News from the Metro Athens Crime Beat & More SearchMan with machete threatens bus passengers in west AthensClassic City NewsFeb 141 min readHenry McKinsey Bolton By Joe Johnson Police on Monday arrested a suspect who reportedly threatened passengers on an Athens transit bus at a bus stop in front of the Salvation Army homeless shelter on Hawthorne Avenue Henry Bolton got into an argument with another passenger who he threatened with a machete He chased the man and his girlfriend off the bus and down the street Police arrested Bolton in the dining area of the shelter where they recovered the weapon He wouldn’t identify himself but police were able to learn his name and that he has an address in Lithonia Bolton admitted to the incident but did not give a reason for it A witness who had been on the bus told police she thought that Bolton had acted in self defense She explained that the man had made a gesture with his hand that could have been interpreted as a threat to shoot Police patted down that man and didn’t find any weapons Bolton was arrested for aggravated assault and is being held without bail pending a bond hearing © 2023 by TheHours. Proudly created with Wix.com This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Create a Website Account - Manage notification subscriptions Search autocomplete is currently not responding Georgia) is a visual artist based in Athens She earned her BFA from Columbus State University in 2016 and her MFA in Painting from the Lamar Dodd School of Art at the University of Georgia in 2022 She made her New York solo debut with Out of Body at Sargent's Daughters in 2021 She was named a 2023 Georgia Woman to Watch by the National Museum of Women in the Arts and won both the 2023 South Arts Southern Prize and the 2024 Hudgens Prize she was awarded a 2024 MacDowell Fellowship Dugger is represented by Sargent's Daughters Meeting Agendas & Minutes Boards, Authorities, & Commissions Code of Ordinances Online Documents A pedestrian was killed early Tuesday when the 63-year-old man was hit by a car on West Broad Street The pedestrian was identified by police as Joseph Buckles of Athens Police said a 21-year-old woman from Lawrenceville was traveling east on West Broad Street shortly after 7 a.m when her 2022 Toyota Camry collided with Buckles who was crossing the highway at the Old Epps Bridge Road intersection Anyone with information is asked to contact Senior Police Officer James Trotter at James.trotter@accgov.com or 762-400-7326 Pedestrian Accident: Commerce man injured when hit by pickup at Banks Crossing shopping area The tremendous amount of hubbubbery revolving around college football at the moment is so exhaustingly predictable – as we just knew there would be gnashing of teeth and grinding of gears revolving around “who’s No 11” and “but this team has more quality wins/fewer bad losses.” the best coach prowling a college football sideline is practically an afterthought Dan Lanning practices his trade in the relative peace and quiet of Eugene Oregon – a locale so serene that you wouldn’t figure a dominant program could possibly take root Lanning might look like and talk like just about any other coach at the high school or college level But what Lanning has done with the Ducks – long derided as a brand that was entirely Nike-fueled sizzle and precisely no steak – has been nothing short of amazing And Lanning has done it without any of the whiny-fanbase headaches and NCAA scrutiny that often comes with championship-worthy programs Even to imply that the Ducks are newcomers to this level is a bit disingenuous as the Lanning/Oregon combination has been spooling up to what we are seeing in 2024 for a couple years The 38-year-old Lanning was a sapling on the Nick Saban coaching tree for a season before he hooked up with Kirby Smart and Georgia in 2018 Smart isn’t the type to let just anyone fiddle with his defense yet Lanning quickly moved from outside linebackers coach to defensive coordinator within a season – and stayed with the Dawgs through their 2021 national championship in search of a replacement for Mario Cristobal A 10-3 rookie season in 2022 was followed by a 12-2 season last year ahead of Saturday’s Big Ten Championship date with Penn State I have Lanning at 34-5 as a college head coach – a sterling .872 winning percentage Smart went 32-10 in his first 3 years at Georgia Jimbo Fisher was 31-10 in his first 3 years at FSU Saban was 33-8 in his first 3 years at Alabama Even if Lanning’s Ducks were to flame out in the Big Ten title game and the College Football Playoff he would still have a better initial 3-year record than those coaches Lincoln Riley went 36-6 in his first 3 seasons at Oklahoma before eventually finding Norman less welcoming than Los Angeles Chip Kelly went 34-6 with a BCS title game berth in his first 3 years at Oregon before NCAA issues chased him to the NFL. And Larry Coker was 35-3 with a national championship in his first 3 years at Miami before being fired 3 years later Although the Ducks are the only undefeated team in the country and undisputed No 1 heading into conference championship week They couldn’t stop likely Heisman finalist Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty in Week 2 needing a last-second field goal to win 37-34 An ill-timed slide by Ohio State quarterback Will Howard on Oct 12 could have flipped the script on what was a 32-31 victory over the No And Oregon needed to play the full 60 minutes at Camp Randall Stadium on Nov 16 before outlasting unranked Wisconsin 16-13 But whatever quibble one may take with Oregon’s schedule or the relative strength of the Big Ten opponents the Ducks faced the bottom line is that Lanning has been the steady hand behind it all the Nike-NIL spigot that was opened to full blast a couple years ago shows no evaporation in sight and Eugene is suddenly looking very much like West Athens Critics will point to that bottomless Nike well and say that it is easy to buy a championship program ask Ryan Day in Columbus how that has gone for him Lanning is winning day after day on the recruiting trail – including Wednesday the opening of the Early Signing Period – by looking kids in the eye and then