Community Corner

Storms, Roads and Sunday Meetings

Here's what you need to know to start the day June 2.

1. All the heat this week could spark thunderstorms this afternoon or tonight, the National Weather Service warns. Granted, it's only a 20 percent chance, but it's a chance. The more people talk about the return of drought conditions, the more likely rain is to fall. The high on this sunny day will be around 93, and the overnight low will be about 68. And there's a Code Orange air-quality warning today.

2. The state Department of Transportation's planning director, Todd Long, on Wednesday sent the initial list of possible projects for the regional Transportation SPLOST, up for referendum next year, to the Atlanta Regional Commission's Regional Roundtable, which will finalize the list. The roundtable will have to winnow a list of 445 projects with a total cost of $22.9 billion down to something costing $7 billion to $8 billion. The initial list includes 39 projects submitted by Cobb County, including road-widening projects that would benefit Marietta along Franklin Road, Windy Hill Road and Cobb Parkway. Transit projects, both rail and bus, are the biggest-ticket items on the Cobb list. The whole regional list is attached and available here.

3. Remember all the complaints about the Cobb County Board of Education holding that special called Sunday meeting back in January, the one at which the new board members elected Alison Bartlett chairwoman even though a regularly scheduled meeting was held three days later? Well, the board already had one special Sunday meeting during its superintendent search, and now it has scheduled another one for this Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Central Office to give final approval to hiring as superintendent, even though the board is meeting three days later anyway. It's not as if Hinojosa will be on the job Monday morning; he's still resolving budget issues in Dallas and has said he plans to work in Texas through the end of the month.

Find out what's happening in Mariettawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

4. Hinojosa made visits to two schools Wednesday, and we'll have reports on his stops at and high schools later today. Also worth returning to Marietta Patch for today are our Bites Nearby feature on East Cobb's Trattoria La Strada at 5 p.m., the weekly House Hunt at noon and the latest featured graduate, Dean Ryan, at 3 p.m., among other things.

5. The renovations at Lewis Park are on track to have Marietta's second off-leash dog park open by July 1, the city says. The $33,000 project includes the installation of three 16-by-16-foot structures to provide shade. The city's other dog park is at Wildwood Park.

Find out what's happening in Mariettawith free, real-time updates from Patch.


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