A new 41,403 square foot grocery-only store has been approved for construction at 1137 Powder Springs Road. The location will be one of the first Walmart Neighborhood Markets in Georgia and is expected to create 80 to 100 jobs. The new Walmart Neighborhood Market will be built within the existing Bellemeade Shopping Center, replacing the Food Depot which closed earlier this year.

“We are very pleased to see this new investment in our city and expect it to positively impact the economy of the area,” said city manager Bill Bruton. “We’re hopeful the store will generate other new businesses nearby. Also, the appearance of the building and landscaping will blend well with the streetscape enhancements the city has made on Powder Springs Street.”

The store is scheduled to open as early as 2012.

Here are some pictures to show what the new Marietta WalMart grocery store might look like when it opens in 2012:

The 2011-12 Season will mark Theatre in the Square’s 30^th anniversary season. The season will open with On Golden Pond (August 10 – September 11, 2011), which was the first production the theatre produced in September 1982. The additional four Main Stage productions include Ghost-Writer (September 28 – October 20, 2011); The Ladies Man (January 18 – February 26, 2012), based on the classic farce by Georges Feydeau, Tailleur Pour Dames; Flyin’ West (March 7 – April 8, 2012), by Atlanta’s own Pearl Cleage; and a fifth show to be announced, which will run April 25 – May 27, 2012. Season tickets are on sale now by calling 770-422-8369.

In addition to the five Main Stage productions, Theatre in the Square will bring back two audience favorites for the holidays, Sanders Family Christmas (November 22, 2011 – January 1, 2012) and The 1940’s Radio Hour (December 17, 2011 – January 1, 2012). The 1940’s Radio Hour will be performed off-site at Southern Polytechnic University’s Joe Mack Wilson Theatre. For the littlest theatre-goers, The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! will run in October. This season, Theatre in the Square will also add a bonus show on the Alley Stage, Red Letter Jesus (February 4 – March 8, 2012), a premiere featuring the words of Jesus from Matthew, Mark and Luke, performed by Brad Sherrill.

Season ticket packages begin as low as $85 and are on sale now. Single tickets except for Radio Hour and Three Little Pigs will go on sale Tuesday, July 12, 2011. Those two shows will go on sale in early August.

To help celebrate the theatre’s 30^th anniversary season, a logo competition was launched in 2010 in hopes to find something fresh to coincide with the new building façade, box office, lobby and bar area. The theatre solicited local artists and students to design a totally new logo or to give the current logo, a comedy and tragedy mask, a facelift. Participants competed for the grand prize of cash and having their original artwork displayed as the logo for the 30^th anniversary season. There were over 30 logos submitted to the theatre.

One grand prize winner and two runners up were selected by the staff with the help of feedback from the Facebook community. Grand Prize winner Mita Beach was ecstatic after he found out that his logo would be used for the 30^th Anniversary. “This meant a lot to me because despite my strong ties to the theatre the contest was run anonymously and only one person knew that this logo was mine.  I loved having the opportunity to give back to the theatre where I started my career back in 1994,” said Beach. The two runners up were Tish Spalding and Roy Fleeman.

The public is invited to help select the new Georgia general issue license plate design. The winning design will be displayed on millions of vehicles in Georgia and wherever Georgia vehicles travel nationwide. Online voting ends July 8, 2011.

The winning design will be announced July 15, 2011 by Governor Nathan Deal, Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle and State Revenue Commissioner Douglas MacGinnitie.

Here are the choices for the new license plate design:

Vote for your favorite design online at https://etax.dor.ga.gov/TagContest.aspx and let us know what you think in the comments below.

June 13, 2011:  The Walking Dead invaded Cobb County this week as filming for season two of the popular AMC series The Walking Dead moved into the area. The production closed some roads near the intersection of Cobb Parkway and Riverwood Parkway from 5am to 9pm on Monday. This is the second time in a week that area roads were closed for the filming of the show. Last week, motorists waited for miles as crews shot scenes on I-20 in Henry County.

The series follows is about a former police officer named Rick Grimes, who was shot on the job and later wakes from a coma to find that world has succumbed to a zombie epidemic. Production will continue in and around Atlanta throughout the summer and season two airs this fall.