GwinnettForum | Number 20.81 | Nov. 6, 2020
SOON YOU’LL HEAR the ringing of The Salvation Army bells as the Christmas season nears. This year The Salvation Army and Walmart are teaming up to help needy families at Christmas. See Notable below. In this file photo, Gwinnett Rotarians Jones Webb and Shelly Marlatt are all bundled up for their two-hour bellringing shift at the Lawrenceville Walmart off U.S. Highway 29 near Sugarloaf Parkway.
TODAY’S FOCUS: He’s proud to call himself a liberal with no apologies about it
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Gwinnett transit referendum results may not be known until next week
ANOTHER VIEW: GGC chemistry professor engages students with the soft side of science
SPOTLIGHT: Gwinnett County Public Library
FEEDBACK: Send us your thoughts
UPCOMING: Norcross seeks input Tuesday for Buford Highway corridor master plan
NOTABLE: Walmart and Salvation Army join to work together during holidays
RECOMMENDED: You Always Remember Your First: A Biography of George Washington by Alexis Coe
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Georgia candidates for offices must comply with fund-raising rules
MYSTERY PHOTO: Plaza Scene Shows People Enjoying the Good Life
He’s proud to call himself a liberal with no apologies about it
By Raleigh Perry
BUFORD, Ga. | I am liberal with no apologies. I was not always that way. My first vote was for Goldwater and the only reason I voted that way was because of family pressure. But I am a man now and I have put away all of my childish things. There is nothing ambidextrous about me when it comes to what I want to see. I tend toward socialism, but not totally. There is good and bad in all systems, you just have to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Perry
I like the concept of socialized medicine. I have friends in Europe and Canada that when death was knocking on their doors, they went to the hospital and came out in good condition, physically and financially. All that they had to pay for their bouts with cancer was gas for transportation to get to their medical treatment.
I see no reason why anyone should go bankrupt to pay a hospital bill. I read recently of a man who, upon surviving Coronavirus where he was in the Intensive Care Unit for almost four months, emerging with a bill for over a million dollars. There is no way that he can pay it. He lost his job, he lost his home, and he bankrupted. There is no sense in something like that happening in today’s world.
I watched the ads against Jon Ossoff on the television where they tell me that he will cost me a fortune while, at the same time, the man saying that has been trying for years to kill the Affordable Care Act. It is like David Perdue wants people with medical problems, especially those with existing conditions to go through the heavy debt, loss of home, and bankruptcy. Mr. Perdue has no social conscience.
I am a bit lucky in that regard, I am a totally disabled veteran and I use the Veteran’s Administration (VA) medical system. It does not even cost me for transportation, the VA pays mileage from my home to the hospital. The VA is a perfect example of socialized medicine.
The cost of a college education has run through the roof. Even the HOPE program, like we have in Georgia, does not pay all of the expenses. Interestingly, the HOPE program is funded by a lot of people of lesser means who are HOPING to get the perfect ticket to financial freedom but their chances are about as good as being hit by lightning. Students graduating from college today, for the most part, are heavily in debt and some never get out of it.
I am lucky there also. When I graduated from university and arrived home, I received a check from the college for monies that they owed me because I worked three jobs the whole time I was in college. What I got from the VA back then on the GI bill was not enough to buy meals for a week. There needs to be more public funding of education, public or private.
I am not afraid of paying higher taxes so that students can go through college and graduate debt free or go into a hospital and exit without being inundated by debt. What the normal family pays in medical insurance will go away and be replaced with less money in taxes.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Gwinnett transit referendum results still incomplete
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
NOV. 6, 2020 | Let’s look at significant results of the Gwinnett 2020 voting scene.
Gwinnett’s Transit Referendum is still somewhat in doubt. Incomplete returns on Thursday, the tally showed the “No” votes ahead by 1,749 votes. There were 196,326 “No” votes and 194,577 “Yes” votes.
