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Local Breaking News

Aug.23 – Savannah Woman Charged in Scam with 27 Victims, So Far

NEWS - Local Breaking News

SBJ Staff Report

 

The Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police announce today that they have charged Stacey Michelle Williams, 27, of Savannah with running a financial scam with 27 victims, so far. Police allege that she took advantage of residents who could least afford it.

 

Williams, a resident of the 400 block of Carolan Street, has been charged with Financial Identity Fraud and Theft By Deception after a scheme to convince victims she had paid their utility bills.

 

“These are residents who could least afford to lose $100 to $150 to $200,” said Detective R.J. Woodberry, overseeing the investigation, adding that the department is continuing to receive calls from victims who are discovering they paid for a service they never received. He gave this account of the scam to the department’s public relations office:

 

“Ms. Williams sought out victims who owed utility bills in parking lots of supermarkets and discount stores. She then offered to pay off their bills, for a fee, using a grant that she said the Equal Opportunity Administration had received to help the disadvantaged. She used a fraudulent EOA identification badge to help gain their confidence and asked for payment only after she provided confirmation that the bill had been paid.

 

After convincing her victims to provide their Georgia Power Co. account numbers, Ms. Williams would contact the power company, and in some cases telephone companies, by phone, identifying herself as the victim, and asking to pay off her bill electronically. She used a non-existing or fraudulent bank account to pay the bills, obtained a confirmation number indicating that the bill had been paid and provided that number to the victim.

 

In most cases she encouraged the victim to call the utility to confirm that the bill indeed had been paid, and then she collected her fee, ranging from $100 to $150 and in one case as much as $200 from the victim.

 

Victims realized they had been scammed several days later when they received notification from the utility indicating that the payment they had used to settle their accounts had been rejected by the bank, adding another $35 fee to their debt.”

 

Woodberry said Ms. Williams has a history of financial crimes from the past. Anyone believing they may have been a victim in the scam should contact Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Financial Crimes Division at (912) 657-6735.

 

Aug.23 – Savannah Business Journal’s “Business Buzzzzzzzzz!”

NEWS - Local Breaking News

The Savannah Chamber of Commerce’s 14th Annual Taste of Tybee Business Connection, held last Thurs. on Aug.19, drew a large crowd, despite the heat.

 

Food was provided byTybee restaurants and caterers including Alligator Soul Restaurant, Derst Baking Company, Dolphin Reef Restaurant at Ocean Plaza Beach Resort, Fannie's on the Beach, Gerald's Pig & Shrimp,Leopold’s Ice Cream, Marlin Monroe's Surfside, Papa’s Bar-B-Que & Seafood, Ruby T’s BBQ Sauce, Shane’s Rib Shack, Social, Sonic. Sting Ray's Seafood, Sunrise Restaurant and Vemma/VERVE!

 

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It may not be universal, but some representatives of the Project DeRenne study group were surprised to learn that LNG tankers may traveling along DeRenne Avenue when the redevelopment of that area is completed.  How can they be surprised? 

 

Implicit in the need to widen or redesign the DeRenne Avenue corridor was the need to get large, commercial and industrial trucks off of Bay Street and out of the historic district, going back more than 15 years when Savannah’s tourism began to take off.

 

Bay Street is a significant esthetic and walking corridor, and trucks hauling chemicals, construction materials and products manufactured or being onloaded or offloaded onto ships that berth east of the city’s historic area, have few options to get across the city.

 

Look for a new twist in negotiations with the City by residential neighborhood leaders on WHO can travel on that avenue.

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There’s still a month to signup to participate in Effingham County's first annual Effingham Oktoberfest and become a festival sponsor, co-sponsored by the Effingham Chamber of Commerce.

 

According to Tess Hynes, Chamber executive director, the Chamber has a “last call” out right now to encourage area businesses to participate. “Take full advantage of all the visibility afforded our sponsors as we promote the festival to the community,” says Hynes, by signing up now. Sponsorships are available from $250 and up, including a booth on site. Or, businesses can just be supportive and become a T Shirt! Festival Sponsor which will be featured in the Chamber’s  press releases and newspaper ads.

