First Slice 10/29/13: Falcons stadium costs already swell to $1.2 billion before construction begins

• GWCCA
• "Do we insert the extra stadium cash here?"

Atlanta Falcons officials announced that its new $1-billion sports facility will now actually cost 20 percent more than initially expected.

Gov. Nathan Deal and state Attorney General Sam Olens announced yesterday that Seth Waxman of WilmerHale as well as Chris Landau and Craig Primis of Kirkland & Ellis LLP will lead the legal squad responsible for defending Georgia against Florida's latest 'water wars' lawsuit.

Thousands of Georgian students who lost their HOPE scholarships following tougher requirements imposed two years ago have not returned to school.

DeKalb's "turf war" among warring cities continues! "Instead of fighting the county, the cities are fighting each other," Clark Atlanta University professor William Boone told the AJC. "There is only so much developed land in DeKalb to go around."

House of Prayer pastor Arthur Allen, who served two years behind bars for whipping children at his church with belts and doling out other forms of corporal punishment, died in a northwest Atlanta house fire. Last year, authorities launched a new investigation into addition abuse allegations at the church.

The Georgia Department of Revenue yesterday released its guidelines for same-sex couples who want to file state tax returns. And they look quite similar to the rules in place before the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling this summer threw out much of the Defense of Marriage Act. The press release reads: "Therefore, persons in a same sex marriage who can now file a Federal return using married filing jointly or married filing separately status must continue to file Georgia returns using the single filing status or, if qualified, head of household filing status."

A federal judge yesterday struck down portions of Texas' abortion laws, which many had considered to be the most restrictive measures in the country.