(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Augusta Press.)
For those of you complaining about inflation, there soon might be employment opportunities in Augusta that will allow you to buy fewer clothes and more groceries.
It appears the Augusta Commission is trying to help you out by changing the adult entertainment ordinance, so nudie bars will flourish in industrial areas of the city. They’ve even proposed allowing them to be built closer to major intersections, so people can see their signs with flashing lights from miles away. So, Augusta will finally become what many folks have dreamed of for years – a destination city. There will be billboards on I-20 advertising the Garden City which will be known for its budding beauties instead of its blooming azaleas.
Opinion
The Augusta National and the Masters Golf Tournament will no longer be Augusta’s major attraction, and very few people will be walking on Riverwalk, so it won’t matter how many bricks are missing.
Strip clubs can operate (within a stone’s throw if you have a really good stone) or 500 feet of the intersections of Gordon Highway with Walton Way, Doug Barnard Parkway and Peach Orchard Road instead of 1,000 feet. And they can operate 1,000 feet instead of 2,000 feet at the intersection of River Watch Parkway and I-20.
Inside the clubs, dancers are no longer required to perform alone on a two-foot platform or stay 10 feet away from members of the audience. They can mix and mingle with them with nothing on but their birthday suits. And they can accept tips not only in their garters but anywhere a patron of the art of dancing can find a place to put it.
One-on-one, or “lap” dances are no longer banned but can be performed only if the rest of the audience can see them, which for some Peeping Toms will be worth the price of admission.
The full commission must approve the ordinance changes that were approved in the Public Services Committee by Commissioners Jordan Johnson, Sean Frantom and John Clarke.
The changes are designed to make Augusta’s ordinance more “user-friendly,” said Commissioner Ben Hasan.
The only question I have about that is, “Who is the user?”
Clarke said he voted for the proposed changes because every major city has such entertainment.
“When people come into town, a lot of them do go to gentlemen’s clubs. I’m not opposed to that. Different strokes for different folks.”
Using that logic, maybe we shouldn’t be concerned about the crime rate, homelessness and dirty streets that seem to describe every major city in the country run by Democrats.
Clarke said he and other commissioners just went to the National League of Cities convention in Kansas City and were looking at the number of strip clubs they had.
“I didn’t go,” he said. “We just wanted to see how many they have. Myrtle Beach is a family type city, and they have lots of strip clubs.”
Augustans must feel good that at least one of their commissioners is an expert on strip clubs and travels to do research on them.
Shape Up, or We’ll Ship Out!
For you folks who might be unhappy about the probability of more strip clubs in Augusta, there might soon be an alternative to where you could move.
Augusta lawyer and former U.S. Navy flight officer Wright McLeod, who’s spearheading a movement to incorporate a city of Summerville within the county, has fired a shot over the bow of the Augusta Commission.
MORE: Column: Summerville residents to consider creating a new town
“If there’s a movement to do this, the county commission has two years to get their act together,” he said. “This incorporation takes two years. So, they have two years to figure out how to govern more efficiently and better.”
Obviously, McLeod doesn’t know that Augusta commissioners and Mayor Hardie Davis believe they’re doing an exemplary job of running the city. They’re always boasting about how great things are with a balanced budget, surpluses at the end of the year, growing reserve funds, excellent bond ratings, new housing projects, road construction and on and on.
It’s just too bad they can’t keep the grass cut.
“They’ve got it just the way they want it,” I told McLeod.
“You’re probably right,” he replied.
But McLeod has a different opinion of the state of the city. He speaks of stagnant population growth and the demise of the school system that is near the bottom in the state.
“Look at the U.S. Census figures,” he said. “Look at Gordon Highway. There used to be businesses and lots of traffic. Now it’s almost dead. Look at Walton Way to Milledge Road and on to Broad Street to downtown Augusta.
“I would applaud the people who have worked to get downtown Augusta going, but it is not the center of Augusta. It is not the center of the metropolitan area. The center of the CSRA is Evans.”
“We need to unwind consolidation and go back to the way we were before 1996,” he said. “We had a city and a county, and the governments worked just fine.”
There are three options (maps) for the new City of Summerville:
Option 1 encompasses the Summerville neighborhood and Forrest Hills; population, 24,156
Option 2 encompasses west Augusta to the Columbia County line; population, 5,438
Option 3 encompasses Washington Road and National Hills to the Savannah River; population, 12,667
MORE: Column: Augusta Commission wins Cooper’s ‘Turkey Flock of the Year Award’
The population of all three parcels is 42,261, which is about 25 percent of the population of consolidated Augusta and close to the population of the old city of Augusta. Some 55 percent of the population in the combined parcels are White; 45 percent are non-White.
