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

For more information, go to www.gtpe.gatech.edu/oti510.

Constant Contact workshop and lunch

A new year brings new opportunities for businesses and other organizations to create and grow their customer base at a lunch and learn workshop featuring a Constant Contact professional Tuesday, Jan.15.

Date: Jan. 15

Location: Cambria Suites, 50 Yvette Johnson Hagins Drive, near Interstate 95 exit 104.

Cost: Register and pre-pay by Jan. 7 and cost is $17 for Pooler Chamber members and $22 for non-members. After Jan. 7 and until Jan. 14 add $5 to cost per person. This event has limited seating, so after Jan. 14, cost is $27 per Pooler Chamber member and $32 per non-member, based on availability.

For more information contact office@poolerchamber.com or 912-748-0110.

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 nonmembers ($500 for a table)

Purchase tickets at SavannahChamber.com

Contact: Margaret Mary Russell at 912-644-6432

Business after hours

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.

Date: Jan. 17

Time: 5:30-7 p.m.

Location: The Beach House — A Holiday Inn Resort

Cost: $10 for chamber members and $20 for non-members

For more information, go to hiltonheadchamber.org.

Tourism council luncheon

The organization will hold its 2013 membership luncheon on Jan. 17 at the ANdaZ. The speaker will be Savannah Mayor Pro Tem Van Johnson

Date: Jan. 17

Time: 11:30 a.m.

Location: The ANdaZ, 14 Barnard St.

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

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

Date: Jan. 21

Time: 5:30-9 p.m.

Location: The Hyatt Regency Savannah, 2 West Bay St.

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

Buy Local 24th Awards Banquet

Buy Local Announces January 24th Awards Banquet with Keynote Speaker Ryan Chandler, Vice President of Business Development for the Colonial Group, parent company of several local businesses including Enmark. He will discuss the pivotal role that local businesses play in the local economy.

Date: Jan. 24

Time: 11:30 a.m.

Location: The Pirate’s House

The cost is $20 for members and $30 for non-members, and RSVP’s are required by 5 p.m. Monday, Jan.21. Reservations and advanced payment may be made on-line at www.buylocalsavannah.com.

Hilton Head-Bluffton Chamber restaurant week

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.

Date: Jan. 26-Feb. 2

For more information go to hiltonheadchamber.org.

Business Expo

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.

Date: Jan. 26-27

Location: The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa

To register, go to hiltonheadchamber.org or call 843-785-3673.

Hilton Head-Bluffton Chamber young professionals group

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

Date: Wednesday, Jan. 30

Time: 5:30-7 p.m.

Location: Corks Wine Bar, Bluffton

To register, go to hiltonheadchamber.org.

Hilton Head-Bluffton Chamber Ball

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

Date: Saturday, Feb. 2

Time: 6:30 p.m.

Location: The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa

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

Tee Up for Habitat

Habitat for Humanity of Savannah’s 11th golf tournament will be held at the Savannah Quarters Country Club in Savannah on April 8, 2013. This much-anticipated event, sponsored by Gulfstream Aerospace, draws the titans of local industry and business to this annual fundraising event.

Date: April 18, 2013

Location: Savannah Quarters Country Club

For more information, please contact Michelle Hunter at 912-353-8122 or hunter@habitatsavannah.org.

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 East 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 East 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.

Georgia’s most influential

Seven Savannahians have been named to Georgia Trend’s annual listing of the state’s 100 most powerful and influential citizens.

They are Curtis J. Foltz, executive director of the Georgia Ports Authority; Rob Gibson, executive and artistic director of the Savannah Music Festival; W. Todd Groce, president & CEO of the Georgia Historical Society; Savannah Mayor Edna Jackson; Robert S. Jepson Jr., chairman & CEO of Jepson Associates; U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston; and Page Siplon, executive director of the Georgia Center of Innovation for Logistics.

Named to the magazine’s “notable” list was James L. Pannell, partner in Gray, Pannell & Woodward.

Buy Local awards

Buy Local Savannah will hold its annual awards luncheon at 11:30 a.m. Jan. 24 at The Pirate’s House. The group will present its Buy Local Business of the Year and Buy Local Advocate of the Year awards.

Business of the Year candidates meet some combination of the following criteria: Firm must be a Buy Local member; minimum one-year history of substantial growth in local sales; expansion or addition of local facilities; active involvement with and support of the Buy Local organization; successful solicitation of additional Buy Local members; and community, civic or public service activity beneficial to Buy Local.

Qualifications for Advocate of the Year include: Actively involved in the promotion of local purchasing; involved in the establishment or development of locally owned business(es); active involvement in the Buy Local organization; and community, civic or public service activity beneficial to Buy Local.

The program will also feature a presentation by Ryan Chandler, vice president of business development for the Colonial Group, parent company of several local businesses including Enmark. He will discuss the pivotal role that local businesses play in the local economy. In addition, he’ll provide an overview of the company’s growth history and key factors in its rise to international visibility and prominence.

The cost is $20 for members and $30 for non-members, and RSVPs are required by 5 p.m. Jan. 21. Reservations and advanced payment may be made online at buylocalsavannah.com.

For more information, contact Michele Thompson at 272-6767.

Seminars for small business

Hancock Askew & Co. LLP. will offer a new bi-monthly lunch-and-learn seminar series for small business owners, beginning Thursday.

The seminars will be held from noon-1 p.m. at Hancock Askew, 100 Riverview Drive.

Neville Stein, CPA and company partner, will lead the discussions, which will focus on such topics as reading an income statement, the difference between an income statement and cash flow statement and the strange world of debits and credits. Thursday’s seminar is on reading a balance sheet.

For more information or to register, please contact Barbara Fierstein at 912-527-1337 or bfierstein@hancockaskew.com.

HIRES/PROMOTIONS

JOHN SAWYER

New job title: Public works and water resources bureau chief

Company: The city of Savannah

Duties: Sawyer is responsible for more than 400 employees who work in departments such as Water, Sewer, Stormwater, Streets Maintenance and Traffic Engineering.

Related work experience: Sawyer had served in this position in an acting capacity since December 2011.

HEATH LLOYD

New job title: Public works and water resources operations director

Company: The city of Savannah

Duties: Lloyd will provide managerial oversight of Bureau operations.

