State welfare recipients are one step closer to having to undergo drug testing before they receive state money, since the Georgia Senate passed the Social Responsibility and Accountability Act on Wednesday. However, the bill still needs to go to the state House of Representatives for approval before it becomes law. Sponsored by Sen. John Albers (R-Roswell), the legislation requires recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) to undergo drug screening to determine welfare eligibility. “True compassion is doing what’s best for people, not what’s easiest,” said Albers. “This is …

Today's Patch Nation story comes from neighboring Marietta Patch. Lockheed Martin’s F-35 program continues to build on its 2011 flight test success. For 2012, the baseline F-35 System Development and Demonstration flight test plan calls for 1,001 test flights and 7,873 test points. However, growth in test point requirements throughout the year is anticipated. As of Feb. 20, the F-35 Lightning II 5th Generation multirole fighter had conducted 114 flight tests and achieved 773 test points. Lockheed Martin has delivered three F-35s to the Department of Defense this year to date. Since Jan. 1, …

Today's Patch Nation story is courtesy of Lilburn-Mountain Park Patch. Rep. B.J. Pak of Lilburn on Tuesday filed a bill that would make it a crime not to report missing children quickly, The Associated Press reported. If passed, Caylee Anthony's Law would "require a parent or guardian to report the disappearance or death of a child in a timely manner," Pak's office said in a statement. Last year, Caylee's mother, Casey Anthony, was acquitted on murder charges in the 2-year-old's death. In 2008, Caylee hadn't been seen for a month before Casey Anthony's mother reported her missing. Her remains…

There are more than 800 communities covered by Patch. In our daily Patch Nation feature, we share interesting news from other towns across the country. Today's story comes from Burlington, MA Patch. A cancer patient and his girlfriend of 30 years tied the knot during a special wedding ceremony last Friday in the Oncology Department of a Massachussetts hospital, reported Burlington Patch. Wendell Scraders, 60, a resident of Bermuda who has esophageal cancer, married girlfriend Carol Anne Perinchie, 52, as nurses, doctors and other members of the hospital staff looked on, reported Burlington …

There are more than 800 communities covered by Patch. In our daily Patch Nation feature, we share interesting news from other towns across the country. Today's story comes from fellow Georgia Patch, Lilburn-Mountain Park Patch. As quickly as he darted out of his plantation-style house at the Yellow River Game Ranch in Lilburn, you'd like to think General Beauregard Lee (Georgia's famed groundhog) didn't have enough time to tell whether or not there was a shadow. But apparently, "Georgia's Official Weather Prognosticator" did not see his shadow during his annual Groundhog Day appearance …

There are more than 800 communities covered by Patch. In our new daily Patch Nation feature, we'll share interesting news from other towns across the country. Ladies, imagine a tall, adventurous, well-built man washes ashore at your feet on the white sands of the Florida Gulf. Now, imagine he's made of fiberglass. A mysterious giant Lego Man who appeared on Siesta Key Beach on Oct. 25 and subsequently captivated the world's attention has finally found a home with Sarasota Chalk Festival founder Denise Kowal, Sarasota Patch reported. Over the course of the past few months, the world has …