Jim Morekis

You think 2020’s bad? Davenport House Museum programming marks bicentennial of 1820 pandemic and fire

The late dreadful conflagration in Savannah must arouse the feelings of the most insensate. An attempt to portray the suffering, the anguish, the horror, attendant upon such a visitation, would be a mockery’ of feeling. – Augusta Chronicle, Jan.…

Editor's Note: The end of the world – literally?

IN WHAT is possibly the most symbolic moment of 2020 — the year it feels like the whole world is ending — the beloved "Savannah Globe" is nearing what might be its own apocalypse. Southside Savannah has precious few historic landmarks to call its…

Kennedy Pharmacy dig reveals layers of the past

DOWNTOWN Savannah hosted a small but important archaeological dig last week, behind the Kennedy Pharmacy building on Broughton Street. The building, owned and operated by Historic Savannah Foundation (HSF), is slated to have work done on its patio…

City Manager search at an 'impasse' due to divided Council

Mayor Van Johnson this morning announced that despite a national candidate search that resulted in a visit from three qualified candidates for Savannah City Manager this past weekend, the whole process will have to return to square one due to…

Former Sen. Sam Nunn to be keynote speaker at Georgia History Festival

The Georgia Historical Society announces that the theme for the 2020-2021 Georgia History Festival is "Tear Down This Wall: Georgia in Cold War America." This first-of-its-kind all-virtual fall program series will be hosted by Dr. Stan Deaton, the…

Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President

FORMER PRESIDENT Jimmy Carter is known to most younger Americans today as a resilient advocate for human rights and free and fair elections, a seemingly ageless 95-year-old cancer survivor who builds houses for Habitat for Humanity in his spare…

Editor's Note: The true cost of shipping

LAST WEEK, social media lit up locally with photos and video of the arrival of the CMA CGM Brazil to the Port of Savannah, as if the massive container vessel were another tourist attraction. The breathless coverage and commentary had the tone of a…

Editor's Note: Searching for a City Manager – and for stability

LATER this week, the three finalists for the job of Savannah City Manager are set to visit the place they want to run, and actively interview for the job. (One of the finalists, Odie Donald, actually worked in Savannah from 2013-2015. He is currently…

Editor's Note: Six months in -- assessing the damage

IN a few days Savannah will mark six months since the St. Patrick’s Day Parade that didn’t happen. At the time, canceling Savannah’s largest single event seemed like the biggest blow the city could receive. Now, it seems more like six years ago than…

WRUU Spotlight: DJ Spooky

OUR SERIES profiling WRUU show hosts continues with our talk with DJ Spooky. Her eclectic show "Rigor Mortis" airs Thursday nights at 9 p.m. What in your background or interests led you to wanting to curate a radio show? Have you worked in radio…

Editor's Note: Another year, another divided Council

THE MOST IMPORTANT thing to understand about Savannah politics is that it’s always been about cliques, not ideology. This is also true of the community at large, and this cliquishness applies to new arrivals and old-timers alike. It’s as true now as…

Randy Wood: The Lore of the Luthier

RANDY WOOD might be the most important Savannahian many of you haven’t heard of. A new book by Daniel Wile hopes to get the word out. Though well-known and loved by generations of locals, luthier-to-the-stars Wood isn’t mentioned in the hype or…

WRUU Spotlight: 'We the People'

OUR SERIES profiling WRUU show hosts hits the trifecta this week. We speak with Georgia Southern University professors Dr. Barbara Fertig, Dr. Christopher Hendricks, and Dr. Daniel Skidmore-Hess about their ambitious panel show, "We The People: The…

WRUU Spotlight: Leza Chandler

THIS WEEK, we chat with WRUU show host Leza Chandler, host of "Those Happy Homeschoolers." Airing every Wednesday at 2 p.m., Chandler’s show explores misconceptions about homeschooling, shares stories of local homeschooling families, and uncovers…

Editor's Note: ‘Food or a fight?’

THE GREAT MASK WAR has resumed locally once again — or maybe it never really stopped. In a Facebook post that rapidly went viral, longtime Crystal Beer Parlor owner John Nichols vented this past Saturday night about an abusive customer who was irate…

WRUU Spotlight: Ian McCarthy

THIS WEEK, we continue our series on WRUU show hosts, with Ian McCarthy, host of "Ventriloquism for Dummies." For those who haven’t heard your work and show at WRUU, describe it and your goal with it each week. After a few years now at WRUU, I've…

Editor's Note: Pandemic mismanagement on campus

THERE’S NO shortage of breaking news in 2020. But the news uppermost on people’s minds right now has to do with the "reopening" of schools at all levels, from K-12 through the universities. Our local public schools made the difficult but obvious…

Reward offered for info on Laurel Grove vandals

Crime Stoppers of Savannah-Chatham County is offering a cash reward up to $2,500 for information "leading to the arrest of the individual(s) who vandalized a Confederate monument in Savannah’s Laurel Grove Cemetery in early July," a spokesperson…

Savannah Police veterans fired, face criminal charges

Two veteran Savannah Police officers have been fired and now will face a grand jury for possible criminal charges stemming from a case of mistaken identity in April that reportedly turned violent. Upon viewing bodycam footage of the incident, Chatham…

Fireworks: Out with a bang?

AS IF THE pandemic and lockdown weren’t enough, Savannah had to deal with another obnoxious issue over the summer: Unprecedented fireworks. From neighborhood to neighborhood, rich or poor, the problem was worse than ever, and went on for days, even…