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Dec 27, 2000
City Pages
2000 Attention-Deficit Reader's Guide
January
Citizen opposition prompts Wal-Mart to withdraw its plans for a Westside Supercenter. • Demolition work begins on Foundry Street to make way for Athens' Multimodal Transportation Center. • Clarke County Board of Education fires Superintendent Lucian Harris. • Stan Lindberg, Georgia Review editor, dies. • Athens-Clarke County Planning Commission unanimously denies lower downtown historic overlay district. • Alps Art Cinema closes. • Ice Storm 2000® shuts down much of northeast Georgia. • UGA President Michael Adams and Athens Area Chamber of Commerce Chairman Robin Chasman bemoan Athens' "anti-business" climate.
"How long have you owned your property?" - ACC Planning Commissioner and Foundry Street property owner John Steedman, haranguing Danny Sniff, owner of the Foundry Street building which houses the Flagpole offices, over Sniff's support of a lower downtown historic district.
February
Governor Roy Barnes recommends delays in pay raises for University employees; state legislature passes Barnes' "education reform" bill
"We don't know what we're going to do." - Van Westmoreland of JDN, Wal-Mart's development company, on the corporate giant's on-again-off again plans for a Westside Supercenter.
March
Mayor Doc Eldridge removes a vote on the county's new development ordinance from the Commission's April agenda. • Commission reinstates regular bus service to Stonehenge subdivision. • Public interest attorney Doug Haines declares his candidacy for Paul Broun's District 46 State Senate seat. • ACC Senior Police Officer Ira Edwards announces his decision to run against Sheriff Jerry Massey. • The Georgia legislature passes the Animal Protection Act, classifying certain acts of animal cruelty as felonies, and kills the Voter Choice and Election Access Reform Act, which would have lowered ballot access barriers for third party and independent candidates.
"Well, he better be ready to come on. He needs to start raising a bunch of money." - Paul Broun, speaking to the Athens Daily News, on Doug Haines' challenge to Broun's State Senate seat.
April
The Commission indefinitely postpones a vote on the county development ordinance. • Widespread Panic plays three consecutive sold-out shows at the Classic Center; fans allege abuse at the hands of ACC Police and a private "security" firm. • Florida developer Taylor Bush temporarily removes his controversial plans for a Carr's Hill residential development from the ACC Commission agenda. • Athens-Clarke and UGA reach agreement over the clean-up of smelly Sanford Stadium ooze. • Bloodkin band manager Zachary Weil dies.
"It's time for a change." - Athens-Clarke Solicitor General Ken Mauldin, announcing his run against 28-year incumbent Harry Gordon for District Attorney of the Western Judicial Circuit .
May
The Commission passes a motion for an August vote on the county development ordinance. • Mayor Eldridge informs ACC Manager Al Crace that he will not recommend his re-appointment. • Judge James Barrow dies.
"I thought we were on the verge of something, but Ernie has shot it down." - Commissioner John Barrow, on ACC Attorney Ernie DePascale's advice to the Commission to drop transferable development rights (TDRs) from the county's proposed development ordinance.
June
Commission votes to move the county's Office of Public Information from Manager Al Crace's office to Mayor Eldridge's office and agrees to sell the Wray-Nicholson house to the University of Georgia for $2.3 million. • Drought prompts Athens-Clarke County to impose mandatory outdoor watering restrictions for the first time in its history. • The Second Annual Flagpole Athens Music Awards rock the Morton Theatre. • AthFest 2000 marks the festival's fourth year.
"So I guess it comes down to an issue [of] do you have 30 or 40 trash cans on every block downtown, sitting out 24 hours a day, seven days a week, because they wouldn't pull them back inside." - ACC Solid Waste Director Jim Corley, on the prospect of issuing downtown bars and restaurants garbage cans to protect new brick sidewalks from leaky trash bags.
