From the Atlanta Journal, an article entitled North Georgia Bankruptcy Filings Surge  by Margaret Newkirk.
 

Chapter 11 filings are up between 50 percent and 70 percent over all of last year, depending on how they’re counted.   They’re also up significantly from any of the past 20 years —- and there are almost 10 weeks left in 2008. As of Friday, 283 companies and their affiliates had filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors in Georgia’s Northern District, which has offices in Atlanta, Gainesville, Newnan and Rome….

The list of 2008 Chapter 11 cases includes a number of related filings. But even without those included, it dwarfs previous years.Last year, 161 companies and affiliates filed for Chapter 11 protection. The worst year before was in 2002, when 185 companies filed amid the economic aftermath of the World Trade Center attacks….