Month: May 2011

Savannah area gas prices down about 20 cents per gallon in recent weeks

In one of my columns a couple of weeks ago about some cautionary economic data, I mentioned a bright side: the probability of falling gas prices. According to GasBuddy, gas prices per gallon have fallen about 20 cents since their…

A few thoughts on Armstrong’s evolution

I taught part-time at Armstrong Atlantic State University for five years beginning in 2000, and then I slipped into a fulltime temporary instructor slot beginning in 2006. A few days ago, I was offered and accepted that same position without…

Here we go again: Two more Georgia banks shut down

First Georgia Banking Company of Franklin and Atlantic Southern Bank of were shut down by regulators this evening. From the FDIC press release: CertusBank, National Association, Easley, South Carolina, acquired the banking operations, including all the deposits, of Atlantic Southern…

Where Georgia ranks in terms of foreclosures and unemployment

I hear a lot of spin about Georgia’s relative economic health compared to other states, so I’ll just post these two charts with minimal commentary. These both appeared in the last day on Calculated Risk, an indispensable source for those…

Westboro Baptist Church picketers make first Savannah appearance on Sunday

We’re just a couple of days away from the first pickets by the Westboro Baptist Church here in Savannah. Over two weeks ago, I wrote about the news of the WBC’s appearance here, about some of the choices regarding community…

The many faces of Savannah entrepreneurship

I was honored again to win Connect Savannah‘s Best Local Columnist in their annual readers’ poll. I have sort of a built-in advantage, even though I freelance for the Savannah Morning News and not Connect itself: I write 156 columns…

Timelapse photography reveals Savannah’s diverse beauty

I don’t know SCAD film major Nicholas Reichard, but I sure like how he sees Savannah. In this stunning timelapse photography, Reichard uses a couple of different cameras and a variety of lenses (you can see the technical specs here)…

Extreme cuts to public education: the wrong path for Georgia’s future

Last week, Savannah-Chatham County schools announced that a net of about 90 teaching positions would probably be cut for next year. Younger teachers — those who often have the most enthusiasm, are quite literally the building blocks for the future…

A short review of Givers — just how good is the Louisiana band?

Just how good is Givers? Maybe the question is this: how great is Givers? I first heard of Givers just a few weeks ago when the Savannah Stopover announced they had been booked for a concert after TEDxCreativeCoast at the…

Carlos Santana: “The people of Arizona, the people of Atlanta, Georgia, you should be ashamed of yourselves.”

I don’t know how much will be made of Carlos Santana’s political remarks at Turner Field as he received the Beacon of Change award at today’s Civil Rights Game in Atlanta, but there’s already an article in the AJC and…

New ideas, new art, new music at TEDx CreativeCoast

I didn’t attend last Friday’s TEDxCreativeCoast at the Telfair Museums’ Jepson Center, but I watched some of it on live streaming — including Abraham Lightning Lebos on the piano and a great talk about hand-painted signs and neighborhood authenticity by…

Urban planner Christian Sottile talks about cities at TEDxCreativeCoast in Savannah (video embedded)

I’ve studied and written a lot over the years about what makes cities work. Many of my ideas have independently coincided with, been refined by, or directly flowed from the minds of Christian and Amy Sottile, who have done truly…

Governor Deal signs Georgia’s new immigration law — a curious mix of draconian and toothless

Well Governor Deal finally signed HB 87 into law today. There’s a good write up and summary of the bill here. I’m opposed to the new law for a mix of Constitutional, economic, and basic human rights reasons. I talked…

TEDxCreativeCoast streaming live

I should have thought of posting this earlier today, but for the afternoon you can watch/listen to the stream of TEDxCreativeCoast: Watch live streaming video from tedxcreativecoast at livestream.com Here’s the remaining schedule (and they are on schedule): 12:24 –…