Blog posts by Blake Aued, Editor
-
Athens State Reps, Local Churches Condemn Sheriff's Policy of Detaining Undocumented Immigrants
Blog: In the Loop
Photo Credit: House Photo Office
Gonzalez (center) and Wallace (right) at their swearing-in ceremony in November.
Newly elected state Reps. Deborah Gonzalez (D-Athens) and Jonathan Wallace (D-Watkinsville) issued a joint statement today condemning Clarke County Sheriff Ira Edward's policy of detaining inmates so they can be deported.
It came to light in December that the sheriff's office had quietly changed its policy in July and begun, at Immigration and Custom Enforcement's request, detaining inmates that ICE says are undocumented immigrants for up to 48 hours past the point when they'd otherwise be released so ICE can pick them up and deport them.
The policy change met with harsh criticism from progressive and immigrants' rights groups, to which Wallace and Gonzalez have added their voices:
-
Clarke, Oconee Schools Closed Again Thursday; UGA Delayed
Blog: In the Loop
Photo Credit: Athens-Clarke County Police Department
Public schools in Clarke and Oconee counties will be closed again Thursday, as any snow that melted and did not evaporate today will refreeze overnight, making roads treacherous.
Both the Georgia Department of Transportation and Athens-Clarke County government said crews have been working day and night to clear the roads, but warned people to stay home.
The ACC Police Department said officers had worked 84 wrecks today as of 3:45 p.m.
The Oconee County Sheriff's Office posted a similar, if more humorous, warning on Facebook:
-
Clarke and Oconee Schools, UGA Are Closed Wednesday
Blog: In the Loop
Everybody stay warm.
Both the Clarke and Oconee county school districts announced Tuesday night that schools will be closed Wednesday in anticipation of possible snow early this morning. The University of Georgia delayed opening before calling off classes entirely.
The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for central Georgia (including Athens) until 10 a.m. Wednesday. There is a 70 percent chance of precipitation, with a predicted low of 23 degrees. One to two inches of snow is possible.
"Plan on difficult travel conditions, including during the morning commute on Wednesday," the advisory says.
Gov. Nathan Deal has declared a state of emergency in 83 counties, including Clarke. Non-essential state employees are not expected to report to work on Wednesday.
-
Akademia Brewpub Strikes Deal With Distributors
Blog: Grub Notes
Photo Credit: courtesy of Akademia Brewing Co.
Akademia Brewing Co.'s beers will soon be available at on draft at other restaurants, as well as bars and package stores, in Athens and Atlanta after the local brewpub partnered with Georgia distribution company Modern Hops.
The first local locations where Akademia's beer will be sold are Catch-22 Gastropub, Blue Sky Bar and the growler shops at both Five Points Bottle Shop locations. By the end of the year, Akademia hopes to branch out throughout Athens and Oconee County, metro Atlanta, Augusta and Savannah, Akademia owner Matt Casey said a news release.
-
ACC Police: We Got the Natty Under Control
Blog: In the Loop
Win or lose, Athens-Clarke County police want you to know there will be no riots in the streets of Athens tonight after Georgia plays in the college football national championship game.
The department called a news conference earlier this afternoon to discuss plans for public safety downtown. The game is in Atlanta, but local police expect a crowd along the lines of a typical UGA home game—potentially tens of thousands of people, according to Sgt. Epifiano Rodriguez.
-
Chick-Fil-A Is Opening in Downtown Athens
Blog: Grub Notes
Hallowed be thy sandwich.
It's true: Everyone's favorite homophobic-yet-delicious fast-food chicken chain is coming to downtown Athens.
Rumors that Chick-Fil-A would move into the prime space at the corner of Broad Street and College Avenue most recently occupied by burger chain Five Guys have been confirmed by documents filed with the Athens-Clarke County Planning Department.
The building is in the downtown historic district, and Chick-Fil-A has applied for permission to make changes to the facade:
-
Beer's on the Line in the National Championship Game
Blog: Culture Briefs
A lot more is riding on Monday's college football championship than school pride.
As is often the case for politicians thirsty to show their love for the home team during key games, Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox and Athens Mayor Nancy Denson have placed a friendly wager on the outcome of the Georgia–Alabama game.
-
Koko Buni Is Back and More Athens Beer News
Blog: Grub Notes
Photo Credit: courtesy of Creature Comforts
One of Creature Comforts' most popular seasonals, Koko Buni, is back in cans and on draft as of Tuesday.
The well-balanced milk porter (6.5% ABV) brewed with toasted coconut, Ecuadorian cocoa nibs from Condor Chocolates and an Ethiopian coffee blend from 1000 Faces can be, like many of Creature Comforts' special releases, notoriously hard to find, so snatch some up if you see any.
-
Gun Group Will Push to Expand Campus Carry in 2018
Blog: In the Loop
While most Athens residents would prefer to talk about repealing campus carry, an influential gun-rights group will be lobbying state legislators to expand the law next year.
