The tussle over the future of River Street’s east end has been joined.

North Point Hospitality brought its plans to develop an eight-building hotel/retail complex on the former Georgia Power headquarters property before the Savannah Historic Board of Review on Wednesday.  The nearly three-hour review — the first of at least four the project will face prior to construction — ended with North Point requesting a continuance to a later meeting.

The hotel/retail complex was introduced earlier this year when North Point petitioned for a change to the Historic District height map to accommodate a multi-story hotel on the waterfront.

Savannah City Council granted North Point’s request despite heavy public opposition. The Historic Review Board was among those opposed to the height map change.

The project’s architect, Pat Shay with Gunn Meyerhoff Shay, worked to smooth any raw feelings during his presentation to the board.

“We have a commitment to create a place that is every bit a part of Savannah as River Street and Rousakis Plaza,” Shay said. “We are deeply committed to creating another amazing place in Savannah along the riverfront and want to work with you to get as good a place as we possibly can. We want to get it exactly right.”

Differences about the project emerged shortly after Shay extended his olive branch.

The complex will alter the vista of the waterfront, with four two-story retail buildings and a multi-tiered hotel to be built on what is currently greenspace and a surface parking lot along the riverwalk. The buildings will obstruct views of the river from River Street and the hotel, built on the east end of the site, would essentially wall off the vista looking east, contended Metropolitan Planning Commission staffers, Historic Review Board members and public citizens.

“Those five buildings will change the whole character of River Street,” board member Reed Engle said.

Shay bristled at many of the suggested changes to the development along the waterfront. He went so far as to hint that if the board demanded a greater setback from the riverwalk for the waterfront hotel he would petition to make the hotel taller to recoup the lost square footage, which he said is equal to 20 riverview rooms.

The hotel could be built one story taller provided North Point agrees to make above-and-beyond allowances in design or construction, such as using highest-quality materials for the façade.

“To subtract from one place I have to figure out a way to recover or recoup something in return,” Shay said.

Shay also subtly threatened to turn the four small retail buildings along the waterfront into two larger buildings or one gigantic building should the board follow a recommendation to remove pedestrian bridges designed to connect the upper floors of the retail buildings.

Several members of the public expressed detailed concerns about the project. Daniel Carey, CEO of the Historic Savannah Foundation, summed up the general feeling by telling the board, “We’re talking about the cradle of Savannah here. This is an immensely important site.”

The board discussed the height and mass of the buildings at length prior to the continuance request, offering North Point and Shay guidance going forward. The discussion covered the entire complex, including the three buildings not located along the waterfront.

Plans call for the construction of a parking garage along General McIntosh Boulevard and a second hotel located south of River Street. The existing office building that formerly housed the Georgia Power headquarters will also be utilized in the project.

Shay called the review a “real crossroads moment” for the project. He pledged to return in January with an updated petition.

Holiday celebration on Broughton Street

The Savannah Downtown Business Association and the city of Savannah will celebrate Holidays on Broughton Street from noon to 7 p.m. Saturday with events designed for the whole family.

Broughton Street will be closed between Drayton and Bull streets, and several musical performances will take place on an outside stage.

Savannah Dance Festival, Savannah Arts Academy Choir and the Savannah Arts Academy Jazz Band will perform. Plus, a holiday movie will be shown at the Trustees Theatre.

Check the Broughton Street Facebook page for more information.

Tencarva buys Southern Sales Co. in Nashville

Tencarva Machinery Co., a distributor of pumps, pumping systems, fluid handling systems and related products, with a warehouse in Savannah and its GPM Division offices in Alpharetta and Macon, has acquired the assets of Southern Sales Company Inc. in Nashville, Tenn.

Southern Sales Co., in business since 1923, represents a broad range of water and wastewater products and services, with territory in Tennessee, Kentucky and portions of Indiana and Ohio. Former owners Bill Allen and Ed Guffee will join Tencarva in management positions. All 26 employees of Southern Sales Co. have been offered positions with Tencarva.

Tencarva president Rod Lee said Southern Sales Co. has a customer-oriented culture that’s compatible with Tencarva’s along with an extensive service organization.

Chatham County residents finish training program

Four Chatham County residents are among the graduates of the Georgia Academy for Economic Development’s 2012 Multi-Day Training Program in Region 12.

Chatham County’s graduates include Ronald McGee, Georgia Power; Mark Sprosty, Savannah Economic Development Authority; Jackie Jackson-Teel, Chatham-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission; and Joe Shearouse, city of Savannah.

The curriculum provides insights into the complexities of economic and community development on the local, regional and state levels.

Created in 1993 by then-Gov. Zell Miller’s Development Council, the academy assembles a cross-section of economic development professionals and resources to provide this training in all 12 service delivery regions in Georgia.

For more information, contact Teresa Concannon at 912-536-5723.

Dataw Island club to host business after hours

BEAUFORT, S.C. — Dataw Island Club will host the Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce’s monthly Business After Hours this evening from 5:30-7 p.m. at the clubhouse located at 100 Dataw Club Road on Dataw Island.

Business After Hours is free admission for members and guests. Food and beverages will be provided. A Toys for Tots donation box will be available at the event, and attendees are encouraged to bring an unwrapped toy or canned food donation.

Please RSVP to Connie Hipp at 843-525-8523 or connie@beaufortsc.org.

Park Place Outreach–Youth Emergency Shelter, a temporary shelter and outreach service that serves youth from Savannah and the surrounding area, has received a $50,000 donation from the Joseph & Mary Dobransky Foundation.

The funds will enable the shelter to provide more than 250 nights of care for an individual or 1,800 hours of counseling, said executive director Linda K. Hilts.

“The gift comes at a very critical time for our organization,” Hilts said. “As a nonprofit, we are seeing government funding sources drying up, and many of our donors are struggling with the recession.”

In 2009, the Joseph & Mary Dobransky Foundation donated $50,000 to complete the Dobransky Outreach Center on the lower level of Park Place Outreach’s facility at 514 E. Henry St. The center serves as a haven for youth seeking a safe after-school place to do homework and relax.

Joseph “Joe” Dobransky, a member of the shelter’s board of directors, is a retired regional vice president for UPS. He served in the U.S. Navy after high school and later went to work as a driver for UPS before he worked his way up, serving in key positions in Ohio, Illinois, New Jersey and Texas.

Today, Dobransky and his wife, Mary, live in Savannah and dedicate their time to charitable organizations such as Park Place Outreach and America’s Second Harvest food bank.

The Dobranskys have been married for 58 years and have six children, 15 grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren, with two more on the way.

“Park Place Outreach is a place where they really help young people find the path of life,” Joe Dobransky said. “I like to see children advance. I believe the future of the country is in our hands, and the way to do it is to educate young people.”

