Most riders would welcome safer bike routes but dedicated or separated lanes are going to be expensive. That's why they haven't been built in Athens.

What happened to unions in the South? I was surpised to see this photo of striking mill workers in Greensboro Ga. (note CIO sign in next photo):
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151576922328911&set=a.10150240...

@OrneryConservative: Yeah but.... CONSTITUTIONAL carry would involve being part of a well-regulated militia, wouldn't it?

So how many crimes of violence are being committed by probationers? We have a system in which many more people are locked up than in other countries... we have now got to the point that state legislatures incl. Georgia's are backpedalling on these mandatory sentences because we can't afford the jail costs.

How is it that the US imprisons SIX TIMES as many citizens, percentage-wise, as Canada? Do we just produce so many more criminals? Or do we give longer sentences for more crimes (even victimless drug "crimes") thru a punitive and unforgiving "justice" system?

There's no end to the fear-mongonering of politicians and prosecutors (and sometimes reporters) trying to get re-elected. Nobody wants to hear about criminals on the loose... but there are no guarantees in this world.... no matter how much you spend on police and jails, and actually crime rates are way down these days.

Joe, I challenge you to ask people paid by the justice system about the shameful US incarceration rate. A lot of them just won't talk about it.

"The officer hit the man and he was later pronounced dead"...? Say what?

This is a solution looking for a problem. The protestors caused no problems, except embarrasing the powers-that-be. Now they are going to show us who's boss.

Go when the azaleas are blooming endlessly along the walking and biking trails... and don't miss the butterfly house. Believe it or not, we didn't even need our firearms!

Perhaps to protect advertisers, the story doesn't mention tanning beds, which are a serious risk factor for skin cancers---especially for persons with light coloring (blonds and redheads).

Elected officials (especially those, like Denson, who are former county employees) like to keep county employees happy, and to make ACC an attractive place to work. Up until a few years ago, ACC employees got small raises (supposedly cost-of-living raises) every year. The economic downturn brought serious budget problems, and the employees have skipped several years of raises.

The problem with 1% or 2% raises every year (supposedly to keep up with inflation) is that there is no inflation. The "consumer price index" or CPI is a federally-designated number that overstates the amount of inflation. It's the same debate as now raging on social security... "chained CPI" is perhaps a more realistic number than CPI. But most government employees are happy to have the number overstated...because their annual raises are tied to it.

Plus...these small raises are cumulative. A 1% or 2% raise every year translates into 10% or 20% raises every decade (more, actually). Keep in mind that most government costs are personnel costs, and that more than one government (not to mention private industries) have dug their own graves with overly generous salaries and benefits.

I'm not against competitive salaries for ACC employees. I am leery of automatic, back-door raises that overstate real increases in the costs of living.

Let's quit pretending that school reformers "hate teachers" etc... read the statistics about how badly US schools have been failing their students. Who is mostly hurt by this? It's not the suburban white kids...

And quit pretending it's because schools are underfunded... US schools are funded as well as most other countries, but they don't teach as effectively. (And by the way, QBE has NEVER been fully funded in Georgia; most of the figures about how much has been cut from schools are bogus.)

This is not to say we don't have many great teachers. Thank God we do. Free them to teach. But quit protecting teachers who are unprepared, or time-servers. Good administrators (and other teachers--not to mention students) know the difference. Union rules should NOT protect the lowest common denominator.

Quit making excuses for failing schools: "It's the parents' fault", "Too many tests" "Not enough money"... Maybe there ARE too many tests, and it will take awhile to get it right... but I cannot recall taking ANY course without tests... can you? What's the problem, IF they test what is taught?

Quit pretending that, in some quarters, schools jobs aren't considered a birthright to be protected, competent or not. Time was when Black Americans HAD few other professional job opportunities. Those days are over.

Quit pretending that there really ISN"T a faction of Republicans that don't love the public schools, and don't want to pay for them, and don't care if they go to hell. They want school taxes to go to private suburban or religious schools instead. But there are other, better reasons for charter schools---if done right.

But better water treatment costs money. Conservation is cheaper...

Know your rights. If an officer asks to search your car during a traffic stop... "just say no"!

Just let the government pay for basic medical care for everybody. Then if people want something more, something different, a doctor who doesn't participate... let them pay out of pocket if they wish. It works all over the world (single-payer). The ones who are against it are the ones who are getting rich on our overpriced medical care, much of which is paid for by the government anyway.

@solidroque: "Why is he still standing?" Because ACC police are professionals.

NRA is an extremist group that fights enforcement even of laws already on the books. Gun-rights enthusiasts would do better to support reasonable limits on who can buy weapons, close the loopholes, make guns safer, etc...

But what choices did he have? Are there any stoplights/crosswalks in that section of Lex Rd?

"Such interventions fail to significantly recognize the serious impacts and long-lasting effects of poverty on teaching and learning of students." Whatever the merits of such grants, I think the constant talk about uninvolved parents and poverty are just more excuses for failing to teach effectively.

Maybe there should just be an outright government subsistence allowance for artists, stay-at-home moms and anyone who doesn't want to work. Those who want to get rich can go for it. Most of the nation's wealth is in the hands of the wealthy anyway, so they can afford a small tax to support us ne'er-do-wells.

There is little scientific justification for manned space travel... huge expenditures. Unmanned exploration is far more productive.

Look this is something that NOBODY wanted to happen. He was a jerk to not stop and take responsibility, but he also DID ditch the truck... perhaps his conscience got the best of him, and he decided he really shouldn't be driving? What is a reasonable penalty? Time was when even murders didn't get ten years (and most murders are crimes of passion, not anything planned) and now they never see the light of day.

Even in today's paper, two young men who never killed anyone have been charged with murder... it was the third guy who did it, but they were along for the burglary. No wonder people are tempted to destroy evidence to protect their loved ones from a heartless, punitive system.

It is overreach to charge someone with murder who never killed anyone.

"Absolute power corrupts absolutely." If only North Korea's citizens had the access to the wider world that their murderous "dear leader" does...

I wish the story had included a few words about the new President's personality, management style, impressions of faculty...

Was abandoning the outer loop (Atlanta's "Northern Arc") really a good idea? Atlanta's transportation system fails reliably twice a day...

Kudos to Joe Johnson for contacting the managers. @melmarino is exactly right, a good manager would clean it up quickly, tossing out troublesome tenants as they do in other Athens locations. At Kathwood, it's gone on year after year, even leading to a murder. (Still I agree that our ridiculous drug laws are to blame, too.) Maybe ACC police or government should follow up with letter to the management company?