Flagpole Magazine

01/23/2025

Celebrate your loved ones with a special Valentine's Day message in the Flagpole Classifieds section! Short and sweet, email [email protected] for more details or with your 25 words or less declaration of love or appreciation ❤️💌

01/23/2025

The latest on Athens school closures for Thursday.

Hope everyone stocked up on milk sandwiches: Clarke County public schools will be closed again on Thursday due to poor conditions on secondary roads, according to an announcement from the Clarke County School District. UGA announced a delayed opening of 10 a.m. for Thursday, with the first classes s...

01/22/2025

SNOW DAY!

The University of Georgia and Clarke County School District have both canceled in-person classes and other events on Wednesday as snow started to blanket Athens on Tuesday afternoon. “Due to the current snowfall and the forecast for very cold temperatures overnight and throughout tomorrow, all CCS...

01/21/2025

Check out photos from the Athens MLK Day parade and volunteer activities.

About 700 people pre-registered at nearly 30 volunteer sites Monday to make Martin Luther King Jr. Day “a day on, not a day off” despite subfreezing temperatures, followed by an annual parade through downtown Athens and a music festival.

01/21/2025

For the first time, five of 10 Athens-Clarke County commissioners are Black.

Former Athens-Clarke County auditor Stephanie Johnson took her oath of office as commissioner Jan. 7 in front of a large crowd who celebrated the occasion as historic. Johnson’s swearing-in marked the first time in Athens history when half of the city council or commission seats were held by peopl...

01/17/2025

Congratulations to Will Eskridge, who has been selected by AthFest Educates to be its 2025 theme artist!

AthFest Educates has selected local painter Will Eskridge to be its 2025 theme artist, a role that is responsible for creating a cohesive aesthetic theme to use across a variety of merchandise and promotional materials for the nonprofit’s two flagship fundraising events, the AthFest Music & Arts F...

01/16/2025

We're honored to collaborate with Athens Poet Laureate on this project for Black History Month. Uplifting Black voices is invaluable, and Flagpole supports Smith's mission to make poetry more accessible in our community.

Please submit and share, using the Google form link or QR code below.

01/15/2025

Currently zoned industrial, it looks like the Newton Bridge Road corridor will now be designated for housing.

A second proposal for a large residential development off Newton Bridge Road prompted Athens-Clarke County planners and planning commissioners to start talking about the future of the area as the north side of town continues to grow rapidly. The area is currently designated for industrial use, but i...

01/14/2025

The Clarke County Board of Education holds a public hearing tonight on opting out of a new floating homestead exemption.

The Clarke County School District wants to opt out of a new state law capping how fast property tax assessments can rise, and is planning to hold three mandatory public hearings this month. Prompted by state legislators’ concerns about rapidly rising home values, and thus taxes, House Bill 581—r...

01/12/2025

Gordon Lamb had the scoop on 2025 before the year even started.

Happy New Year, y’all. In the interest of starting off on the right foot and prioritizing efficiency, I went ahead and wrapped up the whole year for you. Sure, you can keep on reading every week, and I’d appreciate that, too, but this is basically all you need to know about what happened in 2025...

01/09/2025

Rebecca McCarthy grew up around Norman Mclean and now has written a biography of the "A River Runs Through It" author.

For anyone who has for decades wanted to write a book, the writer Norman Maclean serves as an inspiration. The acclaimed author of A River Runs Through It and other stories didn’t publish fiction until he reached his 70s, and his debut went on to sell more than two million copies and inspired the ...

01/09/2025

The latest forecasts and closures for Friday's "wintry mix."

The University of Georgia, Clarke County School District and other local local colleges and K-12 schools have canceled classes for Friday due to the possibility of snow, sleet or freezing rain on Friday. All in-person classes, events and activities at UGA are canceled. Dining halls will remain open,...

01/09/2025

Brad Griffin, who headed the ACC Planning Department for 24 years, is coming out of retirement to run the entire local government while a permanent manager is sought.

Mayor Kelly Girtz has named retired former planning director Brad Griffin interim manager.  Griffin will run the Athens-Clarke County government day-to-day and manage its more than 1,700 employees while a national search is underway for a permanent manager. “In his time as planning director, Brad...

01/09/2025

Coveting a Flagpole Athens Favorites award? Don't clown around and miss out on these advertising deals for your voting campaign! 🏆

01/07/2025

This week's recap from Athens GA Live Music features Violent Violet, Pylon Reenactment Society, Xeroxy, Immaterial Possession, Nicholas Mallis, Delta 8, Five Eight, Shehehe, Elf Power, Hayride, Marie Marie and more!

With Gregory Frederick behind the camera, Athens GA Live Music seeks to document local and touring bands gracing stages across the Classic City. Explore the whole archive and subscribe to the channel here. Get up to speed with recent performances below, and remember to check Flagpole‘s music calen...