CELEBRATION: Among New Year's Eve activities in Gwinnett on Monday night will be festivities starting at 6 p.m. on the Duluth Town Green, climaxing with a fireworks show around the Duluth City Hall. This photo captures the scene from a previous fireworks, with the clock of the tower of the Duluth city hall highlighted. (See more details below.) A similar New Year's celebration, "Lawrenceville Rings," will take place at the Historic Gwinnett Courthouse in Lawrenceville.

Issue 12.71 | Friday, Dec. 28, 2012

TODAY'S FOCUS
:: Coming trends in technology

ELLIOTT BRACK'S PERSPECTIVE
:: Enjoying Christmas card messages

FEEDBACK
:: On Standing Peachtree, guns

UPCOMING
:: Swearing-in ceremony, more

NOTABLE
:: GCVB honors hospitality pros

ALSO INSIDE

IN THE SPOTLIGHT
:: Hayes Family Dealerships

RECOMMENDED
:: Matthews Cafeteria, Tucker

GEORGIA TIDBIT
:: Thomas County native becomes poet

LAGNIAPPE
:: First for GGC, grad

GWINNETT CALENDAR
:: Lots of events on tap

TODAY'S QUOTE
:: Miss Manners on tooting your horn

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TODAY'S FOCUS
Watch out for the top technology trends for the coming year
By MARY HESTER
CEO, LAN Systems
Special to GwinnettForum.com | Permalink

(Editor's Note: With all of us involved with technology these days, we again asked Mary Hester, CEO of LAN Systems, to give her thoughts. Watch out: computers will get even more far-out in the coming year. For old fuddy-duddies without a smart phone, you may feel insecure even to go to the grocery store in 2013. LAN employees are engineers and technologists who feel interpersonal skills are any business' greatest asset. -eeb)

NORCROSS, Ga., Dec. 28, 2012 -- In keeping with our new year's tradition, we have compiled our list of the top technology trends for 2013. We scanned the available data, reviewed our previous predictions and focused on the explosion of processing power for mobile devices. This year will be interesting for tablets and all touch devices as we find new ways for computers to be an extension of the human experience.

Everything goes mobile: It's not just smart phones and tablets leading the charge for mobility. Everything we do for business and personal will be mobile. From storing data to updating our social sites to every type of paperwork imaginable will be done with the help of our mobile devices. This need for mobility will fuel Cloud services and applications. Look for things you never expected to do on the go and add them to the list of mobile activities.

The Cloud is up close and personal: As we become more productive doing everything mobile, we will need immediate access to all our applications and data. Because of this demand, the Cloud will be our choice for centralized storage and access to applications both for business and personal use. Look for Cloud applications like Microsoft Office 365 and Cloud storage services like Dropbox and SkyDrive to become commonplace.

Corporate App Store: With the explosion of mobile devices and the demand for BYOD (bring your own devices) at work, companies will use their own app stores to deploy apps and manage security. A variety of apps will be offered to employees that focus on productivity for the mobile workforce. Companies will develop their own apps or buy licenses to modify and distribute available apps. Corporate App Stores will emerge as a new software service model and will be as easy to establish as an eCommerce storefront. Companies will offer a wide-range of apps for business and pleasure to their employees and customers.

Inexpensive Tablets: Not only will tablets be in the price range that will make them affordable to all, they will be capable of increased computing power that will put them in the business class of devices. Tablets will be so affordable that every toddler will have a tablet for games and educational programs. The touch capability will replace the mouse as the way to interface with a computer. The screen size will still be a limitation, but look to roll out screens and larger monitors to make tablets the new personal computer.

Internet of Things: This is not a new concept, but it will define the way human beings interact with data and objects. The Internet of Things (IoT) is tagging every object in a way that it can be sensed by computer systems. This includes radio-frequency identification (RFID) and near field communications (NFC) that will identify objects and allow real-time processing of the tagged data.

