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Issue 10.08 | Tuesday, April 27, 2010 |
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TODAY'S FOCUS NORCROSS, Ga., April 27, 2010 -- The recently passed health care reform bill was one of the largest and most controversial pieces of legislation in recent memory. Most of the national conversation has focused on what the bill will change in our current health care system.
However,
there has not been as much about how we will pay for the reforms. The
flip side of the health care reform coin is higher taxes, which will impact
nearly every American, especially small business owners, individual investors
and those in the highest tax bracket. For example,
envision a small business owner who pays herself $100,000 of W-2 income
and receives company profits of $160,000 on her K-1. If married, only
$10,000 of her K-1 income would be subject to the surtax. While no one
wants to part with more cash, the sum total of her additional tax bill
(thanks to the Medicare surtax) is $380. This is hardly the type of tax
bill that should influence major business decisions such as the timing
of major purchases or the sale of assets.
Small business owners will continue to find creative write-offs to minimize profits and therefore their taxable income. For individual investors, tax-efficient portfolio management will be more important than ever to maximize after-tax returns. Municipal bonds will rise in value to account for their tax-free income, yet this may be offset by the increased risk municipalities represent as they struggle to meet their budget obligations. Although
many are already lobbying to repeal the health care legislation, wise
investors and business owners will look ahead and put plans in place now
to prepare for the tax changes to come. EEB PERSPECTIVE APRIL 27, 2010 -- A new, massive and distinctive Asian temple is to be opened next month off Satellite Boulevard near Suwanee. It's the Hui Tz ("wisdom and mercy") temple which can be seen near the northwestern quadrant of Interstate 85 down from Old Peachtree Road. It is sure to become another landmark showing the diversity of people and churches of Gwinnett.
Officials says that it is the largest such structure on the entire Eastern seaboard, if not the entire continent. It follows I-Kuan Dao philosophy-religion, which translates into "The Pervasive Truth." Built mostly by 100 volunteer licensed craftsmen primarily from Taiwan, the new temple will be officially opened in a three-day celebration beginning on May 28 at 8:30 a.m. The elegant Chinese-style temple is of poured concrete construction, but faced with shiny white marble imported from Asia. The carved large stairway and banisters on both sides of the temple building was crafted in Asia, then shipped here for re-assembly. The bright orange roof, some 60,000 imported terra cotta tiles, has the distinctive curved design, culminating in traditional Chinese figures on the roof peaks of a wise man, dragon, phoenix and lion. A tall Asian-style entranceway stands in front of the church, with giant Mandarin characters spelling out: "Hui Tz Temple." A wide decorative black marble tablet across the front of the temple itself has Mandarin characters with gold lettering, telling "how to achieve enlightenment" to those attending.
Victor Sze, 40, who is the head of the foundation erecting the building, had extraordinary assistance....his father, Min Nan Sze. Though retired, the elder Mr. Sze served as the building general contractor hiring the sub-contractors and managing the volunteers, and gives credit to his wife, Sujen, as "real general contractor." Quite a story in himself, the elder Mr. Sze came to this country and studied for his master's degree in chemical engineering at the University of Tennessee. His Ph D. is from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and he worked for years in Chattanooga, Tenn. for DuPont. Later he started a chain of some 40 jewelry stores, before he sold them and moved to Atlanta, where he helped open the first Asian owned bank and went into financial services. Besides directing the construction of the temple, Dr. Sze is also the spiritual leader and elder of the Hui Tze congregation. Victor
Sze, who was born in Boston, is a graduate of Vanderbilt University, and
an attorney. He
The Temple is composed of three buildings, the worship and meeting area, plus two adjacent structures, one for men, the other for women, with quarters for those of the faith who are visiting and leading services. In the worship area, men and women are segregated in seating. Giant Styrofoam Buddahs, in elegant dress, are in two of the prime worship areas. The first floor is composed of a large meeting area, commercial kitchen, and rooms used for both Sunday school and for instruction in the Mandarin language, which takes place on Saturdays. Though officials would not put a price on the facility, others estimated that it could not be built for less than $6-7 million. There are approximately 200 people following the philosophy of the Suwanee Hui Tz temple, while 5,000 people have been given a special blessing on the premises. At the May celebration of the opening of the temple, the sect's special guests from Taiwan, Philippines and Indonesia are expected to be in attendance and stay at the facility or with other members. ABOUT OUR SPONSORS
The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Today's underwriter is The Gwinnett Center, home to three distinct facilities in Duluth: The Arena at Gwinnett Center, Convention Center and Performing Arts Center. The Arena at Gwinnett Center has had six years of tremendous success hosting countless concerts, community and sporting events, which includes being home to the ECHL hockey team, the Gwinnett Gladiators. Some past shows from the 2008-09 season include American Idol, The Cure, Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood, Kanye West, New Kids on the Block, SEC Gymnastics Championship, So You Think You Can Dance and Van Halen. The Convention Center offers patrons the opportunity to host or attend a wide variety of events; from corporate meetings to trade shows, to social occasions. The Performing Arts Center has an intimate capacity of 700 guests, which is home to many local events, family shows and even the occasional comedic performer. For further information visit www.gwinnettcenter.com.
