Brian Vanderhoff's North Fulton Real Estate Blog: January 2008

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday cut a key interest rate for the second time in just over a week, reducing the federal funds rate by a half point. It signaled that further rate cuts were possible.

The Fed action pushed the funds rate to 3 percent. It followed a three-fourths of a percentage point cut on Jan. 22, a day after financial markets around the world had plummeted on fears that the U.S. economy was heading into a recession. That decrease had been the biggest one-day move in more than two decades.

The half-point cut Wednesday followed news that the economy had slowed significantly in the final three months of last year with the gross domestic product expanding at a barely discernible pace of 0.6 percent, less than half what had been expected. The report came amid increased concern from several quarters about a possible recession.

In a brief statement explaining their decision, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues said that "financial markets remain under considerable stress."

The Fed move was approved on a 9 to 1 vote. Richard Fisher, president of the Fed's Dallas regional bank, dissented, preferring no change in rates.

The rate cut marked the fifth time that the Fed has cut the funds rate since it started with a half-point cut on Sept. 18 in response to the severe credit crisis which hit global markets in August.

The latest Fed action was expected to be quickly followed by cuts in banks' prime lending rate, the benchmark rate for millions of consumer and business loans. The Fed's hope is that by making credit cheaper, it will encourage more borrowing, giving the economy a needed boost.

The Fed's half-point move met expectations of financial markets and was a bolder move than the smaller quarter-point cut that many economists had been expecting.

In its statement, the Fed said that "downside risks to growth remain" and pledged to "act in a timely manner as needed to address those risks." That was seen as a pledge to cut rates further if the economy continues to weaken.

On inflation, the Fed officials said that they expected inflationary pressures to moderate in coming quarters but they also pledged to monitor price developments closely.

The GDP report showed that a key gauge of core inflation, which excludes energy and food, jumped at an annual rate of 2.7 percent in the final three months of last year, the fastest increase in a year and up sharply from a 2 percent increase in the July-September quarter.

The economy has been dealt a series of blows from a two-year slump in housing to a severe credit squeeze as banks faced with billions of dollars in losses from mortgage defaults have cut back on their lending and tightened standards.

The GDP report showed that the housing collapse had depressed economic growth last year by the largest amount in a quarter-century. Policymakers are worried that the slump could intensify this year as millions of subprime mortgages rest at higher rates.

To combat the threat of a recession in an election year, the Bush administration has been negotiating with congressional leaders for an economic stimulus package of around $150 billion, focused on tax rebates for households and business tax breaks to spur investment. The House passed its version of the proposal on Tuesday but Senate action could be delayed by efforts to expand the relief to senior citizens and the unemployed.

The Fed move Wednesday occurred at the first regularly scheduled meeting of 2008 for the Federal Open Market Committee, the group of Fed governors in Washington and regional Fed bank presidents who set interest rates.

The Fed's three-quarter-point cut on Jan. 22 was taken after an emergency video conference held by Bernanke and other members of the FOMC.

That rate cut, the biggest reduction in the funds rate in more than two decades, was seen as an effort to boldly demonstrate that the central bank was prepared to do whatever necessary to keep the country from slipping into a recession -- or at least make the downturn milder than it would have been otherwise.

Financial markets had complained that once the credit crisis hit in August, the Bernanke-led Fed had been too tentative in its responses until last week's move.

Many private economists believe the central bank will keep cutting rates through the spring, especially if the unemployment rate keeps rising. The jobless rate jumped from 4.7 percent to 5 percent in December, the biggest one-month increase in five years.

Labels: Fed Chairman, Feds, Key Rates, Mortgage Rates, Rates

MILTON -- If Milton City Council gets its wish, Providence Park could be open and ready for recreation in as little as a few months.

Well, parts of it, anyway.

Under a tentative plan being worked out by Milton City Attorney Mark Scott and Fulton County Attorney Gerry Clark, the city is looking to purchase Providence Park, which has been closed since January 2004 for groundwater and soil contamination.

Fulton would still be responsible for continued cleanups.

"We would basically assume maintenance and upkeep responsibilities for the park immediately," said Scott Jan. 11, a day after broaching the subject with Fulton County and Milton's council.

Scott said he imagines the deal would include a "nominal payment" for the park and "indemnification of the city," or an agreement not to hold Milton responsible for future legal action or fines.

Scott also thinks the city will probably have to fence off the parts of the park still needing cleanup.

"From what I understand, with a little bit of maintenance, this is going to be a jewel," he said. "It's just going to do so much for our parks' ability."

But Fulton County Commissioner Lynne Riley said any transfer comes with liability. Fulton holds the park now and has closed it until the Environmental Protection Division (EPD) OKs all clean ups at Providence.

"We've left it in the city's hands how much liability they wish to assume based on their taking title to land that is under remediation," she said.

With Providence closed, the county is protected if someone trespasses and is hurt. Not so if some portions were open, she said.

"As a representative of Fulton County's interests, I don't want to expose taxpayers to unnecessary costs and risks," she said.

Councilwoman Tina D'Aversa wrote a proclamation that was read at Milton's Jan. 10 council meeting promising to do everything necessary to bring Providence into Milton.

She said the city is being urged by to apply for the EPD's Hazardous Site Reuse and Redevelopment Act, also known as the "Brownfields Act." Basically, it would release the city from liability and promote reuse of the closed site, according to a Sept. 5, 2007 letter sent to Fulton County's Public Works department by the EPD.

According to Regina Campbell, compliance officer for Providence Park, under the Brownfield Act Milton would be liable for all soil cleanup. But Fulton has taken care of that already, so the city should be free and clear.

But she has not seen the city's application yet.

"Still [Fulton County] has the liability of that [groundwater] clean up, we can't take on that role," said D'Aversa. "There's no additional liability that I can foresee."

Jessica Corbitt, public affairs manager for Fulton County, said the county's research indicates the decision is completely up to the EPD. Only it can decide whether or not to subdivide the park.

"The EPD has to make its decision before anyone moves forward," she said.

The city has already been involved in talks with the metro Atlanta YMCA to program recreation activities at the park. In addition, a police precinct housed in the main building at Providence is on the table.

Dan Pile, group vice president for the Metro Atlanta YMCA, said his community group has been in talks with Fulton County about programming the park for at least the last 10 years. When Milton incorporated, the YMCA simply shifted its efforts to the new city.

"We saw this as an opportunity to serve taxpayers," said Pile. "It provides a excellent opportunity for education, it's centrally located ... we can expose this park to a larger section of taxpayers."

The YMCA is looking at using Providence Park's rock rappelling wall and natural beauty for a series of outdoor adventure and education camps, Pile said.

"There are very few parks with the amount of acreage that Providence has," said Pile, who added that previously the largely undeveloped park was "underutilized, unknown and not accessed."

And the point, said D'Aversa and Scott, is to not let any more time pass when the city is hurting for parks and recreation options and unchecked environmental factors are depreciating the gifts Providence holds.

"We need to get in there and have a presence there so it's not abandoned property that suffers the fate of all abandoned property," said Scott.

Labels: milton, Park, Providence

Registered Georgia voters who are planning to participate in the Presidential Preference Primary on Feb. 5 will have several opportunities through their respective counties.

According to Secretary of State Karen Handel's office, voters will be asked to choose a Republican or Democratic ballot when voting. They will then need to choose the candidate they feel will best represent them as President.

For in-state voters who may not be able to make it to the polls on election day, Fulton, Forsyth and Gwinnett counties each offer advance voting locations open between Monday, Jan. 28 and Friday, Feb. 1.

In-person voters on Tuesday, Feb. 5 can visit their designated voting precincts between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Absentee voters will need to have their ballot into the county registrars office by 7 p.m. on Feb. 5.

For more information, to find your voting precinct, an advance voting location, or your county registrars office, go to: www.sos.georgia.gov/elections.

Labels: Vote, Voter

Organizational Meeting for Senior Lock-in

Senior parents, there will be an organizational meeting on Monday, December 17th at 7:00 PM in Room 2307 at Milton HS soliciting volunteers and committee chairs for the Senior Lock-in at Startime. We need to form 4 committees to work in specific areas for this big event (decorations, food, volunteers and prizes). Sign-up sheets will be available. If you are interested, please attend or contact Cindy Maynard at scorpiomaynard@aol.com


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ASVAB Test

The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) will be offered on a sign up basis to Juniors and Seniors during Periods 1 through 3 on Tuesday, December 4th in the Cafeteria. This battery of tests will help in selecting educational and career goals, help link your aptitudes with occupational areas, and assess your potential for further formal education. There is no fee to take this assessment.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MHS Orchestra Program Winter Concert

The Milton High School Orchestra Program Winter Concert will take place in the MHS Auditorium on Thursday, December 6th, 2007. The concert starts at 7:30pm and will feature both the MHS Chamber Orchestra and MHS Concert Orchestra with wonderful performances of your holiday favorites. Near the conclusion of the concert, both orchestras will combine to perform as an orchestra of 82 string players with grand piano! Along with festive holiday decorations and refreshments offered during the intermission, this is one concert you do not want to miss! Tickets will be available at the door and are priced as follows: Adult admission is $5 and student/child admission is only $3. (MHS Faculty & Administrators are admitted free of charge.)


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Annual Parent Perception Survey

Your opinions are important to us! The Fulton County School System is conducting its annual Parent Perception Survey from November 28th through January 14th. Please help us make our school better by taking a few minutes to complete this survey. The survey will be available online at www.fultonschools.org or by clicking here. If you prefer to fill out a paper survey, copies will be available in the front office. Surveys in other languages (Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Turkish, Korean, and Vietnamese) are also available at the school. Your answers will be shared with our teachers and principal for school improvement planning. Your identity and that of your child will remain confidential. If you have questions about the survey, please call the Assessment and Evaluation Office at 404-763-5600 ext. 154.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Transcript Requests

The deadline for submitting transcript requests that need to be mailed before the holiday break is Wednesday, December 5.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PARENTS DESERVE A BRAKE DRIVING SEMINAR

Monday, November 19, 2007
7:00 P.M. - 9:00 P.M.
Milton HS Auditorium

How many hours would you give to save the life of your teen? We're only asking for two!

