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March 2008
Talk about the Gwinnett Village Community Alliance
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
All this time that I have been writing about the Gwinnett Village I have focused so much on the Community Improvement District (CID) portion that I neglected to pay attention to the other critical area of the organization that is helping to lead the charge for change to the area - The Gwinnett Village Community Alliance (GVCA).
It’s high time and well deserved that I fulfill my promise to show them some love… right… now.
There are some key differences between the CID and GVCA. Where The Village CID relies on property owners that voluntarily self tax themselves and focuses on improvements to the infrastructure and economic development, the GVCA is funded solely by donations, grants and sponsorships and focuses on quality of life and community development.
The two sometimes cross paths and collaborate on projects such as marketing and branding for the area and the Village Green project, which is beautifying the area at exits along I-85.
The GVCA does hear plenty from residents about various code violations and from businesses complaining about the lack of customers and clients.
To improve this, The Village Alliance is encouraging businesses to join their merchant association and residents to keep a list of folks that live in their neighborhood with contact information so they can keep in communication and send announcements regarding the Gwinnett Village.
The Village Alliance’s biggest accomplishment so far was the 2007 summer program at Radloff Middle School, where they took 150 students off the street for eight weeks at 10 hours a day for tutoring and recreation with the Boys and Girls Club.
This year, in addition to Radloff, the GVCA will be adding Summerour Middle School to the program and Lilburn Middle School in 2009.
The Village Alliance biggest need is donations. BIG donations and grants primarily from the major businesses and corporations in The Village and abroad to support their summer school programs. Sally Sherrington-Haggard, Executive Director of the GVCA, pointed out to me, the level of performance by the local schools feeds directly into the equation of our property values.
So answer these two questions for me:
1) Do you want your property values to increase?
2) Do you want to keep the little brats busy and (hopefully) out of trouble this summer?
If you answered “YES” to either or both of these questions, then isn’t it time you called the Gwinnett Village Community Alliance and see what you can do to aid them in their mission?
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Move over Rachael: Norcross on $40 a day
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If you are hungry and looking for restaurant to grab some grub, Norcross, incorporated or otherwise, is in no short supply.
It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. Norcross was once the getaway resort town for Atlanta socialites.
Times may have changed some since, but Norcross has something for everyone from the very low end to the fairly high end and just about any kind of cuisine you can think of.
I have yet to sample all Norcross has to offer and I thought it would be fun to take a culinary tour of Norcross befitting one of Rachael Ray’s signature shows “$40 a day.” But I have a few more rules:
I have never eaten at the restaurant before.
One restaurant must be new to the area.
One meal must be eaten on the east side of I-85, another between I-85 and Downtown Norcross, and one in Downtown Norcross.
Let’s see how well I faired eating out on $40 a day in Norcross!
Breakfast - “Old Timers Breakfast” and coffee.
Cracker Barrel 6175 McDonough Drive Norcross, Ga. -
$10.03
Yes, I already broke a rule, but I have never been to the Norcross location, so it qualified. It appears that Cracker Barrel hasn’t really changed much in 20 years with the “General Store” and the very country cottage style décor that sets the tone for their food.
Lunch - baby back ribs, caesar salad and the ABSOLUTE BEST mashed potatoes that have ever crossed my lips. And, of course, iced tea. Norcross Station Café 40 South Peachtree Street Norcross, GA - $23.13
I had heard so much about Norcross Station and I was pleasantly surprised because I was expecting a diner/sandwich shop kind of atmosphere. The décor inside really mirrors the charm of both the surrounding downtown area and the railroad history of the building with a great menu selection.
Dinner - cheeseburger with tomato and jalapeno (fresh..not pickled) with a Diet Coke.
Five Guys Burgers 5860 Jimmy Carter Blvd., Norcross, GA - $7.09
I had $6.84 left in my budget by the time dinner rolled around, which was fine because I was far from hungry thanks to breakfast and lunch. Five Guys has a typical burger joint diner atmosphere which is getting rave reviews by the experts.. and my friends!
Total for the day: $40.25. I busted it (and probably my diet) by 25 cents. I doubt Rachael Ray is gonna jump out of the shadows to beat me with her rolling pin.
Where would you have eaten for $40 a day in Norcross following the same rules?
