Regional Roundup: Simon Property Gives Up on Gwinnett Mall, Barrow Residents Going Bald for Cancer Research, and Gwinnett Police Show Off New Robots

– Duluth Patch

Simon Property Group, which also owns the Mall of Georgia and Discover Mills, has “disposed of its interest in” Gwinnett Place Mall. In response to this “disposal of interest” the Gwinnett Place Community Improvement District CID issued the following statement:

“Those of us in this part of metro Atlanta and Gwinnett County have witnessed during the past several years how Simon Property Group’s corporate decisions have ultimately led to the current state of the mall. All the while the CID has proactively planned for this and other possible scenarios, working closely with our partners at the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce and Gwinnett County to remain poised for future developments. The Gwinnett Place CID is encouraged about the potential for continued success at the mall. This announcement is a unique, positive opportunity for redevelopment and revitalization focused on this strategically important asset in our community.”

Gwinnett Place Mall is currently only 83 percent occupied. The mall opened in 1984 and has weathered the opening of two nearby malls and a population change to more than 20 percent of area residents being foreign born.

 

-- Barrow Patch

Some Barrow County firefighters, law enforcement officers, 911 dispatchers and residents will be sporting new hairstyles after Saturday.

Volunteers are going beautifully bald during the second annual local St. Baldrick's event to raise money to fund childhood cancer research.

Lieutenant Rob Nowakowski and his wife, Karen, are organizing the event, which will be held at in Auburn.

“Last year was a lot of fun for our first event,” Nowakowski said in a news release announcing Saturday's event. “This year’s event is shaping up to be even more fun and a lot bigger.”

Organizers have set a goal to raise $20,000 this year for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. 

The event will be held from 2 to 11 p.m. and volunteers will have their heads shaved as an act of solidarity with children who are being treated for cancer. Each year, the event is dedicated to a local child who has been diagnosed with cancer. This year's event is dedicated to 6-year-old Brooks House, who has been undergoing treatments for the past year for Ewing Sarcoma, a cancerous tumor that grows in bones or soft tissue near bones.

 

-- Lawrenceville Patch

recently purchased two new tools to help fight crime without having to put their officers in harm's way.

They demonstrated the Hazardous Devices Unit's two newly acquired bomb robots. GCPD now has a total of four robots, allowing the HDU to respond to two different situations at the same time.

The new robots are smaller and easier to maneuver than the older ones. They come equipped with cameras, microphones, manipulator arms and chemical and radiological detection equipment.

The money to purchase the robots, which totaled $206,000 for both units, came from a grant through State Homeland Security.