Sanford Stadium could get $63 million overhaul

The University of Georgia athletic board on Tuesday approved an overhaul to the west end of Sanford Stadium that athletics director Greg McGarity said would “not exceed 63 million.” But the school plans on fundraising the vast majority of it.

The board approved a plan to raise $53 million from private funds, which the rest coming from the athletic association’s reserves. A new plaza will be built that will end up adjacent to the current bridge, which overlooks the west side of the stadium. There will be a recruiting pavilion of about 500 seats, measuring 10,575 square feet, on top of the student section.

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Commissioner attends tense NAACP meeting

Tommy Hunter’s meeting with the Gwinnett NAACP ended abruptly Tuesday night, as members of the organization shouted over each other, chanted and otherwise hampered the embattled commissioner’s attempts to speak.

Hunter has been the target of backlash since calling civil rights leader U.S. Rep. John Lewis a “racist pig” on Facebook last month.

Hunter’s presence at Tuesday night’s meeting at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center was billed as a bridge-building opportunity and a “moderated discussion.”

The first part of Hunter’s Valentine’s Day was decidedly more peaceful, as he joined his fellow board members and other Gwinnett officials for a lunchtime tour of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta. He appeared to look intently at exhibits — some which honored Lewis’ legacy — during the guided two-hour visit.

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Judge denies McIver access to his SUV

A Fulton County judge denied Claud “Tex” McIver’s request on Tuesday to regain the vehicle in which he shot and killed his wife, asserting it remains a crime scene.

Judge Jaslovelin Lall ruled in

Texting while driving and other bad behaviors have fueled a spike in motor vehicle deaths in Georgia and across the nation over the past two years.

Such deaths jumped by a third from 2014 to 2016 in Georgia — the fifth-highest increase in the country and more than twice the national average, new data from the National Safety Council shows. Fatalities rose 14 percent nationwide during the same period.

More than 1,500 people died in motor vehicle accidents in favor of prosecutors who said that the Atlanta police want to continue to examine the white 2013 Ford Expedition.

McIver, 74, a prominent and politically connected attorney, shot his wife in the back as the couple rode in their SUV near Piedmont Park on Sept. 25. He was in the back seat and she in the front. McIver has said he was dozing when he accidentally pulled the trigger on the .38-caliber revolver that was in a plastic bag in his lap.

He was charged in late December with involuntary manslaughter, a felony, and reckless conduct, a misdemeanor. The case has yet to go before a grand jury for consideration of an indictment.

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Dates announced for ‘Hamilton’ at Fox Theatre

It might be, without exaggeration, Georgia last year alone, according to a report released by the council Wednesday. Across the U.S., 40,200 people died in such accidents, making 2016 the deadliest year on the nation’s roads since 2007.

“The top three killers are speed, alcohol and distraction,” council President Deborah Hersman said. “The same things that have killed us for decades are still killing us.”

Read entire story: on-ajc. com/Fatal_wrecks the most anticipated theatrical tour of the past several decades.

And yes, Atlanta, it is time to mark your calendars, reschedule any anticipated travel and book a babysitter now, because it was announced this past week that the musical “Hamilton” will play the Fox Theatre May 22-June 10, 2018.

The show — phenomenon, really — manages to make as dry a subject as Secretary of the Treasury and Founding Father Alexander Hamilton engaging, thanks to the brilliant mind of creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and his penchant for crafting dexterous, meaningful raps and musical hooks that seem to be an increasingly fleeting thought on Broadway.

In March, the national tour begins with a five-month residency in San Francisco, followed by four months in Los Angeles.

Read entire story: on-ajc.com/ Hamilton_Atlanta