http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/badie/?cxntfid=blogs_rick_badie_my_opinion Rick Badie writes about people, places and issues in Gwinnett County. He can be reached at rbadie@ajc.com. en-us rbadie@ajc.com 2008-08-29T08:03:45-05:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 Rick Badie writes about people, places and issues in Gwinnett County. He can be reached at rbadie@ajc.com. http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/badie/entries/2008/08/29/nunn_georgia_is.html?cxntfid=blogs_rick_badie_my_opinion The Democratic National Convention has ended. As we look to the Nov. 4 election, it’s time to ponder a comment made earlier this week by Georgia Sen. Sam Nunn. He said that the choice of Joe Biden as a vice... 6409303@http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/badie/ Rick Badie 2008-08-29T08:03:45-05:00 http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/badie/entries/2008/08/28/kindness_and_ju.html?cxntfid=blogs_rick_badie_my_opinion When her family lived in the Middle East, she saw kids working in the fields and scouring garbage bins for items to sell. “It’s pretty sad over there,” said Fatimah Fye, 15, of Lilburn. “The kids work like adults. They... 6386903@http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/badie/ Rick Badie 2008-08-28T13:24:53-05:00 http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/badie/entries/2008/08/26/museum_needs_ne.html?cxntfid=blogs_rick_badie_my_opinion It was the home of Duluth’s first female mayor. The Victorian-style manor also served as a children’s clinic when the town didn’t have a hospital. Doctors would perform tonsillectomies and other operations. Alice Harrell Strickland - the mayor of Duluth... 6314803@http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/badie/ Rick Badie 2008-08-26T13:00:17-05:00 http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/badie/entries/2008/08/25/little_bang_for.html?cxntfid=blogs_rick_badie_my_opinion Preliminary studies show many consumers did one of three things with the economic stimulus checks they received a few months back. They either put the money into savings, used it to cover rising food and energy costs or paid off... 6282403@http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/badie/ Rick Badie 2008-08-25T12:54:27-05:00 http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/badie/entries/2008/08/22/reclaim_student.html?cxntfid=blogs_rick_badie_my_opinion James Taylor is “old-school.” He was among the black students who integrated the University of South Carolina, and he’s been in education for decades and currently oversees discipline for Gwinnett County schools. He has a favorite saying: “We don’t suspend... 6236103@http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/badie/ Rick Badie 2008-08-22T17:31:16-05:00 http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/badie/entries/2008/08/21/join_the_spelli.html?cxntfid=blogs_rick_badie_my_opinion Two years ago, Rosemarie Lebert-Clarke invested her own money to launch an academic tutoring service. Reading to Learn Inc., sits next to a Domino’s Pizza and a Mega Tools store in a strip mall off Indian Trail Road in Lilburn.... 6193103@http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/badie/ Rick Badie 2008-08-21T11:26:16-05:00 http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/badie/entries/2008/08/20/fire_the_superi.html?cxntfid=blogs_rick_badie_my_opinion Hi Cindy. I read your post about Gwinnett County Superintendent Alvin Wilbanks and you’re right: It is a great topic. For those of you who don’t know, there’s a story on the Gwinnett page about some parents calling for the... 6171503@http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/badie/ Rick Badie 2008-08-20T14:34:49-05:00 http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/badie/entries/2008/08/20/suspicious_susp.html?cxntfid=blogs_rick_badie_my_opinion Gwinnett County Administrator Jock Connell has suspended Gwinnett County police Chief Charles Walters without pay. It’s great to see him take disciplinary action against such a high-ranking official, but inquiring minds want to know what, exactly, Walters did that was... 6167503@http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/badie/ Rick Badie 2008-08-20T12:41:58-05:00 http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/badie/entries/2008/08/19/local_parks_sys.html?cxntfid=blogs_rick_badie_my_opinion It’s one of the nation’s best. Don’t take my word for it, though. The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) a Virginia-based organization that advocates the significance of parks and recreational space says so. NRPA gives an annual award to... 6132803@http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/badie/ Rick Badie 2008-08-19T12:41:44-05:00 http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/badie/entries/2008/08/18/hindu_temple_be.html?cxntfid=blogs_rick_badie_my_opinion It’s become a tourist attraction as well as a place for individuals to worship. I’m talking about the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, a Hindu temple, Lilburn’s newest landmark. Thousands of people volunteered time and money to build the structure, said... 6087603@http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/badie/ Rick Badie 2008-08-18T10:46:20-05:00 http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/badie/entries/2008/08/17/finding_love_on.html?cxntfid=blogs_rick_badie_my_opinion His wife and best friend of 16 years wanted a divorce. It left Jerry Robb devastated. He found himself “out there” again, dating. One day his office manager at the time suggested he look for romance on the Internet. Robb... 6070403@http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/badie/ Rick Badie 2008-08-17T10:26:33-05:00 http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/badie/entries/2008/08/15/gwinnett_growth.html?cxntfid=blogs_rick_badie_my_opinion You may have seen the story in the metro section of today’s paper about growth in these here parts. What surprised me were the numbers for Gwinnett. We apparently are experiencing a slower population growth when compared to recent years.... 6041103@http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/badie/ Rick Badie 2008-08-15T11:28:14-05:00 http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/badie/entries/2008/08/14/_the_female_cal.html?cxntfid=blogs_rick_badie_my_opinion The female caller saw a man attack a woman. So she dialed 911 on her cell phone. “Gwinnett County, 911,” answered Susan Gifford, a supervisor who took the call. “Do you have an emergency?” “Yes mam,” the caller said. “I... 6020303@http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/badie/ Rick Badie 2008-08-14T14:31:47-05:00 http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/badie/entries/2008/08/13/hours_after_the.html?cxntfid=blogs_rick_badie_my_opinion She stepped outside to get the morning newspaper. Hours earlier, incumbent Gwinnett County Commissioner Lorraine Green had lost a hotly-contested race for the chairman’s post. Incumbent Gwinnett County Commission Chairman Charles Bannister (51 percent) had narrowly defeated Green (49 percent)... 5993903@http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/badie/ Rick Badie 2008-08-13T16:26:00-05:00 http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/badie/entries/2008/08/12/veteran_for_hir.html?cxntfid=blogs_rick_badie_my_opinion In June 2001, he graduated from high school. The next month, he shipped off to boot camp. Cyril L.Vickers, a graduate of West Philadelphia High, could have gone to college, maybe even played a sport. “Coming out of high school,... 5953503@http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/badie/ Rick Badie 2008-08-12T12:54:33-05:00