Weekly Twitter Summary for 2012-01-22

Posted on January 22, 2012 by John Bennett

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Savannah Riverkeeper hosts Roast on the River event Jan. 20

Posted on January 19, 2012 by John Bennett

The Savannah Riverkeeper’s Third Annual Roast on the River event is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 20 and organizers sent out a “last chance to register” announcement this morning. Held at Hogan’s Marina on Wilmington Island, the event begins at 6:30 p.m. and features drinks, oysters, Low Country Boil and a silent auction. Tickets may be purchased through the SRK website.

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On bicycles and employment

Posted on January 18, 2012 by John Bennett

City of Savannah Mobility and Parking Director Sean Brandon has a guest post at the Creative Coast blog this morning, which makes important points about poverty, employment, planning and creative communities:

“I have found repeatedly that the person that takes their bicycle on an inhospitable street is trying to do the very thing that many complain those in poverty don’t do: get to and from their job.”

You can read the whole post here.

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Weekly Twitter Summary for 2012-01-15

Posted on January 15, 2012 by John Bennett
  • Now is the time to speak up for Complete Streets in Savannah! CORE MPO hosts public meetings Jan. 10, 17, 19. http://t.co/5NvaWsDW #
  • GreenDrinks #Savannah is tonight, 5:30-7:30 at @tacoabajo. Learn about Mountainfilm tour stop & National Cut Your Energy Costs day. #
  • Big crowd tonight at @tacoabajo for GreenDrinks #Savannah Good work, organizing committee! #
  • Savannah Tree Foundation hosts Jan. 12 trivia night, Jan. 14 tree planting on Tybee Island. http://t.co/Y6tm0AuA #
  • Savannah Bicycle Campaign's Bike 2 Beer event returns on Jan. 17 at Moon River Brewing Co. http://t.co/dmNzNJdJ #
  • Closing of Food Lion Store on MLK bad news on many levels. http://t.co/pnQEjckw #

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MLK Food Lion store to be closed less than a year after opening

Posted on January 12, 2012 by John Bennett

Count me among those shocked to hear that the brand new Food Lion store on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, which has been open for just over 10 months, is slated for closure. At the store’s groundbreaking on March 30, 2011, a store official told the Savannah Morning News,

“We are dedicated to being Savannah’s neighborhood grocery store.”

Apparently that level of dedication was not shared by Food Lion’s parent company, Delhaize America, which announced today it is closing 126 “underperforming stores.”
The store’s closing is a blow on multiple fronts, not least of which is the loss of jobs.

In July 2010 Savannah Morning News columnist Tom Barton wrote a column called “Crossing a ‘food desert,” in which he suggested:

“In terms of re-energizing this struggling corridor south of the I-16 flyover, this project isn’t just big. It’s humongous…There’s nothing like having a clean, well-stocked, competitively priced and convenient place to buy food and other necessities to make any area more desirable and contribute to healthier lifestyles.”

Here’s hoping a new tenant can be found quickly.

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Savannah Tree Foudation offers pair of Tybee events, Jan. 12 and 14

Posted on January 11, 2012 by John Bennett

The Savannah Tree Foundation is hosting two events on Tybee Island this week.

A trivia night at Tybee Island Social Club on Thursday, Jan. 12, features tree trivia and food and drink specials beginning at 7 p.m.

On Saturday, Jan. 14 the foundation will plant trees at River’s End Campground, from 10 a.m. until noon, rain or shine. Twenty-five volunteers are needed to help with planting trees and mulching previously planted trees. Volunteers should wear closed toe shoes, long pants and long sleeves. Gloves and tools provided by Savannah Tree Foundation, but bring your own if you have them. Community Service credit and refreshments provided.

For more information, call 912-233-8733 or visit the Savannah Tree Foundation website.

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CORE MPO seeks citizen input on Total Mobility Plan

Posted on January 10, 2012 by John Bennett

The Coastal Region Metropolitan Planning Organization is hosting a series of meetings to solicit citizen input on the Total Mobility Plan:

“The Total Mobility Plan is an in-depth planning effort which will emphasize sustainability, Complete Streets, Context Sensitive Design, non-motorized transportation and transit. The Plan will address the transportation network and specific facilities, but also the interaction between transportation and the community as a whole.  The thoroughfare planning component will address facilities for auto traffic, bicycles, pedestrians, and public transit vehicles, including intersections.  Workshop attendees will map context areas, creating a vision of the desired character in each community. The thoroughfare standards will then be shaped to achieve that vision.”

It’s encouraging to hear the phrase Complete Streets used in this context, as many of the area’s most important streets are woefully incomplete when it comes to safely accommodating pedestrians, bicyclists and transit riders. The meetings will be held at the following times and locations from 5-6:30 p.m., and will use a “Drop in when you can!” format.

Tuesday, Jan. 10
Islands High School Career Counseling Center, 170 Whitemarsh Island Road

Tuesday, Jan. 17
Armstrong Atlantic State University – Armstrong Center, 13040 Abercorn St.

Thursday, Jan. 19
First Presbyterian Church, 520 Washington Ave.

For more information, contact Mark Wilkes at (912) 651-1451 or wilkesm [at] thempc.org

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Weekly Twitter Summary for 2012-01-08

Posted on January 8, 2012 by John Bennett
  • Telluride film festival offerings, with sustainability angles, to be screened in Savannah, Jan. 21. http://t.co/Y0XH9MIe #
  • Bring one for the Chipper event will mulch Savannah's Christmas trees this Saturday. http://t.co/NgSPnNNP #
  • Bamboo Farm & Coastal Gardens offers UGA Extension Master Gardener class starting Jan. 24 in Savannah. http://t.co/H3lGBAO9 #

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Don’t trash that Christmas tree, recycle it this Saturday

Posted on January 4, 2012 by John Bennett

On my evening walk today I passed a Christmas tree set out on the sidewalk for collection by sanitation workers. Not only did it impede pedestrian traffic, there are much better things to do with trees after the holiday season has concluded. The City of Savannah is holding its annual Bring One for the Chipper event Jan. 7, from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. at the following locations:

· Home Depot, 11180 Abercorn St.
· Home Depot, 190 Pooler Parkway
· Home Depot, 1901 Victory Drive
· Dean Forest Landfill, 1325 Dean Forest Road
· Bacon Park Landfill, Shorty Cooper Road
· Wilmington Island Landfill, 7022 Concord Road

Christmas trees dropped off at this locations will be converted to mulch and used in neighborhood beautification projects. More information is available on the City of Savannah website.

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Telluride film festival screening scheduled for Jan. 21 in Savannah

Posted on January 3, 2012 by John Bennett

Savannah is a long way, both horizontally and vertically, from the peaks of Telluride, but that won’t stop films from the Mountainfilm in Telluride festival from making a tour stop at Trustees Theater on Saturday, Jan. 21. Titles, with a sustainability theme, to be screened in Savannah include:

  • With My Own Two Wheels: “The story of four people whose lives have been deeply changed by bikes.”
  • One Plastic Beach: A pair of artists “have collected plastic trash along a one-kilometer stretch of beach near their home in Northern California”. They make art from the debris, which they collect at a rate of up to “35 pounds per hour.”
  • Chasing Water: “Photojournalist Peter McBride sets out to document the flow of the Colorado River from source to sea.”

More information is available on the Festival tour website.

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