coaching the hell out of them once they arrive Between that and a shrewd use of the omnipresent transfer portal and Oregon is not only on the cusp of winning the Big Ten title on its first year in the league but trending toward capturing the school’s first national championship a seemingly tireless and energetic coach who makes his players wonder if he ever sleeps at times – a dervish of coaching ability 21st-century intellect and relentless drive to build Oregon into a consistent power That combination will be put to the test again Saturday 5 Penn State in the Big Ten Championship Game in Indianapolis So let the rest of the country argue this week about who should be in and who should be out of the 12-team College Football Playoff Dan Lanning is busy recruiting another massive class of future Ducks while prepping the current Ducks for greatness – all under our noses out there in idyllic Eugene An APSE national award-winning writer and editor David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama His work has also appeared in The New York Times the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites He also hosts Gulfshore Sports with David Wasson weekdays from 3-5 pm across Southwest Florida and on FoxSportsFM.com You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience (Edit0r’s note: This story was updated to make clear the Athens school district spent $900,000 to demolish West Elementary School not to demolish the school and convert the site into a practice field for middle school sports teams.) Ohio (WOUB) — The Athens City School Board has rejected an offer by the city to purchase land in the west side neighborhood to build affordable housing West Elementary construction site [Madison Moore | WOUB]City leaders were offering $50,000 for a portion of the land once occupied by West Elementary School The city wanted to build four duplexes on the part of the property that slopes down to Central Avenue The homes would be sold at a subsidized discount to lower-income residents using a $2 million grant the city recently received from the state Mayor Steve Patterson and Service-Safety Director Andy Stone made their pitch to the Athens City School Board at its meeting Thursday night Superintendent Tom Gibbs reminded the board the district spent $900,000 to demolish West Elementary last year “Just to put that into perspective,” he said Board members expressed concern that selling off a portion of the property for housing development might devalue the rest of it should the district want to sell the remaining portion down the road Another concern was that the district someday might want to use the property for some other purpose and would not only have less of it but the housing might interfere with whatever it wanted to do The flat portion of the property is now being used as a practice field for middle school sports teams “Right now we don’t have a permanent use for that site or a need but we may need to sell the property as a whole in the future,” said board member Dave Hayden There was discussion about whether the district and the city could do some kind of land swap The idea was that in exchange for the property the district would in return get some city-owned space within walking distance of the middle school for teams to use for practice Patterson said he was open to exploring something like this The board went into executive session to discuss the city’s $50,000 offer and afterward voted unanimously to reject it This seems to leave open the possibility for some other kind of offer But Patterson said Friday the city will now focus on two other locations it identified as options for the housing The West Elementary property was the city’s first choice because the development costs will be higher with these other locations which will reduce the amount of grant funds left over to subsidize the purchase discounts One of the locations is on Grosvenor Street The city owns a lot there and would have to purchase the privately owned lots on each side to build the homes where the city already owns a large enough parcel for the project The city is hoping to line up a developer and begin construction on the homes by next summer SearchPolice investigating shooting of resident in west Athens apartment complexClassic City NewsSep 22 The Athens-Clarke County Police Department is investigating the recent shooting of a man at his apartment complex on the west side of town was shot multiple times the afternoon of September 15 at University Oaks after police received multiple 911 calls concerning 5-6 gunshots being fired near the 400 Building with a victim on the ground and screaming for help Nelson told officers that he didn’t know who had shot him and he was “in pain and rolling back and forth not providing much information on what occurred.” He was transported to the hospital by ambulance Witnesses told police that they heard a man and woman arguing immediately before the shooting and then saw a black SUV leaving the scene The Division of Hematology at the University of Utah's Department of Internal Medicine is pleased to announce that Anna Beaudin, PhD has been named the inaugural holder of the John W an Associate Professor of Medicine and the Associate Chief of Basic Research within the Division of Hematology is a leading researcher in hematopoiesis and the study of disease susceptibilities acquired during pregnancy that impact health throughout adulthood which has received significant National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding reflects her dedication to advancing the field of hematology and improving patient care outcomes a pioneer in hematology whose work greatly advanced the understanding of neutrophil function John Athens also played a pivotal role in mentoring the next generation of hematologists and researchers during his tenure as Chief of the Division of Hematology from 1967 to 1991 The endowed chair commemorates John Athens' contributions and underlines the continued importance of research and innovation in hematology Beaudin's innovative research and leadership will further solidify the university's reputation for excellence in hematology We congratulate her on this esteemed