Blog Topic: Breaking News

In the Loop: Athens Police Will Start Ticketing Scooter Scofflaws

By Ashlyn Webb | August 24, 2018 10:42am

Photo Credit: Savannah Cole

A group of Athens-Clarke County commissioners said on Thursday that the grace period is over for Bird scooter users who do not abide by state and local law.

State law bans people over 12 from driving any vehicle on the sidewalk in most areas. County ordinances prohibit parking on sidewalks and driveways, in front of alleys and driveways or in the middle of the street.

The Legislative Review Committee—chairman Jerry NeSmith, Allison Wright, Sharyn Dickerson and Mariah Parker—were scheduled to discuss motorized vehicles on public property such as golf carts, scooters, mopeds and segways. However, their attention quickly honed in on how to address the new dockless electric scooters in Athens.

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In the Loop: UGA Is Confiscating Those Newfangled Scooters

By Ashlyn Webb | August 23, 2018 3:31pm

Photo Credit: Savannah Cole

Last week, Bird Scooters began hatching around Athens and soaring through the University of Georgia as part of the company’s nationwide “University Pop-Up Tour.” But now, several Athens-Clarke County and University of Georgia officials are saying they’re becoming a big problem—so much so that university officials are confiscating the new scooters on campus.

According to university spokesman Greg Trevor and ACC public information officer Jeff Montgomery, Bird Scooters did not coordinate with the university or the county and do not have a business license.

Common concerns about the new scooters are riders ignoring helmet requirements, riding scooters on sidewalks, disobeying local and state traffic laws and leaving scooters abandoned on sidewalks, roads and other areas where could cause harm to bystanders.

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In the Loop: Oconee Republicans Rescind Media Restrictions

By Lee Becker | August 23, 2018 9:18am

Photo Credit: Lee Becker

Tammy Gilland, chairwoman of the Oconee County Republican Party.

The Oconee County Republican Party Executive Committee has placed severe restrictions on media coverage of its meetings, starting with the one on Thursday and running through the election in November.

Tammy Gilland, chair of the local party organization, said that media representatives are allowed to attend the next three party meetings but that they are not allowed to record the meetings in any way and not allowed to take any notes.

Gilland said the recording and note-taking prohibition “will apply to all media.”

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In the Loop: UGA Will Build a Monument to Slaves Formerly Buried Underneath Baldwin Hall

By Blake Aued | August 21, 2018 4:48pm

Photo Credit: Joshua L. Jones/file

Judge Steve Jones speaks at a service for the reinterment of slave remains slave remains found during construction at Baldwin Hall at Oconee Hill Cemetery in 2017. Jones was later named to a task force dedicated to further memorializing those individuals.

The University of Georgia will build a memorial at Baldwin Hall to the slaves whose remains were discovered buried near the building during construction in 2015.

A black-owned quarry in Oglethorpe County will donate 35,000 pounds of granite for the memorial, the university announced today. UGA Vice Provost for Diversity and Inclusion Michelle Cook is a member of the family—the Millie Long estate in Carlton—that owns the quarry.

“Our family is proud to contribute to this historic project, which will serve as permanent tribute to the memory of these individuals,” Cook said in a news release. “This project is particularly important to me because of my own family history in the Athens area, which dates back more than 150 years. It was an honor to work with the task force to design a memorial that will provide a tranquil, reflective place for our entire community.”

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Culture Briefs: Arena Football Team Will Move to Athens Next Year

By Blake Aued | August 21, 2018 12:33pm

If you're the type of person who suffers pigskin withdrawal after the Super Bowl, a cure is coming: The Peach State Cats, an arena football team, will play their home games in Athens next spring.

The Cats' home base will be Akins Ford Arena, aka the Classic Center's grand hall, which when equipped with temporary bleachers can seat 2,000 people. The arena also hosts the University of Georgia Ice Dawgs club hockey team and, until recently, the Classic City Rollergirls, who now play at Athens Arena on Atlanta Highway.

