Fire rips through Alpharetta Crabapple medical building February 28, 2014
Posted: Feb 28, 2014 5:53 AM EST Updated: Feb 28, 2014 7:35 AM EST By Mary Gleason - mary.gleason@cbsatlanta.com By Rebekka Schramm - rebekka.schramm@cbsatlanta.com
Courtesy: Alpharetta Fire Department Courtesy: Alpharetta Fire Department ATLANTA (CBS46) - Firefighters managed to salvage vaccines from an office inside a heavily damaged a medical building in Alpharetta hours after it went up in flames Friday morning.
A passerby reported the fire on Crabapple Road just before 3:30 a.m. When firefighters arrived, flames were shooting from the roof of the two-level structure. Firefighters battling the blaze had to retreat when the roof began to collapse.
Several businesses were housed in the building, including Roswell Pediatrics on the first floor and a dental office on the second floor.
Smoke billowed well into the morning as fire crews, positioned on ladder trucks, continued to pour water into the building.
Alpharetta firefighters were able to salvage two coolers full of vaccines from a room inside Roswell Pediatrics. Office administrator Laurie Viebrock told CBS46 News that the vaccines - thousands of dollars worth - were not damaged.
"They went above and beyond," Viebrock said of the firefighters.
Investigators are trying to pinpoint where and how the fire started.
Copyright 2014 WGCL-TV (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
Windermere community experiences rash of car break-ins in Forsyth County
NorthFulton.com
February 17, 2014 CUMMING, Ga. — Someone broke into cars parked at stores in the Windermere community and stole wallets and purses, according to a Forsyth County Sheriff's incident report.
A woman told deputies she parked her 2008 Honda Accord at Windermere Golf Club, 5000 Davis Love Drive, and went in at about 10:30 a.m. Feb. 2.
Then, at about 2 p.m., someone told her the passenger side window of her car had been shattered. She looked and saw glass on the floor, the driver's side door unlocked and her $20 wallet missing.
She said her wallet had no cash inside, and she had already called to cancel her credit cards.
She was informed her debit card was used at about 1 p.m. at the Quick Trip, 1655 Buford Highway, to buy gas.
Employees said there were no cameras by the gas pumps.
A woman who parked at Atlanta Fitness, 3775 Windermere Parkway, told deputies her 2013 Mazda CX9 was broken into the same way.
She said she went into the gym at about 11:30 a.m. and returned at about 12:45 p.m. to find her passenger window broken and purse stolen.
She said she had placed her $100 purse, which contained $200 in cash, on the front passenger seat with the doors locked.
Her center console had been rummaged through, but the woman said nothing seemed to be missing.
Atlanta Fitness staff said the video footage did not cover the area where the car was parked.
At the Windermere Animal Hospital, 999 Front Nine Drive, a 2013 Chevrolet Equinox had been also been broken into.
An employee arrived for work at 11:45 a.m., and 15 minutes later, a client told her the rear passenger window had been smashed. Deputies said there were two marks on her front passenger window where it appeared someone gained entry as well.
The employee's $100 wallet was missing, which contained her Social Security card, driver's license and debit card.
A coworker said a black Ford Focus with dark tint was parked beside the victim's car when they came inside.
February 12, 2014 JOHNS CREEK, GA. – When your family's name is the same as the city's signpost for the road, it means you have history in the area. But the Rogers' family name did nothing to assuage other residents' concerns about a proposed 273-lot rezoning the Rogers Family Partnership has coming before the March 4 Planning Commission.
At a Feb. 4 zoning meeting of the Johns Creek Community Association at Perimeter Church there were as many area residents (almost 200) jammed into church meeting hall to voice their concerns as the other project heard the same night (See Page 1).
Michael Rogers, a real estate broker who lives in Buckhead now, told residents his family has owned the 104-acre tract of land five generations going back to 1830s. The 1839 farmhouse his great-great-great grandfather built still stands on the property.
"That is almost 200 years of stewardship of the land," he said.