Related work experience: Lloyd previously served as the city’s water supply and treatment director.

ALISHA HAYWOOD

New job title: Commercial lines property and casualty account manager

Company: Bernard Williams Insurance and Financial Services

Related work experience: Haywood comes to Bernard Williams from Roork Insurance Group of Phoenix, Ariz., where she served as an office manager and account executive for commercial lines/property and casualty accounts. She has been working in the insurance industry since 1998 as an underwriter for a Managing General Agency administered by Brown and Brown Insurance.

Education: Haywood is a graduate of Pacific Christian College with a degree in psychology.

NICHOLAS J. LAYBOURN

New job title: Partner

Company: Hunter-Maclean

Duties: Laybourn’s practice areas include medical malpractice, business litigation, transportation law and products liability.

Related work experience: Laybourn joined HunterMaclean in 2008 and has successfully represented businesses and individuals in Georgia’s state and federal courts.

Education: Laybourn earned a J.D. from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University and a B.S. in marketing from Clemson University.

KEITH C. KLINE

New job title: Financial advisor

Company: Morgan Stanley Wealth Management

Duties: Kline will work with clients to define and accomplish their financial goals by delivering a vast array of resources in the way that is most appropriate for how individuals choose to invest.

Education: Kline graduated with honors attaining a bachelor of business administration — decision science and information systems degree.

HONORS/AWARDS

Hospice Savannah physicians earn certification

Hospice Savannah is proud to announce that with the training assistance of Hospice Savannah three physicians in our community have passed their board certification in Hospice and Palliative Medicine.

The three physicians are Dr. Julia Johnson, Dr. Kenneth Eugene and Dr. Martin Sheldon. Dr. Laura Farless also received board certification in Hospice and Palliative Medicine and is new to our community. She will be working with Hospice Savannah and The Steward Center for Palliative Care.

Savannah banker named Mortgage Bankers Association president

The Coastal Bank, a locally owned and operated community bank headquartered in Savannah is pleased to announce that Vice President and Mortgage Sales Manager Marlene S. Buhler was recently named the president of the Mortgage Bankers Association of Savannah for 2013.

Buhler assumed leadership of the Mortgage Bankers Association of Savannah during the group’s annual installation ceremony, held at Skyler’s Restaurant on Dec. 18.

New members join Step Up Savannah’s board of directors

Eleven new members will join the Step Up Savannah Inc. board of directors in January, reflecting the range of its collaborative partners: Business and government leaders, direct service providers, and neighborhood leaders representing the high-poverty Census tracts.

Step Up Savannah Board Officers, 2013:

• Board Chairman Michael Traynor, publisher, “Savannah Morning News”

• Vice Chairman Pamela Howard Oglesby, West Savannah community activist

• Treasurer John Wills, president, Consumer Credit Counseling Service

New board members and their affiliations:

• Arthur Best, Workforce Development Director, Economic Opportunity Authority

• Scott Center, president, National Office Systems Inc.

• Tabatha Crawford-Roberts, founder, Right Track Consulting Services; graduate, Neighborhood Leadership Academy

• April Joy Hetzel, proprietor, Mint Green Tag Sale Company; NLA graduate

• Patricia Lyons, president, Senior Citizens Inc.

• Maureen McFadden, director, Department of Family & Children Services

• Chris Miltiades, president, Workmen’s Circle Credit Union

• John Neely, president, Colliers International

• Al Scott, chairman, Chatham County Commission

• Pat Shay, president, Gunn, Meyerhoff, Shay

• Gloria Williams, president, Cuyler Brownville Neighborhood Association; NLA graduate

Georgia Historical Society President honored

Dr. W. Todd Groce, President and CEO of the Georgia Historical Society (GHS), has once again been named by Georgia Trend Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential Georgians. Dr. Groce has led GHS, the independent, statewide institution responsible for collecting, examining and teaching Georgia history, for the past 18 years.

Ten major banks agreed Monday to pay $8.5 billion to settle federal complaints that they wrongfully foreclosed on homeowners who should have been allowed to stay in their homes.

The banks, which include JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo, will pay billions to homeowners to end a review process of foreclosure files that was required under a 2011 enforcement action. The review was ordered because banks mishandled people’s paperwork and skipped required steps in the foreclosure process.

The settlement was announced jointly by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve.

Separately, Bank of America agreed Monday to pay $10.3 billion to government-backed mortgage financier Fannie Mae to settle claims related to mortgages that soured during the housing crash.

The agreements are the banks’ latest step toward eliminating hundreds of billions of dollars in potential liabilities related to the housing crisis that crested in 2008. When they release fourth-quarter earnings later this month, the banks hope to reassure investors that they are making progress toward addressing those so-called legacy claims.

But advocates say the foreclosure deal allows banks to escape responsibility for damages that might have cost them much more. Regulators are settling at too low a price and possibly at the expense of the consumer, they say.

“This was supposed to be about compensating homeowners for the harm they suffered,” said Diane Thompson, a lawyer with the National Consumer Law Center. The payout guidelines already allowed wronged homeowners less compensation than the actual damages to them, she said.

Under the settlement, people who were wrongfully foreclosed on could receive from $1,000 up to $125,000. Failing to offer someone a loan modification would be considered a lighter offense; unfairly seizing and selling a person’s home would entitle that person to the biggest payment, according to guidelines released last summer by the OCC.

The agreement covers up to 3.8 million people who were in foreclosure in 2009 and 2010. All will receive some amount of compensation. That’s an average of $2,237 per homeowner, although the payouts are expected to vary widely.

About $3.3 billion would be direct payments to borrowers, regulators said. Another $5.2 billion would pay for other assistance including loan modifications.

The companies involved in the settlement also include: Citigroup, MetLife Bank, PNC Financial Services, Sovereign, SunTrust, U.S. Bank and Aurora. The 2011 action also included GMAC Mortgage, HSBC Finance Corp. and EMC Mortgage Corp.

The deal “represents a significant change in direction” from the original, 2011 agreements, Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry said in a statement.

Banks and consumer advocates had complained that the loan-by-loan reviews required under the 2011 order were time consuming and costly without reaching many homeowners. Banks were paying large sums to consultants who were reviewing the files. Some questioned the independence of those consultants, who often ruled against homeowners.

