Blog Topic: Breaking News

In the Loop: ACC Police Restrain 'Distraught' Boy After Dad Arrested

By Blake Aued | July 23, 2018 8:38pm

Photo Credit: screenshot via Ariel Collins/Facebook

Two Athens-Clarke County police officers are under investigation after they restrained a young boy on the ground who was upset that his father had been arrested on domestic violence charges.

Police went to a Sartain Drive home at about 6:30 p.m. Friday to arrest a man after his ex-girlfriend complained that he had choked her when she tried to leave his house earlier that day.

While the father was being arrested, a boy police identified as his son became what ACCPD spokesman Epifanio Rodriguez described as "extremely emotionally distraught."

On Sunday, a woman who said she is the boy's cousin posted a video on Facebook of two officers holding the boy—described as 10 by police and 7 or 9 by relatives—on the ground with his hands behind his back. The video quickly went viral, with 32,000 shares and nearly 1 million views as of tonight.

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In the Loop: Trump Endorses Kemp for Georgia Governor

By Blake Aued | July 18, 2018 5:08pm

Brian Kemp.

I guess we can declare a winner in the War of Who's Trumpiest.

The orange one himself, President Donald Trump, weighed in on the Republican primary runoff for Georgia governor this afternoon, using his preferred mode of communication to express his preference for Secretary of State Brian Kemp over Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle.

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In the Loop: Deal Endorses Cagle for Governor in GOP Runoff

By Blake Aued | July 16, 2018 3:26pm

Gov. Nathan Deal endorsed Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle in the Republican runoff for governor today over Secretary of State Brian Kemp.

The endorsement could help stop Kemp's momentum in the weeks leading up to the July 24 runoff. Cagle finished first out of five candidates with 39 percent of the vote on May 22, with Kemp trailing at 26 percent. Since then, though, Kemp has surged. A recent Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll gave Kemp a slight lead, 44 percent to 41 percent.

As his second term winds down, Deal remains popular, with an 85 percent approval rating among Republican voters—even higher than President Donald Trump.

The endorsement comes as little surprise, given that Deal and Cagle are both from Gainesville and have worked closely together over the past eight years to pass Deal's agenda in the state Senate.

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In the Loop: Nine Athens Transit Bus Routes Have Changed

By Blake Aued | July 3, 2018 12:54pm

Photo Credit: Joshua L. Jones/file

Changes to nine Athens Transit routes—5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 22, 25, 26 and 27—took effect on Sunday.

The changes mainly affect service to the Eastside, the Westside and the University of Georgia campus. Buses that run along Sanford Drive have been rerouted during construction, service has been added to Whitehead Road, and several Eastside bus routes have been revamped to create a circulator between Walmart and campus:

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In the Loop: New Law: Put Down Your Phone While Driving

By Blake Aued | July 3, 2018 11:17am

Photo Credit: Airman Sadie Colbert/U.S. Air Force

Georgia’s new “hands-free law” took effect July 1. No, that doesn’t mean it’s legal to drive with your knees while you eat a cheeseburger and watch YouTube. In fact, it’s the opposite: The law cracks down on distracted driving by making it illegal to use your cellphone while driving. That means not only texting—which was already illegal but difficult to enforce—but making or answering phone calls, browsing the internet, using social media or watching or recording videos as well.

The law prohibits drivers from having a phone or other electronic device in their hand or supported by any part of their body while driving—including at stop signs and traffic lights. Calls can still be made by speakerphone, earpiece, wireless headset or smart watch, or by connecting your phone to the car and dialing by voice. Voice-to-text remains legal as well, as does using a continually recording dash-mounted camera.

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In the Loop: Athens Chamber of Commerce Names New CEO

By Blake Aued | June 25, 2018 3:51pm

Photo Credit: Greater Statesville Chamber of Commerce

David Bradley.

The Athens Area Chamber of Commerce has named a North Carolina chamber executive as its new CEO.

David Bradley is currently president of the Greater Statesville Chamber of Commerce in suburban Charlotte. The Guillford College graduate has also worked in manufacturing and served as president of the chamber in Mount Airy, NC. In Statesville, he served on the downtown development, regional development, and convention and visitors' bureau boards, led the effort to create a strategic plan for Statesville and was involved in theater and fim.

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Grub Notes: The Five Points Waffle House Is Closing

By Hillary Brown | June 21, 2018 10:51am

Photo Credit: Google Streeview

Did you hear that? Well, it's true, and it makes some sense considering how valuable that piece of real estate is.

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Homedrone: Tweed Recording Academy to Open in Lamar Lewis Building Downtown

By Gabe Vodicka | June 19, 2018 2:25pm

Andrew Ratcliffe

Tweed Recording Academy, a new school offering "cutting-edge audio engineering and mixing programs," plans to open in downtown Athens in fall 2019, according to a press release. The school will occupy the former Lamar Lewis Shoe Store building, which spans the block from Clayton Street to Washington Street and also includes the former Copper Creek brewpub.

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In the Loop: GOP Leader Leaves Gaines Campaign After Anti-LGBT Posts

By Blake Aued | June 14, 2018 4:04pm

Houston Gaines.

A prominent Athens Republican has stepped down from state House candidate Houston Gaines' campaign after an Atlanta magazine reported that she posted several anti-LGBTQ comments on Facebook Tuesday, the second anniversary of the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando.

According to Project Q, Joan Rhoden shared a photo on Facebook of pride-themed clothing at Target and accused "homosexuals" of spreading propaganda. She also characterized homosexuality as a disease and an "alternative lifestyle," criticized a New York bill that would add a third gender option to birth certificates and a cartoon featuring drag queens, defended Chick-Fil-A (a company that has taken anti-LGBTQ stances) and said that LGBTQ people's aim is "to annihilate free speech and dismantle the established facts of biology.”

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In the Loop: Anti-Discrimination Movement Issues Statement Supporting ACCPD Chief Freeman for Firing Officer

By Blake Aued | June 5, 2018 3:18pm

A screenshot from body-camera footage shows police handcuffing Timmy Patmon after an officer hit him with his car while Patmon was running from police.

The Athens Anti-Discrimination Movement has issued a statement in support of Athens-Clarke County Police Chief Scott Freeman for firing an officer who hit suspect Timmy Patmon with his police car Friday.

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