Now the family has a contract to buy an adjacent 40 acres that was up for sale to developers. The family wants develop 40 acres of their land to in effect keep their acreage holdings intact. The homes Rogers would develop are adjacent to existing subdivisions.
The property the family wishes to buy is a bequeathal of land to Young Harris College. The college is selling the land. Rogers said it was a tax-free exchange in which the family is in effect swapping its land for development to preserve a 100-acre tract.
But the development of another subdivision with 273 lots would take away more of the rural nature of the area, and the additional homes would add to the congestion of the Bell Road-Rogers Bridge area.
Residents are further concerned that the family is also rezoning the rest of the family acreage for single-family detached homes. It is currently zoned Agricultural (AG-1) which allows for 1-acre lots.
Ashton Woods is the developer, and plans to build homes from 2,500 square feet to 4,000 square feet with a price range of $600,000 to the $800,000s.
Mike Busher, vice president of acquisitions for Ashton Woods, said the company was in the process of designing all new elevations for the project, but he said it would be an "understated but elegant" development.
"We understand the area and we want to raise the bar if we can," Busher said.
But the residents didn't want the bar moved at all. They said they were happy with the woods and pasture that they currently enjoy.
One resident said the Rogers' can come out on weekends and enjoy their land for a weekend getaway.
"But we have to live with the traffic. You don't live here," the resident said.
But Rogers replied to that saying, "We preserved our property, while the ones who owned yours sold out."
Rogers' position is that they are still preserving their land, swapping their land for development and in turn taking the other property "off the market."
But Rogers said what he cannot do – as some suggested – that they donate the land for a park.
"I have uncles and cousins who own just as much as I do. There are nine families involved," he said.
He said his relations are not prepared to donate their birthright, nor would he ask them to.
If some sort of public-private partnership could be worked, say with the city, then that could be a possibility. But short of that, the family will do what is best for them.
The bottom line was Rogers could not make guarantees whether the property would be subject to future development.
"We're keeping our options open. But we have no plans to develop the rest of the property now. But it is in our best interests to rezone the entire [assemblage] now," Rogers said.
As is often the case in Johns Creek rezoning, residents were concerned what effect more traffic will have on the congestion in the Bell Road area.
"Traffic is brutal and it's only going to get worse," one resident said.
Residents asked that the property be developed at a less density as a way to ease congestion and overcrowding in schools. But the developer said they are only asking the same density as has been developed in the area.
The project will come before the city Planning Commission March 4. It will be heard by the City Council March24.
ALPHARETTA, Ga. – Fiserv Inc., a leading global provider of financial services technology solutions headquartered in Brookfield, Wis., announced Feb. 7 that it has selected a new location in Alpharetta for its Atlanta-area operations. The company, which currently employs approximately 2,000 associates across six locations in the Atlanta metro area, has signed a lease for adjacent buildings located at 2900 and 2950 Westside Parkway.
"Throughout our history, we have completed a number of acquisitions in the Atlanta area, which is a key technology center for Fiserv," said Jeff Yabuki, president and chief executive officer of Fiserv. "We are excited to bring our associates together in a collaborative and innovative environment supported by the latest workplace technology. Enhancing the connections among our associates will have a positive impact on their professional lives and enable us to best serve our clients."
The new Alpharetta campus will provide Fiserv associates with all of the amenities of a modern office environment, and was selected due to its desirable location as well as its ability to accommodate existing needs and continued growth. Bringing associates currently working in separate locations together will further enhance productivity, collaboration and engagement. Fiserv will modernize the building to ensure the new office location is a representation of the company's brand experience. It will include a state-of-the-art client briefing and innovation center.
The new office environment will embody the Fiserv workplace of the future, elements of which have already been introduced at other Fiserv office locations in California and New Jersey. This workplace approach emphasizes the creation of optimal business settings based on associates' roles and how they work in order to enable individual and team success.
"Fiserv has had a presence in Georgia for more than two decades, and has become one of the largest technology employers in our state," said Gov. Nathan Deal. "The fact that Fiserv has chosen to retain and grow their operations in Georgia is a testament to the positive corporate climate of our state."