However, about 5,400 votes are still not counted. County Communications Director Joe Sorenson said late Wednesday:
“In an effort to expedite the complete count of the remaining Gwinnett County General and Special Election votes, the County, with assistance from Dominion Voting Systems technicians, will revisit the batches of absentee by mail ballots that were added to the Election Night totals without being fully adjudicated. Once these ballots have been fully adjudicated, the absentee by mail totals will be updated, and together with the remaining uncounted votes, the results will be tallied and published. Additional uncounted votes include approximately 4,400 absentee ballots received on Election Day, votes to be rescanned from one corrupted data card from the Shorty Howell advance in-person voting site, and any of the approximately 1,000 provisional ballots that can be counted. The adjudication process is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. on Thursday, November 5 and is estimated to take about three days to complete.”
So, 5,400 last-minute-counted votes, more or less, will determine the Gwinnett transit vote. It is unlikely to affect any other races.
Meanwhile, note that the other local referendum on the 2020 ballot, the extension of the one cent sales tax for educational purposes, handily won, now at 76.56 percent, or 297,223 “Yes” votes to 91,013 “No” votes. School officials, as well as taxpayers, should be smiling at this relatively easy way to pay for school infrastructure because of our growth. Remember: out-of-town Gwinnett shoppers help pay part of our school construction costs.
Other winners: Perhaps the biggest statewide winner was Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in charge of our state’s elections, who had a relatively easy day. There were few problems reporting, and all of them relatively small. With so many people voting early, or by absentee, Election Day was far different from the plagued Primary Election, which had multiple problems. There were also few reports of long lines of people waiting to vote.
Another element: Perhaps it was that the 2020 election came during a COVID crisis, but we see the 2020 election season as helping to show that both Early Voting and mailed-in absentee voting can work. The hullabaloo of an election season, with many, many new voters in Georgia, all worked to cause people to ponder how would be the best way to vote. And so the uptick of early and absentee voters….made election day itself much less crowded.
The closest Gwinnett legislative race was in House District 102, where Democrat Gregg Kennard won by 733 votes over newcomer Republican Soo Hong.
The only other race with a margin of less than 1,000 votes showed Republican Chuck Efstration in House District 104, winning by 912 votes in what was viewed as a Democratic year.
In another relatively close race, Republican Mary Kay Murphy retained her School Board seat by 1,414 votes over Tanisha Banks.
Bourdeaux
And look at Carolyn Bourdeaux! After three years of campaigning, and just barely losing the 7th District Congressional seat in 2018, she was victorious against Dr. Rich McCormick. The totals combined from Gwinnett and Forsyth Counties showed Bourdeaux with 185,413 votes, to McCormick’s 176,816. That’s a margin of 8,597, so even the unreported votes still outstanding could not change this victory for her.
So that’s probably it, except, possibly, for the Transit Referendum outcome. We may not know until Monday.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
GGC chemistry prof engages with soft side of science
By Ken Scar
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. | Have you ever stopped to think how fascinating toothpaste is? It’s solid-like and changes to fluid-like as it’s squeezed out of a tube, then becomes solid-like again once it’s resting on the toothbrush. That consistency is no accident, said Dr. Ajay Mallia, associate professor of chemistry at Georgia Gwinnett College. It is by design, and the science behind those miraculous properties is what he has dedicated his life to studying and teaching.
Scar
Mallia says: “I create what I call organic, functional, soft materials (OFSMs).” He this year was named a Fellow of the American Chemical Society. “When a material is soft you can easily tune its properties. For instance; if toothpaste was hard you couldn’t get it outside the tube, but when you apply that mechanical force the material liquifies, and then once it is on your brush it goes back to the original state. We call that a ‘self-healing’ material.”
Not coincidentally, Mallia said, most parts of our bodies are examples of soft materials and self-healing, too. One function of the OFSMs he researches could be delivering medication.
The seed for Mallia’s passion for chemistry was planted early, when he was a young boy in India. He remembers always being fascinated by demonstrations of chemical reactions, like mixing baking soda with vinegar, and the excitement of being in a lab.
“When we are in a lab, we mix different chemicals to create something new,” he said. “I’m particularly fascinated by organic molecules, and how you can make something harder and softer. Like when you bake bread – if you heat it slightly, it becomes harder. That’s chemistry.”
