6/26: Hands-free law; Hope for Washington; Recession indicators

GWINNETT ROTARY CLUB’S grant  recipients accepted their grant awards at Rotary’s recent meeting at the 1818 Club. From left are Laurie Ann Kimbrell and Chris Brand from FODAC; Paige Havens, Gwinnett Rotary Charitable Giving Chair; Justice French, Rainbow Village; Nancy Friaf, PADV; Jennifer Hendrickson, Gwinnett Rotary President; Kim Jani and Cathy Loew, Norcross High School Foundation for Excellence;  Jim Hollandsworth, Path Project; Michelle Alcorn, Rainbow Village; and Taylor Melton, Path Project. (Not Pictured: Louise Radloff,  representing Interlocking Communities.)

TODAY’S FOCUS: High Insurance Rates Caused Legislature To Adopt Cell Phone Law

EEB PERSPECTIVE: Here’s a Glimmer of Hope Which Might Improve Washington Politics

ANOTHER VIEW: Sees Several Scenarios Indicating Recession on the Horizon in 2019

SPOTLIGHT: Aurora Theatre

FEEDBACK: He, Too, Switches Off Lights and Picks Up Stray Parking Lot Pennies

UPCOMING: Peter of Peter, Paul and Mary To Perform in Snellville June 26

NOTABLE: Six Non-Profits Benefit from Gwinnett Rotary Club Grants

RECOMMENDED: Jalapenos Mexican Restaurant, Lawrenceville

GEORGIA TIDBIT: Bradbury Builds Modern Classic State Office Buildings in Atlanta

MYSTERY PHOTO: Another Lighthouse Beckons Your Identification

CALENDAR: Data Security Workshop Scheduled in Peachtree Corners

High insurance rates caused legislature to adopt cell phone law

By Erin Taylor

NORCROSS, Ga.  |  Are you ready?

In a matter of days Georgia’s new Hands-Free Law will go into effect starting July 1, 2018.

Taylor

What is the Hands-Free Law? The bill came about after a Georgia lawmaker inquired as to why car insurance premiums in Georgia were among the highest in the nation. He was informed that it was because crashes and fatalities had dramatically increased as a result of cellphones.

That means there is a lot of distracted driving on Georgia’s roads. The new law is designed to prevent cell phones from interfering with a driver’s ability to operate a vehicle.

The Norcross Police Department will be issuing warnings for 90 days beginning July 1. On October 1 they will begin to issue citations. In the meantime, the department will also be having a “Hands-Free Handout” event on June 27-28 where officers will be stationed at intersections throughout the city handing out informative Hands-Free Law cards.

According to www.headsupgeorgia.com, a website created to educate the public about the law, the Hands-Free Law was passed by the Georgia General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Nathan Deal to take effect on July 1, 2018. The following is a brief description as to what the law entails:

• A driver cannot have a phone in their hand or use any part of their body to support their phone. Drivers can only use their phones to make or receive phone calls by using speakerphone, earpiece, wireless headphone, phone technology connected to vehicle or an electronic watch. GPS navigation devices are allowed.
• Headsets and earpieces can only be worn for communication purposes and not for listening to music or other entertainment.
• A driver may not send or read any text-based communication unless using voice-based communication that automatically converts messages to a written text or if the device is being used for navigation or GPS.
• A driver may not write, send or read any text messages, e-mails, social media or internet data content.
• A driver may not watch a video unless it is for navigation.
• A driver may not record a video (continuously running dash cams are exempt).
• Music streaming apps can be used provided the driver activates and programs them when they are parked. Drivers cannot touch their phones to do anything to their music apps when they are on the road. Music streaming apps that include video also are not allowed since drivers cannot watch videos when on the road. Drivers can listen to and program music streaming apps that are connected to and controlled through their vehicle’s radio.

The Hands-Free Law is already enacted in 15 states and now the Peach State is about to become one more of them.

