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TODAY'S ISSUE
Jimmy Carter area property owners organize new area CID
By Emory Morsberger
Chairman, Gwinnett Revitalization Task Force
Special to GwinnettForum.com

MAY 10, 2005 -- The formation of Gwinnett‚s third Community Improvement District (CID) made headway at a community meeting last week. The Southwest Gwinnett Village Community Improvement Association (CIA) hosted approximately 50 business people from the Norcross area around Jimmy Carter Boulevard and Indian Trail that will be included in the proposed CID.

After a call for seed money to get the project started, Neil Stevens, Georgia area executive of Ironstone Bank, committed $10,000 to the proposed CID.

Stevens said to the group: "Ironstone Bank values this community and this effort and is proud to be a contributor to this overdue project."

Others followed Ironstone's lead with commitments that amounted to a total of $32,000, including one from David Fincher, president of Greater Atlanta Christian School, for $12,000. In order to be formed, a CID must have the consent of half of commercial property owners who own 75 percent of the area covered by the CID.

Attendees heard from Commissioner Lorraine Green that the Gwinnett Board of Commission is committed to revitalization. Green aid: "A CID is an opportunity for Gwinnett to become a community and with community comes power. When people come together, that shows caring for the community and they become a force to be reckoned with."

Green also said with the immense diversity in the area, the proposed CID is a test case for Gwinnett's future. She added that the Board of Commissioners is serious about revitalization and that Gwinnett's future hinges on protecting property owners with investments.

State Senator Curt Thompson also attended the meeting and confirmed his support for revitalization of the area.

The CIA Founders' Committee has voted to incorporate, which is one of the first steps in formation of a CID. The incorporators are looking for business people interested in serving on the CIA board. The committee also voted for a dues structure that replicates the Highway 78 CID which is based on assessed property value. It will be one tenth of one per cent of the property value.

Local businesswoman Karen Mulherin, owner of First Industrial, has donated use of 2,700 square feet of office space to the CIA.

In addition to money pledged, several business owners committed time to work on committees that will address graffiti, litter pick-up and landscaping, sidewalk and streetscape, crimes and gangs, zoning and code enforcement. Another committee is working on the opposition of an effort by a local business to establish a waste transfer station in the area.

The Highway 78 CID was formed because of traffic problems. The Jimmy Carter/Indian Trail (Southwest Gwinnett) CID is being formed because of crime and the need for revitalization and will require an estimated $400 million in improvements. Once the business community shows their intent to improve, state and federal money will come. A CID is a vital model for communities that need revitalization.

ELLIOTT BRACK
Filibuster is tool to provide protection for minorities
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com

MAY 10, 2005 -- Perhaps it's standard for you to resist change as you grow older. In some sense, it's good to be liberal when you are young, for you certainly get more conservative, in most areas, as you get older.

Growing older is one reason I'm suggesting for not wanting to see the United States Senate change its rules on the filibuster. The U.S. Senate may soon take up what some call the "nuclear option" to strike down the current rules on debate.

Back when our country was founded, Senate procedures required a 75 per cent majority vote to invoke "cloture" on a subject. That rule was changed to two thirds in 1917, and in 1975 was revised to require only 60 per cent to halt debate.

Now the idea being proposed is to require only 51 votes, a simple majority, to halt debate. That is a monumental change for one reason: the minorities of this world must be protected. And the possibility of raising a filibuster to any legislation would be futile if the "nuclear option" is voted.

To me, this is really not a Democrat vs. Republican battle as most people put it. It's coming to a head over the nomination of Federal judges, something President Bush and his Republican colleagues want very much.

Yet the Democrats opposed to certain nominated judges do so on substantial grounds, primarily that of the philosophy and judicial history of the judges. After all, the Senate must confirm Federal judges; that's their job. To oppose a judge on certain grounds is reasonable.

We maintain that filibustering is a time honored system, most recently threatened by Republicans when the Democrats had control of the Senate, and Bill Clinton was proposing judges that the Republicans did not want. There was no talk then of a "nuclear option" of reducing the vote needed for cloture. The Republicans very handily used this threat of filibuster to hold up many Clinton nominees. But today they have a majority in the Senate, and seek to push through nominees, and even to change the rules to do so.

The Republicans should not be so short-sighted. After all, they will no doubt be in the minority some day. They will need the threat of filibustering again.

Presidents since the beginning of this country have sometimes been upset for Congress for not passing certain legislation, or of failing to confirm nominees. Even Franklin Delano Roosevelt, at the height of his popularity in 1936 when sweeping into his second term and polling more than 500 electoral votes, found Congress could be stubborn. In this case, Roosevelt was upset with rulings by the Supreme Court. He even suggested raising the total of Supreme jurists to 15, instead of nine. The popular term used was that Roosevelt was trying to "pack the court" to get his will forced on the Court.

