Athens News And Views
originally published May 7, 2008
Ben Emanuel
Barnett’s Newsstand, a College Square landmark, closes later this month.
A Landmark Departs: News broke last week that Barnett’s Newsstand, downtown on College Square, will be closing permanently later this month. Early details on the store’s history remain fuzzy, but by most accounts a newsstand opened in that storefront some time in the 1940s. Barnett’s came into being in 1955, and owner Midge Gray bought it with her former husband just about 30 years ago from the Lanards. (Marcile Lanard was a Barnett, Gray thinks.) Gray reports that various factors figure into the closing, among them internet sales of books (including Cliffs Notes, which typically would be “flying off the shelves” in early May in years past, she says), grocery-store sales of magazines and even the decline in smoking. The storefront will still house a local business: the Red Dress Boutique, which opened a few years ago on Baxter Street.
Cost of Doing Business: Well, the recommended ACC budget for next year is out, and the angry letters are already coming in to the papers. It’ll be interesting to see how many of those angry homeowners show up to any of the three public hearings required by the state under the so-called Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights; for what it’s worth, those are on Thursday, May 8 at 5:30 p.m. in the Planning Department auditorium at 120 W. Dougherty Street; Thursday, May 15 at the same time and place; and Thursday, May 22 at 6:45 p.m. at City Hall, just before the Mayor and Commission agenda-setting meeting. If that's not enough, the whole budget is on the county’s website, and during business hours you can find it in the manager’s and clerk’s offices at City Hall, as well as at the public library on Baxter Street.
The lowdown is that the mayor’s budget proposal sets a millage rate of 13.30, which includes a half-mill increase over last year - the first millage rate increase on Athens-Clarke County’s part in many years. This year’s assessments, though, according to an ACC press release, mean an overall increase in property taxes of 9.7 percent. The ACC Commission is expected to approve the budget at its June 5 meeting.
It Depends What You Mean by Qualified: It was a pretty quiet qualifying week for Athens, though there are a few things to note. As previously announced, Coroner Bobby Tribble does have competition in the form of funeral home manager Sonny Wilson. Eastsider Chinami Goodie is running for the 8th District seat on the Clarke County school board, and as a general principle it’s good to see some interest in at least one of those positions. Also, state Senator Bill Cowsert, who’s been pretty successful in Atlanta since his election in ’06, will be joined by teacher and Oconee County school board member Tommy Malcom in the Republican primary for his seat, and will have a Democratic challenger in Bogart lawyer Sherry Jackson.
An Athens Democrat by the name of Tim Riley signed up to take on state Senator Ralph Hudgens, but at press time no local reps in the state House had any competition yet. Also at press time, there were no surprises (based on recent names in the news) either in the 10th Congressional District or in the U.S. Senate race for Georgia, though over in the 12th it’s worth noting that the late Charlie Norwood’s former right-hand man, John Stone, is among a few Republicans challenging ex-Athenian John Barrow. Stone’s occupation, as listed on the Secretary of State’s website? “Congressional Candidate.” You wouldn't want to admit it either if you were the guy who last year managed Republican Congressional candidate Jim Whitehead's campaign straight into the ground.
Oh, and don’t worry; qualifying for ACC Commission seats happens in late June, so the door is still open for local politics to get at least a little bit exciting this year.
Dueling Orators: Speaking of John Barrow, the UGA Law School announced last week that he’ll be the speaker at its commencement on May 17. Too bad that’s not the same day as the main UGA graduation ceremony - if it were, Athens could more quickly compare Barrow’s and Justice Clarence Thomas’s orations to ascertain who’s more conservative. Oh, well.
Get in the Game: Even if you’re not the type to run for county commission or anything like that, there are still opportunities this month to get involved with the ACC government. Positions are open through May 16 on a bunch of various boards, authorities and commissions of the government, including the Hearings Board, Historic Preservation Commission, Downtown Development Authority and more. Learn more at www.athensclarkecounty.com/clerkofcommission.
This Game’s Technically Still On, Apparently: The Birmingham News reported last week that Alabama Gov. Bob Riley hinted at some optimism in the biotech arena in a speech there recently, furthering the widely-held suspicion that Solvay Pharmaceuticals is leaning toward ’Bama for its new flu vaccine plant, as opposed to locating in Athens. No final word yet, though.
In the Skies: You’re not the only one seeing Great Blue Herons flying all around town lately. There’ve been plenty of the giant, long-necked birds sighted over downtown in the last couple of weeks, and they seem to be going up and down the North Oconee River, possibly traveling to and from a rookery. This kind of urban heron activity does pick up every spring in Athens, but this year it seems particularly high, which is cool.
Send your city dope to ben@flagpole.com.
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