For instance, you will be able to check out of the grocery store by walking through a scanner that will capture every item in your cart and you'll pay by "bumping" your phone to the register. When you walk in a store, it will capture the tags on your clothing and make recommendations on your style and color choices. Just-in-time inventory control will be the new standard as IoT processes zetabytes of data effortlessly.

ELLIOTT BRACK
You learn a lot and it's fun to read Christmas card messages
By ELLIOTT BRACK
Editor and publisher
GwinnettForum.com | Permalink

DEC. 28, 2012 -- One of the joys of the holiday season is finding out about what your friends have been up to in the past year through their Christmas cards.

Brack

On Christmas Day, I spent about three hours just leaning back in a chair, and very deliberately going through the cards that friends had sent along. Many of them include messages, long and short, shedding more light on their activities.

Some come only in card form. But even that is a delight, since the years are adding up for all of us, and just hearing from old friends, and knowing that they are here, always cheers us. Of course, the flip side is that in a few days after Christmas we will get returned two or three cards from distant friends we sent cards to, who have either moved and we need to change their address, or they have "moved on," and we need to eliminate them from our list. The second part saddens you.

Yes, some write long, long letters. Today these might even arrive via e-mail, being quickly sent, and saving our friends postage. If you send out a lot of cards, that postage can add up while Internet communications works well!

Going through the comments and letters in the arriving cards, you learn all sorts of items. Some people now are also grandparents, and of course and as it should be, they like to tell about the accomplishments of both their children, or their grand (and some great) children.

That aspect makes us proud: the accomplishment of our friends' children. Many of them are really sharp kids (or so their grandparents say), doing so much, and seeming to really enjoy themselves. We are proud, even those we don't know them closely or at all.

So we hear of people graduating from college or becoming a doctor, or of new births or new careers and even of ailments. "Still in there after battling cancer," one said, and we were relieved to hear of this person's progress.

Since much of our mail comes from the senior set, we find that many of them find time to travel, to all sort of exotic places. One couple we know in England was taking an Asian cruise, only to find that all four of the ship's engines conked out. There they were in what they call 33 degree (C) weather (about 100 degrees F) without any air conditioning. And this lasted several days, with finally one engine and then another one getting partially restarted at sea, before they slowly steamed for an unexpected port. They were given a complimentary stay at a top hotel, and provided tickets for another cruise. What an adventure!

Another couple took a cruise with their extended family around New England and to Canada, aboard a ship named for their family. It made it sound like so much fun we wished we had been with them.

Opening Christmas cards is not like talking on the phone, up close and really personal. Yet going leisurely through the cards gives us a certain pleasure. It's a part of Christmas we always look forward to each year.

* * * * *

One more holiday story: a Christmas Party invitation one person got gave the time and place, then added: "Adult admission: one festive beverage; child admission: $700." Guess how many children showed up?

SPOTLIGHT
Hayes Family Dealerships

The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Today's sponsor is Hayes Family Dealerships with Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, and GMC. Mike, Tim and Ted Hayes of Lawrenceville and Gainesville with Terry Hayes of Baldwin and Stan Roberts of Toccoa invite you into their showrooms to look over their line-up of automobiles and trucks. Hayes has been in the automotive business for over 40 years, and is North Georgia's oldest family-owned dealerships. The family is the winner of the 2002 Georgia Family Business of the Year Award. Check their web sites at: www.hayeschrysler.com or www.hayeschevrolet.com or www.hayesgmcars.com.

• For a list of other underwriters of this forum, click here.

FEEDBACK
More about those trees at the fort at Standing Peachtree

Editor, the Forum:

Thank you for the boost in your December 21 comment about the purchase of the Fort Daniel property! We appreciate your support since we started advocating for this several years ago.

Now a comment, however, about "Peach tree vs. Pitch tree": There is pretty good evidence, anecdotal and archaeological, that there were likely peach trees at the Standing Peachtree site, no doubt following the Desoto incursus in the mid-1500s. There is documentary evidence that includes an eye-witness account with regard to Standing Peachtree, and many references about passing through peach orchards in Creek and Cherokee villages by the famous Indian Agent, Benjamin Hawkins (and others) in the late 1700s. There is also extensive archaeological evidence for peach pits at village sites for this time period. Military supply communications from the Creek War of 1813-14 bemoan the scarcity of peaches (and other crops) from the friendly Indians. I briefly address this in a post on our web site at: http://www.thefortdanielfoundation.org/TheBook.htm#Peach.