Buried in AJC political reporter Jim Galloway's Sunday column are these words from John Monroe, vice president of GeorgiaCarry.org:
-
Kent Kilpatrick Named ACC Leisure Services Director
Blog: In the Loop
Longtime Athens-Clarke County Leisure Services administrator Kent Kilpatrick has been named the department's new director.
Kilpatrick has been the interim director since Pam Reidy left in June 2016. ACC Manager Blaine Williams announced late Friday that he made the title permanent.
-
UGA Employee Arrested for Bringing Gun Into Dorm
Blog: In the Loop
A University of Georgia bus driver was arrested last week after leaving his handgun in a residence hall restroom, according to UGA police.
Brett Michael Davis, 30, stopped at Brumby Hall to use the men's room on the morning of Dec. 6, according to the Athens Banner-Herald. He took his gun out of his holster and placed it on the railing of a handicapped stall, then left without the gun.
Fifteen minutes later, he returned for the loaded weapon, but an administrator at the dorm had already seen it and called police, who were on the scene when he returned.
-
The Clarke County Jail Is Now Detaining Undocumented Immigrants for Deportation
Blog: In the Loop
Photo Credit: Nicole Adamson/file
Athens residents protest the Trump Administration's immigration policies in September.
More than a dozen inmates at the Clarke County Jail have been turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement since the Clarke County Sheriff's Office reversed its policy in July and started holding undocumented immigrants for ICE.
The Red & Black reported that the reversal came about because of "changes to the Department of Homeland Security’s policy."
“In light of these changes, and in keeping with our role and responsibility for community safety with respect to the detention of individuals with outstanding warrants, we now recognize ICE detainers that are supported by a warrant for arrest or warrant for removal or deportation,” Captain Hayden Hodges of the Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
At ICE's request, the sheriff's office will now detain inmates at the local jail for up to 48 hours after they're scheduled to be released. ICE has made 17 such requests and picked up 13 inmates, Hodges told Flagpole.
-
Driver Who Killed Athens Cyclist Sentenced to 25 Years
Blog: In the Loop
A Madison County woman was sentenced to 25 years in prison for hitting a killing a University of Georgia graduate student and another cyclist while driving intoxicated and distracted, according to the Athens Banner-Herald.
Judge Eric Norris sentenced Whitney Baker Howard, 32, to a total of 31 years. She will serve the last six on probation. Howard was convicted of two counts of felony vehicular homicide and several other charges in October.
Howard's SUV crossed the center line on Athena Drive while answering her phone is September 2016 and hit Ashley Block and Mitchell Enfinger, killing Block and seriously injuring Enfinger.
-
Need Legal Advice? Two Free Clinics Are This Week
Blog: In the Loop
Superior Court Judge Regina Quick has organized a free legal clinic Saturday.
The Athens Anti-Discrimination Movement will host a "Know Your Rights" workshop at 5:30 p.m. today at the Athens-Clarke County Library to educate people on how to file complaints under the city's anti-discrimination ordinance.
Speakers will include lawyers Nancee Tomilson on civil rights and John Beasly on workplace discrimination, and ACC Attorney Bill Berryman on the "bar admittance" ordinance, which bans bars from denying entry based on factors like race, gender identity or sexual orientation.
Saturday, newly sworn-in Superior Court Judge Regina Quick will host the first of several "Access to Justice Pop-Up Clinics" from 9–11 a.m. at the Rocksprings Community Center.
-
Nick Chubb's Fascinating Family History
Blog: In the Loop
Photo Credit: UGA Athletic Association
For all of Georgia running back Nick Chubb's accomplishments on the football field, what his ancestors did may be even more impressive.
The Atlanta news website Saporta Report ran a story Monday on the Chubb family history, and it is incredible.
In 1851, eight Chubb brothers, all freed slaves, moved from North Carolina to Madison, GA, about 30 miles south of Athens, then settled near Rome, founding an unincorporated community called Chubbtown.
-
Commission Considers Deal to Sell Parking Lot to Hotel Indigo
Blog: In the Loop
The Athens-Clarke County Commission will vote tonight on a deal to sell Strong Street and a city-owned parking lot between Strong and Dougherty Street to Hotel Indigo for a development that will include hotel rooms and office space.
The deal calls for ACC to sell the property to Athens Hospitality Holdings LLC, the company that owns Hotel Indigo, for $3 million. Athens Hospitality Holdings would then build a new five-story development on the property that would include 45 hotel rooms; office space for the ACC Economic Development Department; 8,000 square feet of meeting and event space; 7,000 square feet of coworking space where entrepreneurs and startups could rent desks, offices and conference rooms; a street-level restaurant; a rooftop bar and 60 underground parking spots. Strong Street would be closed and converted into a courtyard.
-
Tenants Flock Online to Complain About Athens' Latest Luxury Student Housing Development
Blog: In the Loop
Dozens of tenants—presumably, mostly University of Georgia students—have left reviews online saying were taken for marks when they signed leases at The Mark, the newest of several luxury student housing developments downtown.
