ACWORTH, Ga. -- The Acworth Parks and Recreation Department will hold a Red Cross Blood Drive from 12 noon until 5 p.m. this Friday, Aug. 26.

The Red Cross supplies blood to more than 120 hospitals and health care facilities throughout Georgia. All current eligible and new donors are strongly encouraged to schedule an appointment to donate blood; walk-ins are also welcome.

Most healthy people who are at least 17 years old and weigh more than 110 pounds are eligible to donate every 56 days. Every donor has the potential to save up to three lives.

The blood drive will take place at the Acworth Beach House in Cauble Park (2293 Beach Street).

For more information or to schedule an appointment to give blood, contact Jeff Chase with Acworth Parks and Recreation at 770-917-1234 or jchase@acworth.org.

ATLANTA -- The Georgia Board of Regents is raising health insurance premiums for employees and cutting coverage for about 700 workers.

The board voted Tuesday to hike rates by 5.2 percent. The university system will save $30 million by limiting access to certain doctors and hospitals.

University system workers, like all state employees, received no pay increase this year.

The board also voted to cut insurance for about 700 part-time employees by raising the minimum number of hours they have to work to qualify for coverage from 20 to 30 per week. The change will save about $1.5 million.

This is the first time since 2008 that insurance premiums have increased.

DECATUR, Ga. -- An analysis of autopsies by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation has found a 10 percent increase in the number of prescription overdose deaths in 2010 compared to 2009.

The analysis shows that the number of drug overdose deaths involving only prescription drugs jumped from 508 in 2009 to 560 in 2010. It also showed that 68 other deaths were attributed to a combination of prescription and illicit drugs.

In all, there were 729 drug overdose deaths in 2010. Most of those deaths were found to be accidental, but about nine percent were determined to be suicides.

The analysis of the GBI Medical Examiner's drug overdose autopsies involves 152 counties. The study does not include several Metro Atlanta counties, including Fulton, Cobb, Gwinnett and DeKalb.