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Here they come, alright.
Train on Track?
Signs of Life for Rail
For years, the State Transportation Board has
been unable to reach a consensus on whether
to move ahead with proposals for commuter rail
lines from Atlanta that would eventually con
nect to Macon and Athens. There are finally some
signs of movement on the commuter rail issue,
however, thanks to some behind-the-scenes
lobbying by a former member of the state legis
lature.
The Transportation Board's inter-modal com
mittee voted unanimously Aug. 15 to recommend
that the state begin working on commuter rail
links from downtown Atlanta to Lovejoy (the first
leg of the Macon line) and to Tucker (the initial
part of the Athens line). The full Transportation
Board approved the recommendation the follow
ing day, and will at some point move the issue
over to the General Assembly for a final decision
on whether the state will fund commuter rail
transit or not.
"We've got to find out what the legislature's
going to do, and the way to do that is get it [the
commuter rail proposal] out of committee," said
Bill Kuhlke, a Transportation Board member from
Augusta.
"Somebody's got to find the funding for it,
but that's [the legislators'] job," said board
member Raybon Anderson of Statesboro. "It's our
job to move it across the street."
The unanimous committee vote was sig
nificant because it showed some signs of unity
among Transportation Board members who have
been badly divided in the past on this issue.
Some board members support commuter rail as-
a way to reduce highway congestion, but others
have insisted that the state doesn't have enough
money to run a passenger rail system.
The committee decision was a signal accom
plishment for Larry Walker, an influential House
member for 32 years before he retired from the
General Assembly in 2004. Walker, who was
elected to the Transportation Board earlier this
year, has been working quietly for months to try
to build unity among board members for com
muter rail service.
"I've just been talking to them and trying
to explain to them we needed to do something
positive," said Walker, an attorney from Perry.
"It's old legislative politics, you know."
Transportation board members like Garland
Pinholster and David Doss, who have been op
ponents of commuter rail service, voted with
Walker to recommend the two rail lines, even if
somewhat reluctantly.
"My only concern about the issue is one I've
had along—how do we fund it?" said Doss, a for
mer board chairman.
"Larry must have done a good job, because
I'm now on board," said Pinholster, who was a
Cherokee County legislator before being elected
to the Transportation Board.
The Department of Transportation has about
$107 million in state and federal funds avail
able to build a commuter rail link from Atlanta
south to Lovejoy in Clayton County. That link
would utilize a freight line operated by Norfolk
Southern. The link to Tucker, under the proposal
approved by the committee, would start at the
Atlantic Station project north of downtown
Atlanta and extend eastward along a CSX freight
line that runs through the Emory University cam
pus. Funding would have to be secured for that
particular commuter rail link.
Transportation Board Chairman Mike Evans
said Aug. 16 that the Transit Planning Board,
a group of top officials from around the metro
Atlanta area, is moving along a similar path and
could have its own commuter rail proposal on
the table by late September. "They're hoping by
the Sept. 27 board meeting to lay out their first
proposal, some recommendations we can really
look at," Evans said. "They're really digging deep
on this thing."
Tom Crawford lcrawford@capilolimpacl.nel
Congress & Commish
What Can Broun Get Us?
Newly elected U.S. Representative Paul Broun
attended (at his own initiative) a work ses
sion last week with Athens-Clarke County (ACC)
Commissioners, to hear their concerns about
federal decisions. The new congressman listened
more than he spoke at the Aug. 14 meeting,
but appeared knowledgeable about several spe
cific issues during the friendly session. Broun
volunteered to help Athens get federal designa
tion (along with certain federal benefits) for its
Athens Neighborhood Health Center. His assistant
made notes as the 10 commissioners, mayor and
county manager went "round robin" expressing
concerns and hopes about Washington money
and decisions.
Health care was a big one for both commis
sioners and the congressman, although Rep.
Broun, a physician, said he didn't want to see
federal health insurance. (That works well enough
for routine things, he said, but not for serious
illnesses.) "We struggle in every budget cycle
to deal with the health-care needs of our com
munity," said Commissioner Elton Dodson, "and
we need help. We can't do it." And while commis
sioners sought encouragement that the Medical
College of Georgia will expand to the Navy School
campus on Prince Avenue (once the Navy moves
out it in 2011), Broun wouldn't touch that con
troversy. "It's up to the state to determine how
that expansion is going to be done," he said.
(Broun also represents Augusta, where many lo
cals hope the existing school will expand.)
Public transport was the other major concern.
ACC Manager Alan Reddish told Broun that fed-
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Drinkin’ Regs
Nearing Their Limit?
