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More than a dozen bands have been announced for the 2nd annual Revival Fest, Sept. 20 on the Georgia Railroad Museum Grounds. Presented by MusicFile Productions, the fine folks who give us the annual Savannah Stopover each spring, Revival Fest spotlights Southern music, representing seven states in total.

Although several have been to Savannah before, a number will be making their local debuts.

The biggest names are Futurebirds, Water Liars, Packway Handle Bands and Family & Friends (from Athens), the David Wax Museum (Charlottesville, VA), the Cedric Burnside Project (Holly Springs, MS) and Roadkill Ghost Choir (Deland, FL), Blank Range (Nashville, TN) and the Savannah bands Velvet Caravan, Waits & Co. and Sweet Thunder Strolling Band.

The all-ages event (noon-11 p.m.) will be followed by a late night jam session at The Jinx. Advance purchase tickets are $35 and are on sale 7/9/14 at ticketfly.com.

Operation Thunder, a controversial joint operation between the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety and Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police begun nine weeks ago, "has produced 1,767 traffic citations and 44 other arrests so far," says a spokesman.

The numbers were released Monday by the GOHS "as the operation moved into its second stage in the Savannah area," the spokesman says.

So far, Operation Thunder issued 256 citations for seat belt violations, 187 for child seat violations, 630 for speeding, one reckless driving, 27 for driving without insurance, 78 for suspended licenses, 510 for “other violations.”

Perhaps interestingly, there were only 76 DUI arrests.

The operation, invited to the Metro area by Police Chief Julie Tolbert at the suggestion of GOHS Director Harris Blackwood, "focuses on areas where fatal accidents had occurred and targets aggressive drivers and those drinking and driving."

It has also garnered scrutiny for its implied threat of forced blood withdrawals for DUI suspects under the so-called "No Refusal" option.

"The Savannah Thunder operation has proven successful thus far,” said Director Blackwood. “The cooperation of the Metro Police, the Georgia State Patrol and our law enforcement partners from around the state is the key to this success."

Metro Police Chief Julie Tolbert said "We are noticing fewer impaired drivers and many more designated drivers and we have been able to take dangerous subjects off our streets."

While traffic concerns were the primary focus of the operation, officers also addressed other criminal activities, conducting 25 drug arrests and 19 felony arrests, apprehended seven fugitives and recovered two stolen vehicles while conducting 30 road checks.

Some more numbers:

Seat Belt Citations: 256

Child Seat Citations 187

Speeding Citations 630

Reckless Driving Citations 1

Uninsured Citations 27

Suspended License Citations 78

Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police are investigating the death of a 4-year-old boy who was pulled from an apartment pool in west Chatham County on July 4.

Frazier King was noticed by his mother and others about 2:10 p.m. in the pool on Timber Crest Court. He was transported to Memorial University Medical Center, where he was then declared dead.

Police say the investigation is continuing.

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources is investigating the death of a Savannah man after his boat overturned near Williamson Island in the Wassau Sound on July 6.

A man in his early 50s was declared dead at the scene when U.S. Coast Guard officers reached the small, open bowed boat. His wife was transported to Memorial University Medical Center for treatment of undetermined injuries.

"Names are being withheld until the family is notified," says a Memorial spokesperson.

Chatham County police found a meth lab inside an apartment complex during a "routine eviction" on July 2.

The occupants, 27-year-old Raymond McKinney and 23-year-old Sabrina Rudolph, were arrested and charged with manufacturing and trafficking methamphetamine, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.

"The deputy observed coffee filters with a pinkish substance on them, and it sent up some red flags," a Savannah-Chatham County Police spokesperson said. The deputy then contacted the narcotics team, who found a full meth lab inside the apartment.

California filmmakers Randall Miller and Jody Savin have been indicted in Wayne County in the February death of camera assistant Sarah Jones. Jay Sedrish, an executive producer for the couple’s film Midnight Rider, was also indicted. The charges against the three are involuntary manslaughter and criminal trespass.

Jones, 27, was part of a small crew assembled on an Altamaha River train trestle on Feb. 21, under Miller’s direction, to film a scene for the Gregg Allman bio-pic. The unexpected arrival of a freight train sent the crew scrambling to escape the narrow trestle; Jones was struck and killed by the train, and several others were injured.

CSX, which owns the railroad line, has said that Unclaimed Freight Productions, the company owned by Miller and Savin, did not have permission to be on the railroad tracks. The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office turned it over to the grand jury on Wednesday. The indictments were handed down Thursday morning.

Miller and Savin, who are married, also wrote and produced the film CBGB, filmed in Savannah in 2012.

Savannah is rated the No. 3 city in the U.S. and Canada, according to the Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards 2014 readers’ survey available at www.TravelandLeisure.com.

"Savannah moved up from its seventh place ranking among cities in the U.S. and Canada last year," says a magazine spokesperson. "Charleston is the top-rated city in the U.S. and Canada for the second consecutive year. The World’s Best City Overall is Kyoto, Japan for the first time."

The full list of top ten cities in the U.S. and Canada for 2014, as voted by Travel and Leisure readers:

1. Charleston, South Carolina

2. New Orleans

3. Savannah, Georgia

4. San Francisco

5. Chicago

6. Vancouver

7. Santa Fe, New Mexico

8. Quebec City

9. New York City

10. Boston

In honor of today's name change from Armstrong Atlantic State University to simply Armstrong State University, the institution is offering free Leopold’s Ice Cream from noon-2 p.m. to students, faculty and staff to celebrate.

The name change became official July 1 after receiving University System of Georgia Board of Regents approval to drop the word “Atlantic” from its name.

Armstrong State University was founded in 1935. The university offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate academic programs and serves about 7,100 students at its main campus in Savannah and a regional center in Hinesville.