Couple of things
- It's good to see proper enforcement going on regarding the pedestrian crosswalks, but I'm no fan of this particular crosswalk on Prince Avenue. It's right in the middle of two stoplights in front of The Grit and causes more headaches than alleviate ones. I'm probably out there on my own on this one, and that's fine. I still contend the crosswalks should exist, on this particular stretch, only at those two stoplights due to heavy traffic flow on Prince Avenue. That's the safest option for pedestrians and, unless the road is actually three-laned one day, the most viable one for automobiles.
- Nicki brought some attention to it, David Lynn used his time for input during the last Athens-Clarke County Commission meeting to ask for a meeting with Bill Berryhill to take a look at some solutions and now we've got a significant crackdown on the prostitution and drug problems on Barber Street. Good to see, and all should be applauded for helping getting things rolling.
- Flagpole doesn't have the complete money list up yet, but Blake does a brief report on the District Eight fundraising efforts and it appears that Andy Herod has significantly outraised David Hamilton. In other news, Pete endorses Herod, and Tim Bryant confirmed to me that he's trying to put together a joint appearance by both candidates on his radio program since they were unable to get together for a debate.
- If you want to not have fun, go to Lilburn. Their city council is gonna ban trivia, karaoke and other sorts of cheesy entertainment options at restaurants and bars. Seriously ... ban karaoke? What night out isn't complete without belting out a poorly sung rendition of Damn Yankee's High Enough?
- The Sunday Sales issue is creating some strange bedfellows as Republicans are criticizing Republicans, and I think Democrat Rep. Regina Thomas is absolutely wrongheaded on this (and more than a bit melodramatic). Still, in good news, the bill cleared committee and will go to a vote in the Georgia General Assembly.
- As an aside, please note Ted Nugent kicking in the door at 3:12. Easily the most awesome part of that video.
- Regular commenter and local political gadfly (because I wanted to use that word) Robert Mabry gets a letter in.
- I'm not disagreeing with Todd Sartain on this, per se, but his letter accomplishes nothing. By that I mean, the letter he references addresses the obvious contradiction between the actions of some Republican candidates for president and the party's strict adherence to its interpretation of moral issues, which emerged largely in response to its perception of some on the opposition. As a result, mentioning Democrats which fail his party's own standard for morality does little to prove anything.
- Nicki brought some attention to it, David Lynn used his time for input during the last Athens-Clarke County Commission meeting to ask for a meeting with Bill Berryhill to take a look at some solutions and now we've got a significant crackdown on the prostitution and drug problems on Barber Street. Good to see, and all should be applauded for helping getting things rolling.
- Flagpole doesn't have the complete money list up yet, but Blake does a brief report on the District Eight fundraising efforts and it appears that Andy Herod has significantly outraised David Hamilton. In other news, Pete endorses Herod, and Tim Bryant confirmed to me that he's trying to put together a joint appearance by both candidates on his radio program since they were unable to get together for a debate.
- If you want to not have fun, go to Lilburn. Their city council is gonna ban trivia, karaoke and other sorts of cheesy entertainment options at restaurants and bars. Seriously ... ban karaoke? What night out isn't complete without belting out a poorly sung rendition of Damn Yankee's High Enough?
- The Sunday Sales issue is creating some strange bedfellows as Republicans are criticizing Republicans, and I think Democrat Rep. Regina Thomas is absolutely wrongheaded on this (and more than a bit melodramatic). Still, in good news, the bill cleared committee and will go to a vote in the Georgia General Assembly.
- As an aside, please note Ted Nugent kicking in the door at 3:12. Easily the most awesome part of that video.
- Regular commenter and local political gadfly (because I wanted to use that word) Robert Mabry gets a letter in.
- I'm not disagreeing with Todd Sartain on this, per se, but his letter accomplishes nothing. By that I mean, the letter he references addresses the obvious contradiction between the actions of some Republican candidates for president and the party's strict adherence to its interpretation of moral issues, which emerged largely in response to its perception of some on the opposition. As a result, mentioning Democrats which fail his party's own standard for morality does little to prove anything.
posted by Jmac at 6:59 AM
8 Comments:
"Since they were unable to get together for the debate"??? The ABH reported that David went to his own private campaign function instead. In other words, he could have been at the public function, but chose not to go. He wasn't "unable". He simply chose not to attend. This doesn't sit well with me. If he wants to be the commissioner, he needs to attend what might be the only public Q&A of the two candidates that we will have in this campaign.
JMac,
I think the explaination for the location of The Grit Memorial Crosswalk is this: there's a parking lot directly across Prince (the former Ivey & Co, and sometimes Clarke Co GOP, space) that many people use as Grit parking. I think the crosswalk is simply an acknowledgement that there's going to be pedestrian crossings at that place, rather than a plan to funnel pedestrians that way.
Darren
The thing that really bugs me about Whitehead's comment is not the "UGA has nothing to offer except football" part but, rather, the "the world would be perfect if all the liberals would just go away" subtext. To me this epitomizes what's wrong with politics today. To say such a thing is to assume that you are always right and have nothing to learn from those who don't agree with you. Both liberals and conservatives are guilty of this and it drives me nuts. Two examples of where each side should be humble enough to admit that the other side was right and we should be thankful that they were: First, those who would be labeled "liberal" were right that African-Americans should have the same rights as everyone else. Everyone but a racist should be willing to admit this and that we are a better society because of it. Second, conservatives were right that welfare was broken and needed to be reformed. While enough Democrats jumped on board to get welfare reform passed under Clinton (an admission that the other side was right), the ideas originated from the right and IMHO we have a better system even if it is not a good one.
Sorry, don't know much about Athens politics, but I do know that aside from kicking the door down at 3:12, the part at 3:55 is also spectacular.
Four comments ... four distinctly different reasons. Must have done a decent job today.
- Hamilton, either rightly or wrongly, opted to stick to his existing schedule and not attend the forum with Herod on Tuesday. The schedule confliction made him unable to attend, though I do concede he could have cancelled his function and attended the forum.
- Darren, I wouldn't dispute the rationale for the crosswalk. It does feed from a parking lot. I suppose my concern would be that stretch of Prince Avenue is pretty busy and is, as of now, still four-laned. In the absence of any traffic-calming or traffic-halting measures, I would suggest the safer option would be to head for the stoplight just half a block away and cross with the safety of the light.
- Rich, I agree. I thought the Whitehead comments were rather ridiculous, though I do believe he apologized for them shortly afterward when pressed on the topic. Both sides do this kind of thing, and it's all about saving face politically, which is a bit disappointing for those who want a fresher, more open process.
- The whole video is awesome my friend. Awesome.
JMac:
You are being extremely kind to Regina Thomas. If that's just a tad bit melodramatic then I've never experienced melodrama before in my life. However, I'm guessing that it plays really well in her state senate district. I wonder if she would be as over the top about a bill to allow people to buy pornography on Sunday. Oh wait, they can already do that and there's doesn't seem to be any outcry about the damage that it is doing to our society.
I do think, to some extent, Regina Thomas has removed herself from reality with regard to this particular debate.
JMAC -
On your comments about the Prince Avenue crosswalk. One thing that has always not set well with me is that the parking lot opposite to the Grit is not owned (or even maintained by the Grit's owners - based on my knowledge). So isn't Athens-Clarke County advocating the use of one's private property for the use of another's? From my observations of the use of the crosswalk - it is 90 percent used by people who are tresspassing by parking in the lot and then eating at the Grit.
-David
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