Northeast Georgia News
Reporting from Barrow, Clarke, Jackson, Madison, Oconee and surrounding counties.
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Gender-Inclusive Restrooms Offer Safe Space for UGA Community
For some students at the University of Georgia, finding a restroom on campus doesn’t take a second thought. For others, it can be a stressful endeavor. Many transgender and gender-nonconforming college students opt to use the university’s designated gender-inclusive restrooms instead of the traditional men’s and women’s offered in every…
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Extra Special People Celebrates 13th Annual Big Hearts Event
More than 2,000 people clapped, cheered and laughed during ESP’s 13th annual Big Hearts event Saturday afternoon at the Classic Center in Athens. The event raised $250,000 for ESP programs. ESP, or Extra Special People, is a nonprofit organization in Watkinsville that provides year-round programs and support for people with…
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Athens Officials Address Challenges With New Voting Machines
Athens-Clarke County officials are noticing some difficulties as they switch over to a new voting system, which was authorized by the Georgia General Assembly. Commissioner Melissa Link said the system is complicated but with any new system, there will always be confusion. “I think you could throw all the money…
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Northeast Georgia Residents Can Give New State Voting Machines A Try
If you want to test out the new voting machines Georgians will use in the upcoming elections, many counties have set up demonstration stations for voters. Chris Harvey, elections division director for the Georgia Secretary of State’s office, demonstrated how to use the new voting machines at a meeting of…
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Athens Yelp ‘Elite Squad’ Is Shaping Our Food Choices
Everyone has an opinion—especially about food. Since the popular crowd-sourced review forum website Yelp launched in 2004, it has amassed over 192 million reviews from ordinary citizens around the globe looking to impart some of their own wisdom regarding restaurants, hotels, home services, auto services and more. In an age…
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Disease Creates Challenges For Peach Farmers, Need For Change In Farming Patterns
If you’ve lived in the state of Georgia, more than likely you are familiar with the concept of “the Georgia peach.” It’s on the welcome sign at the border, on licence plates and part of the state’s official logo. According to USDA statistics, however, the overall utilized production of peaches…
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Owners of Local Mexican Grocery ‘La Jalisco’ Discuss Struggles, Rewards of Small Business
Transcript and Audio: Carolina Medrano and Fatima Mendoza on Family Business ‘La Jalisco’ MARA NELMS: It’s a grocery store like any other — you can find apples and potatoes, cuts of beef and pork, fresh bread and pastries. You can also find horchata, popular Mexican candies, and authentic tacos. It’s…
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New SPLOST Has Implications for Future of Work in Athens
A 1% sales tax is being implemented once again in Athens-Clarke County after a Special Local Option Sales Tax was approved by referendum on Nov. 5, 2019. This most recent SPLOST—to fund a set of construction and improvement projects—was approved by 78 percent of the nearly 9,000 ballots cast, which…
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Solar Panels, Sustainable Workplaces Bring New Energy to Athens
A growing trend in the world of work is the rise of sustainability – which means that businesses and governments are taking responsibility for their actions and resource use by incorporating renewable energy, waste management, and resourceful practices into their business models. The implementation of sustainability can look like Starbucks…
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Magic Mushrooms Decriminalization Making Progress, Still Far Behind Cannabis
While marijuana is being decriminalized or legalized in states and municipalities across America, there is a new push to decriminalize psilocybin. Psilocybin is a naturally occurring hallucinogenic substance famously found in more than 200 kinds of mushrooms that are collectively referred to as “magic mushrooms” or “psychedelic mushrooms.” Zane Bader…