PLAN OF THE FUTURE: Here’s an architect’s plan of what the area around Gwinnett’s Civic Center and Arena could look like in a few years. The plan calls for a 300 room hotel to be built between the Civic Center and the Arena, making parking lots multi-story buildings, brining in public-private partnerships to develop housing and office buildings on previous parking spaces, and making more entrances into the area. For more about this possibility, see Elliott Brack’s Perspective below.
IN THIS EDITION
TODAY’S FOCUS: A Glimpse Where A Walk in the Woods Was Partially Filmed
EEB PERSPECTIVE: After 10 Years, There’s Excitement about Expansion of Civic Center
FEEDBACK: One Guy Wants George Wilson To Run for President
UPCOMING: Jackson EMC Returns $6.5 Million; SPCA Plans Gala and Masquerade Ball
NOTABLE: PCOM New President is Inaugurated; Ball Court Named for Amanda Riley
RECOMMENDED READ: The Jungle By Upton Sinclair
GEORGIA TIDBIT: World War II Spending Helped the South out of the Depression
MYSTERY PHOTO: Lighthouses Abound Around the Country; Where Is This One?
LAGNIAPPE: You Can Still Have Fun at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds This Week
TODAY’S FOCUS
What happens when the film companies rent your home
(Editor’s note: A Norcross family recently had their house featured in a movie, “Mother’s Day”, to be released in next May. Previously, the same family had their house in a movie currently on screens, “A Walk in the Woods.” We asked about their experience. Here are their thoughts.—eeb)
By Julie Foster
NORCROSS, Ga., Sept. 22, 2015 | It was a thrill seeing our home and scenes of Norcross on “the big screen” while watching A Walk in the Woods recently.
Foster
Several times, location scouts have knocked on our door after stumbling upon our home while driving through the area looking for possibilities. Twice, our home has been chosen as a location for major films. Both times, we had a positive experience. We found the crews very respectful of our home and us.
On occasion, they upset something in the house. But they were great about fixing items. We had the added benefits of having the bushes in our yard trimmed, our driveway power-washed, and the interior of the house painted.
During both films, the production crew, which includes the director and producers, were California-based. However, they hired local crews for the filming. Many of the workers live in Gwinnett County. The crews include hundreds of workers, grips, construction people, set decorators, painters, catering, security and many more. The most workers around our house at one time was about 250 people when they were filming a birthday party in our back yard. Then they had a petting zoo, waterslide and many extras for that. Fortunately, it was only one day.
Foster house on Ridgecrest Drive.
I used to bemoan the expense of a movie ticket until I saw first hand how hard it is and how much work it takes. Crews are skilled and dedicated. While filming, the crews ate in our local restaurants. When they needed to pick up materials, they shopped locally.
Given the scope of filming, it is incredible how well they restored our home back to its original condition. They made sure we were satisfied with how they left our home.
During both films, our family was encouraged to stick around and watch. The kids especially were excited. The crews allowed our son to work the clapboard and boom microphone and watch the scenes with the directors. My husband, Tom, was thrilled with the financial gain. In Mother’s Day, we were able to be extras. Robert Redford, Emma Thompson, Nick Nolte and Jennifer Aniston graciously posed for photos with us.
It was surreal watching the movie seeing Emma Thompson and Robert Redford in our bed and her serving tea in our kitchen. During the recent filming, when the crew was there over two weeks, we spent five days at the Wingate Hotel on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard. I took a week off from work, and checked in on the house, and watched some filming.
If anyone is approached about their house for filming, I would say “Do your homework.” Make sure you are dealing with reputable people, and get it all down in writing. Document the condition of your home before they begin. Set very clear expectations and ask many questions so you know what to expect. It can be very disruptive. Remove valuables and sensitive info before the crews arrive. We had 40-50 strangers in and out for 21 days, one week for set-up, a week for filming, and a week to restore our home.
The going rate for such rentals, we learned, is $2,500 per filming day, and $1,000 per day for set-up and wrap. Both times the film people came to us with lower numbers before we agreed.
Most neighbors were excited to watch the filming. Some brought chairs and watched the outdoor scenes from across the street. Most were patient when filming caused delays and created traffic.
It’s an exciting experience. Yep, we would do it again!