Curry said the new deal meets the original objectives “by ensuring that consumers are the ones who will benefit, and that they will benefit more quickly and in a more direct manner.”

“It has become clear that carrying the process through to its conclusion would divert money away from the impacted homeowners and also needlessly delay the dispensation of compensation to affected borrowers,” Curry said.

Thompson agreed that the earlier review process was deeply flawed and said the move toward direct payments is a positive development. But she said the deal will only work if it includes strong oversight and transparency provisions.

“It’s another get out of jail free card for the banks,” said Thompson. “It caps their liability at a total number that’s less than they thought they were going to pay going in.”

Citigroup said in a statement that the bank is “pleased to have the matter resolved” and believes the agreement “will provide benefits for homeowners.” Citi expects to record a charge of $305 million in the fourth quarter of 2012 to cover its cash payment under the settlement. The bank expects that existing reserves will cover its $500 million share of the non-cash foreclosure aid.

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said the agreements were “a significant step” in resolving the bank’s remaining legacy mortgage issues while streamlining the company and reducing future expenses.

Leaders of a House oversight panel asked regulators for a briefing on the proposed settlement on Friday. Regulators refused to brief Congress before announcing the deal publicly.

Maryland Congressman Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said in a statement that he was “deeply disappointed” in the regulators’ actions.

“I have serious concerns that this settlement may allow banks to skirt what they owe and sweep past abuses under the rug without determining the full harm borrowers have suffered,” Cummings said. He said regulators have failed to answer key questions about how the settlement was reached, who will get the money and what will happen to others who were harmed by these banks but were not included in the settlement.

The settlement is separate from a $25 billion settlement between 49 state attorneys general, federal regulators and five banks: Ally, formerly known as GMAC; Bank of America; Citigroup; JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo.

Savannah-based Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. and Israeli Aerospace Industries have had a long and mutually productive relationship, with IAI building the smaller Gulfstream G150 and G280 business jets in Tel Aviv.

But a different kind of relationship between Gulfstream and Israel was pointed out last week by the Israeli Consulate General in Atlanta when he revealed the Israel Defense Force Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz had cited the elite Nahshon Squadron of the Israeli Air Force for its outstanding performance during several top-secret missions.

Acting as the “eyes and ears” of the Israeli defense forces on an almost daily basis, the squadron operates a fleet of Gulfstream G550 planes equipped with advanced Israeli-made surveillance and control technology that allows it to detect aircraft movement from long distances.

According to Flight International magazine, the Israeli Air Force has used versions of transports such as the Douglas DC-3 and Boeing 707 for missions involving airborne early warning and electronic intelligence-gathering. But faced with more sophisticated threats, the service several years ago decided to upgrade its capabilities to the G550.

“We’re happy that the product is performing well for them,” said Steve Cass, Gulfstream’s vice president for communications. “Beyond that, we can’t comment.”

Aviation Week reported last week that the military version of the G550 jet has an extended service ceiling of 51,000 feet, a surveillance range of more than 250 miles, an endurance of 10 hours and carries 10 to 12 operators.

According to foreign reports, the Nahshon Squardron led the attack on Syria’s nuclear reactor and the bombing of an arms depot in Sudan. It would be expected to lead a strike on Iran, should the need arise.

At the end of my City Talk column on Sunday, I noted that some key concerns about the quality of life for residents of the downtown area would be ameliorated if more folks were simply living downtown.

The need for greater residential density in our urban neighborhoods has been a consistent refrain of this column for many years. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking on my part, but the need for increased density seems more widely accepted than it used to be.

In part, this is purely a political calculation. While residents of historic neighborhoods have considerable clout, there simply aren’t enough voters living in the Historic District, Thomas Square or adjacent neighborhoods to determine who holds any single seat on Savannah’s City Council.

But there are much more fundamental reasons to encourage increased density.

The neighborhoods bounded by Victory Drive, East Broad Street, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and the river once had about three times the population of today.

The core of the city is dotted with vacant lots and unoccupied properties, and we’ve also seen over many decades a sharp decline in household size.

These trends have been reinforced by others, especially widespread automobile ownership and the growth of the suburbs.

Viewed in isolation, the decline in residential density downtown might seem like a pretty good thing, especially for residents who want as much quiet and privacy as possible.

But Savannah’s urban design and historical land-use patterns dictate a certain ratio of commercial versus residential properties.

We have a number of important commercial corridors downtown, including Broughton Street, River Street, Bay Street, MLK, Abercorn Street and Bull Street. There are key pockets of commercial activity elsewhere too, including the City Market area and the Downtown Design District along Whitaker Street.

This balance of residential and commercial uses has changed relatively little since Savannah was founded. The design worked well for a couple of centuries, but the decline in residential density and other cultural trends in the latter half of the 20th century devastated the downtown commercial sector.

To put it simply, there aren’t anywhere near enough downtown residents to support all the downtown commercial areas.

The void has largely been filled by tourists, which has prompted commercial investment that caters primarily to that sector. Zoning codes have skewed things further by encouraging hotels rather than apartments.

I’m painting with a broad brush in this short column. Obviously, you can find all sorts of exceptions, and it’s worth noting that commercial traffic varies considerably by neighborhood and by time of day.

But we’d have more neighborhood businesses in the greater downtown area if we had more residents in those neighborhoods.

We’d simply have a stronger neighborhood fabric.

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

Georgia Power plans to close Plant Kraft in Port Wentworth in 2016 as part of a statewide strategy to decommission cost-prohibitive coal and oil-fired power generation stations, the utility announced Monday.

Plant Kraft includes three coal-fired units and one oil-fired generator. Georgia Power will also retire two locally-based combustion turbine generators, as well as both units at Plant McManus in Brunswick.

The closures will impact 85 workers at Plant Kraft and 25 at Plant McManus, although the utility does not anticipate layoffs.

“No one will lose his or her job,” Georgia Power spokeswoman Swann Seiler said. “We will manage the workforce over the next few years through attrition, transfers and relocations.”

Georgia Power will request approval to shutter Plants Kraft and McManus, as well as units in Putnam and Coweta counties from the Public Service Commission later this month. The Public Service Commission is expected to vote on Georgia Power’s request this summer.

The 15 units scheduled for decommission together generate 2,061 megawatts. Georgia Power will replace that energy through other coal plants, hydroelectricity and nuclear power. The new reactors at Plant Vogtle are schedule to begin operations in 2017.

