Roswell banning smoking in parks?

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The Roswell City Council approved an ordinance this past Monday that will allow smokers to only be able to light up in designated areas of Roswell city parks. The law is not yet effective as Roswell’s Recreation Commission must first dentify the spots where people can light up without bothering others.

The Roswell City Council and the seven-member Recreation Commission have struggled with the smoking question for Roswell’s 18 parks in the past few months.

Several earlier versions were bandied about, but ultimately were felt to be a little too draconian or too hard to enforce. 

The Recreation Commission recommended a complete ban of smoking in parks at the meeting on Monday night. This is something only Clayton and Henry counties, and the city of Marietta have enacted in metro Atlanta.

The council decided it didn’t want to drive people – even smokers — out of the parks, Orlans said.

The City Council may vote on a list of designated smoking areas as early as Dec. 3rd.

Roswell Town Square Holiday Lighting

December 5, 2009
5:15 pm	to	8:30 pm

The cool weather is upon us and we’ve just past Thanksgiving. That must mean it’s time to join with family and friends and enjoy the annual lighting of Historic Roswell Town Square. The celebration will be held on Saturday, December 5th beginning at 5:15.

The event will include music and a special reading of ’Twas the Night Before Christmas with Roswell Mayor Jere Wood. We are also anticipating a visting from none other than Santa Claus.

After the lighting celebration, Santa’s Secret Gift Shop will be open for children 12 and under. There will be a trolley to transport folks from Founder’s Square to the Gift Shop, which is located at 555 South Atlanta Street and will be open on Saturday, December 5 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and on Sunday, December 6 from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m. 

This event offers the opportunity to shop for mom, dad, brother, sister with a selection of items priced $8 and under. Santa’s elves will help the children through the shop. Button making, color art, and loads of fun!

Proceeds from the Gift Shop benefit the Roswell Ramblers Senior Citizen Club.

Black Friday

Thanksgiving time. It’s certainly a time of year when we get to spend time with friends and family and give thanks.

But for some savvy shoppers, this is also the time of year to prepare to assault the stores on what has become known as Black Friday. Now while you may be looking to take advantage of the latest deals, keep in mind that not all deals are found in the stores.

For example, you can find lots of great deals online.

Another option is in the Roswell real estate market. Home prices have been reduced, interest rates are phenomenal and if you’re a first-time homebuyer you can qualify for $8,000 and if you’re a move-up homebuyer you can qualify for $6,500.

These kind of deals are going to be hard to beat in the stores or even online. To make your Black Friday shopping spree, easier, we’ve compiled up-to-date lists of Roswell short sales as well as foreclosures in Roswell.

• Roswell Short Sales
• Roswell Foreclosures

If you’re interested in taking advantage of the Roswell Black Friday deals in the real estate market, be sure to contact us for your free buyer consultation.

Runoff for Roswell Mayor on December 1st

Will Jere Wood, the three-term incumbent mayor, surge ahead to be re-elected over former city council member David Tolleson for the right to lead Georgia’s sixth largest city. Roswell voters will get to decide on December 1, 2009.

Roswell is the largest city in North Fulton County, which influences the region’s agenda in discussions about illegal immigration, traffic congestion, foreclosures and lack of redevelopment. While Roswell holds approximately 90,000 people, there have only been two mayors in the past 42 years.

No major issues divide the candidates, so the runoff has quickly become a personality contest with Jere Wood taking the upper hand as he has received an endorsement from Lori Henry, a City Council member, who got 28 percent of the vote in the general election.

Tolleson and Wood face each other in a debate Tuesday night sponsored by The Beacon newspaper at the Moksha Indian Cuisine at 1380 Old Roswell Road. A social hour precedes the debate, which is open to the public and starts at 7:15 p.m.

Roswell citizens have the Thanksgiving holiday to formulate their decision on who will be the next mayor of Roswell. The runoff election is slated for Tuesday, December 1, 2009.

Mayoral Runoff to Take Place in Roswell

A three-way race for Roswell Mayor has come down to a Dec. 1 runoff between three-term incumbant Jere Wood and former City Council member David Tolleson.  Wood leads numerically however, did not have the needed 50 percent of the vote.  Council member Lori Henry was far back in third place.

Tolleson said voters seemed to like his message of building a consensus.

“We’ve had divisions based on where people live, different parts of town, whether somebody was pro-business or pro-neighborhood,” Tolleson said. “In the words of ‘High School Musical,’ we’re all in this together.”

Wood said he won’t change his campaign, which is based on his record. He said the runoff will be decided by turnout, not fund-raising.

