GwinnettForum | Number 25.56 | July 22, 2025
IF YOU ARE A RUNNER, you might enjoy this coming Saturday’s (July 26) 5K run to benefit the Braselton Police Department Foundation. Pick up packets at 6:30 a.m. on run day at Braselton Brothers Department Store, 9924 Davis Street.
TODAY’S FOCUS: Wealthy win, poor lose, in recently passed bill
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Take a guess about where Bingo started
SPOTLIGHT: Georgia Gwinnett College
ANOTHER VIEW: Democrats must get health care ideas out soon
FEEDBACK: Cabbage Patch babies were not Xavier Roberts’ idea
UPCOMING: Leadership Gwinnett adds two to its foundation
NOTABLE: GGC became launching point for cell biology grad
RECOMMENDED: I See You’ve Called In Dead, by John Kenney
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Notable bodybuilders have come from Georgia
MYSTERY PHOTO: Tell us more about this small building
CALENDAR: Braselton Police Foundation 5K Run is July 26
Wealthy win, poor lose, in recently passed bill
Contributed to GwinnettForum
ATLANTA, Ga. | A new analysis from the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute (GBPI) finds that the federal reconciliation bill (H.R. 1) represents one of the most regressive federal policies in modern history, delivering massive tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans while cutting essential programs that support health, education, and food security for millions in Georgia.
The legislation grants $1 trillion in tax reductions to the top one percent of earners, while slashing Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by an equal amount. It also adds $3.6 trillion to the national deficit and diverts public dollars to private K-12 schools through an uncapped voucher tax credit, likely costing at least $3 billion annually.
Staci Fox, president and CEO of GBPI, says: “Under the guise of tax reform, H.R. 1 trades food, health care, and educational opportunity for millions of Georgians in exchange for more wealth at the top. This bill is a direct attack on rural communities, people of color, immigrants, and working families, those already pushed to the margins. Georgia cannot afford to be a proving ground for policies that deepen inequality.”
The impact is especially severe in Georgia, where:
- 73% of tax savings go to the top 20 percent of earners, while the bottom 60 percent get just 12% percent.
- Medicaid cuts of up to $12 billion threaten access to care and the stability of rural hospitals.
- SNAP cost shifts could saddle the state with nearly $500 million in new expenses, putting food access at risk.
- Public education funding is undermined by federal private school vouchers and delayed payments to schools serving migrant, English learner, and low-income students.
- Student loan changes and Pell Grant restrictions are expected to reduce access to higher education for low-income Georgians.
Despite the magnitude of these federal cuts, Governor Brian Kemp’s FY 2027 budget instructions direct state agencies not to replace lost federal funds in their budget requests. Instead, agencies are required to reflect those reductions in their base budgets, with no option to propose backfilling essential services. GBPI calls this an irresponsible response that shifts the burden of harmful federal policies onto already strained state systems and vulnerable Georgians.
Fox adds: “This is not fiscal responsibility; it’s abandonment. When the federal government pulls back support, state leaders have a duty to step up. Choosing not to is a choice to let communities fall through the cracks.”
- The full analysis is available at www.gbpi.org
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Take a guess about where Bingo started
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
JU:Y 22, 2025 | Georgia is a big state, and a lot of history has been made here. Bet most Georgians don’t know that the board game Bingo was first spotted being played “near Atlanta” (from one source) and from another source at a carnival in Jacksonville, Ga. (Jacksonville is on the Ocmulgee River, 181 miles south of Atlanta, and 19 miles south of McRae, Ga.)
History tells that a New York toy manufacturer, Edwin S. Lowe, back in 1929 came across the game being played at a fair in Jacksonville. He was told by the game operator that he had come across the game being played in Germany.
Lowe returned home, and recreated the game for friends. He copyrighted, then wrote the rules, and seeing how popular it became, he decided to produce it as a boxed board game. It was first called Beano, but one winner got excited when winning, and yelled “Bingo!”, and Lowe thought that was a better name.
Lowe’s collaborator was a math professor, Carl Leffler, who increased the number of unique standardized Bingo cards to 6,000, which reduced the possibility of multiple winners. From there, the game took off.
He also created Bingo kits, complete with cards, number discs, and a rubber numbering system that revolutionized the game set-up.
Since then, Bingo has taken off. It’s especially popular in England, where eight percent of the population play Bingo, some twice a week! (A similar version in England is called “Housey-Housey.”)