My jaw dropped as I passed through West Point, Ga., on Interstate 85 in Troup County. There on the right, stretching for almost a mile, was the massive $1.2 billion Kia Motors manufacturing plant. In this rural area of west Georgia, on the Alabama line, Kia has created thousands of jobs over the past three years.

It helps to understand why Kia selected rural West Point as a location. It is an important part of the discussion.

Kia is a Hyundai Motors brand and like all efficient manufacturers, the two share suppliers whenever possible. Hyundai has a plant one hour away in Montgomery, Ala., and Georgia’s business climate and QuickStart program played a vital role in getting the plant in Georgia.

I was confident the choice of Troup County would result in enormous population growth for the immediate area. Much to my surprise, it grew only 14 percent from 2000 through 2010. The state of Georgia grew at 18.3 percent over the same time period. To add further insult to my carefully laid out scenario, Chambers County, Ala., contiguous with Troup, lost 3 percent of its population.

After all my harping for Savannah to recruit a workforce and grow, rural Troup County was proving me wrong. Or was it?

A well-placed telephone call revealed that 90 percent of the 2,500 new employees at Kia were hired from the local workforce pool. It turns out many of the applicants had worked in the textile industry, once the major source of employment in this area of the state, now only a wisp of its former self.

So while none of these people had ever assembled an automobile, they brought to the table a desire to work, the ability learn and master a new trade and the discipline to be at work on time and do it five days a week, every week.

This last point may seem so obvious as to be trivial, but in an unskilled and poverty-stricken city, as is almost 25 percent of Savannah, this issue is a real obstacle to local prosperity.

And as usual, it disproportionately affects minorities.

We are hardly unique in this regard. Lack of soft skills is a pervasive national issue.

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and former secretary Margaret Spelling met with the National Governors Association annual meeting in July. The topic was challenges in educating our youth, with a focus on at-risk kids. At one point, Duncan reflected on the fact that in the United States there are currently 2 million high-wage high-skills jobs going begging. The disconnect is painfully obvious.

The SRI International report to Savannah Economic Development Authority warns our city and region that “overcoming workforce bottlenecks with an emphasis on technical training and communication of manufacturing career pathways to K-12 students and their parents is paramount. In the short-term, collective action is needed to recruit skilled workers from the military and outside the region.”

That one paragraph is the summation of much of the 60-page report. Savannah Technical College has awesome facilities, five campuses and a dedicated staff ready to train our people. QuickStart and SEDA have thoroughly professional organizations ready to assist any company attracted to our area by the magnets of our port and quality of life.

Nevertheless, we still have to deliver the human capital.

Meanwhile, I am trying to figure out how a junket by elected officials to Fort Wayne, Ind., to look at a baseball stadium we can ill afford, and don’t need, is remotely important given our hurdles. If officials feel the need to goof off for a day at taxpayer expense, how about spending that day learning what researchers have discovered about our economy and where we need to go.

I know for some it must seem like my sole agenda is to criticize city government. Far from it. I want only to see action. The mayor and most of city council have shown leadership in a difficult situation with the former city manager.

I now look forward to the day when elected officials, both city and county, will publicly embrace the findings of SRI, the same economic issues I have written about for nearly three years. Then we can really call them leaders.

Russ Wigh is a professor of business. Email him at rdwigh@bellsouth.net.

Former Citi Trends CEO
to head service firm

David Alexander, former CEO of Savannah-based Citi Trends, has been named to head TruGreen, a national lawn care company and subsidiary of the ServiceMaster Co.

Alexander resigned from Citi Trends in January after the value-price retailer’s results had weakened in recent quarters on declining same-store sales and the related need to offer more clearance markdowns. He had been president and CEO since April 2009.

He will report to ServiceMaster CEO Hank Mullany, who said Alexander has “an outstanding track record of executive leadership in customer service, operations, supply chain and driving revenue growth.”

Alexander was a retail consultant for London-based Apax Partners after serving two years as chairman, president and CEO of Portrait Corporation of America. He also served as president and CEO of Family Dollar Stores Inc.

Vegetable farm ordered to pay $500,000

ATLANTA — Federal officials say one of Georgia’s largest vegetable farms has agreed to pay $500,000 to settle claims that the company discriminated against U.S. and black workers because of their race and national origin while giving better treatment to workers from Mexico.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced the settlement Thursday involving Hamilton Growers Inc., which has done business as Southern Valley Fruit and Vegetable Inc. of Norman Park. The agreement resolves a lawsuit filed by the EEOC in September 2011.

The EEOC’s lawsuit alleged that the firm let most of its U.S. workers go but kept nearly all of its workers from Mexico. The lawsuit also maintained that black workers got fewer hours and were forced into less-lucrative work.

Gas turbine manufacturer sold to Mitsubishi

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., the parent company of the Mitsubishi Power Systems America gas turbine plant at the Pooler megasite, has bought gas turbine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney Power Systems, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp.

Pratt & Whitney has about 430 employees and owns a majority share of Turboden, of Italy, which also manufactures turbines and will be included in the deal.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which has focused its gas turbine business on large-capacity, high-efficiency systems, will diversify its power generation product portfolio with the acquisition.

The company is establishing a global structure to increase manufacturing capacity of large, high-temperature, high-output gas turbines annually. In addition to output from its Takasago Machinery Works in Japan, shipments have begun from the Savannah plant.

If your estate is valued at more than $1 million, now may be an excellent time to consult with an estate planning attorney.

President Barack Obama is battling with several U.S. senators, including those in his own party, over the future of the estate tax. The outcome of that battle is uncertain. The president would like to raise the tax rate to the 2009 levels of 45 percent on any estate valued at more than $3.5 million.

The opposing parties want to either eliminate the tax or keep the rate at 35 percent, with the exemption adjusted for inflation. This year’s exemption is $5.12 million.

But, if no compromise is reached by the year’s end, the estate tax will revert to pre-Bush era rates of 55 percent on any estate in excess of $1 million. The tax generally does not apply to inheritances passed to a spouse or a federally recognized charity.

The United States adopted the modern estate tax in 1916 as a way to check dynastic wealth and to help fund World War I. It has fluctuated over the last 100 years to as high as 77 percent before World War II and as low as the one-year elimination of the tax in 2010.

The original Bush-era tax cuts ended in 2010 but were extended due to the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010, which is scheduled to sunset Jan. 1.

President Obama wants to raise the tax to help reduce the fiscal deficit by about $276 billion.

His proposal would raise about $100 billion over the next 10 years, according to the Tax Policy Center, a joint project of the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute.

Some 7,500 estates would owe taxes next year under his proposal, compared with 4,000 if current policy continued, according to an analysis by the Tax Policy Center.

Under current rates, the estate tax affects almost exclusively the wealthiest 10 percent of Americans, according to the Tax Policy Center. Of the 3,600 estates subject to the estate tax this year, 100 are classified as farming estates, according to the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation. Another 200 are small businesses.

Lowering the exemption would certainly increase the number of small businesses and farms affected.

