Northeast Georgia News
Reporting from Barrow, Clarke, Jackson, Madison, Oconee and surrounding counties.
-
Long-Lasting Chemicals Found in Georgia Waterways
University of Georgia researcher Gary Hawkins is working to remove long-lasting chemicals from Georgia’s waterways. Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), also known as “forever chemicals,” have posed a threat to Georgians and others across the globe for years. Hawkins is a water resource management specialist for UGA Cooperative Extension in…
-
Faith on Lumpkin: Baptist Collegiate Worship Team Aims to Praise, Encourage
Editor’s note: Faith on Lumpkin is a series produced by students in the fall 2023 Religion Reporting class. They were embedded with four student religious groups — UGA BCM (Baptist Collegiate Ministries), Christus Victor Lutheran Church and Student Center, the Presbyterian Student Center and the Episcopal Campus Ministry — with…
-
Fighting Pollution: How Athens Residents are Keeping Rivers Alive
Athens residents and local groups came together early in the morning on Oct. 21 for the annual Athens Rivers Alive event. Their mission: to clean and revitalize the county’s polluted creeks, rivers, streams and trails. Rivers Alive, a statewide Georgia volunteer waterway cleanup program, celebrates its 25th annual cleanup this…
-
ACC’s Clean and Renewable Energy Campaign A Generational Opportunity For Change
The Athens-Clarke County’s mayor and commission adopted a resolution in 2019 to obtain 100% of the Unified Government’s energy needs for operations and building, from clean and renewable sources by 2035. Four years later, the Sustainability Office looks to bolster sustainability in the local community with the Clean and…
-
Athens Considers Next Steps After Closure of First Step Encampment
First Step, a government-sanctioned homeless encampment that opened in early 2022, will close on Dec. 31 of this year. Athens-Clarke County government is closing the encampment while it looks to find a more permanent solution to homelessness. As a result of the closure, unhoused individuals cannot stay at the encampment…
-
Delays, Increased Costs, Traffic: Mayor Kelly Girtz Provides Update on The Classic Center Arena
Editor’s note: Students in Reporting I covered a Dec. 1 press conference with Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz about The Classic Center Arena. Following the press conference, they interviewed secondary sources ranging from Danny Bryant, general manager of the arena, to business owners and managers to members of the UGA…
-
Campus Union Advocates for Competitive, Equitable Graduate Worker Pay
The United Campus Workers of Georgia at UGA — the only labor union on campus representing University of Georgia employees — continues to fight for fair pay for graduate students as one of its policy priorities this year. The group, which goes by UCWGA-UGA, argues that graduate workers provide critical…
-
Comparing Overcrowding in Athens-Clarke County’s Animal Shelters
When the COVID-19 pandemic began, people were given stay-at-home orders. To cope with the loneliness, many Americans adopted a pet. However, as COVID-19 restrictions were lifted and online work became restricted, some pets were returned back to shelters, leading to high intakes. Shelters across the nation have reported return…
-
What You Missed at Vulture Festival 2023
As the sun rose over the tree line, event attendees craned their necks to watch the vultures spread their wings to sunbathe. The early morning light filtering through the spread feathers of their wings cast them in an angelic glow. Vultures may get a bad reputation, but the Athens-Clarke County…
-
UGA Transportation and Parking Services Receives $7.2 Million to Purchase More Electric Buses
The University of Georgia Transportation and Parking Services received a $7.2 million grant last month from the Federal Transit Administration to purchase up to eight more buses to add to its current fleet of 90 buses. Despite this, the university still faces bus driver shortages and overcrowded buses. The UGA…