News Feed

Memphis' Lucero and the New Orleans-based Mutemath - bands that have played several times in Savannah between them - will share the Forsyth Park Stage Friday, May 30 for SCAD's "New Alumni Concert."

The free show, 6-10 p.m., will also feature singer/songwriter Brett Dennen.

Baton Rouge rapper Lil Boosie will perform July 26 in Savannah's Martin Luther King Arena.

Lil Boosie was released from Louisiana State Penitentiary in March, after serving five years for a drug conviction. He will release the album Touchdown 2 Cause Hell July 16.

The tour begins May 16 in Greenville, S.C. Ticket information for the Savannah concert has not been released.

Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police detectives continue to collect and review videos of an altercation between "what appears to be two families on River Street Saturday night and are seeking participants to complete their investigation," a spokesperson says.

Downtown Precinct detectives would like to interview three males and two females about the altercation which took place near Rousakis Plaza about 9:48 p.m.

Videos being reviewed by detectives "show two large groups of people, each including children, walking on River Street. When one group encountered eight members of an Atlanta family standing on the sidewalk, one male avoided contact by walking into River Street while a male and female worked their way through the family," police say.

See the video here.

Just after that male walked through the cluster of family members, "he was confronted by one or two males in the family and a verbal altercation ensued. The male who had walked around the family pulled the other male away and they left. But one of the males in the Atlanta family continued to talk to him. He broke free from the male who was leading him away and ran back into the crowd where a fight ensued, with members of both groups trying to break it up," police say.

The video does show a female with the second group trying to separate the parties and pulling a female family member away by her hair. "But detectives could find no sign of a 6-year-old or 13-year-old child being punched, as a member of the family announced in a Facebook posting," police say.

This is the Facebook page of the Atlanta man who originally posted the first account, which soon went viral.

Atlanta media coverage is here.

Police were on scene within 10 minutes of the first call, but the second group had left by then. The videos showed that members of both groups were carrying beverages and officers on scene reported a heavy odor of alcohol.

“We certainly understand the frustration of a family who came to Savannah for an enjoyable weekend and ended up with injuries from an unpleasant situation,” said Police Chief Julie Tolbert. “But preliminary investigations show this was not a random act. We will continue to determine all the facts as we move forward.”

Detectives are asking members of the second group, which appeared to be a family with children and an older couple, to come forward and provide their version of the altercation. One male was wearing a yellow shirt, the other a red shirt and later took it off and was wearing a white tank top. A younger female was wearing a white skirt or shorts and a beige or yellow top. The elder male was wearing all white and a white hat. They are asked to contact Downtown Precinct detectives via the SCMPD non-emergency number (912) 651-6500.

Bounpheng Sriratanakoul, a Senior Maintenance Mechanic, died Monday afternoon during an accident at the President Street Wastewater Treatment Plant, a City spokesman says.

Sriratanakoul was a 12-year employee at the City’s Water and Sewer Department. "He was in the process of making repairs to a pipe shortly after noon Monday when a heavy piece of piping fell on his chest," the spokesman says.

Sriratanakoul was immediately transported to Memorial University Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead.

“Our hearts go out to the entire Sriratanakoul family, as well as all of our employees at the President Street Plant,” said City Manager Stephanie Cutter. “This is a critical piece of infrastructure all Savannahians rely on, and the professionals who work there deserve our thanks for the difficult jobs they perform every day.”

Personnel from the City’s Risk Management office responded, as did a representative from the City’s Employee Assistance Program to help co-workers. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration was notified.

Early voting for the May 20 primary election and School Board President election continues through Friday

Locate early voting locations in their county of registration here.

The “My Voter Page” (MVP) app also provides voters with tools. You can view a specific sample ballot, find polling locations, check voter registration status and track status of an 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.

House and Senate negotiators announced a deal Thursday night which would lead to the passing of a long-stalled water resources bill — and therefore would allow dredging of the Savannah River channel to begin using $266 million in state funding Georgia has already set aside for the long-running project, which has faced numerous legal, environmental, and political obstacles.

A poll commissioned by the Atlanta Journal/Constitution has Gov. Nathan Deal three percentage points ahead of Democrat Jason Carter, and finds the governor’s approval ratings have fallen below the 50 percent threshold.

Michelle Nunn, the Democratic front-runner in the Senate race, has built leads against each of the five top GOP Senate contenders in a potential November matchup, with David Perdue her strongest opponent.

Savannah Fire & Emergency Services firefighters battled a third house fire in just over 13 hours this morning when flames erupted in a home at 16 W. 50th St.

"Firefighters arrived on the scene just before 8:00 a.m. and encountered heavy smoke and flames in a front bedroom of the one-story brick house," a spokesman reports.

"They were able to extinguish the flames quickly and limit the bulk of the fire damage to the bedroom however, the remainder of the house sustained heavy smoke and water damage. The resident was not home at the time of the fire. He indicated to firefighters that he had left the house approximately three hours before the fire started. There were no injuries as a result of the incident."

Savannah firefighters battled two house fires within an hour and a half of each other Thursday evening. The first one occurred at a duplex in the 400 block of W. 41st St. Firefighters encountered heavy fire conditions when they arrived on scene just after 6:35 p.m.

"It appears the fire started in or near a shed at the front of the structure. Flames traveled up an exterior wall and entered the attic through the eaves," the spokesperson says. "Firefighters were able to contain the flames to the attic but were forced to remove ceilings in the upstairs apartment to ensure there was no trapped fire on the interior."

There were no injuries reported and firefighters were able to retrieve a pet dog unharmed from the building. A total of five occupants were displaced from the apartments.

As firefighters were clearing up from that scene, a second fire was reported at a home on Savannah’s Westside. Just after 8:05 p.m., firefighters were sent to 2128 Mell St. in the Hudson Hill area of the city.

Arriving firefighters reported heavy flames and smoke conditions at the one-story house. The structure sustained extensive fire damage to the living room area and smoke and water damage throughout the remainder of the structure.

One resident was home at the time of the blaze. "He indicated to fire investigators that the fire started at an outlet in the living room and quickly extended to draperies and furniture. The resident was able to escape the home uninjured. He and his wife were displaced due to the fire."

The American Red Cross was contacted to assist all of the affected residents and Savannah Fire investigators are examining each scene to try and determine causes for each fire.

Legendary singer/songwriter John Prine will share a Savannah bill in November with rocker Jason Isbell and his band, the 400 Unit.

Tickets go on sale May 16 for the Nov. 7 concert at the Johnny Mercer Theatre. They’ll be $59.50, $49.50 and $39.50, at savannahcivic.com, or by calling (800) 351-7469.

A fire in the wee hours after last call Saturday morning left the popular bar at the downtown American Legion closed today, as well as the Betty Bombers eatery in the historic building.

This morning rehabilitation and recovery services were already at work mitigating the damage and a source says they expect both establishments to be open within a month.