Please attend an informative parent seminar with new information on how to coach your teen driver. The "Parents Deserve a Brake" seminar will feature touching videos, a proven 10-step plan, and an expert panel to answer your tough questions. This program is free and open to parents, as well as students. Area schools are also welcome.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hardship transfers accepted beginning January 7

Beginning January 7, 2008, parents of Fulton County students can apply for a 2008-09 hardship transfer to another Fulton school or request renewal of an existing hardship transfer. The deadline to submit these applications to the Fulton County Schools' Student Placement Office is February 15, 2008. There are no exceptions or extensions.

Applications are available at all Fulton County schools, online at http://www.fultonschools.org/dept/studentplacement, and at the Fulton County Schools Administrative Center, located at 786 Cleveland Avenue SW in Atlanta.

Students currently in the Majority-to-Minority program (M-to-M) do not need to complete a new application unless the student is changing from elementary to middle school or from middle to high school. The M-to-M program is only open to siblings of students who are currently enrolled in the program.

Parents with questions or who need more information about hardship transfers can contact the Fulton County Schools' Student Placement Office at 404-763-6801 or visit http://www.fultonschools.org/dept/studentplacement.

Labels: Events, milton, Milton High School

Clubs & Sports:

SPORTS

• All young men interested in trying out for the Milton Boys’ Golf team, there will be a mandatory meeting tomorrow morning at 7:45 in 4304. You must attend this meeting in order to be eligible to try out. If you have a conflict with the time, you must come by to see Coach Fullilove PRIOR to the meeting date and make other arrangements with him.

• Attention all tennis players, tennis team tryouts begin next Tuesday. For more information see Coach Keys or Coach Supik.

CLUBS/ACTIVITIES

• NHS t-shirts are in and available for pick-up in 2302.

Wednesday Meetings:
• Young Republicans – 7:45 in 1377. New members welcome. Please let Mrs. Hahn know if you are unable to attend.
• Multicultural Club – 7:45 in 2209

Thursday Meetings:
• Student Council – 7:45am in the teacher lunchroom
• National Art Honor Society – 7:45 in 7304
• Prom Committee – all juniors and seniors interested in serving on the Prom Committee are invited to a meeting at 3:30 in 2208


Further Announcements:

• Freshmen, please remind your parents that tonight is Freshman Parent Night! The meeting is at 7PM in the auditorium. The purpose of the meeting is to create a plan for the courses you will take the rest of your high school career.

Labels: milton, Milton High School

By helping Roswell gain right of way from an Alpharetta developer on Mansell Road, both cities can gain an interconnected greenway system.

In separate actions, Roswell appears ready to agree to deannaxation of a small commercial parcel on Mansell Road. That property owner wants to be annexed into Alpharetta, said Alpharetta City Administrator Bob Regus at a council workshop Jan. 14.

At the same time, Roswell wants some help with an Alpharetta developer to provide land along Big Creek so it can extend its greenway north. The two cities' greenways would connect north of Mansell Road.

City Councilman Jim Paine said the greenway connection, including its path under Mansell Road, would be installed at Roswell's expense.

"There's already a foot path there that people use. It floods," Paine said.

Alpharetta Mayor Arthur Letchas said the bottom line is that it will not cost the city any money.

A Roswell property owner wants to deannex a parcel of land so it can become part of Alpharetta, Regus said.

"As you go east on Mansell Road, beyond North Point Parkway, there is a small section north of Mansell Road that's in the city of Roswell," Regus said. "Those folks want to deannex from Roswell and annex into Alpharetta. Roswell, I believe, is ready to do it."

Alpharetta's neighbor wants that process to happen concurrently between the two cities.

Alpharetta plans to discuss both proposals at its annual retreat scheduled Jan. 30 & 31.

Labels: Alpharetta, Greenways, Mansell, North Point, Roswell

Apple Inc. has redoubled its effort to distribute movies online, gaining a foothold in a promising but unproven business that could eventually bolster its other core products.

The tech giant launched a movie rental service at its online iTunes Store Tuesday and won the alliances of all six major movie studios to supply content.

Under terms similar to those at other online movie providers, rental prices range from $2.99 for library titles, $3.99 for new releases, and $1 extra for high-definition versions. The movies are ready to watch almost instantly over a high-speed Internet connection, and users have a 24-hour period to watch each movie once they start it.

The service, which launched in the U.S. on Tuesday and will roll out internationally later this year, will work on Macs, Windows-based machines, iPhones, iPods or the Apple TV set-top box.

But Apple and its rivals all face the challenge of making Internet delivery easy and affordable enough to drive a massive change in the habits of the movie-watching public.

Many analysts give Apple high odds of surviving what will likely be a long, bloody battle to dominate the digital living room.

Even though Apple's stock suffered Tuesday, some investors appeared to agree. Shares of Blockbuster Inc. plunged nearly 17 percent after Apple CEO Steve Jobs, speaking at the Macworld Conference and Expo in San Francisco, announced the new threat to the world's largest chain of movie-rental stores.

"Movies are really a big part of people's lives, just like music. And being able to do this on Apple's platform is an intriguing alternative to running out to the video store or getting DVDs through your mail," American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu said.

Apple investors, however, seemed underwhelmed by Tuesday's parade of product announcements, which also included an ultra-slim notebook computer called the MacBook Air and a backup storage drive dubbed Time Capsule.

Shares of Apple slipped, losing $9.74, or 5.5 percent, to close Tuesday at $169.04. They fell another 3.6 percent, to $163.01, in after-hours trading.

With millions of people already using iTunes to download music or TV shows, Apple already has a coveted customer base, Wu said.

Jobs acknowledged Apple's first attempt to bring Internet-based video to televisions through its Apple TV device misfired. Also, iTunes previously offered movies only for purchase, racking up a mere 7 million downloads, which paled in comparison to 125 million TV shows and more than 4 billion songs downloaded.

But Jobs said competitors such as Amazon.com Inc., Netflix Inc., Blockbuster Inc. and Vudu Inc. haven't seen much more success.

"We've all tried to get movies over the Internet and to the TV, and we've all missed," Jobs said. "So we're back with Apple TV, take two."

And rentals seem to be what people want when it comes to movies, Jobs said.

The Apple TV set-top box always could wirelessly stream videos and other multimedia from a user's computer to a TV. But the new model shipping in two weeks will let users rent or purchase content without a computer. Apple cut the box's price from $299 to $229 and said existing Apple TV owners could get the new features through a free software upgrade.

If Apple ends up helping shake up movie distribution the way it did music distribution, that likely will enhance its other sales as well.

"The near-term benefits are not that clear," said Wu, the American Technology Research analyst. "But longer term, it'll drive people to the Apple platform, whether it's a Mac, an iPod, an iPhone or the Apple TV."

In its fiscal 2007, Apple earned a record $3.5 billion, up more than 75 percent from the previous year. And it sold 7 million Macs and 52 million iPods, an increase of more than 30 percent for each product line.

The rising interest in all things Apple isn't going unnoticed even by electronics vendors accustomed to creating products for the predominant Windows world. Samsung Electronics Co. last fall launched a line of printers it sold exclusively first at Apple retail stores. And this week for the first time it is displaying its wares at Macworld.

The weeklong event in San Francisco ends Friday and is expected to draw more than 50,000 attendees.

Labels: Apple, Iphone, IPOD, New Movies, Rental

Marian Hossa scored three goals and Kari Lehtonen made 46 saves to lift the Atlanta Thrashers to a 5-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night.

Hossa scored the Thrashers' first three goals, notching his seventh career hat trick, and the first in nearly a year -- Jan. 16, 2007.

Eric Perrin and Slava Kozlov also scored, while Tobias Enstrom, Ilya Kovalchuk and Mark Recchi each added two assists for Atlanta.

Nicklas Kronwall scored for NHL-leading Detroit, which has lost three straight. Chris Osgood stopped 13 shots before being pulled in favor of Dominik Hasek less than halfway through the game.

Hossa, who has 19 goals, opened the scoring with a power-play goal 7:33 in when he skated out of the corner to the front of the net and beat Osgood.

His second goal came with 5:38 left in the opening period when Hossa stripped the puck from Detroit defenseman Brett Lebda in the Red Wings zone and put a shot between Osgood's torso and arm.

He made it 3-0 just 1:14 into the second period on a wrister from the high slot.

Perrin's power-play goal made it 4-0 at 7:28 and sent Osgood to the bench.

The Thrashers didn't have a shot for the remainder of the period while Detroit took 19 at Lehtonen from that point until the end of the period.

Kronwall foiled Lehtonen's shutout bid with 6:18 left, but Kozlov got his 13th goal with a minute left.

Labels: Atlanta Thrashers, Hockey, Hossa, NHL, Wings

Get out your coats! A wintry mix of freezing rain and possible snow is expected to hit Atlanta and surrounding areas Wednesday night.

A storm system will move northeast into southwest Georgia Wednesday afternoon

Labels: Atlanta Weather, Snow, Wintery Mix

Gwinnett County is expected to vote Tuesday on a plan to build a new minor-league baseball stadium, which would clear the way for the Braves to move their Triple-A team from Richmond, Virginia, to the booming Atlanta suburb.

The R-Braves would be Gwinnett's third professional sports franchise. The county northeast of Atlanta already has arena football and minor-league hockey.

