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A 17-year-old Savannah woman is in critical condition after being struck by a car while attempting to walk across U.S. Highway 80 on Wilmington Island Thursday night.

Stacie Davis of a Wyckfield Road address was transported to Memorial University Medical Center after the 8:57 p.m. accident in front of the Whitemarsh Island Shopping Center.

"She was walking north in the crosswalk at U.S. 80 and Debbie Drive against the light and talking on a cell phone when she was struck by a westbound Honda Civic driven by a 26-year-old Savannah man," police say.

The University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents voted earlier today to allow Armstrong Atlantic State University to shorten its name to Armstrong State University.

"In their request for the change, Armstrong officials noted that dropping the word 'Atlantic' from the university’s name will help minimize confusion and create a stronger brand for Armstrong," a spokesperson says.

“We need a name that reflects who we are today,” said William Kelso, the university’s vice president of advancement and an Armstrong alumnus. “Many people mispronounce our name, calling us ‘Atlantic Armstrong’ or ‘Armstrong Atlanta State University.’ This confusion limits our ability to brand Armstrong as a successful part of the University System of Georgia, with thriving campuses in Savannah and Hinesville.”

The name change will be effective in the new fiscal year, which begins July 1.

“We are grateful to the Board of Regents for approving our name modification,” said Armstrong president Dr. Linda M. Bleicken. “Having a more streamlined name will help us with our recruitment and retention initiatives.”

"The Board of Regents added Atlantic to the university’s name in 1996 in an effort to give Armstrong a geographic identifier," the spokesperson says.

Armstrong was originally founded in 1935 in downtown Savannah and has been located on the Southside since 1966.

The university will convene a task force to develop a strategy to implement the name change this summer. Most of the university’s signage, athletic uniforms and collateral materials already have the name “Armstrong,” rather than “Armstrong Atlantic.”

After receiving a positive response from a survey of Armstrong faculty, staff, students, alumni and community leaders in the fall of 2013, the university decided move forward with a name change from Armstrong Atlantic State University to Armstrong State University. The survey indicated that the majority supports the name modification.

Police are investigating the Saturday afternoon shooting of a 40-year-old man who was walking near the 2400 block of Harden Street.

Nathaniel Mullino, who lives on the block, was transported to Memorial University Medical Center for treatment of a serious injury after the 3:22 p.m. shooting.

Anyone with info is asked to call Crimestoppers at (912) 234-2020 or text CRIMES (274637) using the keyword CSTOP2020. A Tip Line is open at (912) 525-3124.

A Savannah man has been arrested "after a foot chase with Downtown Precinct Patrol officers and detectives following the shooting of a woman in her Yamacraw Village apartment Wednesday," police say.

Brian Aaron Keith, 24, of 5016 Gerald Avenue, has been charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, obstruction and reckless conduct after the 2:14 p.m. shooting.

He was arrested after running from the apartment on the 400 block of Yamacraw to the Greyhound/Chatham Area Transit bus station on West Oglethorpe Avenue. "He then ran north on Ann Street until he encountered arriving Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police officers responding to the shooting," police say.

Keith has a history of arrests by Metro Police dating to 2007 and was released by the Georgia Department of Corrections in March of 2011 after serving five months of a two-year, six-month sentence for terroristic threats and acts.

"Investigators learned a pistol in his possession fired on Wednesday, striking a 22-year-old woman," police say. She was transported to Memorial University Medical Center with non-life threatening wounds.

The hiring of Lee Smith, of Goldsboro, N.C., was approved by the Chatham County Commission today. after a nine-month search involving over 40 candidates. Smith, 49, will replace retiring County Manager Russ Abolt on May 12.

For the past 13 years Smith has been county manager of Wayne County, N.C.

Prior to his resignation from Wayne County, Smith was recently placed on paid administrative leave for "undisclosed reasons."