Incidentally, Indian villages are not necessarily located on river floodplain or bottomland, but often at higher elevations overlooking the river as was the case at Standing Peachtree. It was on just such an elevated landform that G.W. Collier recalled seeing, and eating from, a peach tree.

-- James J. D'Angelo, Ph.D., RPA, president and site archaeologist, Fort Daniel at Hog Mountain

(Dear Dr. D'Angelo: Thanks for this. However, peach trees on a hill are different from any on a river bottom. We stand by the theory from the late historian Franklin Garrett that the trees on the river bottom at the Fort at the Standing Peachtree….were really pine. -eeb)

Corrects previous article concerning "automatic weapons"

(Editor's Note: this letter was supposed to be included in the last issue, but was somehow left out. We apologize for the delay.-eeb)

Editor, the Forum:

Let me take the time to correct a couple of errors that you made in your article regarding automatic weapons. Maybe through an honest mistake, you stated that the unlawful and cowardly attack on the elementary school up in Connecticut was carried out using an "automatic weapon." That is NOT the case. The rifle in question was a semi-automatic weapon. There is a huge difference between the two. There is also a huge difference in the laws involving the two types of firearms in question.

A semi-automatic weapon, such as the one used in the recent shooting, fires one round for each pull of the trigger. It does not, and cannot fire "bursts" of bullets, as you stated in your article. There are semi-automatic shotguns (used by most bird hunters), semi-automatic rifles (used by most deer hunters), and semi-automatic pistols. To purchase and possess this weapon, an individual has to go through the background checks that all lawful gun purchasers must pass in order to buy ANY weapon.

A fully automatic weapon, as you described in your article, does indeed shoot bursts of fire until either the magazine is empty, or the shooter lifts their finger from the trigger. However these weapons are NOT available for purchase using the background check system that is used for other weapons.

I'm not sure about all the steps involved in obtaining one of these type weapons, but I do know they involve registering with BATF, becoming a federal firearms dealer, paying a huge yearly fee, and other stringent steps. The steps involved in possessing an automatic weapon are so strict (and rightfully so I might add), that since the law was implemented back in the early 20th century, there has been no recorded use of a registered automatic weapon in the act of a crime. Merely the possession of an unregistered automatic weapon by anyone in the United States will earn you double-digit years in a federal prison.

Now if you want to make a case for restricting semi-automatic weapons, then you are free to do so.

-- Brad W. Brown, Buford

Editor, The Forum:

Under current U.S. law, automatic weapons are already illegal to own unless one is a licensed gun dealer or collector. An automatic weapon is one which can discharge multiple rounds with a single trigger pull. That sort of weapon is not what was used in Newtown. The weapons used by Mr. Lanza were semi-automatic, which means that the spent round is ejected and the new round is loaded automatically, but each firing sequence must be initiated with a unique trigger pull.

While I appreciate your emotional response to a very emotional situation, these discussions should begin and end with facts, and not hysteria.

-- Rick Hammond, Duluth

(Dear Brad and Rick: Thanks for reading closely and making things right.-eeb)

Feels we cannot legislate our way to gun solution

Editor, the Forum:

About guns: we cannot legislate our way to this solution. A self-satisfied pat on the back for lawmakers to eliminate certain weapons will not touch the issue, nor will it stop or even delay the next horrible event. A person with no character and empathy who wants to be a butcher, will be a butcher.

We left the path a long time ago with the elimination of God, prayer, character, honor, decency and respect being the standard, cornerstone and core by which all are raised and educated. Now the things we glorify, and allow to be glorified, in our society lead some to things that are beyond belief, and the bar keeps moving.