The agenda for the Gwinnett Board of Commissioners includes a vote on the purchase of a 12-acre site for $5 million.

The Braves said they would have no comment on the proposed move until after the country vote, which is expected to be a mere formality.

A person familiar with the talks, speaking on condition of anonymity because no official announcement has been made, said there already were plans for a news conference at The Arena at Gwinnett Center.

The proposal calls for one lame-duck season in Richmond before the International League team moved to suburban Atlanta in 2009.

Labels: Atlanta Braves, Gwinnette, Triple A Team

A movie inspired internet scam has landed one man behind bars and has authorities warning everyone to be careful.

Authorities say Jeffery Smith trolled myspace.com pages looking for information he could use to extort money.

He allegedly zeroed in on one unsuspecting family.

"At first I wrote it off as a joke," said the would-be-victim.

The Barnesville man -- who doesn't want his name used -- said at first the emails were innocent enough: a man named Jeffrey Smith wanted to join in his myspace community. He said friendly chats soon turned to threats.


"One of the emails actually said, 'I know your wife is at home alone right now. Why don't I pay her a visit. That's when we started taking things seriously," said the would-be-victim.

The would-be-victim believes Smith knew all his information after simply looking through his myspace.com page.

"This guy knew everything, he knew my wife's name, my kids names, he knew where I worked, what kind of car I drive, a picture of my car was on my myspace page.

After several threatening emails, Jeffrey Smith came to a Thomaston fast food restaurant --Wendy's -- apparently expecting to meet his alleged victim and get the cash, but what he didn't know is his victim had gone to the cops, and they were waiting.

"We did an interview after he was taken into custody and he admitted to everything. He confessed," said authorities.

Police said that Smith told them it was his first time.

Police said Smith claims he got the idea after watching the movie "Derailed" which centers around an extortion plot. He said he trolled myspace.com until he found a victim who lived nearby.

The would-be-victim eventually took his myspace.com page down. "I'm not going to mess with it, I've got too much to lose."

Smith remains behind bars charged with making terroristic threats and attempting to commit theft by extortion.

Labels: Atlanta, Internet Scam, Myspace, Scam

Bank of America said Friday it will buy Countrywide Financial for $4.1 billion in stock, a deal that rescues the country's biggest mortgage lender and expands the financial services empire of the nation's largest consumer bank.

The acquisition will make Charlotte-based Bank of America Corp. the nation's biggest mortgage lender and loan servicer.

Bank of America said it initially plans to operate Countrywide separately under the Countrywide brand, with integration occurring no sooner than 2009.

The transaction represents a 7.5 percent discount to where Countrywide shares ended Thursday after they soared on news that a rescue plan was in the works. It also effectively leaves Bank of America with a big loss on its $2 billion August investment in Countrywide Financial Corp. during the height of the summer's global credit crisis.

An aggressive dealmaker who has already snapped up behemoths FleetBoston Financial and MBNA, Bank of America chief executive Ken Lewis this time isn't buying a financial winner. Delinquencies and loans in pending foreclosure are rising in Countrywide's loan portfolio, and Bank of America chief executive Ken Lewis said Friday "there are near-term challenges" in the nation's housing market.

But Countrywide's troubles have allowed Lewis to sweep in and add a major business line to his supermarket of financial products on the cheap.

"Countrywide presents a rare opportunity for Bank of America to add what we believe is the best domestic mortgage platform at an attractive price and to affirm our position as the nation's premier lender to consumers," Lewis said in a statement.

It also places Lewis in the position of a market savior. By buying Countrywide, he's keeping the industry and regulators from the messy task of figuring out who would take on the responsibility of collecting payments for the 9 million U.S. home loans serviced by the Calabasas, Calif.-based lender. Lewis said Friday there was no government support for Countrywide's loan portfolio.

"There's still plenty of risk involved," said Bart Narter, senior analyst at Celent, a Boston-based financial research and consulting firm. "He's brave to do it. But I think that it's very likely down the road to be profitable, maybe not immediately, but long-term."

There was no immediate work on job cuts, but analysts said they expect some among the ranks of Countrywide's 15,000 employees. Lewis said he would like Countrywide chairman and chief executive Angelo R. Mozilo to stay with the combined companies until the deal is done.

"Angelo has told me that he will do anything that we want him to do," Lewis said. "I would guess that he'll want to go have some fun. I will talk with him next week about his personal desires. Many of the senior people will have big operating roles in this company."

Shareholders of Countrywide will receive 0.1822 of a share of Bank of America stock in exchange for each share of Countrywide. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter and to be neutral to Bank of America earnings per share in 2008 and lift earnings per share in 2009, excluding buyout and restructuring costs.

Bank of America expects $670 million in after-tax cost savings in the transaction, or 11 percent of the expense base of the two companies' mortgage operations.

The agreement has been approved by both companies' boards and is subject to regulatory and Countrywide's shareholders approval.

Shares in Countrywide hit record lows in recent days on persistent rumors that a bankruptcy was imminent, a condition brought on by the widespread spike in mortgage defaults and foreclosures, especially in subprime loans -- those made to borrowers with weak credit.

Countrywide shares plummeted 11 percent, or 85 cents, to $6.90 in premarket trading after soaring $2.63, or 51.4 percent, to close at $7.75 Thursday on reports of a possible deal. Bank of America shares rose 42 cents to $39.72.

Countrywide shares have fallen 57 percent since Bank of America made its $2 billion deal in August at $18 per share. That purchase of preferred stock was convertible into a common shares of Countrywide at $18 per share, for roughly a 16 percent stake in the company.

Along with the $2 billion investment from Bank of America, Countrywide was forced to draw on an $11.5 billion line of credit to steady itself in August. It also tightened its credit guidelines and stopped selling some types of adjustable rate loans. But analysts said it wasn't enough, with one noting this week that Countrywide needed an infusion of $4 billion in capital within the next two weeks to save itself.

Lewis' bank holds $1.5 trillion in assets and is the nation's largest bank by market capitalization

"Their balance sheet can take a shock much better than Countrywide," said CreditSights senior analyst David Hendler. "When you take the shocks at Countrywide, they have a big, busting consequence that's negative."

While Lewis downplayed the prospect of a major deal last month, it fits with an established pattern of building Bank of America through acquisition. In the past few years, Lewis has expanded the bank's retail operation with multibillion purchases of FleetBoston Financial Corp., bolted on a credit card business by adding MBNA Corp., and grabbed a wealth-management business in U.S. Trust Co.

The result of all the dealmaking is a widely diversified financial services company that does business with nearly one out of every two American households.

In the past year, Bank of America has boosted its market share of prime mortgages, or those offered to borrowers with a solid credit history, and was the top retail mortgage originator in the U.S. during the first nine months of 2007.

"We are aware of the issues within the housing and mortgage industries," Lewis said. "The transaction reflects those challenges. Mortgages will continue to be an important relationship product, and we now will have an opportunity to better serve our customers and to enhance future profitability."

In Countrywide, Lewis gets the "best, total mortgage-banking company in the U.S. by far," Hendler said. Countrywide's sophisticated back office is a valuable asset that makes Bank of America a much bigger competitor with Wells Fargo & Co., Washington Mutual Inc. and others, he said. In 2007, Countrywide had $408 billion in mortgage originations and has a servicing portfolio of about $1.5 trillion with 9 million loans.

"The technology platform, the people who run it, the hedging, the facilities, the mortgage servicing rights, the origination platform, you know, they are all state of the art," Hendler said.

While there are some regulator hurdles to close the deal, they are hardly insurmountable. The buyout would require approval from the Federal Reserve, and possibly other agencies, but analysts believe regulators are more concerned about a Countrywide collapse than industry consolidation.

A Countrywide failure would be a huge blow to government-sponsored mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which are major buyers of Countrywide's loans.

Federal law also bars banks from acquisitions that would increase market share above 10 percent of U.S. deposits, a limit that Bank of America is nearing. Bank of America chief financial officer Joe Price said because Countrywide Bank us a federally regulated thrift, it "doesn't play into the deposit cap."

In addition, banking industry experts say Bank of America could easily lower the total amount of money held in deposits by decreasing interest rates and shedding deposits.

Labels: Bank Of America, BOA, Countrywide, Mortgage, Mortgage Rates

The sheriff investigating the disappearance of a 20-year-old pregnant Marine said he expected a break in the case Friday once detectives further interview a man who lived with her.
"He's going to answer some questions that I think will shed a lot of light on this case," Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown said early Friday, promising a "major announcement" around midday.

The roommate, Marine Sgt. Daniel Durham, isn't a suspect in the case. But authorities believe Durham to be the last person to speak with the missing woman, who is due to give birth in mid-February, and may have been monitoring the case while on a training mission in California.

Brown has stressed the case remains a missing-person investigation.

The Marine, who vanished last month before she was to testify in a military probe, had said she was sexually assaulted by a senior officer but that the investigation had gone sour, according to court documents.

The woman, a lance corporal, made the allegation to her stepmother, who also told investigators that her stepdaughter was bipolar and had a history of compulsive lying, according to the documents filed this week.

The documents state Naval investigators had struggled to investigate the woman's allegations because of inconsistencies in her account. Still, the court papers said the anticipated birth of the baby "might provide evidentiary credence to charges she lodged with military authorities that she was sexually assaulted by a senior military person."

Authorities said Thursday they planned to question the superior officer at Camp Lejeune. Her stepmother said the officer threatened the missing woman's career, and search warrants filed this week state the woman was facing a possible discharge from the Marine Corps. No reason was provided.

The Associated Press had identified the missing Marine before the allegations of sexual assault became public. The AP generally does not identify people who allege they are victims of sexual assault.

