Local News

The Athens Clarke County Sustainability Office is reaching out to the community through a series of online town hall meetings.

The five web-based meetings scheduled during the month of April, including one Thursday night, are part of the county’s Clean and Renewable Energy Campaign, which aims to use clean and renewable energy sources to provide 100 percent of ACC’s electricity by the year 2035, and 100 percent of the city’s total energy needs by 2050.

District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez is working to fulfill campaign promises. One of which is a new Data Dashboard to increase transparency in the office.

"Temporarily we're calling it our data integrity project," said Gonzalez. "I want to make sure that we can rebuild trust with the community, and this is one way to do it."

The office partnered with the firm Luminosity, which is compiling the information for free.

On April 6, the Athens-Clarke County Mayor and Commission discussed 36 agenda items during a four-hour regular meeting. One of the biggest topics of discussion was the amendment to the future land use map and the rezoning of over 6 acres on Research Drive. Commissioners unanimously approved the motion to turn 6.4 acres currently used as commercial space on Research Drive into a residential area.

District 3 Commissioner Melissa Link said she is in favor of the project because there is a market for middle-income housing.

The AJC reported this morning that the CDC has awarded Georgia $96 million to expand access to coronavirus vaccines, especially in underserved communities.

Because the virus has disproportionately affected racial minorities, while those same groups often have higher barriers to accessing healthcare, three-fourths of the funding must go to specific efforts to “increase vaccine access, acceptance and uptake among racial and ethnic minority communities.”

The Athens-Clarke County mayor and commission meets at 6 pm today for a regular session, where commissioners are scheduled to vote on a variety of items, including the implementation of eco-stations for trash collection on Clayton Street and the potential purchase of nine hybrid SUVs for the ACCPD.