“We are in the midst of a significant transition in our fleet that will result in a more diverse fuel portfolio — including nuclear, 21st century coal, natural gas, renewables and energy efficiency — to ensure we maintain our commitment for generations to come,” Georgia Power President and CEO Paul Bowers said in a prepared statement.

All the units except those at Plant Kraft will be retired in April 2015 ahead of the effective date of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Mercury and Air Toxics rule. Georgia Power will request a one-year extension of the rule’s compliance date to keep Plant Kraft online through April 2016 because of maintenance and upgrades planned for the area, Seiler said.

Those coal-fired units around the state not slated for retirement are being fitted with environmental controls to comply with the Mercury and Air Toxics rule.

Georgia Power’s move to retire the fossil-fuel plants was not unanticipated. The utility files plans addressing its approach to providing reliable and economically efficient power with the Public Service Commission every three years. The latest version of that strategy is due Jan. 31.

Additonally, Plant Kraft was among Georgia's seven coal-fired plants singled out by the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy as too dirty and costly to continue operating. Kraft’s three coal-fired generators came online from 1958 to 1965 and have none of the four pollution control retrofits deemed essential for ongoing environmental compliance.

The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy welcomed Monday’s announcement.

“This is a good day for Georgia citizens and the air they breathe, particularly on the coast in Savannah,” said the Alliance’s Executive Director Stephen Smith. “While Georgia Power is not acknowledging they’re doing this because of climate change, it’s a good down payment for reducing carbon because coal is the most carbon-intensive way to generate electricity.”

Smith did question Georgia Power’s decision to keep Plant Kraft online for the additional year beyond the EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics rule compliance date. He said the utility could have met the deadline if it had spent less time fighting the rule.

“I don’t want say that’s unreasonable,” Smith said of the scheduled shutdown. “I think, though, in actuality it’s a reflection that if they hadn’t spent so much time fighting the regulations and EPA and spent more time engineering and accepting it was the right move for ratepayers and the environment, they could’ve been on schedule.”

Plant Kraft has been in operation since 1958. The plant is located on the banks of the Savannah River near Port Wentworth’s city center. Word that the plant would close disappointed Port Wentworth Mayor Glenn Jones, although he’d heard from friends and constituents that the “writing had been on the wall” for some time.

Jones acknowledged concerns that the plant closing would impact the local economy, particularly eateries and other service-oriented businesses.

“Any time you lose people working in your city to work somewhere else the small businesses may hurt some,” Jones said. “But the bigger issue at this point is that the people who have jobs there will always have a job. That’s a relief.”

Local gas prices edge upward

Average retail gasoline prices in Savannah have risen 1.7 cents a gallon in the past week to $3.39 on Sunday, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 262 gas outlets in Savannah.

This compares with the national average that has not moved in the last week at $3.26 a gallon, according to gasoline price website GasBuddy.com.

Gas prices in Savannah were 4.5 cents a gallon higher than the same day a year ago and 7.5 cents a gallon higher than a month ago. The national average has decreased 9.3 cents a gallon during the last month and stands 6.8 cents lower than one year ago.

“With the fresh start of 2013 many motorists have begun seeking information on where gasoline prices will be going for the upcoming year,” said GasBuddy.com Senior Petroleum Analyst Patrick DeHaan.

He said GasBuddy will release its 2013 forecast later this week at blog.gasbuddy.com.

SCAD student wins Blick competition

Morgan Beem, a Savannah College of Art and Design student and local Blick Art Materials customer, has won Blick’s national student car sweepstakes, which drew more than 14,000 entries.

Blick will present a new Scion iQ to Beem during a ceremony at 2 p.m. today at the company’s store at 318 E. Broughton St. Blick president Edward Ogorzaly and Scion representatives Bob Duffin and Werner Kettlehack will be on hand for the presentation.

As a part of the grand prize, SCAD will receive a check for $5,000 to help support the school’s annual scholarship gala, its signature scholarship fundraising event.

Beem is a graduate student focusing on sequential art.

Hockey networking event scheduled

The Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce’s 15th Annual Hockey Business Connection will be held from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Jan. 17 at the Savannah Civic Center.

Last year, the Hockey Business Connection drew more than 350 attendees.

The event will be held on kickoff night of the Savannah Tire Hockey Classic, which also is celebrating 15 years. Entry into the business connection includes a ticket to that night’s game when the Citadel will face the University of South Carolina.

The Savannah Tire Hockey Classic features the University of Georgia, University of Florida, Georgia Tech, Florida State, University of South Carolina and The Citadel.

The cost is $15 for Chamber members, $30 for guests. Any employee of a member company can attend for the member rate. No RSVP is necessary.

For more information, go to SavannahChamber.com or contact Cally D’Angelo at 912-644-6459 or CDAngelo@SavannahChamber.com.

Small business owners preparing to abide by the Affordable Care Act were advised Tuesday to use the same approach as they would in eating an elephant.

View photos and see who was spotted at the luncheon.

“Bite off a bit of it at a time,” said Steve Eagle, managing partner and an employee benefits consultant with Seacrest Partners.

Eagle laid out the basics of the so-called Obamacare legislation during the Small Business Council SMART Lunch meeting in the Savannah Morning News Auditorium. Eagle’s presentation underscored the complexity of the legislation slated to take effect in 2014 and its impact on small businesses.

The bottom line for employers with at least 50 full-time workers, Eagle said, is they must meet a mandate for minimum health care coverage for their employees or face penalties. Each employee’s share of the premium cost cannot exceed 9.5 percent of his or her wages to be considered “affordable” under the law.

Small businesses with 49 or fewer employees are exempt from penalties but those that do offer health care benefits will likely face higher costs, although the government will offer tax credits to small businesses with 25 or fewer employees that do provide coverage.

All small businesses will see their tax credit increase to 50 percent in 2014 to help offset the cost of providing insurance.

“To call this health care reform is a misnomer,” Eagle said. “It’s about mandates, subsidies, penalties and taxes. And it’s constantly changing.”

Eagle cited a 144-page update to the legislation issued on Dec. 28. The federal insurance exchange, which will be the marketplace for Georgians not covered under employer plans, is still being established. More changes are likely coming, Eagle said.