“We are looking forward to calling the Classic Center our home,” Cats owner Tim Freeman said in a news release. “Athens has had a rich football history with the success of the University of Georgia, Cedar Shoals and Clarke Central programs over the years. We are looking forward to serving the community.”

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In the Loop: Police Look for Man Who Attacked Students Downtown

By Ashlyn Webb | August 15, 2018 12:53pm

Athens-Clarke County Police are looking for a suspect involved in attacking two University of Georgia students downtown early Friday morning.

Two male students were walking home on the 300 block of East Washington Street after eating when an unknown man who was walking behind them began murmuring words that the students could not understand, according to a police report.

The man began murmuring louder, then began punching the victims, pushing them to the pavement.

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In the Loop: Athens Economic Development Director Leaves

By Blake Aued | August 9, 2018 1:34pm

Ryan Moore.

Athens-Clarke County's first and only director of economic development is leaving for a job in Brunswick effective Sept. 1.

Ryan Moore was hired to helm the newly created department in 2013, when it replaced the independent Economic Development Foundation.

The Savannah native was named sole finalist for president of the Glynn County Development Authority in June, according to The Brunswick News.

Michelle Nguyen will be the department's interim director while a national search is conducted, according to ACC Manager Blaine Williams.

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In the Loop: ACCPD: Officer Who Restrained Boy Was Justified

By Blake Aued | August 8, 2018 3:26pm

Photo Credit: screenshot via Ariel Collins/Facebook

An Athens-Clarke County police officer who restrained a distraught 10-year-old boy was justified in his use of force, according to internal affairs documents Flagpole obtained through an open records request.

An investigation by Lt. Richard Odum, head of the Office of Professional Standards, found that "no policy violations occured and the force used was reasonable."

The investigation started after the boy's cousin posted a video to Facebook of officers holding down the boy. The video went viral, and many viewers complained that the officers were being too rough.

The officers went to the Sartain Drive home on July 20 to look into an allegation that a man there had choked his ex-girlfriend. They arrested the man, which led to his son becoming extremely upset.

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In the Loop: Athens Native Kemp Wins GOP Nomination for Governor in Landslide

By Blake Aued | July 24, 2018 10:20pm

Photo Credit: Savannah Cole

Brian Kemp gives his victory speech at the downtown Athens Holiday Inn after winning the Republican nomination for governor Tuesday.

Secretary of State Brian Kemp completed a stunning comeback Tuesday to win the Republican nomination for governor in a runoff against Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle.

Although Cagle began the race as the heavy favorite because of his three successful statewide races and a big fundraising advantage, Kemp parlayed a secret recording that damaged Cagle, an endorsement from President Donald Trump and a rally Saturday with Vice President Mike Pence into what Kemp called a "clear and convincing victory."

In a race that revolved around big trucks, shotguns, chainsaws and who could take a more over-the-top stance against illegal immigration, that may have been the only understatement. Kemp trailed Cagle 39-26 in a five-man primary May 22, but won 69 percent of the vote to Cagle's 31 percent tonight, with 92 percent of precincts reporting. Kemp won 83 percent of the vote in Clarke County.

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In the Loop: National EMS Sold to Knoxville Ambulance Company

By Blake Aued | July 24, 2018 12:29pm

Photo Credit: Priority Ambulance

National EMS—the company local hospitals contract with to provide ambulance service in Clarke and Oconee counties—has been sold to Knoxville, TN-based Priority Ambulance, the companies announced last week.

Priority is much larger than Conyers-based National, with 2,600 employees, and consolidation is the name of the game in health care as all the players seek greater resources and leverage. Insurance companies keep merging. Smaller hospital chains seek refuge with bigger ones.

The sale comes at a time, though, when National EMS is under fire for what former EMTs and the activist group Athens for Everyone say are unacceptably slow response times. They’ve called for an independent audit and for National EMS to release its raw data. St. Mary’s and Piedmont Athens Regional, though, recently released a joint statement expressing satisfaction with National EMS.

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