GOOD EVENING AND THANKS FOR JOINING US..
I'M LEAH JOHNSON..THIS IS EYEWITNESS NEWS AT 11.
BIBB COUNTY HAS LAID OUT PLANS FOR THE FIRST PROJECT FUNDED BY LAST YEAR'S SPLOST.
COUNTY COMMISSIONER ELMO RICHARDSON SAYS THEY GAVE THE GREEN LIGHT TO START PREPARING A PLOT OF LAND... FOR A NEW FIRE STATION.
HE SAYS THEY PLAN TO HOLD A CEREMONIAL GROUNDGREAKING AT THE SITE OFF NEW FORSYTH ROAD IN A WEEK AND A HALF.
CONSTRUCTION ON SHOULD WRAP UP IN NINE TO TWELVE MONTHS.
THE STATION WILL COST MORE THAN ONE MILLION DOLLARS TO BUILD.
RICHARDSON SAYS THAT WILL BE MONEY WELL SPENT.
"it impacts all that area, that's a high growth area, a lot of that going on. The nearest fire station is northside drive and th eone on riverside drive back near wimbish road so this will have a major impact on that entire area."
ASSISTANT FIRE CHIEF CLIFF RUSHIN SAYS THEY'LL HIRE TWELVE PEOPLE TO STAFF THE STATION.
THE SPLOST LIST ALSO INCLUDES TWO OTHER STATIONS.
RICHARDSON SAYS THEY'RE STILL SEARCHING FOR SITES FOR THOSE STATIONS.
SHOULD THE BIBB COUNTY COMMISSION TAKE ON CRIME-FIGHTING?
THIS WEEK'S CLOSE-UP PROGRAM INCLUDED A DISCUSSION ON THAT... CONSOLIDATION... AND OTHER ISSUES.
THE THREE REPUBLICANS IN THE RUNNING FOR THE COMMISSION'S DISTRICT THREE SEAT ALSO TALKED ABOUT TERM LIMITS.
Gary Bechtel, Commission Candidate: I think it's outstanding. In addition to term limits for the commission, it also has term limits for appointed positions, things of that nature. So if somebody gets put on it's not an endless term. So those are sunsetted as well. So I think it's a very good move. We need new blood in a lot of these positions, and this is a great way to assure that.
Ed Bond, Commission Candidate: Yes, I agree. I think it's a seven or dight duration. I think we do need new blood. I think that changing, not too often, but often enough, is healthy for the entire Bibb County and the City of Macon.
Mallory Jones III, Commission Candidate: Regarding term limits, I think that's a great part of the new consolidation bill. The mayor would have two term limits, previous record doesn't count. The commissioners would have three term limits. I think it's a great part of that bill, and I'm all for it. We've got people who've been on there far too long as far as City Council goes, and we need new faces. We nee less politicians and more business people.
BECHTEL.. BOND.. AND JONES MEET IN THE JULY 31ST REPUBLICAN PRIMARY.. SINCE THERE ISN'T A DEMOCRAT IN THE RACE.. THE G-0-P NOMINEE WINS THE SEAT.
YOU CAN CATCH CLOSE-UP IN ITS ENTIRETY AT NOON SATURDAY AND SIX A-M SUNDAY.
A WOODEN WALL PUT UP A DIVIDE BETWEEN A DOWNTOWN MACON RESTAURANT... AND CITY OFFICIALS.
COUNCIL MEMBERS TOLD KATELYN HECK WHY ADDING IRON FENCING WILL HELP THEM BREAK DOWN THE BARRIER.
<<
(NATS:this one was actually just built in the past couple of weeks)
CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS PATROLED THE STREETS OF DOWNTOWN MACON... COMPARING FENCES OUTSIDE OF RESTAURANTS.
ALL OF THEM HAD ONE THING IN COMMON... THEYRE MADE OF ROD IRON.
(SOT:this is a lot clearer and cleaner and all that)
THE URBAN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY TOLD THE OWNERS OF ROASTED CAFE AND LOUNGE... THEIR *WOODEN* WALL HAS TO COME DOWN... TO MAINTAIN A UNIFORM LOOK ON ALL OF THE SIDEWALKS DOWNTOWN.
LAST MONTH... THE CITY GAVE THEM 10 DAYS TO CHOP DOWN THE STRUCTURE.... BUT ROASTED OWNERS ASKED FOR MORE TIME.
(SOT:when somebody wants to do something downtown, a business, that affects the facade, they have to get an approval, in this instance they did not get an approval, and again it wasnt their fault. they were given incorrect information in the first place. they put up a plywood wall which does not conform to the use downtown.)
EVEN THOUGH COUNCILMAN RICK HUTTO SAYS ROASTED IS NOT THE ONLY ONE AT FAULT....THE CAFE WILL HAVE TO CHANGE THEIR WALL BEFORE RENEWING THEIR OUTDOOR CAFE PERMIT.
(NATS)
ROASTED'S OWNERS SAY REBUILDING THE WALL OUT OF IRON... WILL COME WITH A BIG PRICE TAG... BUT IT'S A COST THEY'RE WILLING TO PAY TO KEEP THEIR PATIO.
(SOT:i think it takes away from showcasing our creativity, but we will do whatever it takes, if they say it has to be iron, then we will make it iron.)
(STANDUP: barefoot tavern on cherry street also has a wooden wall surrounding their outdoor patio. the urban development authority says they will have to change their wall as well when their permit expires.)