Mallia
Mallia carries his enthusiasm for chemistry into the classroom, where he uses an active learning style to engage his students.
“I tell my students learning has three processes: understanding, mastering and retaining,” he said. “Most of us learn by asking questions, but it’s difficult for many people to ask questions in a classroom setting, because of the risk of failure. I try to teach my students how to ask the right questions.”
In addition to naming Mallia a fellow this year, the ACS also named him its inaugural national winner of the Outreach Volunteer of the Year award for, among other things, successfully organizing weeklong outreach activities at museums, high schools, and academic institutions that had over 1,000 attendees in 2019.
He sees his outreach efforts as one of the most important things he does. He performs hands-on chemistry demonstrations for local high school students to spark their interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and motivate them to seek higher education. Last year his demonstration was the making of paper, which proved to be uniquely fascinating to high school students. Additionally, every summer he recruits five or six economically disadvantaged students to help with his research in the college setting. They earn a stipend to keep them from seeking traditional summer jobs.
“I love getting kids interested in science, STEM and research,” said Mallia. “My favorite thing in the world is when I hear a student say, ‘I want to know more.’”
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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Norcross seeks input for Buford Hwy. master plan
The City of Norcross is coordinating a master plan for strategic revitalization and redevelopment of its 1.85-mile long Buford Highway corridor. The city is seeking input from residents, business owners, commuters and individuals familiar with Norcross’ section of the Buford Highway Corridor.
Embrace the chance to shape the future of Norcross and Buford Highway. Join your neighbors at the Buford Highway Master Plan Community Meeting.
There will be a public meeting on Tuesday, November 10 at 6 p.m. The meeting will be held virtually. Those interested in being in the virtual link should email bufordhighway@norcrossga.net if interested in participating.
New study focuses on I-85 from I-285 to I-985
Gwinnett County and the Georgia Department of Transportation are partnering on the Interstate 85 Study for the 18-mile stretch from I-285 to I-985. This study is the first project in Georgia to apply the Planning and Environmental Linkages process. For more information, visit the Federal Highway Administration’s PEL website.
In analyzing I-85’s current conditions, the project team evaluated factors such as demographics and land use as well as roadway, multimodal, safety, and traffic operations. The team also gathered public input to identify corridor needs. Visit 85Study.com to learn more about the corridor, analyses, and results from early public outreach — including that more than 340,000 vehicles travel the busiest part of I-85 daily and that “Improve Vehicle Travel” was the most preferred study interest, followed by “Traveler Safety.”
The 85 Study team is analyzing more than 1,200 potential solutions for the corridor and will return to the public for input on a refined list of project alternatives in early 2021. Sign up for project updates at 85Study.com and follow Gwinnett County’s and GDOT’s social media accounts to learn more about the project and upcoming input opportunities.
Walmart, Salvation Army join to work together in holidays
Walmart and The Salvation Army are joining forces in the upcoming holiday season. They will be working together to make it even easier for people to help others this Christmas.
Starting November 2, Walmart will offer customers the option to round up their purchases to the nearest dollar and donate the difference to The Salvation Army. Customers can do this in stores at manned cash registers, on Walmart.com or through the Walmart app. The option to donate will run through December 31.
Walmart and The Salvation Army are bringing hope and joy to families through the expansion of programs like Angel Tree and Red Kettles, which will be out earlier, and, for the first time ever, round-up donations to The Salvation Army in-store and online.
The Salvation Army’s Red Kettles and iconic bell ringers will be at participating Walmart stores even earlier this year, starting on Saturday, November 21. The Salvation Army is adopting nationally mandated safety protocols for physical kettles to help ensure the safety of bell ringers, donors and partners. Bell ringers will also be at select Sam’s Clubs across metro Atlanta.
Salvation Army Angel Trees will appear in participating Walmart stores, giving local shoppers the opportunity to select a child or children from the tree and to purchase or drop off gifts onsite.
Those who prefer to do their shopping online can visit salvationarmyusa.org/walmart-angel-tree to find their closest Angel Tree Registry, either in-store or online. Through the site, customers can shop for gifts and have them delivered directly to a local Salvation Army.