The woman, originally from Dayton, Ohio, was reported missing Dec. 19 by her stepmother, who last spoke with her five days earlier, authorities said. The Marine's cell phone was found Dec. 20 near the main gate at Camp Lejeune, and she missed a Dec. 26 prenatal care appointment.

Authorities found her vehicle at a bus station near the base on the Atlantic coast, and an employee there has told investigators it has been there since about the time of her disappearance. Brown said Friday she had purchased a bus ticket to El Paso, Texas, the day after she spoke with her stepmother, but the ticket has not been used.

Durham told authorities during an initial interview that he didn't report his roommate as missing because some of her personal items were gone from the residence.

According to court documents, state authorities searched Durham's laptop because they believe the woman may have used it to search for directions on the Internet, as well as her cell phone records and the residence she shared with Durham.

The warrants said a white male tried to use the missing woman's ATM card on Christmas Eve and attempted to cover the ATM's security camera with a rag. Brown declined to say where the card was used.

Brown has declined to comment on the rape allegations, as have officials at Camp Lejeune. Wayne Mixon, a Naval Criminal Investigative Service special agent at Camp Lejeune, declined to discuss specifics of the case, other than to say the agency is assisting the sheriff's department with investigative leads in the Marine Corps.

Camp Lejeune officials said the missing woman, who is assigned to the 2nd Marine Logistics Group of the II Marine Expeditionary Force, joined the Marine Corps in June 2006, trained as a personnel clerk and had not deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan.

Labels: Missing, Pregnant Marine

A former Cox Communications employee from Norcross has been sentenced to five months in federal prison for hacking into the company's computer system and causing phone and computer service failures around the country.

38-year-old William Bryant was also ordered Thursday to serve five months home confinement, perform 200 hours of community service and pay more than $15,000 in restitution.

Bryant, who was charged in August and pleaded guilty in September, admitted he remotely shut down parts of Cox's system in May after he was asked to resign.

The shutdown caused a loss of computer and telecommunication services, including 911 access, for Cox customers in Dallas, Las Vegas, New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Cox technicians were able to restore service within hours.

Labels: Cox, Hacking, Prison

James Bond has two new Bond Girls. Olga Kurylenko and Gemma Arterton will co-star in the latest installment of the 007 franchise opposite Daniel Craig, Columbia Pictures has announced.

Craig made his debut as Bond in 2006's "Casino Royale," which co-starred French actress Eva Green as Vesper Lynd, an enigmatic spy who stole Bond's heart -- and broke it, too.

For Craig's second appearance, Kurylenko, a Ukrainian model-turned-actress, "will play the dangerously alluring Camille, who challenges Bond and helps him come to terms with the emotional consequences of Vesper's betrayal," the studio says.

Kurylenko's screen credits include "Hitman" and "Paris, je t'aime."

Arterton will portray MI6 Agent Fields. She appears in the upcoming "RocknRolla," directed by Guy Ritchie.

Columbia spokesman Steve Elzer had no details Tuesday on Arterton's character.

Marc Forster is directing the film, which has the working title, "Bond 22." It is slated for release Nov. 7.

Labels: 007, James Bond, New Movies

The collapse of the subprime mortgage market and ensuing credit crisis have claimed their latest casualty: the longest serving chief executive at any of the big Wall Street investment banks.

Bear Stearns Cos. Chief Executive James "Jimmy" Cayne said Tuesday that he's stepping down, not long after Merrill Lynch & Co. CEO Stan O'Neal and Citigroup Inc.'s Chuck Prince were ousted.

Cayne, 73, led Bear Stearns to its only quarterly loss since being founded in 1923 as the collapse of the subprime mortgage market has forced global banks to write down $105 billion worth of investments.

He will serve as non-executive chairman of the New York-based company and will be succeeded as CEO by President Alan Schwartz, effective immediately.

"We have been through some challenging times in the past few months, but I am confident the difficulties are temporary," Cayne said in a memo to staff. "I am equally confident that Alan will lead Bear Stearns to new levels of success and prestige."

Cayne added that his new role as non-executive chairman will be as an "advisory capacity" to Schwartz, and he is no longer an employee of Bear Stearns. The memo did not state when Cayne might give up the chairman position.

Bear Stearns' lead independent director, Vincent Tese, said it was Cayne's decision to step down. "We are very pleased that he has agreed to stay actively involved in the business as chairman of the board," Tese said in a written statement.

A Bear Stearns spokesman declined to comment.

Cayne, who became CEO in 1993, had been under pressure since the summer when two hedge funds managed by Bear Stearns collapsed. Since then, he has been the target of criticism for playing golf and bridge while the company's key fixed-income business suffered heavy losses.

Bear Stearns shares have lost more than half their value in the past year, more than any other Wall Street investment bank. The stock fell $5.08, or 6.7 percent, to $71.17 Tuesday.

Analysts believe the change in leadership is a first step in Bear Stearns becoming a more diversified company.

"He was the architect of what now appears to have been a failed business strategy," said Punk Ziegel & Co. analyst Richard X. Bove. "Under his tutelage, the firm, focused its efforts too heavily on the mortgage and credit derivatives markets."

Schwartz said Bear Stearns has been attempting to expand the investment house into more lucrative areas, though admitted there are still challenges ahead as he takes over the reigns this year.

"Although the operating environment has been difficult, we are off to a good start in 2008," he said in a written statement. "We remain excited about our core equity, banking and fixed income businesses, our international expansion initiatives, and the further development of our energy and wealth management platforms."

With growing calls for his ouster, Cayne did take steps to maintain control of the company he joined in 1969. He ousted his co-president, Warren Spector, after the two hedge funds collapsed and later forced out the manager of the two hedge funds amid probes by the Securities and Exchange Commission and U.S. attorney's office.

In October, Cayne organized a $1 billion investment by China's government-controlled Citic Securities Co. for a 6 percent stake. He alone owns about 4.9 percent of Bear Stearns shares, making him the second-largest individual investor after billionaire Joseph Lewis, according to regulatory filings.

Cayne also said last month that he and other top leaders gave up their bonuses for 2007 after Bear Stearns took a $1.9 billion writedown and posted an $859 million loss in the fourth quarter. Rivals Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. all were able to offset fixed-income losses to post a profit during the quarter.

Both Cayne and Schwartz rose through the ranks of Bear Stearns during the past three decades, both considered up-and-coming leaders by longtime chairman and CEO Alan "Ace" Greenberg.

Cayne was hired by Greenberg as a stock broker when the two met during a bridge tournament in 1969. He went on to become president in 1985 and then took over for Greenberg as CEO eight years later. He became chairman in 2001.

Meanwhile, Schwartz caught the attention of Greenberg after starting off at Bear Stearns' Dallas office in 1976 as an institutional stock salesman. He was a star pitcher for Duke University in the 1970s and was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds but never played an inning because of an elbow injury.

Schwartz was head of research and developed the firm's corporate finance business. As an investment banker in the 1990s, he was said to be a close adviser of top executives that included Walt Disney Co.'s Michael Eisner.

Labels: Bear Stearns, CEO, Jimmy Cayne, Mortgage, Mortgage Rates

Joe Gibbs is apparently headed back to NASCAR following his resignation Tuesday as coach of the Washington Redskins.

Gibbs formed his NASCAR team in 1992 during his first retirement, but turned control of the three-car organization to son J.D. when he returned to the Redskins four years ago. He made sporadic appearances on race day, but spent most of his time in Washington with the football team.

Although he may stay on with the Redskins as an adviser, he's now free to be directly involved again in racing. Gibbs gave no clear indication what role he'll take with the race team, which has won three championships since 2000, during a news conference in Virginia.

"We've got our family business there, it's real important to all of us," Gibbs said. "We spent (16) years building it, and it's a huge part of our family. That will be a big part of my life and a big part of me."

J.D. Gibbs said he wasn't sure what his father will do next, and didn't rule out a continued involvement with the Redskins and owner Dan Snyder.

"The great part is he can still be part of the Redskins and still work with Dan, who means the world to him," J.D. Gibbs said. "Nothing would mean more to him than to being a part of the Redskins winning another Super Bowl. If he wants to, he might sign on to stay with the team in some way and I'm excited about that.

"But selfishly, this also frees him to continue to be a good leader for our business and a great partner for all our corporate partners."

J.D. Gibbs said he doesn't anticipate much changing within the structure of the race team.

"He's still the owner, he always has been the owner," J.D. Gibbs said. "And we've got great, great people who run the team and make it possible for myself and Dad to not be at the track all the time. I just don't see that much is going to change."

Lee White, senior vice president of Toyota Racing Development, said J.D. Gibbs called him Tuesday morning to inform him of the elder Gibbs' decision.

"We discussed how it was great that it was Joe's decision, and J.D. is very pleased and thrilled to think that he'll have Joe close at hand," White said. "J.D. still runs the team. But as far as renewing sponsorships and extending drivers and wining and dining new sponsors, Joe is going to be available and be a help, not a hindrance, in those things."

Joe Gibbs Racing ended its longtime affiliation with General Motors last season to join Toyota, which is entering its second season in NASCAR's elite Sprint Cup Series. The manufacturer struggled in its first season and has been counting on JGR to help shape its program.

"It can't help but put the team on a more solid foundation, leadership-wise, at a challenging time," White said. "It's a family business and the more members of the family in the business, the better."

Gibbs' announcement surprised Kyle Busch, the newest driver at JGR, who was testing his new ride Tuesday at Daytona International Speedway.

"I knew he had one more year left (on his Redskins contract), so I figured he was going to keep digging," Busch said. "I don't know what his decision process was about retiring, but I'm sure it'll be for the better of Joe Gibbs Racing."

Busch said he's had few dealings with Gibbs, other than his contract negotiations last summer and an occasional phone call. But Gibbs was involved in the courting of Busch, and before that met with Dale Earnhardt Jr. in a failed attempt to sign NASCAR's most popular driver.

