Raise your glass and get ready to sip, swirl, and savor at the 11th annual Suwanee Wine Fest on November 2. Whether you’re a seasoned sommelier or just enjoy a good pour, this festival is a great opportunity to explore an array of exquisite wines, enjoy gourmet bites, and dance to live music at the scenic Suwanee Town Center.
This year’s Suwanee Wine Fest offers wine lovers a chance to indulge in a global journey of flavors, sampling over 150 premium wines meticulously curated by TopShelf Beverage. From the crispest rosés to the boldest Cabernets, there’s a pour for every palate. The event runs from 1 to 4:30 p.m., with VIP guests enjoying early access starting at noon.
Beer aficionados won’t be left out, as craft beer samples from Crooked Culture Brewing and StillFire Brewing will be available at the Taco Mac Tailgate Tent, where you can catch live college football games on TV. Plus, ready-to-drink cocktails will be on-hand to keep the festivities lively.
The Suwanee Wine Fest isn’t just about the wine. Attendees can groove to live music by the band Reckless, explore distinctive products from local vendors and artists, and savor food from local food trucks. There is also a grape stomping station.
A portion of the proceeds from the 2024 Suwanee Wine Fest will support Annandale Village, a Suwanee-based organization dedicated to assisting adults with developmental disabilities or traumatic brain injuries.
Tickets are on sale at SuwaneeWineFest.com.
- General Admission is $65: Enjoy unlimited wine and beer samples, ready-to-drink cocktails, live entertainment, delicious food for purchase, and a variety of vendor activities.
- VIP Admission is $150: Gain early access at noon and enjoy all General Admission perks plus exclusive entry to the private dining and tasting tent catered by Marlow’s Tavern, and a VIP goody bag featuring the official 2024 Suwanee Wine Fest T-shirt and souvenir wine glass.
County employees getting a 5.3% pay increase
The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners Tuesday approved a 5.3 percent market adjustment for eligible county employees that also raises starting pay and increases the pay ranges in both the current salary structure and the public safety step-structured plans. The adjustment is retroactive to September 28.
With recruitment a continuing challenge in the local strong job market, officials believe raising pay will aid in attracting qualified candidates to fill vacancies.
Chairwoman Nicole Love Hendrickson voiced the concern of the board: “For several years now, I have emphasized the importance of bold compensation to maintain our status as a top public sector employer. In this competitive environment, we must continue offering attractive pay and benefits to hire and retain quality employees to deliver superior service to more than one million residents, our businesses and visitors.”
The Board’s action today also acknowledges the impact inflation has had on employees. Since 2017, the cost of living has increased 25.1 percent, while market pay adjustments have amounted to 23 percent. Based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average cost of living increased 3.2 percent year-over-year between June 2023 and June 2024.
GGC team studying Joro spider genetic make-up
Ten years ago, Joro spiders traveled from Asia to the United States. Georgia is where they were first spotted. What scientists know is they are most visible starting in September. By mid-October, they are laying eggs that are within a white silk sac. Each sac, typically attached to a flat surface like leaves and tree bark, contains as many as 500 eggs.
Patrick Cain and a Joro in 2022.
What hasn’t been known is if they carry any diseases that could harm humans.
Georgia Gwinnett College’s professor of biology, Dr. James Russell, was studying the genetic makeup of the Joro spider to determine if there was any genetic diversification. Along with a GGC student, Nicholas Mizera, the pair took on the task of extracting genes from the spiders.
Dr. Russell says: “There was very little genetic diversity, so on a whim, we decided to look for the presence of Wolbachia. It’s a common bacteria found in about half of all insect species, like butterflies, moths and bees. We found that Joro spiders are infected with Wolbachia.”
Russell added that two questions would be the first to ask. “One, can Joro spiders transmit Wolbachia to humans? The answer is no,” he says.
The second question has to do with how Wolbachia affects Joro spiders.“We hypothesize it creates reproductive barriers and incompatibility issues for the spider, but more detailed experiments are needed to test that hypothesis,” he says.
According to this hypothesis, when an infected male mates with an uninfected female, the female is sterilized. However, he added, when both the male and female are infected, they can have offspring. Russell further explains that only female spiders can pass the bacteria along. “This particular Wolbachia effect can potentially be used to control populations.”
The idea of population control, he says, could be applied to other insects, like mosquitos, which are known to carry diseases that can infect humans. “Having this information could help us find a better and less harmful way to control insects that are known to harm humans.”
For Mizera, who graduated from GGC in 2023, the chance to do research assured him that a career in biology was the right path. “When Dr. Russell approached me to do actual research, I loved everything about it,” he says. “The work was meaningful, and that’s something I want to continue doing while I pursue my doctorate.”
Russell and Mizera are working on a paper to present their findings.
Dr. Russell adds: “One thing about research is a spirit of discovery and collaboration. Along with my colleague, Dr. Chris Brown, professor of biology, we had researchers from Clemson University, the University of Georgia and Columbus State University assist with the gathering of spiders. Our job was then to extract genes from the spiders so we could study the genetic makeup.”
New housing area opens named Forkview
A new affordable homeownership community is now operational in Lawrenceville, opened by Gwinnett Housing Corporation GHC). The community is called Forkview. A ribbon-cutting was held October 17.
As the cost of new single-family homes in Gwinnett County continues to rise, many have become unaffordable for low-to-moderate-income households. This new development provides first-time homebuyers with a more attainable path to homeownership. Currently, only 34 percent of the demand for single-family detached homes is being met for households earning between $50,000 and $100,000.
Forkview consists of 21 detached single-family homes, each featuring three bedrooms and two bathrooms. These homes are available to first-time homebuyers with incomes at or below 80 percent of the area median income for Gwinnett County, through GHC’s Welcome Home Program.
Lejla Prljaca, Gwinnett Housing Corporation CEO, says: “With builders prioritizing higher-profit luxury housing, the shortage of starter homes has become a key factor in America’s housing crisis. According to Realtor.com, only 300,000 starter homes were available in 2022, a decline of 53 percent over the past five years. This issue is further aggravated by institutional investors purchasing significant numbers of these homes targeting specific areas. For example, in southern Gwinnett, corporate landlords own 30 percent of all single-family rental homes, contributing to reduced inventory and inflated prices. Through this program, we are breaking down barriers to homeownership in Gwinnett County, helping families build wealth and fostering community stability.”
GHC’s Welcome Home Program is designed to offer newly constructed GHC homes to eligible low-to-moderate-income buyers. Through this program, qualified homebuyers receive assistance in the form of a second soft mortgage with a one percent interest rate. Based on need, buyers may receive up to $80,000 in assistance. The loan requires no repayment or interest as long as the home remains owner-occupied during the designated affordability period. This program aims to address the gap in homeownership providing solutions for the missing middle and workforce housing.
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