Just a quick post about Congress’ extension on Friday of the 2% payroll tax cut and some long-term unemployment benefits for two more months. We have a fragile economy still, and there are considerable dangers of a severe shock from…
Savannah Music Festival streams 12 great holiday songs, featuring Wynton Marsalis, Marcus Roberts, and Bela Fleck
I’m not sure which of these great tunes I like best (probably Chris Thile’s “Bring a Torch”), but they’re all worth listening to. The playlist here can be found at the Savannah Music Festival website in the right sidebar. Or…
New study shows Atlanta and Savannah metro areas tumbling on list of “Best-Performing Cities”
The Milken Institute publishes an annual list of Best-Performing Cities. Here’s the summary of the results in this year’s list: Leaders in this year’s index, which ranks U.S. metros based on their ability to create and sustain jobs, are cities…
Breaking news: Charleston gets $4.2 million from federal government for harbor deepening study
The Charleston Post and Courier is reporting: The federal spending plan approved by the U.S. House today includes some money for the Port of Charleston, under a provision proposed earlier in the Senate by S.C. Republican Lindsey Graham. The $4.2…
Dare Dukes / Shovels and Rope / The Winter Sounds – The Jinx – 01/20/12
Dare’s Facebook invite lists the following times for this excellent night of music: The Winter Sounds: 9:30 Shovels and Rope: 10:30 Dare Dukes + the Blackstock Collection: 11:30 I’m guessing that things will run a little later than that. On…
This just in: Savannah City Council approves Sunday package sales of alcohol
From the emailed press release from city of Savannah spokesperson Bret Bell: For Immediate Release Date: December 15, 2011 City Council approves Sunday sale of alcohol Savannah City Council today approved changes to the Savannah Alcohol Ordinance to allow for…
Georgia’s unemployment rate falls to 9.9%, but year-over-year job losses continue
The Georgia Department of Labor releases monthly unemployment data in phases, so we don’t yet know if the unemployment rate in the state fell because more people reported having jobs or because more Georgians simply gave up looking for work.…
Full body scanners coming to security at Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport
Yes, really. A couple of local Savannah TV stations (WSAV and WJCL) have reported on this so far, but don’t have much on what is bound to be a significant local controversy. Read Monday’s press release from the Transportation Security…
FiveThirtyEight: Gingrich still leads “wide open” race for Iowa
Georgia’s Newt Gingrich picked up dozens of prominent new supporters in the state yesterday, but Georgia hardly matters at this point. (Really, with Governor Deal leading the Gingrich effort in the state, what prominent Republicans are going to say no?)…
The Winter Sounds – The Wormhole – 12/15/11
A couple of reviews from The Winter Sounds website: “Their new record, Church Of The Haunted South, has wide ranging influences and if you are an indie rock fan, you’ll like that they’ve managed to successfully amalgamate all the bands…
New Orleans Jazz Fest 2012 lineup announced
A couple of friends of mine were in New Orleans today. My sister, a geology professor of Tulane, drove them to the Lower Ninth Ward and other areas to show them how and where the levees failed. So NOLA was…
More information on Georgians’ support for next year’s vote on a new transportation sales tax
The first part of my City Talk column today is about the support in Georgia generally, and in south and east Georgia specifically, for the Transportation Investment Act (the so-called TSPLOST that will add 1% to regional sales taxes if…