The latest rumor sweeping the city is that a Trader Joe’s grocery store is coming to Athens.

Apparently the lack of somewhat drinkable $3 wine in Athens has become a political issue, because mayoral candidate Brandon Shinholser is jumping on the bandwagon.

Shinholser released a letter today he says he sent to the president of Trader Joe’s. It reads, in part:

In recent months, there have been groups of individuals popping up all over Facebook. Some of those groups totaled as many as 1, 500 local members.

Local businesses, as well as individual patrons, are circulating petitions to show their support for making your company a part of our community. If there is any place that needs a Trader Joe's, any place that is ready for a Trader Joe's, any place that should have a Trader Joe's-it is Athens, Georgia.

Right now, states regulate the insurance industry, and every state has its own set of laws that dictate what types of policies insurance companies must offer consumers. Under Democrats’ plans for health care reform, the federal government would take over much of that regulatory burden.

Obviously, conservatives don’t want that. A centerpiece of Republicans’ alternatives is allowing insurance companies to sell plans across state lines. In Georgia, Senate Bill 309 would allow Georgians to purchase plans from out of state.

As Stephen Northington, a Republican candidate for state insurance commissioner, pointed out today, that’s a really bad idea.

Long-shot candidate for Athens mayor Brandon Shinholser continued his barrage of attacks on Charlie Maddox today. Unlike the hands-off Maddox, Shinholser says he wants the elected mayor to be the boss, not the appointed manager.

In his platform, Charlie Maddox says that he “seeks to be the Mayor of Athens, not the manager,” and he goes on to say that “the administration of this City’s core activities cannot ebb and flow with the fad politics of the week.” We can all agree that elected officials need to set the policies, and then let the departments carry them out, but Charlie completely ignores a key part of governance. The city charter requires Athens-Clarke County to have a manager and lays out what the manager does, but charters can be changed and ours needs to be changed.