 

Call Rick Lott or Tess Moore at the Chamber at 912-754-3301, or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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JULY 5 – Three Savannah Women Partner to Enhance Services for Their Customers

NEWS - Local Breaking News

JULY 5 – Three Savannah Women Partner to Enhance Services for Their Customers

 

SBJ Staff Report

 

July 5, 2010 - Small businesses are keeping Savannah business hope alive, and partnerships are keys to survival. Catnip n Biscuits, located at 2615 Skidaway Road, and owned by Cathi Denham, which is Savannah’s upscale daycare and overnight pet care hotel, has added grooming and pet training classes to its lineup of offerings through partnering with two local companies.

 

Denham has partnered with Joy Cummings of Rock Star Grooming to add that company’s full line of services at Catnip’s facility. A groom consists of a humane bath (using quality shampoos), fluff drying, nail trim, ear hair plucking/cleaning, trim and style, finished with a spritz of cologne, but many other services are offered.  Grooming prices are determined by breed, size, coat condition, attitude of your pet and grooming services requested.  Prospective clients are asked to please call to schedule a pre-groom consultation, according to Cummings.

 

In addition, Suzanne Stover of Animal Behavior Concepts will be offering training classes at Catnip n Biscuits Skidaway Road facility, as well. Classes will be offered starting on July 13, including Family Dog 101 on Tuesdays at 6pm, for dogs 4mos old and up, which teaches self control, patience, attention, name response, recall, loose leash walking and basic commands. There will also be a Super Puppy Head Start Program on Thursday nights at 6pm is for puppy’s age 8 weeks to 3 months old. This class teaches self control, basic commands, patience, attention, name response, beginning leash walking, and socialization. House training and preventing behavior problems are also covered.

 

It’s three, smart small business owners working together.

   

JUNE 28 - Leadership Savannah Graduates 38

NEWS - Local Breaking News

June 28, 2010 - Leadership Savannah, a program run by the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce, graduated 38 people at a ceremony held on Thursday, June 10 at the Savannah Yacht Club.

Leadership Savannah was started in 1961 for the purpose of informing future leaders in the Savannah area of issues confronting the community on a variety of subjects. The unique program provides the opportunity for its participants to develop an awareness of community successes and problems as well as the knowledge to help meet the challenge of the future. Each applicants pays a fee to participate.

Graduates from the 2009-2010 class included;

Dave Acuff Union Mission

Hugh Barnes Barnes Restaurants

Rex Benton Mopper-Stapen Realtors

Rob Bowden Bernard Williams & Company

Chris Brown The Savannah Bank

Terry Cassidy Union Mission

Lonnie Chestnut BB&T Bank

Irvin Clark Savannah State University

Denise Cooper Bignault & Carter

Jeff Cressman Wachovia/Wells Fargo Bank

Julie Cyr United Way

Tony D'Aguillo City of Savannah, Water Utility Management

Roy Davenport Savannah Chatham County Public Schools

Larry Jackson Savannah Chatham County Public Schools

Suzanne Donovan Step Up Savannah

J.E.B. Harper Honey Ridge Plantation, LLC

Doug Herman Oliver Maner, LLP

Tal Johnson Dabbs, Hickman, Hill & Cannon, LLP

Ruel Joyner 24e

Caroline Keller Gulfstream Aerospace Corp.

Greg Kelly Savannah Airport Commission

Danny Mahfet Karp, Ronning & Tindol, PC

Joe Marchese Marchese Construction, LLC

Pete Mastopoulos Armstrong Atlantic State University

Jessica McClellan Department of Justice/U. S. Attorney's Office

Wendy Owens Law Office of Wendy A. Owens, P. C.

Jenny Payne City of Savannah

Ben Perkins Oliver Maner, LLP

Melissa Phillips Hussey, Gay, Bell & DeYoung

Danielle Pinkerton Savannah Chatham County Public Schools

Joe Ross WPC, Inc.

Smitty Smith Smith Hosmer

Amanda Taylor Savannah Economic Development Authority

Marian Teuton Georgia Power Company

Frank Twum-Barimah Armstrong Atlantic State University

Robby White Waste Management

Wanda Williams City of Savannah

Applications for the 2010-2011 class are now being accepted. through today, Monday, June 28 at 5 p.m. For more information, please contact Margaret Mary Russell at 912.644.6432 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

 

 

JUNE 28 – BUSINESS BUZZZZZZZZ by the Editorial Staff of the SBJ

NEWS - Local Breaking News

JUNE 28 – BUSINESS BUZZZZZZZZ by the Editorial Staff of the SBJ

LMI Aerospace in Savannah has made a large contribution to the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum’s B-17 restoration project, according to museum president Henry Skipper.

