COVID-19 Coverage
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Nurturing Connection: Vital Role of ‘The Third Place’ for Gen Z
WATCH: The term “Third Place,” another name for “a home away from home,” is trending among Generation Z, who are looking for ways to build community — and local businesses in Athens are responding. Emily Ezratty was greeted by laughter and the low hum of conversation as…
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Musical Derivative of the Past: Copenhagen’s ‘New Normal’ Living with COVID-19
If you walked into a music bar or venue in Copenhagen, Denmark, you may feel transported to life before the COVID-19 pandemic. While a tourist might rub their eyes to confirm a familiar environment, Copenhagen residents don’t hesitate to dance, drink and experience music. This reminiscent atmosphere is the “new…
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Volunteering Is Not Just Helpful for Your Community; It Could Also Improve Your Mental Health
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, health officials and leaders warned of an urgent problem within our culture. There was and still remains a mental health crisis in the United States, especially among younger people. The forced isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-and 2021 may be easing now,…
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‘I Just Want to Exist With my Family’: To children with eating disorders, support from family during pandemic is essential
“I think parents can’t comprehend that kids as young as 9, 10, 11 could have eating disorders. They totally can,” says Robin Staub-Grundstein, a licensed dietitian and a certified pediatric and adolescent weight management specialist at Healthy Habits Nutrition Consulting in Athens. For Lynn Wilson, from Calgary, Alberta, symptoms of…
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Athens Retailers Share Experiences of Working Through Pandemic
Dynamite Clothing owner Loretta Paluck knows firsthand what it was like to operate a clothing business amidst a global pandemic. The hardest part was the feeling of the unknown. Dynamite closed its doors for around three months and shifted to online sales as a way of staying afloat. With case…
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Justin Bray Brings Bright Things to Books for Keeps
Walking into the Books for Keeps warehouse, you are immediately surrounded by books and more books. Justin Bray, who recently took over as executive director in August, battles with troubling technology to get music started for his volunteers as they sort through the many piles of books laid across tables.…
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‘Keeping It Real’ On Social Media Aids In Local Business Boom
At 6:20 p.m., the sun begins to set over the hills and the crickets chirp. Dust begins to stir in the gravel driveway of a shack in the middle of nowhere. The air conditioner is roaring in a futile attempt to prevent beads of sweat from protruding on the…
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Back On The Scene: How Athens’ Young Musicians Are Recovering From Pandemic
Robert King could not wait to get back on stage. He had been without live music for the better part of a year, ever since his former band’s seven shows were cancelled by the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, sitting in the green room of the 40 Watt…
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Music To My Ears (Finally): How Athens Venues, Businesses Adapt To ‘New Normal’
Four to five nights a week, a line of people wrap around the Georgia Theatre waiting for entry, a sight that has become uncommon for the past year and a half. With masks on and vaccination cards in hand, patrons file into the theatre to enjoy a variety of…
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Athens Business Owners Find New Paths Following Shutdown
What was hoped to be a successful launch of a new indoor cycling studio in Athens turned into a delayed opening, having to adapt to new protocols, and industry disruptions. This is what the coronavirus pandemic did to Classic City Cycling and to the experience of Amanda Stefani, studio…