honor and look forward to her continued impact in advancing the field Copyright © 2025 University of Utah Health provides operators and guests with detailed environmental impact metrics for each room type Hotel website After a housefire broke out on West State Street early Saturday morning three people were rescued by the Athens Fire Department No injuries are reported at this time and the three rescued are doing well, according to a press release from AFD and the fire was put out by first responders within 15-20 minutes Personnel were on the scene until around 10 a.m. AFD believed it was an electrical fire and accidental in nature the fire spread from a utility closet in the basement level of the home through the balloon frame and into the first-floor bedroom Residents on the first floor said they did not know if the basement apartment had anyone home “Our department operates with low staffing levels and these are the situations we train for every day,” the press release said AFD also thanked other agencies for their assistance including the Athens County Emergency Communications 911 Athens Police Department and Athens County EMS @emthegemmy  es542222@ohio.edu  Share on FacebookShare on X (formerly Twitter)Share on PinterestShare on LinkedInATHENS, Ala. (WAFF) - One person is injured after a rollover crash in Athens on Friday evening a single-vehicle rollover crash happened around 5 p.m Police said multiple emergency crews responded to the scene Witnesses told police that a pickup truck was eastbound on U.S the truck then reportedly crossed over the middle turn lane and both lanes of opposing West-bound traffic The truck then reportedly entered into a ditch on the north side of U.S Police said the driver was then ejected from the vehicle The male victim was taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries Athens Police said only one West-bound lane of US 72 is open; both East-bound lanes are unaffected Click Here to Subscribe on YouTube: Watch the latest WAFF 48 news sports & weather videos on our YouTube channel Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Please select what you would like included for printing: Copy the text below and then paste that into your favorite email application to Delores Dooley West and the late George Raymond West at Athens General Hospital She graduated from Madison County High School and had a degree from UGA as a Paralegal Darren West and David West (Jennifer); nephews Services will be announced at a later date This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors Latest UpdatesCountries Why Join?IL MagazineFree Daily E-LetterVideoOur ExpertsTestimonialsFAQsTopics Jeff Opdyke spent 17 years covering personal finance and investing for The Wall Street Journal writing a weekly column reaching 10 million readers I ask myself that question everywhere I land in the world I’m paying attention to the feel of a place I would gladly live in Bangkok; Barcelona; Punta del Este Montenegro; the Scottish Highlands; southern Ireland (and maybe a few other destinations) But as my plane descended toward the latest airport on my 2024 itinerary, that question loomed larger, because I was looking out the window at one of the greatest cities on the planet—Athens, Greece I’d visited Athens when it was consumed with riots in the wake of the southern European debt crisis and again on a relaxing holiday with the woman who would become my wife To expose my bias upfront: I love Athens. I love Greece Few places grab me and shake me the way Athens does Ancient urban decay packaged in a Louis Vuitton handbag Manolo Blahnik heels traipsing across a litter-strewn sidewalk The glimpse of a little black dress on a Vespa whining its way over pothole-pocked streets and through buildings reminiscent of late-19th century New York City tenements Greece is one of the handful of European countries Americans think they might want to live an expat life And my wife and I regularly talk about Athens as a place we might want to live next I landed in the city with an agenda: To experience certain neighborhoods and determine their livability I walked 35 miles through five Athens neighborhoods in the heart of the city surrounding the Acropolis Plaka is the oldest neighborhood in Athens Locals call it the "Neighborhood of the Gods" since it was around when the ancient Greeks started writing their mythology I’d rename it the Neighborhood of the Tourists Lying along the northern and eastern base of the Acropolis Plaka is a Byzantine warren of alleys and what I’ll charitably call roads It’s hilly in that you must climb and descend stairs or roads/alleys as you move around to shops and restaurants and cafes Buildings here are ancient stone-andstucco often splashed with bougainvillea and various flowering vines Small houses and low-rise apartments behind centuries-old façades—some gorgeous some disastrous—hide down alleys that seem to go nowhere Live music spills forth from al fresco eateries tables unapologetically encroach onto the cobblestone paths and roads pedestrians and cars seek to navigate Lovely apartments—and I mean places you’d happily call home—start at about $900 per month for a small onebedroom Add another bedroom and you add another $400 or so The whole area is surprisingly tidy for its age and pretty much around every corner is another magazine-worthy photo op Everything that makes Plaka a must-see attraction for tourists is everything you’re quite likely to despise as a resident A swarm of ever-nattering locusts you cannot escape The only time they’re not around is very early morning especially into the evening when libation-enlivened voices and laughter compete with the music Trying to walk with purpose from Point A to Point B is an unending exercise in navigating tourists who love to amble five or six across And there’s no way you’d ever want to own a car here Tourists clog them and can’t be bothered to move if you want a car to get around the city and the country or you want peaceful evenings and scrum-free streets to walk childless couple OK with using Uber and buses to move about and you want to be in the dead center of the action and the nightlife Plaka’s southern border bleeds