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Forsyth Park Animal Hospital, a general veterinary practice, has opened off of Forsyth Park at 513 Whitaker St.

Owned by native Savannahian and UGA graduate Dr. Holly Metts, its staff "have each been working with animals for over 10 years and routinely go to conferences for continuing education classes," says a spokesperson.

Call them at 912-349-3953. Office hours are Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-5 p.m.. Check them out on the web here.

City of Savannah Mobility & Parking Services is now selling parking spaces in two City-owned lots for the July 4 festivities:

· SOHO Parking Lot - corner Liberty and Whitaker Street. 34 parking spaces available to be purchased.

· Curtis V. Cooper Parking Lot — at 122 Barr Street (between East President Street and East Broughton Street) behind the Curtis V. Cooper Primary Health Care Center. 53 parking spaces available to be purchased.

To purchase a space contact Mobility & Parking Services at (912) 651-6477. The cost is $10. You must pick up your permit from the Bryan Street Parking Garage at 100 E. Bryan St. before 5 p.m. on July 2. No permits will be mailed out. Cash, credit & debit cards (Visa & MasterCard) are accepted.

City garage special event rates:

Attendants will accept fees prior to entering the City garages to "provide for quicker exit." Drivers will receive a ticket which must be presented to the attendant upon exiting. The special event rate is $10 from Thursday, July 4 at 5 a.m. until Friday, July 5 at 7 a.m. Vehicles exiting after 7 a.m. on Friday, July 5 will be charged the daily rate of $1 per hour in addition to the fees accumulated while parked. The lost ticket flat fee is $25.

On Thursday, July 4, monthly cardholders will be guaranteed a space in their garage until 8 a.m. Monthly cardholders with 24-hour access/reserved parking spaces will be guaranteed. Visitor Day Passes are not valid in all parking garages and lots during the festival. Residential Decals do not grant garage access on July 4, residents will be required to pay to park in the garages. Viewing the fireworks from any City parking facility is prohibited.

The recreational dock will be closed to the public at 10 a.m., Wednesday, July 3 and will reopen at 8 a.m., Friday, July 5.

Detectives are searching for 24-year-old Michael Christopher Garko, believed responsible for thousands of dollars in damage to a Savannah church.

At 8:35 a.m. this past Monday, Metro officers responded to The Church at Godley Station, on the 1600 block of Benton Boulevard. Officers observed a broken window on the front door and ­­­­several shattered glass windowpanes around the building. It did not appear that the suspect made entry.

Security cameras captured images of a white male at about 4:50 a.m. Monday. Further investigation revealed, that on June 9, a white male identifying himself as “Mike Garko” was at the church requesting and receiving money for food and shelter from members.

Garko is described as a white male with brown hair and brown eyes. He is about 5-8 and 150 pounds. He was last seen without a shirt and appeared homeless.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to call Crimestoppers at (912) 234-2020 or text CRIMES (274637). Tipsters remain anonymous and may qualify for a cash reward. A confidential Tip Line also is open directly to investigators at (912) 525-3124.

Savannah had its third consecutive year of growth in tourism, hosting 12.4 million visitors last year, according to Visit Savannah.

"This is a 2.5 percent increase in visitors from2011. The development is reflected in an increase of overnight visitors between 2011 and 2012 from 6.8 million to 7.0 million and day-trippers growing from 5.3 million to 5.4 million," a spokesman says.

To be clear, the "day-tripper" category doesn't necessarily include only those visiting specifically for tourism-related reasons.

In addition to the record volume number of visitors, visitor spending also increased, hitting $2.01 billion in 2012.

“We are extremely pleased with the growth of our visitor traffic and spending figures in 2012,” said Visit Savannah President Joseph Marinelli. “The numbers continue to tell a very good story, and the results of this latest round of research indicates that many of our marketing initiatives are working well. We are seeing increased spending, with significant growth in the areas of shopping, dining and visiting cultural events and attractions.”

Visit Savannah continues its category-leading social media. In 2012, Visit Savannah breached 100,000 Facebook fans in 2013 and currently has 24,000 Twitter followers and close 25,000 on Pinterest.

“This is a segment of our destination marketing effort that we put tremendous emphasis on, and it’s nice to know that we are focused on the right vehicles to reach our target demographic of visitors," Marinelli said.

“The positive growth in 2012 was something that we had been expecting,” said Scott Snipes, general manager of the Hyatt Regency Savannah and current Visit Savannah board chairman. “Our local hotel industry saw similar growth last year in occupancies and average rates.

The data was produced via the annual TravelUSA study commissioned by Visit Savannah through Longwoods International. Longwoods, based in Toronto, is one of the most respected third-party tourism research agencies in North America.

Thrive Cafe, "Savannah's first and only Green Certified Restaurant and Caterer," will begin providing all student and faculty meals to St. Andrew's School beginning this August. "The partnership is designed to bring healthy, affordable food to the Pre K-Grade 12 school on a daily basis," says a cafe spokesperson.

In order to start healthier cooking from scratch, Thrive says some necessary startup equipment is needed, and they have launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds.

The Sierra Club and Georgia Public Service Commission will host a town hall-style meeting tonight about Georgia Power’s controversial 2013 Integrated Resource Plan, the company’s twenty year energy plan for Georgia.

Area residents, Georgia Power customers, and concerned citizens will hear a brief presentation from Public Service Commissioner Tim Echols on the issues in Georgia Power’s proposed plan and will have the opportunity to make an official public comment.