Wet Willie’s and Phi Pigma Kappa, a team of local business women and 2014 Kiss-A-Pig contenders, kick off this year’s Kiss-A-Pig Campaign with a Wipeout Diabetes Beach Bash weekend fundraiser featuring two new sugar-free daiquiris to help create diabetes awareness and raise money for the mission of the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

The annual Kiss-a-Pig Campaign pits community leaders against each other in a contest to raise the most "votes," with $1 = 1 vote. At the end of the campaign, the candidate or team with the most "votes" kisses a live pig, honored by ADA as the original source of insulin.

Wet Willie’s will also be offering month-long specials that can be purchased to help aid in the campaign against diabetes including:

April 11-13: Pink Beads will be given out with a request for a $1 donation

April 11-13: Pink Jelly Wristbands that say ‘Wet Willie’s Wipeout Diabetes’ will be given out with the request of a $1 donation

April 11-13: $2 Pink Finger shots with $1 of the price paid to benefit ADA

April 11-13: Raffle tickets offered to win a $100 Wet Willie’s gift card with $1 donation to ADA for 1 raffle ticket. Two winners will be drawn - one on Friday and one on Saturday night at 10 p.m

April 12: 10% percent of sales from 8 p.m. to closing on will be donated to ADA

Month of April: ADA fundraiser t-shirts will be sold all month for $16 and $8 of each shirt sold will benefit the ADA

Month of April: $5 of the price paid for all PINK Koozies will benefit ADA

Month of April: $1 of the price paid for all PINK Coolies will benefit ADA.

The Wipeout Diabetes Beach Bash weekend fundraiser campaign and month-long specials will take place at Wet Willie’s Savannah locations at 101 E. River St. and 20 Jefferson St., as well as Wet Willie’s on Tybee Island located at 16 Tybrisa St., Suite B.

Now through April 15, the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG) will celebrate its 100th anniversary at its annual convention at the Savannah International Trade & Convention Center.

"More than 1,500 county commission representatives from each of Georgia’s 159 counties will create an economic impact of more than $850,000 over the convention’s duration," a Visit Savannah spokesperson says.

"The Savannah hospitality and tourism industry is fully prepared to step up and make ACCG's 100th anniversary its best convention experience ever. It's a great thrill to host such an event in our city and we look forward to welcoming representatives from all over Georgia," said Joseph Marinelli, Visit Savannah president.

Just a reminder that Georgians must be registered to vote by April 21 in order to participate in the May 20 Primary Election.

Also on May 20 is the nonpartisan general election for Chatham County School Board President.

“Every Georgian should have the opportunity to vote in the May 20th Primary Election,” says Ga. Secretary of State Brian Kemp. “The good news is that it is easier than ever to get registered to vote or to change your registration information.”

Georgians with a valid Georgia driver’s license can go online and register here.

The “My Voter Page” (MVP) app also allows Georgians to register to vote. They can view their specific sample ballot, find their polling locations, check voter registration status and track the status of their absentee ballot. All of this information is available on mobile devices on Apple and Android platforms. To find the app search for “GA Votes” in the app store.

It is believed that Georgia is the first state in the nation to offer both online registration as well as an innovative mobile application that enables voter registration like “MVP”.

There will be a public meeting of the SCMPD Public Policy Committee at City Hall Thursday morning, including an update to City Council on the recruitment of a new police chief, and an "open discussion" on the existing merger agreement between the city and county to merge the Savannah Police and the former Chatham County Police.

The meeting is Thursday, April 10, 2014 at 9 a.m. in the Media Room, on the second floor of City Hall.

A 12-year-old has been charged in the Friday night shooting death of an 11-year-old playmate in west Savannah.

"The boys were handling a gun at a house on the 1400 block of Church Street when it fired about 9 p.m. Montrez Burroughs of the 800 block of Joe Street was struck and died at Memorial University Medical Center."

The 12-year-old has been charged with involuntary manslaughter, reckless conduct and possession of a firearm by a person under 18.