-- Dave Hedinger, Elberton

Maintains letter writer wrong on two points recently

Editor, the Forum:

David Earl Tyre in his comments made two errors of fact that seem to be repeated by those who favor no gun regulations.

First, Hitler made no changes to gun regulations until 1938 when guns sales were banned to Jews. Second, both Stalin and Mao did allow guns for hunting purposes and did not ban guns. Let's not forget that the Siberian people need weapons for both hunting and defense.

We have more to fear from gerrymandering of voting districts and unlimited campaign
financing of political campaigns by corporations and wealthy individuals than a few sensible gun regulations.

-- George Wilson, Stone Mountain (Gwinnett)

(Dear George: First, I believe David Earl would not be classified as one wanting gun regulations. But you are sure right about the last part, for look how the gerrymandering primarily in states controlled by Republicans across the nation, led to little changes in Congress. In fact, Democrats in House seats got more votes than Republicans, but found little change in district representation.---eeb)

• We welcome your letters and thoughts. Our policy: We encourage readers to submit feedback (or letters to the editor). Send your thoughts to the editor at elliott@brack.net. We will edit for length and clarity. Make sure to include your name and the city where you live. Submission of a comment grants permission for us to reprint. Please keep your comments to 300 words or less. However, we will consider longer articles (no more than 500 words) for featuring in Today's Focus as space allows.
  

UPCOMING
Three commissioners' swearing-in ceremony to be Sunday

A group swearing-in ceremony will take place on Sunday for three members of the Board of Commissioners. Chief Magistrate George F. Hutchinson III will preside over the ceremony and administer the oath of office to Commission Chairman Charlotte Nash, District 1 Commissioner Jace Brooks and District 3 Commissioner-elect Tommy Hunter. The event is at 4 p.m. at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center in Lawrenceville

Nash served 18 months as chairman after winning a special election in March 2011. Unopposed in both the primary and the general election, she begins a four-year term in January. Brooks was the only candidate to qualify for a special election to fill a vacancy in district 1, taking office in September. He had no opposition in the general election for a full four-year term that starts next month. After winning a contested primary, Hunter faced no opposition in November and takes office in January.

Duluth planning New Year's Eve activities on Town Green

Mark your calendar to ring in 2013 in historic downtown Duluth. Activities begin at 6 p.m. and last past midnight at the Duluth Festival Center stage on the Town Green. Admission is free. This family-friendly celebration will include live music on the Amphitheatre Stage featuring The American Flyers, an independent touring show band based in Atlanta, which has appeared at the Super Bowl and World Series.

The event will kick off with dancing. There will be the Chick-Fil-A Bowl football game on the Town Green TV screen. Other activities will include a winter carnival, including a snow slide, inflatables/rides/games, plus food and beverage vendors.

Crawl the historic downtown to visit shops and dine in restaurants. At midnight, Duluth will unveil its one-of-a-kind icon with a fireworks display. The City of Duluth has partnered with Entertainment Design Group, the creator of the Peach Drop, to design a one-of-a-kind icon and experience for the community to enjoy without having to drive to downtown Atlanta.

"Losing It' weight loss program starts 6th season in January

In August, Barry Murray was given a choice by the Human Resource Department in his company, lose weight or lose your job. Barry's job required him to operate machinery which had a weight limit - and he was over the weight limit.

Participating in the Losing It program is Mingledorff's of Norcross. Their18 employees lost 228 pounds (and 112 inches) over the 12 weeks of the program. On the front row are Debra Brazell, Cassie Parks, Jesse Peterson, Sandi Porter, Bruce Longino, with Brian Sumpter in the very front. On the back row are D.C. Surface, Joe Bailey, Mica Langley, Lee Edenfield, Tom Schildhammer, Veryl Zimmerman and Spencer Arnett.

Frustrated by his past attempts to lose weight, Barry sought help and found the Gwinnett's "Losing It" program. In the next 12 weeks, he would lose 32 lbs, 13 inches, lower his body fat percentage by four percent and lower his BMI by 4.3 into a healthier range. He still wants to lose more weight, but he was able to improve his health dramatically and keep his job.

