Blog Topic: Upcoming in Athens

In the Loop: What Should ACC Do About the Murmur Trestle?

By Blake Aued | March 29, 2019 4:48pm

With the construction of Firefly Trail finally underway after nearly 20 years, Athens-Clarke County finally has to make a decision about what to do with the Murmur trestle.

In 2000, CSX started to remove rails and demolish trestles along an abandoned rail line running from Winterville to downtown Athens. One of those trestles, near Poplar Street, was featured on the back cover of R.E.M.’s album Murmur. Fans rallied, and ACC purchased the trestle and halted the demolition, but not before it was halfway gone.

As many cities have done with unused railroads—see New York’s High Line or the Silver Comet Trail west of Atlanta—ACC decided to convert the flat, level rail bed into a walking and biking trail. Sales tax collections, planning and federal approval took over a decade. The first leg of the trail, between East Broad Street and Dudley Park, opened last year. Initially, there was not enough money for a new bridge over Trail Creek, but that’s changed since voters approved a 1 percent sales tax for transportation in 2017.

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Grub Notes: Creature Comforts Expands and More Beer News

By Blake Aued | March 19, 2019 2:23pm

Photo Credit: courtesy of Creature Comforts

Creature Comforts has expanded the wood cellar at its downtown Athens brewery, and a new barrel-aged offering will go on sale next week.

Pearson—a fruited ale aged in oak barrels that showcases Elberta peaches from Fort Valley's Pearson Farms—will be available on draft and in half-liter bottles to go Saturday, Mar. 30 from noon to 10 p.m. in the tasting room. Bottles are $18, and there is a limit of six per customer.

Next up are Curious #12 and Existence, available later this spring. Curious #12 (8.1% ABV) is made from a portion of a previous release, River Ridge Black, conditioned with organic black raspberries and black courants, that was aged in a port barrel for eight months. Existence (13.7% ABV) is an imperial stout aged in a bourbon barrel for 23 months.

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In the Loop: Athens Anti-Discrimination Movement Kicks Off Voting Rights Tour Thursday

By Blake Aued | February 27, 2019 10:12am

Photo Credit: Joshua L. Jones/file

Mokah-Jasmine Johnson.

On Thursday, Feb. 28 from 6–9 p.m. at Hendershot’s, the Athens Anti-Discrimination Movement will launch a seven-city tour to promote voting.

“The 2018 elections in Georgia left many people wondering if voter suppression played a role in the final outcome,” said AADM cofounder Mokah-Jasmine Johnson, who was featured recently on HBO’s “Vice News” for her work to get out the vote in Athens. “So, I wanted to do this tour to inform and encourage everyday citizens to stay engaged and get involved.”

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Homedrone: Matt and Kim's Matt Johnson on His Favorite Band Memories

By Nathan Kerce | February 12, 2019 3:46pm

Photo Credit: Colin Devon Moore

Electronic pop duo Matt and Kim are currently celebrating their 15th anniversary of being a band. Over the past decade and a half, musical and real-life couple Matt Johnson and Kim Schifino have become known for their catchy party tunes, over-the-top live shows and outlandish music videos. (They won an MTV VMA back when that still kind of meant something.) It didn’t take them long to go from writing songs in Matt’s childhood bedroom to playing massive festival stages on a regular basis, and they’ve held onto that position for well over a decade. Attendees of Wednesday’s Georgia Theatre show should expect plenty of singalongs, props and maybe a bit of light nudity.

Ahead of the show, we took a minute to talk with Johnson about his most notable memories from the past 15 years.

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In the Loop: UGA Names Four Finalists for Provost

By Blake Aued | February 4, 2019 11:37am

Rahul Shrivastav.

A University of Georgia search committee has announced four finalists for the position of senior vice president for academic affairs and provost, the No. 2 position at UGA.

