Regional Roundup: Family Dollar Protest, Rising Gas Prices and Hitchhiking Boa Constrictor

 – Cascade Patch

"No Family Dollar" was chanted by over a dozen protesters that gathered at the site of the newest Family Dollar store on Friday, Aug. 24, located at Fairburn Road and Benjamin Mays Drive in southwest Atlanta.

The stores have been in the forefront of residents' minds lately due to the fact that at least 

Residents continue to express disappointment and anger that these stores are multiplying in the southwest Atlanta area.  A common statement, that can be heard throughout the neighborhood and at the protest from a NPU-H member is that,   

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– Midtown Patch

Gas prices in Midtown and around the state continue to climb and could do so even more as Tropical Storm Isaac is forecasted to hit the Gulf Coast this week.

At some Midtown pumps Monday, the cheapest gas was $3.99 a gallon causing a few folks to recall four years ago when gas prices here topped the four-buck mark for the first time ever.

According to AAA, Georgia's gas price average is at $3.70, which is six cents higher than a week ago and 31 cents more than a month ago.

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– Woodstock Patch

John Gambrell and Mike Bird were returning to their company from a worksite when they were flagged down as they drove along U.S. 92.

When they stopped, the man was waving his hand and pointing to the bumper of the company van and shouting “There is a snake wrapped around your bumper."

To men's surprise they found a 6-foot-long red tail boa constrictor wrapped around the van’s rear bumper, said Tami Keeling, who works with the men at Vision Stairways & Millwork in Woodstock.

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