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Issue 8.83 | Friday, Jan. 23, 2009 | Forward to your friends! |
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FEEDBACK UPCOMING NOTABLE ALSO INSIDE ___::
McLEMORE'S WORLD: Some viruses! |
ABOUT US GwinnettForum.com is an online community commentary for exploring pragmatic and sensible social, political and economic approaches to improve life in Gwinnett County, Ga. USA. Every Tuesday and Friday we publish commentary on issues designed to stimulate an idea exchange, promote a public debate, and move toward achieving an improved and enlarged quality of life in Gwinnett. Contact us today. |
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TODAY'S
FOCUS LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga., Jan. 23,2009 -- Gwinnett based developer Brand Properties is in the process of seeking a zoning of a 73-acre mixed-use project around the Gwinnett Stadium -- the new home of the Atlanta Braves's Class AAA baseball team.
The "Village at Gwinnett Stadium," is slated to potentially include 300 hotel rooms, 610 residential units, 617,000 square feet of offices and another 351,000 square feet of commercial real estate development. Brand Properties CEO Brand Morgan says that "The Village at Gwinnett Stadium is an opportunity to create a mixed use environment that complements the stadium and transforms the area into an entertainment district offering visitors a year round opportunity to enjoy hospitality and dining, retail and office amenities, alongside a residential offering. We are hopeful that this will not only be a new epicenter for Gwinnett, but will also be an affordable destination for regional travelers who want to come and stay in comfortable accommodation and enjoy first class retail---both at the Village and at the Mall---and even take in a ball game!" The architectural firms of Wakefield Beasley and Hughes Good O'Learly have joined forces to create a master plan for the project that results in a walkable community that incorporates these varied uses.
For the past 43 years, the Gwinnett Braves have played out of Richmond, Va. But starting in the Spring of 2009, the Braves will play 70 home International League games in Gwinnett. At the groundbreaking for the stadium in 2008, Braves President John Schuerholz said: "Today marks a memorable occasion for the Braves organization and Gwinnett County. It is our hope and expectation that many more significant events will take place on these grounds . . . This world class ballpark will be an impressive place for baseball fans to experience the game and has made possible the return of one of the classic AAA franchises to its roots in Georgia." The ballpark itself will be a state of the art facility that reflects a historic look and feel. It will provide an intimate setting with a total capacity of 10,000. The surrounding Village will be "a true 'live, work, play' community," notes Michael Hoath, president of Brand Properties. "We have incorporated in a conscientious way a great deal of the thinking about new urbanism. By combining the lessons we have learned at our mixed use development at Buford Village with the needs of this area, we are convinced that we have struck the right balance of density, scale, and economic viability. It will be an amazing development for families to enjoy and a destination of which the County can be proud." ELLIOTT
BRACK JAN. 23, 2009 -- When the inaugural parade passed the White House Reviewing Stand, it was awe-inspiring as local groups from all across the nation had their 10-15 seconds on national TV as they passed in front of the 44th president and his entourage.
Each of these groups, bands, fire brigades, tumblers and even the Arcola, Ill. Lawn Rangers, brought their own local identities to the parade and to the nation. The vast differences of groups showed how diverse our country is. Did you see the Espanola Valley, N.M. mariachi band? Or the Cleveland, Ohio Firefighters Memorial Pipes and Drums? What pride we personally felt as the five military academies marched by with precision and aplomb! Yes, it was enthralling. We couldn't help but muster a comparison with May Day parades we have seen televised from Moscow. Our remembrance is of massive groups of soldiers in full gear marching in grim unison, separated by giant tanks, or missile launchers, or cannons, seemingly ready for action. Compare that with parade elements made up largely of much younger people, often mainly student-members of high school or college bands. It is quite a sharp contrast. And though the old-style communist military parades may no longer be the standard for May Day, still the contrast is immense for the world to see. The inauguration parade, we feel, comes in the best traditions of our country, showcasing the future with these younger people, glowing in the light of being reviewed by the new president, bright and alert and active, ready for what will come tomorrow.
