Northeast Georgia News
Reporting from Barrow, Clarke, Jackson, Madison, Oconee and surrounding counties.
-
Athens Boutique Makes Fashion Sustainable, Transparent for Customers
COMMUNITY is a fashion boutique in Downtown Athens known for its innovative, handmade styles using all recycled materials. Sanni Baumgärtner, a native of Germany and owner of the boutique, expressed the store’s central values of being sustainable and transparent. Baumgärtner shared it was her main priority to have the sewing…
-
Pops of Color to Vintage Accents: Inside the Rooms of UGA Students
University of Georgia students bring character to their college bedrooms through artwork, accessories and other items that remind them of family, home, study abroad trips and summer travel. Finding their personal style — often on a budget — is part of the evolution from dorm room to apartments, townhomes and…
-
Athens Recovery Warriors: Battling Addiction, Building Community
The audience fell silent as Sarah Corley made her way to the microphone. Corley told the crowd she found meth when she was 12, heroin at 13, left home at 16, and by 18 she was pregnant with her first child. For several years she was suicidal, intentionally overdosing…
-
New Market Entices Athens Neighborhood
When Kristen Hindes opened Birdies in November 2023, she wasn’t expecting drivers to park off-site to see her market based on a word in the window — sandwiches — but they did. Birdies, a newly opened specialty market owned by Kirsten Hindes, lies at the intersection of Prince Avenue and…
-
UGA Students are Prioritizing Sustainable Fashion
University of Georgia student organizations Fair Fashion and Swap Shop are helping promote sustainable fashion practices to help reduce the amount of waste on campus. Through clothing swaps and informational meetings, both organizations put accessibility and education at the forefront of their mission. “I love to be able to show…
-
Clarke County Schools New Literacy Program Goes Back to Phonics
Clarke County School District (CCSD) is going back to the basics with its new curriculum that supports science of reading and is teaching kindergarten through third-grade students how to read with phonics and syllables. The program, which was implemented in August 2023, aims to build on foundational skills that previous…
-
Fentanyl Found Laced With Powerful Horse Sedative in Georgia
Drug enforcement officials have found that a large-animal sedative known as xylazine, found to be laced within fentanyl, was responsible for 36% of fentanyl-related overdose deaths in Athens last year. Rich McDougald, commander of Northeast Georgia Regional Drug Task Force, stated the sedative was first found in fentanyl back 2021.…
-
Setting the Stage: Desi Dance Network’s Influence on Collegiate Dancers
A cold draft ran down Purvi Nandakumar’s spine as she stepped onto the stage, instantly blinded by the bright lights. She could barely see the audience members, but their loud cheers reminded her there were hundreds of people in the venue. In the five seconds it took for the lights…
-
Student Sports Gambling Rises as Georgia Moves to Legalization
Michael Sheridan was drenched in sweat even though it was 50 degrees outside. There was an empty couch behind him, but he placed himself about 5 feet from his television. On the screen, Iowa women’s basketball was facing off against Illinois. Sheridan wasn’t a fan of either team, but…
-
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…