IT HAD BEEN A WHILE since playing Bingo, but we played three sessions of the game when on a Norway cruise recently. There were about 75 people in the lounge playing Bingo, each with two cards, and it didn’t take long for someone to yell “Bingo.” You earned points, which could be turned in for small prizes. (I won three rounds, gaining a silver key chain.)
Several games were “straight Bingo,” meaning having five spots on your card in a straight line, vertical, horizontal or diagonal. But I won a game where the four corners were the winning combo. Another game called for you to get an “S” on your card (Horizontal first line, second line a single number to the right, third line filled, fourth line only the first number, and last line all numbers.
“Don’t clear your cards!” we were told on this round. The continuing game was to get every number on your card filled. More numbers called out. When someone finally yelled with a completed bingo card covered, there were only six numbers left to call in this long game.
Then a short game. “Everyone stand and take only one card,” we were directed. This time when any number on your card was called, you sat down. It took only four numbers when one “loser became the winner.” This was a relatively fast game, and Bingo on board was fun.
Bingo continues its popularity even though it is relatively simple. It’s been played at certain church halls for years, and today it’s a routine game for retirement homes, and wherever people gather.
And wouldn’t you know it? Bingo has moved to the internet, where it is very much a pure gambling situation, requiring you to put up money to play.
So remember, next time you hear of Bingo, it was first discovered at a carnival in Jacksonville, Ga., population in 2020 of 126 residents. The State of Georgia needs to put up a historical marker in Jacksonville for giving the world “Bingo!”
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Democrats must get health care ideas out soon
By Jack Bernard, contributing columnist
PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. | The future of the Democratic Party is dependent on the Party having a clearly spelled out progressive platform, which was sorely lacking in 2016, 2020 and 2024. I’m active on progressive social media sites. A significant number of progressives are turned off by the lack of clear positioning by the national Democratic Party. The national party must motivate them to vote.
The Atlanta City Council passed a resolution to “ensure fiscally feasible and appropriate health care coverage for all residents of the United States.” If they want to control the House in 2026, Democrats must do the same, especially after the Big Beautiful Bill decimates Medicaid and Affordable Care Act coverage.
Simply attacking Trump as an incompetent buffoon (although true) and his misguided supporters as “deplorables” didn’t work in two of the last three Presidential elections. Simply attacking Trump will not be any more effective in November 2026. Minorities, the young and progressives must have a reason to come out to vote.
The national Democratic party must reverse their refusal to consider “Medicare for All” and end their fallacious fiscally oriented arguments against it. Healthcare is a key issue on the mind of many voters and may be the underlying reason why they vote in a non-presential election year, especially if the Big Bungled Bill passes.
When tens of millions of Americans are either still without healthcare insurance or are underinsured, simply saying we should maintain Medicaid and Obamacare is insufficient to motivate many voters.
Democrats need to aggressively make a two-fold argument for single payer:
- The current system doesn’t work well and needs major change; and
- “Medicare for All” is affordable and less costly in the long run.
Medicare is working well. Meanwhile, both premiums and deductibles are rising rapidly for employees with private insurance, as well as causing a drag on company profits and making us less competitive internationally. That situation will just get worse. The politicians saying Americans don’t want to give up their private insurance ignore these facts at their peril.
On the second point, there is an excellent 2018 economic feasibility study by the University of Mass-Amherst Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) which proves that single payer is cost-effective and financially viable. Savings are projected to come from drops in drug pricing (6 percent) and obvious decreases in overhead costs (9 percent). PERI states that “Medicare for All”… “is not only economically viable but could actually reduce health consumption expenditures by about 9.6 percent.”
This assumption is backed up by OECD reports which have shown that other developed nations with universal coverage have a much lower per capita cost. For example, in 2023 the cost per capita for the States was $13,432, while the cost for England was only $6,023. Many studies indicate that France, my father’s country of origin, has the best healthcare system in the world, yet its per capita cost is only $7,136.
Meanwhile, we spend 17 percent of our gross national product on healthcare while France spends 12 percent. Maybe that’s why our infrastructure is literally collapsing, and our children cannot afford public colleges and universities.
Democrats must push health financing reform… now, before the election, to motivate progressives. National Democratic leadership must get on board ASAP, well before November 2026.
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Cabbage Patch babies were not Xavier Roberts idea
Editor, the Forum
It’s a well-documented fact that Xavier Roberts stole the idea/concept of Cabbage Path babies from a woman in Kentucky. He was a better businessman than he was a moral man!
