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Issue 9.13 | Friday, May 15, 2009 | Forward to your friends! |
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IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Meet a sponsor |
ABOUT US GwinnettForum.com is a twice-weekly online community commentary for exploring pragmatic and sensible social, political and economic approaches to improve life in Gwinnett County, Ga. USA. Contact us today. SEARCH GWINNETT FORUM |
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TODAY'S
FOCUS LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga., May 15, 2009 -- Gwinnett County's Water Resources Department is taking proactive steps that will assist the advancement of the science to determine the presence of human and veterinary pharmaceuticals and traces of products like cleaners, lotions, and sunscreens in the water supply.
In March 2007, the County contracted with a research group at the University of North Carolina to test Gwinnett's water for 19 compounds at four points: the raw water intake for the Shoal Creek Filter Plant at Lake Lanier, processed drinking water after filtration and treatment, wastewater entering the Hill Water Resources Center and treated effluent being returned to the Chattahoochee River. Part of the purpose was to determine whether the best practicable treatment techniques used by Gwinnett facilities were effective at removing these compounds. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sets national standards for water quality under the Safe Drinking Water Act but has not issued regulations for these particular compounds, collectively known as PPCPs. Lynn Smarr, Gwinnett's acting director of Water Resources, says: "We believe this study will help develop the science for determining future EPA regulations. We try to be on the cutting edge to protect our residents and keep our environment healthy and safe." The study by the University of North Carolina used an unusually low reporting limit (MRL) of10 ng/L (nanograms per liter or parts per trillion), which requires specialty lab equipment to analyze such low concentrations. Results of the study show, for wastewater treatment:
For water supply and treatment:
DEET was occasionally detected, with estimated concentrations ranging from 3 to 7 ng/L, which is below the minimum reporting limit. PPCPs can enter the environment when people flush medications or rinse other products down the drain, through excretion by humans or animals, or by improper disposal methods. They also enter the environment through normal and proper use, as when we spray ourselves from head to toe with mosquito repellant. The reason DEET is so popular in bug spray may be its persistence. The Hill
Water Resources Center has been widely praised for its state-of-the-art
process that uses ozone disinfection in addition to filtration and membranes.
Ozone is one of the strongest and most effective oxidizing agents known
for the elimination and removal of PPCPs. Gwinnett currently discharges
treated wastewater into the Chattahoochee River and is scheduled to begin
returning it to Lake Lanier later this year. The lake is also the source
of raw water for both of Gwinnett's filter plants that produce finished
drinking water for more than 800,000 residents. The filter plants also
use ozone disinfection in addition to filtration and chlorination to provide
safe drinking water. ELLIOTT
BRACK MAY 15, 2009 -- Yes, the economy has had its impact on both the Arena and the Gwinnett Braves stadium, when it comes to packaging suites, selling advertising, and in the case of the stadium, gaining naming rights.
Yet overall, the Gwinnett Arena is holding up pretty well, says Preston Williams, who oversees the facility for the Gwinnett Convention and Visitor's Bureau. Bruce Baldwin of the Gwinnett Braves says that the Gwinnett Braves arrived "with no anticipation except to do the best we could." Williams says of the Arena: "We had 14 suites up for renewal in February, and only signed up four of them for year-round activities." However, the Gwinnett Gladiators, for instance, are now selling some half-season suite packages, while the Arena is doing concert and family show packages. Williams adds: "We now make suites available for our bigger shows on a one-time basis, and have done well on some of them. When we had Sugarland here, we sold out everything we had. They're the hottest country music group now based in Atlanta. They started their tour here, and did real well." If you're wondering, a suite at the Arena, for a year, averages $55,000, including 12 tickets to each event. "We've done some 6-8 concert pricing for the $15-20,000 range, and that includes food and beverages," Williams says. "Some people really like the shorter packages.'
