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 Will the Proposed TSPLOST Save Georgia’s Roads, Or Will the State Need to Develop an Alternate Route?
Sitting impatiently with hands wrapped tightly around the steering wheel, inching closer to the destination, one intently watches the bumper of the car ahead and rejoices as it starts to inch away only to feel a rush of disappointment when break lights illuminate once more. Whether on the way to work in the morning, heading home in the evening, or out for dinner with friends, traffic lurks as the often unpredictable variable that prevents one from arriving on time.
As Georgia’s economy and population grow, one aspect of the state seems to lag behind, unable to keep up with the state’s booming growth. That sluggish factor causing frustration in the daily lives of many Georgians is transportation. However, Georgians will have a chance to address the issue of traffic congestion and inefficient roadways during the summer of 2012. In July, Georgia residents will vote for or against a possible one-percent sales tax to raise revenue to improve transportation in the state. To learn more how TSPLOST will save our region's roads and support our growing needs, click here.  Athens Tech Builds Careers and Boosts Economy
For more than 50 years Athens Technical College (ATC) has given students the opportunity to turn their hopes into solid careers and has changed with the times to grow as a dynamic component of Northeast Georgia’s economy. It’s a win-win situation.
“Technical education has always been extremely relevant to the economic vitality of Georgia, and more and more people are beginning to understand its relevancy because of the current economic situation,” says Dr. Flora Tydings, who became ATC’s third president in 2003. “Our mission has always focused on workforce development; we put people to work and we help people to retain their jobs.”
From its 1958 founding as Athens Area Vocational School in a former army barracks to today’s Athens Technical College with a 60-acre campus in Clarke County and satellites in Elbert, Greene and Walton counties, ATC has realized its vision of offering “transformational experiences that enable students to advance educationally and to remain competitive in an ever-changing world.”
“There used to be the attitude that if you can’t go to college, you go to Athens Tech,” says Dr. Dan Smith, vice president for institutional effectiveness since 1987. “Th is is no longer the case. ATC has really evolved into a true community college, attracting students who begin here and then transfer to four-year colleges, as well students who graduate and go into the workforce.” To read further how Athens Tech is building careers and boosting the economy, click here.  The next time you take a week off of work, there’s no need to pay expensive airfare to have a memorable trip. Georgia has much to off er without breaking the bank. Heading eastward from Athens, going full circle, Georgia Connector takes the traveler on a seven-day adventure from the historic heartland to the Atlantic coast, to a sprawling metropolis to the Blue Ridge Mountains.
DAY 1 Athens to Augusta (2 hour drive) Augusta is Georgia’s second largest city. This lush, green and historically charming area is full of shopping, dining, antebellum mansions and five-star golf courses. www.augustaga.gov.
COME SEE Augusta Canal. Explore the beautiful landscape along the man-made canal. Th ere are three tour options: the daily one-hour covers approximately half the canal; Saturday at sunset is a three-hour excursion of the entire canal with chances to disembark and enjoy views of the Savannah River; or a Moonlight Music Cruise to relax and enjoy live music on a ninety-minute Friday evening cruise in the spring and fall. www.augustacanal.com. 1450 Greene Street.
COME EAT Blue Sky Kitchen. Sink your teeth into their infamous Cuban sandwich. Open for lunch 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., and open for dinner every other Friday. www. blueskyaugusta.com. 990 Broad Street. The Boll Weevil Cafe and Sweetery. If the mood calls for sinful Southern desserts (over 30 to choose including Canary Lemon cake, Turtle Crunch cheesecake or Sugar-Free Coconut Cream Pie), this is heaven. www.thebollweevil.com. 10 Ninth Street. To complete days 2-7 on your trip around Georgia, click here.  In 2007, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution chose Athens’ Five & Ten as its Restaurant of the Year, an interesting move for food critic and writer Meridith Ford Goldman since the restaurant is 70 miles from Atlanta.
“I had been following Hugh Acheson at Five & Ten for a while. I was in love with the laid-back approach he took with his dishes,” says Ford Goldman recently, now an editorial director of The Reynolds Group, a marketing and public relations firm in Atlanta, and a food-and-lifestyles blogger. “It was clear to me that he was technically gifted, but his dishes were so soulful.”
When she made the decision she wrote, “There’s no doubt in my mind that Hugh Acheson and his team deserve the honor, and the restaurant defines destination. It’s chef owned and operated and honors what’s right about local cooking and good sourcing. And Acheson’s take on modern Southern cuisine is as welcome as rain would be right about now a testament to community, not just neighborhood.”
Five & Ten was being recognized outside Atlanta for what Athenians had known since the restaurant opened in 2000: the food was simple yet innovative and just plain good. Click here to learn about Athens' Top Chef Hugh Acheson and his book, A New Turn in the South.  - Twins Kacie and Kara Gartner stand outside with their sister.
BEING IN SCHOOL IS TOUGH. Whether it’s balancing extracurricular activities with academics, or making it to an 8 a.m. class after working all night, it seems that students, no matter what age, have an unbelievable amount of daily pressures. What’s even more unbelievable is how good they are at handling everything that is thrown their way. They are multi-taskers, time managers, passionate workers, and they get smarter every day. We interviewed five students, at different times in their educational career, to see what inspires today’s student and what makes them so inspiring to us. To find out more about these eclectic students, click here. On a typical hot, humid Georgia summer day, Allen Tibbetts was out playing his usual Wednesday round of golf. By day’s end, there would be nothing normal about June 22, 2011, the day that changed his life forever.
