Athens News Matters

Athens News Matters for February 24, 2024

By Alexia Ridley,

Published February 24, 2024 at 11:05 AM EST

This week on Athens News Matters, we speak to District 6 Commissioner Jesse Houle about how state legislation may affect Athenians, including a recent law regarding cash bail.
Over a million Georgians live with a mental health condition, and in the past year, over a thousand Georgians have died by suicide. The emergency mental health care system in Georgia is designed to help those in crisis. WUGA’s Emma Auer set out to discover how well this system works—and how advocates say it can be reformed.

Athens News Matters

Alexia Ridley

Alexia Ridley joined WUGA as Television and Radio News Anchor and Reporter in 2013. When WUGA TV concluded operations, she became the primary Reporter for WUGA Radio. Alexia came to Athens from Macon where she served as the News Director and show host for WGXA TV. She's a career journalist and Savannah native hailing from the University of Michigan. However, Alexia considers herself an honorary UGA DAWG!

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Emma Auer

Emma Auer is an award-winning reporter who joined WUGA as a full-time producer in 2024. She is also a graduate student in UGA's Romance Languages Department, studying French and Spanish. She covers the breadth of Northeast Georgia stories, from Athens City Hall to Winterville farmers' markets. Emma's work has also been heard on Georgia Public Broadcasting.

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Martin Matheny

Martin Matheny was formerly WUGA's Program Director and a host and producer of our local news program 'Athens News Matters.' He started at WUGA in 2012 as a part-time classical music host and still hosts WUGA's longest-running local program 'Night Music' which was heard on WUGA and GPB Classical. He is now the Morning Edition Host for Delaware First Media.

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