Georgia Made... Georgia Grown...

Although born in Georgia, I was a military brat, leaving the state before I could walk. Moved back, married military and, at least for a bit, continued to move around again before settling back in my birth state. While I can't claim to have hit every corner of the globe, I've lived in enough places to say with some credibility that Georgia is the best of the best.

Georgia has a little bit of everything a person could want and a lot to be discovered. A little bit? Well, travel to New York and try to choose which show to see on Broadway. Georgia has a lot of top notch theater, but a little bit  in comparison to the overwhelming offerings in New York, "the City".

Go spend a month in Washington, D.C. doing nothing but visiting the Smithsonian and other museums - you'll need more time! Georgia has a wealth of history and fabulous museums, enough to keep you busy for months and months, if you're willing to get in the car. Not quite comparable to the volume in D.C., but they are well worth multiple visits.

I could go on! No matter where you're from or what you're looking for that's good, you can find it in Georgia.

Don't misunderstand though --- while we may have a little bit of everything, we also have a lot of some things that are uniquely "Georgia". Fantastic restaurants, home grown foods, talent in every artistic corner, festivals, warm people, thriving businesses, fun beaches, oh, the list is long.

Georgia is like one of those gift baskets people give sometimes when they're not quite sure what you might want. It's chocked full of everything imaginable. You just keep finding new things down in the basket, all different, all wonderful and all to be appreciated.

Because there are so many things in the Georgia 'gift basket', it can be daunting trying to find many of the great things created by Georgians. We want to support those who live in our state, shout about their great talents and accomplishments, figure out where to go, and eat or buy Georgia grown foods.

Now there is an excellent resource being developed by Camille and Bill Ronay, creators of event2000.com and of Ronay Guide fame, to find and share the best of the best in Georgia: Georgia Made Georgia Grown (GMGG).

I can't top their description: "Georgia Made Georgia Grown LLC markets and promotes artists, craft makers, entertainers, musicians, authors, food products creators, agri-tourism venue owners and other creative entrepreneurs in all 159 counties!... Whether you are looking for unique products and services as a gift, looking for the best in arts, crafts, food and entertainment for yourself, or looking for corporate resources from local sources in Georgia, GMGG has what you need."

I have been seeing tweets and tidbits on Facebook for a while, but only recently really took a good look at the site. Impressive to say the least. GMGG is going to become "the" place to be for Georgia's creative and entrepreneurial talent as well as an excellent resource for anyone visiting or living in Georgia.

If you are a Georgia farmer, artists, crafter, entertainer, serve Georgia grown in your restaurant, shop owner, or create anything in Georgia, go check out the site. If you'd like to find sell items made or grown in Georgia, go check out the site.

Get on board early. Based on past performance and the agressive marketing the Ronay's have already undertaken, this is going to be another successful venture by the pair. They are active in promoting Georgia and GMGG is developing into an outstanding resource. If you're on Facebook, be sure to find them and hit the "like" button on each of their GMGG channels (links are on the website). You'll receive a lot of quality information and learn so much about your fellow creative Georgians.

If you love the state and want to support the people and businesses that make it a fantastic place to live, go visit Georgia Made Georgia Grown.

- Janet McGregor Dunn
Editor, Georgia Front Page

Georgia Site Helps Flood Victims

Victims of this week’s flooding can turn to www.georgiadisaster.info for assistance in dealing with the emotional, mental and physical toll of the catastrophe.

One of the most comprehensive of its kind in the nation, the site links to a wide range of organizations including the American Red Cross, Centers for Disease Control and Georgia911.org and is available in Spanish.

Georgiadisaster.info is designed and maintained by University of West Georgia faculty, staff and graduate students and is sponsored by the Georgia Department of Human Resources using federal funds from the Community Health Preparedness Program.

In addition to meeting the needs of the general public, www.georgiadisaster.info offers resources and information for veterans and military families, schools, persons with disabilities and the elderly.

The website has nearly 3,000 links to weather radar, coping and recovery strategies, a disaster plan and many other resources.

For more information, go to www.georgiadisaster.info.