Such an effort failed, in part because at least one of the nine Supreme Court judges "came around" and started voting with four liberal-leaning colleagues, giving Roosevelt his majority. But it also failed because the country became alarmed at the tactics of Roosevelt in trying to enlarge the court.

That's essentially what the Senate Republican leadership is trying to do today….change the rules regarding the filibuster.

Interestingly, if the conservatives among the Republicans really want to go by the intent of the Founding Fathers, they would be pushing for a 75 per cent cloture vote. But no. Now they want to reduce cloture to a simple majority.

That's eliminating a major tool of whatever party is in the minority, the filibuster. That's the reason this "nuclear option" should be defeated.

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FEEDBACK
5/10: Feels hospital needs to be more accommodating to patients

I was at Joan Glancy Hospital on Tuesday, May 3 for an ultra sound. The room was so cold, I informed the nurse of this and her reply was it has to be kept cool because of the machines. I work all day on computers, etc. and know it can't be 90 degrees in rooms with computers, since it does effect the equipment. But because of the lack of warmth in the room, I have developed a cold and terrible sore throat. I was fine when I went in there.

Yes, I know I could have picked this up anywhere. Well, that is the only place I have been this week except my home and office and no one at my office is sick.

I asked the nurse to give me a blanket and she somewhat spread the towel a little more on me. My arms were freezing.

I have had outpatient surgery there more than once. Seems every time it is like a deep freeze there. At least when I had the surgeries, the nurse was kind enough to get a warmed blanket for me.

Every effort should be made for a patient's comfort. And at the same time, able to maintain the equipment. I hope Gwinnett Hospital system will be more accommodating to other patients than they were for me.

I have just received my May 2005 edition of the Neighborhood News. I read with interest the article about the opening of the Little Mulberry Park. I have been anxiously awaiting the opening of the park. It was billed to be a passive use park with lots and lots of land for the few of us left that actually use the outdoors as a source of recreation.

I was disappointed as I read the article to see that bike trails were never mentioned in current or future plans of the park. We have so many serious bikers on the roads who would gladly move inside a park environment if the right situation presented itself. Yellow River is a wonderful example to follow. The Little Mulberry Park is big enough and the terrain perfect for bike paths. It would give bikers relief from riding on country roads that are becoming less and less country everyday and make the roads safer to boot.

On another note, it would be wonderful to see a dog park added to the Little Mulberry plans. There is ample land and there are so many dog owners looking for a place to let their dogs run free. The Five Forks Park is a feeble attempt to fill that need. That land is in a flood plain and has no trees for heat relief in the summer. It is overused because the space is too small to accommodate the many dogs that come to use the facility. While the fenced in areas were a genuine attempt to fill a need, it did not go far enough. The spaces should have been larger and there should be more runs of various shapes for the dogs to roam. There should be more seating for humans and shelter from sun in the summer. It also would have been nice to have kept some trees inside the fenced areas for shade and general appeal.

Both of these park features are relatively low in cost and they would encourage more people to get out and be active, without having to join an organized sport. They have a low impact on the environment as the people interested in using these facilities would have a high interest in maintaining the natural setting. And, while I am happy that we are preserving land for equestrian use, I find it silly to think that there are enough equestrians to make that part of the land use program a reasonable option while there are thousands of bikers using the roads everyday. The number of dog owners compared to equestrians is too ridiculous to even research.

It seems to me that these are no-brainers that have been overlooked. If enough people voice their interest maybe we can awaken the hearts and minds of those who have the power to do something about these items.

5/10: Readers give their views on Jennifer Wilbanks escapade

Back Off Any Charge

It always amazes me how our public servants at some point become 'moths to light' seeking out the media at every opportunity, rather than focusing on the truly serious aspect of their jobs.

I'd ask the citizens of Gwinnett County to encourage District Attorney Danny Porter to step down from the 'runaway bride' media podium, and focus on the many real issues sitting before his office. If spending County money to find a confused young lady was inappropriate, spending additional citizen funds in the attempt to indict and try her is simply foolhardy.

One also has to be suspicious that monies to be spent would not really be about justice served, but rather personal ambitions pursued - a far greater abuse of public funds.

The 'runaway bride' events, while worthy of a one time read at the checkout stand in the grocery store, are not something Gwinnett County needs to have their national image framed around. Please get Mr. Porter off camera and back to work on real unresolved criminal cases - those which do threaten the well being of the county's residents.

Thank you for your article on Jennifer Wilbanks. While no one is defending her judgment, I do not feel she has committed a punishment-worthy crime. I believe she has suffered and will continue suffer enough to discourage such acts in the future by herself or others.

She owes the media nothing more than I do for the actions she chose as an adult. (Her family and friends, however, deserve some explanations and discussions.) When she called from New Mexico to report her abduction, (I agree that was a crime), is the point at which the police could STOP incurring additional costs. I don't know all the connections of the family, but I doubt they would have spent that much time and energy looking for me if I went missing.