Historically, the estate tax has forced some businesses to sell off portions of their companies or land that have been in families for generations. But business owners have the option of preserving their companies for their heirs by gifting portions of the business to heirs while they are still alive.

Once a business is transferred to certain kinds of trusts, any appreciation of the business is not subject to gift or estate tax. Also, asset discounts may apply to gifts of minority interests, effectively lowering the value of the gift for tax purposes. Individuals wishing to reduce their estate also may make annual gifts of $13,000 (this year) per person, tax-free.

If you’re unsure about your estate, consult with a qualified estate planning attorney. Your attorney may have options you’ve never considered to help you with the inheritance you want for your family.

Richard Barid and Michael Smith are co-founders of Savannah-based Smith Barid LLC, which specializes in elder law, estate planning and special needs planning. They can be reached at 912-352-3999, richard@smithbarid.com or msmith@smithbarid.com.

Terminal Ship name Arrival

GPA ZIM LUANDA today

GPA XIN SU ZHOU today

GPA HOLSATIA today

GPA MSC MONTEREY today

GPA MSC ALICANTE Saturday

GPA EVER DIADEM Saturday

GPA ZIM BARCELONA Saturday

GPA APL PEARL Saturday

GPA E.R. PUSAN Saturday

GPA ABU DHABI Saturday

GPA YORKTOWN EXPRESS Saturday

OT OBERON Saturday

OT SAUDI HOFUF Saturday

OT TRITON STORK Saturday

OT STAR HANSA Sunday

GPA ALBERT MAERSK Sunday

Terminal Ship name Arrival

GPA RIO THELON Monday

GPA ZIM PIRAEUS Monday

GPA MIRAMARIN Monday

GPA LONDON EXPRESS Monday

GPA LIONS GATE BRIDGE Monday

GPA MSC BUSAN Monday

GPA SAIGON EXPRESS Monday

OT AUSTANGER Monday

OT TARAGO Tuesday

GPA ZIM CONSTANZA Tuesday

GPA APL ARABIA Tuesday

GPA MARFRET SORMIOU Tuesday

GPA MAERSK DANBURY Tuesday

GPA HYUNDAI VOYAGER Wednesday

GPA YM ELIXIR Wednesday

GPA MOL ADVANTAGE Wednesday

Terminal Ship name Arrival
GPA SEA-LAND RACER Wednesday

GPA OAKLAND EXPRESS Wednesday

GPA NYK LAURA Wednesday

GPA HANJIN VALENCIA Wednesday

OT ATLANTIC RUBY Wednesday

GPA NYK RIGEL Thursday

GPA MELINA Thursday

GPA MAERSK ROUBAIX Thursday

GPA MAERSK DRUMMOND Thursday

GPA RANJAN Thursday

GPA ZIM PUSAN Thursday

GPA XIN WU HAN Thursday

GPA CATHRINE RICKMERS Thursday

OT STAR JAPAN Thursday

The Georgia Ports Authority on Friday unveiled its first four electrified rubber-tired gantry cranes, which makes the port the first in North America to introduce that method of operation and reduces fuel consumption by an estimated 95 percent.

Georgia Ports Executive Director Curtis Foltz said the transition to the electrified rubber-tired cranes is an important milestone for the port and the industry.

“This project is the latest in a series of GPA initiatives designed to increase the productivity and capacity of the port in environmentally responsible ways,” Foltz said.

The new system was developed with the help of Konecranes, who provided the cranes; Conductix-Wampfler, who manufactured the power system and Georgia Power, who built the electrical infrastructure.

Through efforts such as electrifying ship-to-shore cranes and refrigerated container racks, the Port of Savannah avoids the use of more than 5.4 million gallons of diesel annually, port officials said, and the new cranes will further reduce the GPA’s fuel demand.

“Georgia Power’s partnership with the Georgia Ports Authority provides a great opportunity to further research and develop non-road electric transportation while adding value to the port’s day-to-day business,” said Murry Weaver, Georgia Power’s vice president of sales.

The new system will not only offer significant cost savings and environmental benefits, Weaver said, but will also position the GPA as a leading model for ports throughout the nation.

While relying on cleaner, shore-based power to handle containers, the electric-tire cranes feature the ability to automatically switch to diesel generators when moving from stack to stack. All functions are controlled by the crane operator.

The electric cranes are more reliable than diesel-powered versions with less downtime, said Chris Noback, GPA’s director of engineering. In addition, fewer hours of diesel-powered operation will mean reduced maintenance costs and extended diesel life.

Foltz said long-term plans call for retrofitting the Garden City Terminal’s fleet of diesel-powered rubber-tired cranes to use shore power via retractable arms that will link to a conductor rail system and bring the total number of electric cranes to 169 by 2022.

Repowering the cranes will be a multi-year initiative that will require new cranes to be ordered with electric power capabilities and some older cranes to be retrofitted. When it’s finished, the port will save 5.97 million gallons of diesel a year with a net annual savings of nearly $10 million even after the cost of electricity is considered.

“Our staff and technical partners have developed a cutting-edge tool that will help not only the GPA, but other ports around the nation to revolutionize container handling,” said GPA Board Chairman Robert Jepson. “Our ERTG design sets the pace for the industry by dramatically reducing the fuel consumption, diesel emissions and noise normally associated with older technology.”

FastPitch 2013 offers $6,000 prize

The Creative Coast has announced the top prize winner of FastPitch 2013 will have a chance to win up to $6,000.

FastPitch allows entrepreneurs to make a 3-minute pitch and have the viability of their idea assessed by community leaders, academics and investors.

Coaching and feedback are provided before, during and after the competition.

The deadline for applications is 5 p.m. on Feb. 18. Those who get to make presentations will be notified on Feb. 21.

Applications and additional information can be found at fastpitchcompetition.com

For more information, contact charisse@thecreativecoast.org or 912.447.8457.

Jasper County gets mushroom farm

BEAUFORT, S.C. — Afton, Va., mushroom producer amFOG Farms, LLC plans to relocate its headquarters and build a production facility near Hardeeville that’s expected to create seven new jobs.

Chris Sywassink, general manager of amFOG, praised Jasper County’s easy access to Interstate 95, Interstate 16, and Interstate 26 and proximity to growing markets.

Sywassink said he did not have a salary range for the new jobs but the company will offer on-site training for a mix of hourly and salaried positions. Sywassink said the company’s Virginia operations would continue.

The company will produce gourmet mushrooms, including Oyster, Shiitake and Miatake, in a controlled indoor environment. It’s expected to produce 1,500 pounds of mushrooms a week or 78,000 pounds during the first year of operation in 2013.

Construction is expected to start the first quarter of 2013 south of Hardeeville on U.S. Highway 17 and represents a $1 million investment.

Foreign trade conference set for February

The first round of speakers for the Georgia Foreign Trade Conference 2013, scheduled for Feb. 3-5 at The Cloisters on Sea Island, has been announced.

