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Berry to host World Music and Dance Festival

Berry to host World Music and Dance Festival

ROME, Ga. -- The 8th annual Berry College World Music and Dance Festival will be held this weekend.

The fun will be Saturday, Apr. 20 from 12:30 p.m. to 10:15 p.m. on the lawn in front of the library. It is free and open to the public.

Scheduled performance groups include Ogya, a Tennessee-based African tribal fusion group; Flying Mystics, a tribal groove band from Atlanta; classical guitarist Luther Enloe; local bluegrass band Saddle Mountain Blue Grass Boys; and Miwase, a Rome-based Afro-funk band.

Visit the Berry College World Music Festival Facebook page for more information.

U-Haul ranks Atlanta No. 26 growth city

U-Haul ranks Atlanta No. 26 growth city

(ATLANTA BUSINESS CHRONICLE) -- U-Haul International, Inc. ranks Atlanta No. 26 on its annual U-Haul National Migration Trend Report released Friday that measures the nation's top growth areas for families that moved during the past year. 

Pittsburg takes the top spot with the highest percentage of growth, U-Haul said. 

"The report, reflective of growth patterns in the United States during 2012, was complied based on nationwide trends in cities of all sizes and reflects communities with more than 5,000 families moving in or out of the area," said John "J.T." Taylor, president, U-Haul International, Inc.

"Growth cities were then determined by calculating the percentage of inbound moves vs. outbound moves for each area," Taylor added.

The U-Haul 2012 Top U.S. Growth Cities Report was compiled from more than 1.6 million U-Haul one-way truck transactions, the company said. 

39 companies sign Hire a Ga. Hero pledge

ATLANTA -- Nearly 40 companies have signed a pledge committing to hire local veterans.

RELATED | 11Alive Help Desk: Hiring Our Heroes

The Hire a Georgia Hero campaign encourages businesses to match veterans with appropriate work opportunities. So far, 39 companies have pledged their support of the program, which is sponsored by the Governor's Office of Workforce Development.

A complete list of participating companies and open positions can be found at operationworkforce.com.

Georgia tax revenue inches 1.1 percent in March

Georgia tax revenue inches 1.1 percent in March

(ATLANTA BUSINESS CHRONICLE) - Georgia's revenue from various taxes went up only 1.1 percent in March, as sale tax revenue was down for the first time in months. 

The Georgia Department of Revenue reported the state took in $1.17 billion in tax revenue in March, compared with $1.16 billion in March 2012. 

Also in March, sales tax revenue was down 0.2 percent to $427.4 million, individual income tax revenue was up 0.1 percent to $422.6 million, and corporate income tax revenue was up 4.4 percent to $174.9 million.

Year-to-date in March, the state's tax revenue haul was up 5.2 percent to $12.3 billion. 

"While the state's net revenues for March were not as strong as in recent months, this improvement marks the 11th consecutive quarter of net revenue improvement dating back to 2011," Gov. Nathan Deal said in a statement. 

 

Shorter presents 'Dancing at Lughnasa'

Shorter presents 'Dancing at Lughnasa'

ROME, Ga. -- Shorter University's production of Dancing at Lughnasa opens this Wednesday.

The play will run daily through Apr. 14. According to Shorter:

This extraordinary play tells of five unmarried sisters eeking out their lives in a small village in Ireland in 1936. Their sparse existence is interrupted by brief, colorful bursts of music from the radio, their only link to the romance and hope of the world at large.

Showings of Dancing at Lughnasa will take place at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.

For more information, call the box office at 706-233-7288.

Weekend street closures and event parking/travel tips

Weekend street closures and event parking/travel tips

ATLANTA -- With hundreds of thousands of people planning to attend events in the City over the next four days, transportation officials have released a list of street closures, as well as parking suggestions and travel tips. The following comprehensive information was collected from the Atlanta Police Department, the Georgia Department of Transportation, and MARTA.

A.P.D. - The Atlanta Police Department reminds the public of heavy traffic volume in Downtown Atlanta from April 4th-8th , centered around the Final Four basketball tournament and related events around the Georgia Dome.  The Department is urging event-goers and others who must travel into Downtown to consider taking MARTA, or other alternative modes of travel to decrease volume. 

9 business owners arrested in gambling sting

9 business owners arrested in gambling sting

ROME, Ga. -- Authorities in northwest Georgia say the ninth man wanted in an illegal gambling sting has surrendered to police.

Officials say Naveed Bhamani is charged with commercial gambling, gambling, possession and keeping of a gambling device. It is unclear if he has an attorney.

Eight others were arrested early Tuesday in connection with a bust last week and have also been charged with violating the state's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations regulations.

The business owners ran gambling operations in back rooms and used cables to connect machines to a device monitored by the store clerk, who would print out vouchers with cash redemption value.

Bond was set for the nine men at $25,000 each.