Connect Savannah May 13, 2020

MAY 13-19, 2020 NEWS, ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY CONNECTSAVANNAH.COM

Art in the Time of Pandemic

Lisa Ocampo and Tiffany O’Brien talk family history, new work Lisa Ocampo Under Siege

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CONNECT SAVANNAH | MAY 13 - 19, 2020

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COMPILED BY RACHAEL FLORA TO HAVE AN EVENT LISTED EMAIL WAG@CONNECTSAVANNAH.COM. INCLUDE DATES, TIME, LOCATIONS WITH ADDRESSES, COST AND A CONTACT NUMBER. DEADLINE FOR INCLUSION IS 5PM FRIDAY, TO APPEAR IN NEXT WEDNESDAY’S EDITION.

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Bluegrass by the Pint from Service Brewing — Join Service Brewing for live streaming Bluegrass from one of our favorite local bands, City Hotel! Fridays, 6 p.m. facebook.com/servicebrewing/ Cooking Between the Lines — Hands-on livestreamed cooking lessons from Chef Darin Sehnert. Mondays, 6 p.m., Wednesdays, 6 p.m. and Fridays, 6 p.m. facebook.com/chefdarinskitchentable/

Flashback: A Rock ‘n’ Roll Bar with a Sports Attitude — Livestreams with area artists each Friday and Saturday night at 8 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays, 8 p.m. Forsyth Farmers Market 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Enhanced social distancing between vendors. Front Porch Improv: Storytime — What’s the story, morning glory? You have to check in to find out! Mondays-Fridays, 1 p.m. facebook.com/frontporchimprov/ Friday Night Live with Mayor Van Johnson — Savannah Mayor Van Johnson’s “fireside chat” about the state of the city. Fridays, 8 p.m. facebook.com/MayorJohnsonSAV/ Front Porch Improv: Classics — Enjoy archives of past Front Porch Improv performances. Fridays, Saturdays, 8 p.m. facebook.com/frontporchimprov/ Jason Bible — Jason Bible of local favorites The Train Wrecks performs solo sets. Thursdays, Saturdays, Sundays, 8 p.m. facebook.com/thetrainwrecksband/ Keystone Postcard - “Neighborhood Concerts from our Driveway” every

Laney Contemporary — Join Laney Contemporary Art Gallery on Instagram Live each day for a PRESENT TENSE #ArtBreak 5 p.m. Lyn Avenue - “Six String Sippin” every Friday at 8pm facebook.com/LynAvenue Neighborhood Comics Facebook Live Check-In - Every Wednesday at 2PM to discuss the latest in comics, updates from staff and customers and general goofiness. facebook.com/nbrhdcomics NSFW DJ Collective — Livestreams from you favorite NSFW DJs plus special guest mixes. 5 p.m.-midnight. Fridays-Sundays. facebook.com/NSFWDJ/ Psychotronic Film Society Viewing Parties — PFS streams unusual feature-length movies with live introductions. After the films viewers can discuss the films in Real-Time via the comments section. To receive the secret link to these hidden streaming playlists, people MUST join the PFS of SAV’s Private Facebook Group, at the link below. Each week, anyone who chooses to donate at least $5 via PayPal or Venmo receives a free high quality digital download of a movie from the archive, and is entered into a drawing to win a limited edition

T-shirt. Wednesdays, Sundays, 8 p.m. facebook.com/ groups/2519522234807695/ Otium Savannah yoga studio and wellness space — 20 minute guided meditation overlooking the city from Perry Lane Hotel rooftop. 9am on Thursdays. @otiumsavannah and @ThePerryLaneHotel Instagram channels Quarantine Concert: Xulu Prophet — Local ensemble performs a live set in a pro studio setting. Wed. May 13, 7:30 p.m. quarantineconcerts.org Quarantine Concert: Andrew Sovine — Local artist performs a live set in a pro studio setting. Fri. May 15, 8:30 p.m. quarantineconcerts.org Quarantine Concert: Danielle Hicks — Local artist performs a live set in a pro studio setting. Sun. May 17, 3 p.m. quarantineconcerts.org Xulu Prophet Session — Local band streams recording session at Copycat Tapes, styled by GypsyWorld. performs a live set in a pro studio setting. Mon. May 18, 3-6 p.m. eventbrite.com (online busker tip jar) Sarah Poole — Local musician Sarah Poole performs. Tuesdays, 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays, 6:30 p.m.