Moderators, keynotes and speakers include:

• Michael Hynekamp, chief financial & administrative officer, deputy head of region Americas, Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics;

• Curtis Foltz, executive director, Georgia Ports Authority;

• Tom France, director, global transportation and supply chain solutions, Caterpillar Logistics Services;

• Michael Smith, corporate manager of logistics, Volkswagen Group of America;

• Dennis Manns, assistant vice president- sales & logistics planning, American Honda Motor Co., Inc.;

• Peter Tirschwell, senior vice president of strategy,UBM Global Trade, Journal of Commerce;

• Ulises Carrillo, vice president, Global Logistics, Dole Food Company, Inc.;

• Wolfgang Freese, president, Hapag-Lloyd Americas;

• William Woodhour, vice president North America Sales, Maersk;

• Frank Baragona, president, CMA CGM;

• Walter Kemmsies, chief economist, Moffat & Nichol.

For more information or to register online, visit www.gaforeigntrade.com.

It’s all up in the stars.

Given the intractable — and exasperating — debates regarding the “fiscal cliff” or “fiscal ledge” or “fiscal nightmare” (take your pick), this columnist decided that any “fiscal nuclear scenario” discussion could wait another two weeks.

Anything to take one’s mind off self-centered politicians who play Russian roulette with our economy and the financial health of millions of families across the country.

A nice reprieve might be scheduling a fancy dinner. Of course, these days — as with so much else — people rely more and more on apps to help them decide what restaurant to patronize.

One of the more prominent applications for comparing restaurants and other services is “Yelp.com,” which means that it is also a treasure trove for economists attempting to study the impact of the virtual word-of-mouth on business.

You may have seen stories of lawsuits against disgruntled customers by businesses, which pit free enterprise principles against fundamental free speech rights. (Examples can be found at: http://bit.ly/XmPjmT and http://abcn.ws/UsiT9o.)

While the courts will figure out where the boundaries lie that cannot be crossed when airing one’s grievances for an audience of potentially millions of people, another questions being asked is how to better harness the wisdom of the crowd.

Two recent papers looked at the impact of review websites, as well as how to improve the “averages” that visitors of those websites will be presented with.

The first study by economist Michael Luca attempts to quantify the impact of ratings on revenues. In his analysis (available at: http://bit.ly/RtPDUj), the Harvard Business School professor combines data from Yelp.com and from the Washington State Department of Revenue to investigate how much posted ratings influence consumer demand.

He presents a number of striking results, among them that “a one-star increase in Yelp rating leads to a 5-9 percent increase in revenue … and [that] chain restaurants have declined in market share as Yelp penetration has increased.”

Given those significant impacts, business and review websites themselves would probably want the “averages” presented to be as correct as possible. Another paper by a team of economists addresses that very question. It is titled “Optimal Aggregation of Consumer Ratings: An Application to Yelp.com” and tests how accurate current average ratings are when a number of reviewer characteristics are accounted for.

They have information on a given reviewer’s average rating (some reviewers tend to be more critical) and on his or her tendency to be “influenced by existing reviews,” as well as on observable quality changes of the reviewed service itself.

Taking all of this into account, the authors construct what they call an “optimal rating for all restaurants on Yelp.” They conclude “that roughly 25-27 percent of restaurants are more than 0.15 stars away from the optimal rating, and 8-10 percent of restaurants are more than 0.25 stars away from the optimal rating.”

This can have a strikingly significant impact on the average business.

One advantage that their system seems to have is that it is better able to react to changing service quality than the “average” on a review website.

If only we could apply this kind of crowd wisdom more consistently to politicians. Perhaps, then, we could decrease the average number of “crises” that we experience because of partisan gridlock.

I would give five stars for that.

Dr. Michael Reksulak teaches economics and public finance in Georgia Southern University’s College of Business Administration. He may be reached by email at mreksula@georgiasouthern.edu.

NEW YORK — If shoppers don’t show up in stores soon, more “70 percent off” sale signs will.

After a promising start to the holiday shopping season over the four-day Thanksgiving weekend, sales have slowed, according to an analysis of data done for The Associated Press by sales tracker ShopperTrak. Worries about weak U.S. job growth and other concerns are likely to blame for Americans spending less.

That puts pressure on J.C. Penney, Macy’s and other stores, which had been offering fewer discounts this season than they did last year, to step up promotions to lure shoppers like Ron Antonette from Long Beach, Calif.

Antonette so far has spent about half of what he planned to spend during this holiday season on gifts such as Legos, a Wii U game console and Apple’s iPad Mini tablet computer for his two young children. Antonette stopped shopping after spending $1,000 over fears that Congress and the White House won’t reach a budget deal by January. A stalemate would trigger tax increases and spending cuts known as the “fiscal cliff.”

“I basically stopped moving forward in buying,” said Antonette, 44, who runs a small public relations business and worries that he might not be able to take mortgage deductions on his house next year. “I feel like we’re in financial limbo.”

Antonette isn’t the only shopper who feels that way. Major stores don’t discuss sales during the holiday shopping season, but Wal-Mart CEO Mike Duke said during a speech in New York City on Tuesday that a recent poll of shoppers of the world’s largest retailer found that an overwhelming majority are aware of the threat of higher taxes. And some said it would lead them to cut back their holiday buying, he said.

Overall, holiday sales are up 2.2 percent to $659 billion from Nov. 1 through last Saturday, according ShopperTrak, a Chicago-based firm that tracks spending at 40,000 stores across the country. That’s slightly below the 2.7 percent increase over the Thanksgiving weekend when shoppers spent $22 billion.

The modest increase means sales for rest of the season will be crucial for stores, which make as much as 40 percent of their annual revenue in November and December. With only about a week and a half left until Christmas, stores have a ways to go in order to reach ShopperTrak’s forecast of a 3.3 percent rise in sales during the two-month stretch compared with the same period last year.

It’s like the ghost of Christmas past has returned for stores. In order to salvage the season, they may be forced to offer the kind of heavy discounts that helped boost sales last year, but that also ate away at their profits. That’s something stores have tried to resist all season: Promotions are down 5 percent so far this season compared with last year, according to BMO Capital, which tracks promotions at about two-thirds of mall stores.

To be sure, there still are plenty of 30, 40 and 50 percent off sale signs in store windows. But stores also have been doing more creative things with pricing to get shoppers to think they’re getting a better deal than they really are. Think: Offering jeans for $9 instead of $9.99, hoping round numbers will appeal more to shoppers, or selling two shirts for $20 instead of giving shoppers 20 percent off.

“The retailing nation is trying to get off the discounting habit,” said Paco Underhill, founder of Envirosell, which studies consumer behavior. “It’s just like heroin <0x2014> the more you do it the more you need to do it.”

