Blog posts by Blake Aued, Editor
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Rep. Chuck Williams May Be Stepping Down, Too
Blog: In the Loop
Thursday, we reported that Gov. Nathan Deal had appointed state Rep. Regina Quick (R-Athens) a Superior Court judge. Now, Deal might be eyeing another Athens legislator.
Rep. Chuck Williams (R-Watkinsville), who owns a tree farm in south Oconee, is under consideration for a position on the Georgia Forestry Commission, Lee Becker reported last night at Oconee County Observations.
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Podcast: Bannon and Breitbart
Blog: In the Loop
This week, co-host Baynard Woods talks with Wil Hylton, whose New York Times Magazine story "Down the Breitbart Hole" came out just two days before Steve Bannon, booted from the White House, returned to the site. And then Bannon called Wil...
Democracy in Crisis is a weekly podcast hosted by Baynard Woods and Marc Steiner, produced and engineered by Calvin Perry for The Center for Emerging Media. Theme music by Ruby Fulton and the Rhymes with Orchestra.
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Regina Quick Named Superior Court Judge
Blog: In the Loop
Gov. Nathan Deal has named state Rep. Regina Quick (R-Athens) to the bench, announcing her appointment as a judge on the Western Circuit Superior Court this morning.
Quick will replace David Sweat, who retired as chief judge July 31. The other superior court judges—Eric Norris and Lawton Stephens—selected Judge Patrick Haggard as the new chief judge.
Besides representing District 117 in the state House, Quick is a solo practitioner, mainly in the area of family law. Superior court judges hear divorce and child custody cases, in addition to other civil lawsuits and felony criminal cases.
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Michael Thurmond: Stone Mountain Needs Context
Blog: In the Loop
Photo Credit: Jim Bowen
DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond weighed in on the Stone Mountain controversy in an interview the AJC published today.
He wouldn't endorse Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams' call to sandblast Confederate figures Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson off the mountain, but he did call for additional context regarding the "Lost Cause" mythology surrounding the 1915 carving, as well as black representation on the board that runs the park.
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Upcoming Charlottesville Solidarity Events in Athens
Blog: In the Loop
Local progressive groups have scheduled two events—one this evening and one tomorrow—related to the white supremacist riot in Charlottesville, VA last weekend.
A candelight vigil from 5:30–7 p.m. today at the Arch is billed as both in solidary with Charlottesville and a call to action to defend undocumented immigrants and oppose the repeal of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
Wednesday at 6 p.m., the Athens Anti-Discrimination Movement will host a "community conversation" about Charlottesville—including, specifically, whether Athens' Confederate memorial on Broad Street should remain standing.
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Georgia Republicans Can't Seem to Bring Themselves to Condemn White Supremacists
Blog: In the Loop
President Donald Trump has been roundly criticized for his milquetoast statement on the riot in Charlottesville, VA yesterday—during which white supremacist thugs killed a counterprotesterand injured dozens more, and two police officers died in a helicopter crash—blaming the violence on "many sides" rather than a particular group of bigots who happen to be his core supporters.
But he's not the only one who refuses to identify the people who committed the violence or their ideology. Several Republican Georgia congressmen have skirted the issue themselves, condemning violence and hatred in general terms while acting like they're things that just sort of ... happen, instead of things that people do.
Call them the alt-right, white supremacists, white nationalists, neo-Nazis. Call them whatever you want. But call them out.
Here's Sen. David Perdue, one of Trump's staunchest supporters:
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Mark Martin Announces Commission District 2 Candidacy
Blog: In the Loop
Photo Credit: courtesy of Mark Martin
Teacher Mark Martin will announce he's running for Commissioner Harry Sims' District 2 seat at 10 a.m. Saturday at City Hall.
Martin, a Cedar Shoals High School graduate and an eighth-grade math teacher at Hilsman Middle School, is the first to say he's running for the soon-to-be vacant seat.
Sims is stepping down next year to run for mayor after 26 years on the commission.
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Protestors Raise a Ruckus at Doug Collins Town Hall
Blog: In the Loop
Rep. Doug Collins (R-Gainesville)
Republican U.S. Rep. Doug Collins—who represents a sliver of North Athens—held a town hall meeting in his hometown of Gainesville yesterday, and although the district is one of the most conservative in the country, Democratic protesters were out in force.
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Morris Publishing Will Sell the Athens Banner-Herald
Blog: In the Loop
Photo Credit: Blake Aued/file
The News Building, a tiny portion of which is home to the Athens Banner-Herald.
Augusta-based Morris Publishing Group has reached an agreement to sell the Athens Banner-Herald to GateHouse Media, the company announced this morning.
