Blog Topic: Government

In the Loop: Democracy in Crisis Podcast: Private Prisons

By Baynard Woods | March 1, 2017 4:46pm

Shane Bauer joins us to talk about private prisons in the Trump era. Last month, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a memo supporting the federal government's continuing use of private prisons, rescinding an Obama administration directive last year that aimed to reduce and eventually phase out federal reliance on them. Shane Bauer is a senior reporter at Mother Jones, where he recently won the National Magazine Award for his story "My Four Months as a Private Prison Guard." He was also spent two years imprisoned in Iran after he and two friends were arrested near the Iranian border in Iraqi Kurdistan.

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In the Loop: Campus Carry Bill Passes House Committee

By Blake Aued | February 27, 2017 3:40pm

Rep. Mandi Ballinger (R-Canton).

A bill that would allow people with concealed-carry permits to bring weapons onto the University of Georgia and other public college campuses cleared a key hurdle Monday.

The House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee passed House Bill 280, sponsored by Rep. Mandi Ballinger (R-Canton), according to the AJC, sending it on for a likely but yet-to-be-scheduled vote before the full House.

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In the Loop: ADDA Splits Downtown Job, Hires Lynn and Ford

By Blake Aued | February 14, 2017 6:44pm

Photo Credit: Austin Steele/file

Ford.

Lynn.

Rather than hire a single person to replace former Athens Downtown Development Authority Executive Director Pamela Thompson, the ADDA board has opted to split the job in two.

After hours of deliberation behind closed doors Friday night and again Tuesday afternoon, the board voted to hire David Lynn as director of planning and outreach, focusing on economic development, and Linda Ford as director of business services, focusing on parking and assisting downtown businesses.

"Instead of putting the weight all on one person, we're going to have two people with two distinct skill sets," ADDA board member Richie Knight said.

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In the Loop: Oconee Solar Farm Isn't Dead, Developer Says

By Lee Becker | February 14, 2017 10:05am

Photo Credit: Lee Becker

Wild Indigo Crossing, looking toward the proposed solar farm.

When the developers of Wildflower Meadows, a 263- acre subdivision in northwestern Oconee County, wanted to launch the project in 2006, they assembled 10 different pieces of property to accommodate the proposed 170 lots.

The largest of the 10 assembled tracts was a 113-acre parcel owned by the Hammond family of Gainesville.

Another tract of 12 acres also was owned by the Hammond family, and today it provides one of the two Wildflower Meadows entrances off Dials Mill Road.

The decision of the family to sell the two tracts in 2006 came back to haunt it on Jan. 3, when the Oconee County Board of Commissioners voted 3-1 against a rezone request for an adjoining 204.8 acres owned by the Hammond family.

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In the Loop: Perdue Spokesman: Greensboro Rally Was 'Manufactured' and 'Disruptive'

By Blake Aued | February 13, 2017 12:05pm

Photo Credit: John Buckley

Athens for Everyone pushed back today against a spokeswoman for Georgia Sen. David Perdue who called a rally in Greensboro Friday "manufactured."

A4E, along with Indivisible Georgia District 10 and other local groups, organized a trip to Greensboro to speak to staffers for Perdue, Sen. Johnny Isakson and Rep. Jody Hice about their concerns about the Trump Administration. The rally drew about 500 people, including several hundred from Athens.

Perdue's spokeswoman dismissed those concerns in a statement to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Saturday:

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In the Loop: No Plans to Redevelop Varsity Property, Commissioners Say

By Blake Aued | February 8, 2017 3:11pm

In spite of rumors that have swirled for months and recently intensified, Athens-Clarke County commissioners say they've been assured that the owners of iconic fast-food restaurant The Varsity have no imminent plans to redevelop the property.

The Gordy family, which owns the chain of seven restaurants, has assembled nearly the entirely block bordered by Milledge Avenue and Broad, Chase and Reese streets, including purchasing the Dairy Queen that closed last year and several homes.

Most of the rumors involve the property becoming a mixed-use development featuring a Publix grocery story, with The Varsity either becoming part of the new development or moving to Epps Bridge Parkway. Others have speculated that the Gordys merely want more parking for car shows and game days, or that the property will become student housing—which seems unlikely, given that its commercial zoning would only allow about 30 apartments.

ACC Commissioner Jerry NeSmith addressed the rumors at last night's commission meeting, saying that an agent for The Varsity and Publix called him Monday to assure him nothing is currently in the works.

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In the Loop: Commission Approves Ban on New Downtown Bars and Apartments

By Blake Aued | February 7, 2017 11:04pm

Photo Credit: Blake Aued/file

As expected, the Athens-Clarke County Commission approved a temporary ban on most new downtown bars and apartment buildings Tuesday night over concerns about overcrowding and the downtown drinking culture.

The ban covers bars with a capacity greater than 49 people, unless they open in a space that housed a bar within the past year, and apartments with more than three units. It will last for up to one year while a consultant conducts a study on downtown health and safety, and commissioners consider potential new regulations.

Mayor Nancy Denson said she placed the moratorium on the commission's agenda Monday afternoon to give officials a chance to get a handle on "crowding" and related challenges delivering services like garbage pickup, as well as "excessive drinking."

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In the Loop: ACC Officials Propose Ban on New Bars and Apartments Downtown

By Blake Aued | February 6, 2017 6:57pm

Photo Credit: Randy Schafer/file

The Standard is one of several luxury student apartment complexes to open downtown in the past few years.

Athens-Clarke County commissioners will vote on a one-year moratorium on most new bars and apartment buildings downtown at its meeting Tuesday night.

The moratorium was added to the commission agenda late this afternoon. It would cover new bars—except those that open in spaces where another bar has closed in the past 12 months—with capacities larger than 49 people. New apartments of more than three units would be temporarily banned as well.

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In the Loop: Oconee County Moves to Slow Growth, Revokes Sewer Permits for Unbuilt Subdivisions

By Lee Becker | February 1, 2017 4:08pm

Photo Credit: Lee Becker

Wayne Hanie speaks to, from left, commissioners John Daniell, Mark Thomas, Chuck Horton, Bubber Wilkes and Mark Saxon.

Oconee County Commissioners voted Tuesday night to refund sewer capacity for four undeveloped subdivisions in the county, significantly reducing the need for increased sewage treatment capacity in the county.

The decision will make those four housing projects—including the massive Parkside and Westland subdivisions—unbuildable as zoned, since they require sewage capacity for the intensive development proposed.

The decision provides some relief to the county school system, which has raised concerns about the increased residential growth on the county schools.

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In the Loop: Morehead Releases Stronger Statement on Travel Ban

By Blake Aued | January 30, 2017 10:43pm

University of Georgia President Jere Morehead emailed a "personal follow-up" to the UGA community this afternoon on President Donald Trump's ban on refugees and travel from seven Muslim nations.

An initial statement released this morning—taken almost verbatim from an email University System Chancellor Steve Wrigley sent to college presidents—was met with derision among some faculty and students for its stilted language. For example, one professor referred to it on social media as "weak sauce," while another called it "tepid, at best."

The latest statement reads:

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