The meeting is open to the public and will be held at the Coastal Georgia Center, room 115, 305 Fahm St., on Wednesday June 12, 6-8 pm.

Local legend and jazz icon Ben Tucker was killed when a car hit his golf cart on Hutchinson Island yesterday.

The 82-year-old was crossing Grand Prize of America Roadway from the club house to the employee parking lot when he was struck by the Chrysler 300 driven by Robert William Martin, 52, of Spicewood, TX. Grand Prize of America Avenue is a former road race track on the island.

Martin has been charged with racing, vehicular homicide in the first degree and reckless driving. Investigators said Martin was "traveling around Grand Prize of America Roadway at a high rate of speed."

Details of Tucker's burial service are still pending.

The Georgia Department of Transportation in collaboration with the Georgia Ports Authority has scheduled a brief closure of the Talmadge Memorial Bridge to vehicular traffic beginning at 12:30 p.m. until 12:45 p.m., Wednesday, June 5.

"The transitory closure will be utilized at low tide for the safe clearance of the containerized vessel. Minor delays
can be expected in this area for the duration of the closure," a spokesperson says.

The Chatham-Savannah Counter Narcotics Team (CNT) announced the "arrests and dismantling of two separate methamphetamine organizations operating throughout Chatham, Bryan, Effingham, and Bulloch Counties."

In 2011, CNT began investigating several members of the Basham family following complaints of suspected drug activity resulting in the arrests of a husband and wife. Thomas and Melodie Basham were arrested in Bryan County by CNT in December 2011 following the seizure of a meth lab. Both Thomas Basham and Melodie Basham were charged with Manufacturing Methamphetamine by CNT and both were also charged with meth related charges by the Richmond Hill Police Department in a separate investigation.

February 2013, Thomas Basham’s brother, Roger Basham and Hope Mitchell were both arrested by Richmond Hill Police following the seizure of a meth lab in Richmond Hill and were charged with Manufacturing Methamphetamine.

During the following month, Thomas Basham while out on bond for the CNT arrest in 2011, was again arrested, this time by the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office. Marcus Lindsey was also arrested. In that case, Thomas Basham and Lindsey were arrested after being found in an unlawful possession of pseudoephedrine, a precursor for methamphetamine, obtained in Chatham County. Both were charged with Unlawful Possession of Pseudoephedrine by the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office.

Following the multiple arrests of the Basham family members in the surrounding counties "and knowing manufacturing methamphetamine often includes multiple persons, CNT focused its investigation on the Basham’s criminal empire" rather than the individual persons arrested in the separate incidents. There, CNT found additional family members and associates were conspiring to purchase large amounts of pseudoephedrine and other items needed for the manufacturing of methamphetamine.

CNT learned the organization made or attempted to make over 236 purchases of pseudoephedrine over 17 months. In some cases, the attempted purchases were denied due to state and federal laws restricting the amount of pseudoephedrine a person can purchase within a month.

The purchases were made in 12 counties in Georgia and two counties in South Carolina. Based on the known amount of purchased pseudoephedrine, it’s estimated the organization "had produced over 14 ounces of methamphetamine and produced an estimated 200 methamphetamine labs. The produced methamphetamine would have an estimated street value of up to $40,000."

March 26, 2013, CNT began a separate investigation following the discovery of a discarded meth lab on Cuyler Road in Bryan County. During that investigation, CNT found components of the meth lab were purchased or obtained in Chatham County. CNT identified a total of four people connected to the lab, Christopher Davis, Heather Dunn, Kimberly Carney, and Lisa Williams. "Persons manufacturing methamphetamine often discard the finished lab by simply throwing it into a wooded area or by leaving it on a roadway," a spokesman says.

On June 22, 2013 ten people in the Basham organization and all four in the discarded lab incident were indicted in the Superior Court of Chatham County.

Early yesterday morning, CNT in a working partnership with the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office, Bryan County Sheriff’s Office, Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office, and the Tri Circuit Counter Drug Task Force, executed multiple arrest warrants and one search warrant throughout Chatham, Bryan and Bulloch Counties. A total of ten people were arrested.

The search warrant in the 4100 block of Bacontown Road in Pembroke resulted in the arrests of several of the wanted persons, seizure of methamphetamine and items commonly used in the manufacturing of methamphetamine. Of the ten arrested yesterday, Christopher Davis, Heather Dunn and Hope Mitchell were already in custody in the Bryan County Detention Center on methamphetamine related charges. Roger Basham turned himself in at the Bryan County Detention Center earlier this morning.

Says CNT Director Everette Ragan, “This is CNT following through on its promise to the community to conduct long term investigations thus identifying all persons involved and dismantling the entire organization.”

Fort Pulaski National Monument will begin an extended summer schedule. Effective June 1, the Visitor Center and the historic fort will be open daily from 9 AM to 6 PM. Park gates will close at 6:15 PM.

To coincide with the extended hours, additional daily Ranger programs will be available:

Sunday—Friday

10:30 — Guided Fort Tour OR Trail Walk

12:00 — Musket Firing

1:00 — “Ranger’s Choice” (Subject of tour varies)

2:00 — Musket Firing

3:00 — Guided Fort Tour

4:30 —Musket Firing

Saturday

10:00 — Guided Fort Tour

11:00 — Cannon Firing

12:00 — Musket Firing

1:00 — Cannon Firing

1:30 — Guided Fort Tour

2:30 — Musket Firing

3:00 — Cannon Firing

4:00 — Guided Fort Tour

An entrance fee of $5.00 per person is charged; ages 15 and under are free.