When the law takes effect July 1, Georgia public safety department will have the option to issue warnings for violations as part of the effort to help Georgia motorists adapt to the new law. However, there is no grace period provision in the Hands-Free Law. Some agencies say they will observe a short period where they’ll focus on educating drivers about the new rules.

 (EDITOR’S NOTE: Other jurisdictions may not have a grace period for handing out tickets for violation of the Hands Free Law. Gwinnett County Police will generally follow a 30-day grace period and educational period regarding this new law. –eeb)

• Have a comment? Send to:  elliott@brack.net

Here’s a glimmer of hope which might improve Washington politics

By Elliott Brack
Editor and publisher, GwinnettForum

JUNE 26, 2018  |  When something is in disarray, any little speck of hope is important.

Certainly our current Congress, the 115^th gathering, is in “disarray.”  Each of the two parties has fringe elements that keep the mainline party leadership unable to convince the majority of their parties that real action is needed.

As a result, this is about as big a “Do-Nothing” Congress as we have in years. Couple that with an Administration leadership team that comes and goes almost daily, and then a president who changes his mind about every day on a whim, and there’s not much good leadership in Washington.

Suddenly, the Supreme Court seems the most stable of our three branches of government, though we all know they are basically split 5-4 or 4-4-1 on some topics.

Back to a small glimmer of hope: There is a possibility that we might see a change for improvement at least in the House of Representatives next January.  When the 116^th Congress opens on January 3, 2019, depending on the fall elections, matters could change drastically.

Look at these assumptions:

1. There seems to be growing sentiment that the Republican majority might not be as large next year as it is today in the House, if the Anti-Trump vote comes out strong and elects more Democrats or Independents. What if the Republicans can’t muster enough votes to elect a speaker, because of enough conservatives in revolt?  It could happen.
2. At the same time, the Democrats could have their own problems, similar in nature, and revolt against 77 year old Rep. Nancy Pelosi as their leader now for 17 years.  Even if Democrats had a majority, it could be that the anti-Pelosi crowd just could not agree by a majority to pick her to lead their party again. And no other leader might win a majority.

So here’s is where some glimmer of hope for a better Congress might enter.  And in the process, there’s even a change that the impasse might strike a blow for freedom, that is, less partisanship.

Some say that the intended purpose of the Speaker of the House was to be the Speaker of the whole house, not only the leader of a particular party, which creates partisan politics. If enough Democrats and Republicans, perhaps the center wing of both parties, got together, they might be in majority, and together elect a non-partisan leader. It wouldn’t matter which party was in the majority though of course, such a speaker would have to get enough minority votes to develop a total majority of the 535 House members.

Such a move would mean more governing from the center, not from the extreme, no matter which party was in power. The real majority would be these center legislators. It would give power to the rank and file, and mean that the House of Representatives was back with better leadership than it has now.

It would, essentially, break the gridlock Congress finds itself in now.

There has also recently evolved a bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, who like this idea, and are pushing for such an adoption. The idea is being drafted by Rep. Fred Upton, a senior Michigan Republican, and by Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a first-term Democrat from New Jersey, who along with Rep. Tom Reed of New York Republican, are co-chairman of the Problem Solvers Caucus.

It’s a glimmer of hope. Pay mind to these people. You may hear more from them next year.

• Have a comment? Send to:  elliott@brack.net

Sees scenarios indicating recession on the horizon in 2018

By George Wilson, contributing columnist

STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga.  |  The world’s biggest hedge fund, Bridgewater and Associates, said recently in a headline: “We Are Bearish on Almost All Financial Assets.”

Translated into the present, that means a recession is on the horizon in 2019.

Their rationale seems to be that markets are already vulnerable, as the Fed is pulling back liquidity and raising rates, making cash scarce and more attractive – reversing the easy liquidity and zero percent cash rate that helped push money out of the risk curve over the course of the expansion.

