Authors | Flagpole Magazine | Athens, GA News, Music, Arts, Restaurants

Blog posts by Blake Aued, Editor

Paul Broun Is Under Investigation for... Something

Blog: In the Loop

Various news outlets are reporting that U.S. Rep. Paul Broun (R-Athens) is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee Office of Congressional Ethics.

By Blake Aued | September 16, 2014
Taco Stand Locations, Ranked

Blog: In the Loop

Photo Credit: Jason Thrasher via Taco Stand's Facebook page.

5. Atlanta (RIP)

4. Watkinsville (RIP)

3. Eastside

2. Downtown

1. Milledge

Update: Apparently there was an Atlanta Taco Stand. You learn something new every day.

@FlagpoleMag As the world's foremost expert, I can say old Eastside location was the best. Atlanta location (RIP) will always be the worst.
— John Frierson (@TheFrierson) September 16, 2014

By Blake Aued | September 16, 2014
Athens Power Rankings for the Week of Sept. 15

Blog: In the Loop

Photo Credit: John Kelley

Welcome to Athens Power Rankings. In the spirit of sports rating systems, through painstaking analysis, we rank the top movers and shakers in the Classic City each week. Who's hot? Who's not? Find out below.

By Blake Aued | September 15, 2014
Jack Lumpkin Is Retiring as ACC Police Chief

Blog: In the Loop

Athens-Clarke County Police Chief Jack Lumpkin will retire by Jan. 18, he announced today.

But Lumpkin's career may not be over. He's one of the three finalists for the open police chief's position in Savannah, the Morning News reported.

Lumpkin explained his decision as a financial one: He has two grandchildren and wants to be able to send them to college. By retiring in Athens, he can draw his pension as well as a salary from another community.

His full statement is below:

By Blake Aued | September 12, 2014
Atlanta Cabbies Are the Latest to Sue Uber

Blog: In the Loop

Atlanta cab drivers are the latest to take the startup ride-sharing service Uber to court.According to Creative Loafing:

By Blake Aued | September 11, 2014
Athens Parking Decks, Ranked

Blog: In the Loop

12. Tate Center

11. Classic Center

10. Intramural fields

9. Georgia Center

8. East Campus

By Blake Aued | September 10, 2014
The Episcopal Church Is Tearing Down a Lumpkin Street House

Blog: In the Loop

View Larger Map

The Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta filed for a permit Thursday to tear down its University of Georgia student center—known as the Hodgson House—at 980 South Lumpkin Street.

The diocese wants to build a new, larger student center with additional parking and dorm rooms, said Robert Salamone, the rector at Emanuel Episcopal Church.

By Blake Aued | September 5, 2014
Watch Stephen Colbert Skewer Athens Congressional Candidate Jody Hice

Blog: In the Loop

In Athens, voters are used to being embarrassed by their current congressman, Paul Broun. Now our future congressman, Jody Hice, is drawing national ridicule.

Stephen Colbert devoted a segment to Hice last night, noting that he has compared being gay to alcoholism, said women can enter politics "if they're within the authority of their husband," and believes Muslims don't deserve First Amendment rights.

"Muslims don't deserve freedom of speech," Colbert joshed. "They'd just use it to offend women and gay people, and Jody Hice has already got that covered."

By Blake Aued | September 5, 2014
Commission Approves Free Parking, Student Housing Easement

Blog: In the Loop

The West Washington Street parking deck, via the Athens Cultural Affairs Commission.

Nothing major happened at the Athens-Clarke County Commission meeting Tuesday, Sept. 2, but here are a few newsworthy tidbits.

The commission approved free parking for citizens attending agenda-setting and voting meetings at City Hall; you'll be able to get a voucher good at either the College Avenue or West Washington Street decks. Commissioners also expressed an interest in extending the policy to committee meetings and work sessions. Athens for Everyone's Tim Denson challenged the mayor and commissioners to ride Athens Transit to their Oct. 7 meeting and urged them to offer free bus rides to meeting attendees as well.

By Blake Aued | September 4, 2014
Southern Brewing Co. Broke Ground Today

Blog: Grub Notes

Southern Brewing Co.'s construction site. Photo courtesy of Athens-Clarke County.

Another Athens brewery, Southern Brewing Co., broke ground this morning and is scheduled to open in May 2015.

By Blake Aued | September 3, 2014
Athens Power Rankings for the Week of Sept. 1

Blog: In the Loop

Photo Credit: Sean Taylor / UGA Athletic Association

Welcome to Athens Power Rankings. In the spirit of sports rating systems, through painstaking analysis, we rank the top movers and shakers in the Classic City each week. Who's hot? Who's not? Find out below.

By Blake Aued | September 2, 2014
Jason Carter Meets Herschel Walker, Goes to Avid

Blog: In the Loop

State Sen. Jason Carter (D-Decatur) spent his Saturday campaigning for governor in Athens with 100,000 Georgia fans—and potential registered voters.