In metro Atlanta, The Salvation Army served 39,695 people last year. If the same level of increased requests for service is seen in 2020, that would mean nearly 80,000 people who need the Army’s help this holiday season.
Bob Parker, Area Commander for The Salvation Army of Metro Atlanta, says: “In some of our locations, requests for food and financial assistance have increased even more. We are immensely grateful to Walmart for its generous support, which we believe will help The Salvation Army of Metro Atlanta make this Christmas truly special for thousands of families and individuals throughout our great city.”
Gwinnett Stripers offer return of Veteran’s Pack for 2021
In honor of Veteran’s Day, the Gwinnett Stripers have announced the return of the “Veteran’s Pack,” available for purchase by service men and women and their families online at GoStripers.com and at Coolray Field on November 11 and 12.
Each Veterans Pack includes one Field Box ticket to four patriotic-themed Stripers 2021 home games, plus a Stripers cap, all for $55 (a value of $97). Game dates include Opening Night, Salute to Armed Forces Night, and an Independence Day celebration, as well as one more patriotic game that will be announced once the Stripers’ 2021 schedule is released.
Veteran’s Packs are available to all service members and their dependents and may be purchased one of two ways: online at GoStripers.com, or in-person at the Coolray Field Ticket Office (open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both dates).
For fans who purchase the Veterans Pack in-person, their Stripers cap can be picked up immediately at Bobby’s Tackle Team Store (open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both dates). Fans who purchase online will be contacted by a Ticket Sales representative to coordinate a time to pick up their cap or to have it shipped. All Veterans Pack tickets will be available for pick-up during the Stripers Preseason Party (date to be announced).
Also, in observance of Veterans Day, the Stripers are asking fans to nominate a veteran or active service member to throw out a first pitch prior to a Stripers game in 2021. On November 11 and 12, the Stripers will take submissions on their social media accounts. Submissions should include the veteran or active service member’s name and a brief reason why they should be selected. Those selected will be contacted through social media to set up their first pitch date.
Fans with questions about the Veterans Pack can email striperstickets@braves.com or call 678-277-0340. The Stripers also offer a military and first responder price for every Stripers home game, available for purchase at GovX.com.
You Always Remember Your First: A Biography of George Washington by Alexis Coe
From Susan McBrayer, Sugar Hill: An easy read, this rendition of George Washington’s life claims to be the first written by a woman. I was drawn to it by the cute title and found it to be a nice biography revealing quirky things. For example, I loved hearing how Washington dug out his old military uniform he had worn during the French and Indian War and wore it constantly as he paraded around every public place, pub and church in Philadelphia in 1774. By the time a leader was sought for the Continental Army, minds automatically went to that tall, stately man in the military uniform. (There was more to it, of course.) I also liked the fact that this book wasn’t very heavy and that it included many personal side stories. It also stressed Washington’s strengths as a diplomat, strategist, super spy, micromanager and propagandist. It portrayed him in a very human way.
An invitation: what books, restaurants, movies or web sites have you enjoyed recently? Send us your recent selection, along with a short paragraph (150 words) as to why you liked this, plus what you plan to visit or read next. Send to: elliott@brack.net
Georgia candidates must comply with fundraising rules
Candidates running for office in Georgia come under one of two sets of laws, federal and state, that govern the raising and spending of campaign funds. Both federal and state campaign finance laws have been frequent targets of reform efforts.
Candidates for federal office, for example, U.S. Senate or House of Representatives, must follow federal restrictions first established in 1971. In 1974 these restrictions were tightened in the wake of the Watergate scandal.
Candidates running for office are required to report all campaign contributions over $200. Contributions by an individual to a single candidate are limited to $1,000 per election; if, however, the candidate is involved in more than one election (for instance, a runoff), then an individual contributor may give another $1,000 per election.
There are no restrictions on the amount of his or her own money a candidate may spend in a quest for public office, federal or state. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Buckley v. Valeo (1976) that a candidate’s personal contributions are an exercise of free speech and thus are not subject to limitations.
Campaigns for state office, such as governor or General Assembly, are bound by state laws, which differ from federal statutes. The responsibility for ensuring compliance with Georgia’s campaign finance laws falls to the secretary of state.