Yep, we were impressed. * * * * * You figure there were parade contingents from every state in the nation, with the Hawaiian and Illinois elements coming high in the order of passing in review. There seemed to be lots of units from nearby Delaware, celebrating the elevation of their senator to vice president. As we saw most of the parade, we thought that two college bands in particular, that of Tennessee and Ohio State, were most impressive. Both were big bands, but just as important, both played music with gusto. The Tennessee band played a distinctive marching, stirring version of "Rocky Top," and to our way of thinking, about stole the show. Yet The Ohio State University band itself was also on target as it blared out their marching song with precision and pride. * * * * * Other inauguration thoughts: The King Day observance in Atlanta pulled a coup, we think, in inviting Rick Warren to give its main address. He had an expansive platform in Atlanta, though not as many people saw it, as Washington. Atlanta is fortunate in having ongoing live coverage of the King Day activities on Channel 5. It should be a program that is picked up all over the nation on the King Holiday. With the plethora of syndicated re-runs on channels, you would think some enterprising network would recognize the impact televising nationwide would bring, and allow people across the nation to enjoy what Atlanta enjoys on the King Holiday * * * * * While on the King Holiday, our Southland must begin to observe the day not as a minor holiday, but for what it is: an observation of our changing America. Many businesses in Gwinnett are routinely at work on that day, including GwinnettForum. We vow to observe the King Holiday in 2010, and would urge other firms to put the King Holiday into their list of routine holidays observed. We all need to accept the new diversity that our nation today enjoys, as the right thing to do, a day which honors all mankind. McLEMORE'S
WORLD Here's an archived cartoon from 2005 that still speaks to today. Bill McLemore is in recovery at the Long Term Acute Care unit at Wesley Woods, and in much better spirits.
FEEDBACK Editor, the Forum:
The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Today's underwriter is Gwinnett Medical Center, part of what's great about Gwinnett! In fact, no aspect of a community is more vital to quality of life than excellent healthcare. In 2006 and 2008, Gwinnett Medical Center received the HealthGrades Distinguished Hospital Award for clinical excellence, ranking among the top five percent of all hospitals in the nation. Gwinnett Medical Center - Duluth opened in 2006 and is the first all-digital hospital in north Atlanta. To learn more, visit www.gwinnettmedicalcenter.org.
UPCOMING A show of photographic works, "The Art of Photography," opens on January 23 at the Jacqueline Casey Hudgens Center for the Arts in Duluth. The exhibit will continue on Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Admission is free. The show will present the works of the following photographers: Jay Arnold, Rigsby Barnes, Richard Calmes, Wilda Courney, Javier Diazgranados, Wallace Reid and Cayce Rockhill Tolbert. Five Forks Library patrons to hear Elliott Brack on Jan. 26 The public is invited to meet local author Elliott Brack at the Gwinnett County Public Library Five Forks branch on Monday, January 26, at 7 p.m. The Gwinnett County Public Library Five Forks branch is located at 2780 Five Forks Trickum Road in Lawrenceville. Brack will be speaking about his just-released book, Gwinnett, A Little Above Atlanta. Brack will also speak March 24 at the Suwanee Branch, 361 Main Street in Suwanee. From the time it was founded in 1818, until after World War II, Gwinnett
County, Georgia was much like the vast majority of counties in the state:
rural, engaged primarily in farming, and not much affected by the outside
world.
Gwinnett's proximity to Atlanta changed all that after 1950, because
of the automobile, the interstate highway system, and Atlanta developing
into the Southeast's key airport. As the growth of Atlanta spread outside
Fulton and DeKalb counties, Gwinnett, with its open spaces, relatively
cheap land and good access, began to grow…..quickly. From 32,250
sparsely-settled people in 1950, all of a sudden Gwinnett was big, really
big, the fastest growing large county in the nation. By 2000 it had a
population of 588,448, and by 2008, it is nearly 800,000. It will be on sale at Books for Less in Snellville and Lawrenceville and at the Gwinnett Historical Center. For more information, visit the library website at www.gwinnettpl.org Seago to speak at Feb. 13 Success Lives Here breakfast Join the Gwinnett Chamber to hear David Seago, region manager for the North Metro area of Georgia Power Company, share his secrets to success! He will speak at the February 13 "Success Lives Here Leadership Breakfast" at the Sugarloaf Country Club at 7:30 a.m. Seago, an Augusta native, attended Georgia Tech on the Cooperative Program with Georgia Power Company and graduated with an Industrial Engineering degree. Upon graduating, Seago went on to work full time with Georgia Power Company in the marketing department in Atlanta. In January of 2002, Seago began overseeing Gwinnett and Forsyth counties, the North Fulton area, and the Doraville and Chamblee communities of DeKalb County for Georgia Power. He has been involved with the community, serving as chairman of the Gwinnett Chamber in 2000. He has also been a member of the boards of the Georgia Gwinnett College, the Northeast Community Foundation, the Gwinnett Children's Shelter, and chairman and founding member of the Gwinnett Public School Foundation. To attend the breakfast, the cost is $45 for Chamber members; $55 for
non-Chamber members. Registration deadline is February 10. NOTABLE Two new persons have joined the board of the Gwinnett County Public Library.