The sale also includes Morris' two other Georgia newspapers, the flagship Augusta Chronicle and the Savannah Morning News, as well as the Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville and seven other papers.
GateHouse owns more than 500 small papers, mainly in the Midwest.
Morris did not disclose the terms of the sale, which is expected to close in October.
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A UGA Professor Wanted to Let Students Grade Themselves
Blog: In the Loop
Rick Watson.
A conservative website's post about a University of Georgia professor who planned to allow students to choose their own grades went viral over the past couple of days.
Campus Reform wrote Monday about business professor Rick Watson's "stress reduction policy," which would have allowed students who felt "unduly stressed" about their grade email Watson with a suggested grade, "and it will be so changed."
The policy was included in the syllabi for two of Watson's fall courses.
Watson is the Terry College of Business's J. Rex Fuqua Distinguished Chair for Internet Strategy and a regents professor, a position awarded to Georgia universities' most highly distinguished faculty members.
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The Alleged 40 Watt Burglar Has Died
Blog: In the Loop
Photo Credit: Clarke County Sheriff's Office
The man who was charged with burglarizing the 40 Watt Club last week died on Thursday, according to an obituary in the Athens Banner-Herald.
Michael Wilson Simpson, 35, died at his home in Athens, says the obituary, which does not give a cause of death.
Athens-Clarke County police confirmed he is the same man who was arrested last week in connection with the burglary at the 40 Watt.
Simpson, a musician and sound technician who formerly worked at the 40 Watt, stole dozens of microphones, amplifiers and other music equipment worth approximately $20,000 while the famed music venue was closed the morning of July 28, according to police.
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Commission Approves T-SPLOST List, Milledge Circle Historic District Study, Chase Street Reboot
Blog: In the Loop
The Athens-Clarke County Commission approved a $109.5 million list of transportation projects on Tuesday, unchanged from a work session last month.
That means completion of the Firefly Trail will be fully funded at $16.8 million, allowing it to be completed all the way to Winterville if voters approve a 1 percent sales tax for transportation in November.
T-SPLOST would also fund road repaving, extending the North Oconee River Greenway, new sidewalks and bike lanes, hybrid buses and bus stops, transit service up Highway 29, replacing an aging Tallassee Road bridge, and a roundabout at Milledge Avenue and Whitehall Road.
The commission also:
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Update: Police Recover Stolen Equipment, Make Arrest in 40 Watt Break-In
Blog: In the Loop
Photo Credit: Kevin Schlot/Flickr
Dozens of pieces of music equipment were stolen from the 40 Watt Club during a break-in this morning, according to Athens-Clarke County police.
The burglary happened sometime between the legendary downtown music venue's closing at 2:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., police said. Owner Barrie Buck reported it to police earlier today.
Officers noted damage around the the rear door and called in a forensic unit to collect evidence, said Sgt. Epifiano Rodriguez, ACCPD's public information officer.
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Russell Edwards Is Running for Commission District 7
Blog: In the Loop
Flagpole reported a couple of weeks ago that activist and business owner Russell Edwards was considering a run for mayor.
As it turns out, Edwards is passing on that race, but he will seek the Commission District 7 seat currently held by Diane Bell.
In a statement released this afternoon, Edwards said:
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Chase Street Road Diet Will Be Reversed—for Now
Blog: In the Loop
Photo Credit: Austin Steele/file
Removing a lane from Chase Street has caused traffic to back up at the Loop.
Athens-Clarke County officials said Wednesday they will restripe part of Chase Street between the Loop and Newton Bridge Road, returning it to four lanes.
But that may not be the last change to the street, according to ACC Transportation and Public Works Director Drew Raessler. A consultant hired to update the county's bike and pedestrian master plan will produce a Complete Streets study of the corridor in November.
"We can't simply go back and say 'that's it,' in my opinion," Raessler said.
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Police Identify Men Involved in Fatal Downtown Stabbing
Blog: In the Loop
Police identified this morning the two men who were involved in a fatal stabbing at a downtown apartment building Friday.
Robert E. Bryan, 21, stabbed his roommate, Wesley Ford, 24, during a dispute about Bryan moving out of their apartment at 909 Broad, according to Athens-Clarke County police.
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Kelly Girtz Is Finally Officially Running for Mayor, Almost
Blog: In the Loop
Photo Credit: Joshua L. Jones/file
Commissioner Kelly Girtz speaks at a rally to expand Medicaid in 2015.
Athens-Clarke County Commissioner Kelly Girtz has already told Flagpole, the Banner-Herald and WXAG 1470 AM, among others, that he plans to run for mayor in 2018, but he hasn't done much, you know, actual campaigning. That will change soon.
Girtz announced a campaign kickoff event this morning, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 9 from 10 a.m.–noon at the Lyndon House Arts Center.