By Blake Aued | September 2, 2014
Foundry Park Inn Is Becoming Graduate Athens

Blog: In the Loop

The Foundry Park Inn & Spa is being renovated into a boutique hotel and will be rechristened Graduate Athens in October, Chicago-based hospitality and real estate company AJ Capital Partners, which bought the property earlier this year, announced Thursday.

Music venue The Melting Point is being renamed the Foundry, and the Hoyt House has been converted into four suites.

By Blake Aued | August 29, 2014
Giant New Space Kroger Opens in Athens

Blog: In the Loop

The Space Kroger flies over New York on its way to land near Athens Tech.

East Athens residents, rejoice! No longer will you face the choice of the Madison County Ingles, whatever they're calling the old Piggly-Wiggly on North Avenue this week and schlepping across town to Publix or Broken Kroger.

Now you have your very own Kroger—Space Kroger. It opened off Highway 29 on Wednesday, and it's THE SIZE OF ONE WALMART! Wave to the Hubble before you walk in.

Seriously, it's 123,000 square feet, making it the biggest Kroger in Georgia. Not only does it sell food, but also gas, clothes and even jewelry. The shopping center also boasts a Great Clips, Posh Nails, Shane’s Rib Shack, Jersey Mikes, Pizza Hut, Panda China and AT&T. Sounds uniquely Athens.

By Blake Aued | August 28, 2014
Watch Video of Gov. Nathan Deal Telling UGA Students He Presumes They're Undocumented

Blog: In the Loop

From left, Kevin Ruiz, Carver Goodhue, Preethi Raja and Lizbeth Miranda. Photo via Sarah Young/Twitter

Last night, Flagpole broke news about four University of Georgia students who challenged Gov. Nathan Deal at a College Republicans meeting about the state ban on undocumented students attending UGA. We obtained video of the confrontation this morning.

By Blake Aued | August 27, 2014
Gov. Nathan Deal Presumes UGA Immigration Activists Are Undocumented

Blog: In the Loop

Photo Credit: Blake Aued

Gov. Nathan Deal speaks at UGA earlier this year.

Four University of Georgia student activists confronted Gov. Nathan Deal during a speech on campus Tuesday night over the state Board of Regents policy prohibiting undocumented immigrants from attending UGA.

By Blake Aued | August 26, 2014
David Perdue: Don't Worry About the Unemployment Rate

Blog: In the Loop

A video of a journalist being forcibly removed from a Republican campaign event in Dawsonville has drawn a lot of attention lately. Lost in the shuffle, according to Democrat Michelle Nunn's Senate campaign, were her opponent David Perdue's comment on the unemployment rate at the 37-minute mark.

Team Nunn is circulating a Huffington Post article about the event that quotes Perdue as saying he's not concerned about Georgia's 7.8 percent unemployment rate, which is the second highest of any state and well above the 6.2 percent national average.

By Blake Aued | August 26, 2014
Legendary UGA Tennis Coach Dan Magill Dies

Blog: In the Loop

Photo Credit: Screenshot via uga.edu

Dan Magill, the longtime UGA tennis coach, died overnight at the age of 93 after several years of declining health.

Magill was the first baby ever born at Athens Regional Medical Center, was a bat boy for the UGA baseball team in grade school and managed the tennis courts as a teenager. By the 1950s, he was simultaneously sports information director, head of the Bulldog Club and men's tennis coach, a post he intended to hold for just a year but stuck with for 34.

By Blake Aued | August 24, 2014
Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens Never Meant That Nonsense About Obstructing Obamacare

Blog: In the Loop

State Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens said last year that he's doing "everything in our power to be an obstructionist" of "Obamacare."

Now, with the Affordable Care Act nearly fully implemented and benefiting millions of voters, Hudgens is backing off, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

By Blake Aued | August 22, 2014
Here Are Three People ACC Police Shot and Killed

Blog: In the Loop

With all the talk about Ferguson, MO, lately, here is everyone whom Athens-Clarke County police shot and killed in the past 20 years (or as far back as the Internet goes). While the cases led to varying degrees of tension in the community, in all three cases, the officer(s) involved were cleared of wrongdoing. Only one of the shooting victims was unarmed.

In 1995, Edward Wright, 20, who was black, was running naked around East Athens early one morning. Two white officers approached him. One, Sean Potter, told him to stop, then pepper-sprayed him when he didn't. Wright tackled and punched Potter. The other officer, Pat Mercardante, hit him with a baton. Wright got up, and Potter told him to get back on the ground. Wright yelled, "Kill me! Kill me!" and lunged at Potter again. Potter shot him once in the stomach, and Wright kept coming. Potter then shot Wright five more times before Wright knocked his gun loose.

By Blake Aued | August 20, 2014