The state laws governing elections and campaigns restrict the ways a candidate can raise money and set standards for record keeping, use, and distribution of campaign money. For example, a candidate must establish a separate bank account for the receipt of campaign funds, and all contributions over $101 must be disclosed. Roy Barnes made campaign finance reform an issue in his 1998 gubernatorial campaign, and in 2000, as governor, he sent legislation to the floor of the General Assembly.
Candidates running statewide can receive as much as $16,000 from a single source (for example, an individual, corporation, political action committee, or political party) in a single election cycle. The $16,000 is broken into maximum contributions per election event ($5,000 each for the primary and general election and $3,000 for runoff elections that may result from either event). Candidates running for the General Assembly or local office are limited to $6,000 per election cycle ($2,000 each for the primary and general election and $1,000 for runoffs). The new law also requires electronic filing of disclosure reports with the secretary of state.
Georgia, unlike some other states, does not offer candidates any public funds for campaigning. Georgia law also prohibits candidates from paying personal expenses with campaign funds. Leftover funds may be transferred to another campaign, saved for a future campaign, spent to retire campaign debt, donated to a political party, or donated to charity. A candidate will sometimes make a personal loan to his or her campaign with the expectation that once campaign contributions begin to arrive, the loan will be paid back. This practice is legal under both Georgia and federal law.
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia article online, go to http://georgiaencyclopedia.org
Plaza scene shows people enjoying the good life
Today’s Mystery Photo contains three different aspects, a young child clapping her hands, a couple dancing, and the music makers. The photo presents a nice atmosphere. But where is it located? Send your answers to elliott@brack.net and be sure to include where you live.
Stewart Woodard of Lawrenceville nailed the most recent Mystery Photo: “It’s Gibbs Garden, near Ball Ground, Ga., a favorite location for nature and other photographers. Similarly, it’s a great outdoor location for anyone to be able to enjoy God outdoors. Been there many times.” The photo came from Susan McBrayer of Sugar Hill.
There were several others recognizing the photograph. They included Marlene Buchanan, Snellville; Kay Montgomery, Duluth; Mikki Root Dillon, Lilburn; Rob Ponder, Duluth; Lou Camerio, Lilburn; Dick LoPresti, Berkeley Lake; Virginia Klaer, Duluth; and Bob Foreman, Grayson.
George Graf of Palmyra, Va. told us: “The green bridge in the photo is the Monet Bridge in Giverny, France. Jim Gibbs traveled for 15 years covering the nation and the world viewing gardens of every style and decided that he wanted to design and build a world class garden. He spent six years looking for a suitable site with a strong source of water and beautiful mature trees covering a rolling topography. There is a beautiful stream flowing through the middle of the valley, with hundreds of springs intersecting the stream. The springs are surrounded by millions of naturalized ferns making it one of the largest ferneries in the nation. He has designed 24 ponds, 32 bridge crossings and 19 waterfalls. The gardens are composed of 16 gardens including three feature gardens – Manor House Gardens, Japanese and Waterlily Gardens.”
Sending in another view of the Monet Bridge in France, Allan Peel of San Antonio, Tex. wrote: “Today’s mystery photo is a beautiful shot of the ‘Waterlily Gardens and Monet Bridge’ at the amazing Gibbs Gardens. This was one of our favorite spots to visit year-round when my wife and I lived in Peachtree Corners. While beautiful all year long, Gibbs Gardens is particularly spectacular during the early Spring, when the 20 million daffodils are in full bloom, and again during the peak Fall colors.
“Monet’s Garden is in Giverny, France (about 45-miles west of Paris). The bridge, with its rolled steel beams, rails and arbor, were carefully measured and reproduced in Gibbs Gardens with the same arch radius. An island had to be built to support the bridge for its proper span length, and Mr. Gibbs also used Monet’s color choice (commonly called ‘Juniper’) when painting the bridge. While the similarities to the Monet Bridge in Giverny are striking, there are key differences. Here’s a photo that I took (in 2018) of the ‘real’ Monet bridge when we visited Giverny.”
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