LMI Associates has contributed a right cheek blister, new skin panels, the navigators dome fairing, two ailerons, new fabric covering of the aircrafts control surfaces, two elevators, a Bombay door, and a ruttier, worth many thousands of dollars. Additionally LMI associates have donated well over 300 hours of manual labor to the manufacturing and restoration of these items for this project as they are not current manufactured items.

Hats off to a great company supporting a GREAT project that enhances the offerings of this important area museum to honor our military heroes.

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Dr. Dana Savidge at the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography is providing some insight into the computer models that project oil from the Gulf spill reaching the Atlantic coast. 

The large scale UCAR models get processes 90% right, but, of course, the devil is in the details, and the details (with respect to concentration, form, and approach of oil to the coast), he explains, and are not resolved by the models.

“If oil gets into the Loop Current, it inevitable that some oil in some form will pass by our coast.  But these models do not include any processes that remove or change the oil during passage, such as microbial degradation; photochemical breakdown; phase transitions (dispersed oil into tarballs and vice versa); and lateral mixing and dispersion, he says. The UCAR text associated with the model runs on the website goes into this a little bit, but not as much as it should,” he adds.

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Titan Advertising Group of Tybee Island has changed its named to Tytan Advertising Group.  You know those ad guys…always being creative! The company’s new website address is now www.tytancreates.com.

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Remember Savannah’s amazing and successful Savannah Book Festival this year?  More good news to put Savannah’s literary foot forward on a national stage is just in. The National Book Foundation has announced that the Flannery O'Connor Childhood Home in Savannah will serve as the official site for the announcement of the 2010 National Book Award finalists. Needless to say, this is a major honor for the Flannery O'Connor Childhood Home and is good for Savannah tourism. The announcement will take place on Weds., Oct. 13.

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Jeanne Seaver, the Republican candidate in the July primary hoping to unseat Congressman John Barrow in November, is having a meet and greet tonight in Rincon, at Frank and Linda’s Restaurant, hosted by owners Frank & Linda Brill.

Co-hosting, and supporting her campaign from Effingham County are: James Dasher - Effingham School Board, Troy Alford - Effingham School Board, Reggie Loper - Effingham Commissioner and Stephen Newsome, Andy, Andrew & Olivia Seaver, Bobby & Fran O'Neal, Jim and Joy Salyer, Ric Stewart and Patrick and Hedi O'Connor.  

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Brigadier General Jeffery E. Phillips, deputy commanding general of the 3rd Infantry Division at Ft. Stewart, just outside of Savannah, was honored at the Gretsch/KMC Music 10th Anniversary party held recently in Bloomfield, CT. The Gretsch Company has a factory in Ridgeland, SC. and the Gretsch Museum in Pooler.

 

Among the highlights of the afternoon was a series of special presentations. Fred and Dinah Gretsch presented KMC Music senior vice president of sales & marketing Paul Damiano with a plaque commemorating the 10th Anniversary, as well as a framed portrait of Gretsch company presidents dating back to Friederich Gretsch, who founded the company in 1883. Damiano then returned the favor by presenting Fred and Dinah with two unique items for the Gretsch museum in Pooler, Georgia. The first was a one-of-a-kind Gretsch USA Custom 10th Anniversary drumkit created in the company’s Ridgeland, South Carolina factory. The second was a custom snare drum personalized with the signatures of all KMC Music employees involved in the creation, marketing, and sale of Gretsch drums.

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The Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce is holding an event tomorrow, Tues., June 29, to help members – and future members - maximize their membership and learn more about the Chamber.

From 8:30 – 9:30 a.m., at the Chamber’s offices at 1106 Carteret St, members can learn what the Beaufort Regional Chamber has to offer its members, including how to get more involved and how to capitalize on your membership. The meeting is also a great networking opportunity with current and future chamber members. For more information contact Amy Kaylor at 843-525-8524 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .                 

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