violating the federal Voting Rights Act, a speaker said at Tuesday's City Council meeting.

Hall County's tax digest drops

Hall County's 2013 final tax digest is down 1.51 percent from last year, according to final numbers from the Tax Commissioner's office, making the county's 2014 proposed budget short by $560,000.

Class Notes: Gainesville City Schools hosting meal program

Deal ‘ready to spend’ state funds to deepen harbor

Gov. Nathan Deal said Tuesday he's willing to use state money to start deepening the Port of Savannah's busy shipping channel without waiting for funding from Washington as long as the federal government promises to pay its share of the $652 million project later.

Blood drive to honor disaster victims

The Hall County Sheriff's Office is teaming up with the North Georgia Detention Center and the American Red Cross to host a blood drive to honor victims of natural disasters both close to home and hundreds of miles away.

Suspect charged with murder in fatal shooting

A man was shot and killed Monday evening in the parking lot outside the Peppers Market off E.E. Butler Parkway in Gainesville.

Flowery Branch named fastest growing city in Hall County

Flowery Branch is Hall County's fastest-growing city, expanding 2.7 percent between July 2011 and July 2012, according to recently released census statistics.

An eXtreme eXperience: Summer camps focus on career offerings

"Do you feel nourished?" That's what rising seventh-grader Christina Antoci asked Adrianna Silva after wiping toner from her face Monday.

The Local Agenda: Gainesville City Council has full agenda

City Council members are scheduled to consider several items at their meeting this evening. On the agenda are raising city water and sewer prices, adopting a West Gainesville-Hall County opportunity zone, setting the 2014 property tax rate for the Gainesville Board of Education and changing the ordinance on annexations initiated by the city.

Taxi driver shot in hand during fight

A Gainesville man was charged with using a gun with a filed-off identification number after a man was shot in the hand outside the J&J Foods on Jesse Jewell Parkway just before midnight Saturday.

Kitchen Inspections for April 12-17

April 12

Hot weather health tips

Here are some tips to help you deal with the summer heat wave.

Winter weather tips

Braving winter weather