He also made a surprise visit to the track in Chicago last July to mediate a feud between drivers Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin. He summoned both of his stars into a hauler, forcing them to miss valuable practice time, as he played peacemaker in an argument that stemmed from an on-track accident.

Busch said he hopes Gibbs will be hands-on with the team now.

"I think it would be pretty cool," Busch said. "(Crew chief Steve) Addington told me early today that whenever you really need something or want something, you'd just go to Joe, and he's like, 'Fine, do whatever you need. We'll figure out a way to pay for it later.' That will pay dividends for us, just being able to go out there and get what we need when we need it.

"Having Joe playing a bigger role in the race team's always nice. J.D. does a great job with it, but it's not like having Joe Gibbs around to run this organization."

Gibbs said part of his reason for retiring from football again was to spend more time with his family, which includes a 3-year-old grandson who was diagnosed with leukemia exactly one year ago.

Taylor Gibbs, the youngest of J.D. Gibbs' four boys, completed his first phase of treatment last September. J.D. Gibbs said Taylor still undergoes chemotherapy treatments every few weeks.

"My family, as everybody knows, when I came here it was one set of circumstances," Gibbs said. "It was a tough year for (wife) Pat, which means a lot to me. J.D. and (youngest son) Coy being back down there, and all the things we went through with Taylor.

"Almost all of them said the same thing `If you want to go, then keep going, we'll go with you.' It's just that I felt after sitting with my family, that's not something I should do."

Labels: Joe Gibbs, Nascar

Jeff Carter scored two goals within a span of 13 seconds in the second period and the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Atlanta Thrashers 4-1 on Tuesday night.

It was the Flyers' eighth straight win over the Thrashers. The Flyers are 12-2-1 all-time at Atlanta and overall have won 23 of 30 games in the series, including two games this season.

The Thrashers led 1-0 before the Flyers scored four second-period goals.

Carter scored at the end of a power play to give Philadelphia a 2-1 lead 13:42 into the period. Then, at the 13:55 mark, Carter scored again on a wrister from the top of the right circle.

Carter, who had a goal and an assist in a 4-0 win over the Thrashers on Oct. 16 in Philadelphia, has seven goals and four assists in 10 career games against Atlanta.

Scott Hartnell added the 100th goal of his career with one second left in the period for a 4-1 lead. Hartnell's short-handed goal came off a pass from James Dowd.

Hartnell had two assists, including one to set up the Flyers' first goal, by Steve Downie, only 32 seconds into the second period.

The Flyers are 4-1 on their six-game road trip which ends Thursday against the New York Rangers.

Ilya Kovalchuk's league-leading 35th goal midway through the opening period gave the Thrashers a 1-0 lead.

Antero Niittymaki shut out the Thrashers the rest of the way, stopping 27 shots to win the battle of backup goalies.

Atlanta's Johan Hedberg started his second straight home game ahead of Kari Lehtonen after making a season-high 37 saves in a 5-2 win over Buffalo on Sunday. Hedberg made 25 stops but couldn't overcome the Flyers' second-period scoring outburst.

Niittymaki started ahead of Flyers regular Martin Biron, who shut out Atlanta 4-0 on Oct. 16 at Philadelphia. Niittymaki stopped 54 of 56 shots in a 3-2 win at Toronto on Saturday, but his 6-0-0 career record and 1.68 goals against average against Atlanta may have played the larger role in his start.

Atlanta's Chris Thorburn and Philadelphia's Riley Cote traded punches with less than 5 minutes left. Each drew 5-minute penalties for fighting, and Thorburn also drew an interference penalty.

Labels: Atlanta, Atlanta Thrashers, Flyers, Hossa, Thrashers

The Fulton County Medical Examiner's office is trying to determine the cause of death of the president of Woodward Academy in College Park.

60-year-old Harry Payne was found dead Monday afternoon in Midtown Atlanta.

Students at the private school learned of his death when they returned from the holiday break Tuesday.

His death was announced on the school's Web site, which called Payne "a great man, a visionary leader and a loyal friend."

Payne was named president of Woodward in July 2000 after being president of Williams College in Massachusetts from 1994 to 1999.

He received his doctorate in history in 1973 from Yale University, where he had earlier earned bachelor's and master's degrees.

Payne was a professor of history at Colgate University from 1973 to 1985, provost of Haverford College near Philadelphia from 1985 to 1988 and president of Hamilton College in New York from 1988 to 1993.

Labels: Died, Dies, Hatty Payne, President, Woodward Academy

A rescue operation is under way in Buckinghamshire to save 84 horses, ponies and donkeys from a field where more than 30 animals have already died.

The RSPCA, Thames Valley Police, the International League for the Protection of Horses and Redwings Horse Sanctuary are involved in the rescue from a location in Amersham.

A total of 31 animals were found dead at the site on Friday and three more were destroyed as they were too ill to be moved or rehabilitated.

The horses, ponies and donkeys had been neglected and left where their bodies had fallen, according to animal welfare workers.

The RSPCA said 14 animals were removed over the weekend "on veterinary advice" and were taken to the Home of Rest for Horses at Westcroft Stables in Speen, near Princes Risborough.

Staff from the three charities have been working to remove the remaining animals today.

Some of the horses will be cared for by Redwings and the others by the RSPCA.

Redwings said more than 30 of its staff and eight horseboxes and trailers were involved in the rescue.

"Our expert team have travelled to rescues on many occasions and provided a home from and/or transportation from the place of rescue but rarely sees cruelty so far advanced that equines are seemingly forgotten and literally left to die," the sanctuary said in a statement.

"All organisations involved in this rescue are deeply concerned about the welfare of the remaining and surviving horses, ponies and donkeys."

The RSPCA is likely to push for the owner of the horses to be prosecuted, a spokeswoman for the charity said.

Thames Valley Police arrested a 44-year-old man on suspicion of assaulting a police officer and criminal damage.

Labels: Buckinghamshire, Horses, Rescue, RSPCA

The fog has lifted and some of the smoke has cleared at the scene of a triple-fatal pile-up on I-4 in Polk County revealing a charred disaster.

At least 3 people have been killed, and there are reports some people might still be trapped in their cars. All lanes of I-4 are closed between the Polk Parkway and U.S. 27. That's roughly from Polk City to the Osceola County line; nearly 15 miles.

The pile-up happened early this morning when visibility was nearly zero on I-4 due to thick fog and lingering smoke from a brush fire. Polk County officials say a tanker overturned on the roadway, but it's not clear if the truck was part of the pileup.

Troopers are asking drivers who are stuck in traffic to stay in their cars for their safely and the safety of rescue workers.

"Please, remain in your vehicle, remain patient, and follow the detours ahead. We do have emergency vehicles and responding personnel, some of which are walking and do not want to be struck by vehicles that are trying to make up some time and get down the road on the shoulders," Trooper Larry Coggins said. "It's a very dangerous situation right now. Please, everyone drive safely and have some patience."

Yesterday's brush fire began as a controlled burn, but it jumped a firebreak and eventually grew to 250 acres before being contained.

Labels: Crash, Florida, Fog, I-4, Pile up

Lockwood: We're looking forward to a productive, harmonious year for the city, mayor, council and staff. The things I would like to see us achieve include moving forward on our parks, specifically the Providence Park acquisition. And at least the planning, because I'm not sure how much implementation we can get based on our budget, of Birmingham Park.

Hopefully we'll get some traffic intersection improvements. We've got a lot in the works, but obviously they take a long time. I hope for the public to be able to see some improvements.

Lagerbloom: Our comprehensive land use update plan is in full swing. It might be one of the most important projects Milton has embarked on.

You'll also see us work on our tree preservation ordinance, as well.

So much of our vision for the next year is formed if you look at our capital budget – moving forward is formed by what the capital budget says.

Providence Park is back, front and center, on my radar screen. It's come back to the city and we've gone back to the county with a request for further information as to whether or not we'll be able to subdivide and purchase or whether it's safe to the extent we could own it all.

The first part of this year is going to be spent finding a good, qualified, permanent city manager.

Lockwood: And we're very excited and optimistic about that search.

Lagerbloom: Those are projects, but certainly we strive every day to better our community responsiveness. And that's an ever-evolving work in progress. I also predict our volunteer programs will remain strong, and our events will be as well-attended and appreciated as they were in 2007.

I would be forgetting where I came from if I didn't also mention we have the opportunity to deliver safer roads, homes and business through our public safety department.

Lockwood: [Building a city] is a long process. We've got the vision for the city and the goals, it just takes time. Just as long as you're moving forward at or ahead of schedule.

Labels: Alpharetta, Georgia, Lockwood, Mayor, milton

Customers might want to check if they really bought an iPod product when shopping at the iPod World kiosk at North Point Mall and six other malls. The Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs reported those kiosks sold look-a-like products to the iPod Nano and Shuffle without telling customers the products were not manufactured by Apple.

The agency entered into a settlement with Shay Zvi Lahav, individually, and his companies, Easy Sale 4U LLC. d/b/a iPod World and Accessories 2000 L.L.C., over allegations that they passed off counterfeit merchandise as Apple products.

The look-a-likes were sold at kiosks in Lenox Mall, Cumberland Mall, North Point Mall, Town Center Mall, Mall of Georgia, Macon Mall and Hamilton Place Mall in Chattanooga, Tenn. Additionally, the counterfeit products were advertised and distributed via the company's Web site, www.accessories2000.com.

After receiving a tip Nov. 28, 2007 the state agency sent undercover investigators to visit the "iPod World" kiosks to determine if the allegations could be substantiated. Investigators found that the kiosks offered several different items, ranging from FM transmitters to MP3 docking stations with speakers. Although none of the items for sale were authentic Apple products, the appearance, design, packaging, function and pricing of many of the items were virtually identical to those of genuine Apple products, specifically Apple's iPod Shuffle and Nano and their associated accessories.