July
Mayor Eldridge nixes an August vote on the development ordinance, rescheduling it for September. • Long-time Democratic incumbents State Senator Paul Broun, District Attorney Harry Gordon and Sheriff Jerry Massey are unseated by Doug Haines, Ken Mauldin, and Ira Edwards, respectively, in the primary election. • Behind closed doors in an executive session, the ACC Commission foregoes an opportunity to purchase four historic downtown rail trestles, owned by CSX Transportation; three are demolished before public protest prompts the Mayor and Commission to secure an option to buy the Dudley Park bridge, which was featured on the back cover of R.E.M.'s Murmur. • US Senator Paul Coverdell dies. • SPLOST-funded downtown construction work frustrates businesses. • Wal-Mart applies for rezoning on Epps Bridge Parkway in Oconee County. • Poneil Carruth is convicted of four 1996 Athens rapes.
"They probably could have had them for nothing if they'd wanted to negotiate down to nothing for them, but they decided that they didn't want them. That's all I know." - Ralph Pressley of CSX Transportation, on the ACC government's failure to prevent the destruction of CSX's downtown rail trestles.
August
Mayor Eldridge removes the development ordinance from the Commission's September agenda; Commissioner Linda Ford introduces her one-unit-per-acre AR option; Commissioner Ken Jordan proposes a temporary moratorium on rezonings. • "Stay Green" signs begin appearing in Athens-Clarke. • Matt "Six Pac" Stevenson dies. • Carmike Cinemas files for bankruptcy and closes its Georgia Square Mall theater.
"There is only one state where we know we will not be on the ballot, and that is Georgia." - Ralph Nader campaign manager Theresa Amato, on the Green Party presidential nominee's unsuccessful attempt to overcome Georgia's staggering signature requirements for ballot access.
September
The Commission rejects the proposed development moratorium 7-3 and sets December 5 as a possible date for a vote on the county development ordinance. • ACC Manager Al Crace resigns. • The Athens Grow Green Coalition forms. • BikeAthens hosts its inaugural Tour de Sprawl. • Nuci's Space, a non-profit resource center for local musicians, opens.
"We could make this plan so much better." - Commissioner Linda Ford, at the Commission's September voting session, lobbying against an October vote on the county development ordinance.
October
The Commission applies 75-foot development buffers to Clarke County perennial lakes and streams and approves the purchase of the Dudley Park rail trestle. • The UGA football team beats Tennessee, and students storm the field before the game ends, tearing down the goal posts and trampling people. • The Athens Grow Green Coalition hosts the Land Aid festival downtown, drawing R.E.M. to play its first live set in Athens since 1992. • The annual Kudzu Film Festival celebrates independent cinema.
"I don't oppose trees. I commend them." - Commissioner Hugh Logan, qualifying his opposition to the establishment of the Community Tree Council, a governmental advisory panel with no legislative powers.
November
Carl Jordan ousts District 6 Commissioner Marilyn Farmer in the general election; newcomer States McCarter wins in District 8; John Barrow easily retains his District 4 seat; Doug Haines narrowly defeats Republican Jim Ivey to replace Paul Broun in the State Senate; Ralph Hudgens holds off Doug McKillip in the local State House contest; Ken Mauldin bests Jim Smith for District Attorney; Clarke County Board of Education member Anne Cooper loses to Lydon Goodly in a runoff election. • ACC Police apprehend a man suspected of being the serial rapist preying on women downtown. • By a 7-3 vote, the Commission rezones 61 rural acres to accommodate the massive "Oak Grove" development.
"Where do you go from here if you approve this?" - Athenian Nancy Polansky to the ACC Commission, minutes before the Oak Grove vote.
December
UGA football coach Jim Donnan is fired. • Commission passes development ordinance on December 5, stuns community by including Linda Ford's one unit per acre rural zoning provision; Mayor Eldridge vetoes ordinance eight days later; Commission overrides the veto 7-3 at a December 19 special session.
"You have lit a fire. This issue will not go away." - former ACC Mayor Gwen O'Looney, to the Commission, following its approval of the county development ordinance.