facebook.com/sarah.poole.505 Sean Moloney — Local musician performs. Daily 5 p.m. facebook.com/sean.moloney.5 Irish Music with Seldom Sober — Savannah’s only Irish music ensemble, Seldom Sober (Michael Corbett and Colleen Settle) perform a set spanning Trad Irish to American folk. Tuesdays, 8 p.m. facebook.com/seldomsober/ Shed Show Live - Local musician Matt Eckstine presents a weekly livestream from his cozy shed. Saturdays, 7:30 p.m. facebook.com/matteckstinemusic Streaming Odd! — Odd Lot Improv is streaming some favorite games live! Fridays, 7:30 p.m. facebook.com/OddLot/ Sunday Service with Epiphany — A “different kind of church,” Epiphany livestreams their Sunday morning service. Sundays, 11 a.m. facebook.com/EpiphanySavannah/ Virtual Group Bike Ride — Every Friday, Bike Walk Savannah will be releasing a new virtual bike ride route for you to check out, ranging from 3-20 miles. Fridays, 10 a.m. facebook.com/bikewalksavannah/

CONNECT SAVANNAH | MAY 13 - 19, 2020

Eric Britt — Local singer/songwriter Xulu Prophet PHOTO BY RANDALL HOLLIS Eric Britt plays solo sets, alternating with releases from his new album ‘Full Circle.’ Wednesdays 4-6pm and Sundays Wed., April 8, 6 p.m. 1-3pm facebook.com/eric.britt1 facebook.com/KeystonePostcard/

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NEWS & OPINION EDITOR’S NOTE Proud Sponsor

When shame is society’s friend BY JIM MOREKIS

Connect Savannah is published every Wednesday by Morris Multimedia, Inc 611 East Bay Street Savannah, GA, 31401 Phone: 912.231.0250 Fax: 912.238.2041 www.connectsavannah.com twitter: @ConnectSavannah Facebook.com/connectsav ADMINISTRATIVE Chris Griffin, General Manager chris@connectsavannah.com (912) 721-4378 EDITORIAL Jim Morekis, Editor-in-Chief jim@connectsavannah.com Sean Kelly, A&E Editor sean@connectsavannah.com Rachael Flora, Community/Events Editor rachael@connectsavannah.com Josephine Beisel, Editorial Intern CONTRIBUTORS John Bennett, Matt Brunson, Kristy Edenfield, Geoff L. Johnson, Lindy Moody, Orlando Montoya, Jim Reed ADVERTISING Information: (912) 721-4378 sales@connectsavannah.com Bucky Bryant, Senior Account Executive bucky@connectsavannah.com (912) 721-4381 Dean Moesch, Account Executive dean@connectsavannah.com (912) 721-4378 DESIGN & PRODUCTION

CONNECT SAVANNAH | MAY 13 - 19, 2020

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jim@connectsavannah.com

SHAME has great power, whether positive or negative. We can shame people and organizations on illegitimate grounds, to exert power or prejudice. We can shame people and organizations on a more firm basis, to convey a sense of shared values and healthy boundaries. Social media is perhaps the most efficient vector of shaming ever invented. (A cynic might counter with the Roman Catholic Church, but I digress.) We’ve all seen, and probably experienced firsthand, the extremely negative nature of shaming on social media. And if we’re being honest, most of us have engaged in a bit of shaming ourselves. But every now and then, social media gets it right, and serves the public good. The biggest non-COVID-19 news story in the country right now is the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery, a short drive down the coast in Brunswick, Ga. It is sad that such a unique and beautiful natural area of the country is garnering such negative national attention; but the human history of that area unfortunately isn’t as highly recommended as the stunning habitat itself. (In this issue, Rachael Flora does a great job exploring the deeply problematic environment in Glynn County, Ga., which enabled this tragedy.) The more you look into it, the more you see that the killing of Arbery was no oneoff, but was the result of a system which seemed deliberately designed to encourage the kind of apparent vigilantism shown in the horrifying video, and to exonerate the attackers.

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As many, many others have noted, probably the only reason his attackers are facing justice at all is because of the viral video, shared on social media. There were many entrenched institutional structures and actions in place to shield the McMichaels, arguably beginning with the original decision by a local DA not to arrest the pair two months ago, right after the killing. While it is itself shameful that it took a graphic viral video to shine light on a such long-standing corruption and racism, one can at least take solace and some form of comfort in the massive public reaction on social media to Arbery’s killing. Shame is powerful, and in this case it took the power of shame to bend the arc of justice. As I write this, a new prosecutor has been named in the case, from Cobb County — partially to escape the web of nepotism and corruption that coastal Georgia has long been notorious for. While it may be scant comfort to some that the Trump Department of Justice is also now looking into the case, it’s important to keep in mind that the Justice Department is full of career attorneys and staffers for whom the sitting president in the White House isn’t a major factor. And in any case, it’s better that the federal government is looking into the case rather than not. Ah, but there’s still COVID-19. And shame there has proven effective, at least in some areas. As I write elsewhere in this issue, The Landings Association opted to give back nearly $800,000 it received in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding, due to public shaming. While the Landings – an affluent gated community on Skidaway Island – is often caricatured for the privilege of its