The choice many small business owners face with the Affordable Care Act is whether to continue to offer health insurance coverage or eliminate the plans and send employees to the federal exchange. For businesses with 50 or more employees, the penalty for not doing so ranges from $2,000 to $3,000 per full-time employee or full-time equivalent.

Those businesses with 25 or fewer employees that pay average annual wages below $50,000 and choose to offer health insurance can qualify for a tax credit of up to 35 percent.

Eagle summed up his advice to small business frankly, saying, “Keep calm, work it off bite by bite and hopefully you won’t get hosed.”

LEARN MORE

Go to www.healthcare.gov to learn more about how the Affordable Care Act will impact employees and employers.

Savannah business owners with message boards as part of their roadside signage will have to wait a few more weeks before throwing away their long poles and plastic letters.

The Chatham County-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission on Tuesday tabled a text amendment to the city’s zoning ordinance that would allow businesses, schools, churches and other public use organizations, such as fire stations and government agencies, to incorporate electronically controlled message areas into their signs.

Board members requested clarifications, specifically regarding sign area size, to the proposed amendment. The board will take up the amendment again on Feb. 19.

Currently, only businesses in certain zoning districts could utilize electronic message boards. The restriction forced many to utilize manual message boards — those changed using a long pole with a suction cup on the end.

Under the proposed text amendment, the messages on the electric signs must be static — no flashing or scrolling — and could only be changed once every 24 hours. The amendment also includes restrictions on lighting and sign area.

“We’re updating our capability of updating messages from manual to computerized method. We’re not going to see signs with dancing guys on them,” board member Ben Farmer said.

Electronic message boards would still be prohibited in landmark historic districts.

The affordability of digital signage has led to an increased call for ordinance changes, said MPC staffer Amanda Bunce, who led efforts to craft the proposed text amendment.

The MPC recommended allowing electronic message boards for businesses in a mixed-use zoning classification, known as B-N, last July.

Many churches and schools, many located in more residential areas, have shown interest in electronic message boards as well.

Several board members expressed dismay that the proposed text amendment would not apply to two existing digital signs — one in front of the Chatham County Health Department on Eisenhower Drive and the other near the Savannah State University entrance at Skidaway Road and LaRoche Avenue.

Both institutions are state agencies and were not subject to the city’s sign ordinance when the boards were installed.

“That health department sign is blinding,” board member Thomas Mackey said. “Somebody is going to hit somebody out there some night.”

LAS VEGAS — In the not-so-distant future, couch potatoes will be waving, pointing, swiping and tapping to make their TVs react, kind of like what Tom Cruise did in the 2002 movie “Minority Report.” That’s the vision of TV manufacturers as they show off “smart TVs.”

The sets will recognize who’s watching and will try to guess what viewers want to see. They’ll respond to more natural speech and will connect with your smartphone in a single touch.

But don’t worry about “Big Brother” looking back at you. Manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics Co. will allow motion-capturing cameras to be pointed away.

Gesture recognition still has a long ways to go, and in some demonstrations at this week’s International CES show in Las Vegas, voice commands got lost in translation.

At a crowded Samsung booth, one attendant demonstrated how hand gestures were used to play simple kids’ games. Raising her hand brought up an on-screen cursor. Grasping the air was equivalent to clicking on what her digital hand was hovering over.

However, when she tried the same gestures on a menu of TV-watching options, the TV didn’t respond well. When she tried to give a kind of sideways wave — like Queen Elizabeth greeting her supporters — the page didn’t swipe to the left as it should have.

The technology appeared less responsive compared with the Xbox 360’s Kinect motion-control system, which seems to do a much better job at swiping through menus.

Later, in a quiet, enclosed Samsung booth, the TV struggled to comprehend voice commands. The TV was asked, “find me a movie with Tom Cruise,” and correctly pulled up an online trailer of his latest movie, “Jack Reacher.” The system was then asked to “find me dramas.” The command “Number 3” was given to choose the third option in the results, but the TV instead started a new search and offered a range of viewing options for “Sommersby.”

Paul Gagnon, a TV analyst with research firm NPD Group, said it’s still early days for these technologies.

“Most interaction I’ve had with gesture and voice control ... it’s not real great right now,” he said. “Right now, a lot of people in the industry are just trying to explore the possibilities.”

The TV makers’ new interactive features fared better when they reverted to the traditional remote control format, with some twists.

Samsung’s new remote has a touch-enabled track pad that swiped through menus similar to smartphone screens on Android and Apple mobile devices.

And LG Electronics Inc.’s newest “Magic Remote” controller was incredibly precise in directing where an on-screen pointer should be. It uses Bluetooth wireless technology along with a gyroscope inside the controller itself. It worked even from a great distance or when facing in the opposite direction.

LG’s voice command worked well in searching for programs on live TV, Web video apps and even the broader Internet. When an attendant pressed the voice input button and spoke into the microphone on the controller asking for “Channel 5,” one of items presented was the Bing search results showing the website of the Channel 5 TV broadcaster in Las Vegas.

When asked for “The Dark Knight Rises,” the TV showed that it was available for rental or purchase on-demand through the Vudu online video app and brought up that app on the TV.

Another feature demonstrated on an LG TV was a way to mirror what’s on your smartphone or tablet with the TV. Using what’s known as “near-field communications,” an attendant touched his Android phone to a kind of sticky pad that was stuck onto the TV stand. After interacting with the chip inside the pad, the phone was paired with the TV. The phone then brought up two arrows, one for “Phone to TV” and the other “TV to Phone.”

By swiping up for “Phone to TV,” whatever was on the phone then showed up on the big screen. Swiping the other way brought out a set of controls for using the phone like a remote control.

The World Trade Center Savannah board, meeting Tuesday at the World Trade Center building on Hutchinson Island, discussed its 2013 business plan, brought on several new partners and announced its board for the upcoming year.

With a mission to attract investment and create jobs, the WTC Savannah’s three-pronged approach is to help regional businesses expand internationally, identify more foreign direct investment opportunities for the region and generate revenue to support those activities.

Included in the board’s plan for this year is an annual review of target countries where WTC will focus its efforts, the recruitment of regional board members, the continuation of research in support of founding WTC partners, trade missions to Germany and Brazil, as well as the hosting of inbound delegations, branding both the organization and the building and a minimum of eight educational programs.