The finalists are Jack Hu, vice president for research at the University of Michigan; Beate Schmittmann, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State University; Rahul Shrivastav, vice president for instruction at UGA; and Elizabeth Spiller, dean of the College of Letters and Science at the University of California, Davis.

Shrivastav will give a public presentation Tuesday, Schmittman on Thursday, Hu on Monday, Feb. 11 and Spiller on Wednesday, Feb. 13. All four are from 9:30–10:30 a.m. at the Chapel.

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Homedrone: Nominations Open for Vic Chesnutt Songwriter of the Year Award

By Gabe Vodicka | January 24, 2019 2:47pm

Photo Credit: Savannah Cole

Attention, Athens-area songwriters and fans of said songwriters: The nomination period for the third annual Vic Chesnutt Songwriter of the Year Award is currently underway.

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In the Loop: Mayor Kelly Girtz, New Commissioners Will Be Sworn in Today

By Blake Aued | January 8, 2019 11:14am

Girtz.

Athens-Clarke County's new Politburo Mayor and Commission will be sworn during a 5:30 p.m. ceremony today at City Hall.

After winning a three-way race in May, Commissioner Kelly Girtz will officially take over for Mayor Nancy Denson, who was limited to two terms. Look for a Q&A with Girtz in Wednesday's edition of Flagpole.

Taking Girtz's District 9 seat will be longtime school board member and community organizer Ovita Thornton. Other new commissioners include:

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In the Loop: UGA, Clarke County Schools Will Open Late Tuesday

By Blake Aued | December 10, 2018 7:20pm

Photo Credit: Walt Disney Pictures

Clarke County public schools will open two hours late due to the threat of icy roads early Tuesday morning.

Elementary school classes will start at 9:40 a.m., middle schools at 10:25 a.m. and high schools at 10:45 a.m., the Clarke County School District announced. School doors will open a half-hour before classes start. Buses will run on a two-hour delay, and breakfast will not be served.

Earlier today, Gov. Nathan Deal announced that state government offices will not open until 10 a.m. Tuesday. His office listed Clarke as one of the counties that could be affected by black ice on roads.

The National Weather service says black ice and icy spots can be expected in parts of North Georgia tonight and Tuesday morning as temperatures could drop below freezing.

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Culture Briefs: Take a Tour of Historic Five Points Homes Sunday

By Kristen Morales | November 27, 2018 2:49pm

The threatened demolition of 398 Milledge Circle—one of the stops on the tour—led to the creation of two new historic districts in Five Points earlier this year.

Five houses in the new Milledge Circle Local Historic District will help ring in the holiday season this weekend as part of this year’s Gala Tour of Homes hosted by the Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation.

This annual home tour, which is from 5–8 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 2, features homes in one of Athens’ newest historic districts, including two designed by noted Athens architect Fred Orr. The self-guided tour includes food at each home provided by local restaurants, beer and wine from local breweries and a silent auction well timed for holiday gifts.

“There are so many beautiful neighborhoods in Athens, it’s always difficult to decide which to highlight for our annual Gala Tour of Homes,” said Tommy Valentine, executive director of the Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation. “But when Milledge Circle was named a local historic district, along with Castalia Avenue, earlier this year, our planning committee knew this was where we needed to be.”

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In the Loop: Abrams, Kemp Campaigning in Athens

By Blake Aued | October 26, 2018 11:04am

As the gubernatorial campaign enters its last stretch, both candidates—Republican Brian Kemp and Democrat Stacey Abrams—will be campaigning in the Athens area in the coming days.

Both candidates are currently on bus tours around th state.

After a press conference on Medicaid expansion in Atlanta and a tour of a Hoschton clinic on today, Abrams will stop at the Morton Theatre at 3 p.m. with Sarah Riggs Amico, the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor. If you missed her packed-out appearance at Hendershot's, this may be your last chance to catch her before Nov. 6. RSVP here.

Kemp will be at Oconee Veteran's Park off Hog Mountain Road in Watkinsville from 10–11 a.m. on Monday.

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