into Makriyanni they’re very reminiscent of West Hollywood Around certain corners you catch glimpses of the Parthenon who camp out at various cafes and coffee shops during the day working on their laptops you’ll also find a mix of older locals who are out walking their dogs or hanging laundry on lines outside their apartment windows Streets are much quieter and far less crowded And you’re still very close to Plaka—a five-minute walk—for your own entertainment The big selling point: the relative lack of tourists since Makriyanni and Koukaki fall outside the typical circuit A taxi driver who grew up in Athens called the neighborhood "great but you’re going to drive around for 10 or 15 minutes to park your car." livable—albeit small—two-bedroom apartments here on a leafy street for as little as $750 monthly A lovely three-bedroom with a huge kitchen and equally huge balcony is just under $1,400 The two neighborhoods are great for families and digital nomads who want to be close to Plaka but not deal with the hassles of Plaka but it wouldn’t be nearly as bad as in Plaka The Monastiraki neighborhood sits atop Plaka’s northern border Parts of it—areas around Karaiskaki Street Boutique and vintage clothing shops populate certain areas and the restaurant/bar scene around Iroon Park is reminiscent of Manhattan’s East Village or Tribeca And then there’s the other part of Monastiraki—what I’ll call the neighborhood’s northern edge and northwest panhandle… and unwelcoming in a tenement-building-smelling-of-staleurine kind of way Relatively nice one-bedroom apartments in the grungy parts are less than $500 per month and airy two-bedroom will cost about $1,250 But I’d never recommend living in Monastiraki The good parts and bad parts intermingle too much Learn more about a slower pace of life in Greece and other countries in our free daily postcard e-letter Simply enter your email address below and we'll also send you a FREE REPORT — Retire in Greece—Find Your Dream Retirement in This European Archipelago if the world’s embassies and consulates call a particular neighborhood home then you are most likely in the best neighborhood that city offers There are very few exceptions to that rule Set about a 25-minute walk north of Plaka (or about three minutes on the subway) Kolonaki is packed with the aforementioned embassies and consulates It’s also packed with high-end designer clothiers and the kinds of eateries and sidewalk cafes that draw large Sunday brunch crowds that spill across the sidewalk waiting for a table to open I snagged an orange while walking around and noshed on it as I moseyed about In short: Kolonaki is unquestionably a lovely neighborhood But you’ll pay a premium for that loveliness the area closest to the city center and home to all the embassies one-bedrooms—and these are nice—start at about $1,250 a place you’d happily call home—will run from $1,850 to well over $2,000 but the apartments tend to be equally less fashionable And you’re another 10- or 12-minutes away from the city center This is a perfect neighborhood for a family and stuffed with eating and shopping options It’s also great for a couple that wants to mingle among the moneyed Athenians but a Greek friend living in Athens tells me this is where the young and beautiful like to brunch and bar hop on the weekends On the west side of the Acropolis lies Athens’ most attractive neighborhood by taking the long way back to my hotel after wandering through Koukaki I was pleasantly shocked by the leafy beauty of the neighborhood and the architecture This is very much a locals’ kind of neighborhood There are no meaningful tourist attractions here Pericles and others delivered fiery speeches atop Pnyx Hill rocky park separating Thissio and Koukaki (orations that purportedly marked the birth of democracy) the view of the backside of the Parthenon stops you in your tracks Lots of al fresco café dining here along pedestrian streets Lots of places where locals hang out for brunch while their kids play nearby I saw an ad for the open-air Cine Thission where locals watch movies outside with the Acropolis in the background Recently refurbished one-bedrooms start in the $500 range while a two-bedroom on a tree-lined pedestrian street and packed with architectural charm is about $1,125 and close to Plaka and the best of Monastiraki we end with that initial question: Could I live here SearchAthens man killed by car when crossing West Broad StreetClassic City NewsJan 71 min readUpdated: Jan 8 and an investigation into the matter was ongoing Anyone with information is asked by police to contact Senior Police Officer James Trotter at James.Trotter@accgov.com or 762-400-7326 This is the first fatality crash in Athens-Clarke County in 2025 and the B-52s broke out in the early 1980s changing the landscape of rock and roll when it badly needed a shake-up GA has been a place of myth and mystery to me I pondered the record sleeve of R.E.M.’s Murmur album wondering about that railroad trestle to nowhere My curiosity only grew over the decades as so many bands and artists – Drive-By Truckers and others - broke out of the small but mighty Athens scene while I lived in the “Athens of the South” (Nashville) and had even visited Athens I’d not made it to that elusive college town just east of Atlanta and that’s what led to this music city postcard Normaltown is a historic working class district of the small city I visited their office – “New West Athens” George Sr called it – to get oriented and to hear the Fontaines tell me about their view of this unique and improbably potent music scene There's something about the way the city and the school meld together And so there's some weird creative wellspring that just keeps working here people in Athens regard the city as a nexus point of college rock He said there’s probably something to that “I've had different radio programmers tell me that back in (the 80s and 90s) they would look at what WUOG was playing as to what they should be playing on their radio stations a lot of that kind of bubbled out of the city and went wider from there.” I caught up with their leader Hunter Pinkston before the night’s campy fun He told me the music