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If You Know Me, You Know I LOVE My Tea! Register Now For Your FREE Chick-Fil-A Tea, August 1-13,2011

If You Know Me, You Know I LOVE My Tea! Register Now For Your FREE Chick-Fil-A Tea, August 1-13,2011

I have a confession: My name is Maura, and I’m a tea-a-holic.

I’m a daily tea drinker. Chick-Fil-A is my “dealer” of choice, and it helps that there’s one located right around the corner from my house. My Twitter friends tease me about my check-ins, my clients give me gift cards to feed the need, and I’m rarely out and about without that red-and-white styrofoam cup in my car filled with freshly brewed refreshment.

How happy am I, then, to hear the words “Chick-Fil-A” and “free” and “tea” in the same sentence?

It’s true! From August 1 through 13, 2011, Chick-Fil-A is giving away free half-gallons of their tea to you and me for The Great Tea Giveaway!

VISIT MY SITE TO LINK TO THE FREEBIES!!!

Gingrey opposes Boehner's debt reduction plan

Gingrey opposes Boehner's debt reduction plan

WASHINGTON -- A House vote on Speaker John Boehner's debt reduction plan is expected Thursday, but not all Republicans are on board.

RELATED: How the debt ceiling crisis could hit consumers

MORE: Tell your lawmakers how you feel 

Georgia Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-11th District) says Congress needs to get the job done, but it needs to be done the right way.  

Metro Atlanta foreclosure rate 16th highest in nation

Metro Atlanta foreclosure rate 16th highest in nation

ATLANTA -- Metro Atlanta's foreclosure rate slowed by the middle of 2011, but remains among the metros with the highest rates.

Atlanta had 44,1560 foreclosure filings from January through June, down about 16 percent from the first half of 2010. This gave Atlanta the 16th highest rate of foreclosures, according to RealtyTrac, which publishes the largest list of foreclosures in the country.

The company defines a foreclosure as default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions. 

Coca-Cola Foundation gives $2 million to Agnes Scott, others

Coca-Cola Foundation gives $2 million to Agnes Scott, others

DECATUR, Ga. -- The Coca-Cola Foundation has given out more than $2 million in grants to education and youth development programs in the last three months.

The grants from the philanthropic arm of the Coca-Cola Co. include:

* $1 million to Agnes Scott College
* $100,000 to 100 Black Men of the Bay Area Inc., Oakland, Calif.
* $50,000 to Teach for America, New York City

Other recipients include the Tavis Smiley Foundation in Los Angeles and Girls Inc. of Central Alabama.

The grants come after a $1 million donation to six U.S. college for study-abroad programs in China.

The foundation was created in 1984. It focuses on stewardship, environmental issues, education and healthy lifestyles.

Are Drivers Still Blowing Tires on the Dreaded Candler Road Curb?

Last year, I was hearing report after report of drivers who were blowing tires on a jagged, protruding curb on Candler Road just north of I-20. We alerted DeKalb County to the seriousness of the problem and within a few weeks, warning signs were installed near the curb. Then things seemed to quiet down until recently when I received an email from another driver who blew two passenger side tires after hitting the curb.

DeKalb unemployment exceeds Ga. rate in June

DeKalb unemployment exceeds Ga. rate in June

ATLANTA -- The preliminary unadjusted unemployment rate in Metro Atlanta increased in 10.5 percent in June, according to Labor Commissioner Mark Butler.

That's eight-tenths of a percentage point higher than the revised 9.7 percent in May.

"The increase was caused primarily by two seasonal factors," Butler said.

Get alerts when something happens in your neighborhood

Get alerts when something happens in your neighborhood

ATLANTA -- How would you like to know immediately when a crime or something suspicious happens in your neighborhood? You don't have to wait until you get the email from your homeowner's association president and you don't have to wait until it becomes rumor. You can get it in real time from a company called Village Defense.

Sharath Mekala came up with the idea for Village Defense after he was a victim of a home break in. Two years ago he got a call at work, his home alarm company notified him. "I came back home to a neighborhood of about 800 people and no one had noticed or seen someone kick my door in," Sharath said. "I realized the neighborhood didn't have an internal communication system."

He and Nathan Black came up with Village Defense, a real time mass notification system that alerts all residents of a neighborhood when a crime or suspicious activity happens.