Grady to hold hearing on new governance
ATLANTA --- The public will have its first chance to weigh in on Grady Memorial Hospital's proposed governance change since the hospital board voted to shift to nonprofit leadership.
The Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority, which currently governs Grady, voted earlier this month to create a 501(c)3 governance board.
Board members say the plan will help the hospital attract $300 million in immediate and long-term funding from the city's business, philanthropic and government communities, and from the state.
Couple kidnapped; son held hostage
LILBURN --- A Lilburn couple was kidnapped from their home and their son held hostage for several hours Wednesday during an attempted jewelry heist, according to police.
Gwinnett police said several suspects forced their way into the couple's home with weapons about 9 a.m. They allegedly stole the couple's Hummer sport utility vehicle and ordered the couple to take them to a jewelry store they own in downtown Atlanta. Police said the store might have been why they were targeted.
One of the suspects stayed behind with their 15-year-old son.
During the robbery, the husband escaped and called 911 and the suspects fled, said Gwinnett County Police Department spokesman Officer David Schiralli.
Atlanta near record for lack of rainfall
ATLANTA --- With only five days left in 2007, the city is on pace to have its driest year in five decades.
Atlanta needs to get more than 2.5 inches of rain before New Year's Day to top 31.8 inches, the current record low for rainfall, set in 1957. According to Rob Handel, a senior forecaster with the National Weather Service, there's an 80 percent chance of rain today in Atlanta.
Up to an inch of rainfall is expected.
Heavy rainfall is expected to continue through the weekend. So far in 2007, 29.27 inches of rain has fallen in Atlanta -- more than 20 inches below normal.
2-year-old boy drowns in pond
ATHENS --- Authorities in Madison County are investigating the death of a toddler who drowned in a pond near his great-grandparents' house.
The 2-year-old boy went missing from the home Wednesday afternoon, Madison County Coroner Michelle Cleveland told the Athens Banner-Herald . Family members searched for the boy, who was found later in a pond on the property.
It is not clear how long the boy was missing or who was supposed to be watching him at the time he disappeared. Sheriff Clayton Lowe said the boy was missing less than an hour.
-- Edited from wire reports
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