No, on seeing the movie.
Do hope you are correct about the Georgia State Troopers being the "Meanest"........
I get worried about our President, when he spends time in the liberal states, as Sunday in Conn.
It has always been my impression that the "Good Ole Boys from Georgia", worked with a different set of laws than most of the other states and folks.
I don't understand why the whole country is not under Marshall Law.......It would have been if I were in charge.
When the clintons were in the thought of Marshall Law scared me to death.
If my "feelings" are right, I expect to hear of some pretty horrible things from the Georgia meetings.
muslims and communists, given the opportunity to protest and maybe kill a world leader or two, will be a big temptation.
Keep in mind that this is their big chance and they are primed to take it. It is obvious that the commies and muslims are looking for any excuse and this is a good one.
And don't forget the fact that any of them who are lucky enough to die, will have died "for the cause" and it will all serve to make Bush look bad and cause more "hate" for America.
Dark times are coming, indeed they are here.
We are a few Americans with a memory of having been FREE, they are the world out to take us down.
I hope the Georgia 'boys' do us proud.
South Georgia has it's own set of laws.
You gotta love the south.:)))..."Mom likes to say we don't turn down anything but our collar," said Jamie Deen, one of the sons of Paula Deen. "Gen. Sherman didn't burn us, so I'm not worried about the G-8." Yet he noted they are prepared to board up with "five minutes' " notice.
Coastal businesses brace for G-8 impact
Many split on whether to stay open
By REAGAN WALKER, JOHN KESSLER
in Savannah
Published on: 05/22/04
When the G-8 summit comes to the Georgia coast next month, Gary Foust doesn't expect to see many world leaders dropping by his Barber Pole in Savannah for a trim.
He doesn't expect to see any of his regular customers either, since many workers in nearby downtown offices will head to branch locations to avoid security and traffic tie-ups and, potentially, crowds of protesters. Foust plans to lock the door and leave town.
Barber Gary Foust (left), owner of the Barber Pole on Bull Street in Savannah, cuts the hair of Bill Reese while brother Karl Foust gives Joe Wilson a trim.
Business owners crowd the Coastal Georgia Center in Savannah in mid-May for a security briefing from the U.S. Secret Service, the FBI and local law enforcement on possible effects on businesses during the summit.
Kathy Stratton, on the other hand, will be lucky to do anything but work that week. The vacation rental properties managed by her St. Simons Island firm, Trupp-Hodnett, will be full of law enforcement officers providing security for the event.
Most of Stratton's clients for the summit want daily towel and maid service rather than the usual weekly. So she is working on the logistics of getting employees through the security checks and resulting traffic backups on the causeway from Brunswick to St. Simons. She'll pay her workers for the time in traffic, which could be one to two hours each time they come to the island.
Businesses and residents from South Carolina to Florida are developing strategies for dealing with the Group of Eight arriving in a couple of weeks. The coast is expecting the leaders of the United States, Germany, Japan, Canada, Italy, France, Britain and Russia, along with 10,000 or more security personnel, 3,500 media representatives and some protesters for the summit. The official meeting is June 8-10 on Sea Island, seaward from St. Simons, but the thousands of attendees will be spread all along the coast.
At least Stratton and Foust know what to expect. A good number of independent- and small-business owners in Savannah, Brunswick and St. Simons say they haven't yet decided whether to open or close, and they don't know whether they'll gain or lose from the historic gathering.
It's a bit like watching a storm approaching on radar, something coastal residents are accustomed to. Will the summit be a summer shower that rains prosperity and nourishes growth, at least intermittently? Or will inconveniences like security checks and traffic tangles — or worse, violent protests or terrorism — make it destructive?
"The only thing that I can compare it to is a hurricane," said barber Gene Seymour in Brunswick. Seymour's shop is near some of the locations that have been mentioned as protest gathering spots. "I can't think of anything else that would threaten a whole week's worth of business. I guess we'll come in that Monday and just see."
Interviews with more than three dozen business owners, from landscapers to lawyers, gift retailers to restaurateurs, make it clear there will be economic winners from the summit. Gov. Sonny Perdue has predicted as much as $500 million could be spent in the state, largely for lodging, rental cars and food.
But many locals expect to lose money, due to disruptions from tight security and, maybe, protests, plus the fact that businesses usually full of shopping summer tourists will instead overflow with working government officials.
"Law enforcement and others involved with G-8 aren't exactly the type to be shopping for sterling silver and red hats," says Macy Harrell, who owns Sterling Moments gift shop in downtown Brunswick. Harrell says she hasn't decided whether to stay open.
Others say there's just no way to tell; thus the day-by-day approach has emerged as a popular summit strategy.
"I'll come in that Tuesday, but if no one darkens my door by midday Wednesday, I'll take the next couple of days off," said Tom Dent, owner of Thos. P. Dent Clothier on Frederica Road, which is the main artery on St. Simons leading to Sea Island.
