In the Loop
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Gov. Deal Says He'll Veto 'Religious Liberty' Bill
Gov. Nathan Deal announced today that he will veto a controversial “religious liberty” bill that supporters say would protect gay-marriage opponents from government reprisal but critics say would legalize discrimination against the LGBT community.
In addition to opposition from civil rights groups, many corporations had threatened to pull their business out of Georgia. Hollywood studios have said they’d stop filming movies and TV shows like Guardians of the Galaxy 2 and “The Walking Dead” here, and the bill put Atlanta’s bid for a Super Bowl at risk.
Deal said the bill goes too far. Here’s a statement from his office:
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Athens Startup Week Starts Up Today
Local startups and entrepreneurs will have a free chance to network and learn how to expand their businesses during the first-ever five-day Athens Startup Week today through Friday, Apr. 1.
The week is dedicated to inspiring local business and strengthen the already-existing entrepreneurial community.
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Cedar Shoals Principal Tony Price Denies Mishandling Sexual Assault
Photo Credit: Joshua L. Jones/file
Tony Price—the Cedar Shoals High School principal who was suspended and faces firing after an alleged sexual assault at the school in January—is speaking out about the incident and says central office administrators and Clarke County School District police, not Price, are responsible for mishandling it.
Since the alleged sexual assault was made public in February, CCSD administrators have said that Price did not follow the district’s code of conduct by failing to suspend the three students who are accused of raping a classmate in a stairwell at the school.
Now, Price has told his side of the story, and it differs on several key points from the district's—including who was ultimately responsible for students' safety and whether Price could have disciplined the accused students before the police investigation took its course.
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Republican Senator Blocks Rape Kit Testing Bill
State Sen. Renee Unterman (R-Buford).
In the last days of Georgia’s legislative session, Sen. Renee Unterman (R-Buford) is blockading legislation that could help prevent the backlog of Georgia rape kits from building up again.
The Pursuing Justice for Rape Victims Act (House Bill 827) is a bipartisan effort that would require physical evidence in sexual assault cases to be sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation within 30 days of collection. Authored by Rep. Scott Holcomb (D-Atlanta) and co-sponsored by Rep. Regina Quick (R-Athens), the bill passed the House by a 160–0 vote in February.
Unterman chairs the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, which would be holding hearings on the bill—except Unterman claims that the rape kit backlog has been addressed, and she does not seem concerned about preventing a recurrence.
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UGA Law Professor: The 'Campus Carry' Bill Will Chill Academic Freedom
Sonja West.
The “campus carry” bill allowing guns on most parts of the University of Georgia campus—including classrooms and professors’ offices—will have a chilling effect on academic freedom and debate, UGA law professor Sonja West argues in an article for the website Slate posted today.
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CCSD Sets Forum on School Discipline
The Clarke County Board of Education will host a public forum at 6 p.m. Thursday, Apr. 7 in the H.T. Edwards building on discipline and attendance issues raised by teachers and parents in the wake of the district’s mishandling of an alleged sexual assault at Cedar Shoals High School.
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Athens Power Rankings for the Week of Mar. 21
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.
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Atlanta's Bike Czar Is Coming to Athens
Photo Credit: Atlanta Bike Coalition
Local transportation group Complete Streets Athens is bringing Atlanta’s chief bicycle officer, Becky Katz, to town today to show us how it’s done.
Katz, formerly a project manager at greenspace advocacy group Park Pride, was appointed by Mayor Kasim Reed in October to fill the newly created position. Her job is to plan bike projects, gather public input, write grant applications, get a bike-share program up and running and coordinate with other organizations, according to Creative Loafing. There is no equivalent position in the Athens-Clarke County government.
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