Minority report
THERE WAS NO SUCH THING AS FACEBOOK when Floyd Adams Jr. was mayor of Savannah. But if there had been, I seriously doubt a Facebook page called “Step Down, Mr. Mayor” would have over 1,100 “likes,” as does the page directed at our current mayor, Otis Johnson. We all had our occasional disagreements with Adams,…
City managers are ‘hired to be fired’
Editor, One comment about your recent article on the city manager’s search. First: I believe that Major Johnson has badly messed up this search for a new city manager and unfortunately has shredded most of the goodwill he’s built up over the last seven years as well, because of a badly considered desire to “make…
Somewhere, Biutiful
SOMEWHERE *1/2 For my money, Sofia Coppola’s 2003 Lost in Translation was such an unblinking masterpiece — one of the two or three best films of its entire decade — that it’s a shock to witness the near-worthlessness of Somewhere. In a general sense, both films are similar, focusing on a Hollywood superstar who combats…
Lott-a problems?
After last week’s contentious City Council meeting, the field of four candidates was narrowed to two: Acting City Manager Rochelle Small-Toney and Alfred Lott, city manager of Albany, Ga. Although Small-Toney was widely expected to be among the finalists for the position, the vote for Lott came as a surprise to many people familiar with…
SMF update: Band of Horses, Cope, Avetts on sale today
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. today for four new shows added to the Savannah Music Festival lineup. Band of Horses, Citizen Cope and Robert Randolph & the Family Band will appear in Savannah, along with the previously-announced Avett Brothers. Popular music shows tend to require last-minute booking, which is why these concerts were…
Talking with historian Gary Moulton
The Georgia History Festival kicks off next week with a talk by prominent historian Gary Moulton. He’ll discuss the internal and external struggles of the Cherokee nation in the early part of the 19th Century that culminated with the Trail of Tears. The talk will also touch on the significance of one this year’s…
A whole bunch of gun violence
An officer investigating a stolen car in the Paradise Park area was shot at by a suspect who drove by in another stolen car. The officer drove off after the first shot was fired. Bullets shattered his rear windshield and struck the protective screen between the front and back seats of his patrol vehicle. The…
Merles of wisdom
One of the great misconceptions about Merle Haggard – who comes to the Johnny Mercer Theatre Jan. 29 – is that he was a right–wing, straight–arrow conservative hippie–basher at the turbulent end of the 1960s. To this day, Hag – who is, to be sure, an opinionated man and only too happy to tell you…
The Bright Light Social Hour, International Guitar Night
THE BRIGHT LIGHT SOCIAL HOUR At 11 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 26 Hang Fire Bar, 37 Whitaker St. One of Austin’s most beloved bands in its Savannah debut. For just four guys, TBLSH makes a mighty sound – it’s got a a guitar-based, classic rock and blues core, with intense flurries of funk (killer rhythm section)…
The oys! of summer
Enlightenment, entertainment and everything that can be squeezed in between, that’s the programming goal of the Savannah Jewish Film Festival, which celebrates its eighth year in 2011 with a broad palette of movies. Co–sponsored by the Savannah Jewish Federation and the Jewish Educational Alliance, the festival has an impressive roster of hand–picked screenings, Jan. 29…
‘A small story within the big story’
A little–known fact about the Civil War: About 7,000 Union soldiers were Jewish, and as many as 3,000 took up arms for the Confederacy. Ken Burns hasn’t made a 10–hour documentary about this bit of data, and there’s yet to be a big–budget, Glory–style movie dramatizing their sacrifices. Filmmaker Jonathan Gruber, whose past documentaries have…
Love means never having to say you’re funny
Comedian Steve Hofstetter has been to Savannah before – it was just about a year ago, and he had a killer set at the Wormhole, the very same club he’ll be appearing at this weekend. This time, however, there’ll be something different about Hofstetter. Not a warm, fuzzy glow, exactly – he’s much too quick–witted…
Key change
WHAT’S GOTTEN into Eric Culberson? After two decades of kicking around every club in town, most recently as the blues player to beat, Culberson — inarguably, Savannah’s finest electric guitarist – has taken a hard left turn. His new CD, In the Outside, is a multi–colored rock record. The living, breathing ghosts of Jimi Hendrix…
Turmoil at our hospitals
It has to be said there’s a lot of excellence at St. Joseph’s–Candler and Memorial Health; I know because my patients benefit from that excellence every day. Yet no hospital is as good as her boast, even Mass General. With the turmoil at the hospitals right now, we’re not achieving a hospital with a soul…
Searching for a city manager
Savannah is a city with a history of messy politics, but over the past 10 days, there’s been more than the usual share of suspicion, misinformation and fear concerning the future of city management. Savannah’s search for a city manager has become such a disaster that government officials nearly 1,000 miles away in Columbia, Mo.,…
Mark your calendar: Iron and Wine, Stopover news
It’s been more than three years since the exemplary, Texas–based singer/songwriter Sam Beam – as Iron and Wine – put out a new studio record. It’s out this week. Kiss Each Other Clean will be followed by a reasonably large American tour, stopping into the Trustees Theatre April 23. Tickets, $25, are on sale now…
Exhibits & openings this week
Alchemy of the Soul – John Anderson uses experimental techniques to transform photos into abstract paintings focusing color, tone and texture rather than subject. St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 34th St and Abercorn St. All is well (Damn right it is) – New works by local artist Eric David Wooddell. Mandalas and collages inspired by the…
Are brown & green bottles really better for beer?
The current ad campaign for Samuel Adams beer makes the somewhat dubious claim that the company’s beer, stored in brown bottles, is better preserved than beer in clear or green bottles. Tell me if there is any validity to this claim, or if it’s just the usual marketing babble. — David Despite the occasional introduction…
