When most of the students (and many townies) leave town for the summer, life in Athens slows down considerably. But it doesn’t come to a complete halt. We defeated bills, passed others, built new buildings and elected new leaders. Get caught up on the news:
May 11: UGA students, staff and faculty joined forces with local writers and musicians to help convince Gov. Nathan Deal to veto the “campus carry” bill, which would have legalized guns on most parts of college campuses.
Clarke County School District administrators said they are holding off on an unpopular plan to pave over a community garden at the West Broad School when the building is converted into CCSD’s new central office.
May 18: The rejuvenated Marigold Festival highlighted Winterville’s burgeoning status as a haven for artists and musicians.
May 25: Athens-Clarke County completed renovations to its animal shelter on Buddy Christian Way. Improvements included more dog kennels and new spaces for puppies, cats and kitties.
Athens-Clarke County planning commissioners heard a pitch from local developers to ease zoning restrictions on Atlanta Highway and Lexington Road, which could make big boxes easier to build, but could make them even uglier, too.
Advantage Behavioral Health Systems closed on the Clarke County School District’s former headquarters off Newton Bridge Road and will use the building to consolidate various employment, addiction and mental health programs in one place.
UGA Athletic Director Greg McGarity apologized for including condoms and liquor in Atlanta rapper Ludacris’ rider for a 13-minute G-Day performance at Sanford Stadium.
June 1: John Knox won an Eastside school board seat, Toni Meadow was elected tax commissioner, and U.S. Rep. Doug Collins was sent back to Congress. Shockingly, those were the only local races on the ballot—and November won’t bring more choices.
June 8: A local doctor and builder are teaming up to convert an old cotton mill on Pulaski Street into condos and a “city market” with food and craft vendors.
Organizers of the Hot Corner Celebration in a traditionally African-American part of downtown said part of their goal is to bring more minority-owned businesses back to the corner of Hull and Washington.
Volunteer dentist Jim Morang examines a patient at the Athens Resource Center for Hope, which opened over the summer.
June 15: A coalition of local nonprofits opened the Athens Resource Center for Hope, a “one-stop shop” for housing and health care for the homeless.
With schools, shopping, a hospital and a farmers market all within walking distance, the West Broad neighborhood has a lot going for it. But all those amenities mean gentrification isn’t far behind. Local officials are thinking about how to revitalize the neighborhood without pushing out longtime residents.
Donald Trump won the endorsement of the biggest, the classiest, the most luxurious football coach ever—Vince Dooley.
Need a meal on wheels? Athens food trucks gather every other Wednesday at the Jittery Joe’s Roasting Co. on Barber Street or (if it rains) under the Classic Center pavilion.
June 22: AthFest Educates is a nonprofit that raises funds for arts and music education. Yet one of its premier events, AthFest, actually is a money-loser for the organization.
A $185,000 transit study recommended that Athens-Clarke County extend bus service up Danielsville Road and Highway 29 and down Epps Bridge Parkway to Oconee County.
Campus Transit and Athens Transit won multimillion-dollar state grants to buy electric and hybrid buses.
Mothers cleaned up at the Flagpole Athens Music Awards, winning Artist of the Year, Album of the Year and Best Live Performer.
June 29: Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein spoke at UGA, casting herself as an alternative for Bernie Sanders supporters who can’t bring themselves to vote for Hillary Clinton.
UGA expanded its medical amnesty policy so that students who overdose on drugs or alcohol won’t get in trouble if their friends call for help.
July 6: Athens residents have little to fear from Zika. According to a UGA entomologist, the particular type of mosquito we have here in Athens doesn’t carry the virus.
More than half of Clarke County School District students missed more than five days of class last year, leading administrators and school board members to tighten up tardiness and truancy policies.
Campus carry may have been defeated, but a bill legalizing Tasers on campus took effect July 1.
Beth Sale is the new gallery director at the Lyndon House Arts Center, replacing Nancy Lukasiewicz, who retired after 40 years.
July 13: In 2005, local skateboarders convinced Athens-Clarke County officials to build the Skate Park of Athens, but their vision was only half fulfilled. Now, a younger generation of skateboarders is raising money to complete the task.
Opponents of the so-called “Opportunity School District” kicked off a campaign to defeat the proposal at the ballot box in November. The constitutional amendment would allow the governor to take over schools he deems to be failing—although “failing” isn’t defined, and he could turn such schools over to private, for-profit corporations.
July 20: Hundreds of people gathered at vigils and community forums after yet another spate of cops shooting African Americans and revenge killings of cops. At one, ACC Police Chief Scott Freeman outlined department policies and said he has no tolerance for racist or violent officers.
July 27: A UGA College of Environment and Design graduate is floating a plan to restore the university’s original botanical garden that once straddled what’s now Broad Street.
County Attorney Bill Berryman introduced a long-awaited local anti-discrimination ordinance, but critics said it didn’t go far enough because it only sanctions discrimination in bars.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of The Georgia Museum of Art
The late Jack Davis was known worldwide for his comic-book and magazine illustrations, but in Georgia for his cartoons celebrating his beloved Dawgs.
Aug. 3: An audit of ACC Leisure Services found a number of faults with the city’s summer camps.
Jack Davis, who illustrated Mad magazine and drew countless comics and magazine covers, as well as Georgia Bulldog cartoons hanging in homes and businesses all over the state, died at age 91.
UGA swim coach Jack Bauerle, an assistant on the U.S. men’s team, talked about his experiences at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and what he expects at the 2016 Olympics. Twenty-eight current and former UGA athletes are competing in Brazil.
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