The first program, an innovation management seminar, is set for Feb. 5.

WTC has also selected its first group of college interns. The five students, who will begin next week, come from Armstrong Atlantic State and Georgia Southern universities, as well as the Savannah College of Art and Design. They will work in Trade Services, Marketing and Programs.

Board chairman Eric Johnson announced the number of WTC Savannah partners has grown to eight, with original partners Sesolinc, Peeples Industries and Hussey, Gay, Bell & DeYoung joined by the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce, Suntrust Bank, Pendleton Consulting, Colony Bank and National Office Systems.

In addition to Johnson, president of Hussey, Gay, Bell and DeYoung, executive board members for 2013 are vice chairman Scott Center, owner of National Office Systems; and Savannah City Attorney W. Brooks Stillwell III, secretary/treasurer.

Board members are Chad Barrow, president of Coastal Logistics Group; Sylvester Formey, president of Vanguard Distributors Inc.; Kent Harrington, chairman of the Greater Savannah International Alliance; Tommy Hester, Savannah market president of Colony Bank; Cliff McCurry, vice chairman of Seacrest Partners Inc.; Anthony Phillips of Advent Dental and state Rep. Ann Purcell, who didn’t run for re-election in November.

COMING SUNDAY

See Sunday’s Savannah Morning News for an in-depth look at “Savannah Touches the World,” the results of WTC Savannah’s first major research project designed to target those countries where the organization will focus its efforts in 2013.

This week in BiS:

• Vicki Sepielli at Kiwi Fleur says wedding work is her passion and she takes pride in the fact it’s somebody’s wedding day and a special time. She’s honored to be included and tries to make it magical for them.

• Elisha and Andreas Argentinis own a company called Metal Pressions that makes and sells handmade personalized jewelry online. They say their craftsmanship, design options, shopping experience and exclusive online jewelry design software make them unique.

• Attorney Brad Harmon says employers need to be aware of new requirements regarding OSHA Hazard Communications that will start to take effect this year and are designed to bring the United States into alignment with a worldwide system designed to improve safety and provide additional health protection for America’s workers.

• Personal financial planner Pat Brooks offers resolutions for improving your financial condition in 2013 but cautions that as we declare new personal and professional goals they should be approached with a plan and specific targets.

• Dan Elder continues his discussion of why U.S. businesses can’t find the skilled employees they need even when potential workers are knocking on their doors. This week, he explores the impact on skilled tradesmen of sending our manufacturing overseas.

S.C. Ports: Let cruise permit move to courts

CHARLESTON, S.C. — The South Carolina State Ports Authority has asked state regulators to allow a challenge to a permit for a new $35 million Charleston cruise terminal to head directly to court.

The Department of Health and Environmental Control last month approved a permit to add new pilings under an existing riverfront warehouse for the new terminal. In doing so, regulators said the terminal doesn’t change what has been happening on the waterfront of a city that has had a port for centuries.

Opponents of the city’s expanded cruise industry are appealing the permit and, at its meeting Thursday, the DHEC board will consider whether to review the issue.

Attorneys for the Ports Authority, in a letter to the DHEC board on Monday, wrote that “opponents intend on pursuing this matter in a request for a contested case hearing before the South Carolina Administrative Law Court in continuation of their ongoing crusade against the cruise business.”

The letter asked the DHEC board not to conduct another review of the permit at the agency level but to allow the parties to move to the courts “in the most expeditious manner possible.”

The permit can be appealed through the Administrative Law Court and the issue could then go to circuit court.

The highlight of the first Savannah Economic Development Authority meeting of the year was nothing short of what SEDA interim president Trip Tollison referred to as “one hell of a story” for Savannah.

The story is Gulfstream Aerospace, which announced to the SEDA board Tuesday that it has leased a 70,000-square-foot office building in Crossroads Business Park from North Point Real Estate to house Gulfstream’s Information Technology Center of Excellence, accommodating more than 400 professionals, 100 of whom will be new hires.

The building, which originally housed Friedman’s, will include three acres of surrounding property from SEDA for parking and other needs.

Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed, although Gulfstream officials credited SEDA with playing a critical role in securing the site and additional land.

Gulfstream has continued to grow its Savannah presence since 2006, when it announced a seven-year, $300 million expansion that would create 1,100 new jobs. That project was accomplished in half the time, adding another $100,000 in investment and bumping job numbers to 1,500.

A second major announcement, this one in November 2010, promised a seven-year, $500 million expansion that would include 1,000 new employees.

Two years into the latest plan, Gulfstream has more than lived up to its promise, investing more than $175 million of the $500 million and already hiring nearly 700 more than originally estimated for the entire seven years.

“This brings our total employment in Georgia to 8,580 and demonstrates that Gulfstream is a powerful economic engine for both the local and state economies,” said Gulfstream President Larry Flynn.

Following the announcement, SEDA presented Gulfstream with a large painting of a lowcountry creek and tidal marshes, representing “what you see from the air on approach to Savannah,” Tollison told Flynn. “It’s how you know you’re home.”

In accepting the gift, Flynn assured the SEDA board that “the tide’s still coming in — it’s not high yet.”

“The kind of success we’ve had doesn’t happen in a vacuum,” Flynn said. “This is a great place to work, live and attract exceptional employees. We have great partners in the community and a brand that’s known worldwide.

“The Gulfstream G650 — built in Savannah — is widely recognized as the No. 1 business jet on the market.”

With a five-year, 200-plane order backlog for the $64.5 million flagship jet, Gulfstream will be busy for years to come, Flynn said.

In other business, the SEDA board

• Approved its 2013 business plan, projecting 12 announcements creating 600 new jobs and a capital investment of $1 million.

• Announced a 2013 marketing campaign that will create a new logo, website and branding.

• Approved the 2013 budget with a projected $5.76 million in total revenue, $4.96 million in total expenses and a net income of nearly $800,000.

• Voted to accept the 2013 slate of officers, which include David Paddison, chairman; Robert E. James, vice chairman; and Stephen S. Green, secretary/treasurer. New board members are Willie Seymore, president of International Longshoremen’s Association Local 1414; Chad Barrow, president of Coastal Logistics Group; and Frank Macgill of HunterMaclean.

