I’m hoping that we will see many smiles this Christmas season. Though the economy is not recovering as soon as we had hoped, it appears to be slowly improving. Many continue to believe the country is going in the wrong political direction, as indicated in our recent mid-term elections. For the first time in my memory we have less than our parents had in a monetary sense.
Let’s turn our attention to why we should be smiling. It may be because of the economy. We’ve learned to do more with less during the past two years, and maybe that’s a good thing.
I was thinking just yesterday of my growing up time. We didn’t have computer games, and if you can believe it, we didn’t even have a TV set for much of my youth. But we did have radio—and I listened to it a lot on Sunday afternoons. Good serial shows like “The Shadow” and the “Lone Ranger”. Yes it took a little imagination—but we could imagine being “20,000 Leagues” under the sea or way out in space at Mars with “Flash Gordon”. Don’t be surprised if your children or grandchildren ask about these programs and names. They well may not know of them. My parents didn’t make much money in my early years (and they were frugal savers who lived through the Great Depression of the 20’s and 30’s). But there were lots of conversations, reading, imagining—and lots of smiles. So maybe our smiles are because we have more time with our families right now.
Just think of Christmas Dinner and smile. Perhaps we are smiling because we are sure that our family get-together will be well attended this year.
Perhaps it’s just because of the season. Thinking about the aromas of the kitchen during Christmas, brings a smile to my face. What could be better than three holidays, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year, within just a little more than a month.
Of course, the anticipation of little children looking for a visit that brings them a gift will bring smiles to their faces. And those little smiles should put a great big smile on our faces as well.
I’ve often thought about the Biblical story of the birth of Christ. Most of us have heard the story from childhood, but it still affects me. I think about the shepherds looking after their sheep up in the hills near Bethlehem. Think about that dark night—no electric street lights in Bethlehem. Maybe there was a gentle glow off in the distance. Remember there were many people in Bethlehem on that night because of the census procedure.
Shepherds settled down with their flocks were startled and scared when an angelic messenger appeared to announce God’s gift to people. Can you imagine the brilliance of that moment? Light like no living man or woman had ever seen. Scared them out of their minds almost. God’s announcement came to men who were consider ritually unclean by religious people of Bethlehem because of their job. Why them and why an angelic announcement? I leave that thought to your understanding.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Monday, December 6, 2010
Support Charlotte Nash for Chairman
I wanted to recommend Charlotte Nash as our next Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners Chairperson. I've known and worked with Charlotte for many years. I cannot think of another person who is better qualified to lead Gwinnett County in this horrific economic time. Her financial experience and sense of ethics is what we need in Gwinnett County at this time.
Please support and vote for Charlotte Nash during the Special Election on March 15, 2011.
Please support and vote for Charlotte Nash during the Special Election on March 15, 2011.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
A Valuable Resource - Hudgens Center for the Arts
Submitted by Hudgens Center for the Arts
November 30th brings the exciting culmination of a nearly two year long process to choose a winner for the $50,000 Hudgens Prize visual arts competition. The competition was announced by the Hudgens Center for the Arts last January, causing quite a stir in the state, as this is one of the biggest cash art awards in the nation, and open only to Georgia artists.
Artists around the state quietly got busy, choosing and creating works in a very wide range of media, from drawings and paintings, to sculpture, installations and photography. Three hundred and sixty-nine different artists entered over 2,000 individual works of art. The jury truly had their work cut out for them!
The jury is made up of three well-known figures from the national and international art world, including David Kiehl (Curator of Prints at The Whitney Museum of American Art); Sylvie Fortin (Editor in Chief of ART PAPERS Magazine); and Eungie Joo (Keith Haring Director and Curator of Education and Public Programs at The New Museum). The Hudgens Center was very fortunate to be able to put together a jury of such standing, and it was an added benefit to all entering artists that their work was seen by these three individuals.
The Hudgens Center itself has been a hive of related activity for well over 18 months, since it was first chosen by an anonymous foundation to be the facilitators of the competition. Employees and board members have been working hard behind the scenes, forming a Prize Committee, planning the competition, inviting jurors, publicizing the competition through a coordinated media blitz and live press announcement, accepting and carefully logging in each entry, uploading each electronic image for the jury to view as anonymous entries, meeting with the jury to facilitate their deliberations, and then announcing the five Finalists in another statewide media blitz.
The committee and staff are currently deep in preparations for the Finalists' Exhibition and for the announcement of the prize winner, to be made on November 30, and it won't end there: the prize winner will also be offered the opportunity for a solo exhibit at The Hudgens, to take place in December of 2011.