Citizen opposition prompts Wal-Mart to withdraw its plans for a Westside Supercenter. • Demolition work begins on Foundry Street to make way for Athens' Multimodal Transportation Center. • Clarke County Board of Education fires Superintendent Lucian Harris. • Stan Lindberg, Georgia Review editor, dies. • Athens-Clarke County Planning Commission unanimously denies lower downtown historic overlay district. • Alps Art Cinema closes. • Ice Storm 2000® shuts down much of northeast Georgia. • UGA President Michael Adams and Athens Area Chamber of Commerce Chairman Robin Chasman bemoan Athens' "anti-business" climate.
"How long have you owned your property?" - ACC Planning Commissioner and Foundry Street property owner John Steedman, haranguing Danny Sniff, owner of the Foundry Street building which houses the Flagpole offices, over Sniff's support of a lower downtown historic district.
February
Governor Roy Barnes recommends delays in pay raises for University employees; state legislature passes Barnes' "education reform" bill
"We don't know what we're going to do." - Van Westmoreland of JDN, Wal-Mart's development company, on the corporate giant's on-again-off again plans for a Westside Supercenter.
March
Mayor Doc Eldridge removes a vote on the county's new development ordinance from the Commission's April agenda. • Commission reinstates regular bus service to Stonehenge subdivision. • Public interest attorney Doug Haines declares his candidacy for Paul Broun's District 46 State Senate seat. • ACC Senior Police Officer Ira Edwards announces his decision to run against Sheriff Jerry Massey. • The Georgia legislature passes the Animal Protection Act, classifying certain acts of animal cruelty as felonies, and kills the Voter Choice and Election Access Reform Act, which would have lowered ballot access barriers for third party and independent candidates.
"Well, he better be ready to come on. He needs to start raising a bunch of money." - Paul Broun, speaking to the Athens Daily News, on Doug Haines' challenge to Broun's State Senate seat.
April
The Commission indefinitely postpones a vote on the county development ordinance. • Widespread Panic plays three consecutive sold-out shows at the Classic Center; fans allege abuse at the hands of ACC Police and a private "security" firm. • Florida developer Taylor Bush temporarily removes his controversial plans for a Carr's Hill residential development from the ACC Commission agenda. • Athens-Clarke and UGA reach agreement over the clean-up of smelly Sanford Stadium ooze. • Bloodkin band manager Zachary Weil dies.
"It's time for a change." - Athens-Clarke Solicitor General Ken Mauldin, announcing his run against 28-year incumbent Harry Gordon for District Attorney of the Western Judicial Circuit .
May
The Commission passes a motion for an August vote on the county development ordinance. • Mayor Eldridge informs ACC Manager Al Crace that he will not recommend his re-appointment. • Judge James Barrow dies.
"I thought we were on the verge of something, but Ernie has shot it down." - Commissioner John Barrow, on ACC Attorney Ernie DePascale's advice to the Commission to drop transferable development rights (TDRs) from the county's proposed development ordinance.
June
Commission votes to move the county's Office of Public Information from Manager Al Crace's office to Mayor Eldridge's office and agrees to sell the Wray-Nicholson house to the University of Georgia for $2.3 million. • Drought prompts Athens-Clarke County to impose mandatory outdoor watering restrictions for the first time in its history. • The Second Annual Flagpole Athens Music Awards rock the Morton Theatre. • AthFest 2000 marks the festival's fourth year.
"So I guess it comes down to an issue [of] do you have 30 or 40 trash cans on every block downtown, sitting out 24 hours a day, seven days a week, because they wouldn't pull them back inside." - ACC Solid Waste Director Jim Corley, on the prospect of issuing downtown bars and restaurants garbage cans to protect new brick sidewalks from leaky trash bags.