"We can build a strong foundation that will support Athenians of every walk of life, one that will set the stage for great lives for generations ahead,” Girtz said in a news release. “A safer, healthier, more prosperous Athens is awaiting, and I can't wait to work with you to build it.”
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Kemp Hits Back at Abrams' Voter Suppression Jab
Blog: In the Loop
Secretary of State Brian Kemp's feud with House Minority Leader and Democratic candidate for governor Stacey Abrams continued this week after Abrams accused Kemp of voter suppression at an Athens campaign rally.
For Kemp, "voter suppression is a way of life," Abrams said Saturday, criticizing Georgia's aging electronic voting machines and photo-ID requirement.
Monday, Kemp released a statement in response to the AJC's summary of a Flagpole article:
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Democratic Candidate for Governor Stacey Abrams Talks Saving HOPE, Voter Suppression at Athens Rally
Blog: In the Loop
Photo Credit: Richard Hamm
House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams smiles during a speech at Pulaski Heights BBQ on Saturday.
In 2011, when Republicans voted to cut the HOPE Scholarship that, until then, had provided free college tuition to every Georgia high-school student with a B average, they had help from an unlikely place: Stacey Abrams, the highest-ranking Democrat in the state House.
Abrams made an agreement with Gov. Nathan Deal that, if he removed a provision tying HOPE to test scores and included low-interest loans for students who would no longer have their full tuition covered by HOPE, she’d back the bill. The move split her caucus, and could come back to bite her as she runs for governor. One of those who criticized her actions was state Rep. Stacey Evans (D-Smyrna), who’s now her opponent in the May 2018 primary.
“The argument that we should let the HOPE Scholarship die so we could use it as a political tool four years later is absurd, because students don’t have the luxury of a do-over, especially four-year-olds who’d lose access to pre-K,” said Abrams (D-Atlanta).
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Doug McKillip and Houston Gaines Are Running for State House
Blog: In the Loop
Two familiar faces in local politics will vie for an Athens seat in the state House of Representatives.
Houston Gaines—the grandson of the late Judge Joseph Gaines, Mayor Nancy Denson's campaign manager in 2014 and last year's UGA Student Government Association president—announced his candidacy this morning for the District 117 seat. Flagpole profiled him three years ago.
Gaines said in a news release that he is running as a "new, conservative voice."
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latest stories
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In the Loop | August 25, 2017 9:57am
Rep. Chuck Williams May Be Stepping Down, Too
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In the Loop | August 24, 2017 5:07pm
Podcast: Bannon and Breitbart
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In the Loop | August 24, 2017 11:54am
Regina Quick Named Superior Court Judge
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In the Loop | August 18, 2017 11:48am
Michael Thurmond: Stone Mountain Needs Context
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In the Loop | August 15, 2017 3:36pm
Upcoming Charlottesville Solidarity Events in Athens
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In the Loop | August 13, 2017 2:15pm
Georgia Republicans Can't Seem to Bring Themselves to Condemn White Supremacists
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In the Loop | August 11, 2017 12:52pm
Mark Martin Announces Commission District 2 Candidacy
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In the Loop | August 10, 2017 12:40pm
Protestors Raise a Ruckus at Doug Collins Town Hall
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In the Loop | August 9, 2017 10:17am
Morris Publishing Will Sell the Athens Banner-Herald
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In the Loop | August 8, 2017 1:25pm
A UGA Professor Wanted to Let Students Grade Themselves
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In the Loop | August 6, 2017 3:45pm
The Alleged 40 Watt Burglar Has Died
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In the Loop | August 3, 2017 1:04pm
Commission Approves T-SPLOST List, Milledge Circle Historic District Study, Chase Street Reboot
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In the Loop | August 2, 2017 11:07am
Update: Police Recover Stolen Equipment, Make Arrest in 40 Watt Break-In
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In the Loop | July 27, 2017 3:42pm
Russell Edwards Is Running for Commission District 7
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In the Loop | July 27, 2017 1:23pm
Chase Street Road Diet Will Be Reversed—for Now
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In the Loop | July 24, 2017 11:39am
Police Identify Men Involved in Fatal Downtown Stabbing
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In the Loop | July 20, 2017 12:56pm
Kelly Girtz Is Finally Officially Running for Mayor, Almost
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In the Loop | July 18, 2017 2:58pm
Kemp Hits Back at Abrams' Voter Suppression Jab
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In the Loop | July 15, 2017 4:26pm
Democratic Candidate for Governor Stacey Abrams Talks Saving HOPE, Voter Suppression at Athens Rally
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In the Loop | July 12, 2017 1:18pm
Doug McKillip and Houston Gaines Are Running for State House