scene over the years has alternated between lean times and busy times – and that since the pandemic young kids moving here to go to school that are eager to see music I don't know why or how we ended up staying here for so long and every other act that graces the 40 Watt six nights a week is there because of its veteran talent buyer Velena Vego one of the most influential figures in Athens music She came at age 19 to be in a band and played the early locations of the venue Then she shifted her focus and made herself useful at the club Before long she was the band booker and has been now for 33 years She brought in touring acts before we’d all heard of them (Nirvana for $1,500!) and gave every Athens band you’ve heard of today early opportunities while they were developing “All of them had very small audiences at first And so they continuously came and played for us And that's why I think we get so many underplays (when big acts play small venues) ‘I can't believe you're playing the 40 Watt again,’ they're like The Georgia Theater has a remarkable history that owes a lot When he lived in Athens as a young man in the 1970s he was inspired to put together a consortium of investors to bring the old showplace back from the dead It hosted every important Athens band and legions of important touring acts coming through for decades most of the building was gutted by fire in 2009 with the help of a fund-raising concert by The Zac Brown Band and it reopened with even better amenities in 2011 I thought of all that commitment as I took in a Friday night show by songwriter/band leader Spencer Thomas Thomas has been a hired member of Athens breakout band Futurebirds for about four years, but he’s always had his solo career top of mind. And on this evening, he was releasing his album The Joke Of Life on Strolling Bones Records which struck me as charming - not your usual rock and roll father/son situation On my final day in town I got to interview Spencer about his experience with the city “Nobody is unapproachable, no matter how far everybody climbs. I can meet Mike Mills (of R.E.M.) at Flicker Bar and have a nice conversation with him and he doesn't tout one thing about what he's achieved or done He's just there hanging out like everybody else and to have etched a small mark of my own history in Athens a workspace for Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes) Barbe has produced a number of the Truckers albums and he spoke about his early days when he caught its founding songwriter Patterson Hood as a solo artist I went to his show and realized this guy's just a great songwriter his partnership with (fellow songwriter Mike) Cooley is incredible They're such a great part of the community was all about the cool stuff that goes on here.” No trip to Athens would be complete without an R.E.M the soul food restaurant with the sign out front that inspired the title of Automatic For The People I saw the bell tower that’s left behind from the demolished church where the band gave its first public performance you’ll hear me seek out what’s left of the trestle from the Murmur cover He reminded me that the band never moved away “It's good to have a home base,” says Downs It's not like they were doing fabulously well and had all kinds of money But they were doing well enough to buy a modest house in a modest neighborhood When they considered moving to a bigger metropolis the idea of being able to live on a quiet street in a nice college town walking distance from downtown with a music scene Also in the hour, join me for a visit to the famous Wuxtry Records the jam-packed store that’s been doing business on the same corner since 1976 And I sit down with local concert booker Troy Aubrey who for 20-plus years has been curating Athfest an annual music and arts event that just took place a week ago as of this writing Finally, some bonus content that couldn’t get packed into the hour. Randall Bramblett is a longtime New West Recording artist and a veteran sideman from the southern rock and blues scene He’s the longest-standing Athenian that I met He was a member of Sea Level with Chuck Leavell the band that played opening night of the refurbished Georgia Theater He’s one of my favorite all-around artists so it was a treat to sit outdoors with him and have the following conversation A 1,213-meter long pipeline is being constructed using a tunnel boring machine along with eight underground tanks (5 meters in width and 12 meters in depth) as part of efforts to prevent flooding in the suburb of Nea Filadelfia in western Athens starts at the intersection of Skra and Serron streets Troados and Thessaloniki streets and crosses the national highway via a smaller tunnel It then proceeds under Sofouli Street before ending at the Kifissos River which is the final recipient of the area’s rainfall it has been designed so that there is an arrest of water quantities before they reach the river by the eight underground reservoirs which will collect the water in order to prevent flooding The project is planned to be completed by the end of August 2025 Enter your information below to receive our weekly newsletters with the latest insights opinion pieces and current events straight to your inbox In a vote taken on May 12, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors adopted the Connect Southwest L.A. specific plan, establishing new zoning for portions of the unincorporated communities of West Athens and Westmont covers a roughly 658-acre area bounded approximately by Vermont Avenue to the east and Wilton Place to the west.  Notable landmarks within the district include Los Angeles Southwest College and Metro's Vermont/Athens light rail station in the median of the I-105 Freeway the scenario envisioned by Los Angeles County Planners would allow for the development of over 4,500 residential units and nearly 3.5 million square feet of commercial space.  That growth would be funneled onto the plan area's two major north-south corridors - Western and Vermont Avenues - with existing single-family zones left unchanged The introduction of mixed-use zoning to Western and Vermont would allow for the development of four-to-six-story buildings containing multifamily housing above street-level shops and restaurants.  