Beat the Heat in the Rain Forest

1. Well, it might not be as hot today as Tuesday, but it will be close. The high will be in the mid-90s, the National Weather Service says, and the humidity will make it feel like it’s about 100. There’s a 40 percent chance of afternoon thunderstorms providing some relief, as well as a 30 percent chance of showers at night. The overnight low will be about 74. We’re under a heat advisory and a Code Orange smog advisory.

2. With the heat and humidity, it feels like a rain forest outside, so it’s the perfect time to duck inside at the East Cobb Library for a puppet show on animals of the rain forest, followed by a rain-forest-themed craft. The 4-H Club of Cobb County is presenting the show from 3:30 to 4:40 p.m.

3. Has your child caught the East Marietta National Little League fever after the league’s 11- and 12-year-old all-stars e Sunday? If he or she will be between the ages of 4 and 12 as of April 30, 2012, consider signing up for East Marietta fall ball. Depending on age and league, the cost ranges from $90 to $165. Fall baseball focuses more on learning the game and less on competition, so it’s a good way to give baseball a try.

4. An article coming up today on East Cobb Patch shows that East Cobb excels in the classroom as well as the athletic field. It’s a list of the latest graduates from , and high schools to earn National Merit Scholarships. Those schools alone beat Atlanta and all the areas outside the city that have Atlanta addresses. 

5. A notice on the Cobb County website announces what once would have been shocking news: “The Cobb County Board of Commissioners has tentatively adopted a millage rate which will require an increase in property taxes.” (Click on “Notice of Tax Increase.”) It’s actually three increases, in the general, fire and debt-service funds, raising the overall property tax rate from 9.6 to 11.21 mills. But the announcement is a bit confusing because it addresses the increases from the maximum rates now allowed, not the actual rates. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Marietta Daily Journal have reported that the proposed increase would add about $111 to the tax bill of a house with a fair-market value of $200,000, but our math points to the total being about $120, which probably says something about journalists and math. We’ll all get the complete story next Tuesday when the board holds public hearings on the proposal at 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. at 100 Cherokee St. The commissioners will adopt the millage rate July 26 at 7 p.m. Georgia Tea Party board member Tom Maloy in a column Tuesday.