residents, to be fair it was mostly shaming from those same residents that prompted the return of the funds. Finding out via social media, and spreading their reaction through same, residents forced their own neighborhood association to do the right thing, against their own financial interests. You could argue that their privilege allows them this option, but we might opt to give credit where it’s due. It’s a story that has played out around the country, as privileged organizations and corporations have been shamed into giving back money intended for those less well-off: Shake Shack, Ruth’s Chris, the Kiawah Island Community Association, to name just a few. The largest single case of someone being shamed into giving back PPP money was Trump acolyte Monty Bennett. A group of his hotel and resort holding companies had received nearly $60 million in PPP loans – the most of any single recipient. A couple of weeks ago, he announced he’d give the money back. As with the Abery video, shining a light on the indiscretion was the necessary component. Shame can be a very negative thing, especially when it’s done in the service of bullying or oppression. But shame and its close cousin, guilt — which also gets a lot of bad press — both have their place in ordering society along mutually shared values. In a different time, both the Arbery killing and the questionable PPP awards would not only have been swept under the rug — they might never have been out from under the rug in the first place. CS

LETTERS@CONNECTSAVANNAH.COM

Line between vigilance and vigilantism crossed in Arbery case

Editor, Trespassing doesn’t justify a de facto death sentence. Ahmaud Arbery’s taped entry into an open house under construction at best was trespassing- a misdemeanor. I’m as anti-crime as one can get but a misdemeanor offense, if he wasn’t sightseeing, is worth handing the baton of

probable cause and response to law enforcement, something I’ve done dozens of times. Trespassing doesn’t justify a civilian roadblock and armed intervention, regardless of other suspicions. Years of passive monitoring in neighborhood watch,foot work as a citizen on patrol and consulting fed up folks give me insight into evident frustration and reckless zeal to catch a suspect.

Frustration and recklessness make one, no matter how well intentioned, a greater threat than whomever you’re observing. Keeping an eye on a suspect and updating location until police arrive is the prudent course of action. It reduces possiblity of conflict since neither party has greater authority (a la George Zimmerman) and allows police to determine if the suspect is legitimately a

suspect. Neighborhood watch, citizens on patrol and good samaritans report suspicious activity daily without incident. The line between vigilance and vigilantism in this case was tragically crossed. Trespassing doesn’t justify a de facto death sentence. Nadra Enzi

NEWS & OPINION COMMUNITY

Ahmaud Arbery case latest in a pattern of bad behavior from Glynn County RIGHT NOW, the nation’s eyes are on Glynn County and its county seat, Brunswick. On May 5, a video circulated on the Internet that depicted the death of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old black man. Arbery was out for a jog when Gregory McMichael and his son, Travis, both white men, followed him in their truck after they suspected him of breaking into a home under construction. The men shot him three times at close range with a shotgun, killing him. However, the murder itself happened more than two months before, on Feb. 23. It’s since been discovered that Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jackie Johnson blocked the police department from arresting the McMichaels that day, then recused herself from the case because of a particularly pressing conflict of interest: Gregory worked in the DA’s office for twenty years, and as an officer for the Glynn County Police Department prior to that. Arbery’s case then went to the Waycross Judicial Circuit District Attorney George Barnhill, who recused himself from the case on April 2 at Arbery’s mother’s request. Barnhill’s son works for the Brunswick District Attorney, where Gregory McMichael previously worked. Barnhill made clear in a letter to Glynn County Police Captain Tom Jump that he thought the McMichaels and William “Roddie” Bryan were acting within the scope of Georgia’s citizen arrest statute and that he wouldn’t have pressed charges against them anyway. The case then went to the Atlantic Judicial Circuit Tom Durden on April 13, who finally requested the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s assistance with the case the evening of May 5, hours after the video was released. Interestingly, the Glynn County Police Department did call the GBI for help on April 29, but for threats made against them and individuals involved in the shooting, not for the shooting itself. The GBI has since transferred the case to Cobb District Attorney Joyette Holmes, a change occurring May 11. How did Glynn County get into this position?