The fact that stores are struggling to find the right balance between pricing and profits during the holiday season is no surprise. They’ve been doing that since the dawn of department stores in the 1800s. Perhaps the biggest change occurred in 1975, when the Consumer Goods Pricing Act repealed state fair trade laws, allowing stores to sell items at whatever price they want instead of what manufacturers dictate.

Prices like “$19.99” instead of “$20” sprang up because as Baba Shiv, a marketing professor at Stanford University who focuses on neuroeconomics, puts it: “When you see something for $9.99, the brain categorizes that as being $9 rather than $10,” he said. “Those things are still effective.”

But at a time when shoppers are more price sensitive, some stores have gotten rid of the ubiquitous “99 cents” in prices in favor of flat prices. In fact, Kmart played up flat prices in its advertising and in-store deals on Black Friday with signs that read: “Experience our $5, $10, $20 Freak Out Pricing.”

“The effort was around being able to communicate clearly to our customer in gift denominations they commonly think within,” said Tom Aiello, Kmart’s spokesman. “Nothing against the “.99.”

Last weekend, tables at Forever 21 in New York’s Times Square had clothes with prices that ended with “50 cents” -- for example, “$10.50 and up” or “$17.50 and up.” Steve Martin, a 27-year-old resident of Scranton, Pa. who was shopping there, said people aren’t fooled by fractional prices.

“I think most people are rounder-uppers,” said Martin, who’s looking for a job.

But if the price is right, shoppers will scoop up items. Twenty-somethings Malia and Kyra Bennett were out at Lloyd Center Mall in Portland, Ore., recently when they spotted workout shirts at H&M for $5 that they had to buy. “We didn’t come to buy those, but they are only $5,” Malia Bennett said.

___

Candice Choi in New York and Sarah Skidmore in Portland contributed to this story.

One of Kevin Haborak’s award-winning libations is coming to a store near you just in time for the holidays.

Haborak, founder of the Coastal Empire Beer Co., in Richmond Hill, and his Savannah Brown Ale is being sold in six packs in local stores.

It’s the first local craft beer available in cans and is priced comparably to other craft brews, he said.

Haborak describes the ale as having a rich malt flavor, balanced by a crisp hop finish. He said his company’s German-style ale, called Tybee Island Blonde, should hit local store shelves by the first of the year.

The journey that brought Haborak’s brews to commercial distribution took off more than a decade ago, when he received a home-brewing kit from his brother and business partner, Chris, and their sister, Dana Pattison.

Liquid dreams

Haborak received the kit in 1995 after graduating from the College of Charleston in his hometown of Charleston, S.C.

“My first batch wasn’t very good,” said Haborak, 40, who also works as a geophysicist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “It was drinkable, but at the time you’re just excited about making beer.”

Experience gained through trial and error, however, eventually led to a much better-tasting beverage.

“The comments I heard went from ‘Yeah, this is good’ to “Wow, this is something you can sell in stores!” he said.

With financial support from his brother, Haborak officially launched his Savannah Brown Ale in August 2011 at the Distillery in Savannah. Less than a week later, the beer won first place in the People’s Choice Award at the inaugural Savannah Craft Brew Fest.

Several more honors were on tap.

In July, the ale won a silver medal in the American Brown Ale category at the 2012 U.S. Open Beer Championship in Atlanta. Then, the Tybee Island Blonde received the People’s Choice-Best in Show award, and the Savannah Brown Ale earned the People’s Choice-First Place award at the 2012 Savannah Craft Brew Fest.

“It was very exciting,” Haborak said. “And to repeat this year (at the Savannah fest), that’s just amazing.”

Cool cans

Savannah Brown Ale and Tybee Island Blonde are made at the Straight to Ale brewery in Huntsville, Ala. and delivered by Savannah Distributing. While fans of these beers can buy them in cans at stores such as Habersham Beverage in Savannah and Jeff’s Beverage in Richmond Hill, they will continue to find them on tap at businesses such as the Crystal Beer Parlor, Satisfied and World of Beer in Savannah and 69 East in Richmond Hill.

Customers have been asking where they can buy packaged Savannah Brown Ale and Tybee Island Blonde, said Joy Driggers, a bartender at Satisfied, 301 W. Broughton St.

“They’re great sellers,” she said of the draft versions. “Tourists, and locals too, often come in looking for a local beer.”

And the new cans, which feature colorful artwork produced by Savannah’s Paragon design studio, could become keepsakes. The Savannah Brown Ale can features a great blue heron and a skiff on a serene coastal waterway, and the Tybee Island Blonde can shows a blond-haired woman petting a black Labrador on a beach, with a lighthouse, the sun and the ocean in the background.

The cans include the Coastal Empire Beer Co.’s motto: “Live. Relax. Savor.”

Chris Haborak, who likens himself to “a cheerleader with a vested interest,” said his brother’s ideas for the artwork capture part of their youth. Such memories include “the beach, good food, good beer and a slower pace of living,” he said.

One chilly day last week, I had a late and satisfying lunch at the new Moe’s Southwest Grill in the Cay Building on Ellis Square.

The restaurant occupies the southwest portion of the new office building’s ground floor. Most of Moe’s windows look south across St. Julian Street, but I enjoyed sitting at a counter facing Ellis Square.

Even on a gray afternoon, it’s a beautiful view, with so many visible layers from Savannah’s rich architectural history.

Moe’s is keeping pretty long hours: 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday.

Those late weekend hours should be especially profitable in the spring, when the days are longer and more folks are out at the clubs.

Moe’s is exceptionally well designed for such a relatively narrow urban space. The restaurant also has half a dozen tables outside under handsome, newly planted palm trees.

The yogurt shop Veri Berri occupies the northwest portion of the Cay Building’s ground floor. Much of the rest of the street level is home to the spacious offices of First Citizens Bank.

The architecture of the Cay Building offers a variety of ground level entry points. The long windows let folks see both in and out.

The architectural details — the old-fashioned metal awnings, the engraved street names, the combination of materials, the varying size of the windows — enhance the pedestrian experience in a way that most of downtown’s newer builders do not.

The grand entryway on the Ellis Square side is open during the day. I’d encourage readers to wander into the rotunda, with its large photos of Savannah commerce, and to walk down the hall, which features enlarged prints of Savannah scenes drawn by the late artist Christopher Murphy.

The Cay Building’s architecture is just as satisfying from a distance as it is up close.

I’ve heard some squawking about how the building obstructs views, but the height is perfectly in keeping with its neighbors. The narrow footprint of the historic trust lot prevents the kind of blocky construction so common in modern office buildings.

I especially like how the verticality of the windows echoes the form of the entire structure. The rhythm feels just right.

There are five new palms on the north side of the building too, along Bryan Street.

Why haven’t we used more palms in narrow spots like that?

It’s worth adding that the presence of offices on the Cay Building’s upper floors will help diversify the economy around Ellis Square.

Tourism and nightlife drive much of the business around the square right now. The addition of office workers should serve as both a balance and a complement.