The danger to assets from the shift in liquidity and the building late-cycle dynamics are compounded by the fact that financial assets are pricing in a Goldilocks scenario of sustained strength, with little chance of either a slump or an overheating as the Fed continues its tightening cycle over the subsequent year and a half.

From my perspective the following will also precipitate the economy’s downturn:

• Trade wars will increase as nations go tit for tat in raising tariffs;
• The business cycle is getting old;
• The Trump tax cuts are creating a temporary “sugar high” with most of the benefits going to the top 10 percent;
• Employee wages are not rising despite a tight labor market;
• Many people are working multiple low paying jobs to just make it paycheck to paycheck;
• Confusion and chaos characterize the Trump administration in running the government;
• Mounting deficits are being created by the Republican tax cut.

Furthermore, increasing gas and health insurance prices (brought on by the Republicans continued guerrilla  war on the Affordable Health Care Act) and rising interest rates have eliminated the few dollars that were crumbs tossed to the middle classes in the tax package.

Moreover, America’s baby boom population is aging and starting to collect Social Security and use Medicare in a massive way.

Finally, the Chinese have wanted to decrease their reliance on exporting and to encourage their population to spend more internally. From this perspective, Trump’s policies will help them achieve this objective while doing severe damage to our nation’s farmers and manufacturers.

• Have a comment? Send to:  elliott@brack.net

Aurora Theatre

The public spiritedness of our underwriters allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers.  Today’s sponsor is Aurora Theatre, home of the best entertainment in northeast Georgia. With over 850 events annually, Aurora Theatre, now in their 23rd season, has live entertainment to suit everyone’s taste. Aurora Theatre presents Broadway’s best plays and musicals alongside exciting works of contemporary theatre. Additionally, Aurora produces concerts, comedy club events, children’s programs, and metro Atlanta’s top haunted attraction, Lawrenceville Ghost Tours. Aurora Theatre is a world-class theatrical facility with two performances venues. It is nestled on the square in historic downtown Lawrenceville, with free attached covered parking and is surrounded by myriad of restaurants and shops.  Aurora’s Season 23 starts with the blockbuster Disney musical Newsies running 7/29-9/2. Single tickets go on sale 7/1, but to ensure the best seat at the best price consider season tickets, now available at auroratheatre.com.

• For more information or to purchase tickets: http://www.auroratheatre.com or call 678-226-6222.
• For a list of other sponsors of this forum, click here.

He, too, switches off lights and picks up stray parking lot pennies

Editor, the Forum:

Excellent job remembering the Depression and us all turning off electric lights!  I, too, am a child of the Depression.

And speaking of picking up coins;  I find them all the time, particularly at the car wash and the parking lots in downtown areas. My wife gets amused at me.  The copper pennies go in our coin jar, then later wrapped and taken to the bank for paper money.

Turning off lights is also ingrained in us old geezers, as times were tough back then.  I can remember when air conditioning of homes and cars was unheard of!  We used floor fans and window fans to help keep the homes “cool,” if one can call it that.  Summers seemed a lot hotter then, but we were tougher, I guess.

— David Earl Tyre, Jesup

Dear David: Yes, I, know about un-air-conditioned autos. When buying my first auto in South Georgia, about 1964, I did not specify in ordering my vehicle for it to have air conditioning. So we drove a wide track Pontiac station wagon, often with the back window lowered for at least a good flow of air, though it was hot. We found in those days with the windows down that Cochran, Georgia was the hottest town we had to pass through!  Maybe it was their 14 MPH speed limit.-eeb

Dead set against patronizing business with A/C, but open front doors

Editor, the Forum:

Liked recent column.  I inherited those Depression ideals from my mother. She taught me to save in ways, so that I later refused to walk in those businesses that have their front doors wide open with their air conditioning blasting away. The cold air hit you as you walk by on the sidewalk. This was in Athens, but I’ve seen it in other places too.

What a waste!