New housing and commercial uses are intended to complement community assets and a satellite civic center along Normandie Avenue While land use changes are the heart of the plan, the document also touches on issues including urban design, building form, open space, and mobility.  For more details, click here Connect Southwest L.A. is the third "Transit Oriented District" plan adopted by Los Angeles County, in an effort to capitalize on transit hubs.  The prior plans, which set zoning for the unincorporated communities of West Carson and Florence-Firestone are oriented on light rail and bus rapid transit stops Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text Explore the top 5 beaches near West Athens CA – from lively Hermosa Beach to the serene El Segundo Beach Located just about 10 miles west of West Athens Manhattan Beach is an idyllic seaside retreat known for its pristine sands and relaxed ambiance offers a picturesque vantage point of the Pacific Ocean this beach is often regarded as the birthplace of beach volleyball and you're likely to spot enthusiasts enjoying a game wander around the town and explore its boutiques A little south of Manhattan Beach lies Hermosa Beach with a beachfront promenade bustling with joggers Hermosa is also a hotspot for beach volleyball Hermosa Beach offers a vibrant nightlife scene with several bars and live music venues It's the perfect spot for those looking for both relaxation during the day and entertainment at night Redondo Beach offers a mix of recreation and relaxation Its expansive harbor is home to a variety of water activities The Redondo Beach Pier is a prominent attraction a hands-on coastal science education center Redondo's laid-back vibe makes it ideal for family outings or simply unwinding by the sea Situated close to the Los Angeles International Airport Dockweiler State Beach offers a unique combination of natural beauty and the spectacle of airplanes soaring overhead This beach is notably one of the few places in Los Angeles County where you can have a bonfire making it a popular spot for evening gatherings Its long stretch of sand is perfect for long walks and the steady winds offer ideal conditions for kite flying Tucked away between Dockweiler and Manhattan Beach making it less crowded than its neighboring beaches and the waves are typically accommodating for both beginners and seasoned surfers There's also a lovely beachside park equipped with picnic areas is a stone's throw away from some of California's most enchanting beaches Each of these beaches offers its own unique character and charm Whether you're in the mood for a sporty day of volleyball the shores near West Athens have you covered Does your business rank among the best in California Learn more about our selection criteria and vetting process We’ll be your trustee Little Tokyo guide with a day’s worth of fun things to do in Little Tokyo If you're looking for something fun to do there are plenty of fun and free things to do in San Francisco Feel the knowledge flood from its elegant red-tile roofs as you wander the town’s beautiful college campus in search of hidden finds Enjoy the perfect California spring weather at these ideal spots for a spring vacation in California Check your inbox soon for the latest from California.com. Ohio (WOUB) — The Arts West cultural center in Athens is not receiving enough funding to run programming according to its now-former program specialist [WOUB]Emily Beveridge bid farewell to her role in an address at the most recent Athens Municipal Arts Commission meeting and expressed frustration with what she believes is a lack of support for the facility Arts West is a cultural center for both performing and visual arts that has provided art services and programming to the community Beveridge said Arts West no longer receives enough funding to support year-round arts programming or a paid staff Arts West is now only open six hours a week and is not hosting any arts programming this summer “I did express concern about that because you should never let a facility like that get to a point where you have to limit your open hours,” Beveridge said She pointed out that similar arts facilities in the area such as the Dairy Barn and Stuart’s Opera House the arts receive 6-10% of the overall Arts Beveridge said only $20,000-$30,000 per year go specifically to fund programming at Arts West Deputy Service Safety Director Andrew Chiki who represents the mayor’s office on Athens Municipal Arts Commission disputed Beveridge’s claim that Arts West lacks adequate funding Chiki laid out Arts West’s budget and said the building’s funding for non-personnel was over $101,000 Beveridge said most of that money was for building maintenance “The programming at Arts West has never existed to compete with other arts facilities or programs and as those places have grown and added new programs Arts West has looked for ways to fill emerging unmet needs As we review what is being offered at Arts West and what programming should look like in the future it will be important to evaluate community needs and how Arts West and the Arts Beveridge also expressed frustration regarding the Percent for Art Ordinance the ordinance requires public construction projects costing over $1 million to allocate 1% of their funding to the arts and encourages private projects to do the same Beveridge recommended that the funding allocation become mandatory for all new construction “I’m not really aware of many buildings that have actually opted into using 1% for the arts should be something that AMAC should be considering Is it possible and feasible to make it mandatory?” said Beveridge She also suggested the Athens Municipal Arts Commission create a subcommittee to investigate whether the city has allocated all the funding through the ordinance that it should have who oversees the city’s department heads very clear about (is) Arts West is not a separate organization,” Stone said It’s a building through which the city of Athens uses to program and support the arts in the community but there’s a host of other activities across the whole community