The five finalists, Ruth Dusseault of Atlanta; Hope Hilton of Winterville; Gyun Hur, Scott Ingram and Jiha Moon of Atlanta, are currently completing and choosing works to be displayed in the Finalists Exhibit, from which the prize winner will be decided. The jurors will again gather, this time to preview the Finalists' Exhibit and see the artworks in person, and the announcement will be made during theOpening Reception on November 30th, in a special Award Celebration. The Reception is an invitation-only event.
The Finalists Exhibit will be open to the public from December 1 until February 19, 2011, and will include a looping video slideshow of works by all of the artists who entered the competition. Be sure to come see the fascinating works by the Hudgens Prize finalists, and pick out your own favorite artist or artists.
In addition, as a special gesture of thanks to the community for its support, the Hudgens is temporarily waiving the normal admission fee to the Exhibit. Admission is free during the month of December.
About The Hudgens
The Hudgens Center for the Arts is a non-profit organization that has been focused on supporting the arts in Georgia since its establishment in 1981. The Hudgens presents fine art exhibits year round, and offers art classes for adults and children through its Fine Arts School. The Hudgens supports local community-based arts organizations through its programs, exhibits and partnerships. The Hudgens' mission is to bring art lovers, leaders and learners together through quality programs and exhibits.
The Hudgens Center for the Arts is located at 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway, Bldg. 300, in Duluth, in the Gwinnett Center complex. For more information about art exhibits, events and classes at the Hudgens, please visit the website at www.thehudgens.org or call 770-623-6002.
November 30th brings the exciting culmination of a nearly two year long process to choose a winner for the $50,000 Hudgens Prize visual arts competition. The competition was announced by the Hudgens Center for the Arts last January, causing quite a stir in the state, as this is one of the biggest cash art awards in the nation, and open only to Georgia artists.
Artists around the state quietly got busy, choosing and creating works in a very wide range of media, from drawings and paintings, to sculpture, installations and photography. Three hundred and sixty-nine different artists entered over 2,000 individual works of art. The jury truly had their work cut out for them!
The jury is made up of three well-known figures from the national and international art world, including David Kiehl (Curator of Prints at The Whitney Museum of American Art); Sylvie Fortin (Editor in Chief of ART PAPERS Magazine); and Eungie Joo (Keith Haring Director and Curator of Education and Public Programs at The New Museum). The Hudgens Center was very fortunate to be able to put together a jury of such standing, and it was an added benefit to all entering artists that their work was seen by these three individuals.
The Hudgens Center itself has been a hive of related activity for well over 18 months, since it was first chosen by an anonymous foundation to be the facilitators of the competition. Employees and board members have been working hard behind the scenes, forming a Prize Committee, planning the competition, inviting jurors, publicizing the competition through a coordinated media blitz and live press announcement, accepting and carefully logging in each entry, uploading each electronic image for the jury to view as anonymous entries, meeting with the jury to facilitate their deliberations, and then announcing the five Finalists in another statewide media blitz.
The committee and staff are currently deep in preparations for the Finalists' Exhibition and for the announcement of the prize winner, to be made on November 30, and it won't end there: the prize winner will also be offered the opportunity for a solo exhibit at The Hudgens, to take place in December of 2011.
The five finalists, Ruth Dusseault of Atlanta; Hope Hilton of Winterville; Gyun Hur, Scott Ingram and Jiha Moon of Atlanta, are currently completing and choosing works to be displayed in the Finalists Exhibit, from which the prize winner will be decided. The jurors will again gather, this time to preview the Finalists' Exhibit and see the artworks in person, and the announcement will be made during theOpening Reception on November 30th, in a special Award Celebration. The Reception is an invitation-only event.
The Finalists Exhibit will be open to the public from December 1 until February 19, 2011, and will include a looping video slideshow of works by all of the artists who entered the competition. Be sure to come see the fascinating works by the Hudgens Prize finalists, and pick out your own favorite artist or artists.
In addition, as a special gesture of thanks to the community for its support, the Hudgens is temporarily waiving the normal admission fee to the Exhibit. Admission is free during the month of December.
About The Hudgens
The Hudgens Center for the Arts is a non-profit organization that has been focused on supporting the arts in Georgia since its establishment in 1981. The Hudgens presents fine art exhibits year round, and offers art classes for adults and children through its Fine Arts School. The Hudgens supports local community-based arts organizations through its programs, exhibits and partnerships. The Hudgens' mission is to bring art lovers, leaders and learners together through quality programs and exhibits.