— Billy Chism, Toccoa

Send us your thoughts:  We encourage you to send us your letters and thoughts on issues raised in GwinnettForum.  Please limit comments to 300 words.  We reserve the right to edit for clarity and length.  Send feedback and letters to:    elliott@brack.net

Peter of Peter, Paul and Mary to perform in Snellville June 26

Remember those beloved folk songs, Puff the Magic Dragon, Light One Candle and The Great Mandala?  Their creator, Peter Yarrow, will be on stage to share his music and stories in a special, live concert at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 26 at Temple Beth David in Snellville.

Yarrow first achieved fame as a member of the renowned musical trio Peter, Paul and Mary. His gift for song writing produced some of the most memorable songs in folk music history. Perhaps his most meaningful undertaking, Operation Respect, was launched in 1999. Themed by the song Don’t Laugh at Me, it focuses on creating a positive, safe, bully-free school atmosphere for children, and has been adopted by more than 22,000 schools in the U.S. and abroad.

• Tickets will be sold only online at https://bit.ly/2J2PTsG.  Seating is limited.  Tickets will not be sold at the door.

Nature photography exhibit continues through Aug. 11 at GEHC

Photo of Freeman’s Mill by Mark Woolridge

In celebration of Gwinnett County’s Bicentennial, the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center (GEHC) and the Georgia Nature Photographers Association (GNPA) are hosting an amateur photography exhibit spotlighting local nature scenes with historical significance. The exhibit, featuring more than 90 works by amateur and student photographers, will be on display until August 11 at GEHC located at 2020 Clean Water Drive in Buford.

The exhibit is entitled “Native Wildlife, Native Flora, Landscapes, Historic Structures and Cultural Imagery.”

GEHC Program Coordinator Cammie Fulmer says: “The exhibit connects to Gwinnett’s Bicentennial as it highlights the natural resources, environmental landscapes and historic buildings that have influenced the community and region throughout its history.”

The exhibit is divided into five categories including native wildlife, native flora, landscapes, historic structures and cultural imagery. The exhibition is a juried show and awards will be presented by the GNPA in each category.  Visitors to the GEHC can select their own favorite photograph by voting for a People’s Choice Award after viewing the entire exhibition.  Awards will be presented at a special reception on Aug. 4.

In conjunction with the exhibit, the GNPA will offer an introduction to nature photography class on  July 28 at the GEHC. The introduction sessions are free, from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m., and are open to the public. Topics include quick tips, camera selection, editing software, and information on the GNPA as well as questions and answers with organization members. Participants must register for the workshops online at www.gwinnettEHC.com.

Admission to the GEHC and the exhibit is not included in the introduction session registration. For more information about GEHC, directions and admission fees, visit www.gwinnettEHC.com.

Six nonprofits benefit from Gwinnett Rotary Club grants

Six non-profits were awarded grants totaling $10,000 at the Rotary Club of Gwinnett County’s meeting recently. Club President Jennifer Hendrickson says: “This is just one of the many ways our Rotary Club has worked to live out our theme this year, ‘Rotary Making A Difference.’ This year we sought to fund projects that targeted efforts that support those living in poverty in our community.”

Grant award recipients this year included:

• Friends of Disabled Adults and Children, $2,500 for Home Medical Equipment Program;
• Interlocking Communities, $1,000, for its Ready by Five Program;
• Norcross High School Foundation, $2,500 for the After School Matters Transportation;
• Partnership Against Domestic Violence, $ 1,000 for its Teen Dating Violence Prevention;
• The Path Project, $1,000 for its After School Program Technology; and
• Rainbow Village, $2,000 for Technology Resources .

The Rotary Club of Gwinnett County, founded in 1973, has been serving and giving back to the community for 45 years. President Hendrickson adds:  “Rotary’s motto is Service Above Self. As Rotarians we serve through the giving of our time, talent and treasure. These grants are just one of many ways our 100+ members make a difference every day in our community. It is our privilege to gift these grants out to such worthy causes to empower their great work and positively impact the lives of thousands.”