They are Babs Wagoner and Phillip Saxton . Neighborhood Leadership
seeks people for 2009-10 program Gwinnett Neighborhood Leadership Institute (GNLI) is now accepting applications
and/or nominations for its upcoming Community Leadership Training Program,
kicking off in August, 2009. Training is provided to Gwinnett County citizens
interested in learning effective leadership skills so that they can take
a more active role in community affairs. One-day workshops are held one Saturday each month for eight consecutive
months. Session topics include government affairs, crime prevention, health,
education, economics, community growth and media relations.
Deadline for applications is April 30, 2009 . The program fee is $500,
with partial scholarships available. Applications can be downloaded at
www.gnli.org. Persons may nominate themselves or others by contacting
Nicole Love 770-995-3339 or e-mail Nicole@gwinnettcoalition.org. Bannister's State-of-County
Address on Internet or on cable Though Gwinnett Commission Chairman Charles Bannister presented his annual
State of the County perspective last Thursday in Duluth, the talk can
now be heard on both the county's website and on its cable TV channel. RECOMMENDED
GEORGIA
ENCYCLOPEDIA Pellagra, a disease caused by a dietary deficiency in vitamin B (niacin), was seen in the southern United States after the Civil War (1861-65). In the early 1900s it was thought to be an infectious disease, but studies conducted by public health physician Joseph Goldberger at the Milledgeville State Hospital in Georgia showed that it was related to diet.
Death statistics indicate that pellagra may have been one of the most severe nutritional deficiency diseases ever recorded in the United States. Symptoms include dermatitis, diarrhea, inflammation of the mucous membranes, and even dementia. Pellagra can flare in strong sunlight. Left untreated, the condition results in death. The incidence of pellagra increased greatly in the early 20th century. In 1909 more than 1,000 estimated cases were reported from 13 states. By 1911 pellagra was reported in all but nine states, and the number of cases increased ninefold. From 1906 to 1940 approximately three million cases and 100,000 deaths were attributed to this disease. It was most prevalent in the southern states, where income level was low and most of the available land was used for such cash crops as cotton and tobacco rather than food crops. By 1920 pellagra had became a serious illness in Georgia, where 432 deaths were attributed to the disease. During 1928-29, at its peak incidence, pellagra was the eighth or ninth leading cause of death besides accidents in the South. Economic recovery and the enrichment of flour with niacin improved diet and health in areas where pellagra had been common. This made possible the elimination of pellagra by the end of the 1940s. CREDITS GwinnettForum is provided to you ever Tuesday and Friday. Send your thoughts, 55-word short stories, pet peeves or comments on any issue to Gwinnett Forum for future publication.
© 2009, Gwinnett Forum.com. Gwinnett Forum is an online community commentary for exploring pragmatic and sensible social, political and economic approaches to improve life in Gwinnett County, Ga. USA. |
TODAY'S
QUOTE "The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it."
MORE RECENT COMMENTARY
MODERN HISTORY OF GWINNETT
SAVE BY JAN. 25! With a pre-publicaiton purchase, save 20% on the new history of Gwinnett that will be released this month. Learn more about Elliott Brack's new history on Gwinnett County at www.elliottbrack.com. Here are some other good reads that you might want to consider reading:
FOR CHARITY. You can give "A Gift of Laughter," a great book of cartoons by Bill McLemore, to help raise money for Rainbow Village. At just $20, it's a fun way to help. To order, call 770 840 1003, or 770 446 3800, or email to info@gwinnettforum.com. SISTER PUBLICATIONS We encourage you to check out our sister publications:
© 2001-2009, Gwinnett Forum.com is Gwinnett County's online community forum for commentary that explores pragmatic and sensible social, political and economic approaches to improve life in Gwinnett County, Ga. USA. PHONE:
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