This week’s top stories from the Ledger-Enquirer | June 24 — June 30
1. Chick-fil-A acquires Columbus Park Crossing site, to demolish existing building: A week after opening a new Chick-fil-A restaurant on Manchester Expressway, the Georgia-based company has acquired a prime piece of property in Columbus Park Crossing and is prepared to open a new store, said Steven Cadranel, president and owner of Arris Realty Partners. Chick-fil-A purchased the property at 5520 Whittlesley Blvd., late last week for an undisclosed price from Gene Meszaros, who owned and operated a Shogun restaurant on the site for 10 years. The parcel is in front of the shopping area where Dick’s Sporting Goods is located.
2. Four charged after fights break out at Dollar Tree on Buena Vista Road: Three women and a 14-year-old girl were charged after allegedly being involved in a fight at the Dollar Tree on Buena Vista Road, Columbus police said. Authorities were called to a Steam Mill Road home around 8:10 p.m. Thursday to speak with a group of women about an altercation at the Dollar Tree at 4105 Buena Vista Road.
3. Georgia Power to close its Columbus payments office on Veterans Parkway: Georgia Power Company is preparing to close its Columbus payment processing center and they informed employees of that decision on Thursday, spokesman Robert Watkins said. The center, one of 27 remaining across the state, will be closed before the end of the year as the company adjusts to changing trends in the way customers pay their monthly power bill, Watkins said. The downtown Columbus location at 1112 Veterans Parkway is scheduled to close on Oct. 12.
4. Major retail, restaurant, housing development planned in Midland area of city: A trio of Columbus real-estate investors has purchased a large swath of land in the Midland area of Columbus with plans to develop the 86 acres into a mix of retail, restaurants and some residential housing. The working name for the development is Midland Commons. Marty Flournoy, Chris Wightman and Jack Wright are partnering in the project near the intersection of U.S. Highway 80, or J.R. Allen Parkway, and U.S. Highway 27, or Manchester Expressway.
5. Murder, vengeance and memory: John Patterson recalls the Phenix City that launched his career: In an expanded lakeside cottage on 1,200 acres of family land in Goldville, Ala., former Alabama Gov. John Patterson sits surrounded by history, his rustic wooden walls adorned with framed black-and-white photographs from a long and busy life in politics. Now 94, walking with a cane, his voice absent the strength it once had in speeches to campaign crowds and civic clubs, he is 75 miles and 63 years away from the place and time that killed his father, launched his career, and changed the course of history in Phenix City, a town then infamous for vice and corruption.
This story was originally published July 1, 2017 at 4:17 PM with the headline "This week’s top stories from the Ledger-Enquirer | June 24 — June 30."