The original suite leases were for 3-5 years, and some of them have renewed. You can guess the field where the suites have not renewed: from firms involved in development, home construction and in the mortgage business. "That all went away," Williams says. Overall, revenue for the convention center is holding strong. There has been a drop-off in ancillary revenue from trade shows and conventions; however, the Arena has also picked up new clients. "Coca Cola had their national stockholder's meeting at the Arena," Williams notes, "Only one of four times that they haven't meet in Delaware. Those Coke stockholders raved about the place, and the convenient parking." Even with firms leasing the Arena facilities, Williams sees the firms not spending $30 a person for food and beverage, but more like $18-20. And many of the meetings are for shorter terms, not 3-4 days but one or two. New clients have helped in this area, since there are now more available dates. Baldwin says that at the new Braves stadium, suite sales have been hurt, but that the team is creative in coming up with packages. "We have one, five and 10 games packages. For one night, the price for a suite is $2,000, and that includes 20 tickets and food and beverages. People are using it for entertainment, for business, and for family gatherings." * * * * * Attendance at Gwinnett Braves baseball games has held up pretty well. Through home games of May 11, the local Braves have drawn 110,451 fans, an average of 6,136 per game. The largest crowd was the opening night, when 10,427 showed up. On the road, the average attendance for the Braves has been 5,009. If you want to know more details on the Gwinnett Braves, check out their most-detailed web site. It'll tell you many different ways to look at the local Class AAA baseball team. Go to this site and be surprised at the detail
The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Today's sponsor is Brand Banking Company, headquartered in Lawrenceville, where it has three offices, with additional branches in Snellville, Grayson and Flowery Branch. It is the largest privately held bank in Gwinnett, with assets of $1,100,000,000. The bank's main office is in Lawrenceville on the Historic Courthouse Square, plus another branch on Hurricane Shoals Road. Other locations are in Grayson, Snellville, Flowery Branch, Buford and Duluth. Member, FDIC and Federal Reserve System. For more information, go to https://www.thebrandbank.com/home/home .
UPCOMING The nation's
legal system works largely because it relies on principles that have withstood
the test of time. New information technologies are starting to have a
dramatic effect on how these principles work in practice, creating situations
with a vastly different balance between security and privacy than was
originally intended. There are present examples involving e-mail, border
searches, and cloud computing, that the courts and Congress are working
through. Greater challenges will be seen in the future as technology and
policy evolve.
Gwinnett
Technology Forum will discuss these ideas at their May 19 meeting at Gwinnett
Tech's Auditorium in the Busbee Center at 7:30 a.m. Attendees will learn
the issues around the intersection between privacy rights and technological
change. Suwanee Memorial Day weekend features concert The City of Suwanee will commemorate Memorial Day Weekend with patriotic music, song, and a parachute demonstration by members of the Silver Wings. The Gwinnett Community Band and the Sugar Hill LDS Choir will perform in a free concert, sponsored by the Gwinnett Daily Post, beginning at 7 p.m. Friday, May 22, at Town Center Park. Members of the Silver Wings, the Command Exhibition Parachute Team that is part of the U.S. Army Infantry based at Fort Benning, will drop in- - literally -- around 7:30 p.m., weather permitting. The concert is free, but attendees are asked to bring a canned good to be donated to a local food bank. Bring your picnic baskets, blankets, chairs, and canned goods, but no alcohol please. Comprised of enthusiastic amateur musicians from throughout metro Atlanta, the Gwinnett Community Band has entertained thousands locally and performed nationally as well. The 60-member Sugar Hill LDS Choir also has performed throughout the metro Atlanta area. Gwinnett Reading Festival moves to Duluth for October 17 The Gwinnett
Reading Festival will celebrate its third year with a new venue: Duluth
Town Green in downtown Duluth. The Gwinnett Reading Festival is scheduled
for Saturday, October 17 from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. NOTABLE The Atlanta
Regional Commission (ARC) recently awarded $85,000 in grants to aid in
funding the transportation studies of four Gwinnett County groups. Grants
were awarded to the City of Norcross, the Gwinnett Village and Gwinnett
Place Community Improvement Districts (CID), and the City of Suwanee.
