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SAVANNAH PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA announced the enlistment of Henry Fogel, an influential performing arts administrator, to lead the search in replacing longtime Philharmonic musical director and conductor Peter Shannon. Shannon announced his decision to leave the organization at the conclusion of the tenth season in May of 2019.

Prior to his work as a consultant for orchestras and other musical organizations, Fogel served as the President of the League of American Orchestras from 2003 to 2008, and prior to that was the President of the Chicago Symphony from 1985 to 2003.

Shannon's departure from the SPO was due to his desire to focus on other endeavors.

"We have the benefit of continuity as Peter Shannon completes a wonderful tenth season and we are excited to welcome a roster of talented candidates who will conduct the concerts throughout the eleventh season beginning September 2019," Samir Nikocevic, SPO's Chairman of the Board of Directors, said in a statement.

"We are fortunate to be working with Henry Fogel whose vast experience will benefit our selection process as he leads the search for our new Music Director."

The Chatham County Board of Registrars will extend its business hours to 6 pm this evening (Friday, November 9) "in order to accommodate any voters who cast provisional ballots and need to present identification as part of the process of having their provisional ballot approved," a spokesperson says.

Any voter who cast a provisional ballot due to missing or insufficient ID issues can bring the confirming ID to the main office of the Board of Registrars (1117 Eisenhower Dr., Suite E) or call Sabrina German at the Board of Registrars at 912-790-1520 to discuss any questions or concerns before coming to the Board of Registrar’s office.

This development comes in the wake of controversies in the Georgia gubernatorial race, as Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams alleges that enough provisional and absentee ballots remain that are either outstanding or incorrectly tabulated to put her race with Brian Kemp into either recount or runoff status.

Until Thursday afternoon, Kemp served as Georgia Secretary of State, the office which oversees elections and voter data in the state.

Chatham County Police Department officers will canvas neighborhoods Wednesday to remind citizens about the importance of locking their vehicles.

Since February, 96 percent of all thefts from autos in Chatham County have been from unlocked cars. In those incidents, nearly 50 firearms have been stolen. From October 23-October 30, items were stolen from twenty-two unlocked cars. These items included three firearms, cash, jewelry, prescription medications, cell phones and clothing. Officers will canvas neighborhoods Wednesday Nov. 7 with new ‘Lock It or Lose It’ clings that they will distribute in an effort to help remind citizens of the simple step they can keep from becoming a theft victim. Officers will continue to distribute the clings in an ongoing effort to help reduce thefts from autos.

Savannah Police’s Southside Precinct detectives are seeking to identify two women who conducted a flim-flam scheme resulting in the loss of thousands of dollars.

The two female suspects approached the 78-year-old female victim with a bag they said contained approximately $29,000 that the suspects found. They promised to share the money with her if she would contribute some money of her own. After convincing her to withdraw $10,000 in cash, the suspects took the victim’s money and left.

Both suspects were described as black females possibly in their 50s, who were around 5-foot-4. Anyone with information on the incident or the suspects should contact Southside Precinct detectives at (912) 351-3404. Information can also be forwarded to CrimeStoppers at (912) 234-2020. Tipsters remain anonymous and may qualify for a cash reward.

The Lincoln Street Bicycle Lane will get a new look to improve safety following action by City Council on Monday.

Earlier this year the City tested small sections of the bike lane, located on Lincoln between Victory Drive and Liberty Street, with several types of highly visible green markings.

During Monday’s Council Meeting, the Mayor and Aldermen awarded a $221,235 contract to Angco, Inc. to install the bicycle lane using a thermoplastic material. The bicycle lane will be painted the color green to minimize confusion with other standard traffic control markings. It will be 6 feet wide throughout the length of the lane. The City will also take the opportunity to fill in cracks on the roadway and other defects.

Investing in bicycle lanes aligns with the City’s Savannah Forward Strategic Plan and promotes #Infrastructure. The expenditure is funded by the Mobility & Parking fund.

The Savannah City Council voted today to test a downtown worker transportation program for a six-month trial period beginning early 2019.

The $294,000 contract to Downtowner, a Florida-based company, includes providing a free, on-demand transportation service geared toward residents who work at night in Savannah’s central business district and need safe, reliable transportation to and from their vehicles. The service is offered in multiple cities including Tampa Bay, Fl., and Aspen, Co.

The service is available to any person, but will be marketed primarily to downtown employees who work between the hours of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. All rides will be scheduled through a mobile app similar to popular ride-share services such as Uber or Lyft.

The need for such a service for late-night downtown workers was identified by City Council during discussions of the Parking Matters study, which recommended extending meter enforcement into the evening, in addition to elimination of time limits and other changes intended to make parking more efficient downtown. The City also offers very low monthly rates in downtown garages for those who work at night -- $35 per month to park from 3 p.m. to 6 a.m. seven days per week in any City-owned garage.

City staff determined on-demand transportation would be cost-effective in comparison to extending bus shuttle hours past midnight. The downtown transportation program is funded using revenue from the Parking & Mobility Fund.

The pilot program will be evaluated after the six-month trial period to determine whether the service successfully addresses transportation disadvantages for late night downtown employees.

To find out more about parking options, go to www.savannahga.gov/parking.

Traffic will be affected for several hours on Monday, November 12, 2018 as roads are closed for the annual Veterans Day Parade.

The parade begins at 10:15 a.m. at the intersection of Abercorn and Gaston Streets and proceeds north until intersecting with Liberty Street. The route continues west on Liberty Street until it turns north on Montgomery Street. The parade will continue on Montgomery Street until it turns east on Broughton Street. The parade will disband on Broughton Street when it reaches Price Street.

The parade staging area is between Lincoln and Drayton Streets and between Park Avenue and Gaston Street. All streets in the parade route and staging area will be CLOSED to traffic until the parade has passed. Normal traffic flow is expected to return by 2 p.m.

The City of Savannah will be enforcing sound ordinances within the staging area and parade route. On Monday, November 12, there will be NO PARKING allowed in the staging area and parade route. No Parking signs have been placed in the areas throughout the week. Vehicles remaining in the “No Parking” areas will be towed beginning at 12:01 AM on November 12.