The Hudgens Center for the Arts is located at 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway, Bldg. 300, in Duluth, in the Gwinnett Center complex. For more information about art exhibits, events and classes at the Hudgens, please visit the website at www.thehudgens.org or call 770-623-6002.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Our Troubling Time
Halloween is coming and as the witches in Shakespeare’s play say—“Double, Double Toil and trouble” and troubles are evident in politics nationally, at the state level and certainly at the county level. Mud slinging in the Georgia governor’s race seems especially vicious this year. Unfortunately, this isn’t confined just to Georgia. Whether you consider the electorate justified in its apparent anger, I often wonder if that justifies the antics of candidates
As I write this we are about a week out from the November 2, 2010 General Election Day. I hope you to found candidates you could support and voted for them. Elections most certainly have consequences.
Gwinnett County has been rocked by public unrest about many of the Board of Commissioners’ decisions. Most of the unrest seems to center around the “mystery” of decisions made with limited or no public input. Then there is the resignation and the indictment of board members. Take that with the election of two new members to the Board of Commissions, and I think the public has reason to be wary—and angry and double troubled.
Job ONE of the Board of Commissioners is to win back the confidence of Gwinnettians. They must make board decisions open and accept public input about those decisions. Now don’t take this wrong, but sometimes the public is off-base and wrong too. Then the Commissioners must make the case that their decisions are based in fact and not just opinion.
The person who wins the race for the unexpired term of the chairman must be ready for critical observation in season and out. That person should have thick skin and be prepared for oblivion at the end of the term.
To win tax-payer confidence and to provide transparent government, this leader must opt to set aside some of the past practices adopted by the Board of Commissioners. The chairman, when elected and seated, should suspend the practice of “consent agendas” and bring all decisions to the full board for discussion and open vote. The chairman should suspend, even the idea, of “district courtesy”. District courtesy is the practice of voting "AYE" and with the district commissioner on every item the district commissioner wants passed or "NAY" if the person wants it killed. This practice in effect disenfranchises three quarters of the public. It leads to decision-making by one person rather than the whole board.
The election cycle will soon be over, and we will have some idea of how our country, state and county will be affected and fences nationwide will begin to mend. Those who are serious about running for chairman will be on the campaign trail shortly for the Chairman post.
If there can be an upside to this troubling time, it is in the fact that the general public will be better served by its Board of Commissioners in the future.
As I write this we are about a week out from the November 2, 2010 General Election Day. I hope you to found candidates you could support and voted for them. Elections most certainly have consequences.
Gwinnett County has been rocked by public unrest about many of the Board of Commissioners’ decisions. Most of the unrest seems to center around the “mystery” of decisions made with limited or no public input. Then there is the resignation and the indictment of board members. Take that with the election of two new members to the Board of Commissions, and I think the public has reason to be wary—and angry and double troubled.
Job ONE of the Board of Commissioners is to win back the confidence of Gwinnettians. They must make board decisions open and accept public input about those decisions. Now don’t take this wrong, but sometimes the public is off-base and wrong too. Then the Commissioners must make the case that their decisions are based in fact and not just opinion.
The person who wins the race for the unexpired term of the chairman must be ready for critical observation in season and out. That person should have thick skin and be prepared for oblivion at the end of the term.
To win tax-payer confidence and to provide transparent government, this leader must opt to set aside some of the past practices adopted by the Board of Commissioners. The chairman, when elected and seated, should suspend the practice of “consent agendas” and bring all decisions to the full board for discussion and open vote. The chairman should suspend, even the idea, of “district courtesy”. District courtesy is the practice of voting "AYE" and with the district commissioner on every item the district commissioner wants passed or "NAY" if the person wants it killed. This practice in effect disenfranchises three quarters of the public. It leads to decision-making by one person rather than the whole board.
The election cycle will soon be over, and we will have some idea of how our country, state and county will be affected and fences nationwide will begin to mend. Those who are serious about running for chairman will be on the campaign trail shortly for the Chairman post.
If there can be an upside to this troubling time, it is in the fact that the general public will be better served by its Board of Commissioners in the future.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Hope you voted in the Run-Off Election
The primary elections are over and run-off elections are imminent. I hope you were one of the about 20% who voted in the primary, and I encourage you to find someone you can support in the run-off election. The go to the polls and VOTE! A twenty per cent turnout isn’t something to brag about.
I’ve heard more than just about any other election in my memory, and still we only get 20% of the registered voters to vote. Wow! By the time you read this we may have settled who will be our state leaders, our congressional representative, and our county commissioners. Let complaining be proportional to your vote. By the way, I noticed that Judge Fuller threw out the recall petition against Chairman Bannister. No election there.
Economic development in the Dacula area seems to be strengthening in some segments of the economy while getting progressively weaker in others. Foreclosures of residential properties continue, but some new housing stocks are being built. Commercial foreclosures loom, but entrepreneurs continue to begin and strengthen new business in our area. In this economic downturn, I wish them well.
