Top Stories Of The Year

1. Paul Broun wins special election for 10th Congressional District

Nothing like a hotly contested election that featured some of the most bizarre antics in recent memory to keep us busy between the 2006 mid-term elections and 2008 presidential campaign. In what was supposed by Jim Whitehead's coronation, Athens native Paul Broun, the son of former Democratic congressman Paul Broun Sr., surprised the political world by forcing himself into a run-off with Whitehead and then capitalized on a strong anti-Whitehead sentiment in Athens-Clarke County, as well as pieced together a grassroots support network for the ages throughout Northeast Georgia, and rode that to victory.

Along the way we saw an operative from one campaign beat up the truck of another, one candidate rely heavily on a pseudo-endorsement from Ronald Reagan written in the late 1980s, fundraising for one candidate start way before the previous officeholder had even passed away and, of course, the presumed frontrunner state that he wished Athens-Clarke County would be blown away.

And, in the end, we saw Broun standing alone ... because if there's one thing Athens citizens love it's small government, libertarian-type Republicans.

From the archives ...
Us. Vs. Them ... Whitehead-style (7/3/07)
Some Other Thoughts On The 10th (6/26/07)
Behind The Numbers (6/21/07)
Who To Back? (6/20/07)
Wrapping Up The 10th District (6/20/07)
It's Marlow Or Bust (6/13/07)
On The Debate (6/7/07)
If I Knew It Was This Kind Of Party (5/24/07)

2. The Drought

Well, quite literally, we're high and dry. Northeast Georgia is mired in the worst drought in roughly 100 years. We lost the ability to water our yards in mid-summer and, by the beginning of fall, we were in danger of running completely dry. Athens-Clarke County unveiled the Step F restrictions, though we haven't officially gotten to the point to put those in place yet thanks to the conservation efforts of this community (35 percent reduction compared to non-drought conditions) and a little, though not a lot, of rain toward the end of the year.

From the archives ...

So We're Here (10/26/07)
Step F Meeting (10/25/07)

3. Economic Development

It's a story here since we seem to talk about the best ways to get the community's economy, well, either on the right track or to keep it humming along. And, you good people have no shortage of ideas on what's working and what's not. Typically these discussions appear out of nowhere and spiral on for 40 comments or so.

From the archives ...

Thanks For Playing (10/08/07)
Context Is Key (10/07/07)

4. The Glenn Tax

Wow. Talk about bad ideas. Take a worthy discussion worth having (reforming the tax system), offer an outlandish idea (replacing property taxes with sales taxes on everything) and then make it unlikeable even to those who might like it (strip away local control) and then you have Glenn Richardson's tax scheme. And, even more confusing, the guy seems content on changing it as frequently as the sun rises and sets. An idea so misguided, it's united Republicans and Democrats in opposition.

From the archives ...

Yeah, But ... (9/14/07)
Well-Said (9/14/07)
Wasting Our Time (9/02/07)