ROASTED CAFE ALREADY SUBMITTED THEIR BLUEPRINT FOR A NEW FENCE TO THE URBAN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY... THE BOARD WILL VOTE ON THE DESIGN JUNE 28TH.
KATELYN HECK
13WMAZ EYEWITNESS NEWS
>> CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS SHIFTED THEIR ATTENTION FROM WOODEN FENCES TO TREES.
THE PUBLIC WORKS AND ENGINEERING COMMITTEE WANTS TO HELP REPLACE TREES ALONG FOREST HILL ROAD AFTER THE STREET WIDENING CONSTRUCTION CLEARS.
THEY VOTED TO TEAM UP WITH BIBB COUNTY TO SEARCH FOR ENOUGH FEDERAL AND STATE FUNDS TO REPLANT OVER TWO-THOUSAND TREES.
COUNCIL MEMBER ED DEFORE SAYS THE CONSTRUCTION COULD START AS EARLY AS SEPTEMBER.
THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORATION HAS DENIED THE KU KLUX KLAN'S APPLICATION TO JOIN THE "ADOPT-A-HIGHWAY" PROGRAM.
THEY SAY SIGNS THANKING THE KLAN WOULD BE DISRUPTIVE AND A PUBLIC SAFETY HAZARD.
THE STATE ALSO SAYS THE ONE-MILE STRETCH OF HIGHWAY IN UNION COUNTY ISN'T ELIGIBLE FOR THE PROGRAM... BECAUSE THE SPEED LIMIT IS TOO HIGH.
SOME PEOPLE SAID THE STATE SHOULD REJECT THE APPLICATION FROM THE INTERNATIONAL KEYSTONE KNIGHTS OF THE K-K-K BECAUSE OF THE GROUP'S VIOLENT RACIST HISTORY.
MACON'S HIGH STREET BECAME AN OLD-TIME FLORIDA STREET TODAY FOR THE FILMING OF "42."
HARRISON FORD HEADLINES THE CAST FOR THE MOVIE ABOUT HOW JACKIE ROBINSON BROKE BASEBALL'S COLOR BARRIER IN 1947.
VIDEOJOURNALIST KIMBERLY BURDEN PAID A VISIT TO THE SET... TO GET A BEHIND-THE-SCENES LOOK.
AND WHILE THE CREWS ON HIGH STREET WERE CAPTURING MOMENTS ON FILM... OTHERS HEADED TO SECOND STREET TO GIVE A FEW BUILDINGS A FACELIFT.
CREWS PAINTED THE EXTERIORS OF THE BUILDINGS... AND ADDED NEW DETAILS.
IT GAVE THE STREET A WHOLE NEW LOOK TO SET THE SCENE FOR THE FILM AND TAKE THINGS BACK TO THE WAY IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN IN THE '40s.
VERIZON WIRELESS HOPES ITS NEW PLANS WILL CONVINCE MORE CUSTOMERS TO CONNECT DEVICES OTHER THAN PHONES TO ITS NETWORK.
THEIR "SHARE EVERYTHING" PLAN WILL BE AVAILABLE JUNE 28TH.
IT ALLOWS FAMILIES AND OTHER SUBSCRIBERS TO SHARE ONE POOL OF DATA... BETWEEN UP TO TEN DEVICES.
THE PLANS ALSO INCLUDE UNLIMITED CALLS AND TEXTS... AND WILL START AT NINETY DOLLARS A MONTH FOR ONE DEVICE AND ONE GIGABYTE OF DATA.
VERIZON PLANS TO GET RID OF ITS CURRENT LIMITED-CALLING AND TEXTING PLANS... EXCEPT FOR ONE 40-DOLLAR-PER-MONTH PLAN FOR NON-SMARTPHONE USERS.
A-T-&-T HAS ALREADY SAID IT'S LOOKING AT INTRODUCING SHARED-DATA PLANS SOON.
THIS YEAR.. FOR THE FIRST TIME.. PHONE COMPANIES REPORTED A DROP IN THE NUMBER OF PHONES ON CONTRACTS.
COMPANIES ARE BETTING ON INCREASED DATA USAGE TO KEEP SERVICE REVENUES RISING.
FOR A BREAKDOWN OF HOW MUCH DATA SOME POPULAR APPS AND ACTIVITIES TYPICALLY USE... LOOK FOR THIS STORY ON THE GEEK 13 PAGE AT 13WMAZ DOT COM.
YOU'LL FIND THE LINK ON THE SCENE 13 PAGE.
APPLE OPENED ITS WORLDWIDE DEVELOPERS CONFERENCE THIS WEEK... WITH A COUPLE OF BIG ANNOUNCEMENTS.
BRAD SPIEGEL AND BEN ARE TALKING OVER SOME OF THE NEW PRODUCTS AND FEATURES YOU COULD SEE SOON.
THE N-B-A FINALS ARE UNDERWAY IN OKLAHOMA CITY... BUT THANKS TO ONE CLAIRVOYANT ANTEATER WE ALREADY KNOW THE OUTCOME.
ANNIE... THE PSYCHIC ANTEATER IN NEW JERSEY.. PREDICTED TODAY THAT THE MIAMI HEAT WOULD WIN THE N-B-A FINALS.
WHEN GIVEN THE OPTION OF EATING OUT OF THE THUNDER BOWL OR HEAT BOWL... SHE CHOSE THE HEAT.
NOW ANNIE ACTUALLY DOES HAVE A LITTLE CREDIBILITY... SHE CORRECTLY PICKED THE LOS ANGELES KINGS TO WIN THE STANLEY CUP.