FEEDBACK Editor, the Forum: I cannot believe that all four county commission district surveys have responded positively concerning this airport project. If the noise we hear now is any indicator of what a commercial airport would be, many people including myself would have to relocate. The decrease in local property values is hard to estimate.
Wonders if new iPad is one of those game-changers Editor, the Forum: I enjoyed Jim Grant's article on the iPad. It was interesting that he mentioned at the beginning that it was more about content viewing than content creation, but later admitted that he used it to write the article. I had initially told myself that I'd resist the temptation to wade into the Apple World of iPad, but then read the WIRED article on the future of tablet computing. The term "paradigm shift" is overused, but I do believe the iPad will become a game changer. The mouse, traditional keyboard and wimpy batteries will soon become buggy whips of our quickly evolving digital world. The significance of this came to me as I was swaying in my hammock in the wooded glen in my backyard reading about the adventures of an Alaskan explorer; delighting in the warmth of a gentle breeze and rejoicing in my escape from my techno overloaded life. The irony, of course, was that I was reading the book on my iPad! Let me know if Jim starts a Coffee- klatch on iPad "tricks, tips and apps". I'm in! Sent from my iPad!
UPCOMING A possible funding source for new or expansion projects in Gwinnett County (including cities) are Recovery Zone bonds. A seminar on the bonds will be held on April 28 at 10 a.m. in the Gwinnett Chamber Education Room. Woody Vaughan of King and Spalding and Rick Chandler of Chandler, Britt, Jay & Beck will present:
To how you can revitalize your business with RZ bond deals, RSVP to Lindsay@gwinnettchamber.org or call 678-957-4944. Gwinnett
County has received more than $62 million in recovery zone bonds (part
of the stimulus package) that must be used before July 1 of this year.
These bonds require initial financing from the business or development
but lower the overall costs of the financing through interest tax credits.
Those with a new project or expansion within the next year, may take advantage
to hear more about this incentive. Activities on May 1 include the annual Buford Spring Festival, set from 11 a.m. Until 9 p.m. on Main Street. There is a full day of activities, with groups on stage, vendors and exhibits, a barbecue cook off and wine tasting in the afternoon at the Bona Allen Mansion.
You can browse the historic district for bargains, enjoy a horse-and-buggy ride and see a display of classic cars at the Festival. A long list of acts will be on stage all during the Festival. There will be jazz bands from North Gwinnett Middle and High School, the Peachtree Ridge High and from Flowery Branch High. The barbecue cook-off will be judged at 3 p.m., under the direction of the Northeast Atlanta Metro Association of Realtors. Cook-off samples will be for sale. The wine tasting is from 6 to 8 p.m. In addition to wine, there will be a sampling of gourmet foods prepared to pair with the wines. Only 250 tickets will be sold to the wine tasting. For more
information, go online at http://www.visitbuford.com/Spring_Festival.html NOTABLE The Jackson EMC Foundation, a charity funded by the cooperative's members has awarded $32,000 in grants to four agencies serving Gwinnett County residents.