EEB PERSPECTIVEExpansion of Gwinnett Civic Center area begins to get attention
By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher
SEPT. 22, 2015 | Gwinnett was booming along nicely in 2005 and 2006. Plans were underway to expand the Gwinnett Civic Center and its environs.
The recent recession cut expansion plans short. Finally, in 2015, we’re starting to see some movement for new facilities around this area that is more-and-more the heartbeat of the county.
Right now dirt is being moved for an Embassy Suites hotel of 165 rooms at Satellite Boulevard at the entrance to the Performing Arts Center. Meanwhile, diagonally across the intersection with Sugarloaf Parkway, another hotel, a Marriott Courtyard, is well under construction and expected to open in March 2016. These hotels are long overdue, because of need of hotel space near the Arena and Civic Center.
Yet the big news from Gwinnett’s Convention and Business Bureau is that a new full-service Marriott Hotel is finally to be built, after years of talking, connecting the Civic Center and the Arena. This hotel is expected to consist of 290 rooms, in 12 stories, and include a major restaurant, pool, spa, room service and other top-flight amenities. No doubt, with all the many people coming to events booked near this location, it’ll be a solid business investment.
But, there’s more. The Bureau is working on a master plan for a major revitalization of the entire acreage from the southwest corner of Satellite at Sugarloaf, all the way to the back of the parking lots of the Arena.
- First, the Civic Center will be expanded from its 84,500 to 150,000 square feet.
- Parking decks are anticipated on current open parking lots. Some 5,000 parking will be replaced by decks, and possibly additional spaces will be built.
- An “entertainment zone” is envisioned for the main thoroughfare from the Arts Center to the Arena, with restaurants, coffee shop, and other retail outlets.
- On the current Arena parking spaces, a public-private venture, a live-work-play area, is envisioned to add housing and office buildings, including several multi-story buildings.
- The current lake on the property will be mucked out and enlarged, giving a new and much larger amenity to the scene.
Williams
Remember that long walkway from the street to the Civic Center? On this site, the Center will get a new entrance, making its entrance convenient to the street. Anticipated in this facility will be additional office space for the center.
When will all this happen? Some of the work is already underway. Anticipation is that work will begin on the convention center Marriott in early 2016, and opening of the hotel in early 2018.
Preston Williams, chairman of the Bureau, says that their priorities are expansion of the Civic Center, and consideration of up to at least three new entrances into the overall site. Prior to discussions with public-private developers for the land where the Arena parking is now, work must be completed on one or more parking decks to replace those spaces.
Williams adds: “We will be welcoming proposals, but so far, we are not quite ready for them yet. We’re working on our priorities now before we accept ideas. We’ve got good support from people in the area, and feel that the county officials recognize the need to protect the investment they have made in the area, and recognize what the area needs to become in the future. It’s just a matter of how we will get there.”
IN THE SPOTLIGHTArbor-Nomics Tree Service
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Mandatory uniform policy should be extended to all schools
Editor, the Forum:
A big “Thumbs Up” to Dorothy Jarrett, principal of Summerour Middle School, AND to the parents who have the insight and guts to demand mandatory uniform policy!! We have thought this for years, as “the clothes seem to be more important than the books.” Most times the attire has become more extreme and outrageous every year!!!
Her comments should be circulated to every school board member and every principal in Gwinnett, with the parents encouraging more and more support for this to be done in EVERY SCHOOL—- for the benefit to everyone!!
— Dr. Donald and Shirley Dove, Grayson
Dear Doves: We agree 100 percent. What particularly struck me is that Principal Jarrett knew instinctively what to do, questioned her parents, and had solid support. That’s leadership! Many others should try it. -eeb
Wilson’s recovery column hits the nail on the head
Editor, the Forum:
As usual, George Wilson has hit the nail squarely on the head. The current “recovery” totally makes an absolute of the “Trickle Down” theory. Little or none of the current “recovery” has trickled down to the ordinary workingman.
Mr. Wilson says that that average CEO makes 300 times what his average employee makes. I read somewhere that the figure was 400 times.
Either way, the situation is absolutely obscene, given that, in 1970, the average CEO made 20 times what his average employee earned..
