Hometown Headlines Radio Edition: Local news without the static.

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RANT OF THE DAY: To identify the victims or not.

Yet again, we have a case where family and friends are using social media to eulogize their loved ones while, officially, we don't know who was killed or why.

So we broke the rules in naming the Rome sisters today. We'll hear about it. And we'll counter with this: The time has come for those involved in such cases to react at the speed of news itself. By all means, respect the family's wishes and privacy; the community's urge to know can't override that.

But also remember the people shaken by one of the most gruesome cases in recent years -- and we've had too many, including the dismemberment of the overdose victim found in Bartow County and the mass shooting in Rockmart in early 2019 that left four dead.

Some of this just needs to change. As for our practices -- as we've learned in covering the coronavirus and information shortcomings there -- we're moving on.

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Rant of the Day:

Tuesday evening, after shutting down for the day, a good friend started texting about the day's headlines, specifically the loss of Jandy's Frozen Yogurt. He wasn't surprised, especially because of the self-service nature of the business, and he predicted more were to come.

Earlier in the day, we saw where a chain of restaurants -- Sweet Tomatoes -- was closing for similar reasons. It was known for soups, salads and such, and was among one of our niece's favorite spots in her high school years in the Mableton area.

In these days of extra precautions at restaurants and other establishments, where the fewer -- no, make that the fewest - hands are better, much of the self-service thing is gone. Drink machines, salad bars and such are endangered at best.

And add to that Jandy's and that crazy toppings bar. It was more than a dessert stop; it was the source of some great memories of our kids growing up -- and our grown-ups being kids again.

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Rant of the Day: The PUI Diaries -- Life as a patient under investigation.

Last Friday, a longtime colleague posted that he and his bride had read about the open-to-all coronavirus tests and they decided to get checked They did it by the book. 

I wrote to him to congratulate him and asked him to time the test results because I was curious. And for good reason.

A week earlier, I did the same drill.  This past Monday, I got the news -- negative. And despite more than a 10-day wait, my advice is basic: get the easy and painless test; they're open to all. The worst part? The wait. 

TODAY'S HEADLINES

Rant of the Day: Facebook and flirting with disaster.

It has been a daily experience since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

The doubters, the conspiracy theorists, the sky-is-cloudy-even-if-it-is-nothing-but-blue-skies people have been quite vocal about anything posted concerning the virus. That's fine; they're entitled to their opinions as much as anyone else.

But then the posts got vicious. Or more important, they got dangerous. Thankfully, no one endorsed a bleach milkshake or other such nonsense but the self-righteous attitudes got a little heady. There were jabs at people wearing masks. They didn't like social distancing guidelines. God forbid they had to dine on curbside meals rather than in "our" spot at restaurants. What's a little virus spreading among friends, right?

These were on top of the others already commenting on a regular basis about a major crime case or government actions or whatever.

For many, those posts have been a guilty pleasure. We're surprised by some members of the community who told us about skipping the news story itself to instead skim through to see who says the stupidiest thing. We'll admit to a little of this ourselves; we continue to be amazed how some can drop "the tennis courts" into any ongoing community issue -- that is, solve downtown parking woes by making Broad Street -- you guessed it -- tennis courts.

But back to the pandemic.

In recent days, it hit us that we're contribuing to the problem, enabling these folks by way of basically posting the updates we develop or releases we receive to inform a collective Facebook audience of more than 50,000. That includes our most popular Facebook pages serving Rome and Cartersville but also growing numbers in Polk, Gordon and Chattooga counties.

We'll leave the hate speech to talk radio and cable neworks. We're making changes to our social media -- and more may be needed.

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Rant of the day: Reaching the 'new mundane.'

Book clubs are meeting again, even if six feet from one another. Graduations are being planned. More restaurants are resuming dine-in service -- in addition to life-saving curbside.

We're still supposed to be wearing masks in public. That's happening less and less.

We're not reacting to the twice-daily stories about the rising death count even if three people -- one each in Floyd and two in Gordon -- died from the virus within the previous 24 hours. 

Two weeks ago, the governor opened the tattoo parlors and bowling alleys and hair salons. Restaurants and other businesses follow. Shopping centers including the outlets opened a week ago. Government offices and parks are next.

Some will say too soon while others are saying we waited too long, pointing to more than $1.7 billion paid in state unemployment claims since mid-March.

Still others are mad about having to get creative for Mother's Day brunch and presents. Or about a sudden last blast of near-freezing temperatures on the second weekend of May.

Are we back to normal? No but apparently we've entered a zone of tolerance of what life is today. We wish we could say that's a good thing.