that the city of Athens in its municipal capacity does to support the arts.” Stone said there are three other positions at Arts West that have yet to be filled which he attributed to the nationwide labor shortage He also said that as soon as one of these positions is filled Arts West will once again return to its regular hours of operation The lack of staff is the primary reason why there is no summer programming at Arts West this year there was no one to oversee such activities There are plans to host fall arts programming at Arts West but the programs have not yet been confirmed Beveridge said that in order for Arts West to thrive it’s wonderful to wait for the citizenry to come and do something at your place but that does not guarantee consistent usage It also does not guarantee what the quality of the programming will be the public is always going to attribute whatever happens at the facility as being put on by Arts West,” Beveridge said Beveridge suggested Athens should emulate other cities with pro-arts attitudes and form a city-county arts alliance which she says would act as a “nonprofit group to support the entire area’s arts endeavors.” She said this would allow for more paid employees to oversee arts in Athens all of a sudden you have a lot more work hours available to these types of matters,” she said the members of the Athens Municipal Arts Commission are mostly volunteers They don’t always have time for technical work like assessing how ordinances are implemented Beveridge said she did not leave her position at Arts West out of frustration “I really did appreciate my time in my role at Arts West It is probably going to be one of the most meaningful experiences of my life as I look back and reflect on it,” she said “I care about the arts and the community very deeply.” Los Angeles County has released a draft transit oriented specific plan that would facilitate the construction of up to 1,000 residential units and 1.7 million square feet of commercial development in the community surrounding Metro's Vermont/Athens Station applies to approximately 473 acres of unincorporated land located west of Vermont Avenue flanking both sides of the I-105 freeway.  It is divided into five subareas The Vermont Station District includes the properties along the west side of Vermont Avenue between 110th and 120th Streets including the Green Line Station and a center median The proposed specific plan recommends several potential improvements for freeway-median rail station The surrounding blocks - currently an array of one-story commercial buildings - are expected to be developed over time with low- and mid-rise buildings featuring a mixture of office and residential uses atop street-fronting stores and restaurants A number of pocket parks and urban plazas are envisioned for this district including new passive green space within the Vermont Avenue median A conceptual site plan produced by the County shows what a development flanking the Metro station could look like with buildings between three and five stories in height The Civic Center District - bounded by Imperial HIghway Budlong Avenue and the I-105 freeway - is currently developed with a mix instituitonal land uses.  These incliude the L.A County Probation Department and Sheriff's Department - which occupy 15 acres at the southeast corner of Normandie Avenue and Imperial Highway - and Los Angeles Southwest College - a 64-acre campus frequented by 12,000 commuter students The proposed specific plan points to underutilized County-owned properties at Normandie and Imperial Highway as an opportunity site for new higher-density developments.  These include residential units public open space and other community-serving uses A conceptual site plan shows what a unified project could look like if various lots were consolidated into a single project site.  This potential mixed-use project would help consolidate existing institutional uses into the surrounding community Buildings could rise up to six stories in height Western Avenue Commercial Corridor District Located along Western Avenue between the I-105 freeway and 111th Street the Western Avenue Commercial Corridor District is currently developed with traditional neighborhood-oriented commercial buildings and automobile-oriented shopping centers The specific plan envisions infill commercial and mixed-use developments similar to those seen north of Imperial Highway.  An existing Food for Less shopping center is cited as an opportunity site for a mixed-use center with retail residential and employment opportunities for local residents and college students Buildings in this area could range up to four stories in height The existing single family residential zones of the specific plan are intended to be left more-or-less intact although new housing could be added in the form of accessory dwelling units and attached townhomes A large multi-family residential district is located within the specific plan area west of Vermont Avenue on both sides of the I-105 freeway The specific plan calls for continued development of multi-family housing of varying sizes within this area promoting high-density development near transit and housing for Los Angeles Southwest College The specific plan puts forth a variety of design standards that would regulate building orientation and open space within the subject area.  