The Magic 102.1 star realized that “something just wasn’t right. I had zero pain, nothing was wrong, but I just felt funny.” .....to read more about Smith's and other's life-changing events, please click here. Top websites every Georgian should know...
ExploreGeorgia.org Yelp.com
AtlantaKidsDirectory.com GACivilWar.org
SouthernPlate.com SouthernSavers.com
GeorgiaStandards.org AnnualCreditReport.com
StartUpNation.com TonsOfFun.org
To learn more about and to read introductions to these websites, click here. WHEN THOMAS WOLFE WROTE ‘YOU CAN’T GO HOME AGAIN’, he had never traveled to the wishing-well town of Social Circle. For in this small Southern township dwells the Blue Willow Inn where simply walking up the steps and opening the front door causes an instant flashback to Sunday dinners at mama's house. Whether it's the first visit to this traditional icon or the hundredth, it always feels like home. To learn more about the historic Blue Willow Inn, Mrs. Billie Van Dyke, and some of her recipes, click here.
From World-Famous to Your Own Backyard...
Hernando de Magallanes, known as Magellan, was seeking a route to the Asian Spice Islands in the 16th century when he happened upon a captivating and mysterious land at the southernmost tip of South America.
Seeing a giant footprint in the snow, he exclaimed, “The great patagon is here!” (a mythical giant). As it turns out, the giant footprint was left by native people who wrapped their feet in fur to protect them from the cold. There were no massive monsters hiding in the mountains, but the land, which came to be known as Patagonia, is no less enchanting than if there had been. To read about hiking the trails form abroad to right here in our own backyard, click here. (Photo provided by Appalachian Trail Conservancy) The thrill of the hunt with QR Codes...
Have you seen those funny black and white squares that seem to be popping up all over? They’re in ads, on signs, on posters, labels, magazines, books, at museums, stores and restaurants. They are QR Codes, a cousin to the barcodes that appear on most every product we buy. To learn more about QR Codes, click here. Tradition in Athens bleeds red and black. A Saturday meeting ‘Tween the Hedges rivals no other weekend activity. Here, unwritten heroes pour their heart and soul into one of the South’s greatest games.
This is more than football; it’s a way of life. To read the rest of this story and learn about a game, a wedding, and a splash of hot sauce, click here. ...For aspiring entrepreneurs, Georgia has the resources for startup assistance. In addition to resource availability, local communities are still developing strategies to centralize resources and information to assist entrepreneurs and small businesses. Making business dreams a reality no longer has to be confusing. To find out more about Growing a Business of your own, click here. (Photo by City of Elberton) “My favorite place to paddle in Georgia would be the Broad River near Danielsville, Ga.,” says Shirley - arp, Cruisemaster for Georgia Canoe Association. - e Broad River has 50 miles of navigable water starting at Lake J. Strom - urmond. Most of the river’s rapids are located between Georgia Highway 281 and Georgia Highway 172. - e remainder of the river is slow-moving and ideal for beginners. To read more River Recreation in Georgia, click here. (Photo by Tim Gill) For a growing number of Athenians, living the good life isn’t really complete without a good, cold brew. Many of them have forgone the well-known brews with multi-million dollar advertising budgets and large-scale distribution centers in favor of craft beers. Craft beer is brewed in smaller quantities and in the traditional way, and home brewed beer falls into this category. Both of these movements have been gaining momentum in Athens. To learn more about Home Brew, click here. (Photo by Len Garrison) In the twelve county Region 5 area, most have active groups that regularly off er a “season” of performance. Some counties have more than one theatrical troupe and most have a following of loyal patrons, eager for the next show. To learn more about local community theatres and and the performing arts in the region, click here. (Photo by N2O Productions) With the explosion of Zumba® in the 90s, the fitness world ignited as dance and fitness collided into a motivational phenomenon. However, it wasn’t until recently that the spark boosted a fi restorm for retail giants and gym classes. For more on Zumba® including regional class locations, click here. (Photo by Zumba® Fitness) Generally speaking, Georgia barbecue is said to be grilled, smoked or pit cooked pork shoulders, ribs, hams or whole hogs, according to the New Georgia Encyclopedia. The sauce isn’t mustard-based like our South Carolina neighbors or tomato-based like Western North Carolinians enjoy, nor is it always vinegar-based like that of Eastern North Carolina barbecue...Click here to find out about fantastic BBQ opportunities. (Photo by Judy Garrison) General Mills, one of the world’s largest food companies, opened a distribution center in 2010 located in the small community of Social Circle. The General Mills site is 125 acres, and with 1.5 million square feet, the actual distribution center is also immense – large enough to hold 28 football fields and still have room leftover for end zones. The facility is the largest LEED-certified industrial building in the United States according to Sheila Huntley, customer service manager.…to learn more about the General Mills Corporation, click here. New Year’s Resolutions – three, short words that send most of us into fits of panic, making promises that, for the most part, we won’t be able to keep. For a new beginning, try these common-sense ideas to improve your finances, carbon footprint and wellbeing...to learn how to make 2011 a great healthy year, click here. It all comes down to the connection – to people, to places, to life – and how the contact sows the seeds for a better life…to read more about the The University of Georgia Osher Lifelong Learning Institute or OLLI, click here. It all started with a cake decorating set at the age of nine. And then, instead of favorite kid’s shows like Sesame Street and Bugs Bunny, the TV was set to Great Chefs of New York and Frugal Gourmet. And in front of the screen, a little girl grabbing paper, hurriedly writing down every detail of the recipe in hopes that her mother would buy the ingredients and then turn the little girl loose in the kitchen…to read more about executive chef Emilee Greer, click here. |
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