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RANT OF THE DAY: A new information source? Maybe.

The pandemic has forced many of us to do things we never tried before. From church leaders suddenly embracing Facebook Live to independent restaurants successfully converting to curbside service, we've had to learn things on the fly in recent months. And we're not done yet.

For governments, from city and county commissioners to governor's office, Facebook Live and Zoom have become critical assets. The same for the business world and even politics. As we'll see again later this evening, the herd of hopefuls for the 14th Congressional District will appear on computer screens for two hours while we watch who's Zoomin' who.

It all comes down to a ton of new content delivered a different way. We wonder: Is there something more we could be doing with all this, even after we ease up a bit on social distancing?

But the bigger question is this: How do we tie the community into all this?

Is there a away to expand citizen participation in daily government -- and community life -- with all these Zoom meetings, church and prayer services, chamber business education seminars and such?

We're about to find out.

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RANT OF THE DAY: Betting on the future.

Sure, there are some big fish in our update today about nearly $17 million worth of projects in Rome and Floyd County now armed with building permits.

The whopper is the animal science building Berry College is preparing to build with a permit value of more than $11 million (it will cost even more to equip, furnish, etc.)  And then there was the $4 million upgrade scheduled for Redmond Regional Medical Center. And then there are the smaller but still major projects like Dr. Stephan LaPointe's new office planned for Martha Berry Boulevard.  Or a series of projects up and down Broad, from what Wayne Robinson is doing to the 241 building with a new facade and overall gutting to even smaller improvements.

These people and others are betting major dollars on the future of Rome and Floyd County. As we continue to thank our front line workers and educators and clergy, let's also keep those investing in our community's promise of tomorrow in mind as well.

Hometown's top headlines: please click here

RANT OF THE DAY: One-size-fits-all House sweepstakes.

First, we'll give you an executive summary of Monday's 60-minute debate featuring seven of the eight Republicans who want to represent much of Northwest Georgia in Congress.

Democrats are bad. Beware of socialists. China is bad. Guns are good. Finish the wall. Immigration is bad. Trump: best.president.ever. We're outsiders. And did we say Democrats are bad?

Aside from the summary, the debate hit all the expected points:

It came down to one conclusion: We have a popularity contest on our hands come June 9 that won't really get interesting until the next morning as campaigning starts for the Aug. 11 runoff. For now, keep the cookie cutters handy.

Today's top stories:

RANT OF THE DAY: The Voccio Doctrine.

Gary Voccio retired from his medical practice and began a second career as the director of Northwest District of the Georgia Department of Public Health right before the coronavirus pandemic arrived in Georgia.

The doctor was among those credited early on with pushing for the needed tests that confirmed a Polk County woman under examination at Floyd Medical Center would become the first “positive” patient in Northwest Georgia.

Since then, Voccio has been among the more public faces in the region when it comes to the virus and what’s next. 

And late Friday, he issued another community update that demanded and received immediate notice. We know that based on the hits or views or whatever we call them this week on our website. He said:

“So, we’re reopening. Even if we do it right, the decision to reopen the state and our Northwest Georgia communities without a treatment or vaccine is a decision to accept more illness and more death for the sake of resurrecting our economy sooner.”

Of all the speeches and lectures we’re heard since March 1 from the governor on down, that last paragraph nailed exactly where we are – and exactly why we are here.

The only question from it all is whether we’re going to listen to what Voccio had to say. We hope so as we have many more innings to go.

Today's headlines:

RANT OF THE DAY: 1,007 deaths in 30 days.

We call them the “Flat Earth Society,” a growing pack of Facebook trolls who try to collect enhanced unemployment benefits while swatting away at the deadliest facts of coronavirus.

They doubt the numbers. They consider COVID-19 just another case of flu. They suspect the liberals are behind it in an effort to make Trump look bad. They believe it also is a ploy to tank the economy in order to hurt all Republicans. And, of course, the media is at fault for spending too much time on reporting the deaths and misery.

But maybe what follows will. 

The state's death toll from coronavirus surged by more than 1,000 in the 30 days of April. 

In those same 30 days, the number of positive tests in Georgia ballooned from 4,117 to 26,260 -- and rising. Locally, it more than doubled, from 284 cases in the five-county area to 619. 

Now consider this: Brian Kemp let the statewide shelter-in-place order expire as of midnight, citing favorable data and the need to get Georgia back to work. He extended it for those 65 and older, and those with pre-existing medical conditions from heart and lung ailments to diabetes and obesity.

So after 1,000 deaths during sheltering-in-place in April, it will go away in the much more lax, much more social days of May?