Thank you for putting into words my very thoughts about this media spectacle concerning Jennifer Wilbanks. I agree, she doesn't owe the media or public a statement nor an appearance, in my opinion. If the media wants to report on non-newsy events, let them cover our "true" spring weather we're having this year or the number of people who are suffering from allergies/sinusitis.

I especially liked your viewpoint on Duluth and it's image to the public. Good point!! Before I stopped watching, the town looked beautiful behind the shots of the mayor, people on the street, etc.

Editor, the Forum:

Jennifer Wilbanks should be required to pay restitution to the City of Duluth for the police and other city resource costs incurred due to her 'fabrication'. This is a 'No Brainer'.

My question to the City of Duluth is, will her association with a 'prominent' family in Duluth somehow exempt her from this? Your move Duluth.

-- Lee E. Dochtermann, Ocean City, Md.

P.S.: Once Miss Wilbanks crossed state lines, it became ALL of our business.--LED

Editor, the Forum:

Please accept! our congratulations and appreciations to you for this excellent article on Ms. Wilbanks! We want you to know we concur with your view 100 percent. We do not know the Wilbanks family, nor the Mason family, either!

After near 50 years in the pastorate in Georgia, I feel that from here on out, that these matters should be dealt with within their families, and the professional helps that are needed! Enjoy Reading The Forum! Keep up the Great work!

The American Cancer Society Relay For Life in Gwinnett gets off to a start on Friday, May 13, with teams from across the county headed to the Gwinnett Fairgrounds. It'll be a day and a half of fun to honor and remember cancer survivors and those lost to the disease. They also will turn in money they have raised over the past several months to help fight cancer.

The town of Lilburn found a new way to raise money for the Relay this year. The brainchild of ACS volunteer and Lilburn City Councilwoman, Diana Preston, a Relay Rally was held in Lilburn's city park a few weekends before the actual Gwinnett event. With 25 teams, Lilburn raised more than $22,000.

Preston said. "It was fun for everyone there and we're hoping more people will participate next year. Wouldn't it be fun if other Gwinnett towns had their own Relay Rally and introduced even more people to Relay?"

What a great way to help the Gwinnett Relay For Life, already the biggest and top money raiser in the world to a new high. The goal this year is $2.3 million. Call the ACS office at 770-814-0123 and find information for a Relay Rally in 2006.

ENCYCLOPEDIA TIDBIT
5/10: First European exploration in Georgia was by the Spanish

The initial European exploration of Georgia was carried out in large part by Spaniards, first operating out of colonial bases in the Caribbean Sea and Mexico and later from the city of St. Augustine on the Florida coast.

The first documented exploration was carried out along the coastline in 1525. This brief reconnaissance of the entire coastline prefaced the subsequent colonial venture of Lúcas Vázquez de Ayllón, whose 600 colonists first made landfall in South Carolina before moving south to the Georgia coast in 1526. There, in an as yet undiscovered location (perhaps near Sapelo Sound), Ayllón established the short-lived colony of San Miguel de Gualdalope, which was abandoned just six weeks later, following political disputes and an African slave uprising.

In the spring of 1540 an army of some 600 Spanish soldiers under the command of Hernando de Soto marched north from Florida into southwestern Georgia in search of riches. The expedition pushed northeast toward present-day Marshallville, then east to the Ocmulgee chiefdom of Ichisi, with its capital at the Lamar Mound site near present-day Macon and then to the Oconee River villages of Altamaha, Ocute, and Cofaqui. The expedition continued east into South Carolina, turned north to cross the Appalachian summit in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee, and finally dropped south again into northwestern Georgia during July. The army stayed more than a month in the capital of the powerful Coosa chiefdom near present-day Calhoun and then marched south to Itaba (Etowah) near Cartersville before following the Etowah River west to Ulibahali at Rome, and subsequently downriver along the Coosa River to Apica and finally into Alabama.

The impact of the 1539-43 Hernando de Soto expedition was enormous. Not only did surviving Spanish chroniclers offer their first and last glimpse of pristine Native American chiefdoms across the interior southeastern United States, but also the accidental introduction of European plague diseases apparently resulted in massive epidemic population losses in these same regions.

The final Spanish exploratory expedition into Georgia's interior took place in the winter of 1645-46, when Florida governor Benito Ruíz de Salazar Vallecilla led a group of soldiers north from the Apalachee mission province into the villages of the unconverted Apalachicola province along the lower Chattahoochee River in southwest Georgia and eastern Alabama. Though there were sporadic visits to these villages as late as 1695, the Ruíz expedition was the last major Spanish exploratory venture into Georgia. The remaining portions of north Georgia would eventually be explored by English traders and soldiers during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century, long before ownership of the land was acquired through treaties between 1733 and 1838.

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