By the time you read this, the suit by Gwinnett County against her Cities may well be complete. We go to judicial trial beginning August 2, 2010. As you may be aware, the intergovernmental agreements among Gwinnett County and Gwinnett Cities expired about 3 years ago. Rather than negotiating in good faith and creating the agreements required under Georgia’s Service Delivery Strategy Act, the Board of Commissioners sued each City and is attempting to rely on laws passed prior to the SDS Act to maintain funding sources for providing services within Gwinnett County.
If you have been following this judicial opera, you will remember that Judge Barrett ruled early on that without the required agreement, the SDS Act provided the default funding mechanisms for delivering services. Gwinnett County attempted to counter the ruling by appealing to the Georgia Supreme Court which refused to hear the appeal.
At the heart of the case is the manner and nature of funding local governmental services covered by the SDS Act. The SDS Act is a piece of tax reform legislation designed to help eliminate double taxation and to provide tax equity among unincorporated and incorporated taxpayers within the same county. Gwinnett County and all the Cities are spending your money to see if the law is really the law, and if the law is really the law who must abide by it.
Such is the joy of living in a constitutional republic. Remember all this when it’s time to vote again. Maybe you’ll be one of the 20 per cent who will.
I’ve heard more than just about any other election in my memory, and still we only get 20% of the registered voters to vote. Wow! By the time you read this we may have settled who will be our state leaders, our congressional representative, and our county commissioners. Let complaining be proportional to your vote. By the way, I noticed that Judge Fuller threw out the recall petition against Chairman Bannister. No election there.
Economic development in the Dacula area seems to be strengthening in some segments of the economy while getting progressively weaker in others. Foreclosures of residential properties continue, but some new housing stocks are being built. Commercial foreclosures loom, but entrepreneurs continue to begin and strengthen new business in our area. In this economic downturn, I wish them well.
By the time you read this, the suit by Gwinnett County against her Cities may well be complete. We go to judicial trial beginning August 2, 2010. As you may be aware, the intergovernmental agreements among Gwinnett County and Gwinnett Cities expired about 3 years ago. Rather than negotiating in good faith and creating the agreements required under Georgia’s Service Delivery Strategy Act, the Board of Commissioners sued each City and is attempting to rely on laws passed prior to the SDS Act to maintain funding sources for providing services within Gwinnett County.
If you have been following this judicial opera, you will remember that Judge Barrett ruled early on that without the required agreement, the SDS Act provided the default funding mechanisms for delivering services. Gwinnett County attempted to counter the ruling by appealing to the Georgia Supreme Court which refused to hear the appeal.
At the heart of the case is the manner and nature of funding local governmental services covered by the SDS Act. The SDS Act is a piece of tax reform legislation designed to help eliminate double taxation and to provide tax equity among unincorporated and incorporated taxpayers within the same county. Gwinnett County and all the Cities are spending your money to see if the law is really the law, and if the law is really the law who must abide by it.
Such is the joy of living in a constitutional republic. Remember all this when it’s time to vote again. Maybe you’ll be one of the 20 per cent who will.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Please Take Time to Vote
The Georgia Primary is July 20th. Early voting at satellite polling places is underway. Please take the time to find candidates that mirror your desires and then take the time to vote in the primary.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
The Supreme Law of the Land
The supreme law of the land is the Constitution of the United States, along with federal laws made under constitutional authority, and treaties of the United States.
Why then do we have five Supreme Court justices who cannot read the supreme law of the land, "...the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed." and decide that gun control laws are unconstitutional, void and unenforceable? Obviously, because these Supreme Court justices, who should be the brightest and best, have their own agenda, and it ain't the agenda of the people.
Just another reason not to appoint lawyers to the Supreme Court. What we need is not liberal, northeastern university ivy-league lawyers or ex-judges, but we need people at the supreme who have common sense and understand it is their job to determine the CONSTITUTIONALITY of laws and not to make law.
I'm all for a constitutional amendment that limits the terms of Chief Justice and Supreme Court justices to not longer than 10 years or when they reach the age of 79.
Why then do we have five Supreme Court justices who cannot read the supreme law of the land, "...the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed." and decide that gun control laws are unconstitutional, void and unenforceable? Obviously, because these Supreme Court justices, who should be the brightest and best, have their own agenda, and it ain't the agenda of the people.
Just another reason not to appoint lawyers to the Supreme Court. What we need is not liberal, northeastern university ivy-league lawyers or ex-judges, but we need people at the supreme who have common sense and understand it is their job to determine the CONSTITUTIONALITY of laws and not to make law.
I'm all for a constitutional amendment that limits the terms of Chief Justice and Supreme Court justices to not longer than 10 years or when they reach the age of 79.
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