— Robert Hanson, Loganville
Suggests Wilson join Democratic candidates for president
Editor, the Forum:
After reading George Wilson’s comments in the last edition, I must admit he is the smartest guy in the room. I’m encouraging him to run for president as he has everything figured out:
- Minimum wage raise to $15 surely wouldn’t cost poor working folks to lose their job because even though that has happened everywhere else they’ve done it, Georgia would be different.
- Raising the employment rate by spending non-existent money on infrastructure building again has been a complete failure everywhere Obama has done it but somehow George could make it work here.
- Expanding Obamacare certainly is a no brainier since it’s already working so well. Only evil Republicans who are rich are losing coverage and paying more.
George’s final points are really just icing on his magical cake, giving those wonderful union folks more power (think how well it’s working at GM) and eliminate lobbyists (oh wait, unions are the biggest lobbyists) but by allowing George’s special citizens councils to redraw AGAIN the political districts (maybe back like when Democratic forces did it). George could stay in power forever! Yeah, George, I’m looking forward to all the people having the opportunity to vote for you for office. You’ve got everything figured out.
I’m ashamed that my past thinking was so wrong.
George Wilson for President 2016.
— Steve Rausch, Peachtree Corners
Dear Steve: Seems you are hankering for a job in the Wilson Administration! -eeb
- SEND FEEDBACK AND LETTERS: elliott@brack.net
Total of $6.5 million being returned to Jackson EMC members
Jackson Electric Membership Corporation’s (EMC) Board of Directors has announced that in December the cooperative will return $6.5 million to more than 219,900 members who received electric service in 1989/1990 and/or 2014.
Chairman Otis Jones of Lawrenceville says: “Jackson EMC is a not-for-profit cooperative. The board of directors is able to return a portion of the revenue left over after all the bills are paid, funds which we refer to as ‘margins’, to our members at the end of each year. After this December’s refund, Jackson EMC will have returned $108 million in margin refunds to its owner/members since the cooperative was founded in 1938.”
Jones also reported to the audience that during the year Jackson EMC had invested $31 million in the cooperative’s distribution network, including constructing a new substation in Lawrenceville and updating another in south Jackson County.
Jackson EMC President/CEO Chip Jakins reported on the cooperative’s strategic planning initiative, telling the audience: “It really is important for each of you, as members and owners of Jackson EMC, to participate in the business of your cooperative. The best way to do that is by being informed about what your cooperative is doing and why.”
Georgia SPCA plans 6th Fall Gala and Auction via a masquerade
A masquerade ball is the theme of The Georgia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Georgia SPCA) sixth Annual Fall Gala and Auction. It will be held on Saturday, October 10 at the Infinite Energy Forum (formerly the Gwinnett Center). Proceeds will directly benefit Georgia SPCA programs, including the rescue and care of additional animals in the community, increased public education, and the ability help pet owners with low cost spay/neuter and vaccination clinics.
The Fall Gala features dining, drinks, dancing, and a wide variety of silent auction items. During the Annual Fall Gala, the Georgia SPCA will also honor veteran volunteer Linda Hickey with the inaugural Humane Hero Award for her animal welfare outreach efforts along with her rescue dog, Xena the Warrior Puppy.
Individual Tickets ($75) are on sale now. Tickets include dinner, dancing and a fabulous silent auction. Everyone who buys a ticket will be automatically registered for a chance to win three nights at the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino in Biloxi, Miss. Purchase tickets online today at: http://www.georgiaspca.org/georgia-masquerade-ball-gala.
Supporters can help support the Georgia SPCA by shopping at Whole Foods. On Wednesday, September 23, the Johns Creek Whole Foods will donate 5 percent of the day’s net sales to the Georgia SPCA. Proceeds will help fund pet adoption, education, and animal welfare programs. Jane Lumbatis, executive director of the Georgia SPCA, says: “As a community organization we are grateful for our local community support. Our friends at Whole Foods have jumped in full force to help organizations like ours provide the best possible services.”
The 5 percent giving day ends at closing at 10 p.m. Wednesday. The store is located at 5945 State Bridge Rd, Johns Creek, near the intersection of State Bridge and Georgia Highway 141.