July
Mayor Eldridge nixes an August vote on the development ordinance, rescheduling it for September. • Long-time Democratic incumbents State Senator Paul Broun, District Attorney Harry Gordon and Sheriff Jerry Massey are unseated by Doug Haines, Ken Mauldin, and Ira Edwards, respectively, in the primary election. • Behind closed doors in an executive session, the ACC Commission foregoes an opportunity to purchase four historic downtown rail trestles, owned by CSX Transportation; three are demolished before public protest prompts the Mayor and Commission to secure an option to buy the Dudley Park bridge, which was featured on the back cover of R.E.M.'s Murmur. • US Senator Paul Coverdell dies. • SPLOST-funded downtown construction work frustrates businesses. • Wal-Mart applies for rezoning on Epps Bridge Parkway in Oconee County. • Poneil Carruth is convicted of four 1996 Athens rapes.
"They probably could have had them for nothing if they'd wanted to negotiate down to nothing for them, but they decided that they didn't want them. That's all I know." - Ralph Pressley of CSX Transportation, on the ACC government's failure to prevent the destruction of CSX's downtown rail trestles.
August
Mayor Eldridge removes the development ordinance from the Commission's September agenda; Commissioner Linda Ford introduces her one-unit-per-acre AR option; Commissioner Ken Jordan proposes a temporary moratorium on rezonings. • "Stay Green" signs begin appearing in Athens-Clarke. • Matt "Six Pac" Stevenson dies. • Carmike Cinemas files for bankruptcy and closes its Georgia Square Mall theater.
"There is only one state where we know we will not be on the ballot, and that is Georgia." - Ralph Nader campaign manager Theresa Amato, on the Green Party presidential nominee's unsuccessful attempt to overcome Georgia's staggering signature requirements for ballot access.
September
The Commission rejects the proposed development moratorium 7-3 and sets December 5 as a possible date for a vote on the county development ordinance. • ACC Manager Al Crace resigns. • The Athens Grow Green Coalition forms. • BikeAthens hosts its inaugural Tour de Sprawl. • Nuci's Space, a non-profit resource center for local musicians, opens.
"We could make this plan so much better." - Commissioner Linda Ford, at the Commission's September voting session, lobbying against an October vote on the county development ordinance.
October
The Commission applies 75-foot development buffers to Clarke County perennial lakes and streams and approves the purchase of the Dudley Park rail trestle. • The UGA football team beats Tennessee, and students storm the field before the game ends, tearing down the goal posts and trampling people. • The Athens Grow Green Coalition hosts the Land Aid festival downtown, drawing R.E.M. to play its first live set in Athens since 1992. • The annual Kudzu Film Festival celebrates independent cinema.
"I don't oppose trees. I commend them." - Commissioner Hugh Logan, qualifying his opposition to the establishment of the Community Tree Council, a governmental advisory panel with no legislative powers.
November
Carl Jordan ousts District 6 Commissioner Marilyn Farmer in the general election; newcomer States McCarter wins in District 8; John Barrow easily retains his District 4 seat; Doug Haines narrowly defeats Republican Jim Ivey to replace Paul Broun in the State Senate; Ralph Hudgens holds off Doug McKillip in the local State House contest; Ken Mauldin bests Jim Smith for District Attorney; Clarke County Board of Education member Anne Cooper loses to Lydon Goodly in a runoff election. • ACC Police apprehend a man suspected of being the serial rapist preying on women downtown. • By a 7-3 vote, the Commission rezones 61 rural acres to accommodate the massive "Oak Grove" development.
"Where do you go from here if you approve this?" - Athenian Nancy Polansky to the ACC Commission, minutes before the Oak Grove vote.
December
UGA football coach Jim Donnan is fired. • Commission passes development ordinance on December 5, stuns community by including Linda Ford's one unit per acre rural zoning provision; Mayor Eldridge vetoes ordinance eight days later; Commission overrides the veto 7-3 at a December 19 special session.
"You have lit a fire. This issue will not go away." - former ACC Mayor Gwen O'Looney, to the Commission, following its approval of the county development ordinance.
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