“David has not raised any issues other than style,” Wood said. “I would be surprised if any new issues arise.”

Wood, 60, is a silver-haired lawyer known for his bowties, bicycling, and pro-environmental initiatives. He was first elected mayor in 1997 by riding anti-sprawl sentiment to beat a longtime incumbent. He faced minor opposition in his two re-elections.

Tolleson, 47, painted himself as the candidate who could bring together warring factions in Roswell. He also is executive director of the National Down Syndrome Congress.

Henry, a two-term council member, campaigned as a fiscal conservative. She attacked Wood for supporting Roswell East, a planned Atlantic Station-like project that never got off the ground, and for favoring the use of reserve funds to make the city budget work. The 53-year-old homemaker used to run her family’s pest-control business and was first elected to the council in 2001.

Obama Set to Sign New Homebuyer Tax Credit Bill

If you thought you missed your chance of $8,000 from the government, think again!  Buy a home before May 1 and collect up to $6,500 from the government.  If you’re a first-time homebuyer, get up to $8,000.  That’s right…President Obama is set to sign an extension of the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit and this new bill also includes a credit for current homeowners.

Already passed by the Senate, the House voted 403-12 Thursday to expand on the current $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit.  Included in the bill is an extension of unemployment benefits and expands a tax break for money-losing businesses.  It is expected that President Obama will sign the bill today.

Buyers who have owned their current homes at least five years would be eligible, subject to income limits, for tax credits of up to $6,500. First-time homebuyers — or people who haven’t owned homes in the previous three years — could get up to $8,000. To qualify, buyers have to sign purchase agreements before May 1 and close before July 1.

The credit is available for the purchase of principal homes costing $800,000 or less, meaning vacation homes are ineligible. The credit would be phased out for individuals with annual incomes above $125,000 and for joint filers with incomes above $225,000.

Extending and expanding the tax credit for homebuyers is projected to cost the government about $10.8 billion in lost taxes.

The credit is equal to 10 percent of the purchase price of a primary residence, up to a maximum of $8,000 for first-time homebuyers and $6,500 for others.

Taxpayers can claim the credit on their federal income tax returns. If the credit exceeds their tax bill, the government will issue a payment. Taxpayers who want immediate refunds can amend their tax returns for 2008 to claim the credit.

The homebuyers tax credit is one of two tax breaks totaling more than $21 billion that were included in a bill extending unemployment benefits for those without jobs for more than a year. The other tax break would allow money-losing companies to use current losses to offset taxable profits earned in the previous five years.

That break would help industries that have suffered big losses in the recession, including retailers, homebuilders and newspapers.

Expanding the tax credit for money-losing companies is projected to cost $10.4 billion.

Homebuyer Tax Credit Extension Passed by Congress

Homebuyer Tax Credit Extended

Congress has overwhelmingly passed a bill, with the House of Representatives passing it today and the Senate passing it on Wednesday, that would extend the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit to home purchases under contract by April 30, 2010 and closed by June 30, 2010.

This is an extension of the credit that was set to expire on November 30th. This The bill could be signed by the President as early as Friday.

The bill also creates a $6,500 credit for those who buy a home after living in their current house at least five years. These homes would also need to be under contract by April 30th and closed by June 30th.

The credit would be available only for the purchase of principal residences priced at $800,000 or less.

The bill also raises the adjusted gross income cap to $125,000 for single filers and $225,000 for joint filers. The amount of the credit currently begins to phase out for taxpayers whose adjusted gross income is more than $75,000, or $150,000 for joint filers.

This is a great opportunity for first-time homebuyers and move-up homebuyers and we’ll be discussing the value and opportunity for both of these targeted groups.

If you need assistance with your Roswell real estate needs, be sure to contact us, your local market experts.

Sweet Apple Village in Roswell to Hold Inaugural Fall Festival

Sweet Apple Village, Roswell’s new premiere shopping destination, is hosting a fall festival that will be full of fun activities for the whole family. Come enjoy hay rides, jump houses, crafts, face painting, a fire truck and balloon creations in addition to give-aways galore and a farmers’ market. Sample food from Tera Humata, the area’s hottest Mexican restaurant and tequila bar, and The Village Slice, serving exceptional pizza and pasta.

Sweet Apple Village is located at the corner of Etris Road and Crabapple Road in Roswell, GA.  View directions to Sweet Apple Village.

Saturday, Nov. 7 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Contact Joe Mediate for more information, 404-446-1225, joe@kookoobearkids.com