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ATHENS NEWS AND VIEWS
Can't Let It Go: Thus far in the news-and-spin
cycle on the "No NBAF in Kansas" effort,
our own Rep. Paul Broun, Jr. appears, well,
uncharacteristically circumspect. Sure, Broun
is piggybacking to some extent on the strident
calls from Texas to revisit the site selection
process—the argument being that Tornado
Alley is a bad place to keep the germs associ
ated with a BSL-4 bio-defense lab—but his
statements on the matter as of press time stop
short of the surprisingly out-there fearmonger-
ing coming from the Texas folks who've filed
suit in federal court to try to yank the lab
away from Kansas.
Speaking of which, does anyone else find it
ironic that the consortium charged with try
ing to bring the lab to Texas is now employing
precisely the same kind of germ-release scare
tactics for which Athens' anti-lab folks were
so berated? The NBAF story goes on and on,
and it is a weird one.
Turn Out, Speak Up: When ACC Commissioners
decided last year to order "corridor studies"
of Oak/Oconee Street and Prince Avenue, it
was immediately clear that (a) both corridors
are in great need of such attention, and (b)
good projects there could have lasting lega
cies for all involved in their creation. With
those points in mind, here's an opportunity
to get involved, as
the kickoff public
meeting for both
studies is planned for
this Thursday, Apr.
30 from 5:30-7:30
p.m. in the ACC
Planning Department
at 120 Dougherty St.
Planning staffers will
give a brief presenta
tion at the beginning
of the meeting and
then again at 6:30.
Public comment "will
be welcomed and is
encouraged," they
say. And there's a
caveat of sorts in the
press release: the
primary focus is on
land use and design
outside of the city
right-of-way for each
street, with a second
ary focus on right-of-way improvements. But if
good ideas are put on the table, that shouldn't
be too limiting a factor. So, go and give your
good ideas.
A A Good Idea in Action: Local artist and
professor Didi Dunphy picked the first hot day
of the year to spend with UGA art students in
a makeshift park on top of the College Avenue
parking deck (see photo), and here's hoping
the project was but the beginning of a conver
sation about public space in downtown Athens
and the need for small parks in this town in
general. To answer an obvious question, yes,
she explored doing the project at ground
level in an on-street parking space, but time
wouldn't allow the various bureaucratic hoop
jumping required by that idea. Still, the "Park
a Park" had its own unique qualities, existing
as it did on top of the deck, and it just may
provide momentum for future projects that
may help get people talking and thinking in
new ways. At the very least, the art school
kids seemed to have fun.
Aqua-News: By the time you're reading this
Flagpole, local officials may have loosened
outdoor watering restrictions; as of press
time, they had permission from state officials
to do so. Current information should always be
online at www.accpublicutilities.com, so check
there if you get confused. And check back
throughout the season for any changes to the
rules: something tells City Dope that our won
derful wet spring weather has evaporated, and
he wonders what the summer brings.
Meanwhile, a water rate hike that's
steeper than originally planned appears
inevitable, and City Dope is not envious of
the commissioners who must vote on it. But
more important, he wonders if there's another
model out there, one which would eliminate
the problem that always crops up whereby
water conservation reduces-revenues for the
water department, which then must raise
rates. The truth is that more efficient water
use probably needs to be central in our long
term outlook as a community, and it's in the
local government's interest to find a way to
make it economically sustainable sooner rather
than later.
Talkin' Real Economics: The leaders of the
OneAthens "Sixth Co-Convenor," created to
keep the organization in touch with real needs
in the community,
have announced
a "Community
Economic Town Hall
Forum" regarding
federal stimulus fund
ing coming to Athens,
set for Sunday, May
3 at 4 p.m. Originally
set for the UGA
Chapel, the event
appears to have been
moved to the African
American Cultural
Center in room 407 of
UGA's Memorial Hall.
In a letter this month
to the ACC Mayor
and Commission, co
convenor chair Janice
Mathis asked that
elected officials keep
in mind the "impov
erished, unemployed
and under-educated"
in the community and "apply the stimulus
where it is needed the most—in job creation,
human services, economic development for
neglected communities and youth in crisis."
Not a bad idea.
All Serious Offers Will Be Considered: So
says the eBay listing currently online adver
tising the old Allen's Hamburgers sign,
removed from the front facade of the original
Normaltown Allen's before its demolition a
few years ago. It's a piece of Athens his
tory, and it's hanging in a warehouse in
Watkinsville—there for the taking if you've
got a few thousand (or more?) to spend. Circa
Antiques and Art bought the 23-foot long sign
at auction in 2005, according to the listing,
which also says: "This purchase was prompted
by a comment in the Athens Banner-Herald, by
the auctioneer... 'Heck, we'll sell the front of
the building if someone's crazy enough to buy
it.'" So there you have it.
Ben Emanuel ben@flagpole.com
Local artist and professor Didi Dunphy (with parasol),
along with some UGA art students, parked a park up
on top of the College Avenue parking deck downtown
on Apr. 23. The sunburns were worth it, they say. Next
stop: College Square?
4 FLAGPOLE.COM ■ APRIL 29,2009