Be Careful Rolling on the River

1. We have a classic East Cobb summer day today, according to the National Weather Service. It will be hot and hazy with a high around 90 and a rising risk of thunderstorms, possibly severe, from 2 to 10 p.m. The overnight low will be about 68. There will be little wind until a storm blows through, and we're under a Code Orange air-quality alert.

2. Cobb County Board of Commissioners Chairman Tim Lee and Kennesaw Mayor Mark Mathews handled questions ranging from the specifics of the proposed T-SPLOST to the options for light rail during Tuesday night's telephone town-hall meeting on transportation. . And if you missed the call, don't worry: There will be many opportunities to talk about the regional tax plan before residents of Cobb and nine other counties vote on it in 13 months.

3. Speaking of the county government, the county commissioners got in and out in under 45 minutes Tuesday. . We suspect the Citizen Oversight Committee will have a longer meeting when it gets together this morning at 9 at 100 Cherokee St. off Marietta Square. And don't forget that Friday is the next furlough day for the county government.

4. Congratulations to pastor Bryant Wright, who was elected to a second one-year term as president of the Southern Baptist Convention on Tuesday at the SBC's annual meeting in Phoenix. Wright received more than 95 percent of the nearly 2,400 votes cast. The today.

5. The Chattahoochee River might look benign, but be aware that East Cobb's eastern border can be a killer. We hear news almost daily about rescues just upriver, such as the four teens pulled from the river between Roswell and Johns Creek on Monday and the four fishermen saved near Norcross on Tuesday. And we hear too often of unsuccessful rescues, such as the 9-year-old girl who drowned in the river by Forsyth County last week. The bottom line: Don't mess around with the Hooch. If you go in the river, be careful, and be aware of dam releases that raise the water level suddenly.