The Mark advertises itself as "high-end living" with "luxurious amenities"—including a golf simulator, tanning beds, game room, rooftop pool and self-serve Starbucks—and "well-appointed with luxury finishes unrivaled by other student accomodations in Athens," like granite countertops and stainless-steel appliances.
But The Mark has received just 1.6 stars out of five on Google—far lower than nearby complexes like 909 Broad (3.7), the Flats at Carr's Hill (3.9), Uncommon Athens (4.7) or The Standard (3.4), which was built by the same company as The Mark, Athens-based Landmark Properties, but is now under different ownership.
-
RIP Former Commissioner Charles Carter
Blog: In the Loop
Photo Credit: Lord & Stephens
Former ACC commissioner Charles Carter died on Thursday morning at the age of 91.
The Winterville native, a cattle farmer, represented District 1 in rural eastern Clarke County from unification in 1991 until his retirement in 2006.
“He was a man of few words, so when he spoke, everyone listened,” said Sharyn Dickerson, who worked for ACC when he was a commissioner and now represents District 1.
-
UPDATE: Democrats Score Stunning Wins in Athens State House Elections; T-SPLOST Approved
Blog: In the Loop
Photo Credit: Nicole Adamson
Jonathan Wallace supporters celebrate after learning he won the state House District 119 race.
Democrats won shocking victories in two special elections for Athens-area state House seats on Tuesday, winning the conservative-leaning seats in spite of well-funded opposition from Republicans.
In District 117, Deborah Gonzalez overcame Republican opponent Houston Gaines' $200,000 war chest and much-publicized support from Democratic Athens-Clarke County Mayor Nancy Denson.
As of 9 p.m., Gonzalez led Gaines 53 percent to 47 percent, with some Clarke County precincts left to be counted, but all the votes in staunchly Republican Oconee, Jackson and Barrow counties have been counted, leaving Gaines no chance to catch up.
Likewise, with all Oconee precincts reporting, Jonathan Wallace avoided a runoff by winning 56percent of the vote in District 119, which historically leans even further to the right than 117. (Both districts were specifically drawn to elect Republicans.)
-
Several Athens Voting Locations Have Changed
Blog: In the Loop
Athens voters go to the polls Tuesday to decide on a 1 percent sales tax for transportation and (for some) to elect a new state representative.
Be aware that a few polling places have changed:
Page 15 of 76, showing 20 records out of 1503 total, starting on record 281, ending on 300
latest stories
-
In the Loop | January 19, 2018 12:24pm
Athens State Reps, Local Churches Condemn Sheriff's Policy of Detaining Undocumented Immigrants
-
In the Loop | January 17, 2018 9:19pm
Clarke, Oconee Schools Closed Again Thursday; UGA Delayed
-
In the Loop | January 17, 2018 10:17am
Clarke and Oconee Schools, UGA Are Closed Wednesday
-
Grub Notes | January 15, 2018 2:43pm
Akademia Brewpub Strikes Deal With Distributors
-
In the Loop | January 8, 2018 3:09pm
ACC Police: We Got the Natty Under Control
-
Grub Notes | January 5, 2018 6:05pm
Chick-Fil-A Is Opening in Downtown Athens
-
Culture Briefs | January 4, 2018 2:08pm
Beer's on the Line in the National Championship Game
-
Grub Notes | December 21, 2017 11:44am
Koko Buni Is Back and More Athens Beer News
-
In the Loop | December 20, 2017 4:04pm
Gun Group Will Push to Expand Campus Carry in 2018
-
In the Loop | December 18, 2017 2:14pm
Kent Kilpatrick Named ACC Leisure Services Director
-
In the Loop | December 13, 2017 12:14pm
UGA Employee Arrested for Bringing Gun Into Dorm
-
In the Loop | December 5, 2017 3:38pm
The Clarke County Jail Is Now Detaining Undocumented Immigrants for Deportation
-
In the Loop | November 30, 2017 3:33pm
Driver Who Killed Athens Cyclist Sentenced to 25 Years
-
In the Loop | November 29, 2017 2:06pm
Need Legal Advice? Two Free Clinics Are This Week
-
In the Loop | November 28, 2017 4:23pm
Nick Chubb's Fascinating Family History
-
In the Loop | November 22, 2017 9:28am
Commission Considers Deal to Sell Parking Lot to Hotel Indigo
-
In the Loop | November 20, 2017 11:25am
Tenants Flock Online to Complain About Athens' Latest Luxury Student Housing Development
-
In the Loop | November 17, 2017 4:46pm
RIP Former Commissioner Charles Carter
-
In the Loop | November 7, 2017 11:25pm
UPDATE: Democrats Score Stunning Wins in Athens State House Elections; T-SPLOST Approved
-
In the Loop | November 6, 2017 1:26pm
Several Athens Voting Locations Have Changed