Page 15 - Tim Denson News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

The Athens-Clarke County Commission passed a resolution that confirms the updates on the Clayton Street construction that were discussed in last week’s work session during a special called session Tuesday. The resolution will eliminate most plans to add planters, except at sidewalk bump-outs and corners. It would also add motorcycle parking spaces and include stairs in needed areas.  The planters are being removed from the project plan in order to create more sidewalk space for pedestrians, due to the recent extension of the county’s parklet program. The Athens-Clarke County Mayo...

The Athens-Clarke County Mayor and Commission discussed adjusted plans for construction on Clayton Street that would provide more pedestrian sidewalk space, a new river access point and eliminating hostile architecture downtown during a work session Tuesday evening. Two ACC Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax program administrators, Keith Sanders and Diana Jackson, presented the commission with the newly updated plans that the commission is set to vote on during their next voting session. The adjustment would eliminate most plans to add planters, except at sidewalk bump-outs and corners. I...

A bill from Rep. Houston Gaines to ban 'defund the police' efforts will not hinder efforts to rethink public safety in Athens, commissioners say. Gaines’s bill passed the Georgia legislature and is on its way to the governor’s desk awaiting Gov. Brian Kemp’s signature. This legislation would ban local governments from reducing a police department's budget by more than 5% in a one-year period.  Exceptions to this include police departments with less than 25 officers or if revenue falls more than 5%. Gaines’s district includes Athens, a city that he specifically cited as causing a need...

The Athens-Clarke County Mayor and Commission debated accepting a training grant for the ACC Police Department and discussed plans for outdoor dining plazas and sustainable development in the city in an agenda setting session Tuesday evening. Commissioners discussed accepting a state grant of $221,500 for an officer training program for ACCPD, which will aim to reduce “the amount of force and levels of force used by officers,” according to the legislation. District 6 Commissioner Jesse Houle and District 8 Commissioner Carol Myers said they were concerned about the grant going towar...

Madeline Polites and Cooper Holmes perched outside the last remaining historic home on the lot on the corner of East Broad and Wilkerson Street with signs reading “Shame on Landmark Properties” and “Athens, Say No to a Parking Deck in Pottery Town.” Polites, Holmes and even Athens' semi-prominent Pink Flamingo would go on to continue their protest most afternoons for several days, waving at passing cars as they honked in support. The lot is part of a larger expansion project by Landmark Properties to develop student housing and subsequent parking decks in the historic neighborhood kn...