The buildings will be occupied in phases, with associates expected to move from existing offices to the new location during 2015 and 2016.
"Fiserv is bringing nearly 2,000 existing jobs to Alpharetta, and the company has committed to hire a significant number of additional associates as they establish a presence in our city," said Alpharetta Mayor David Belle Isle. "As the Technology City of the South with over 600 technology companies within our borders, we are confident that Alpharetta will be just the right fit for Fiserv, and we welcome Fiserv and its associates to our technology community and our growing technology culture."
Snow in the Forecast Monday, Tuesday...Alpharetta, North Georgia
The winter weather roller coaster in Georgia may raise some heart rates again this week.
The National Weather Service office in Peachtree City has issued a Winter Weather Watch for most of North Georgia from 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 10, until 1 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11.
The weather watch includes all communities covered by Patch.
The weather service statement includes:
MORE WINTER WEATHER IS EXPECTED TO AFFECT NORTH GEORGIA MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY. A WINTER WEATHER WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR MUCH OF NORTH GEORGIA FOR MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY AFTERNOON. HOWEVER THERE IS STILL UNCERTAINTY IN THE AMOUNTS OF SNOWFALL AND HOW FAR SOUTH THE SNOW WILL REACH. THOSE IN NORTH GEORGIA AND PARTS OF CENTRAL GEORGIA NEED TO MONITOR THIS SITUATION CLOSELY.
The weather service says as much as 4 inches of snow may fall in North Georgia Monday night into Tuesday — 1 to 2 inches in metro Atlanta.
However, while winter weather is expected, the exact amounts and areas of impact could change.
Also, “There’s a chance of a wintry mix again Tuesday night for north GA that will have to be monitored closely,” according to the NWS website.
A man fell three levels into the food court at the Mall of Georgia Sunday afternoon, Gwinnett Police confirmed.
The man survived the fall with serious injuries, but Gwinnett Police spokesman Sgt. Rich Long said via phone at 4:50 p.m. that he wasn’t sure of his current condition nor the extent of the injuries. The man was alert before he was taken to Gwinnett Medical Center.
The man, in his 40s, fell from the Regal Cinemas balcony, where he was sitting on the railing waiting to attend a movie after purchasing a ticket.
Long said theater security asked the man to get down from the railing just before he fell.
“I’m not sure if he fell on accident or intended to fall,” Long said, saying the investigation was ongoing.
The man struck the second floor before landing in the food court. That may have prevented death.
Long said there was no indication of foul play.
“The question is, was it an accident or did he intend for it to happen?” Long said.
SUPER SEAHAWKS Seattle blows out Denver for first-ever NFL title
Defense wins championships, and the NFL has not seen a defense like Seattle's in a long time.
The Seahawks won their first Super Bowl title Sunday night in overpowering fashion, punishing Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos 43-8. That relentless defense, the NFL's stingiest, never let the five-time MVP get going, disarming the highest-scoring offense in league history.
Seattle (16-3) was too quick, too physical and just too good for Denver, and that was true in all areas. What was hyped as a classic matchup between an unstoppable offense and a miserly defense turned into a rout.
Punctuating Seattle's dominance were a 69-yard interception return touchdown by linebacker Malcolm Smith to make it 22-0, and Percy Harvin's sensational 87-yard kickoff runback to open the second half.
Smith was the game's MVP.
When the Seahawks, up by 29 points, forced a Denver punt early in the third quarter, the 12th Man -- and there were legions of them in MetLife Stadium -- began chanting "L-O-B, L-O-B." As in Legion of Boom, the Seahawks hard-hitting secondary, part of young team with an average age of 26 years, 138 days.
"This is an amazing team. Took us four years to get to this point but they never have taken a step sideways," coach Pete Carroll said. "These guys would not take anything but winning this ballgame."
The loss by the Broncos again raised questions about Manning's ability to win the biggest games. He is 11-12 in the postseason, 1-2 in Super Bowls. He never looked comfortable against a defense some will begin comparing to the 1985 Bears and 2000 Ravens -- other NFL champions who had runaway Super Bowl victories.