The latest impetus for incorporating Summerville came during last year’s redistricting when the majority black ad hoc redistricting committee tried to split Summerville into three districts and put sitting District 3 Commissioner Catherine McKnight out of the district and lessen the chances of a White commissioner being elected in District 3.
An informational meeting on incorporating Summerville is at 6 p.m. today, Sunday, Dec. 4, at the Social Building, 207 Elkton Court, in Augusta.
ZOOM! There it Was!
Lucky me. I was checking the news and opinion websites Thursday and ran across the Greater Augusta’s Interfaith Coalition’s live ZOOM forum of candidates for the District 129 state House seat, vacated by the death of longtime Democrat Rep. Wayne Howard.
The forum was hosted by former Augusta Administrator Janice Jackson and moderated by Judge Ben Allen. Candidates are:
– Scott Cambers, a full-time project manager and part-time bee-keeper;
– Davis Green, a student at Georgia Southern University;
– The Rev. Karlton Howard, a pastor and brother of the late Wayne Howard;
– Brad Owens, a security contractor who’s led a regional effort to bring film production to Augusta.
There were questions about where they stood on expanding funding for Medicaid, health care and mental health programs which they all said they heartily endorsed and would work to do in the Legislature, except on the issue of Medicaid, Owens said, “Georgia has refused to expand Medicaid. The problem is that we don’t have enough money to pay for all that.”
And that was the only time I heard any candidate talk about paying for anything, except for Howard who said he’d bring home the bacon, but then I wasn’t hanging onto every word if you know what I mean, especially when they talked about what should be done about Regency Mall. That comes up before every election, most recently before the mayoral election when candidate Steven Kendrick held a press conference out there. But I listened more closely to some questions and answers than others. For example, the one about whether they favored decriminalizing marijuana caught my attention.
Cambers said legalizing marijuana would reduce the burden on the justice system by reducing jail time for low-level offenders and allow the system to focus on alternatives to incarceration.
Howard said, “Marijuana is a mind-altering drug. I am in favor of legalizing it for medicinal purposes. I am not in favor of decriminalizing it across the board.”
MORE: Column: Former Augusta commissioners reminisce
Owens said he believed it should be legalized but would like to see it put on a binding statewide referendum.
Green said marijuana should be like alcohol. Make buying it legal for people 21 years old and older.
“A majority of drug laws are targeted at African American men and marginalized members of society,” he said. “Everyday use of marijuana, I don’t think that should be criminalized.”
Another provocative question was, “What is your position on removing Confederate statues?”
Cambers said, “I personally am for removing statues, but since we are a democracy, take it to a vote.”
Green said, “I am in favor of passing legislation to amend the Georgia Code to allow the removal of Confederate statues. I just think the statues should be removed to a museum.”
Owens said, “First off, history is not there for us to like or not like. I’ve been working to try to get the Broad Street statue moved to military museum. Now, it’s more an us against them and emotions. I’m not for tearing anything down. At the time this was erected, most of the veterans were still alive. There needs to be compromise.”
Howard said, “We are really spinning our wheels on something that’s not really that important. We spend too much time on things like that. You can’t erase history. Move on. We need to find that person who can unify us. Move it to a place that’s historically significant.”
I know I should quit while I’m ahead, but I can’t until I make you read their…
Closing Statements
“If you want change. If you’re tired of the status quo. If you want someone who’s young and alive, supportive of our men in blue, teachers and business owners, vote for Davis Green,” said Green.
Cambers said despite all the talk about Augusta’s problems, they’re not getting any better.
“That’s why I’m running,” he said.
Owens said he’s lived in Augusta and served on lots of boards and has what the people need – experience.
“I’m going to wake up every day and go to work for you,” he said. “I’m going to focus on economic development, get the tax base expanded and get rid of the gas tax. I have a lot of experience. If you’re a Republican, you can come and vote in this election. You can only vote in our race between now and December 20th. Vote at the Municipal Building.”
Howard said, “To the voters in District 129, you know me. I’ve lived a life of transparency and integrity. You know me. You’ve seen me. I’ve hung around with you. I’ve been a pastor for 25 years. I am a pastor-leader. I will work across racial lines. Our city can be a city of greatness.”
Despite teasing about the forum, it was informative, and I admire and respect the District 129 candidates for putting themselves out there, so people have a choice.
Sylvia Cooper is a columnist with The Augusta Press. Reach her at sylvia.cooper@theaugustapress.com