The popular Lady & Sons restaurant in downtown Savannah's City Market also plans to remain open.
"Mom likes to say we don't turn down anything but our collar," said Jamie Deen, one of the sons of Paula Deen. "Gen. Sherman didn't burn us, so I'm not worried about the G-8." Yet he noted they are prepared to board up with "five minutes' " notice.
Some businesses plan to stay open just to protect their property.
"I think everybody is going to lose business," said Nancy Thomason, owner of Beachview Books in the St. Simons village. Thomason said terrorism is her concern, more than protesters or traffic problems. "But I don't want to go away and come back and find my store gutted."
And some locals are more worried about protesters targeting businesses that have international operations. Esther Shaver, owner of E. Shaver Booksellers on Madison Square, doesn't imagine protesters will target her "small, left-leaning bookstore." But she expresses the concern of many Savannah business owners when she wonders if the Gap and Banana Republic — the chain clothiers owned by Gap Inc. and facing each other on Broughton Street — will get attention.
Gap has attracted controversy over its outsourcing of jobs to more than 3,000 factories in 50 countries. This month the company released an unprecedented, contrite "social responsibility" report that admitted many of these factories mistreat workers in shoddy work environments.
A Gap spokeswoman, Kimberly Terry, said the stores have adequate security if protesters show up.
Some businesses close
For some businesses, staying open isn't a viable option. Several real estate agents on St. Simons Island said they plan to take the week off because security concerns and traffic will make showing property difficult.
Other professionals, like some dentists and lawyers, are planning vacations because they expect their regular clients to be gone or sticking close to home. Many residents on St. Simons are planning to leave.
Construction is expected to come to a halt on the island because getting supplies and workers across the causeway will be too difficult. General contractor Frank Serafini said he has no contracts for the first three weeks in June. He's going pay his four employees half their regular pay and take a vacation. He estimates it will cost him $10,000 to $15,000.
"I hope whatever we lose now, we'll make up in the long run. Maybe some of these visitors will buy property here and want to remodel," he said.
Mark Miller of Coastal Landscaping also plans a vacation, right in the height of his busiest season. He estimates the break will cost him $20,000 in business but also hopes the heightened profile of the area will ultimately bring more business.
Gary Hall and Anthony Attardi, co-owners of the Wright Square Café in a row of shops across from the federal building in Savannah, wanted to stay open. They even had some summit-related catering contracts lined up. But this week, they found out that their parking spaces in the lot next door have been commandeered by federal authorities. With no parking spaces and no place for a delivery truck, they say they have no choice but to close.
Michael Gowen of Southeast Adventures, which provides kayaking trips in the Golden Isles, said he'll also be affected by federal security provisions. He'll need to take kayakers outside the three-mile restricted zone around Sea Island. He said there are plenty of places to paddle elsewhere, but "we just aren't sure if we can get through the traffic to get there — and we don't know if anyone will want to go."
Bad timing for some
For tourism-related enterprises like Gowen's and charter fishing boat captain Mark Noble's, the timing of the summit couldn't be worse. Shorter summer school breaks are already cutting into business, and now they face a major slowdown in what is usually the kickoff to their busy season.
"It's not even the summit yet, and what we have ahead of us is bleak," said Noble, who said charters are already down 40 percent to 45 percent this month. His theory is that much of the lodging is occupied by G-8 people rather than tourists, and others are simply avoiding the area until after the event. He has no bookings for the summit week, and if none come in, he'll lose about $5,000.
"For this to come in during the summer break is absolutely unacceptable."
Rose Wilson, owner of the Golden Isles Marina, said the summit impact is "tremendously negative." Folks with boats there will not be allowed to use them during the event. Wilson hoped to make up for losses in fuel sales to the U.S. Coast Guard. She's still working on a contract with the Coast Guard, but because it wants 24-hour service, "the 35-cent profit I make on each gallon will be entirely eaten up by overtime pay."
Restaurant owners on St. Simons have been faring better. But even so, when they realized what it will take logistically to operate during the summit, many, like Halyards' chef/owner David Snyder, considered closing. The fine-dining restaurant is "right at the choke point" of traffic — the intersection of Frederica and Sea Island roads. And some purveyors are refusing to make deliveries because security checks on the causeway could mean completely unloading trucks.
"But we are in the hospitality business, so I don't think it's good to not be open," Snyder said. "I've already had probably 200 people in here in the last few weeks associated with the G-8. I had a group of 22 from Japan; I had 18 from Italy; I had 18 from the European Union. So it's already been great for business. I think we could be very busy that week, too."
Reagan Walker can be reached at
rwalker@ajc.com; John Kessler can be reached at
jkessler@ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/0504/23bizimpact.html