Seattle forced four turnovers; Denver had 26 all season.
The Seahawks looked comfortable and at ease, and not just their defense, which lost All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman to a high ankle sprain in the fourth quarter.
Russell Wilson, who has an NFL-record 28 wins in his first two pro seasons, including playoffs, had a 23-yard TD pass to Jermaine Kearse late in the third quarter to make it 36-0.
Wilson also hit Doug Baldwin for a 10-yard score in the final period in what had become one of the most lopsided Super Bowls. For the fifth time in six meetings between the NFL's No. 1 offense and defense, the D dominated.
"We been relentless all season," Wilson said. "Having that mentality of having a championship day every day. At the end of the day, you want to play your best football and that is what we did today."
Denver fell to 2-5 in Super Bowls, and by the end many of Manning's passes resembled the "ducks" Sherman said the All-Pro quarterback sometimes threw.
The victory was particularly sweet for Carroll, who was fired in 1994 by the Jets, led the Patriots for three seasons and again was canned. After a short stint out of coaching, he took over at Southern California and won two national titles.
But he always felt there was unfinished business in the NFL. Carroll finished that business by lifting the Vince Lombardi Trophy, four years after taking charge in Seattle and eight years after the Seahawks lost in their only previous Super Bowl to Pittsburgh.
No Super Bowl had been played outdoors in a cold-weather city before -- not that the Big Apple was anything close to frozen Sunday, with a 49-degree temperature at kickoff. And no Super Bowl has started more bizarrely.
Things went sour for Manning and the Broncos from the very first scrimmage play, and by halftime they were down 22-0 -- their biggest deficit of the season and the only time they didn't score in a half.
On that first play for the Broncos, Manning stepped up toward the line just as center Manny Ramirez snapped the ball. It flew past his incredulous quarterback into the end zone, where Knowshon Moreno dived on it for a safety.
A mere 12 seconds in, Seattle led 2-0 with the quickest score in Super Bowl history, beating Chicago's Devin Hester's kickoff return to open the 2007 game -- against Manning's Colts.
That one ended much better for Manning as Indianapolis won the championship. This one was a fiasco throughout.
Steven Hauschka, who missed only 2 of 40 field goals entering the game, made a 31-yarder for 5-0 and a 33-yarder for 8-0 after Doug Baldwin toasted 15-year veteran cornerback Champ Bailey, in his first Super Bowl, for 37 yards on third down.
Then the Seahawks began scoring touchdowns.
Manning's third-down pass to Julius Thomas sailed way too high and directly to safety Kam Chancellor, giving the Seahawks the ball at Denver's 37. Harvin, finally healthy after a virtually wasted first season in Seattle, sparked the short drive with a 15-yard burst, and a third-down pass interference call on Tony Carter gave Seattle the ball at the 1.
Marshawn Lynch scored to make it 15-0.
Then Smith, with a play emblematic of the best defense the NFL has seen in years, made his second huge play in two weeks.
Cliff Avril got to Manning's arm as he was throwing, the ball fluttered directly to Smith, who took off down the left sideline for a 69-yard interception TD.
Manning trudged to the sideline, a look of disgust on his face.
That look didn't improve when, after a drive to the Seattle 19, his fourth-down pass was tipped by Chris Clemons and fell harmlessly to the Meadowlands turf.
So did Denver's reputation as an unstoppable force.
A 'TRAGIC' LOSS Actor Hoffman dies of apparent drug overdose
Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead Sunday of an apparent drug overdose at his Manhattan apartment.
Police responded to the 46-year-old's apartment in the West Village shortly after 11 a.m., police sources told FoxNews.com.
A friend found his body in the apartment and phoned police. Hoffman was alone in his bathroom when he was discovered with a heroin-filled needle in his arm, law enforcement sources said.
One police source told FoxNews.com that authorities are investigating whether Hoffman received a more potent type of heroin that's being blamed for numerous deaths over the past two weeks, first in the Pittsburgh area and later along the east coast. The substance combines heroin and fentanyl, an opiate used to soothe the pain of cancer patients, and is being blamed for dozens of deaths across the country, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Police are "looking at if (Hoffman) had the bad batch going around," the source told FoxNews.com.