It’s impossible to talk about the Ahmaud Arbery case without also talking about the rampant corruption in the Golden Isles, particularly by the Glynn County Police Department. A soap opera could hardly keep up. Jackie Johnson’s tenure as the District Attorney of the Brunswick Judicial Circuit began in 2010, when she announced her intent to run for the District Attorney position on June 21 and enlisted GCPD Chief Doering to help. She was taking advantage of tumultuous circumstances: just three days prior, Caroline Small was shot to death in her car by two GCPD officers, Cody Sasser and Michael Simpson. Small, a recently divorced mother of two, was pursued by the officers on a slowspeed chase that never exceeded 35 mph after she was suspected of doing drugs in her car. After the officers blew out her tires, Small moved to drive forward, and the officers shot her eight times in the head and face. Sasser was recorded as saying, “I hit her right in the face.” When Small was killed, the Brunswick Judicial Circuit was in a state of flux. David Perry was the acting DA and intended on prosecuting the officers. When Johnson was appointed to the position by thenGovernor Sonny Perdue in August, her first act was to fire Perry and take over the Small case herself. Sasser and Simpson were not punished and allowed to stay on the force. In May 2018, promoted to Lieutenant two years before, Sasser was charged with battery and trespassing for forcing himself into his estranged wife’s home. When GCPD officers tried to take him into custody, Sasser led them on a nine-hour standoff that culminated in Sasser injuring two officers. He was arrested for the assault, but a judge gave him bond, despite his violation of his bond in the domestic violence arrest. One of the officers that Sasser injured was not permitted to testify at his bond hearing—a decision made by DA Jackie Johnson. The officer, investigator Joseph Hyer, would have opposed the prosecution’s plan to let Sasser avoid jail. A month later, on June 28, Sasser shot and killed his estranged wife and her male friend, and then himself. Sasser’s attorney was Alan David Tucker, whose name you may recognize as the Brunswick lawyer who leaked the

Booking shots of Gregory and Travis McMichael.

video of the McMichaels gunning down Arbery. Tucker released the video, which is certainly the reason this case is seeing any action, to dispel the “speculation…and outright lies” surrounding the event. But wait, there’s more. Back in 2016, Brunswick public defender Kevin Gough was fired after going on record claiming that DA Johnson was holding cases hostage. In the first quarter of the year, Johnson had only filed 71 cases with his office, as opposed to 261 cases in the same period of 2015. Gough, who was up for reappointment, claimed that Johnson was attempting to wait him out of office, then flooding the new public defender with cases. Johnson denied the claims through a statement, and Gough was let go. In response, he threatened a hunger strike until the demands of the Brunswick NAACP—a list of steps that would help achieve prosecutorial injustice for indigent defendants—were met. It’s not clear how the hunger strike ended, but Gough is now representing William “Roddie” Bryan, who took the video of Ahmaud Arbery being shot. Still with me? In 2019, the Glynn-Brunswick Narcotics Enforcement Team was disbanded after an investigation found GCPD officer James Cassada was having sex and doing meth and cocaine with an informant to the task force. That explosive case came to a close on Feb. 28—five days after Arbery’s death— with the indictment of GCPD chief John Powell, officers David Hassler and David Matthew Haney, and Vidalia Police Chief Brian Scott, formerly of the GCPD. We haven’t even talked about the mysterious death of Glynn County Commissioner Tom Sublett in 2011, whose body was found floating in the river with his hands zip-tied in front of him and a bullet wound in his head, but whose death was ruled a suicide. We also haven’t talked about Judge Amanda Williams, the chief judge of the Superior Court of the Brunswick Judicial

Circuit who stepped down in December 2011 after a flurry of misconduct accusations. We also haven’t talked about the lack of justice for the case of Taylor Williams, who was stabbed to death in 2015 by a man who only got slapped with a charge for tampering with evidence. And these are just the cases that have been reported. Imagine all the other cases that aren’t reported, whose families don’t see justice, of which videos don’t make it all the way to Shaun King for a call-out and eventual action. It’s exceedingly clear that the GCPD and DA Jackie Johnson seek to protect each other at all costs. Arbery’s case simply exposed, on a national level, the corruption of this neck of the woods. This case has the potential to change the way things work in Glynn County and in Georgia itself. In addition to the Brunswick City Police Department and the Glynn County Sheriff’s Office, there’s also the Glynn County Police Department, which seems to serve policing functions in unincorporated areas of the county that would otherwise be served by sheriff deputies. At the beginning of this year, Rep. Don Hogan introduced legislation, HB 866, which seeks to do away with the county police department and return function to the sheriff’s office. The bill was created after the narcotics task force scandal and could end up becoming a reality after Georgia’s Attorney General Chris Carr requested the Department of Justice’s investigation into the GCPD’s investigation. (Think about that: the feds have been called to investigate the investigation itself.) Also, Gov. Brian Kemp has said he’s open to the creation of hate crime legislation in Georgia. The state is just one of four without any such legislation, though the McMichaels could catch that charge federally. As the GBI’s investigation progresses, be prepared for more shady dealings to see the light. CS 3

