Blog Topic: Bummertown

In the Loop: General Beauregard's Owners Apologize for 'N*****ita'

By Blake Aued | October 31, 2015 1:08pm

Photo Credit: Joshua L. Jones/file

General Beauregard’s owners have confirmed that the bartender’s cheat sheet containing a recipe for a shot called a “N*****ita” is real and say the bar will reopen with no changes to its Confederate theme on Monday.

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Culture Briefs: Alice Walker Fans Disappointed by Lack of Tickets for UGA Event

By Blake Aued | September 28, 2015 2:52pm

Alice Walker fans who waited in drizzly weather this morning for tickets to the writer’s upcoming talk at the Morton Theatre left disappointed after learning that UGA held back almost all of the tickets.

Free tickets to “A Conversation with Alice Walker” on Oct. 15 were made available at the Morton Theatre box office at 10 a.m. today.

Several people who waited for tickets said they were told that the UGA Willson Center for Humanities and Arts, which is sponsoring Walker’s two appearances on campus next month, had released only 80 of 500 tickets to the general public. A number of people complained on the event’s Facebook page.

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Culture Briefs: Website: Georgia Fans Can Barely Speak English

By Blake Aued | September 2, 2015 4:49pm

When the plagiarism-checking website Grammarly.com re-ranked the Top 25 college football teams according to how well their fans write, the SEC did well.

UGA, not so much. The Bulldog Nation has the second-worst grammar of any Top 25 fan base (supposedly).

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Grub Notes: Mama Bird's Is Closing and More Food News

By Hillary Brown | September 2, 2015 12:12pm

Mama Bird's.

The shared kitchen/market version of Jennie de la Vega's Mama Bird's Granola, in the 909 Broad building, will close Sept. 24 after operating for two years. The space is up for lease.

Although some folks made use of the shared kitchen—which was licensed by the Department of Agriculture for the production of foods to be sold at retail, but not an option for food trucks—there weren't enough of them to cover expenses. This is unfortunate, as the groceries for sale in the space included fresh produce, making it a small oasis in the fresh-food desert that is downtown Athens. The granola side of the business will continue elsewhere and seems to be in fine shape.

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In the Loop: Mayor Denson Takes Bishop Park Master Plan Off the Agenda

By Blake Aued | August 27, 2015 3:19pm

Photo Credit: Joshua L. Jones/file

Soccer players at Bishop Park.

After a number of commissioners criticized the expense of overhauling Bishop Park at last week's agenda-setting meeting, as well as the order in which projects would be completed, Mayor Nancy Denson has removed the Bishop Park Master Plan from the agenda for Tuesday's voting meeting. She told commissioners in an email:

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Grub Notes: Rejoice/Despair: Pumpkin Spice Season Is Upon Us

By Blake Aued | August 21, 2015 11:17am

The temperature has dipped below 100 degrees, so it must be fall.

Another sign: Terrapin is the first local beverage maker out of the gate with a pumpkin-spice product.

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In the Loop: Severe Storms Hit the Athens Area

By Blake Aued | August 10, 2015 5:42pm

Photo Credit: Alexandra Edwards/Twitter

Storm damage on College Avenue between Willow and Dougherty streets.

More than two inches of rain fell on parts of Athens in less than an hour and winds gusted at 60 miles per hour earlier this afternoon, knocking over trees and knocking out power, mainly in the western half of the city.

Georgia Power reported 45 outages in Athens affected 2,423 customers. Outages were spread throughout downtown, East Athens, Prince Avenue, the mall area, Rocksprings, the Hancock Corridor and Five Points. More than 1,500 of those customers are downtown and in Newtown, Pulaski Heights and Boulevard east of Chase Street.

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Homedrone: 'It's Friday' Airs Final Show This Week

By Gabe Vodicka | June 25, 2015 2:45pm

Robb Holmes

"It's Friday," the charmingly democratic WUGA-FM radio series that features live musicians performing in-studio each week, will air its final episode tomorrow, Friday, June 26. Host and producer Robb Holmes, who has worked at WUGA since 1987, will retire following the series finale.

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In the Loop: Oconee County Creeks Are Full of Sewage

By Lee Becker | June 2, 2015 2:35pm

Luckily for Oconee County utility workers, this photo was taken in India.

Oconee County reported two new sewage spills to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division on Friday, one of which was classified as a “major spill” and involved the discharge of sewage into Calls Creek.

The smaller spill was into McNutt Creek behind Creekside subdivision, which is on the east side of Jimmy Daniell Road at the county line.

The spill into Calls Creek was at the troubled Calls Creek wastewater treatment planton Durhams Mill Way north of Watkinsville, where a separation of pipe allowed sewage to flow for five minutes into the creek.

For more, visit Oconee County Observations.

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In the Loop: Fire Destroys Abandoned Athens Mill

By Blake Aued | May 15, 2015 11:15am

Photo Credit: Video still via Fox 5.

A 200-year-old abandoned cotton mill off Macon Highway was destroyed in a fire Thursday night.

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