Total miles driven falls again, near the level of 2005

As the economy recovers, will we see the number of total miles driven in America return to its historical norms? Or are we seeing some sort of permanent shift in driving because of the extreme nature of the recent recession,…

NYT takes a look at the rise in suburban poverty

About a month ago, I wrote about the increasingly suburban face of poverty. In that post, I noted that poverty is still higher in urban areas than suburban areas, but I quoted the following from the Brookings Institution: From 2000…

Latest Case-Shiller home price numbers mixed, but Atlanta shows sharpest decline of major metro areas

I haven’t looked at any of the news reports about today’s release of the August (actually a 3-month average of June, July and August) S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, but I’ll bet there’s some confusion. Case-Shiller focuses on data that is…

Employment-based Philly Fed index shows Georgia, other states in economic decline

Is another recession already underway? Imminent? Or will we stave off a technical recession even as we are mired in a period of slow growth with many economic measures stuck far below their highs from four years ago? I’ve made…

Black Tusk, Sludge Metal, and an edgier image for Savannah

In my City Talk column today, I conclude with a mention of the Black Tusk show at The Jinx on Saturday night. I last wrote about Black Tusk here on this blog back in February. I know a fair number…

The New Mastersounds / Fox Street All Stars – Locos Grill & Pub – 11/10/11

The New Mastersounds, an amazing world-class funk band from Leeds in England, played a great gig at Locos on Broughton Street on a Sunday night in the spring. Now they’re headed back to Locos for a Thursday night show on…

New federal guidelines should allow a million or more homeowners to refinance

I still have my doubts about any federal efforts to help the housing market, but I am impressed by the planned expansion of the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), detailed today by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). Those who…

Recent rise puts Savannah area gas prices at $3.39 per gallon

According to GasBuddy.com, , the average pump price for a gallon of unleaded is about $3.39. That’s considerably lower than in recent months, but up more than a dime since I last posted about gas prices. Because of the visibility…

A few pictures from Armstrong Day

Last Wednesday was Armstrong Day, a great gathering at Armstrong Atlantic State University. I started teaching part-time at Armstrong in fall of 2000 and am now an English instructor. I’ve written before (see here and here) about the huge changes…

Georgia banks: what went wrong?

I’ve made a lot of posts about the number of failed banks in Georgia since 2008. While we haven’t gotten anything close to a full accounting of the reasons for the crisis in Georgia, there are obvious culprits: lax regulation,…

Almost half a million Georgians receiving unemployment checks — should we cut their benefits?

487,471 Georgians are receiving unemployment checks right now. That’s a staggering number for a state with less than 10 million people. Almost 15% of residents over the age of 18 are currently receiving unemployment benefits. Right now, the highest weekly…

It’s Friday: Two more Georgia banks fail

Georgia is in no danger of losing its status as home to more failed banks in the last few years than any other state. The FDIC has just announced the failure of two more banks: Community Capital Bank in Jonesboro…