CONNECT SAVANNAH | MAY 13 - 19, 2020

BY RACHAEL FLORA

rachael@connectsavannah.com

NEWS & OPINION FREE SPEECH

The post-pandemic legal quagmire Local attorney lays out difficult landscape

CONNECT SAVANNAH | MAY 13 - 19, 2020

BY JOSEPH STEFFEN

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AS DIFFICULT as the world has become for local restaurants and other locally owned business during the sudden appearance of the novel coronavirus, they are now faced with dilemmas posed by the precipitous announcement of Governor Kemp to open businesses far ahead of even the optimistic guidance of the White House. Financial concerns, employee reliability, and safety issues, along with precious public perception and goodwill, are unfortunately just the beginning of the equation for these small businesses. While issues concerning workers’ compensation liability and unemployment compensation for employees who, out of fear of COVID-19, fail to report to work, are newly complex issues that are pending state guidance (Mark Butler, are you listening?), the potentially frightening issue these businesses might not have even speculated on yet is what happens if a member of the public becomes infected with the virus and claims that the business was somehow negligent in the way it opened (or, in fact, opened at all) in defiance of guidance from our best medical and science experts. It is on this issue where I hope to offer some general guidance as a trial attorney who frequently handles premises liability cases, both for injured consumers and defending small businesses. Fundamental concepts in matters involving premises liability involve warning the public of known hazards and keeping the premises safe from known hazards. Those concepts normally involve what is reasonable and customary in the industry. This is sometimes referred to as the duty of care. There is often competent and stringent guidance from Federal and State agencies and regulatory boards on things like food safety, lighting and hygiene (think hair salons). In the case of dealing with a viral pandemic of the sort not experienced since 1918/1919, (no, Mr. Trump, “ 1917” was a movie) however, defining the standards that will demonstrate proper care will prove far more elusive. So, what are the standards in the absence of formal regulation? Is it the standard set out by the Trump Administration (the three-step opening AFTER qualifying and passing through the gateway of two weeks of viral decline)?

If so, then where does that leave a business who follows the lead of the Georgia Governor whose opening blew through that flashing red light? Is a Governor’s 11th hour guidance by decree without agency-level enforcement mechanisms a valid attempt to set reliable and legally relevant standards ? Or is it the standards set by the CDC thru eminent science that must be abided? This is particularly troubling in areas where State Regulatory Agencies have offered no specific guidance other than the vaguest references to social distancing and sanitation measures. The first formal state guidance in Georgia was presented in an April 8th Executive Order on long-term care facilities. It references: • Adhering to CDC and DPH guidance • Adopting an emergency plan • Requiring frequent hand washing by employees • Use of 70% isopropyl alcohol hand sanitizer (assuming you can find it) • Establishing social distancing protocols for workers and customers • Implementing reporting mechanisms for those symptomatic or potentially exposed, and Requiring 14-day self-quarantine for workers exposed or symptomatic Nothing was then offered in the way of guidance as to temperature taking, use of masks by employees or customers or even as to what level of social distancing is deemed appropriate. The Governor’s 26-page decree issued late on April 23rd is more specific but it creates no agency-level enforcement mechanism instead relying on local law enforcement and does not address the potential civil liability for non-compliance. This is not to say that a later-infected customer/client who visits an open establishment not following what some Court or Agency or Decree deems as reasonable and necessary precautions has an easy case to make. First, one issue that arises in premises liability cases is that of superior knowledge. In other words, if the customer is equally aware of the risks, under Georgia law they cannot recover. At the same time, though, the customer has a right to presume (a lawyer would argue) that the business was following basic safety protocol WHEN THEY WALKED IN. If the customer later discovers that basic precautions were ignored, it may be too late for the business owner to claim that the customer was equally aware of the risk.

