In the Loop
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Clearing Begins for Epps Bridge Centre Expansion
Chris Greer, an instructor of professional technology at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, shot this image of a new road off the Oconee Connector using a drone.
Simpson Trucking and Grading of Gaineville already has completed some of the clearing and grubbing work for Parkway Boulevard Extension, which will serve as a major entranceway for an expanded Epps Bridge Centre.
The company also is putting in temporary erosion control measures, according to Oconee County Public Works Director Emil Beshara, and plans to begin moving direct in the next couple of weeks.
The construction work is largely out of the view of the public because of topography and because access is cut off to the beginning of the roadway extension just northwest of Kohl’s department store off Epps Bridge Parkway.
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Athens Power Rankings for the Week of Sept. 19
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.
Photo Credit: Athens Convention and Visitors Bureau
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Mayor Denson Delays Discrimination Vote Again—Maybe Forever
Photo Credit: Joshua L. Jones/file
Mayor Nancy Denson listens as Mokah Jasmine Johnson speaks about a local anti-discrimination ordinance at the ACC commission's Aug. 16 meeting.
Mayor Nancy Denson has taken a proposed anti-discrimination ordinance off the Athens-Clarke County Commission’s agenda for the second straight month, and may never put it back on.
“I’m not sure what to do with it,” Denson said. “I haven’t decided when or if it’s coming back yet.”
The ordinance would require bars to post dress codes and private events at the door, and bars that are found to use dress codes or fake private events to keep out certain customers could have their alcohol licenses suspended or revoked.
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Top Dem Tells Oconee Activists to Focus on Turnout
Photo Credit: Lee Becker
House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams (D-Atlanta) gave a rousing calls to action to a gathering of Oconee County Democrats on Sunday afternoon, telling them to get people of all races registered and to get people of all races out to vote starting next month.
“Georgia is already blue,” Abrams said at the outset.
“There are already enough of us,” according to Abrams. “There are enough Democrats in Georgia to win every election from now on.”
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Driver Accused of Killing Cyclist Had Record of DUI Charges
The woman who police say killed one cyclist and severely injured another while driving impaired Monday was charged with two other DUIs in the months leading up to the crash, according to the Athens Banner-Herald.
Whitney Baker Howard, 31, was high on prescription drugs and using her phone when her Jeep swerved into the other lane on Athena Drive and hit three cyclists, Ashley Block, Mitchell Enfinger and Brian Molloy. Block was killed, Enfinger remains hospitalized, and Molloy suffered minor injuries.
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Commercial Growth Doesn't Pay Off for Oconee
Oconee County has experienced only modest growth in the revenue it receives from sales tax in the last decade and a half, even with significant expansion of its commercial inventory, changes in the county’s alcohol laws and the opening of new restaurants.
The growth in sales tax revenue in Oconee County, in fact, is not so different from the growth experienced by Athens-Clarke County, which has lost some retail outlets to Oconee County and lost its exclusivity in selling alcohol in restaurants.
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Georgia Group Launches Ad Aimed at Stopping 'State School Takeover'
A Georgia group has launched its first TV ad educating voters about a November education referendum’s ballot language, which it calls “deceptive.”
Amendment 1, also known as the Opportunity School District, is an initiative championed by Gov. Nathan Deal that would allow the governor's appointee to take over public schools it deems to be “failing.” Critics say the plan is unworkable and would siphon money and power away from locally run public schools—perhaps to private corporations.
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One Cyclist Killed, Another Injured by Alleged DUI Driver
A possibly impaired driver killed one cyclist and severely injured another on Athena Drive in northeastern Clarke County Monday evening, Tim Bryant of WGAU 1340 AM reported this morning.
Ashley Block, a 25-year-old University of Georgia PhD student from Minneapolis, has been indentified as the cyclist who was killed. The name of the injured cyclist has not been released. Bryant described him as "critically injured," and he was taken to Athens Regional Medical Center for treatment.
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