From the Internet, we found: “There is a strong case to be made that Xavier Roberts took the core idea for Cabbage Patch Kids from Martha Nelson Thomas. Roberts met Thomas, an artist who created ‘Doll Babies’ at a craft fair and initially collaborated with her to sell her dolls. When Thomas declined to mass produce her dolls, Roberts created his own version, incorporating key elements of her design, including the soft sculptures, pudgy faces, and adoption concept. Thomas later sued Roberts, and the case was settled out of court.”
– Gary Christensen, Chamblee
Gives Administration “F” for no evidence on policies
Editor, the Forum:
In education I was required to provide evidence to back my conclusions. Unfortunately, the Trump Administration is never required to provide any evidence to support their policies.
Government statements are offered without any evidence to show us they are reasoned and thoughtful. Significant government decisions have no supporting evidence. Based on my experience I grade our government a big, fat F.
– Alan Schneiberg, Sugar Hill
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Leadership Gwinnett adds Jones, Taylor to its board
Leadership Gwinnett’s mission is to educate, equip, and engage leaders who move Gwinnett County forward. This mission gains fresh momentum with the addition of two respected professionals to the Leadership Gwinnett Foundation Board: Dr. Catrina M. Jones and Dr. Al Taylor.
Dr. Jones is founder and principal consultant of The Calena Firm, LLC, where she advises global pharmaceutical and biotech companies on R&D strategy and portfolio management. A Six Sigma Black Belt with more than two decades in drug-development leadership, she pairs data-driven rigor with a passion for inclusive, next-generation leadership. Dr. Jones is also a graduate of Leadership Gwinnett’s Class of 2018 and an active mentor within the program.
Jones was senior program manager at CareerBuilder. Catrina has also served as project leader at Novartis Pharmaceuticals, research chemist at DuPont Corporation, and R&D chemist at Dow Corning Corporation. Her most notable accomplishments are her contributions towards the development and launch of pharmaceutical drugs.
Dr. Jones graduated from Spelman College in Atlanta, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. She also completed her MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management. Catrina earned an Executive Doctorate in Business from Georgia State University .
Dr. Al Taylor was recently appointed Interim Superintendent of Gwinnett County Public Schools, Dr. Taylor has held roles from classroom teacher to chief of Gwinnett schools before stepping into the district’s top post this spring.
A lifelong educator in GCPS, Dr. Taylor also held positions as a middle and high school teacher, a high school assistant principal, a middle and high school principal, and a middle school assistant superintendent. He is also a graduate of Gwinnett’s Quality-Plus Leader Academy Aspiring Principal Program) and has taught graduate-level courses as an adjunct professor at Piedmont University.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in business education from Georgia Southern University as well as a master’s degree and a doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies from Georgia State University.
GGC became launching point for cell biology grad
By Teresa Araque
Antavius Cain never planned to be a biologist. He wanted to be a football star, but losing his college football scholarship his last year of high school forced him to change plans. That was a daunting challenge at the time, because his grades were lacking, to say the least. That’s when he turned his sights to the new college half an hour north of his home in Snellville.
Cain says: “I hoped that Georgia Gwinnett College would accept me, since they were a newer school and seemed like a school that would give everyone a chance.” His hunch proved correct, and he started at GGC in 2016. He decided to try general biology.
“I’ve thought biology was kind of cool ever since I was a kid,” says Cain. “My professors guided me to change my major to cell biology.”
Being a college student kept him off the streets, but just barely. He had to live out of his car for his freshmen and sophomore years. When his car broke down, he slept on friends’ couches. His predicament did not escape his professors, who couldn’t stand watching their bright young student struggle.
One day, Dr. Elisabeth Javazon, associate professor of biology and biochemistry, asked him point-blank if he was homeless. “When I told her yes, she and Dr. Lee Kurtz made it their mission to help me get housing and support,” recalls Cain.
A former GGC physics professor joined the mission and wound up asking Cain to come live with him. Having a real home to anchor his life made all the difference. “Once I was in a more stable environment, I was able to fully realize how cool science is,” he says.
He still keeps in touch with all three professors who gave so much to him. “They helped me get to where I am today. They are basically family.”
Cain graduated from GGC in 2020 and is currently a graduate student and Ph.D. candidate in biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Georgia. His goal is to work in medical science liaison.
Cain wants prospective students to know that if he can get through one of the toughest programs at GGC, they can too.
