Hey hey Gwinnett County! Your one-stop source for local news is here. Continue reading for all the updates. ☀️
In today's newsletter:
Also on today's calendar: Mexican Independence Day and 7 more events.
Today's riddle: Why did the chicken go to the gym? 🤔 (Answer below!)
1. Jackson wants to use Meta money, Bottoms wants to cut sales tax (wsbtv.com) — Gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms brought her campaign to Gwinnett County, pitching a plan to help local governments temporarily drop sales tax on groceries and some essentials using state funds. Speaking in a Lawrenceville grocery store, she contrasted her proposal with rival Rick Jackson's plan to use Meta settlement money for an anti–human trafficking strike force, giving Gwinnett voters a clear look at competing spending priorities.
2. Viral TikTok trend leads to 5 arrests in Gwinnett County (fox5atlanta.com) — Gwinnett County police say five adults were arrested and seven teens contacted after social media videos encouraged people to explore what was wrongly described as an abandoned home on Westbrook Road in Suwanee. Officers used surveillance footage to identify suspects, filed criminal trespass and related charges, and are warning residents that TikTok posts do not make private property open to the public.
3. Transitions Don't End at the Schoolhouse Door (newamerica.org) — Families in Gwinnett County Public Schools may notice how the district now treats kindergarten as part of a longer birth‑to‑third‑grade transition, with programs like Play 2 Learn, a mobile classroom bus, and a new preschool academy in Snellville. Officials emphasize early enrollment, summer bridge programs, and "Joyful Learning" morning play to ease children into school routines and better align early childhood experiences with kindergarten expectations.
4. Lawmakers consider how to protect voting accessibility • Georgia Recorder (georgiarecorder.com) — State leaders are redesigning Georgia's voting system, and Gwinnett County is central to the discussion because it's currently the only county required to provide bilingual ballots. Local election officials describe translation challenges and stress the need for accessible machines and multilingual support, changes that could directly affect how Gwinnett residents with disabilities or limited English vote in 2028 and beyond.
5. Meet Everton Blair, the 34-year-old gay lawmaker who was just sworn into Congress (queerty.com) — A new Georgia congressman, Everton Blair, has deep roots in Gwinnett County, where he was born and later became the first Black member of the county's school board. The profile traces his path from Shiloh High to Harvard and Stanford, his education work, and his historic role as an openly gay Black lawmaker now briefly representing Georgia's 13th District.
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Ok Gwinnett County! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!
-- The Patch AM Team
P.S. The answer to today's riddle: He was working on his pecks (pecs). (Thank you W F C. for sending it in!)
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