Gwinnett's "Losing It" is starting their sixth season in January 2013. This 12-week program is to educate and help people who feel their weight is out of their control. According to the CDC, over 69 percent of Americans are overweight or obese. Those numbers are in line with Georgia and Gwinnett rates as well. Registration continues through December 31, 2012 for the next round of Gwinnett's "Losing It!"

Participants become part of a team and learn how to improve their health in 12 weeks. During that 12 weeks, the participants attend weekly teleconference calls, have a weekly weigh-in and meet once a month as a group for a group workout activity. Participants also get monthly progress reports tracking their progress through measurements, photos, body fat percentage, BMI and weight. Each week is focused on a lesson involving nutrition, workouts and how your emotional health affects your physical health and your ability to lose and maintain weight.

As the program expands in Gwinnett, they are also looking for corporate sponsors who would like to partner with Start With The Inside or to sponsor someone, maybe one of their employees, in the program. To register and get more information, visit www.startwiththeinside.com and click on "Gwinnett's Losing It!" For more information, contact Sandi Porter at 404-925-2626.

Dacula filmmakers plan advanced screening of new feature

A special advanced screening for the feature length documentary "American Made Movie" will be hosted by Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, January 29 at 7 p.m. This is a free private advanced screening of the movie and seating will be limited. Call the Chamber for details.

"American Made Movie" looks back on the glory days of U.S. manufacturing when there was a more balanced relationship between the goods produced and consumed, and illustrates how technology and globalization have changed the competitive landscape for companies doing business in America, as well as overseas.

By illustrating the successes of companies and entrepreneurs that, of their own accord, have prospered without adopting the practices of their competitors, American Made Movie shows the positive impact these jobs can have on national and local economies in the face of great challenges.

The film is being made by Vincent Vittorio and Nathaniel Thomas McGill, both of Dacula, who previously released the movie, "An Inconvenient Tax."

NOTABLE
GCVB hands out awards to hospitality professionals

Gwinnett's hospitality industry professionals were in attendance at the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center for the Gwinnett Convention and Visitors Bureau's (GCVB) Annual Tourism Awards and Holiday Luncheon recently.

Community stewardship was exemplified by the GCVB's "Candy Bar Drive," a charity effort to support Hugs for Our Soldiers, with their mission to support soldiers serving overseas. The hospitality community collected 4,035 candy bars.

Five hospitality professionals were named as 2012 Friends of Tourism Award Winners, including: Candice Kirkpatrick of Proof of the Pudding; Kevin Priger with Atlanta Marriott Gwinnett Place; Dr. Mark Newton of Gwinnett Technical College, Al Stilo of Aurora Theatre and Ed Peterson of the Wyndham Garden Duluth.

Eight volunteers were chosen as Outstanding Ambassadors: Diane Turchin, Erica Rohlfs, Geneva Bottley, Golden Thomas, Jacqueline Quitman, Jane Miller, Nicole Burks and Stewart Woodard. These volunteers supported Gwinnett's hospitality community in 2012 by volunteering for over 500 total hours at various events and trade shows on behalf of the GCVB.

Other awards included:

• Hospitality Industry Professional of the Year: Deborah Johnson, Convention Services Manager, Atlanta Marriott Gwinnett Place This award, the highest given, is a peer-driven award. The winner is chosen by votes from the entire hospitality industry. Johnson received the most votes, and was noted for 'extreme dedication to customer service, strong relationships with staff, peers and clients, and her professionalism and acts of camaraderie within the hospitality industry.'
  
  
• Gwinnett Sports Commission Prestige Award: Kat Ding, 2012 NCAA Gymnastics Champion, University of Georgia. Throughout 2012, Ding worked with Gwinnett Sports Commission to promote youth sports and Gwinnett as a sports event destination.
  