As a customer, it is simply hard to avoid a hazard you cannot see or appreciate (like a server with a fever). More importantly, however, despite the amazing advances in contact tracing, it might be difficult ( but not impossible ) for a virus victim to prove their infection resulted from a specific place and time of exposure. Under our laws, that would certainly be their legal burden. To prevail, an infected customer must show he or she did not have the virus before visiting the business. That plaintiff also would have to prove they had no contact with anyone or any shared spaces from the time they left home to the time they reached the establishment. Cruise lines, however, have had to pay large judgments even in the face of these hurdles in cases involving noroviruses. I had a business client ask me once: “How can I keep from getting sued?” My answer was, if you do business in America, you CAN’T. People sue; it’s our communal reality. The better question I told her is to ask your lawyer “How can I avoid losing or paying a big settlement if I DO get sued?” That is the proper question. My personal thoughts to businesses seeking to open is that, at minimum, they should follow CDC Guidance and that of the Federal Administration response agencies. Certainly, the Governor’s last-minute decree is relevant as well. Practically, I think this includes providing masks to employees and customers (who don’t have them), temperature checks, and ensuring employees and customers are adhering to social distancing guidelines (even if customers have to wait outside, monitor that they too are observing 6’ social distancing as well). For businesses like gyms, salons, bowling alleys and theatres, waivers might be considered as well, but I am still finding it hard to imagine how such a business keeps kids from running around and interacting in these environments. One other small business client asked “Can’t the Governor (or the State of Georgia) indemnify us if we get sued because of their recklessly jumping the gun?” The short answer is NO. The doctrine of Sovereign Immunity is quite strong in our State and the only real remedy is the ballot box. The most fundamental thing any business contemplating opening soon MUST do is to contact their liability insurance company. Make sure you are adequately covered in case the unthinkable happens. Good Luck & Good Health! CS

NEWS & OPINION BLOTTER

HOMICIDES

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Man arrested for drugs and firearms

A traffic stop May 3 led Savannah Police officers to arrest a wanted subject in possession of drugs and a gun. “A Strategic Investigation Unit officer was patrolling in west Savannah when he observed a vehicle fail to stop at a stop sign. The officer attempted to initiate a traffic stop on McIntyre Street. The driver, who was later identified as Terrell Edwards, 20, attempted to flee on foot before being taken into custody. In his vehicle, officers discovered 1.48 lbs. of marijuana, drug paraphernalia and an AR-15 rifle,” police report. Edwards was booked at the Chatham County jail on charges of failure to stop at a stop sign, obstruction by fleeing, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of marijuana more than 1 oz., possession of a drug-related object and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Edwards also had a warrant from a neighboring jurisdiction. To date in 2020, the Violent Crimes

Task Force says it has recovered 56 guns, 7,149 grams of marijuana, 0.9 grams of marijuana, 80.56 grams of crack cocaine, 56.9 grams of powder cocaine, 22.6 grams of crystal meth, in additional to more than $6,000 and additional drugs. SPD asks the public to assist in its mission to reduce the amount of drugs and guns that are illegally obtained or used during crimes. Anyone with information on these illegal activities can send tips to the SPD Crime Tip Line at (912) 5253124 or to Crimestoppers at (912) 234-2020.

Homicide at President Street homeless camp

The take from the McIntyre Street bust

The Savannah Police Department is investigating the death of a 38-year-old man at a President Street homeless camp the morning of May 7. Officers responded to the camp at President Street and Truman Parkway just after midnight and discovered Christopher Johnson deceased as a result of an apparent cutting.

Detectives have identified a possible suspect in the investigation. They are continuing to follow leads in an attempt to locate the suspect.

Man arrested for February homicide

Rashaun Padgett, 25, was taken into custody at a Garden City hotel on May 6 for the Feb. 8 homicide of a 17-year-old female on West 60th and Montgomery streets.

He has been charged with murder and aggravated assault in connection to SPD investigations. Padgett was also wanted by Savannah State University Police for armed robbery and has a warrant from U.S. Probation for a supervises release violation. At around 8:15 p.m. Feb. 8, “officers responded to Memorial Hospital after a shooting victim, later identified as Alexis Devoe, was transported to the hospital by private vehicle. Upon arrival, it was discovered that Devoe succumbed to the injuries sustained from the shooting,” police report. A second individual also responded to the hospital by private vehicle with a non-life threatening injury. Throughout the course of the investigation, detectives identified Padgett as a suspect in this case. CS ALL CASES FROM RECENT LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT INCIDENT REPORTS. GIVE ANONYMOUS CRIME TIPS TO CRIMESTOPPERS AT 912/234-2020 OR TEXT CRIMES (274637) USING KEYWORD CSTOP2020.

