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Athens Is Still Closed
GOV. KEMP’S NO GOOD, VERY BAD WEEK, AND MORE LOCAL NEWS
By Blake Aued and Chris Dowd news@flagpole.com
Gov. Brian Kemp’s recent decision to allow
restaurant dining rooms, movie theaters,
hair and nail salons, tattoo parlors, bowling
alleys, gyms and some other types of pre
viously nonessential businesses to reopen
drew widespread ridicule and anger, both
in his hometown of Athens and across the
country.
Even President Donald Trump—who
propelled the underdog Kemp to the
Republican nomination with a tweet in
2018—threw him under the bus. CNN
reported that Trump’s coronavirus task
force sent public health advisor Deborah
Birx to convince the president not to sup
port Kemp’s reopening plan. It worked.
Trump said Kemp was acting “too soon,”
because Georgia hasn’t met the administra
tion’s standard of 14 straight days of declin
ing COVID-19 deaths. Fox News host Sean
Hannity called the plan “dumb.”
Athens’ ultra-conservative congressman,
Jody Hice, apparently didn’t get the memo.
He wrote an op-ed for Townhall accusing
public health experts and government
officials of shutting down the economy for
nothing. In reality,
social distancing has
worked, so the death
toll hasn’t been nearly
as high as it could
have been. Hice also
voted against the
most recent coronavirus relief bill, which
includes an additional $310 billion for small
businesses.
The situation left liberals in the odd
position of agreeing with a president they
loathe. “Without enough testing, without
enough supplies for doctors and nurses, and
without listening to medical professionals,
the governor’s actions today will make this
crisis even worse and put more Georgians
at risk,” Democratic Party of Georgia chair
person Nikema Williams said after Kemp’s
announcement Apr. 20.
Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz
appeared on CNN urging residents to con
tinue sheltering in place. “It’s like telling
your quarterback, ‘We don’t have a helmet
for you, we don’t have pads, but just get out
on the field and try not to get sacked,”’ he
said.
Georgia hit the peak of COVID-19 deaths
on Apr. 7, according to one widely cited
metric from the University of Washington.
That same projection, though, shows that
Georgia should not start relaxing social
distancing measures until June 15, when
testing is projected to ramp up enough so
that suspected COVID-19 victims’ contacts
can also be traced, tested and quarantined.
“We’re not yet seeing a decline in the num
ber of cases in Georgia,” Emory University
epidemiology professor Carlos del Rio told
the AJC.
Athens small business owners seem
to understand this. “It’s not safe for our
employees or customers,” said Bain Mattox
of Automatic Pizza, which will continue
with carry-out and delivery. At least one
local restaurant, Hi-Lo, has opted to shut
ter entirely as a result of Kemp’s order.
“I’m afraid if we have the door open, peo
ple will come in and grab a seat and hang
out,” co-owner Jon Andrews said. Cine,
AMC, Beechwood Cinemas and University
Cinemas remain closed. So does Showtime
Bowl, as well as the YMCA, several other
local fitness centers, Republic Salon and
Washington Square Studio. Nail Daddy
responded by posting a clip of Bishop
Bullwinkle’s 2014 viral hit “Hell to the Naw
Naw” on Instagram.
Some expressed anger at even having to
make a choice. “The fact that we are put in
this position is unconscionable,” said mas
sage therapist Amy Bramblett. [Blake Aued]
Commission: Stay at Home
Despite Kemp’s recent order allowing
some “non-essential” businesses to re-open,
the ACC Commission voted Apr. 21 to
extend the local emergency declaration here
in Athens.
This extension allows ACC Manager
Blaine Williams to keep some emergency
powers until June 2, but it cannot con
tradict the statewide
order. Even so, the
commission is still
requesting that all
non-essential busi
nesses remain closed
and that Athenians
continue to shelter in place for the time
being, citing the advice of medical experts.
“We can’t preempt the governor, unfor
tunately, at this time,” said Commissioner
Russell Edwards. “This is simply a recom
mended action for our citizens.”
The commission continues to press
forward with coronavirus relief efforts. At
this meeting, they voted to start a local
authority tasked with distributing small
loans to affected businesses, but commis
sioners lamented that they couldn’t do
more. “I would have liked to see this as a
grant program rather than a loan program,”
Commissioner Ovita Thornton said. A grant
program would be forbidden by the state
constitution’s gratuities clause—a familiar
bugbear for this commission—which pre
vents local governments from giving away
taxpayer money directly to individuals or
businesses.
However, there are other options for
providing relief. The commission is consid
ering a $15,000 fund administered through
the Athens Cultural Affairs Commission
to finance local art projects. The fund cur
rently has enough money to provide 20
artists with $750 awards, and this funding
might be increased by the time the mayor
and commission vote to approve the plan
on May 5. The Athens Cultural Affairs
Commission will come up with a plan to
distribute the money over the next week to
support local artists during the COVID-19
pandemic.
The last coronavirus-related item consid
ered by the commission at this meeting was
an amendment to the ACC charter relating
to the local government’s emergency pow
ers. These expanded powers would include
the ability to make contributions to char
itable organizations and to provide relief
to the indigent or impoverished as a way
of promoting public safety and well-being.
According to Girtz, this will be done to
provide further legal support to actions the
local government is already taking, and to
speed up responses to future emergencies.
The measure is scheduled for a June 2 vote.
