News Nearby: Funeral for Atlanta Police Officer; Votes for Charles Darwin

Police department personnel from around the metro Atlanta area, including Cobb, were in attendance Friday at the funeral of Officer Richard Halford, the pilot of the Atlanta Police Department helicopter that crashed on Nov. 4 while pursuing a missing boy.

The accident, which remains under investigation, also claimed the life of Officer Shawn A. Smiley. His funeral is Saturday.

Cascade Patch has a photo retrospective of Friday's service.

Charles Darwin Gets Write-In Votes

Charles Darwin has been dead for more than 100 years, but he's still the Congressional choice for thousands of voters in Athens.

In Tuesday's election, 16,980 Athens votes went to Republican U.S. Rep. Paul Broun, a vehement opponent of evolutionary theory.

A vigorous write-in campaign by Athenians opposed to Broun produced around 4,100 votes for variations on the name Darwin, one of the original evolutionists, according to a write-in list released by elections officials. That's close to one Darwin vote for every four received by Broun, who was unopposed on the ballot.

Athens Patch has the evolutionary details.

Mayor Reed to Seek Second Term

At a breakfast Thursday morning hosted by the Midtown-based investment, development and advisory firm Carter, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed confirmed that he would run for re-election next year and would not be seeking a higher office in Washington D.C., where he he has made numerous trips to in recent months stumping for President Barack Obama.

Reed told the audience of around 150 at the Atlanta History Center that, “I’m going to be Mayor of the city of Atlanta until the last minute of the last day of the last hour of my term if I’m fortunate enough to be re-elected.”

More on the story from Midtown Patch.