These standards are similar to those proposed for the Westlake district in Central Los Angeles and include screened parking and street-facing entrances A strong emphasis is placed on first-and-last-mile connections within the specific plan area with calls for improved pedestrian connections to stations and passenger amenities such as benches SearchMan claims self-defense in west Athens shootingClassic City NewsApr 3 An Athens man was arrested Friday after he claimed to have shot someone in self-defense told police that he was moving out of an apartment on Crane Drive that he shared with the mother of his child when the woman’s brother and other males “began to jump him,” said police Lt one of the individuals involved in the altercation began reaching into a vehicle.” he said A police incident report notes that a witness who had been eating lunch in the parking lot of nearby Georgia Square Mall heard gunshots and then began to video record Romeo involved in an argument and holding up his arm as if he had a gun and he was released the following day upon posting bond at the county jail Through a collaborative partnership between the city of Athens and Ohio University the Athens soccer community will be able to move its program from the boggy land behind East State Street to land Ohio University owns next to the city’s West State Street Park Ohio University owns the golf driving range east of the West State Street Park Though it will retain the driving range for golfers the space between the golf range and the University’s Innovation and Research facilities will serve as the new soccer field “The city of Athens is thrilled with the opportunity that comes with this new partnership,” said Andy Stone service safety director of the city of Athens “The West State Street Park complex is a beloved recreation area serving wide swaths of the city The relocation of the field follows the urging of the local soccer community who grew frustrated with the constant flooding and poor turf conditions of the old field on East State Street A short-term arrangement was made in May that will extend through the end of the year After that the city and the University will have a long-term deal on land use “The addition of soccer on good turf is a logical additional use in this area which benefits the University and the community It truly is a win-win partnership,” Stone said Through the collaboration between the city and the University golfers and soccer players will coexist sharing a large green space that is agreeable to their respective sports and will eventually be separated by netting with the absence of soccer players on East State Street the city of Athens will retain the field for land improvements “Supporting the recreational activities of our whole community benefits everyone including our students,” said Mark Ferguson executive director of Well-being and Recreation He said the new arrangement and planned improvements will maintain the driving range and add quality field space for students and the community to enjoy while making use of underutilized space worked alongside Athens Ohio Soccer Organization to identify ways the city can support its soccer community She also participated in conversations with Ohio University  “I am incredibly excited to see all of our hard work come to fruition This is a great example of how the city of Athens and Ohio University work together to support our community's needs,” she said we can continue to create new and better opportunities for all of our community.” “It is exciting to see the city of Athens and Ohio University working together to build a permanent home for soccer in Athens,” said Shauna Switzer of the Athens Ohio Soccer Organization “Although there is still much to be done to the new facility we look forward to a future where the West State Street location becomes a true recreational sports and community hub for our region.” She said that soccer is a multi-generation sport that attracts players of all ages and skill levels from across southern Ohio to play in Athens Stone also noted that the park attracts all sorts of recreators from children playing baseball and softball “Great things happen when we work together,” Switzer said Ohio University and the city of Athens have a history of working collaboratively to serve both OHIO students and the community of Athens “The city of Athens and Ohio University have a long history of working closely together to better our shared communities,” said Shawna Wolfe associate vice president of University Planning “Part of that is because of our ability to sit down together and share and discuss our needs together with an understanding that we are better when we care together.” In 2018 Ohio University and the city of Athens won the Larry Abernathy award for fostering a sense of place from the International Town & Gown Association Both were recognized for their cooperation in fostering a sense of place for students community members and visitors to Athens and OHIO Recognized projects include the Ridges Framework Plan East State Street improvements and the Bobcat Pass program © 2025 Ohio University Two years after a formal groundbreaking ceremony a new shelter and bridge housing facility is starting to take shape on a County-owned site next-door to the West Athens Sheriff’s station and Probation office located on a roughly 3.1-acre site near the intersection of Normandie Avenue and Imperial Highway is will operate 24 hours per day and provide shelter to up to 176 people at a time.  The 90,000-square-foot facility is expected to include: Designed by KFA Architecture is designing Safe Landing which consists of a series of single-story metal buildings that will be arranged around a landscaped central courtyard and substance abuse treatments to future residents.  At the time of its groundbreaking in 2019 there were more than 700 unhoused persons living within two miles of the Safe Landing site The water flows at Ben Burton Park in Athens, Georgia, Sunday, June 11, 2017. (Photo/Austin Steele, info@austinsteelephoto.com) This triangular area that extends beyond the Loop is roughly bounded by Prince Avenue/Jefferson Road to the north West Broad Street/Atlanta Highway to the south and Hawthorne Avenue to the east browse handmade work by local artists and artisans or book a tarot reading for $30 The Athens YMCA is a large complex popular with families a 32-acre wildlife preserve on the Middle Oconee River This article originally appeared in the fall 2021 edition of The Red & Black's  Visitors Guide special publication  Stately homes and historic structures from the early 1800s still stand in Cobbham the Boulevard Historic District is named after its widest avenue.… Originally nicknamed for the State Normal School — a teachers college — Normaltown has gained notoriety for its alternative crowd The Red & Black serves the Athens and University of Georgia communities with reliable while training the future of the free press Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: