Couple of things
- Kudos to Danielle Smith and the other 23 graduates from the Classic City Learning Center. I've long been a fan of this alternative school, which targets dropouts and students on the verge of dropping out and offers them flexible class schedules and unique class options. Their grade point average jumped up 20 points once enrolled, and many of them now have opportunities ahead of them they didn't have before.
- The Athens-Clarke County Commission is pondering ways to spur economic development in blighted areas, but is having difficulty in reaching a consensus. The primary idea on the table is one that would allow Athens-Clarke County to grant Tax Allocation Districts (TADs) which encourage the county to redevelop infrastructure in run-down areas and then use the property tax revenue to pay back the costs.
Carl Jordan and Alice Kinman like it, though Elton Dodson and George Maxwell not so much.
The main concern is whether or not such redevelopment would cause property values to go up and how that would affect the poor citizens the plan is trying to help. Higher property values mean higher property taxes, and many poor citizens often get pushed out of the area - either voluntarily or involuntarily - by the higher taxes. This is becoming evident over in Normaltown and Boulevard, where redevelopment is sending property values soaring almost overnight.
I don't know if I think TADs are the appropriate way to go about this. I do think freezing property taxes for a set amount of time in areas affected by this - as well as new developments which offered mixed-income dwellings - might be a more effective way to allow the poorer homeowner the chance to get something in return for the rising value of his/her property and not be forced out by rising tax rates.
- The Washington Farms 'massacre' story always has been intriguing to me. My favorite part is how the owners of the dogs - the owners who have been cited 57 times for breaking animal control ordinances who have dogs which killed four pigs, five African pygmy goats, several rabbits and a turkey - filed a defamation suit against Washington Farms and the Oconee County Animal Control Department for telling the public their dogs were killers.
Well, uh, your dogs are killers.
- I don't completely agree with Ronald Cerwonka, but his letter to the editor does make some good points. Namely that ceding all of the land at the Naval Supply School to the University of Georgia is a tad foolish. This community needs more opportunity and it needs more jobs which can help those in poverty. This is something we discussed last night at the Interfaith Hospitality Network of Athens board meeting, and we have a representative on the committee which is working to determine the property's usage in the future.
- Kyle at Dawg Sports wrote up a nice little, er, lengthy post about being a Georgia fan. Pretty darn good.
- Four days. Four Cecil Flowe stories. More than a bit odd. I don't know if the AJC made a big of a deal of the capture of Eric Rudolph as they are making with 'what-was-up-with-Coach-Flowe' debacle.
- Speaking of inappropriate prom behavior, I never got around to mentioning our governor's two step at a recent prom. It's bad enough three of our last four governors have had names like 'Joe Frank' and 'Zell' and 'Sonny' ... but now, our current leader wearing a stay-glo necklace and pulling his best Thornton Melon impersonation in the midst of running for re-election?
Well, Sonny did.
- The Athens-Clarke County Commission is pondering ways to spur economic development in blighted areas, but is having difficulty in reaching a consensus. The primary idea on the table is one that would allow Athens-Clarke County to grant Tax Allocation Districts (TADs) which encourage the county to redevelop infrastructure in run-down areas and then use the property tax revenue to pay back the costs.
Carl Jordan and Alice Kinman like it, though Elton Dodson and George Maxwell not so much.
The main concern is whether or not such redevelopment would cause property values to go up and how that would affect the poor citizens the plan is trying to help. Higher property values mean higher property taxes, and many poor citizens often get pushed out of the area - either voluntarily or involuntarily - by the higher taxes. This is becoming evident over in Normaltown and Boulevard, where redevelopment is sending property values soaring almost overnight.
I don't know if I think TADs are the appropriate way to go about this. I do think freezing property taxes for a set amount of time in areas affected by this - as well as new developments which offered mixed-income dwellings - might be a more effective way to allow the poorer homeowner the chance to get something in return for the rising value of his/her property and not be forced out by rising tax rates.
- The Washington Farms 'massacre' story always has been intriguing to me. My favorite part is how the owners of the dogs - the owners who have been cited 57 times for breaking animal control ordinances who have dogs which killed four pigs, five African pygmy goats, several rabbits and a turkey - filed a defamation suit against Washington Farms and the Oconee County Animal Control Department for telling the public their dogs were killers.
Well, uh, your dogs are killers.
- I don't completely agree with Ronald Cerwonka, but his letter to the editor does make some good points. Namely that ceding all of the land at the Naval Supply School to the University of Georgia is a tad foolish. This community needs more opportunity and it needs more jobs which can help those in poverty. This is something we discussed last night at the Interfaith Hospitality Network of Athens board meeting, and we have a representative on the committee which is working to determine the property's usage in the future.
- Kyle at Dawg Sports wrote up a nice little, er, lengthy post about being a Georgia fan. Pretty darn good.
- Four days. Four Cecil Flowe stories. More than a bit odd. I don't know if the AJC made a big of a deal of the capture of Eric Rudolph as they are making with 'what-was-up-with-Coach-Flowe' debacle.
- Speaking of inappropriate prom behavior, I never got around to mentioning our governor's two step at a recent prom. It's bad enough three of our last four governors have had names like 'Joe Frank' and 'Zell' and 'Sonny' ... but now, our current leader wearing a stay-glo necklace and pulling his best Thornton Melon impersonation in the midst of running for re-election?
Well, Sonny did.
posted by Jmac at 7:03 AM
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