Jalapenos Mexican Restaurant, Lawrenceville

Reviewed by Greg Smith, Lawrenceville  |  Jalapenos is a regular stop for my wife and family. If you love Mexican this ‘hole in the wall’ offers high quality food for a low price. They are busier for lunch than dinner and often when we go we are the only ones there. Our favorite is their tacos, the best one with shrimp or fish. My bride loves the quesadillas.  We love the chips and salsa, tacos and other Mexican fare. Don’t be turned off by the location (in a dingy strip mall) – the food is authentic and flavorful. Jerissa is the main server and she is fantastic…when we walk in she already knows our order! The restaurant is clean, family owned and run, and they serve great food at reasonable prices.  Highly recommended if you want a break from the chain Mexican places. Enjoy! Their address is 854 Buford Drive in Lawrenceville.

• An invitation: what books, restaurants, movies or web sites have you enjoyed recently? Send us your recent selection, along with a short paragraph (100 words) as to why you liked this, plus what you plan to visit or read next.  Send to:  elliott@brack.net

Bradbury builds modern classic state office buildings in Atlanta

(Continued from previous edition)

Beginning in 1954 with the Agriculture Building and the Law and Justice Building, Thomas Bradbury and Associates constructed the precinct of modern classic state office buildings that today surrounds the Georgia state capitol in Atlanta. Bradbury soon added buildings for the departments of labor, human resources, and transportation, the latter designed with the ribbon-windows and sunscreens of a Bauhaus-inspired International style, rather than in the economic, stripped forms of the modern classic. Bradbury also served as lead architect for renovations to the Georgia State Capitol, which began in 1957.

Georgia Archives

In addition to Skiles classroom building at Georgia Tech, Bradbury also built the Rich Electronic Computer Building (1954-55) at Georgia Tech. A major complex of the next decade, in association with Wilfred J. Gregson and Associates, was the Georgia Mental Health Institute (1962-63), now Emory University‘s biomedical campus.

At the same time, Bradbury designed the Yaarab Shrine Temple (1963-65) on Ponce de Leon Avenue in the romantic, indeed exotic, image of the city’s original Yaarab Temple, which was designed by the Atlanta firm Marye, Alger, and Vinour in the late 1920s. (The original temple later became the famous Fox Theatre.) By the mid-1960s, still building around the capitol, Bradbury added the Trade and Industry Building to his state office complex, and in 1962-65 he built the most minimalist of all these stripped-classic structures—a monumental box-on-pedestal housing the Georgia Archives, now destroyed, when the Archives moved to a new facility in Morrow.

Bradbury sold his firm, which had remained in operation for 35 years, and retired in 1978. On November 14, 1992, he died in Atlanta at the age of 90.

• To view the Georgia Encyclopedia online, go to http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org

Another lighthouse beckons your identification

Lighthouses always make good Mystery Photos, since they are so visible, and many people have seen them. So tell us where this lighthouse is located. Send answers to elliott@brack.net and list your hometown.

The last edition Mystery Photo found lots of readers who easily identified it. Fran Worrall of Lawrenceville was first, but initially thinking it was in London. “I believe I had the wrong location. The sculpture is in Pompeii. I think it may have been ‘on tour’ at one time and on display in the U.K. at Canary Wharf.”  Jim Savadelis of Duluth adds: “This is the half headed Centaur of Pompeii. When the Volcano erupted.”  The photograph came from Jerry Colley of Alpharetta.