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Too many dumb laws on the books
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
One of the greatest gifts the Founding Fathers bestowed upon this great nation was to give some legislative independence to its member states.
Unfortunately for us, if dumblaws.com is any indication, the states may have gotten a little carried away with that power.
Georgia, for example, apparently has a law that prohibits profanity in front of a dead body in a funeral home or coroner’s office. State officials also apparently get a pass from being ticketed for speeding when they are in session, and I’m sorry but you’re just not allowed to carry an ice cream cone in your back pocket either… on Sunday.
There didn’t appear to be any specific references of dumb laws for Gwinnett County or any of its cities but it wouldn’t surprise me if there were plenty.
For all the dumb laws we have to abide to, there are two in particular that I feel should be near the top of the list.
The first is the Sunday alcohol sales ban, which back in 2006, is a subject I touched on when the voters of Winder and Norcross said yes to allowing Sunday alcohol sales by the drink. I still believe that Georgia’s Blue Law is just as ridiculous today, and apparently 47,146 fellow Georgians (well 47,147 now that I signed) agree with me that have signed a petition ask the state legislature to repeal the ban.
You can see (and sign) the petition here: http://www.petitiononline.com/GASB138/petition.html.
This ban should be repealed not because neither I nor anyone else can remember to stock up by Saturday evening, but because it was enacted to kiss up to constituents of one particular faith. I hold a pretty strong position on the separation of church and state at all levels of government.
This week proves that Arizona, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have a bit more commonsense than the rest of the nation as we observe another dumb law - Daylight Saving Time.
Even after reading an article on the history of the time change on NationalGeographic.com, I still hold out a whole lotta doubt that it has any usefulness even though the article quotes Bill Mosley of the U.S. Department of Transportation on studies that the time change may conserve energy, reduce traffic accidents and fatalities, and even crime.
While those are certainly important to me, I remain skeptical that the time change has any real impact on them. Maybe I’ll put that to the test this year here in Gwinnett and report back on that later in the year.
Are you as ready to repeal these dumb laws as I am?
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Where are the elected officials?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
There I was doing a little research, trying to put together a blog about a petition going around to end the ban of Sunday alcohol sales, when 1:30 rolled around and I started getting ready to head off to the Gwinnett Village Community Alliance Kick Off Party at Lucky Shoals Park.
The two-hour event started at 2 p.m. and at about 2:30 p.m. The presentation of speakers started and I was already irritated. Not that it really takes much for that to occur these days.
So what could have possibly happened to get Woody’s blood boiling before anything even started? It wasn’t what happened - but what didn’t happen - again.
First, a little political geography concerning The Village. Some of the political leadership that (should have) any direct involvement or interest in the success of The Village include: Congressman Hank Johnson (D), State Senator Curt Thompson (D), State Representative Hugh Floyd, State Representative Pedro (Pete) Marin, Gwinnett County Commissioner Bert Nasuti (District 2), Norcross Mayor Bucky Johnson and Gwinnett County School Board Member Louise Radloff (District V).
Some pretty influential people right? Probably could do (and yes, some probably have done) a lot to improving things around here.
Well by my count, only two of those people showed up to show any support for the community: Pete Marin (who has been at every Village event that I have been to) and Louise Radloff.
No Hank (He doesn’t seem to have much time for Gwinnett these days.).
No Bert (he was probably too concerned with baseball and softball again to have any time for the people whom he was actually elected to serve).
No Hugh (Don’t know what his excuse was).
*Please see correction below, Hugh Floyd was at this event
No Curt ( Although he is on The Village’s Board of Directors and only lives about five minutes from Lucky Shoals, but I am willing to let it slide -this time- because he does have regular community outreach meetings.)
The even more amazing thing to me? No Lorraine. No Charles. The two individuals vying for votes to lead the county in the future. Both no shows. The perfect opportunity for one (or both) to say “I ACTUALLY CARED ENOUGH TO SHOW UP!!” But they blew it.
My fellow Gwinnettians, our elected officials are way too comfortable. Isn’t it time they get the message that we’ve had enough? Isn’t it time we found someone to challenge each them for their seats if we really want or expect change? Who would those people be? I want to know.
Correction: Since this blog’s original post, I have been informed that Hugh Floyd was at the meeting. I regret the error.
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