One non-coronavirus item worth
mentioning is that Verizon Wireless has
threatened to sue ACC if the commission
does not approve the construction of a cell
tower on Nowhere Road. A permit for this
tower was rejected when nearby residents
came out in force to speak out against it at
a December commission meeting. They sub
mitted a number of new comments for this
meeting, which were read into the record by
Commissioner Tim Denson.
In addition, Thornton, who also has con
stituents in the proposed area, took a firm
stand in opposition to the tower, despite
the pending lawsuit. “Anybody and every
body will trample over District 9,” she said.
“This is a David and Goliath moment.”
The decision on the Verizon tower was
pushed back to May 19.
This article originally appeared at athens
politicsnerd.com. [Chris Dowd]
Mayor Hosts COVID-19 Town Halls
With Kemp’s announcement that he is
starting to reopen the state came many
questions—about unemployment, ACC’s
plans and more. Girtz and Manager Blaine
Williams tried to answer those at the first
of what is slated to become a weekly virtual
town hall meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesdays,
streamed at YouTube.com/ACCgov.
How long will this pandemic last?
Williams said he is looking three, four, even
six months ahead. “I am personally some
one who’s looking closely at a risk of resur
gence later this year, and we’ll be planning
accordingly.”
In the meantime, ACC employees con
tinue to work from home, or in the case
of folks like sanitation workers, report
in teams or shifts so the county can con
tinue to provide essential services. “We
can’t afford for your water not to come
on—not in this public health emergency,”
Williams said. Some construction is ongo
ing, although permits are down 40%. Road
work is continuing, with plans to build new
sidewalks and repave the city’s 100 worst
streets this summer.
“This crisis has struck on one of the
most beautiful springs I can remember,
and the nature of it is everybody wants to
get outside,” Girtz said. But although trails
are open, park amenities like playgrounds
and basketball courts encourage people
to gather, so they remain closed. Leisure
Services summer camps have been canceled
for June.
If and when students return this fall,
will they bring a surge of infections with
them? Life will still not be the same as it
was. “High-contact” activities and large
gatherings are the least likely to be allowed
at that point, Girtz said. “I want nothing
more than to walk on the sticky floor of the
40 Watt Club and be with 500 people listen
ing to some live music,” he said, “but I know
that can’t happen yet.”
Can employees of businesses that reopen
stay on unemployment? People who are
over 60, are quarantined on the advice of a
medical professional, have a condition that
makes them susceptible to COVID-19, are
a caregiver of such a person or are a parent
that can’t find childcare are exempt from
returning to work, according to Williams.
Employees who don’t think their employer
is following proper safety protocols can also
document those. “If you make the decision
it’s just not safe for you, and you do decide
to separate, you have the ability to file a
claim,” Williams said. Those who return to
work part-time can earn up to $300 a week
and retain their unemployment benefits, he
added.
What about a property tax break for
struggling residents? ACC has already asked
the state legislature to raise the homestead
exemption for low-income homeown
ers. But the county budget is likely to be
strapped for the coming fiscal year, depend
ing on federal aid and when UGA reopens.
“While some prospect of a reduction exists,
we have some limiting factors there in
terms of basic operating needs,” Williams
said. [BA] ©
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ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER PRE55ER. ■ BIRX TRI£5 TO THREAD THE NEEDLE.
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MIX BLEACH AND AMMONIA, YOU
GET SOMETHING I CALL CHLORINE
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INTERESTING TO
MY UNCLE WAS
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EXCUSE ME, DID YOU WIN
THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE BY
A VERY MUCH LARGE PER
CENTAGE OF NUMBERS?
by TOM TOMORROW
THE NEW WHITE HOUSE PRESS
SECRETARY ISSUES A CLARIFICATION.
PRESIDENT TRUMP WOULD NEVER
TELL YOU TO BREATHE CHLORINE
GAS—BEFORE CONSULTING WITH
YOUR MEDICAL PROVIDER!
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IT IS EXTREMELT IRRESPONSIBLE
TO REPORT THE WORDS HE SAYS
ON CAMERA BEFORE THE ENTIRE
NATION AS IF THEY "MEAN SOME
THING"!
PRO-TRUMP DEAD ENDERS Do THEIR
THING.
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DOCTORS FIND A TREATMENT For THE
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AH! HE WAS BEING
SARCASTIC! AND
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HA! HA! HA!
WHAT A SENSE
HUMOR our greatI
PRESIDENT HAS!
TRUMP SUDDENLY CONSIDERS DOING
FEWER BRIEFINGS.
MAYBE STICKING A FORK IN AN
ELECTRIC SOCKET WOULD ZAP THE
VIRUS AND MAKE IT FALL OUT OF
YOUR NOSE HOLES!
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THE FAKE NEWS, IlN MY HEAD!
THEY WILL JUST TRYHwHY DON'T THEY
TO MAKE YOU LOOK ■ EVER REPORT
BAD AGAIN! MTHAT?
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TO KEEP UP.
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THAT X STARTED WRITING THIS ONE
BEFORE HE SUGGESTED INJECTING
LYSOL! IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO BE
MORE ABSURD THAN REALITT!
WELL, YOU'VE SURE
GOT “PLENTY OF
MATERIAL," AMIRITS? ii
We can’t preempt the
governor, unfortunately,
at this time.
4
FLAGPOLE.COM | APRIL 29, 2020
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