The rather lengthy construction of the Cay Building disrupted some businesses in the immediate area. Thankfully, the work is done and the warmth of the building should draw traffic rather than repel it.

Spoleto 2013 lineup includes several SMF veterans

The featured musicians at next spring’s Spoleto Festival in Charleston include Bela Fleck, Abigail Washburn, Punch Brothers and the Red Stick Ramblers.

I suspect those names sound more than a little familiar to many readers.

Fleck, Washburn and Punch Brothers have been Savannah Music Festival favorites in years past. The Red Stick Ramblers are playing two Cajun dance parties at the 2013 music festival.

Spoleto will also feature Rosanne Cash. The 2013 Savannah Music Festival lineup includes Cash’s former husband Rodney Crowell performing with Emmylou Harris, with the great Richard Thompson opening.

Savannahians used to look upon Spoleto with envy. I’m sure some still do.

At the same time, I’m sure some Charlestonians envy us and our stellar music festival, which has lower ticket prices and more intimate venues than Spoleto.

Founded in 1977, Spoleto obviously has a long track record and includes large doses of dance, opera and theatre.

But if you placed the Savannah Music Festival and Spoleto programs side by side and told potential visitors that they could only attend one, we’d do pretty well.

Still, I’m routinely surprised to find bright local residents who have not attended any music festival shows and are only dimly aware of its existence. They’ll rhapsodize about other cities, but they aren’t even seeing the greatness in their own backyard.

It’s a puzzle.

City Talk appears every Tuesday and Sunday. Bill Dawers can be reached via billdawers@comcast.net and http://www.billdawers.com. Send mail to 10 East 32nd St., Savannah, GA 31401.

The new Realtor mantra is “no one ever dreams of renting.”

The Savannah Area Board of Realtors’ 2013 president anticipates local home sales to reflect that notion over the next year.

Closing in on what can only be described as a comeback year for residential real estate in Chatham, Bryan and Effingham counties, the mood was upbeat Friday at the annual Savannah Area Board of Realtors (SABOR) installation luncheon at Carey Hilliard’s banquet facility.

“We’ve seen an evening out” from housing downturn, said 2013 President Donna Davis. “With the pledge to keep interest rates where they are, we will build on the momentum next year.”

The Federal Reserve announced this week its intentions to hold down interest rates until the national unemployment rate drops to 6.5 percent. The rate stood at 7.7 percent through November, with the Fed projecting the rate will dip no lower than 7.4 percent in 2013.

Savannah-area home sales jumped 11 percent in the first 11 months of 2012 versus the same period in 2011 and 20 percent compared to 2010. Sales bottomed in 2010 after federal and state tax credit initiatives propped up the market in 2009.

The sales percentage increase could climb another point before the end of the year. December has been “freakishly busy,” as one Realtor described it, as many wannabe sellers rush to move their property in anticipation of changes to the federal capital gains tax.

More encouraging than sales to the Realtors is the shrinking inventory, or the number of homes listed for sale. Those numbers peaked in July 2009 with 5,536 homes listed in the three-county area. The inventory stood at nearly half that number — 3,272 homes — on Nov. 30.

The local inventory is expected to grow in the new year, several Realtors agreed following Friday’s meeting. Some areas of the local market, particularly those to the west such as Pooler, Richmond Hill and Effingham County, are nearing a shortage that homebuilders are already moving to address. Lot sales increased by more than 30 percent in West Chatham and Effingham County in 2012 versus 2011 while Bryan County saw an 88 percent jump.

“You’re going to see more sticks and bricks in the ground this winter and spring,” said Paul Gutting, SABOR’s 2012 president. “Things are not going to be great for the housing market in 2013, but they will be positive.”

Tight lending standards continue to temper expectations as has speculation about the size of the Savannah area’s “shadow inventory.” This includes repossessed homes not yet listed for sale, homes in the foreclosure process and homes owned by delinquent borrowers in danger of foreclosure.

Those types of homes, known as distressed properties, fueled the surge in home sales over the last 24 months. Distress sales accounted for 35 percent of the market during that span.

The number of distressed properties on the market dwindled throughout the fall and the winter. The pace is picking up, however, as prices have stabilized — a 1.2 percent increase over the last 12 months after a 20-plus percent drop during the recession — and Realtors who specialize in distressed properties are anticipating a strong supply come spring.

“The shadow inventory is no myth,” said Tim Adams of Adams Realty. “It’s all a matter of when and how quickly those properties are brought onto the market.”

SAVANNAH AREA BOARD OF REALTORS

2013 Officers

Donna Davis President

Jennifer Scroggs President-elect

Paul Gutting Immediate past president

Bonnie Gaster VP, Governmental Affairs

Linda King VP, Member Services

Trey Niver VP, Professional Development

Janet Howard VP, Community Relations

HIRES/PROMOTIONS

KARIN SCARPINATO

New job title: Associate dean for research in residence in the Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development

Company: Georgia Southern University

Duties: Scarpinato will help coordinate opportunities to support faculty, staff and students in the areas of research and scholarship.

Education: Scarpinato earned her bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate from Georg-August University in Goettingen, Germany.

NIKKI WRIGHT

New job title: Commercial agent/property management

Company: Mia Madison Properties

Duties: Wright will assist commercial clients with sales, leasing and purchasing of real estate. She will also assist commercial property owners in all aspects of property management.

Related work experience: Wright has six years of real estate experience.

Education: Wright is a graduate of Armstrong Atlantic State University.

PAM WORRELL-CARLISLE

New job title: Homecare team manager

Company: Hospice Savannah, Inc.

Duties: Worrell-Carlisle will coordinate and supervise homecare nurses, chaplains, nursing assistants and social workers while meeting all state and Joint Commission quality standards.

Related work experience: Carlisle has team leadership and clinical management experience in hospice care in Indiana.

Education: Carlisle holds a BSN and master’s degree in nursing and counseling psychology from Ball State University.

RON WILLIAMS

New job title: Director of human resources

Company: Hospice Savannah, Inc.

Duties: Williams will oversee all aspects of personnel management, including recruitment, retention, employee relations, labor relations and benefits.

Related work experience: Williams has more than 20 years experience in human resource management.

Education: Williams holds an MBA in human resources and a BS in laboratory technology from Auburn University.

EDWARD HOOD, IV

New job title: Program director, accelerated graduate programs

Company: South University

Duties: Hood will manage the university’s accelerated MBA programs.

Related work experience: Hood has served in higher education positions in student and financial services and operations since 2008. Hood also worked in banking and finance in Savannah.

Education: Hood earned his MBA at Georgia Southern University and his bachelor of business administration in banking and finance at the University of Georgia.

STEPHEN DOWNING

New job title: Branch manager, Godley Station

Company: The Coastal Bank

Duties: Downing will manage all staff responsibilities and partner with the bank’s commercial, mortgage and personal banking departments to market bank products and services to the Godley Station community.

