In the Loop
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Early Voting Nears All-Time High in Athens
The number of Georgians who've voted early passed the 1.6 million mark on Wednesday.
At this time during the last midterm election in 2014, the early voter count had almost reached 700,000, according to Georgia Votes.
Record early voting is also happening in Clarke County. So far, 17,576 people have cast their ballot in the county. While that's fewer than the number who voted early in 2016—a presidential year when turnout is usually substantially higher—it's a 155 percent increase compared to 2014. And there is still a day and a half to go before early voting ends.
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Vigil Held at UGA for Victims of Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting
Photo Credit: Savannah Cole
University of Georgia students and other Athens members gathered outside UGA’s Tate Student Center Tuesday afternoon to mourn the victims of the shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue.
Eleven were left dead and six injured after the mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue on Saturday. The shooting is believed to be the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the history of the US, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
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Hice Boasts About Strong Economy in Athens Visit
Congressman Jody Hice’s presentation to the Council of the Northeast Georgia Regional Commission last month was not billed as a campaign event, but it would have been hard to miss the political implications of the message.
In just “two quick years,” Hice told government and civic leaders from the region, the country has gone from having a “stagnant” economy to one in which there is “great economic news.”
Hice said that “tax cuts played a huge role, relief of regulations have played a huge role.” He also said “local public and private partnership has played a huge role” in stimulating the economy.
Hice didn’t mention President Donald Trump, the Republican-controlled Congress, or even his own re-election bid.
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Vote Early This Saturday or at Expanded Locations Next Week
The Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections will be open for early voting from 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Saturday, and three other early voting locations will open next week.
Voting machines will be set up at the Athens-Clarke County Library from 10 a.m.–5 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and until 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday; at the Tate Center on campus from 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday; and in the basement of City Hall from 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Thursday and Friday.
That's in addition to early voting at the Board of Elections office, 155 E. Washington St., from 8 a.m.–5 p.m. weekdays through Nov. 2.
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Abrams, Kemp Campaigning in Athens
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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UPDATE: UGA Student Coaxed Into Car Downtown Found Safe; Suspect in Custody
A man with a history of sexual assaults coerced a woman into his car downtown early Wednesday morning, according to law enforcement officials.
The woman has been found safe, and the man is in custody, a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent told reporters this afternoon. Authorities are now looking for other women whom the man may have coaxed into his car.
Witnesses told police they saw the woman being coaxed into a black Nissan Sentra at about 12:15 a.m. It left downtown traveling east on Broad Street and was last seen in the area of Boulevard and Chase Street, according to ACCPD.
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Benson's Bakery in Bogart Catches Fire
Photo Credit: Oconee County Sheriff's Office via Facebook
No one was injured when the Benson's bakery off Atlanta Highway in Bogart caught fire Monday afternoon.
The fire apparently started in one of the main factory rooms shortly before 3 p.m. Workers were evacuated and Oconee Fire Rescue called to battle the blaze.
“They were cutting a hole for a fan, and the fire started in the insulation,” Oconee County Sheriff Scott Berry told The Oconee Enterprise.
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Justice Clarence Thomas Visited UGA This Week
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas quietly visited Athens earlier this week to speak to students and faculty at the University of Georgia School of Law.
On Monday morning, Thomas spoke at a breakfast reception for law faculty members.
On Tuesday, Thomas lectured to students about his life and allowed law school students to ask about the practice of law and his legal career. He also talked to a class titled “Excessive Force and Section 1983.”
All the events Justice Thomas attended were private and closed to the media, Heidi Murphy, the director of communications and public relations for the University of Georgia School of Law, told Flagpole earlier this week.
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