Replies

FYI This is sort of funny.

Summit Talk

Like most rumors, those of the G-8 Sea Island Summit variety usually contain a grain of truth.

So it goes with the rumor that, on orders from the U.S. Secret Service, Savannah plans to weld shut all the city's manhole covers.

"There has been some discussion of that,'' said Savannah G-8 coordinator Bob Scanlon, "but I'm not aware of any plans to do anything like that."

Scanlon said neither the Secret Service nor any other federal agency has asked that the manhole covers be sealed during the summit. He said city and utility officials discussed the idea, citing the possibility that terrorists might place bombs or toxic materials down manholes. However, sealing manhole covers would block access to underground utility equipment. And that, Scanlon said, would make it harder to fix any malfunctions or other problems that might occur during the summit.

"We'll do it if the Secret Service or FBI ask us to, but I don't think it's very likely," he said.

Meanwhile, all construction scaffolding in the downtown area has to come down by May 30.

Charlie Angell, "The House Doctor," who is restoring facades at 125 and 127 West Congress St. (The Jinx and the Mercury Lounge), was told months ago that scaffolding could not remain up during the G-8 due to security concerns. Angell said all contractors were told the same thing six months ago by the City of Savannah's Traffic Engineering department.

They're watching you

The latest City of Savannah purchase for the G-8: six video surveillance cameras. The cameras will be set up around town to allow police to monitor crowd activity from remote locations.

City officials are keeping those locations top secret: "If I told you, I'd have to kill you," Assistant City Manager Chris Morril joked.

City Council approved the $78,498 purchase from Remote Technologies. They are being paid for with federal law enforcement block grant money.

Mall talk

Oglethorpe Mall general manager Philip McConnell is hoping for the best during the G-8 but anticipating the worst.

At best, diplomats and their wives will descend on his mall to buy clothing, jewelry and more at the 150 stores. The worst scenario, to him: Protesters would vandalize the place and camp in its parking lots.

Hoping to protect his tenants, McConnell's staff recently purchased two fire hoses, one for the Abercorn Street side, another for the south side near Rich's.

That way, if protestors have a rally and one of the dumpsters ends up on fire, his staff can respond quickly, McConnell said.

Staff wouldn't hose demonstrators, he vowed. "Oh no. That would be opening yourself up to too much liability."

McConnell will beef up security from June 1-10. Starting June 1, mall staffers will use cables to block all parking lot entrances at night, so protesters can't camp there. And if anyone parks there at night during the summit, he promised a swift response: "Tow them," he said.

Sleeping on the floor

What could be worse than getting arrested during the G-8 in Savannah and having to spend the night in jail? How about having to sleep on the floor?

Depending on how many protesters are involved, that's a real possibility, according to Tommy Tillman, spokesman for the Chatham County jail.

The jail has 1,224 beds, but with specialized holding areas set aside for mentally ill or other special-needs detainees, the actual number of beds is 1,175, Tillman said.

Routinely, the jail is booked (no pun intended) at either capacity or up to 300 persons beyond capacity.

"They'll have a place to stay, but it's not going to be a five-star hotel," Tillman said. "We're not just going to buy a thousand new mattresses."

Tillman said jails are not obligated to correct extreme conditions with transfers if the overcrowding is only temporary.
Violence and sex don't mix

G-8 summit riots in Genoa in 2001 led to a serious decline in sex drive and downward spiral in births in that city, Reuters reported last week. Protesters that year sparred with police, resulting in the death of one activist and some serious anxiety, according to the report.

"Violent demonstrations can cause a stress reaction with negative consequences for sexual drive and reproductive activity," Aldo Franco De Rose, the study's author, reportedly told the Italian news agency ANSA.

Gary Larimer, a reader who lives in Atlanta, e-mailed us regarding the story "Eye spy: Shutterbugs might get extra attention from police."

Larimer referred to himself as a train buff, like the one described in a news story who was temporarily detained in Garden City for taking pictures of locomotives and train tracks.

The person questioned in Garden City had on him detailed train maps and a radio turned to rail frequencies.

"These folks (police) just can't seem to understand all the hardware and knowledge that is common to observation and photography of railroads in this country," Larimer said.

To demonstrate his point, Larimer offered these Web sites: www.railpictures.net; www.trainorders.com

Contributors include Bret Bell, Allison Bennett, Lanie Peterson, Larry Peterson, Nate Reens, Eric Williamson.

http://www.savannahnow.com/stories/051704/2162854.shtml