Not just another Saturday
Friday, Oct. 30 — It’s Georgia-Florida weekend, with a twist this year as the annual rivalry game decamps from Jacksonville to Atlanta for a 3:30 p.m. Halloween kickoff (WRFC-AM/WNGC-FM; ABC). Tomorrow night, thousands of costumed revelers will fill downtown Athens for the 18th annual Wild Rumpus Halloween Parade and Spectacle, which starts at 8 p.m.
📧 Welcome to our second weekly newsletter for Athens. The best way to support us is by helping us grow the list through referrals. Send this link to your friends, family, and colleagues.
✔️ Early voting in Georgia ends today. Here’s what’s on the ballot in Athens-Clarke County. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.
🗳️ FYI: Athens voters will decide whether to renew an E-SPLOST sales tax that funds capital improvement projects in the Clarke County School District. A separate 1% FLOST, which would fund property tax relief, is also on the ballot. If the FLOST passes, Athens-Clarke’s combined sales tax rate would rise from 8% to 9%.
🕰️ Daylight saving time ends Sunday, Nov. 1. While we gain an extra hour of sleep, the time shift can disrupt the body’s circadian rhythm. Learn how to quickly reset your internal clock to avoid time-change jet lag.
🌧️ Athens-Clarke County is preparing to spend $2.76 million on stormwater improvements in North Athens to shore up drainage and reduce environmental problems caused by rainwater runoff.
🥑 Dominican restaurant Punta Cana Latin Grill is closing its Prince Avenue location. The restaurant will continue catering and hosting occasional pop-ups.
🎨 Regulars describe Manhattan Cafe as a “time capsule,” which comes down to owner Joey Tatum’s collection of vintage art on the walls. One painting at the bar, of Jesus guiding a trucker through a storm, often turns heads.
Happy Halloween! And Go Dawgs!
The Rough Draft Athens team
🤝 The TOUR Championship is more than a week of great golf. Discover how Southern Company, alongside other Proud Partners and the surrounding community, is creating lasting impact, inspiring future generations, and making the championship one of Atlanta’s most meaningful summer traditions. SPONSOR MESSAGE
Solar barn raising marks progress at affordable housing community
🏡 Community members gathered on the morning of Oct. 24 for a solar barn raising at Micah’s Creek, an affordable housing neighborhood under development in Athens. Volunteers lined up to pass three solar panels from one person to the next, before lifting the panels toward construction workers on the roof for installation.
Athens Area Habitat for Humanity hosted the event to celebrate the installation of solar panels and the progress of the neighborhood’s development.
Once completed, Micah’s Creek will feature 42 single-family homes, 11 tiny homes and 15 two-bedroom homes for eligible families, veterans, artists and young adults experiencing housing insecurity in the Athens area.
☀️ Read more about Micah’s Creek and its solar panels here.
Five Points, built for Saturdays
SPONSORED BY DWELL REAL ESTATE
🏠 Built in 2016 and featured in Athens Magazine, this Five Points home on Westview Drive sits one block from the center of Five Points and two miles from Sanford Stadium. Listed for $1.795 million, it’s set up for game weekends, with four bedrooms and four baths for a full house of guests, a big backyard for pregame gatherings, and on-site parking, so nobody has to move a car from Friday to Sunday.
👉🏼 Gena Knox, co-founder of Dwell Real Estate, is one of Athens’ top-producing agents and holds the record for the city’s highest in-town residential sale.
SPONSOR MESSAGE
My Five: Jeff Dantzler, ‘the voice of the Dawgs’
🐶 You haven’t met a truer Georgia Bulldogs fan than announcer Jeff Dantzler. He’s a walking encyclopedia of Georgia sports, as well as the “voice of the Dawgs.”
Before he calls tomorrow’s game, when the Florida Gators take on the Georgia Bulldogs at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, we asked Dantzler for his top five “must-dos” before, during and after the annual rivalry game.
➡️ Check out his five “must-do” traditions here.
🔮 All Hallows’ Eve Market; today at 3 p.m. at GHOST.
🎃 Athens Haunted History Walking Tour; tonight at 8 p.m. at Hotel Indigo.
💘 Slideshow Speed Dating; Sun., Nov. 1 at 3 p.m. at Athentic Brewing.
Click for More Events
🤝 The TOUR Championship is more than a week of great golf. Discover how Southern Company, alongside other Proud Partners and the surrounding community, is creating lasting impact, inspiring future generations, and making the championship one of Atlanta’s most meaningful summer traditions. SPONSOR MESSAGE
💎 Treasure Hunt – Jefferson home overflowing with finds. Vintage decor and accessories, jewelry, an assortment of tools and workshop equipment, kitchenware, and many more discoveries. Fri.-Sat.
🛥️ Georgia Pickers Estate Sale – Complete liquidation of household contents and a 1995 Lincoln Town Car, lawn trailer, pontoon boat, and other miscellaneous tools, new clothing with tags, ladies’ hats, glassware, and furniture. Fri.-Sat.
🖼️ Country Chalet – Special items include Herman Miller dressers, vintage Christmas ornaments, brands like Burberry, Lord & Taylor, Saks Fifth Avenue, Ralph Lauren, designer purses, art, furniture, kitchenware, and more. Fri.-Sun.
🏀 The Atlanta Dream beat the Golden State Valkyries 80-69 yesterday at State Farm Arena, forcing the first Game 7 in WNBA Finals history. The title game tips off tomorrow at 8 p.m. ET at Chase Center in San Francisco.
🩺 As the monthly cost of health insurance increases, Georgia is asking the federal government to greenlight a new financial assistance program for residents with an Affordable Care Act plan.
⚖️ The Department of Justice is sending election monitors to six Democratic-leaning Georgia counties on Election Day, but it’s unclear which polling sites they plan to monitor.
🤝 The TOUR Championship is more than a week of great golf. Discover how Southern Company, alongside other Proud Partners and the surrounding community, is creating lasting impact, inspiring future generations, and making the championship one of Atlanta’s most meaningful summer traditions. SPONSOR MESSAGE
🎒 Teach an after-school program with Downtown Academy.
🥫 Help out with Covenant Drive-Thru Food Drive.
🍎 Pack produce boxes with The Table and Campus Kitchen.