“During the first orientation, the president said it’s not going to school that’s important, it’s finishing school. That’s what helped me stick to it,” remembers Cain. “I didn’t have good grades at the start, but they started to trend up after I got the help I needed. I’m proof that just because you come from a tough background and don’t have the best GPA, it doesn’t mean you can’t do great things.”
Gwinnett communications team wins national awards
The Gwinnett County Communications Department has been awarded with the 2025 Award of Excellence for the Gwinnett Transit Plan Social Media Multiplatform campaign by the National Association of County Information Officers (NACIO).
Communications Director Joe Sorenson says “Being recognized by NACIO for our multiplatform campaign is a tremendous honor. It speaks to the thoughtful collaboration, storytelling and innovation our team brings to every project. We aim to connect with residents where they are, and this recognition affirms that we’re doing just that.”
The Communications Department also received two additional 2025 NACIO Awards – one for its Electronic Communications newsletter and another for the Gwinnett Transit Plan video series, Ryan the Transit Guy.
Carter joins Mitsubishi Electric Golf Classic
The Mitsubishi Electric Classic welcomes Chris Carter as its new director of corporate partnerships. The longtime Georgia native will bring his more than 25 years of experience in the professional sports space to the Peach State’s lone PGA Tour Champions event.
Since 2018, Carter has led C3 Consulting where he directed partner activation for the Atlanta Open, leveraged corporate relationships for Cirque du Soleil, established a diverse roster of corporate partnerships for the non-profit, Caring For Others “International Poverty Forum” and closed corporate partnership deals for the Atlanta Dream. He is a graduate of Valdosta State University.
I See You’ve Called In Dead, by John Kenney
From Sara Douglas Burns, Duluth: Kenney is the author of Truth In Advertising, winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor. I’m sure he deserved the honor, as the current book is very funny, as well as irreverent and extremely touching. Not too many books elicit both laughing out loud and crying. Obituary writer Bud Stanley is trying to navigate life after his divorce, but he’s doing a poor job of it. One evening, he drunkenly sends his own obituary to the newspaper that employs him; they are stumped as to what to do, because the HR manual doesn’t cover firing a dead person. Perspective from his paraplegic landlord, Tim, keeps Bud going. He eventually learns the difference between just being alive and living, thanks not only to Tim, but to several funeral adventures. I give this book 6 stars out of 5.
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Notable bodybuilders have hailed from Georgia
An unusually large number of notable bodybuilders and weight lifters have hailed from Georgia. They include two Mr. Americas, a Mr. Olympia, two “World’s Strongest Man” claimants, one of the world’s greatest female power lifters, and a world champion arm wrestler. Georgia is also the home of two of the most successful weight-lifting programs in the nation.
The first of these preeminent Georgia athletes was Bob Hoffman, so-called Father of American Weight Lifting, who was born in Tifton in 1898. Though he later won fame and fortune in York, Penn., Hoffman forever maintained close associations with his native state.
A stronger influence on the development of the sport in the state was Lurten Cunningham of Atlanta, who in 1925 won Strength magazine’s posing contest, defeating 75 other contestants nationwide. The magazine described his pose as “an illustration of the body beautiful in its highest conception.” As physical director of the Atlanta and Athens YMCA facilities and numerous others in north central Georgia, Cunningham introduced thousands of young athletes to weight training over the next several decades.
Foremost among Cunningham’s trainees was Bill Curry, a University of Georgia student who became a weight lifter of national caliber during the years preceding and immediately after World War II (1941-45). Curry was dubbed “the Strongest Man in the South.” (His weight-trained son, Bill Jr., was later a football all-American at the Georgia Institute of Technology, all-pro for the Green Bay Packers, and head coach at Georgia Tech, Alabama, and Kentucky.)
Most important, the elder Curry, as physical director at Georgia Military Academy (later Woodward Academy) in College Park and later as sporting goods manager at Rich’s Department Store in Atlanta, brought the sport of weight lifting to the attention of thousands of Georgians.
Another early promoter was Karo Whitfield, who developed an association with Hoffman and the Amateur Athletic Union at the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles, California. An Atlantan, Whitfield became a physical trainer and therapist at the Piedmont Driving Club in 1937. After World War II he opened his own gym on Forsyth Street near the Paramount Theater. For decades thereafter he conducted regular meets, including the Georgia State Championships, the Dixie Open, and the Mr. Georgia contest.
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia article online, go to https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
It’s a small building, but tell us more about it
Tell us more about this small building, today’s Mystery Photo. Figure this out, then send your answer to ebrack2@gmail.com, and tell us where you live.