Related work experience: Downing served as a personal banker at The Coastal Bank’s Stephenson Avenue location. He also worked at Wachovia at The Landings on Skidaway Island as a licensed financial specialist, overseeing the management of clients’ cash management, lending and investment needs.

LLOYD ALBERSON

New job title: Executive chef

Company: Hudson’s Seafood House on the Docks

Related work experience: Alberson has more than 20 years of experience.

Education: Alberson graduated from Troy University with a degree in marketing and anthropology. He also holds a culinary arts degree from Faulkner University.

HONORS/AWARDS

NLaws Produce names Driver of the Month

NLaws Produce has named Anthony Green Driver of the Month. Green has been employed with NLaws Produce for one year.

Veterinarian honored

The Georgia Veterinary Medical Association has awarded James E. Strickland, DVM of Glennville Veterinary Clinic with the J.T. Mercer Lifetime Achievement Award for 2012. The J.T. Mercer, DVM Lifetime Achievement Award is the highest recognition bestowed by the GVMA.

Savannah resident honored by Mary Telfair Women’s Hospital

Long-time community volunteer Kathy Levitt has been named the first ever St. Joseph’s/Candler Foundations Mary Telfair Women’s Hospital Volunteer of the Year. Levitt has been involved with fundraising and volunteering since 1994.

Attorney honored

The Conner Law Group managing partner Mike Conner has been selected as one of Georgia’s Top 100 Litigation lawyers by the American Society of Legal Advocates (ASLA).

Savannah attorney honored

Elizabeth F. Thompson has been selected by her peers as a 2012 member of the Legal Elite in Real Estate Law as published in Georgia Trend magazine.

Attorney recognized

Savannah attorney and registered mediator, Jamie F. Clark, was recently recognized by her legal peers across the state as one of Georgia’s 2012 Legal Elite in Elder Law, recently published in Georgia Trends Magazine.

The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety warns that Georgia motorists are on track for an increase in this year’s highway fatalities for the first time in six years.

Last year, 1,226 people died on the state’s roadways. That is why this year’s holiday catch phrase from the office of highway safety is: “If you don’t drive sober, you’ll get pulled over.”

While catch phrases have a long-standing tradition in road safety programs, it is a good idea to pay attention to this one since law enforcement is getting tougher on drivers who put others at risk on the state’s roadways. Just for the record, so are insurers.

Year-end holidays are a time for office parties and gatherings of friends and family. There is no shortage of alcoholic drinks for most of these events, and therein lies the problem.

Drunken driving never takes a holiday. That’s why law enforcement is joined ever year by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD) and other interested groups. It’s the same story over and over.

“Just one more.” “I can handle it.” “I’m fine.” “No problem!” These phrases are often the last words friends, loved ones and bartenders hear as the impaired driver heads down the road.

If you can’t handle it and are convicted of drunken driving, you face numerous consequences.

In Georgia, even on a first offense you are likely to face a one-year suspension of your license, one of the strictest punishments in the country. Convicted drunken drivers also face vehicle confiscation, possible jail time up to one year and may have to pay a fine anywhere from $300 to $1,000.

If that doesn’t deter you, consider a huge increase in insurance premiums or worse yet, your auto insurance is non-renewed when you do get out of jail.

Think this is harsh? You know it. When it comes to drunken driving, it doesn’t matter whether you’re a sports figure, a movie star or the next-door neighbor. The lesson here is that we as individuals are responsible for our actions.

The fact is one can blame the bartender, the party host, the company that hosted the event, or you can blame drunken driving on personal problems, various other circumstances or do what is the most difficult — look in a mirror.

If that doesn’t help, the federal safety board is recommending that all states require ignition interlock devices for convicted drunken drivers, including first-time offenders. The five-member National Transportation Safety Board said the devices are currently the best available solution to reducing drunken driving deaths, which account for about a third of the nation’s 32,000 traffic deaths each year.

In particular, the board cited a new study by its staff that found some 360 people a year are killed in wrong-way driving crashes on high-speed highways. The study concluded that 69 percent of wrong-way drivers had blood alcohol levels above the legal limit of .08.

Let’s really be careful out there this year.

David Colmans is executive director of the Georgia Insurance Information Service, an industry association of property and casualty insurance companies that do business in Georgia. Contact him by email at dcolmans@giis.org.

Doctor wins Hospital Hero Award

ATLANTA – Dr. Seth Borquaye, with Liberty Regional Medical Center in Hinesville, is among 10 winners of the Georgia Hospital Association’s annual Hospital Hero Awards announced during a Dec. 4 luncheon.

Borquaye and the others were recognized for their outstanding contributions to the hospital and health care field. A lifetime achievement award was presented to James W. Mooney, of Willingway Hospital in Statesboro.

“The 11 winners of these esteemed awards represent some of the most compassionate and devoted health care workers in our state,” said Joseph Parker, president of the hospital association.

Tourism council schedules awards dinner

The Tourism Leadership Council wil1 hold its fifth annual tourism awards and scholarship dinner Thursday, Feb. 21, at the Hyatt Regency Savannah, 2 W. Bay St.

The cocktail reception will begin at 5:30 p.m. with dinner and the awards program from 7-9 p.m.

The organization will hold its 2013 membership luncheon on Jan. 17 at the ANdaZ, 14 Barnard St.

The event will begin at 11:30 a.m., and the speaker will be Savannah Mayor Pro Tem Van Johnson.

For more information, call 912-232-1223 or email tlc@tourismleadershipcouncil.com.

Georgia Chamber to feature former education secretary

Margaret Spellings, former U.S. secretary of education and current senior adviser to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and president of its U.S. Forum for Policy Innovation, will be the keynote speaker at the Georgia Chamber of Commerce 2013 annual meeting on Jan. 15.

Spellings served as education secretary under former President George W. Bush from 2005 to 2009, launching initiatives focused on enhancing education accountability and quality K-12 and promoting accessibility and affordability in higher education.

The Chamber’s meeting and dinner will be held at the Georgia World Congress Center and will be followed by the annual Eggs & Issues Breakfast on Jan. 16, which will feature Gov. Nathan Deal, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and House Speaker David Ralston.

For more information or to buy tickets, go to www.gachamber.com/events or call 404-223-2264.

Donation aids teen program

Xerox Corporation and the local chapter of Omega Psi Phi have teamed up to support the Teen Success Program at the West Broad Street YMCA.

On Friday, representatives of Xerox and Omega Psi Phi presented the West Broad Street YMCA with a check for $3,300. The money will help support the organization’s Teen Success Club, a program that helps teens stay in school, develop a career plan, and be involved in community service, character development, education and healthy living.

Parker’s stores have donated $10,000 in gas cards to Memorial Health Foundation to help defray the cost for patients and their families to travel to Memorial University Medical Center for chemotherapy, radiation treatment or neonatal care.

The gas card donation is part of the company’s Fueling the Community program, which also supports area schools.