A revision of local ordinances governing alco
hol licensees is making its way toward adoption,
and the bulk of its provisions will be voted on
by the Athens-Clarke County (ACC) Mayor and
Commission on Sept. 4. Some of the still-contro
versial provisions—mainly, one requiring criminal
background checks for doormen—may be includ
ed in the September vote, though it was unclear
at press time whether that would happen.
The broad revision of alcohol ordinances came
about in part because of a need to clear up vari
ous inconsistencies in the local books, and to
match them up with current state law. ACC staff,
however—from the Finance Department, Police
Department and Attorney's office—took the op
portunity to also try to clamp down on repeat
abusers of alcohol licenses who sell to underage
drinkers. Since March, when commissioners first
got a look at the proposal, many of the provi
sions that raised flags with downtown bar owners
(and commissioners) in particular have been
removed.
Not all of them, though: negotiations last
week saw the background check for doormen
remain in place, though bar owners Damon Krebs
and Warren Southall said they still oppose it.
Krebs and Southall, who together own Walker's
Pub and the new Pub at Gameday, and have in
terests in Allgood and the Boar's Head, assented
to the requirement as a compromise with rep
resentatives of the Campus-Community Alcohol
Coalition in a meeting with Commissioner Elton
Dodson on Aug. 13. Part of that compromise
was an agreement to remove a provision requir
ing doormen and bartenders to be 21 or older.
According to Dodson, bar owners tell him they
prefer legal-age workers, but say a 21-and-up
hiring requirement would likely cause a labor cri
sis of sorts downtown.
There is a lingering concern, though, that
criminal background checks (at a cost of about
$30 each) will make the typically short-term,
low-pay job of working the door even less desir
able. (Bars are not required to have doormen, but
many choose to when they're busy, to take some
responsibility for avoiding underage service off of
bartenders.) Meanwhile, the proposed ordinance
would require an online training of all restaurant
and bar employees who handle or serve alcohol,
with a possibility of a local Internet database of
trainees available for employers to reference.
Krebs and Southall—who don't necessarily
represent an often fractious group of downtown
bar owners, but have remained closely involved
as ordinance revisions take shape this year—
say they don't mind that rule in the scheme of
things. What they dislike is the special attention
paid to bars and doormen, when it's acknowl
edged that plenty of the alcohol consumed
by underage drinkers comes from convenience
stores, restaurants and other sources. "We're try
ing to figure a way to make it fair for everybody,"
Krebs told Flagpole, citing a desire for "an even
playing field for restaurants and bars."
Commissioner Kelly Girtz is wary of the back
ground check requirement, too. He supports the
certification (through online training)—and
decertification, in case of violations—of employ
ees. But, Girtz said, "I've got civil liberties is
sues with the background check." Commissioners
Dodson and David Lynn expressed some general
reservations in an Aug. 16 committee meeting, as
well. What the background check would entail is
not entirely worked out, but it would more than
likely be based on the current background check
for alcohol license holders. That check scans a
person's record for felonies, alcohol service viola
tions, three or more DUIs in the past five years,
and "crimes of moral turpitude"—which can in
clude things like theft or bad checks.
The background check was one of a few provi
sions put on a 60-day hold at a July meeting of
the Commission's Legislative Review Committee,
presumably delaying a vote on it until October
or later. The Aug. 13 compromise seemed to help
pave the way for its inclusion in the September
vote, however, pending further discussion of
alcohol ordinance revisions at the Commission's
agenda-setting meeting on Thursday, Aug. 23.
Ben Emanuel ben@flagpole.com
This euy is the pick for best manners:
good on a leash, keeps h*s kennel
tidy, and very, very qwet He’s a
calm, thin Lao mix that has perhaps
been on his awn for a while, but has
obviously had some training.
They are calling this elegant
fellow a Whippet mix though
he’s more of a Greyhound size
but has the racehorse build of
both. Beautiful, sleek all white
coat Extremely shy, needs a
kind hand.
And in the Little Dog Department.. Above is
a tiny 8(ish) year old Yorxie who knows her
rightful place is in your arms, wherever you
are. She has no teeth, and her little tongue
iust sorta hangs out of her mouth. The
Pekingese below came in very matted and
basically neglected, and will have his old coat
shaved off so a new pretty blonde one can
grow. Really needs a life do-over. The high
energy grey and white Terrier mix
puppy below moves at an
amazing hummingbird speed
in ail he does.
24507
August 9 to August 15, 2007
ACC ANIMAL CONTROL
36 DogiReceived
26 pygs Paced
ATHENS AREA HUMANE SOCIETY
22 Total Cats Received
I 3 Cats Placed
I Adoptablc Cat Euthanized
See more
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athenspets.netj
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BEN EMANUEL