Brigham stops push to end $1 hotel fee

Confident that the downtown TEE center will eventually get six votes or more, Augusta Commissioner Jerry Brigham backed off Monday on a proposal to eliminate the city's $1-a-night hotel fee, which was enacted to fund the trade, exhibit and event center and redevelop blighted inner-city neighborhoods.

Mr. Brigham had the idea placed on the Finance Committee meeting agenda after a TEE center funding plan failed by a 5-4-1 vote last week. Citing ongoing dialogue among commissioners since then, he agreed to leave the proposal in committee.

City Administrator Fred Russell's financing plan involved $35 million in bonds to build a $38 million TEE center with a $17 million parking deck and to kick-start redevelopment of the Laney-Walker and Bethlehem neighborhoods. "No" voters Corey Johnson and Alvin Mason say they want the parking deck and creation of a new development authority removed from the plan.

A Johnston, S.C., man has been arrested and charged with a pair of crimes after the alleged molestation of a girl over the weekend.

Gustav Paul Sawvell, 37, is being held pending a bond hearing on a charge of criminal sexual conduct with a minor under 16. Johnston Police Chief Chris Aston said he also has been charged with committing a lewd act against a minor under 16.

The girl was taken to Edgefield County Hospital on Saturday after the incident was reported to law enforcement. She was treated and released.

Police are looking for an Aiken man in connection with a shooting at a convenience store Saturday.

According to the Aiken County Sheriff's Office, Christopher Croft, 29, of the 1400 block of Redd Street in Aiken, has been identified as the man who shot Ray McMillan inside the Lucky 7 convenience store at 1108 Hampton Ave. on Saturday.

The sheriff's office has warrants on Mr. Croft for assault and battery with intent to kill. Additional charges are pending, a news release said.

The sheriff's office said Mr. Croft should be considered armed and dangerous.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts can call the Aiken County Sheriff's Office at (800) 922-9709.

Individuals can also call Crimestoppers of the Midlands at (888) 559-TIPS. Callers can remain anonymous and will be eligible for a cash reward between $50 and $1,000.

A 23-year-old man was arrested Monday on charges he robbed another man of $1,600 and his pants at gunpoint in April.

Damien Tavares Tanksley, of the 2300 block of Ruby Drive, is charged with armed robbery and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, according to a Richmond County sheriff's jail committal. He had been wanted in connection with a holdup on Martin Luther King Boulevard on April 22, in which he robbed the 33-year-old victim, a sheriff's report said.

A Midville, Ga., man died in a car accident in Blythe on Sunday morning.

According to Richmond County Chief Deputy Coroner Mark Bowen, Perry Oglesby, 25, was traveling south on Deans Bridge Road about 8:20 a.m. when he lost control of his vehicle, which flipped in the median.

Mr. Oglesby was not restrained and was thrown from the vehicle. He was taken to Medical College of Georgia hospital, where he died of his injuries.

Speed might have been a factor, Mr. Bowen said.

Two men have been indicted on charges they illegally collected federal benefits.

Tony Tyrone Harris, of Augusta, and Charles Steven Crosby Sr., of Martinez, were indicted in separate cases, according to a release from U.S. Attorney Edmund A. Booth Jr.

Mr. Harris is accused of falsely claiming he was unemployed while receiving long-term disability payments from 2004 through 2007. Mr. Crosby is accused of Social Security fraud by concealing his employment while collecting benefits.

A parrot captured last week in Evans has escaped euthanasia and might instead be en route to a sanctuary in Alabama.

The Quaker parrot was captured by Columbia County Animal Care and Control workers Wednesday in the backyard of a home in Windmill Plantation. The species is considered an agricultural pest and is illegal to own in Georgia, said Pam Tucker, Columbia County's Emergency and Operations director.

No one has claimed the parrot, but Mrs. Tucker said the county has received numerous inquiries from owners of missing birds all over the Southeast.

The Aiken County School Board will discuss raising next school year's meal prices 15 cents at tonight's meeting. The price of lunch was raised 10 cents this school year. Schools now charge $1.35 for breakfast. Elementary school lunch costs $1.75; middle and high school lunch costs $1.90.

The 7 p.m. meeting will be at 1000 Brookhaven Drive.

The Richmond County Board of Education's advisory committee will meet at 6 p.m. Monday.

The meeting, which is open to the public, will be held at the board's central offices, 864 Broad St.

The deadline to purchase tickets to the Academy of Richmond County's 225th Anniversary Celebration has been extended. The celebration will be 7:30 p.m. on July 24 at Julian Smith Casino. Tickets, which cost $50, may be purchased up until the event. For more information, call (706) 737-7152.

Hephzibah High School has received donations for its metalworking program and wood shop.

Rothenberger Tools donated tools worth almost $1,000 for the metalworking program, Principal Walter Reeves said in an e-mail. Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation awarded a $3,650 Toolbox for Education grant to refurbish the school's wood shop.

ATLANTA — The Medical Education Commons building at the Medical College of Georgia gets the green light to begin hiring an architect today .

The University System of Georgia's Board of Regents will vote at its monthly meeting to authorize the $105 million budgeted for construction of a 186,000-square-foot building to be shared by the medical school and the dentistry school. It will house classrooms, group-study rooms and offices.

The project also includes renovation of a 24,000-square-foot area in the Sanders Research and Education Building where anatomy is taught for the medical and dentistry schools. The cost will be borne by bonds the state will sell and repay over the next 20 years.

Today's action paves the way for the Regents' staff to advertise for architectural firms.