Nspire Outreach, a Lawrenceville non-profit serving area homeless, received $14,000 to provide local homeless men and women with continuing education through GED courses, online courses, career training or local college or technical school attendance. It also supports Soundz Academy, which provides audiovisual support training for career with conference centers, hotels, churches and schools. Computers For Youth received $10,000 to help fund Duluth's Louise Radloff Middle School's participation in the "Take It Home" program, which provides disadvantaged sixth graders with free "home learning centers," refurbished computers. These are pre-loaded with educational and word processing software to help improve their home learning environment, teach how to effectively use their home learning centers and help parents be learning partners with their children. Gwinnett Community Clinic in Snellville received $5,000 to help fund a part-time nurse practitioner position that allows the clinic to see more indigent patients. Gwinnett Enrichment Center in Norcross, which provides developmentally disabled adults and youth a variety of facility and community-based activities for life skills and adult enrichment, received $3,000 for training activities materials. Jackson EMC members fund Foundation grants by having their monthly electric bills rounded up to the next dollar amount through the Operation Round Up program. Since October 2005 this "spare change" has funded 405 grants to organizations and 159 grants to individuals, putting more than $4.3 million back into local communities. Any individual or charitable organization in the ten counties served by Jackson EMC (Clarke, Banks, Barrow, Franklin, Gwinnett, Hall, Jackson, Lumpkin, Madison and Oglethorpe) may apply for a Foundation grant. Emory Eastside confers 3 Frist Humanitarian Awards Recipients
of the Frist Humanitarian Awards were announced recently at Emory Eastside
Medical Center. HCA, the parent company of Emory Eastside, recognizes
a volunteer, employee, and physician from each of its facilities who demonstrates
extraordinary concern for the welfare and happiness of patients and their
community.
The volunteer
recipient is Joanne Gilbreath, who has volunteered at this hospital for
the last six years and provided 5,415 hours of service. Otis Jones new officer of Georgia Transmission Corp. Otis P. Jones of Lawrenceville, has been elected recently to a one-year term as secretary-treasurer of the board of Georgia Transmission Corporation. Jones has served on the GTC Board since 2008 as a member director. He also is Jackson Electric Membership Corporation's chairman of the board.
The GTC Board of Directors elected officers for 2010 at its board meeting held recently in Atlanta. Also elected as GTC officers were Charles R. Fendley, chairman of the board, and Steve E. Rawl Sr., vice chairman of the board. Fendley is chairman of the board of Amicalola EMC. Rawl is first vice president of Okefenokee Rural Electric Membership Corporation. GTC is a not-for-profit cooperative owned by 39 Electric Membership Corporations in Georgia, including Jackson EMC. Georgia Transmission delivers the high-capacity, long-haul power to EMCs that deliver electricity to members along electric distribution lines and systems. The corporation owns more than $1.6 billion in assets, including more than 3,000 miles of transmission lines and more than 600 substations across the state. RECOMMENDED
GEORGIA ENCYCLOPEDIA
After World War II it seemed that everyone in North Georgia was getting into the chicken business. In Hall County the number of farms that mainly raised chickens rose from 57 to 1,044 between 1939 and 1950. Poultry production soared in the 1970s and 1980s as Americans consumed less red meat and more chicken.
By 1995 Georgia annually processed more than 5 billion pounds of chicken. In 1998 Georgia emerged as the top broiler-producing state in the country, and in 2003 the state continued to rank first in production of broilers and sixth in production of eggs. Many Georgia residents credit the chicken boom with turning parts of the countryside green again, since chicken manure (litter) is an excellent fertilizer. Others point to the harmful environmental impact of the industry, from fly infestation to polluted water. The potential construction of a new poultry-industry facility has caused controversy in a number of Georgia communities. Since the poultry industry sprouted from Hall County roots in the 1930s, production has been concentrated in North Georgia. In 1997 26 of the 32 Georgia counties that produced more than 10 million broilers each were located in the northern half of the state. The top producer, Franklin County, and neighboring Banks, Habersham, Hall, Jackson, and Madison counties produced more than a quarter of the state's total broilers. Processing plants, feed mills, and hatcheries dot North Georgia. At the same time, the poultry industry spans nearly the entire state. About three-quarters of all Georgia counties commercially produce chicken, and the 10-million-plus group includes Tattnall County, in south Georgia. Poultry production is also moving increasingly south, where land is cheaper and more plentiful and as cooling technology has been improved to cope with the hot summers of south Georgia. As of 2002 South Georgia's share of 10-million-plus counties rose from less than 20 percent to 35 percent. Long-established Claxton Poultry in Evans County is only the first of a growing number of processing plants in South Georgia. Others include Tyson plants in Buena Vista, Dawson, Oglethorpe, and Vienna; Cagle's in Camilla; and Gold Kist in Douglas. In May 2004 Mississippi-based Sanderson Farms announced that it would build a new poultry production complex on sites in Cook and Colquitt counties.
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