Others recognizing it were Rob Keith, Peachtree Corners; Sue Pritchett of Lilburn; Ross Lenhart, Pawley’s Island, S.C.; Susan McBrayer, Sugar Hill: saying: “The mystery photo is the centaur in Pompeii. You can see a Roman column on the right and the mountains in the background;” and Dick LoPresti of Berkeley Lake, “….fully admitting that Google helped me find the answer, this appears to be a sculpture by modern artist Igor Mitoraj displayed in Pompeii, Italy. “

George Graf of Palmyra, Va. remembers touring with his wife in Pompeii in the 1990s. He gives a few facts: Before the eruption of 79 AD, there was not even a word for volcano, it was created afterwards. Volcano derives from the word Vulcan – the Roman god of fire and metal forgery. An architect, Domenico Fontana, unearthed some frescos and items but because many of them had a strong sexual theme that was not considered a good thing in his age, he decided to rebury them. During the excavation, plaster was used to fill in the voids between the ash layers that once held human bodies. This allowed the archeologists to see the exact position the people were in when they died.

“When King Francis I of Naples visited the Pompeii exhibition with his wife and daughter in 1819, he was so embarrassed by the erotic artwork that he decided to have it locked away in a secret cabinet, accessible only to “people of mature age and respected morals.” Over three million people living in the immediate proximity of Mount Vesuvius now makes it possibly the most dangerous volcano in the world.”

Allan Peel of San Antonio, Tex. adds some more: “Today’s mystery photo is of a bronze sculpture of a Centaur made by Igor Mitoraj, located amongst the ruins of the Forum in Pompeii, Italy. A Centaur is a mythological creature with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse. The city of Pompeii was buried and preserved by about 20 feet of ash on August 24, 79 AD by an eruption of the nearby volcano Mount Vesuvius. What is particularly fascinating about this photo is that while Pompeii and the Forum are indeed historical and ancient sites, the statue itself is a modern day sculpture, created in 1984 and temporarily located to the Pompeii Forum as part of an exhibit of Mitoraj’s collection of mythological figures and busts, Igor Mitoraj was born in 1944 in Oderan, Germany. Mitoraj’s definitive collection of monumental, bronze sculptures were regularly exhibited at various historical sites throughout his lifetime. He died in 2014 and this statue was temporarily moved in 2016 to the Forum in Pompeii from its more permanent location in Montgomery Square at the Canary Wharf in London, England.”

So Fran Worrall was also somewhat right remembering the statue in London.

Gwinnett Bicentennial Prelude to the Fourth, will be July 3 on the Lawrenceville Lawn. The event features food trucks, drinks, live music and a professional fireworks show at dusk.

Norcross Red, White and Boom Festival, its 23^rd annual, will be July 3 from 5-10 p.m.  in the downtown area. There will be live music, food trucks, bounce houses and patriotic items for sale. Shuttles will bring people to the downtown area, beginning at 4 p.m. from the Norcross First United Methodist Church. Cost to ride shuttle and park: $5.

Mall of Georgia’s 16th annual Star-Spangled Fourth celebration, July 4 from 4 p.m. Fun activities for the entire family including a concert, children’s rides, inflatables, live music, bicentennial activities, food and beverage concessions, and the largest fireworks display in the county.  The fireworks are at 9:35 p.m. After the fireworks, watch a free movie Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, rated PG-13.

Ink, Paint and Steel is a new art exhibit open through July 13 at The Rectory in Norcross. Explore the works of KatheAssociation for this informal talk and QandA photography workshop. The second will be at the Five Forks Library Branch, 2780 Five Forks Trickum Road, Lawrenceville, on June 30, at 2 p.m.  The third will brine Linn and Simone Wilson in this new exhibit . Opening night, June 8, is free and open to the public and will include a reception with music, refreshments and the opportunity to meet these extraordinary artists.

Workshop: The Evolution of Data Security will be held July 19 from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at the Peachtree Corners City Hall, 310 Technology Parkway, by the Partnership Gwinnett Technology Forum. Ed Pimental, chairman of AgileCo Labs, will be speaking. Learn about steps banks are taking to reduce fraudulent activity, what e-commerce is expected to continue to grow, and how block chain technology supports the industry. The cost is $10. Register at http://web.gwinnettchamber.org/events/Partnership-Gwinnett-Technology-Forum-2612/details.

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• Contributing columnist: George Wilson

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