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CONNECT SAVANNAH | MAY 13 - 19, 2020

2020 Sav/Chatham County Crime Stats through Sunday May 10

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NEWS & OPINION CITY NOTEBOOK

Screenshot from the TLA meeting where the PPP was announced

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CONNECT SAVANNAH | MAY 13 - 19, 2020

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Landings Association on Skidaway Island returns nearly $1 million in PPP funds Organization received $792,888 the last week of April

BY JIM MOREKIS

jim@connectsavannah.com

THE Landings Association of Skidaway Island has opted to give back $792,888 in funds it secured from the federal government through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), intended to throw a lifeline to small businesses and nonprofits during the COVID-19 pandemic. “After careful consideration and deliberation, the Board of Directors of The Landings Association (TLA) voted to return the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds,” said an email late last week from the TLA to members. The Landings is a gated community on Skidaway Island, and one of the most affluent zip codes in the region. The TLA began applying for the program on April 3, and by April 29 had received the money. “Before applying, the Association sought guidance from our accounting firm, which confirmed eligibility and recommended application due to economic uncertainty,” the TLA said at the time. Why did the homeowner’s association for Savannah’s most affluent community think it needed the funds? “At the time of application, the Association already was seeing a tremendous impact on collections of 2020 Assessments. There were 127 more accounts delinquent in paying their annual Assessment than in the previous year (an 82% increase). These Assessments are critical to the health of the Association, as they account for 64% of our revenue, which is necessary to support

and maintain our employees and service levels,” the TLA said. “Also at that time, the Marinas were closed, and there was much uncertainty surrounding when they could be reopened, and what would happen with the staff,” they said. “That made it a prudent business decision to apply for the Paycheck Protection Program, especially to maintain staffing levels rather than implementing layoffs.” The TLA received the funds on Wednesday, April 29, in the requested amount of $792,888. However, late last week, after word got around in the Landings and not everyone was pleased, they changed their tune. “The Association applied for the PPP loan in consultation with our accounting firm. The intent of the Association was and is to protect the property owners by accessing available sources of capital to keep employees on the payroll and providing community services,” the TLA said last week. The closed Facebook group The Landings on Skidaway Island featured many members incensed over the application for the funds. “The optics right now are not good for TLA,” one poster said. “I know too many small businesses who needed that money,” wrote another. “Shame on TLA if that is true [that they applied for the funds].” “We acknowledge the voices of many in the community who believe the funds should have been returned, as well as many who believe TLA should have kept the funds. There were numerous variables involved and even more unknowns about

how the future will play out. The Board based the decision on the current impact of COVID-19 on the Association’s finances,” they said. A similar situation arose recently in South Carolina, when the Kiawah Island Community Association -- equivalent to the Landings’ TLA -- returned $1 million in PPP funds after outcry from both residents and neighboring areas. In that case, leading the calls to return the money was a member of Congress, Rep. Joe Cunningham, who represents that area of South Carolina. By one count, at least 15 companies had returned PPP funds after being shamed for receiving them, thought that number is certainly higher now. Chief among those are the Ruth’s Chris holding firm, Shake Shack, and Potbelly. Roughly 300 publicly held companies received about a billion dollars in PPP funds, originally intended for privately held small businesses. In many cases, politically well connected concerns went to the front of the line, including the $126.4 million for three public companies affiliated with Texas hotelier Monty Bennett. One of his firms, Ashford Hospitality Trust, applied for $76 million in 117 separate loans. Meanwhile, a class-action lawsuit on behalf of small business owners alleges JPMorgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and US Bank prioritized larger loan applications over small ones in order to collect larger processing fees. By most estimates, no more than six percent of U.S. businesses received any PPP funds at all. CS

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CONNECT SAVANNAH | MAY 13 - 19, 2020

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On May 1, officials in San Diego County ordered residents to start wearing face coverings while in public to prevent the spread of COVID-19. On May 2, an unnamed man went grocery shopping at Vons in Santee, California, where a number of shoppers took photos of the man, wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood. Staff members repeatedly asked him to remove the hood, according to a company spokeswoman, but he refused until he reached the checkout area, where a supervisor caught up to him. The man removed the hood, paid for his groceries and left. Santee Mayor John Minto told the Los Angeles Times, “Santee, its leaders and I will not tolerate such behavior.”

The Passing Parade

Virginia Hamilton, 69, was charged with felonious assault in Youngstown, Ohio, on May 3 after an altercation with her livein boyfriend. According to WKBN, the boyfriend told police she became upset about his dirty underwear in the “laundry bucket” and grabbed a butcher knife; he tried to fight back with a pocket knife he had on hand. When officers arrived, Hamilton was on the front porch, washing blood off her hands, and the boyfriend was lying on a bed inside, covered in blood, with cuts on his arms and hands. The police report also noted that alcohol was involved. Ya think?

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Discovery Island at Disney World in Orlando, Florida, has been closed to the public since 1999, and, of course, the park itself has been closed since mid-March because of coronavirus concerns. Once called Treasure Island, the 11-acre property sits in the park’s Bay Lake and was a pure “tropical paradise” for an unnamed interloper from Alabama, who was found camping on the island on April 30 by park security. NPR reported the 42-year-old man told Orange County Sheriff’s deputies he was planning to stay about a week

and was unaware he was doing anything wrong, despite numerous “no trespassing” signs and calls from authorities over loudspeakers. Nevertheless, he was charged with trespassing and was banned from all Disney properties.

