Clarke County, GA

The Clarke County NAACP has fired off a letter calling for condemnation of remarks made by Athens-Clarke County Commissioner Melissa Link, who in recent Commission budget meeting called Georgia Bulldog football players rapists and murderers. From the Clarke Co NAACP…. In our beloved nation you are innocent until proven guilty....

I’ve had the privilege to work in collegiate athletics for more than 20 years, 11 of which have been at the University of Georgia. I love Athens. I have three boys that attend Clarke County schools. Athens is woven into the fabric of my family’s life, so I was both saddened and disappointed to hear that an Athens-Clarke County commissioner recently made inaccurate, overgeneralized, and hurtful statements about our football student-athletes in a public meeting — statements that she has continued to defend in subsequent comments.

The Clarke County School District has set its tentative 2023 budget, with a decreased millage rate and three public hearings scheduled. The tentative budget was approved by the board of education unanimously on May 12 and final approval is set for June 2, following the public hearings. The proposed millage rate would be 18.8 mills, down from the...

Athens-Clarke County Commissioner Melissa Link is blasting Athens state Rep Houston Gaines for his criticism of her remark about Georgia Bulldog football players: in a Commission budget hearing last week, the District 3 Commissioner said a lot of the players were “rapists and murders.” Republican Gaines condemned the comment; now she is attacking him on social media.

Prices for diesel gas in Georgia hit a record on Wednesday, with the average price per gallon being $5.25, according to AAA. As of Wednesday, May 18, the average cost for a gallon of regular unleaded gas in Georgia was $4.11, according to AAA. The price is up more than 40 cents from a month ago. Across the United States, the average price of a gallon of gas was $4.57 as of Wednesday.

Calls are mounting for Athens-Clarke County Commissioner Melissa Link to apologize after making a reference to University of Georgia football players “raping and murdering.”. Link made the comment during a discussion at a budget hearing Thursday about a proposed Youth Police Cadet Corps. She suggested recruiting ex-UGA athletes to...

Georgia State Representative Houston Gaines joined WDUN's "The Martha Zoller Show" Wednesday to talk about comments recently made by an Athens-Clarke County Commissioner calling University of Georgia football players rapists and murderers. Click play on the audio above for the full interview.

Starting tomorrow, Athens-Clarke County residents will have a chance to publicly comment on the Clarke County Board of Education’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2023. Among the highlights of the proposed $189 million budget is a reduction in property tax rates. With the growth in property values across the county, the school district says it can decrease the property tax rate—known as the millage rate—for the first time in years. The millage rate will drop from 20 mils to 18.8 mils.

The following letter was submitted in response to comments made by Commissioner Melissa Link. If you would like to submit a letter on the topic, please email your letter to cstroh-page@onlineathens.com and indicate that you are submitting it as a letter to the editor. In our beloved nation you are...

It was just a little over two months ago that Republican state lawmakers threw Athens-Clarke County elections into disarray by scrambling local commission districts, but now Election Day is nearly upon us. For those who’ve been following the races, here’s a quick reminder of where the candidates stand—and who’s behind them. We apologize for the fault in the subtitles.

The Athens-Clarke County Police Department is reporting a possible gas leak in the area of Carlton Terrace (not Carlton Street) and South Lumpkin Street. The fire department is on the scene and public safety officials are asking residents in the area to stay in their homes. We’ll keep you updated as more information comes available.

Athens-Clarke County Commissioners are set to vote tomorrow on a rescue plan for the North Athens Downtown Development Project. The project is supposed to be a major tool in fixing the city’s affordable housing problem, but skyrocketing construction costs have driven the plan more than 10 million dollars over budget. Project administrators told lawmakers last month that the cost of materials like steel, windows, and wiring have soared beyond what was predicted.

There are three Taxpayers Bill of Rights Public Hearings for Clarke County residents – tonight’s at 6 p.m. is the second. During that hearing the Mayor and Commission will hear public comment on the fiscal year 2023 budget before their scheduled sessions at City Hall, with a final hearing scheduled for June 7. Commissioners are expected to adopt the finalized budget at that meeting in June.

It is a busy day for Athens-Clarke County Commissioners, with a special called session at 5 o’clock this afternoon: they’ll take up a recommendation from the Historic Preservation Commission, then meet at 6 o’clock this evening for another public hearing on the budget presented by Athens Mayor Kelly Girtz. That will be followed by a Commission agenda setting session. Commissioners will get an update on work on the new Classic Center Arena in their evening meeting at City Hall.

There have been 81,417,100 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States to date – and that number continues to grow. In the Athens-Clarke County metropolitan area, located in Georgia, a total of 48,852 cases of COVID-19 have been reported. Adjusted for population, there have been 23,795 confirmed infections for every 100,000 people in the […]

Today the Biden Administration announced that additional free COVID-19 tests are available to order. U.S households can now order eight free rapid antigen tests through COVIDTests.gov. This marks the third round of free test kits made available by the federal government, bringing the total to sixteen tests per household so far. The White House says 350 million tests have been given away to 70 million households, more than half of the households in the U.S.

Athens-Clarke candidates in the May 24 election have submitted their campaign disclosure reports, with Mayor Kelly Girtz and commission hopeful John Culpepper in the lead for most funds raised.  Candidates are required to submit disclosure reports to the local elections office, with the last deadline on April 30. If a candidate has raised less than $2,500, then a report is not required.  ...

The Athens-Clarke County Leisure Services Department will host a free “Movies by Moonlight” outdoor movie on Saturday, June 4 at Sandy Creek Park. The movie starts at 9:15 p.m. Movie goers may start arriving at 8:30 p.m. The event features the 1970s classic “Jaws” and will be presented...

A third public forum on plans for a Macon Highway boat ramp project is set for 6 o’clock this evening at Ben Burton Park on Mitchell Bridge Road: the Athens-Clarke County Leisure Services Department is fielding public input on plans for the boat ramp, which is slated to be funded with local sales tax dollars.

As Athens-Clarke County Commissioners consider the Fiscal Year 2023 budget, one of the smaller items listed is a Vision Zero coordinator in Transportation and Public Works. The national program works to get pedestrian fatalities down to zero. District 8 Commissioner Carol Myers says the position help Athens bring in federal funding.