Blog Topic: Government

Grub Notes: ACC Won't Prosecute Creature Comforts

By Blake Aued | March 25, 2016 12:44pm

Photo Credit: Creature Comforts

Athens-Clarke County won’t prosecute local brewery Creature Comforts for allegedly violating the state law regulating brewery tours, the county attorney’s office announced earlier this week.

In February, an undercover officer acting on a tip and posing as a service industry employee on “industry night,” a monthly event where service industry workers receive free tours (and beers), reported that she was given free beers and never offered a tour, nor did she see a tour being conducted.

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In the Loop: Cedar Shoals Principal Tony Price Denies Mishandling Sexual Assault

By Blake Aued | March 22, 2016 6:58pm

Photo Credit: Joshua L. Jones/file

Tony Price—the Cedar Shoals High School principal who was suspended and faces firing after an alleged sexual assault at the school in January—is speaking out about the incident and says central office administrators and Clarke County School District police, not Price, are responsible for mishandling it.

Since the alleged sexual assault was made public in February, CCSD administrators have said that Price did not follow the district’s code of conduct by failing to suspend the three students who are accused of raping a classmate in a stairwell at the school.

Now, Price has told his side of the story, and it differs on several key points from the district's—including who was ultimately responsible for students' safety and whether Price could have disciplined the accused students before the police investigation took its course.

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In the Loop: UGA Law Professor: The 'Campus Carry' Bill Will Chill Academic Freedom

By Blake Aued | March 22, 2016 11:54am

Sonja West.

The “campus carry” bill allowing guns on most parts of the University of Georgia campus—including classrooms and professors’ offices—will have a chilling effect on academic freedom and debate, UGA law professor Sonja West argues in an article for the website Slate posted today.

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In the Loop: Atlanta's Bike Czar Is Coming to Athens

By Blake Aued | March 21, 2016 11:03am

Photo Credit: Atlanta Bike Coalition

Local transportation group Complete Streets Athens is bringing Atlanta’s chief bicycle officer, Becky Katz, to town today to show us how it’s done.

Katz, formerly a project manager at greenspace advocacy group Park Pride, was appointed by Mayor Kasim Reed in October to fill the newly created position. Her job is to plan bike projects, gather public input, write grant applications, get a bike-share program up and running and coordinate with other organizations, according to Creative Loafing. There is no equivalent position in the Athens-Clarke County government.

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In the Loop: Mayor Denson Names Nominee for ACC Manager

By Blake Aued | March 16, 2016 2:10pm

Blaine Williams, who’s served as Athens-Clarke County interim manager since Alan Reddish retired in February, is Mayor Nancy Denson’s pick to fill the position permanently.

Denson announced today that she’s named Williams the sole finalist, subject to approval by the ACC Commission at its Apr. 5 meeting. If his appointment is ratified as expected, his contract will run through June 2017.

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In the Loop: Bill Would Exempt 441 Project from Environmental Law

By Lee Becker | March 15, 2016 10:21am

Sen. Bill Cowsert (R-Athens) supported SB 346.

The Georgia Senate has approved, with the support of Oconee County Sen. Bill Cowsert, a bill that would exempt the Georgia Department of Transportation from the provisions of the Georgia Environmental Policy Act.

The exemption likely would have a major effect immediately in Oconee County, as it would allow GDOT to bypass the provisions of the Georgia Environmental Policy Act in widening U.S. 441 from the Watkinsville Bypass to the Madison Bypass, including the construction of a bypass of Bishop.

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In the Loop: Deal Tells Lawmakers to Fix the 'Campus Carry' Bill

By Blake Aued | March 14, 2016 5:12pm

Gov. Nathan Deal signs a sweeping gun law June 25, 2014.

A proposed "campus carry" law that would allow permit holders to carry concealed weapons on public college and university campuses has drawn widespread opposition not only from administrators, but UGA faculty and staff as well.

But there is now hope that the law may at least be watered down. Gov. Nathan Deal, who had previously indicated that he would sign House Bill 859—which passed the Senate on Friday, landing on his desk—is now backing away. He called on legislators this afternoon to address concerns about the bill and hinted he could veto it otherwise.

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In the Loop: Athens Sen. Bill Cowsert Killed the 'Brunch Bill'

By Blake Aued | March 13, 2016 1:05pm

Photo Credit: Evan Swigart/Wikimedia Commons

As I write this, you’re probably finishing off your first Bloody Mary of the day on this glorious Sunday afternoon. You probably wish it was your third. But don’t expect to be able to get an earlier start anytime soon

House Bill 535, the “Brunch Bill,” has stalled out, killed by our very own Sen. Bill Cowsert (R-Athens), the AJC reports.

The bill would give local communities the option to allow restaurants to start serving alcohol at 10:30 a.m., rather than 12:30 p.m., on Sundays.

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In the Loop: The Senate Passed the 'Campus Carry' Bill

By Blake Aued | March 11, 2016 2:31pm

Photo Credit: Dede Giddens/file

House Bill 859, which would allow concealed-carry license holders to bring guns onto the UGA campus, is scheduled for a vote in the state Senate tomorrow.

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In the Loop: Qualifying Ends With Most Local Candidates Unopposed

By Blake Aued | March 11, 2016 12:12pm

Dave Hudgins.

Deputy Tax Commissioner Toni Meadow has drawn a familiar challenger in the open Clarke County tax commissioner's race.

Dave Hudgins, a lawyer and Athens-Clarke County planning commissioner who has run for ACC Commission twice, qualified to run for the office late Thursday. It's a position that traditionally has been handed down—the current tax commissioner, Mitch Schrader, who's not running for re-election for health reasons, was Nancy Denson's top deputy when she stepped down to run for mayor in 2010, and he ran unopposed that year and in 2012.

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