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🌆 Mulberry mayor visits Norcross
Friday, Nov. 13 — Hey, it’s Hayden with my weekly Norcross newsletter. Without midterm elections or local council meetings this week, I’ve had more time on my hands. Besides trying to predict the next major election in 2028, I wrote some stories.
This week, the mayor of Gwinnett County’s newest city, Mulberry, updated the Norcross community on its fight with Gwinnett County at the weekly People Drinking Coffee forum.
During the city’s Veterans Day Ceremony, the community heard the inspiring story of an Army veteran and current Norcross police officer who immigrated to the United States from Romania as a teenager. I left the ceremony and drove down North Norcross Tucker Road, lined with American flags. Good feeling.
⬇️ Quick roundup of things to know:
🎸 The city’s free First Friday Concert, featuring Vox Britannia, is tonight from 7-9 p.m. at the Norcross Cultural Arts & Community Center. RSVP is required.
☕ The monthly Coffee with Council at 45 South Cafe is tomorrow morning, Nov. 14, at 8 a.m. Residents can chat with elected officials before the Nov. 16 policy work session.
🛤️ The Heart of Norcross Business Association is hosting the Holiday Open House on Saturday, Nov. 14, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Many downtown stores, restaurants, and businesses are participating.
🏫 According to WSB-TV reporting, the Gwinnett County School District told teachers they won’t receive their slated $2,000 bonus this year, citing the state budget.
Have a great weekend,
🖖 Hayden
🎄 Your family’s holiday fun starts here! Make memories at Light Up Dunwoody with Santa photos, dance and musical performances, crafts, and the spectacular tree and menorah lighting. Don’t miss this beloved tradition on Nov. 15 at Donaldson-Bannister Farm. SPONSOR MESSAGE
Police officer shares journey from Romania on Veterans Day
🇺🇸 Norcross Police Officer Andrei Tataru, who served in the United States Army before joining the department and its crime suppression unit, spoke about the military’s impact on his life at the city’s Nov. 11 Veterans Day Ceremony.
Norcross held its annual ceremony at Veterans Park on the corner of South Peachtree Street and N. Norcross Tucker Road, honoring former U.S. military members and their families.
“I would say that the military encompasses everything for me and my family,” he said. “In addition to that, it encompasses what the United States means to everybody else … it offers people from other countries opportunities that they wouldn’t have had.”
🪖 Read more about Tataru and Norcross military history here.
Based on the 1997 animated film! ANASTASIA
SPONSORED BY CITY SPRINGS THEATRE COMPANY
📼 Dust off your childhood VHS and rediscover the beloved fairytale adventure Anastasia, as City Springs Theatre Company brings this new musical adaptation of the beloved 1997 animated movie to the Byers Theatre!
Journey from St. Petersburg to Paris as a seemingly ordinary girl discovers the truth of her mysterious past. Directed by Broadway legend Baayork Lee, Anastasia runs Dec. 11-27 at the Byers Theatre at the Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center.
Mulberry mayor discusses Gwinnett legal fight
⚖️ Mulberry Mayor Michael Coker, representing Gwinnett County’s newest city and largest by land mass, said the local government’s initial focus was planning and zoning, code enforcement, and stormwater management.
“The idea behind Mulberry was that we wanted more local control over what got built in the city,” Coker said. “We felt, right or wrong, and people disagree on this, that maybe some of the decisions that were being made at the county level from a zoning standpoint did not fit the character of what we wanted involved.”
Mulberry is battling Gwinnett County’s lawsuits over the existence of the nearly two-year-old city and the constitutionality of its charter, according to Coker.
⚔️ Read more about the city’s service disputes with Gwinnett here.
🎄 Your family’s holiday fun starts here! Make memories at Light Up Dunwoody with Santa photos, dance and musical performances, crafts, and the spectacular tree and menorah lighting. Don’t miss this beloved tradition on Nov. 15 at Donaldson-Bannister Farm. SPONSOR MESSAGE
Cleanup & Recycling Day on Saturday
♻️ After canceling its October event because of inclement weather, Norcross is hosting Neighborhood Cleanup & Recycling Day at the city’s public works department on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 345 Lively Ave. from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
The city hosts biannual recycling drives, accepting single-stream recyclables, glass bottles and jugs, electronics, and scrap metal.
Attendees must live within Norcross city limits to participate. Each household is allowed one visit per event. Multiple trips are not allowed, according to the city’s announcement.
🚛 Read more about what can and cannot be recycled here.
PICTURE THIS: Special spot for veterans in Norcross
🇺🇸 Each year on Nov. 11, city officials gather with a few of the community’s veterans and their families at a pocket park on the corner of North Norcross Tucker Road and South Peachtree Street.
The small wooded park opened in 2019, offering veterans and community members a quiet place to remember military service members who were close to them.
The park honors five branches of the United States Armed Forces — Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Navy — with podiums surrounding a central greenspace.
🎖️ Read more about the WWI-era Norcross rifle range here.
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