GULFSTREAM BY THE NUMBERS

• $975 million — committed investment since 2006

• 3,200 — number of new jobs created since 2006

• 8,580 — number of Gulfstream jobs in Georgia (8,406 in Savannah)

• $14 million — donated by Gulfstream and its employees to the United Way

• 60 — number of nonprofits helped by Gulfstream annually

• 2,800 — hours Gulfstream employees volunteered with HandsOn Savannah in 2012

The proposed East River Street hotel/retail complex on Savannah’s waterfront will be less visually imposing and include more waterfront greenspace than originally presented, according to updated plans.

Project architect Patrick Shay presented designs for the Georgia Power headquarters site Wednesday to the Savannah Historic District Board of Review. The board granted the first of at least three approvals for the development, which will feature two hotels, a parking garage, two retail buildings and two public plazas.

The board approval clears the way for the sale of the property from Georgia Power to the developer, North Point Hospitality. The deal could close as early as next week, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation.

“These plans show something we feel proud of and meets all the conditions set forth by this board last month,” Shay said.

The updated plans address many of the concerns expressed by the board when the project details were introduced in December. Major changes include reducing the number of retail buildings along the waterfront from four to two, widening the public spaces between the waterfront structures and altering the design of the riverfront hotel.

The updated retail buildings are larger than the four previously proposed but allow for larger public plazas and increase river views for pedestrians. One of the plazas will be more than 90 feet wide while the other will be 40 feet wide. The prior plan called for four narrow plazas between the waterfront buildings.

The waterfront hotel, meanwhile, won’t tower seven stories along the riverwalk’s edge. The new plans call for the hotel tower to be stepped back from the pedestrian walkway, addressing concerns that the hotel “walls off” the east end of River Street and east views of the river.

The tower will stand one story higher, however, measuring approximately 99 feet high. Shay had told the board in the December meeting pulling the tower away from the riverwalk would mean adding another story to make up for the lost square footage.

Board members voiced no objections to the taller hotel tower and expressed relief about the updated plans overall.

“We have a long way to go,” board member Reed Engle said, “but it’s a real good effort.”

Shay, the architect, will bring the project back next month for a review of façade openings and parking standards. The board will also review design details at a later meeting.

Tybee Road will be a less maddening stretch of asphalt to the beach bound this summer.

Plans calls for the installation of an electronic message board near the intersection of Bryan Woods Road and U.S. 80 on Whitemarsh Island. The City of Tybee, Chatham County and the Georgia Department of Transportation are expected to share in the costs of the solar-powered sign.

Tybee City Council will vote tonight on its share of the approximately $22,000 in funding for the message board.

“It’s something that’s been needed for several years now,” Tybee City Councilwoman Wanda Doyle told the Tybee Island Tourism Council board on Wednesday.

The message sign will list traffic information with Tybee-bound motorists. The Tybee Road, the stretch of U.S. 80 between the bridges spanning Bull River and Lazaretto Creek, regularly chokes with traffic due to accidents and congestion during the summer time. High tides occasionally flood the roadways as well.

Keith Gay, chairman of the Tybee Tourism Council, welcomed the message board news.

“The frustration level of visitors to the island will decrease significantly,” said Gay, who operates a vacation rental business on the island. “I can attest to how infuriated guests who sit in traffic on that road are by the time they get here. With this sign, they’ll have the opportunity to turn around and go back to Savannah for a few hours or shoot over to Wilmington for a bite to eat while the traffic clears.”

The message board will sit roadside but will not span the highway as is often seen along major travel routes such as the interstates in the Atlanta area. Doyle pushed for the over-the-road signs, but cost estimates were “astronomical, like a million dollars,” she said.

The sign should be in place before the summer travel season, assuming the city of Tybee, Chatham County and the Georgia Department of Transportation approve the funds.

Dean of UGA’s Terry College of Business to go to Va. Tech

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Robert T. Sumichrast, dean of the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia, has been named dean of the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech University.

Sumichrast will begin at Virginia Tech on July 1 and will succeed Richard E. Sorensen, who will retire after 31 years.

Virginia Tech’s Senior Vice President and Provost Mark McNamee said Sumichrast “brings a depth and breadth of experience that will serve the college and university well, and he will be a highly effective advocate for the college both within the university and with the broader community.”

Sumichrast became the Terry College dean in 2007 and is noted for leveraging strong collaborations with departments outside the business college, improving education and research programs, increasing services to students, and expanding the scope and success of alumni relations and development.

Enmark opens new store in Springfield

Enmark Stations Inc. will celebrate the grand opening of its newest location in Springfield at 11 a.m. Jan. 18.

The station at 1283 Highway 21 South is the company’s first store in Springfield. Mayor Barton A. Alderman and several city council members are expected to be on hand for the ribbon cutting.

The new Enmark station, on the site of a former convenience store, has been fully remodeled and features eight gas pumps, two diesel fueling locations, fresh coffee and other standard convenience store items.

“For the past 50 years, Enmark has made customer satisfaction our No. 1 priority,” said Houstoun Demere, Enmark Stations Inc.’s vice president. “We’re excited to continue that tradition with the store in Springfield and look forward to serving the needs of area residents and daily commuters.”

Enmark operates 62 stores in Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. For more information, call 912-236-1331 or go to www.enmarkstations.com.

‘Lunch & Learn’ event set for Crosswinds

The Savannah-Hilton Head CSCMP Roundtable “Lunch & Learn” will be Feb. 12 at Crosswinds Golf Club, 232 James B. Blackburn Drive.

Networking will begin at 11:30 a.m., with lunch at noon. Guest speaker will be Larry Ferrere, senior vice president of LogFire, who will discuss “Using Cloud Computing in Supply Chain: Analysts’ Perspectives.”

Register by Feb. 8. The cost is $25 for members and $30 for non-members.

For more information, email bharris@georgia.org or call 912-966-7842.

Calling the state’s inventory tax “blatant double taxation and a deterrent to small business,” state Rep. Craig Gordon pledged to introduce legislation that would exempt the downtown retail corridor from the annual assessment.

“As you grow, adding employees and expanding your businesses, everyone benefits,” he told members of the Savannah Downtown Business Association on Wednesday. “But this tax is holding a lot of businesses back.”

A Savannah native who grew up in District 162 — which he now represents — Gordon said he has experienced Broughton Street’s resurgence and wants to see it continue.