  
• Gwinnett Sports Commission Event of the Year Award: Kids Triathlon. This is given by the Gwinnett Sports Commission in recognition of a unique Gwinnett sporting event that brings visitors to impact local economic development. In August 2012, the Kids Triathlon debuted in Peachtree Corners, bringing in hundreds of youth competitors.
  
  
• Gwinnett Hero Award: Garry Davis, Gwinnett resident. This inaugural annual award highlights one Gwinnett resident who works to bring an event into the county. Davis brought in a family reunion to Gwinnett and utilized numerous restaurants, attractions, and hotels resulting in $25,000 in economic impact locally.

RECOMMENDED
Matthews Cafeteria, Tucker

"If you like "down-home" cooking, you will love Matthews Cafeteria in Tucker. When you walk in the door, you immediately feel like you stepped back in time to black and white TV and the Life of Riley (if you can remember that)! In fact, it was built in 1951. They have great veggies, not overcooked, and always fresh. I'm diabetic and have to be very careful where and what I eat so if I'm ever close to Tucker, I head to Matthews. There is a parking lot on each side of the building. Many people don't know about this great down-home café, especially newcomers to Gwinnett, because they don't advertize. Since it's always packed, they don't have the need. The prices are very reasonable in these hard times. Each veggie is only $1.60 with rolls or cornbread included in the meal."

-- Frank Sharp, Lawrenceville

• An invitation: What Web sites, books or restaurants have you enjoyed? Send us your best recent visit to a restaurant or most recent book you have read along with a short paragraph as to why you liked it, plus what book you plan to read next. --eeb

GEORGIA ENCYCLOPEDIA
Two Georgia rivers deserve nod for whitewater paddling

Although Georgia's whitewater rivers and creeks are far too numerous to describe in detail, two rivers in particular, both in the northeast Georgia mountains near Clayton, deserve special recognition.

The crown jewel of Appalachian whitewater, the Chattooga River is one of the few remaining free-flowing streams of substantial size in the Southeast. The river has its source in the mountains of North Carolina and flows south, forming the border between Georgia and South Carolina. Pristine for much of its length, the Chattooga received federal protective status in 1974 under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. The Chattooga has been divided into four sections, three of which are available for whitewater paddling. The Chattooga has sections to accommodate all skill levels: Section II is suitable for novices, Section III is suitable for intermediate paddlers and Section IV is considered an advanced run.

The Tallulah River and the gorge through which it flows are among the geological marvels of the Southeast. The Tallulah River is also one of the premier whitewater runs in the world. Located in Rabun County, Tallulah Gorge and the nearby town of Tallulah Falls were once tourist destinations, until a hydroelectric dam completed in 1914 silenced the mighty falls. In 1988 the Georgia Power Company and the federal government reached an agreement allowing recreational releases of water from the dam at the head of the gorge five weekends per year. Overnight a world-class, expert-level whitewater run was reborn. The fall and spring releases in Tallulah gorge draw whitewater enthusiasts from around the globe as well as hundreds of spectators.

As increasing numbers of paddlers are beginning to discover, whitewater paddling offers a wonderful way to enjoy the natural beauty of Georgia.

• Click here to access the Georgia Encyclopedia
  

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© 2012, 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.

EDITOR'S NOTE

The next edition of GwinnettForum will be published January 4. There will be no edition on January 1. Happy holidays. -- eeb

GWINNETTOBITS.com

Visit this site to see details of the upcoming funerals of Gwinnett Countians from local funeral homes. On the site, sign up at top right and we'll send you GwinnettObits each day.

Click on the names below to see details of their funerals.

• Visit GwinnettObits.com

TODAY'S QUOTE
Miss Manners does not approve of people blowing their own horns

"It is far more impressive when others discover your good qualities without your help."

-- American etiquette queen Judith Martin, (Miss Manners) (1938 - ), author of "Miss Manners' Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior."

GREAT GIFT
Looking for that perfect, unique gift?

Consider a book about Gwinnett history.