Snellville Police plan Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Sept. 26
Snellville’s Police Department will be participating in a Prescription Drug Take Back Initiative on September 26.The event, which encourages residents to drop off unused or expired prescription drugs, will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Snellville Police Department, located at 2315 Wisteria Drive.
Officers will set up a drive-thru style drop off so residents can drive up to the designated drop off area to participate in the event. No needles or syringes can be accepted. During the last Drug Enforcement Administration sponsored drug take back event, SPD collected more than 200 pounds of old medication.
- For more information about the event contact Lt. A.L. Sullivan at 770-985-3555 or asullivan@snellville.org.
Feldstein inaugurated as president of PCOM
Feldstein
Jay S. Feldstein, DO’81, was inaugurated as the eighth president of Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) on September 17, at the Philadelphia Campus. The ceremony was broadcast live to the Georgia Campus (GA-PCOM) and student leaders, faculty and staff from Georgia represented the Georgia Campus at the inaugural ceremonies. Dr. Feldstein’s new role will be celebrated at the Georgia Campus on Thursday, October 1 at a student luncheon, followed by a reception for Georgia faculty, staff and friends of the College.
An alumnus of PCOM, Dr. Feldstein succeeded Matthew Schure, PhD, on July 1, 2014, as the institution’s eighth president and chief executive officer. In honor of his official inauguration, student organizations at GA-PCOM participated in a series of service projects. Students collected funds for Sheltering Arms Early Education and Family Center in Buford, collected food for the Lawrenceville Cooperative Ministry, wrote letters to recovering American soldiers at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, and spent two weekends building houses with Gwinnett Habitat for Humanity.
Dr. Feldstein previously served as president of the Northern Division of the Pennsylvania Managed Care Plans, at AmeriHealth Caritas Family of Companies from 2010 to 2014. Since taking office at PCOM, Dr. Feldstein has created a strategic vision for the College’s future and has guided work on an integrated branding campaign and a new website for the institution.
Dr. Feldstein earned his bachelor’s degree from Penn State University and his doctor of osteopathic medicine degree from PCOM. He completed a residency in emergency medicine at the Medical Center of Delaware, Wilmington, Del., and an internship at John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital, Stratford, N.J. He is board certified in emergency medicine and occupational medicine and is a fellow of the American College of Preventive Medicine.
Snellville names Briscoe Park Basketball Court for Amanda Riley
As a young child, Amanda Riley fell in love with basketball.
Now, the memory of the 17-year-old Brookwood High School student who died after a battle with cancer will be linked with the game forever.
Snellville’s mayor and council have named the basketball courts at Briscoe Park the “Amanda Riley Courts” in her honor. Plans are to place a plaque there with her name on it when a refurbishing project is finished at the courts in the months to come.
Amanda’s mother, Barbara Riley, says: “There’s nothing in this world that Amanda enjoyed more than being at her church and playing basketball. She started playing when she was about six years old and she once wrote a paper when she was in elementary school that said she felt like Superman when she was on the court. We lived our life running from sport to sport and from court to court. This is the most giving wonderful gift you could give to her dad and myself. She loved basketball and our goal is to keep her memory alive and her smile alive and you’re definitely keeping our smile alive by approving this, by there being courts in her name. I cannot thank you all enough.”
The Rileys have been a fixture in the battle against childhood cancer and have been instrumental in keeping the fight in the public eye locally through their efforts and through the website, www.amandarileyfoundation.org, since Amanda died in 2010.
- To make a donation visit www.amandarileyfoundation.org. Those interested can also donate at the Georgia Highway 124 Chick-fil-A.
The Jungle
A novel by Upton Sinclair
As our country discusses immigration, The Jungle portrays another time of immigration in the early 1900s. Lithuanian immigrant Jurgis finds himself in Chicago, where he has wed the love of his life, Ona. They have very little, but begin their marriage with hope and optimism – after all, the United States is a place of opportunity and promise. They soon discover that they are trapped in abject poverty, with little chance of bettering themselves. Bound to low paying jobs (when they are lucky), they struggle to provide the basics of living for themselves and their families. One by one, the family splits apart, some losing their lives, as the oppression of poverty takes its toll. This book, a classic, was responsible for exposing corruption and unsanitary conditions of the Chicago meatpacking industry, sparking change that we see the effects of today, as well as documenting the arrival of Socialism in America.