Adding to the allegedly misleading tactics, the salesmen failed to correct customers when they referred to products by their Apple names. One salesman demonstrated the features of an FM transmitter by using a genuine Apple iPod Nano. Furthermore, the receipt given to the undercover investigator following his purchase of the fake iPod referred to the product as a "Shffle," just one letter off from the actual Apple product name.

Immediately following the undercover investigation, the Office of Consumer Affairs put kiosk owner Shay Zvi Lahav on notice of alleged violations of the Fair Business Practices Act. On Jan. 7, Lahav entered into an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance with OCA, in which he agreed to refrain from using the terms "iPod" and "iPod World" in his companies' signs and Web sites; to refrain from selling any products whose appearance, functionality and packaging are virtually identical to those of Apple products without posting clear, conspicuous disclaimers asserting that the products sold are not Apple products and that the companies have no affiliation with Apple; pay $20,000 to OCA for investigative and administrative fees; and offer full restitution to affected customers.

Customers who have purchased products from iPod World, Easy Sale 4U, L.L.C. or Accessories 2000, L.L.C. can get a full refund by returning products to either the place of purchase or to 4264 Winters Chapel Road, Building A, Suite B, Atlanta, GA 30360, along with a sales receipt or proof of payment (e.g. cancelled check or credit card statement). Refunds will be offered through Feb. 5 only.


For more information, contact the Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs at 404-651-8600.

Labels: Apple, Fake, IPOD, Nano, North Fulton, North Point Mall, Shuffle

Starbucks Corp. said Monday it is returning its chairman, Howard Schultz, to the chief executive's job to lead a major restructuring initiative, replacing CEO Jim Donald.

The move, coupled with plans to open new U.S. stores at a slower pace, comes as the world's largest chain of coffee houses has seen its stock plummet 50 percent over the last year amid declining traffic in its domestic stores.

Starbucks' announcement after regular markets closed sent the company's shares up $1.67, or 9 percent, in after-hours trading. The shares had gained 27 cents to $18.38 in the regular session.

Starbucks said the leadership shuffle is part of a series of other initiatives include closing U.S. stores that aren't performing well, introducing new products and store designs, and improving training for baristas.

The company said it plans to take some of the capital originally intended for U.S. store growth and use it to accelerate its international expansion.

Schultz said he is returning to the CEO role "for the long term" and that his agenda will also include streamlining the company's management.

Schultz previously served as CEO from 1987 to 2000.

Donald had been CEO since March 2005, when he was promoted from president of the company's North American division to replace Orin Smith, who retired.

Starbucks has struggled in recent months as consumers have cut back on spending amid declining home values and higher fuel prices. Meanwhile, competitors like Dunkin' Donuts and McDonald's Corp. have cut into Starbucks' customer base by launching their own lines of gourmet coffee.

The Wall Street Journal, citing internal McDonald's documents, reported Monday that the world's biggest fast food chain plans to add coffee bars with baristas serving up cappuccinos and iced coffees at its nearly 14,000 locations.

"We must address the challenges we face and know what has to be done," Schultz said in a written statement.

Some analysts have questioned whether the company has saturated certain markets as it opens an average of six stores a day.

Robert Toomey, an analyst with E.K. Riley Investments, said Schultz has his work cut out for him.

"The growth potential is less and the cache has changed to some extent -- it's more of a chain than sort of a cozy coffeehouse," Toomey said. "I think Schultz is the right person to do the job, but I think it's going to be a tough job."

In an infamous leaked memo last year, Schultz lamented that the company's aggressive growth had led to "a watering down of the Starbucks experience."

Yet Starbucks has stuck to its ambitious long-term goal of having 40,000 stores worldwide. Late last year, however it announced a slight scaling back of U.S. store openings, among other moves aimed at improving operations.

The company, which has more than 15,000 stores worldwide, said in November that it plans to open 2,500 stores this fiscal year, 1,600 of them in the United States. That's about 100 fewer U.S. stores than it originally planned.

Before Starbucks, Donald, 54, was chairman, president and CEO for Pathmark Stores Inc., a supermarket chain based in New Jersey. He has worked at other retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

A Starbucks spokeswoman said Donald was not available for comment Monday.

Schultz, 54, joined Starbucks in 1982 as director of retail operations and marketing, then left three years later to start his own company, Il Giornale, hoping to take the Italian espresso bar mainstream in the U.S.

Il Giornale acquired Starbucks in 1987, ending the year with 17 stores. The company went public in 1992 and had nearly 300 stores by the end of the following year.

Labels: CEO, Chaiman, Howard Schultz, Starbucks

The International Consumer Electronics Show is turning out to be a celebration party for Blu-ray, the high-definition format that Sony Corp. backed, and a wake for a rival movie disc technology pushed by Toshiba Corp.

Just two months ago, Sony CEO Howard Stringer said the fight between Blu-ray and Toshiba's HD DVD was at a "stalemate," and expressed a wish to travel back in time to avert it.

The impasse was broken Friday by Warner Bros. Entertainment, the last major studio to put out movies in both formats. It announced it was ditching HD DVD, and from May on, would only publish on Blu-ray and traditional DVD.

The decision puts a strong majority of the major studios, five versus two, in the Blu-ray camp.

Asked Monday at the show if the Warner announcement decides the format war, Stringer said: "I never put up banners that say 'Mission Accomplished.'" But his cheerful delivery belied his words.

By contrast, the main media event scheduled for the show by the North American HD DVD Promotional Group, which includes Intel Corp. and Microsoft Corp., was canceled because of Warner's defection.

"We are currently discussing the potential impact of this announcement with the other HD DVD partner companies and evaluating next steps," the group said in a statement.

The shift in the format struggle isn't a reason to run out and buy Blu-ray players, however: today's players can't take advantage of the features planned for future Blu-ray discs.

On Monday, Panasonic parent Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. demonstrated prototypes that can handle the new interactive features coming to Blu-ray.

This spring, Panasonic plans to introduce a player for the so-called BD-Live standard. It will be able to connect to the Internet to download movie trailers, and will be able to play simple games.

At the Blu-ray booth at CES, a prototype Panasonic player was showing an "Alien vs. Predator" movie in which the viewer can get involved by bringing up an on-screen gun, controlled by the remote, and shooting at monsters to score points.

In November, Panasonic launched the first player to include picture-in-picture capability, which allows viewers to watch the director or actor providing commentary in a small window while the movie plays full-screen. Sony's PlayStation 3 game console -- which can play Blu-ray discs -- gained the same capability in December via a software update.

HD DVD players have had most of these capabilities. Starting with the first ones sold, in 2006, Toshiba's players have had picture-in-picture capabilities and have been able to connect to the Internet to download trailers. The HD DVD of "Evan Almighty" even allows the viewer to go to an online store to buy merchandise related to the movie.

Kevin Tsujihara, president of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group, acknowledged in an interview that the HD DVD format had some advantages.

"The interactivity is more advanced on the HD DVD side, but I'm confident that we're going to get there" with Blu-ray, he said.

HD DVD discs were also cheaper to produce, being more similar to traditional DVDs than Blu-ray discs.

"There were cost advantages on the HD DVD side," Tsujihara said. However, "even with that price advantage, you weren't seeing the consumer move toward that format."

Warner's Blu-ray discs outsold their HD DVD rivals by three to two in the holiday season, not counting "Planet Earth" titles, which had an unusual following among owners of HD DVD players, Tsujihara said.

The fight between Blu-ray and HD DVD is reminiscent of the struggle between Betamax and VHS to dominate video tapes. In that case, the results were the opposite: Sony's more costly higher-quality Betamax lost out to the cheap and convenient VHS.

Rob Bohl of Highland Park, N.J., bought an HD DVD player in December for $179.98, without considering a Blu-ray player instead. He had forgotten about the other format.

"I wish I had been more careful and waited," he said.

He feels a bit "burned" by the experience, but it's probably not enough to keep him out of the market.

"The fact is: when I get my tax refund, they'll probably have a cheap player, and I'll probably wind up getting one," Bohl said.

The thought that does give him pause, he said, is that the whole upgrade to high-definition discs might be a waste of time, because of the increasing availability of movies to download off the Internet.

Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 game console can already download and show high-definition movies, and Vudu Inc.'s Internet video set-top box started providing HD content in December.

Labels: Blu Ray, Blu-Ray, CES, DVD, Gadjet Show, High Def

The star quarterback has been sentenced to prison, the new head coach resigned after only 13 games and for the first time in six years, a game was blacked out due to slow ticket sales. Just when it seems it can't get worse for the Atlanta Falcons, it does.

With the franchise in limbo, where do the Atlanta Falcons go from here?


Who Will Takeover?

On January 4, Rich McKay signed a two-year contract extension Friday to remain the Atlanta Falcons' president, but relinquished the general manager's duties. Now that the regular season is over, the search for a new Falcons head coach and a general manager are about to heat up.

Defensive backs coordinator Emmitt Thomas took over as interim Falcons head coach for the remaining three games of the season and under his watch, the Falcons had two rough loses in row to Tampa Bay and Arizona. Finally the Falcons' prayers were answered with a win over the Seattle Seahawks for the last game of the season.

Back in December, legendary Dallas Cowboys coach, Bill Parcells was offered a position with the Atlanta Falcons that would have made him head of football operations. It would have been a role that would have put Parcells in charge of hiring players and finding a new skipper for the sinking Falcons.

Parcells announced to the New York Daily news that he would most likely take the Falcons position, but soon after, talks broke down.

A statement released by Falcons owner Arthur Blank on Wednesday, Dec. 19 said Parcells thought the Miami Dolphins were offering a better deal.