Yep, the last mystery was a stunning view of another lighthouse. As Holly Moore of Suwanee said, it was “Split Rock Lighthouse, located southwest of Silver Bay, Minn., on the North Shore of Lake Superior. The structure was designed by lighthouse engineer Ralph Russell Tinkham and was completed in 1910 by the United States Lighthouse Service for $75,000, including the buildings and the land.” The photo came from Mickey Merkel of Berkeley Lake.
Also recognizing the structure were Jay Altman, Columbia, S.C.; Debbie Bush, Duluth; George Graf, Palmyra, Va.; Stewart Ogilvie, Rehobeth, Ala; Marsha Anderson Bomar, Duluth; Hoyt Tuggle, Buford; and Allan Peel of San Antonio, Texas.
Peel added: “Today’s mystery photo is an aerial shot of the Split Rock Lighthouse perched precariously atop a 130-foot cliff along the eastern coastline of Minnesota, overlooking Lake Superior, approximately 45 miles northeast of Duluth.
The Split Rock Lighthouse was built in response to the devastating impact of the 1905 Mataafa Storm, which destroyed 29 vessels and killed 78 people on Lake Superior. Construction of this 54-foot-high tower began in June 1909 and was completed within 13 months, with the first light occurring on July 10, 1910.
“With a third-order Fresnel lens and a range of 22 nautical miles, the lighthouse remained an active navigational aid for nearly 70 years. With more modern and effective navigational aids available, and significant changes being made to the shipping routes, the lighthouse was considered obsolete, deactivated in 1969, and transferred to the Minnesota Historical Society, which now operates it as a historic site and museum.”
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Braselton Police Foundation 5K Run is July 26
Norcross PDC (People Drinking Coffee) meets Wednesdays from 8:15 a.m. to 9 a.m. at 45 South Cafe to discuss current events that are political, educational and community-focused. Speaking on July 23 will be Neal Christian-Superintendent of the Brookhaven Innovation Academy. There are no dues or membership fees; anyone can attend.
Snellville’s Business After Hours will be on Thursday, July 24 at the Hampton Inn, 1905 Pharrs Road from 6 – 8 p.m. Light hors d’oeuvres will be available, and beer and wine will be for purchase. As usual, we will also have a lot of great door prizes.
Author talk: Join History Channel’s Pawn Stars rare books specialist Rebecca Romney discussing her book, Jane Austen’s Bookshelf, examining the overlooked women writers in the Western canon and their significance to Austen. This will be at the Duluth Branch of Gwinnett County Public Library on July 24 at 6 p.m. Books will be available for purchase and signing.
Braselton Police Foundation 5K Run will be Saturday, July 26. Pick up packets at 6:30 a.m. at Braselton Brothers Department Store, 9924 Davis Street.
Clear out your garage and basement and dispose of your household hazardous waste! Join us at the Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day event on Saturday, July 26 from 8 a.m. until noon at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds in Lawrenceville. Residents can bring up to five disposable containers of waste products. For a complete list of acceptable waste products, visit GwinnettCB.org. If you’d like to volunteer at this event, visit VolunteerGwinnett.net.
Lionheart Theatre will present Senior Moments Tour 2025, for one-night-only on July 27 at 7 p.m. It presents The Paris Dancers and 2nd Act Performing Company, featuring song, dance and fast-paced, energetic fun. The show starts at 7 p.m.
Hear Author Valerie Burns at the Snellville Branch of Gwinnett County Public Library on July 29 at 6:30 p.m. Get ready for a murder mystery with a dash of romance and a whole lot of cake! Although it’s book four in the Baker Street Mystery series, Icing on the Murder can be read as a standalone cozy mystery! Books will be available for purchase and signing.
Celebrate the release of Bones at the Crossroads with USA Today and New York Times bestselling young adult fantasy author LaDarrion Williams in conversation with actor Jalyn Hall. This will be at the Duluth Branch of Gwinnett County Public Library on July 30 at 7 p.m. Books will be available for purchase and signing.
Registration is now open for the 12th annual Extra Mile 5K and 1 mile run/walk hosted by Annandale of Suwanee. The event will be August 23 at Suwanee Town Center. Help reach the goal of $160,000 to support the programs and services directly impacting Annandale’s Villagers. Your participation supports individuals with developmental disabilities and acquired brain injuries, while advancing Annandale’s mission to empower every Villager to reach their fullest potential and independence – one gift, one registration, one team and one step at a time!
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