Previously out of print, Elliott Brack's 850-page history, "Gwinnett: A Little Above Atlanta," is now available again. Since its original publication, the book was declared the winner of the 2010 Award of Excellence for documenting Georgia history by the Georgia Historical Records Advisory Board. It is also the winner of the Gwinnett Historical Society's Whitworth-Flanigan Award for 2011 for preserving the history of Gwinnett County.

The book includes 143 demographic and historic tables, with more than 4,000 names in the index, and 10,000 names in the appendix.Two versions of the book are available. The hardback edition is priced at $75, while a softback edition is $40. Books are available at:

• Atlanta History Center, Atlanta
• Books for Less, Buford
  
• Gwinnett Historical Society, Lawrenceville
  
• Vargas and Harbin Gallery, Norcross

You can also order books through the Internet. To do that, go to www.elliottbrack.com to place your order. For mail orders, there is a $5 shipping and handling fee. Purchases are also subject to the 6 percent Georgia sales tax.

Or call me (Elliott Brack) at 770 840 1003 and tell me how to dedicate a book to a friend (or to you) as he adds his signature!

SEARCH GWINNETT FORUM

GWINNETT CALENDAR

Lawrenceville Rings: 6 p.m. until midnight, Dec. 31, historic courthouse, downtown Lawrenceville. The 9th annual New Year's Eve Celebration will feature be family fun, inflatables, dancing, shopping, and at midnight, fireworks to usher in the new year. Free lawn seating for a 9 p.m. concert. Details online.

MORE EEB PERSPECTIVE

FOCUS ARCHIVES

12/21: Wiggins: Recycle trees 12/18: Two canal cruises to take 12/14: C. Brack: Give a little 12/11: Goodman: Suwanee's art 12/7: Duke: Director of Encouragement 12/4: Dorough: Food co-op 11/30: McHenry: CID redevelopment 11/27: Sutt: Gwinnett arts' questions 11/20: Urrutia: Grad wins award 11/16: Collins: Las Vegas 11/13: Barksdale: Storm prep 11/9: Houston: Kettle Creek 11/6: Stilo: Christmas Canteen 11/2: Crews: View Point Health 10/30: Willis: Amendment One 10/26: Brown: Doc's research 10/19: Hudgens Prize jurors picked 10/15: Urrutia: $2 million gift to GGC 10/12: Young: Lilburn city hall 10/9: Long: Charter schools 10/5: Jones: PGA golf to return 10/2: DeWilde: Suwanee's red code 9/28: Stilo: Pinter's Betrayal 9/21: Love: Model for Nigeria 9/21: Walsh: Childhood obesity 9/18: Ashley promoted 9/14: Wiener: CID's initiative 9/11: Olson: $50K Hudgens contest 9/7: Stilo: Acting classes for all 8/31: Havenga: Great Days of Service 8/24: Griswold: Casino for OFS site 8/21: Brooks: Taking the Megabus 8/17: Summerour: Newspaper family 8/14: Sharp: Newport visit 8/10: Thomas: On schizophrenia 8/7: Carraway: Amendment wording 8/3: Willis: Ready for school parents? COMMENTARY INDEX

CONTINUING OBJECTIVES FOR GWINNETT

Gwinnett Forum publisher Elliott Brack suggests that Gwinnett County needs a long-range list of continuing objectives for improving the county. Read more.

• Development of a two-party system for local offices
• Transparent operations to restore faith in Gwinnett's County Commission
• Moving statewide non-partisan judge election runoffs to the General Election
• Light rail for Gwinnett from Doraville MARTA station to Gwinnett Arena
• Extension of Gwinnett Place CID area to include Arena and Discovery Mills Mall
• Banning of tobacco in all Gwinnett parks
• Making Briscoe Field a commercial airport for jet-age travel
• Approval of Educational SPLOST in 2013
• More diverse candidates for political offices and appointment to local boards
• Physical move of former St. Gerard's Catholic Church in Buffalo, N.Y., to Norcross
• Creative efforts to support the arts in Gwinnett
• Advancement and expansion of city and Gwinnett historical societies
• Stronger regulation of late-night establishments with alcoholic licenses
  

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