He said state Rep. Ron Stephens, chairman of the state tourism and economic development committee, would join him in the effort.

Rather than take on the statewide legislation, he will focus first on crafting local legislation that would likely include River Street, Broughton Street and the Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard corridor.

Ruel Joyner, president of the DBA, said the inventory tax — an annual ad valorum tax that covers everything in a business, from stock to computers, fixtures and office furniture — puts a severe strain on local small businesses.

“You pay tax on it when you buy it, you pay tax on it when you sell it and you’re taxed every year you have it,” he said. “It just doesn’t make sense.”

Georgia is one of only nine states that still has the tax, Joyner said.

“It’s not just creating hardships for businesses; it has forced some businesses to move across the river to South Carolina, where their inventory is not taxed this way,” he said.

Joyner cited Broughton Street business Levy Jewelers as an example of a business hamstrung by the tax.

“(Levy Jewelers) owner Lowell Kronowitz has a high-value inventory,” he said. “It’s not unusual for him to pay $150,000 to $200,000 in inventory taxes every year.

“While he’s not going anywhere, that’s money that could be used to expand, hire new employees and bring in more business.”

In fact, Joyner said, the city of Savannah is currently doing a study to look at what benefits the city might accrue if the money spent on inventory tax was invested into business growth instead.

“I think what they are going to find is we’ve been stepping over a dollar to pick up a dime,” he said. “And that’s not even considering the number of new businesses that might move into the area if this tax wasn’t in effect.”

Joyner said his organization is encouraged by the support and interest shown by the local legislative delegation, especially Stephens and Gordon.

“As business people, you already take risks,” Gordon said. “It’s our job as your representatives to make sure we’re helping, rather than hindering, your efforts.”

I wish to see the federal government concentrate discretionary spending in three vital areas besides defense: education, infrastructure and research and development.

They are all job creators. On the other hand, we are stuck with entitlements. We have paid for them our entire working lives, and Americans are not about to give them up.

Nevertheless, there is fear in the medical community that additional cuts in Medicare will make it impossible for some medical practices to keep the doors open. There are also predictions that by the end of this decade, we will be short more than 90,000 physicians as a result of the Affordable Care Act.

In another development designed to more accurately reflect the growth of Social Security, a modification by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to apply math called chain-weighting will slow the climb in the Consumer Price Index. CPI is the most common measure of inflation and is used by the government to determine annual cost of living increases.

Those year-over-year changes are applicable to other government payouts, as well. Republicans are pushing this. It’s not sleight of hand; gross domestic product has been measured that way for several years.

I wish kids were learning more in college. They need practical skills useful to employers, including the ability to write a literate sentence. Fewer Ph.D.s need to be teaching economics and business subjects. I think there is too much theory in these subjects at the introductory level, particularly economics.

There should be more faculty with practical experience, who know what students need in the real world.

In recent years, commentators have tended to denigrate the humanities. That is a mistake.

There is something essential and eminently attractive about a well-rounded student possessing a classic education.

Success in the classroom will open doors, and on-the-job training will provide the specific education a student needs to prosper in many career fields.

One place the federal and state governments can directly help create private-sector jobs is infrastructure spending.

Even our founders recognized the need for ‘internal improvements’ as a mechanism to facilitate growth.

Much more than make-work, adequate infrastructure is critical to economic development, whether it is spending on roads and bridges, airports, seaports or broadband.

Neglect in this critical area will lead to lagging productivity, missed opportunities and shrinking tax revenues.

According to R&D Magazine, research and development grants are 2.85 percent of GDP, but some economists would like to see that at 3 percent. That sounds insignificantly fractional, but in nominal dollar terms, that .015 percent difference is $650 million.

Do we want to hasten the day when cancer is conquered, when new technology and alternative energy rule and global warming is a thing of the past? Thousands of jobs and significant contributions to GDP can be positively affected by increased R&D spending. Only the U.S. government has the financial muscle to deliver the means corporate America cannot always provide in a market economy.

Tax reform is long overdue for action, and it must close loopholes and raise revenues at the federal, state and local levels without further increases in rates.

Consider that the five major expenditures of all governments are: health care, pensions, defense, education and welfare. Add in interest on debt, and that is 80 percent of spending.

Those interest payments are a potential Achilles heel at all government levels. They could double over time as interest rates move up.

In response to the bestial events of Sandy Hook, I wish to see carefully constructed, sound legislation on gun control that leaves law-abiding citizens the right to own sporting arms.

I would hope for a significant tax on firearms to provide more support for mental health issues.

I wish for a ban on assault weapons and their large-capacity clips.

I see these deadly rifles only as Rambo-style phallic symbols, designed for one purpose — to kill human beings.

I wish to see my Republican party rescued from the fringe, one which owns up to the necessity to embrace a moderate domestic agenda, a vigorous foreign policy and 21st-century reality while staying true to core values of holding down the growth of government and celebrating work ethic and individual initiative.

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

A weather-protected pedestrian corridor between Hutchinson Island’s hotel and its trade center neighbor was approved Wednesday by the board of the Savannah International Trade and Convention Center.

The projected $108,000 cost will be shared equally by the Trade Center and CSX, which owns the Westin Savannah Harbor Resort.

“This is definitely a plus for us as we sell the connectivity and seamless operations between the Westin and the Trade Center,” said Westin general manager Mark Spadoni, who added that the hotel’s ownership is on board with the project.

The project, designed by Lott+Barber Architects, will create a safe, well-lit passageway that is consistent with the two entities’ shared standards of quality and customer care, said Bob Coffey, Trade Center general manager.

The corridor, which will feature an acoustical dropped ceiling and lighted, etched glass panels, will allow visitors to travel between the two buildings in comfort, regardless of weather.

“Anything that we can do to enhance our visitor experience in both buildings is definitely a good thing,” said Joe Marinelli, president of Visit Savannah and a member of the Trade Center board.

Board chairman Mark Smith agreed.

“The Westin is our biggest customer,” he said. “This will be good for both of us.”

In other business, the board received another in a growing collection of authentically detailed models of ships from the 20th century and beyond that represent maritime innovation.

The Dona Angela Maria, a high-speed Fast Crew Supplier built by the Netherlands’ Damen Shipyards Group, features Caterpillar engines and a sleek, axe-bow shape designed to make it more stable in rough waters.