The Gwinnett
Village and Gwinnett Place CIDs applied jointly for assistance with their
light rail transit (LRT) feasibility study and were awarded $30,000 from
the ARC. The study will examine the cost and possible routes for a LRT
line on the I-85 corridor that would connect Norcross, Gwinnett Village,
Indian Trail Road, Gwinnett Place and terminate at the Gwinnett Arena.
The study will evaluate population density, travel patterns and connectivity
to major activity centers along the corridor. Coupled with the ridership
projections, these findings will allow the CIDs to develop a plan for
successfully advancing the project.
The ARC
awarded the City of Norcross $35,000 for a study to address the parking
needs in the growing downtown and to complement the newly created Lillian
Webb Park. The study will focus on current and future parking requirements
in downtown Norcross; possible locations for a parking structure and lots;
the effect growth and parking will have on downtown traffic; and a review
of Lillian Webb Park in regards to pedestrian safety and the effect of
creating one-way streets around the park. The City
of Suwanee received $20,000 for a Buford Highway transportation feasibility
study to examine Buford Highway from McGinnis Ferry Road to the entrance
of George Pierce Park.
Buford
Highway bisects the City of Suwanee's Downtown area. The current design
of the highway is not sensitive to the City's goals of making Buford Highway
pedestrian friendly. The study is a necessary step to ensure that Buford
Highway will be a context sensitive pedestrian friendly design, while
still accommodating current and anticipated vehicular traffic. If properly
improved, Buford Highway will unite Suwanee's Historic Old Town Area with
its new Town Center. RECOMMENDED
GEORGIA
ENCYCLOPEDIA One of the most accomplished statesmen in Georgia's history, John Forsyth led a political career that lasted more than 30 years. He was born in Fredericksburg, Va., on October 22, 1780, to Fanny Johnston Houston and Robert Forsyth. He attended the College of New Jersey (later Princeton University), where he graduated in 1799.
After his college graduation, Forsyth moved to Augusta, where he was admitted to the bar in 1802. That same year he married Clara Meigs, the daughter of Josiah Meigs, the first president of the University of Georgia. In 1808 he was elected attorney general of Georgia, which launched his political career. In 1813 Forsyth was elected as a Jeffersonian Republican to the 13th U.S. Congress. He remained in the House of Representatives until November 1818, when he was elected to fill the U.S. Senate seat of George Troup. Forsyth stayed in the Senate for only two months. On February 17, 1819, he was appointed minister to Spain, a position he held until 1823. In that role Forsyth was credited with negotiating the treaty that annexed Florida from Spain. On March 4, 1823, he was again elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1827 he returned to Georgia to serve a two-year term as governor, extending state laws over the Cherokee Nation during his tenure. Forsyth was reelected to the Senate in 1829 as a Jacksonian. He found himself embroiled in the South Carolina nullification crisis three years later, when Georgia's neighbor threatened to declare a federal tariff null and void. Fearing the possibility of a civil war, Forsyth then voted for the Force Bill in 1833, giving U.S. president Andrew Jackson the authority to use the army and navy to enforce acts of Congress. In Macon some Georgians burned Forsyth in effigy. President
Jackson, however, rewarded Forsyth by naming him secretary of state. Forsyth
was the only Georgian to hold that office until Dean Rusk in 1961. He
continued as secretary of state when President Martin Van Buren re-nominated
him. Among Forsyth's many accomplishments was arranging $5 million in
payments over six years from the French government for raids on American
shipping during the Napoleonic Wars. CREDITS GwinnettForum is provided to you at no charge every Tuesday and Friday. If you would like to serve as an underwriter, click here to learn more. Send your thoughts, 55-word short stories, pet peeves or comments on any issue to Gwinnett Forum for future publication.
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TODAY'S
QUOTE "The best way to get two bad stories written about you is to complain about the first one."
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