“Because of the Anderson Cancer Institute’s outstanding reputation and because Memorial is the only Children’s Hospital in a 31-county region, many patients travel for hours to get medical care,” said CEO Greg Parker. “As a result, fuel is a major economic challenge.”

Through the Memorial Health Foundation, fragile families and individuals in need can find help, thanks to donations to Patient Assistance Funds, which focus mostly on cancer patients and families with sick children. Donations to Patient Assistance Funds are distributed according to strict guidelines and managed by Memorial’s social workers and case workers, ensuring that individuals and families with the greatest need get help.

“These gas cards allow patients to focus on healing,” said Parker, “not on whether they can afford gas to get back and forth to treatment.”

Tourism council schedules awards dinner, luncheon

The Tourism Leadership Council wil1 hold its fifth annual tourism awards and scholarship dinner Thursday, Feb. 21, at the Hyatt Regency Savannah, 2 W. Bay St.

The cocktail reception will begin at 5:30 p.m. with dinner and the awards program from 7-9 p.m.

The organization will hold its 2013 membership luncheon on Jan. 17 at the ANdaZ, 14 Barnard St.

The event will begin at 11:30 a.m., and the speaker will be Savannah Mayor Pro Tem Van Johnson.

For more information, call 912-232-1223 or email tlc@tourismleadershipcouncil.com.

Georgia Tech Professional Education Offers courses

Georgia Tech Professional Education will provide an Occupational Safety and Health Standards for the Construction Industry (OTI 510) course at the Georgia Tech-Savannah campus Jan. 14-18. This course can be used to obtain a Construction Safety and Health Certificate from Georgia Tech Professional Education and is required for anyone who would like to become a trainer.

Date: Jan. 14-18

Location: Georgia Tech-Savannah campus

Contact: www.gtpe.gatech.edu/oti510

2013 Economic Outlook Luncheon

The Economic Outlook Luncheon is held in collaboration with the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business and Armstrong Atlantic State University. The local economic forecast will be presented by Dr. Michael Toma of Armstrong Atlantic State University. And the state, regional and national projection will be delivered by Dean Robert Sumichrast of Terry College of Business.

Date: Jan. 17

Time: Noon-2 p.m.

Location: The Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa

Cost: $40 for members ($400 for a table) and $50 for non-members ($500 for a table)

Purchase tickets at SavannahChamber.com

Contact: Margaret Mary Russell at 912-644-6432

Business after hours

Hilton Head-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce

The Beach House — A Holiday Inn Resort

Thursday, Jan. 17, 5:30-7 p.m.

The Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce January’s Business After Hours will be held at The Beach House — A Holiday Inn Resort. Enjoy casual networking, great food and complimentary beer and wine along with great door prizes and more.

The cost is $10 for chamber members and $20 for non-members. For more information go to hiltonheadchamber.org.

Hilton Head-Bluffton Chamber restaurant week

Jan. 26-Feb. 2

Modeled after successful culinary events in New York and other cities, more than 50 member restaurants will offer special prix-fixe multi-course menus for Lowcountry diners, Jan. 26-Feb. 2.

For more information go to hiltonheadchamber.org.

Hilton Head-Bluffton Chamber young professionals group

Where: Corks Wine Bar, Bluffton

When: Wednesday, Jan. 30, 5:30-7 p.m.

The popular networking group for the 40-and-under set is an opportunity to meet with business colleagues in a casual setting. To register go to hiltonheadchamber.org.

Hilton Head-Bluffton Chamber Ball

The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa

Saturday, Feb. 2

6:30 p.m.

Enjoy fine dining, dancing and entertainment at the annual event honoring the outstanding individuals and organizations that make a difference in the community.

For more information go to hiltonheadchamber.org or call Connie Killmar at (843) 785-3673.

BUSINESS EXPO

The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa

Jan. 26-27

Join the Hilton Head-Bluffton Chamber for Business EXPO. With over 2,000 attendees, Business EXPO is the largest business-building and networking event in the Lowcountry. To register, go to hiltonheadchamber.org or call (843) 785-3673.

ONGOING

Pooler Business Network

When: Every first and third Thursday, 11:15 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Where: Western Sizzlin, U.S. 80 in Pooler

Information: RSVP to Jason Torres at jasonjtorres@gmail.com.

Downtown Business Professionals Chapter
of BNI

When: 11:30 a.m. every Thursday

Where: Hilton Savannah DeSoto, 15 E. Liberty St.

Information: For information, call Kevin Brown at 912-447-1885 or email rkbrowndc@msn.com.

The Islands Chapter —
BNI group

When: Each Thursday at
8 a.m.

Where: Johnny Harris banquet facility, 1652 E. Victory Drive

Information: Contact Kathy Salter at studio@dalyandsalterphoto.com.

Savannah Women’s
Business Network

When: Every second and fourth Wednesday, 11:15 a.m. to 1 p.m. for lunch.

Where: The Exchange Tavern on Waters Avenue

Cost: Cost for lunch

Information: RSVP to Kari Brown at kcbrown@colonybank.com.

Historic Savannah
Chapter ABWA

When: 6-7:50 p.m. second Thursday.

Where: Candler Heart & Lung Building, room 2.

Cost: Free

Information: Call 912-925-4980 or email blynneroberts@yahoo.com.

Toastmasters Club

When: Noon each Tuesday

Where: Savannah Mall across from “Hill of Beans” Coffee Shop.

Information: Call 912-844-9139 or go to www.sbcsouthsidetm.com.

Students in the Pooler Elementary School Chorus turned holiday carolers last week to help the Georgia Ports Authority wrap up its annual CASA gift campaign.

Angela Powell, Pooler Elementary music teacher, said the student chorus members had been practicing the program since September, largely in sessions before school and at home. Their medley included traditional favorites, as well as songs for peace.

The GPA/CASA gift drive, benefitting children under the care of Court Apppointed Special Advocates, is in its 11th year.

Case workers at CASA supply the Port Authority with wish lists for children and youth ranging in age from newborn to 16 years.

“CASA performs a vital service, looking after the interests of abused and neglected children,” said GPA Executive Director Curtis J. Foltz. “This program allows us, in small way, to take part in their important mission.”

GPA employees, separately and in groups, signed up to sponsor one of 52 children this year. Gift suggestions included clothes, toys, dolls, bikes and computer games.

“This is a tremendous blessing. You all have adopted 52 children, who we know will have Christmas. A lot of times they come from homes where they don’t know where tomorrow’s home will be. Sometimes they move from home to home, and they don’t have anything,” said Charlene Peebles, CASA advocacy coordinator. “It’s so overwhelming, the support you all have given to our CASA children. We couldn’t do it without you.”

CASA develops and supports court-sanctioned, locally-based programs that provide trained and supervised volunteers to advocate for the best interests of abused and neglected children involved in juvenile court deprivation proceedings.