Blog Topic: Government
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In the Loop: GDOT Ditches Plan for 441 Bypass Around Bishop
The Georgia Department of Transportation is proposing that U.S. 441 be widened to three lanes through the center of Bishop rather than build a bypass of the small Oconee County city.
GDOT also is proposing that the highway be widened to four lanes from Bishop north to Watkinsville and from Bishop south to Madison, following the alignment of the existing roadway.
GDOT released the proposed route Tuesday night at the first meeting of the Oconee County Citizen Advisory Committee, where it met with strong opposition from Bishop Mayor Johnny Pritchett and Farmington resident Buddy Murrow, both members of the Citizen Advisory Committee.
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In the Loop: Georgia Senate Passes Campus Carry Bill
The Georgia Senate passed a slightly tweaked version of HB 280, the "campus carry" bill, this afternoon, setting up negotiations with the state House and Gov. Nathan Deal over the final version of the bill before the legislative session ends at midnight Thursday.
As with the past four efforts to push through campus-carry legislation, the bill would allow concealed-carry permit holders to bring their guns onto college campuses, with the exception of fraternity and sorority houses, dorms and athletic events.
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In the Loop: Podcast: House Hearings on Russia's Election Meddling
In this week's episode, hosts Baynard Woods and Marc Steiner talk about the House Intelligence Committee hearings on possible Russian involvement in the U.S. election and ask: Where does this all lead?
Democracy in Crisis is a weekly podcast hosted by Baynard Woods and Marc Steiner, produced and engineered by Mark Gunnery for The Center for Emerging Media. Theme music by Ruby Fulton and the Rhymes with Orchestra.
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In the Loop: Video: Campus Carry Protest in Athens
Photo Credit: Joshua L. Jones
UGA student Sage Hooten (left) and other protesters rally at the University of Georgia Arch in opposition to HB 280 on Mar. 21.
It's that time of year again: Pollen is filling our noses, spring is in the air, and the Georgia legislature is trying to pass another campus carry bill.
A group of over 200 students and other protesters gathered in front of the UGA Arch Tuesday afternoon, chanting, “Hey hey, ho ho, campus carry has got to go,” and holding signs.
Speakers included professors, students and survivors of the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007.
“The majority of UGA feels that this bill will make our campus less safe,” said student Mallory Harris, who organized the protest.
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In the Loop: Podcast: What the Heck Is Steve Bannon Thinking?
In this week's episode, hosts Baynard Woods and Marc Steiner take a step back to try to figure out just what the hell White House advisor Steve Bannon means by "the deconstruction of the administrative state."
Democracy in Crisis is a weekly podcast hosted by Baynard Woods and Marc Steiner, produced and engineered by Mark Gunnery for The Center for Emerging Media. Theme music by Ruby Fulton and the Rhymes with Orchestra.
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In the Loop: Oconee Subdivisions Sue for Access to Sewer
The owners of the long-dormant Westland and Parkside subdivisions have filed suit again Oconee County, seeking to block the decision by the Board of Commissioners to refund sewer capacity fees for the massive master plan developments.
In three separate lawsuits filed in Oconee County Superior Court, the owners contend, among other things, that the Board of Commissioners violated state zoning laws when it voted on Jan. 31 to refund sewer capacity fees paid by the developers of Westland and Parkside as well as by two other residential project developers.
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In the Loop: Podcast: The Trump Administration's Divisive Nationalist Vision
Emily Bazelon, staff writer at the New York Times Magazine, joins us to discuss her latest piece called "Department of Justification," which discussed the long shared vision of Steve Bannon, Stephen Miller, and Jeff Sessions. Then, we discuss the International Women's Strike with Kate D. Griffiths, who is on the strike's U.S. National Organizing Committee. She co-authored an article for The Nation called "Striking on International Women’s Day Is Not a Privilege."
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In the Loop: Luxury Student Apartment Developer Opts Out of Downtown Tax
Athens-Clarke County Commissioners criticized the developers of The Mark—the massive luxury student apartment complex under construction on Oconee Street—for being the only major development downtown to opt out of enlarged downtown boundaries the commission approved Tuesday.
The area covered by the Athens Downtown Development Authority was set in 1977, but since the downtown area has greatly expanded. The ADDA is seeking to expand its boundaries north of Dougherty Street and along Prince Avenue, North Avenue and Oconee Street.
The authority gave property owners the option of opting out of the district. Despite paying an additional one mill in property taxes ($1 per $2,500 of property value), only a handful elected not to be a part of the ADDA.
"Unfortunately, there were a couple of folks who elected not to be part of the boundaries, a couple of them I think rationally so—very small scale residential properties, one very small scale commercial property… but there’s one large property that’s not include, The Mark,” Commissioner Kelly Girtz said. “That’s a disappointment to me, and I certainly hope folks will recognize there are benefits of being in the ADDA district down the road.”
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In the Loop: Rep. Jody Hice Speaks to Rotarians, but No Plans for a Town Hall
Photo Credit: Rebecca McCarthy
Rep. Jody Hice (R-Monroe) at the downtown Holiday Inn for a private luncheon Monday.
Republican U.S. Representative Jody Hice was in Athens on Monday. Unless you were eating fried chicken, vegetables and salad in the Holiday Inn with the genial Classic City Rotary Club, you probably didn’t see him. And you’re not going to—at least not in a town hall meeting.
Open to the public, a town hall meeting is what many congressmen traditionally hold in their districts during a recess in Washington to find out the concerns of their many constituents. Hice may have a “coffee with the congressman” in other parts of the district with a small number of invited guests, or he may meet with Athens Republicans, but that’s about it in Athens-Clarke County.
Rotary club meetings are open only to members and guests of members. Outside the Holiday Inn and at the Arch on Monday, a few people gathered to protest Hice’s reluctance to hold a town meeting in Athens. The signs read, “Am I scary?” and “Be brave host Athens town hall” and “Where is Jody Hice.” With Donald Trump receiving 28 percent of the vote in our community, a public reception for a Republican representative would likely yield more questions that what Hice fielded from the Rotary Club.
There were a few questions at the Monday meeting—one member asked about Do Not Call and another asked about Fair Tax. Hice said he’s working on tax reform, which includes cutting corporate taxes, reducing tax forms to the size of a postage stamp and making the IRS a service-oriented agency. He said there’s no constitutional authority for the Environmental Protection Agency and the federal Department of Education to exist, and he wants the country to return to a “constitutional form of government.” He also said “some of these agencies have budgets the size of small countries’.”
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In the Loop: Oconee Zoning Decisions Will Affect Athens Residents
The proposed convenience store and college campus are located near the point where Oconee, Athens-Clarke and Oglethorpe counties meet.
Oconee County commissioners on Tuesday night will be asked to decide whether to allow a convenience store, a ministry college campus and an expansion of a community-scale church, all on land zoned for agriculture.
Two of the rezones are in the only part of Oconee County east of the Oconee River—a triangle of land assigned to the county when it was split off from Clarke County in 1875.
The commission’s decision on the convenience store will have impact on Athens-Clarke County residents, who live across Bob Godfrey Road from the proposed old-fashioned general store.
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