-----
Community News You Can Use
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page

Georgia Department of Education Approves Scientific Learning Fast ForWord and Reading Assistant Products for Adoption

/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Scientific Learning Corp. (http://www.scilearn.com/) (NASDAQ:SCIL) today announced that the Georgia Department of Education has selected the Fast ForWord(R) (http://tinyurl.com/6j3qcp) and Reading Assistant(TM) (http://tinyurl.com/55qjzz) family of products as an approved 2008 K-8 Language Arts/Reading program for Georgia schools and districts. The products included in the adoption are: Fast ForWord Language v2, Fast ForWord Language to Reading v2, Fast ForWord Reading 1-5, Fast ForWord Literacy Series, and Reading Assistant with Curriculum Levels 1-5.

The Fast ForWord and Reading Assistant family of products are scientifically-proven intervention programs that apply neuroscience principles to build the fundamental cognitive skills (http://tinyurl.com/6aarpd) required to read and learn. The strengthening of these skills results in a wide range of improved critical language and reading abilities, such as phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, decoding, working memory, syntax and grammar. More than 500,000 learners in Georgia schools have used Fast ForWord products.

"The purpose of this program is to identify appropriate, standards-based instructional materials to be recommended to local school systems," said Robert C. Bowen (http://tinyurl.com/6k935g), chairman and CEO of Scientific Learning. "We're delighted to have the opportunity to provide Georgia districts and schools with research-proven products that increase brain processing efficiency, and build critical reading and language skills. By helping students strengthen the underlying cognitive skills needed for effective reading and learning, schools can make the most of their instructional programs, accelerate the learning process, and create enduring gains."

The Fast ForWord and Reading Assistant products were approved as State Recommended Learning Resources for English Language Arts/Reading for kindergarten through eighth grade. As part of the adoption process, the learning resources were evaluated in all 13 congressional districts across the state. All State Recommended Learning Resources must be correlated to the Georgia Performance Standards. The adoption will be in effect through June 30, 2015.

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
Community News You Can Use
Fayetteville, Peachtree City, Tyrone
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page

More Variable and Uncertain Water Supply: Global Warming’s Wake-Up Call for the Southeastern U.S.

The second major drought of the last decade is a wake-up call for the Southeast United States, showing the region’s vulnerability due to its reliance on scarce supplies of fresh water.

The region has been operating under the best-case water availability for the last 50 years, during which drought conditions were relatively rare. But, the region has historically experienced regular droughts. Global warming is the future wildcard, potentially causing both more extremely dry periods and more heavy rainfall events. At the same time, warming-induced sea-level rise will increase the risk of saltwater intrusion into important groundwater aquifers.

A new report from National Wildlife Federation offers the latest scientific research on global warming and water supplies, competition for resources, demographic factors, and how to better prepare for managing the region’s water availability challenges.

“Since 1960, the region’s population doubled and water use for municipalities, irrigation, and thermoelectric power more than tripled. The Southeast is one of the fastest growing parts of the country,” said Amanda Staudt, Climate Scientist for National Wildlife Federation.

In fact, 58 of the 100 fastest growing counties in the nation are in the nine states of the Southeast. The report includes information about Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.

More Variable and Uncertain Water Supply: Global Warming’s Wake-Up Call for the Southeastern U.S. details how:

Water supplies in the Southeastern United States will be more variable and uncertain in the coming decades;
Rapidly expanding population, irrigation, and thermoelectric power use has increased water demand;
Recent droughts underscore the Southeast’s vulnerability;
The astonishing biodiversity of the Southeast is at risk; and
The Southeast should plan for increasing variability in water supplies.
Strategies for meeting the increasing demand for water in the Southeast have not typically accounted for the regular occurrence of drought, as illustrated by recent droughts. During 2007 alone, crop losses are estimated at more than $1.3 billion and wildfires ravaged 600,000 acres in Georgia and Florida.

Climate changes will affect water supplies to communities and put the amazing biodiversity of the Southeast at risk. The river basins of the Southeast are globally renowned for fish, mussels, salamanders and other freshwater species, many of which are already imperiled. Climate change—and the increasingly extreme weather patterns it brings—now poses new threats to these species.

“Global warming presents new challenges for managing America’s water resources, especially in our southeastern states,” added Dr. Staudt. “To prevent the worst impacts of climate change and limit the impacts on communities and wildlife, we must reduce global warming pollution.”

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page