East Cobb Week in Review, March 21-27

1. -- The Cobb Board of Elections on Monday made official the March 15 referendum that extended the single penny sales tax for a wide range of transportation and other improvements by a slender 79 votes. 

2. -- Four of the five commissioners, including Bob Ott and JoAnn Birrell of East Cobb, said Tuesday they would not support raising any millage rates to close a projected $31 million county budget deficit for fiscal year 2011. 

3. -- County offiicials had an open house to disclose priorities for the 2012 metro Atlanta regional transportation SPLOST referendum, including the widening Roswell Road in East Cobb, as well as a $230 million widening of Cobb Parkway to six lanes from Paces Mill Road to the North Marietta Parkway. 

4. -- Cycling enthusiasts pushed off from the East Cobb Government Center Tuesday to begin a trip all the way to the Georgia state capitol to raise awareness for cyclist safety issues. The event ended with a rally at the capitol. 

5. -- East Cobb school board member David Banks this week tried to revive his effort to revert to the traditional calendar, resorting to Robert's Rules of Order to make his case. One Cobb parent accused Banks of keeping the issue "alive to the point of obsession."