— Karen Burnette Garner, Dacula
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. –eeb
GEORGIA ENCYCLOPEDIA TIDBITNew Deal spending in World War II helps South out of plight
Southern states were critical to the war effort during World War II (1941-45) and none more so than Georgia. Some 320,000 Georgians served in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II, and countless others found employment in burgeoning wartime industries. Their experiences were pivotal in determining the state’s future development, and the war itself marked a watershed in Georgia’s history. Because it occurred when important shifts in the state’s politics, race relations, and economy were already underway, the war accelerated Georgia’s modernization, thereby lifting it out of the Great Depression and ushering it into the mainstream of American life.
In 1938 U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt called the South “the nation’s number one economic problem” and thereafter devoted generous New Deal spending to ameliorating conditions in the region. Indeed, the South that Roosevelt encountered on his frequent trips to Warm Springs was fundamentally at odds with the rest of the nation, even before the depression.
Whereas other regions experienced high rates of urbanization during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the South remained predominantly rural. A majority of southerners lived and worked on farms, and agricultural employment in the region exceeded national averages by 73 percent. Incomes lagged well behind national norms, and poverty was a common and enduring feature of southern life. The distinctive system of racial segregation circumscribed the freedoms of the region’s large black population and distinguished the South as the most “regional” of American regions. As historian Morton Sosna concludes, prior to World War II, the “South was considerably poorer, blacker, and more rural than any other part of the United States.”
Although they failed to improve southern economic conditions significantly, Roosevelt’s New Deal programs nevertheless established a federal commitment to the region’s welfare that continued through World War II. As the nation mobilized for war abroad, federal defense dollars flooded southern states in the form of military installations and defense contractors.
Nowhere was this more the case than in Georgia, where every major city could boast a military installation of some variety. Fort Benning in Columbus, for instance, was the largest infantry training school in the world; Robins Air Force Base outside Macon employed some 13,000 civilians at its peak; the U.S. Navy trained 2,000 combat pilots at the University of Georgia in Athens; and Hunter Field and Camp Gordon (later Fort Gordon) welcomed hundreds of thousands of enlisted men to the Savannah and Augusta areas respectively.
Defense contractors meanwhile relocated throughout Georgia, providing employment, aiding the state’s economic recovery, and allowing civilians to make valuable contributions to the war effort. Marietta‘s Bell Aircraft plant (also known as Bell Bomber), for example, at its peak put some 28,000 Georgians to work building B-29 bombers, causing the town’s population to swell from a modest 8,667 residents in 1940 to 20,687 by the end of the decade. Macon and Milledgeville also welcomed the arrival of new ordnance plants.
(To be continued)
- To access the Georgia Encyclopedia online, go to http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
Only one person recognized bridge taken from shore bollards
The United States for ages has built lighthouses to guide ships away from the shores, and into harbors. This lighthouse photo may give you a clue to where it is located. Now, it’s your turn to tell us where this lighthouse is located. Send your answers to elliott@brack.net and be sure to include the town where you live.
Recognizing last edition’s Mystery Photo was Elizabeth Neace of Gwinnett. She wrote: “Is it the bridge in Beaufort, SC, going over to Lady’s Island?” But the submitter, Lou Camiero of Lilburn, had said it was the bridge to Fripp Island. A check with our South Carolina expert got this response: “The bridge from Beaufort downtown heads over the Harbor River onto Lady’s Island on the way to Fripp. So they’re both right.” Attagirl, Elizabeth.
People can enjoy Gwinnett County Fairgrounds this week
FAIRGROUND FUN: There are all kinds of ways to have fun at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds this week, as the Fair Association holds its 63rd annual event. Whether it’s being twirled around in swings, or taking in other amusements, Roving Photographer Frank Sharp captures some of the excitement of the Fair. (More photos below.)
The Fair continues through Sunday night. Sharp also found “….the Mount Vernon Baptist Church of Lawrenceville food booth had my favorite food: pinto beans, coleslaw and onions ($5). Before that I had stopped at the Crosswords Church exhibit in the Exhibition Hall and they gave me a free bottle of water; how nice.” He adds: “I was also impressed with the free juggling act on the midway, and found the goat competition inspiring, because of the way the kids did so well in handling their animals.”
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