"We gave it our best shot, and it didn't work out," Blank said.

Parcells signed a four-year contract with the Dolphins on Thursday, Dec. 20.

The search for a new Falcons head coach continues and now, the Falcons are also looking to fill the role of general manager.

"We will continue down the same overall path, proceeding with plans to hire a general manager and a head coach," Blank said. "We will identify and consider every strongly viable candidate for these positions, with the goal of hiring the best. Rich McKay remains president of the club and will retain general manager responsibilities until a new GM is hired."

As for the position of Falcons head coach, Bill Cowher quickly took his name out of the running, saying he wasn't ready to return to coaching.

Now that the regular season is over, the Falcons will most likely start officially interviewing candidates. Some of the names that remain on the table are Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, Falcons offensive coordinator Hue Jackson and Georgia Force head coach Doug Plank.

The Prospects - Pros and Cons Jason Garrett He's a young, energetic offensive coordinator for the explosive Dallas Cowboys.
Garrett has limited playing experience behind Troy Aikman and has absolutely no head coaching experience.

Doug Plank Plank is currently the head coach for AFL's Georgia Force which shares Flowery Branch facilities with the Falcons. How would success in the AFL translate on an NFL field?

Mike Zimmer He is widely respected as one of the NFL's best defensive minds. It is his first year with the Falcons, why wouldn't he want to jump ship too?

Hue Jackson Jackson helped develop Atlanta's receivers into a respectable unit in his first year with team. He has limited experience at this level.


Beyond the question of who will lead the Falcons on the sidelines, there is now the question of who will lead them on the field.

During Petrino's short tenure, he rotated three players at the starting quarterback position: Joey Harrington, Byron Leftwich and Chris Redman. None of the them met with much success and the Falcons were sitting with a 3-10 record by the time Petrino announced his resignation.Related Story: Petrino Looks for Fourth Quarterback


The Falling Star

The hits just keep on coming for the Atlanta Falcons. Less than a year ago, Bobby Petrino left Louisville for the more lucrative pastures of the NFL and the Atlanta Falcons. Just 13 games later, Petrino announced he was done in Atlanta and headed to the University of Arkansas to coach in the SEC.

The season from hell began even before the first day of training camp.

In April, federal agents stormed Michael Vick's Virginia property to investigate a possible drug situation involving Vick's nephew. When police arrived on the property, they found evidence of a dogfighting ring.

At first, Vick steadfastly denied any involvement in dogfighting and the Falcons organization rallied around the star quarterback.

By July, federal investigators indicated that they had a strong case against Vick and he was later indicted on federal charges. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell ordered Vick to stay away from training camp and Vick was suspended for four games.

Training camp went on without Vick. As the season began Vick entered a guilty plea on August 27 and it became clear the season would have to go on without Vick as well.

Vick admitted to conspiracy in a dogfighting ring and helping kill pit bulls. He denied betting on the fights, only bankrolling them.

Vick apologized to the NFL and the Falcons saying, "I offer my deepest apologies to everyone. And I will redeem myself. I have to."

On December 10, Vick was sentenced to 23 months in prison and the former Falcons star fell amid controversy and disgrace.


Jumping Ship




The same day that Vick officially lost his freedom, the Falcons racked up an embarassing loss to bitter rivals the New Orleans Saints. That night, head coach Bobby Petrino assured Falcons owner Arthur Blank that he would stay with the team, only to announce his resignation the following day.

Petrino accepted an offer to return to the college ranks as the head coach at the University of Arkansas.

"Today was a day of decision," Petrino said. "It was difficult on one side very easy on the other. It was difficult to leave Atlanta, the staff, players, fans. The timing of it probably the thing that made it most difficult. Coming to Arkansas was the easy part."

It was a swift one-two-three punch and the Falcons are now left reeling and scrambling to put an end to the free fall.

So many questions surround the ailing franchise that no one really knows where to begin to put the pieces back together.

Labels: Atlanta Falcons, Coach, Football, Mike Vick

Too easy.

No. 2 LSU danced, dodged and darted its way into the end zone Monday night, turning the BCS national championship game into a horrible replay for No. 1 Ohio State. It was over early, with Matt Flynn throwing four touchdown passes in a 38-24 win.

Playing at their home-away-from-home in the Big Easy, LSU (12-2) became the first two-loss team to play for the title. Shouts of "SEC! SEC!" bounced around the Superdome as the Tigers won their second BCS crown in five seasons. They are the first school to win a second title since BCS rankings began with the 1998 season.

And in a season of surprises, this was hardly an upset: Ohio State once again fell apart in college football's biggest game. A year after the Buckeyes were routed by Tim Tebow and Florida 41-14 in the Arizona desert, they barely did better.

Jacob Hester bulled for a short touchdown, Early Doucet wiggled loose for a touchdown and All-American Glenn Dorsey led a unit that outplayed the top-ranked defense in the nation. Ohio State (11-2) had little to celebrate after Chris "Beanie" Wells broke loose for a 65-yard TD run on the fourth play of the game.

Yet while LSU got to hoist the $30,000 crystal trophy, certainly many fans around the country were peering into their crystal balls, wondering if someone else was worthy of the title. Southern California, Georgia, West Virginia, Kansas and Missouri all put on impressive shows in bowl games, and will be among the favorites in 2008.

Labels: College, Football, LSU, Ohio State

Napster Inc. said Sunday it will begin selling music downloads as unprotected MP3 files in the spring, joining other online retailers.

The file format change will apply only to single tracks and album purchases, according to a company press release. Tracks downloaded as part of the company's music subscription service will continue to have copyright restrictions.

Unlike music files that come with copy protections embedded, MP3 files are compatible with most portable music devices, including Apple Inc.'s market-leading iPod media players, Microsoft Corp.'s Zune and mobile phones that play music.

"The ubiquity and cross-platform compatibility of MP3s should create a more level playing field for music services and hardware providers and result in greater ease of use and broader adoption of digital music," Chris Gorog, Napster's chairman and chief executive, said in a statement.

The company did not say which record companies had agreed to license music for sale as MP3s via Napster.

Three of the world's biggest recording companies -- Vivendi's Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group Corp. and Britain's EMI Group PLC -- cleared the way last year for some online retailers, including Amazon.com, to sell their artists' music as unprotected MP3 files.

Many analysts expect the fourth major recording company, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, to follow suit this year.

Napster, which offers a la carte downloads and a monthly unlimited music subscription plan with the option to transfer copy-protected tracks to certain devices, said it would continue to focus primarily on its subscription business.

The company recently told subscribers that it will increase fees on its basic subscription plan from $9.95 to $12.95 a month beginning Jan. 30. It gave existing subscribers the option to lock in the lower monthly fee if they pay for a full year in advance.

Napster did not change the $14.95 monthly fee for its top subscription tier.

The company disclosed in November it had narrowed its loss in the second quarter, which ended Sept. 30, to $5.1 million, from $9 million in the same period a year earlier.

Napster ended the quarter with about 750,000 paid subscribers.

Napster shares closed at $1.94 on Friday.

Labels: Downloads, MP3, Music, Napster

Sales of Sony's PlayStation 3 game machine sales totaled 1.2 million in North America during the key holiday season, the electronics and entertainment company said Monday. The performance gave a lift to its Blu-ray video format because the console also works as a Blu-ray player.

Competition is intense among the latest video game machines, pitting Sony Corp. against Nintendo Co.'s popular Wii and Microsoft Corp.'s XBox 360.

But the rivalry between the two of the latest video formats -- Blu-ray and HD DVD -- appears to be tipping toward the former after Warner Bros. Entertainment, formerly a supporter of the Toshiba-backed HD DVD format, defected to the Blu-ray side over the weekend.

Both formats deliver crisp, clear high-definition pictures and sound, but they are incompatible with each other, and neither plays on older DVD players. Only one format is expected to emerge as the winner, much like VHS trumped Sony's Betamax in the video format battle of the 1980s.

Blu-ray discs can hold about two-thirds more data than HD DVD discs but the technology requires new manufacturing techniques and factories, boosting initial costs.

HD DVDs, on the other hand, are essentially DVDs on steroids, meaning movie studios can turn to existing assembly lines to produce them in mass.

Attracting movie studios is critical for making the format widespread. Now, just two major U.S. studios support HD DVD -- Viacom Inc.'s Paramount Pictures, which also owns DreamWorks SKG, and Universal Pictures, a unit of General Electric Co.

Sony can hope to gain more sales in its core electronics products, including Blu-ray recorders and high-definition flat-panel TVs, if consumers choose Blu-ray. That may also aid it in its struggle against the popularity of the Wii machine from Nintendo, which went on sale about the same time as the PS3, attracting newcomers to gaming with easy-to-play games that use a wandlike remote-controller.

"The PlayStation brand ended the year in a very strong position and clearly indicates more positive momentum going into 2008," said Jack Tretton, president and chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment America.

"The strong PS3 sales also further establish Blu-ray's dominant position as the high-definition medium of choice for games and movies," he said in a statement.

Sony Computer Entertainment, the Japanese electronics and entertainment company's game unit, said Monday that sales of the PlayStation Portable handheld reached 1.4 million in North America during the Nov. 23 to Dec. 31 holiday shopping period.

Including sales of 1.3 million for PlayStation 2, PS3's predecessor, retail sales of the three PlayStation machines combined reached more than 3.9 million in North America, Tokyo-based Sony said.

Nintendo spokesman Yasuhiro Minagawa said sales numbers for the Wii -- a hot Christmas gift this year -- weren't available for the same period in the U.S.

Nintendo said previously it had shipped 13.2 million units worldwide of the Wii by October. The Kyoto-based maker of Pokemon and Super Mario games is expecting to sell a cumulative 23 million Wiis by March 31, the end of its fiscal year.