A neighbor who saw Hoffman Saturday morning at a neighborhood grocery store said the actor "looked gray, not good."
Hoffman spoke candidly over the years about past struggles with drug addiction. After 23 years sober, he admitted in interviews last year to falling off the wagon and developing a heroin problem that led to a stint at a rehabilitation facility.
In a statement, Hoffman's family asked for people to keep the actor "in your thoughts and prayers."
"We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Phil and appreciate the outpouring of love and support we have received from everyone," his family said in a statement. "This is a tragic and sudden loss and we ask that you respect our privacy during this time of grieving."
By Sunday night, nearly 100 reporters and photographers had congregated outside Hoffman's apartment, and a well-wisher had left flowers in the actor's memory. New York police officers debated whether to block the body from waiting photographers as it was wheeled out of the building.
Hoffman no matinee-idol figure with his tubby, lumpy build and limp blond hair made his career mostly as a character actor, and was one of the most prolific in the business.
The stage-trained actor's rumpled naturalism made him one of the most admired performers of his generation. Hoffman won the Best Actor Oscar in 2006 for his portrayal of journalist and "In Cold Blood" author Truman Capote in the 2005 film "Capote."
In one of his earliest roles, he played a spoiled prep school student in "Scent of a Woman" in 1992. One of his breakthrough roles came as a gay member of a porno film crew in "Boogie Nights," one of several movies directed by Paul Thomas Anderson that he would eventually appear in.
He often played comic, slightly off-kilter characters in movies like "Along Came Polly," "The Big Lebowski" and "Almost Famous."
More recently, he was Plutarch Heavensbee in "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" and was reprising that role in the two-part sequel, "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay," which is in the works and was to feature a largely expanded role for his character, Plutarch Heavensbee. And in "Moneyball," he played Art Howe, the grumpy manager of the Oakland Athletics who resisted new thinking about baseball talent.
Just weeks ago, Showtime announced Hoffman would star in "Happyish," a new comedy series about a middle-aged man's pursuit of happiness.
In "The Master," he was nominated for the 2013 Academy Award for best supporting actor for his role as the charismatic leader of a religious movement. The film, partly inspired by the life of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, reunited the actor with Anderson.
He also received a 2009 supporting nomination for "Doubt," as a priest who comes under suspicion because of his relationship with a boy, and a best supporting actor nomination for "Charlie Wilson's War," as a CIA officer.
Born in 1967 in Fairport, N.Y., Hoffman was interested in acting from an early age, mesmerized at 12 by a local production of Arthur Miller's "All My Sons." He studied theater as a teenager with the New York State Summer School of the Arts and the Circle in the Square Theatre. He then majored in drama at New York University.
In his Oscar acceptance speech for "Capote," he thanked his mother for raising him and and his three siblings alone, and for taking him to his first play. Hoffman's parents divorced when he was 9.
With a versatility and discipline more common among British performers than Americans, he could seemingly take on any role, large or small, loathsome or sympathetic.
On Broadway, he took on ambitious roles like Willy Loman in "Death of a Salesman," Jamie in "Long Day's Journey Into Night" and both leads in "True West." All three performances were Tony nominated.
His 2012 performance in "Death of a Salesman" was praised as "heartbreaking" by AP theater critic Mark Kennedy.
"Hoffman is only 44, but he nevertheless sags in his brokenness like a man closer to retirement age, lugging about his sample cases filled with his self-denial and disillusionment," Kennedy wrote. "His fraying connection to reality is pronounced in this production, with Hoffman quick to anger and a hard edge emerging from his babbling."
Two films starring Hoffman premiered last month at the Sundance Film Festival: the espionage thriller "A Most Wanted Man," directed by Anton Corbijn, and "God's Pocket," the directorial debut of John Slattery.
Hoffman is survived by his partner of 15 years, Mimi O'Donnell, and their three children.
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