There are any number of reasons to attend Re:Fest on Saturday, October 1st: It’s a fundraiser for the Humane Society. It’s a fundraiser for Emergent Structures, an extremely active group of community members (some but not all SCAD-affiliated) that have…
Month: September 2011
We’re #1! Atlanta leads all U.S. metro areas in job losses over the last year
I’ve been writing a lot lately about employment and about the poor almost nonexistent response to joblessness since the recession began in 2007. Take a look at the AJC’s piece, Atlanta top metro area — for job losses. From the…
Milagres / Peter Wolf Crier – Live Wire Music Hall – 10/05/11
Linda Sickler on this gig in the Savannah Morning News: Popular Savannah Stopover band Milagres returns and brings Peter Wolf Crier I only caught a couple of songs of Milagres when they played the Savannah Stopover, so I’m really looking…
Residential investment, GDP, and economic recoveries
For those of you who come to this blog looking for something other than economic news, hang in there! There has been a lot of interesting and very important news generated by the economy in recent days — and there…
Nouriel Roubini: U.S. and Europe “sinking in a recession”
If you don’t know who Nouriel Roubini is, he’s the economist who always seems to view issues through a dark lens. And he also always seems to be right. I’m exaggerating, of course, but not by much. His concerns and…
Case-Shiller shows prices slightly higher in July, but flat with seasonal adjustment
The title of the press release says almost everything you really need to know about the Case-Shiller home price data released today for July (actually a three-month composite of May, June, and July): Home Prices Continue to Show Seasonal Strength…
Job losses — a regional context for local and statewide problems
Just a quick post to pull a few issues together. In my City Talk column today — Where did all the jobs go? — I write in some detail about the sectors of the local economy that have accounted for…
The increasingly suburban face of poverty
Poverty rates are still higher in major cities (20.9%) than in suburbs (11.4%), according to a Brookings analysis of American Community Survey Census data, but the trends are both interesting and disturbing. America’s suburbs became home to 3.4 million people…
Five of The Dead Sea Scrolls now online
I love this news. The Israel Museum now has a new site with incredibly high-res images of five of the Dead Sea Scrolls: The Digital Dead Sea Scrolls. Here’s a video overview — just a couple minutes along — on…
Will Sunday sales pass in Savannah and other local municipalities?
I’ve already written a post about one choice that Chatham County voters will have at the polls this November: the removal of term limits on the chairperson of the Chatham County Commission. Today’s topic is Sunday package sales. Here’s what…
AJC: Voters in Atlanta suburbs “warm to mass transit”
I’ve been following a number of related transportation issues: the congestion of suburbs (especially Atlanta), the toll on our economy if energy prices and spending continue to rise, and the general feelings about transit. The AJC has a fascinating piece…
A few more thoughts on third places
In my City Talk column today — When third place isn’t so bad — I talk again about Ray Oldenburg’s theory of third places: In his book The Great Good Place, Oldenburg demonstrates why these gathering places are essential to…
Can Savannah city leadership walk and chew gum at the same time?
I don’t really mean the title of this post to sound so snarky. I’m just asking the logical question in response to alderman Van Johnson’s words at the end of an excellent article today in the SMN As repairs mount,…
Savannah area gas prices near $3.36 per gallon average, likely to fall further
I’ve started doing periodic updates regarding gas prices. Spikes in gas prices have clear negative impacts on economic conditions. Declining prices don’t necessarily spur economic growth, but they certainly are welcome news for cash-strapped consumers. According to GasBuddy.com, the average…