Sony has said previously that it sold 5.6 million PS3s worldwide as of the end of September. The latest will add to the tally but the company did not yet have the numbers from the other regions.

The PS3 has lagged behind the Xbox 360 console from Microsoft, which has sold 17.7 million Xbox 360 consoles globally over the last two years.

In a tie-up that could help sales, Sony said Monday that PlayStation Portable users worldwide will be able to make calls through the popular Internet-based phone service, eBay Inc.'s Skype, starting later this month.

The PSP must be the latest model released in September, and download of special software and a microphone would be needed. Users would also have to sign up for the Skype service, which provides free calls to other Skype users.

Labels: Holiday Sales, PS3, Sony, Sony PS3

Shuffling off the court with heads down, the seventh-ranked Georgia Lady Bulldogs got reacquainted with an old, bad feeling.

So, this is what it’s like to lose.

Amber Harris scored 19 points and Ta’Shia Phillips added 16 on
Sunday, a balanced attack that helped Xavier pull away to a 65-55 victory over the previously unbeaten Lady Bulldogs.

On the verge of a notable win, Georgia fell hard.

The Lady Bulldogs (13-1) were one victory away from matching the
best start in their program’s history. They got thoroughly outplayed by a young team still trying to find itself.

Xavier shot 53 percent from the field and had a 36-26 edge in rebounds.

“What does a competitor do when somebody punches you?” Georgia coach Andy Landers said. “You punch back. We didn’t punch back. We didn’t compete.

“Sickening, is what it is. It’s sickening.”

Xavier (10-5) used its balance and grit to pull off a signature
win. In their biggest game so far, the Musketeers found they could rely on their two best players.

Harris, a sophomore forward who already holds the school’s career record for blocked shots, had 11 points as Xavier pulled ahead in the first half. Phillips, a freshman center, provided the inside scoring and prevented Georgia from making a run after the Lady Bulldogs got down by 17 early in the second half.

“We usually do fight back,” said Georgia point guard Ashley Houts, who was only 1-of-6 from the field for eight points. “We’ve fought back two or three times this season and come back to win. We just got in too big of a hole.”

The Lady Bulldogs became the highest-ranked team to lose to Xavier since the Musketeers beat No. 3 Tennessee in a regional semifinal of the 2001 NCAA tournament.

“I hope it shows our players how good we can be if we’ve got the right energy on a daily basis,” coach Kevin McGuff said. “We’ve been inconsistent.”

It was one of those losses that will stick with Georgia for a while.

Landers has harped on a hard-nosed approach all season, looking to get Georgia back to the Final Four for the first time since 1999. In the opening minutes of the second half, he got that sickening feeling.

Simply put, Xavier was tougher.

“At some points, we fought back,” said Tasha Humphrey, who led
Georgia with 24 points. “But we didn’t do it consistently.”
Phillips took the ball inside and helped Xavier take control. She had a pair of up-close baskets and two free throws in a 14-3 spurt that pushed the lead to 43-26 early in the second half. Georgia missed five straight shots and had five turnovers during that stretch.

“She’s 6-foot-6 and 240 (pounds),” Humphrey said. “There’s not a whole lot we can do about that.”

Georgia never got closer than 10 points the rest of the way.

There were four ties and a pair of lead changes in the first 12
minutes, with neither team able to build more than a three-point lead. Harris then led Xavier on the game-changing run.

The 6-foot-5 forward is the star of Xavier’s young lineup—the Musketeers start three sophomores and a freshman. She scored twice in the final minute of the first half, including a 22-foot shot from the top of the key that put the Musketeers up 29-21. It matched Georgia’s biggest halftime deficit of the season.

“We knew coming in they were going to be aggressive, but we thought we could hit them back and be as strong as them and come out as winners,” Harris said.

Harris also had a hand in the Musketeers’ front-line defense, which forced the Lady Bulldogs to take tough shots inside. Georgia opened the game only 4-of-13 from the field, including a pair of in-traffic shots that deflected off the bottom of the backboard.

By that time, Landers was so upset that his face was starting to match the red towel slung over his left shoulder. He didn’t like much of what he saw to start the second half, either, when Xavier went inside and took control.

“It’s a new start,” Harris said. “It’s a good win. It puts our name out there.”

Labels: Basketball, Bulldogs, Georgia Bulldogs, Lady Bulldogs

A slump-breaking day by veteran Marian Hossa and a breakout game by rookie Colin Stuart helped the Atlanta Thrashers feel better about their playoff chances.

In a battle between two 2007 division champions who currently don’t make the eight-team playoff cut, Atlanta beat the Buffalo Sabres 5-2 on Sunday as Hossa scored two goals.

Each team began the day with 41 points. The Thrashers (21-21-1), who are three points behind first-place Carolina in the Southeast Division, say it’s not too early to worry about the playoff standings.

“Definitely, it was a huge win,” Hossa said. “Every win is huge right now. ... We have a good chance to be over .500 and be a playoff team again.”

Buffalo, opening a three-game road trip, has lost six in a row for the first time since March 18-27, 2006. The Sabres (19-18-3) have made the conference finals each of the last two years but remain only a point ahead of last-place Toronto in the Northeast.

Johan Hedberg made 37 stops as Buffalo had at least 10 shots on goal in each period.

“We had some really good opportunities, but we weren’t able to score,” said Buffalo’s Jason Pominville.

Buffalo has only 10 goals in the six losses.

“We’re doing things right, but we just can’t score goals,”
said Buffalo captain Jaroslav Spacek. “We scored two goals, and that isn’t enough. We can play better.”

Hossa had only two goals in his last 14 games before scoring in the first and third periods.

Stuart, a rookie right winger called up from AHL Chicago on Dec. 28, had a goal and an assist for Atlanta. Stuart made the most of his first opportunity on a line with Hossa and center Eric Perrin.

“I thought Stuart brought great speed to our line,” Hossa said. “He can shoot.”

Atlanta led only 2-1 before Stuart scored the first of the Thrashers’ three third-period goals on a breakaway. It was his second goal since the promotion.

“It was pretty exciting,” Stuart said. “It was at the end of my shift. I was going too fast to make a move, so I just took it to the far side and tucked it in on my backhand.”

Stuart earned an assist as Hossa’s second goal pushed the lead to 4-1.

“Stuart made us look good,” said Thrashers coach Don Waddell. “I thought the whole 60 minutes he was probably our best player and that was by far our best line.”


Pascal Dupuis and Ilya Kovalchuk also scored for Atlanta.


Kovalchuk’s league-leading 34th goal came with 15 seconds left
after Buffalo pulled goaltender Ryan Miller.

Hossa’s second goal gave the Thrashers a 4-1 lead. Buffalo’s Clarke MacArthur, called up from Rochester before the game, cut the lead to 4-2 with a goal 9:34 into the third period.

The Sabres scored first about six minutes into the game on Thomas Vanek’s tip-in.

Atlanta answered about three minutes later when Hossa scored after a steal from Ales Kotalik behind the net.

The Thrashers took a 2-1 lead in an otherwise quiet second period when Dupuis scored on a shot off Miller’s skate. Miller partially deflected the shot but then hit the puck as he moved his skate.

The Thrashers won despite drawing five penalties. Buffalo’s only penalty came 11 seconds into the second period.

Atlanta, near the bottom of the league with a 77.2 percent success rate on the penalty kill, stopped each of the five power plays.

Miller made his 14th straight start despite being pulled midway through a 5-3 loss to Ottawa on Friday. Miller’s only shutout of the season came Oct. 11 in a 6-0 win over Atlanta, but he couldn’t stop the Thrashers in the rematch.

“I felt out of sync,” Miller said. “It’s hard to come from behind.

“We pressed too hard and too long. We didn’t have the scorers we needed.”

Notes:@ The Thrashers are at .500 for the ninth time following an 0-6 start. ... Hedberg improved to 11-8-0. ... Sabres F Daniel Paille was held out. Paille suffered a possible concussion and was groggy after he was knocked out of Friday’s loss by a hit from Ottawa’s Anton Volchenkov. ... Thrashers D Steve McCarthy (oblique) did not play.

Labels: Atlanta, Atlanta Thrashers, Hossa

Neighbors around Atlanta's Chastain Park area said Sunday that they want to stop a return to dangerous crime. Residents said a carjacking in which one teenager was shot was a scary wake-up call.

Park Drive is located on the woodsy, secluded north end of Chastain Park and it has become popular with families. Neighbors said, unfortunately, it has also become a tempting place for criminals.

Three teens were carjacked Thursday night and robbed of their valuables, car and one teen was shot in the leg.

"A PT Cruiser came down the road, passed them, stopped and another car approached their car, so they were blocked in," said Paula Marchman, a friend of the victims.


Atlanta police said no one is supposed to drive on the road at night. Neighbors said the gates are usually left open and the area is only lightly patrolled. Residents said they want more attention from city parks and police when groups of young people congregate along the drive.

"Teenagers were targeted in this attack and that is very concerning," said Jim King, Chastain Park Civic Association President.

Neighbors said the Park Drive area has been dramatically improved and has now been discovered by families, joggers, teenagers, and at times, criminals.

"Whatever activities you don't want seen, that's basically what's going on back here," said resident Richard Nichols.

"It seems like a cycle where we get a little lax and we think its OK," said Marchman.

The Chastain Park Civic Associated said the area went from a problem area plagued with drugs and crime to a quiet safe block. Residents are afraid the area will return to the troubled times.

The civic association called for tighter controls on the area at night to keep criminals and wandering groups of young people out.

"This boy survived, but who knows next time what's going to happen," said Marchman.

Civic association officials said they were assured by the Atlanta Parks Department that the situation is being looked at.

Labels: Atlanta, Chastain Park, Crime spree