Florida

Two landscapers were charged with DUIs for driving the same vehicle at the same time in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, after police pulled over an SUV that had been reported to be driving recklessly on April 15. According to police reports, the officers spotted Alfredo Lopez Chaj, 24, behind the wheel, but by the time an officer approached the car, Chaj was standing outside it, and Martin Lopez Chaj, 20, was in the driver’s seat. The younger man, apparently a brother, had slid over from the passenger seat, put the car in gear and tried to escape, but the officer pulled him out of the car, The Palm Beach Post reported. Both men, police noted, smelled of alcohol, and both had wet their pants; neither had a valid driver’s license.

Precocious

A Utah Highway Patrol officer pulled over a car in Weber County on May 4 for “what he thought was an impaired driver,” the highway patrol said on Twitter, but instead he was shocked to find a 5-yearold in the driver’s seat. The boy told the trooper he took off in his parents’ car after arguing with his mother because she wouldn’t buy him a Lamborghini, according to United Press International. He planned to drive to California to get one for himself, but alas, “he only had $3 his wallet,” the highway patrol noted.

Animal Antics

A monkey riding a small motorized bicycle in a street performance in Surabaya, Indonesia, on May 2, threw down the bike and suddenly grabbed a toddler who was watching, Global News reported, dragging the child down the cobblestone street for several feet before letting him go. The boy

was scratched but not seriously injured.

Wait, What?

• Katrina Morgan, 50, called 911 on May 2 in Port Clinton, Ohio, asking for the fire department because, “I need somebody to come put it out with their hose,” according to police reports. “It” was her crotch, she told the dispatcher, and it was on fire. The News Herald reported that police responding to her call arrested Morgan for making false reports and disrupting public services, and found empty bottles of alcohol in the house. Other people at the home admitted they’d been drinking but said they didn’t see her using the telephone. • An advertisement for a deodorant that aired during “Britain’s Got Talent” on May 2 caused a backlash among viewers who were shocked to see the ad conclude with a squirrel “getting it on” with a can of the deodorant, as one angry viewer put it. “We are watching this as a family,” wrote one complainant, according to The Independent, while others noted the ad celebrating Lynx Africa’s 25th anniversary was “inappropriately scheduled” and “unsuitable for children.” The Advertising Standards Authority received 155 complaints about the ad, but said, “No decision has been made on whether there are grounds for an investigation.”

Storytime

Nursery school teacher Eloise Roberts, 32, has been making videos for her students during the coronavirus lockdown, and recently decided to take advantage of a lovely spring day to record a story about unicorns at the horse riding school in Moreton, Merseyside, England, where she lives. What she didn’t expect was the springtime friskiness of the horses in the background. “I could hear that the horses were up to something behind me,” Roberts told the Daily Mail, so she turned around to discover the more compelling story behind her, and moved to another field.

Bright Idea

Officials in Lund, Sweden, were concerned about people spreading coronavirus in the town’s central park as they gathered for Walpurgis Night on April 30, a traditional celebration welcoming longer, warmer days that includes picnics and bonfires. So to discourage revelers, the town spread chicken manure all over the park. “This is a park where usually 30,000 people gather, but with COVID-19, this is now unthinkable,” Mayor Philip Sandberg told Reuters. “We don’t want Lund to become an epicenter for the spread of the disease. Even a small number of people still going to the park can become a big risk.” CS

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

MUSIC SPOTLIGHT

Victory North: an update from Mohamed Eldibany BY SEAN KELLY

sean@connectsavannah.com

LAST WEEK, we ran a story that caught up with several local music venues to see how they were navigating the pandemic and the uncertainty around booking and staging concerts for the foreseeable future. One venue that, due to deadline constraints, wasn’t able to be included in the story was Victory North. Savannah’s newest music venue has been going strong since opening last year, bringing in national touring acts and putting on some pretty great shows over the course of their run so far. But with the COVID-19 pandemic ongoing and things looking questionable for the future of live music everywhere, we wanted to see where everything stood at Victory North. Owner Mohamed Eldibany, who is also a physician and splits his time between Chicago and Savannah, was kind enough to answer some questions about his venue and the challenges it has faced.

First, I want to ask a question that’s pretty broad but purposefully so. As a venue owner in Savannah and on a personal level, how have you been doing through all of this?

just based on the fact that there’s so much less flexibility (whereas restaurants are doing curbside, delivery etc). What has your strategy been in terms of weathering the constant changes?

We can project the band performing on the stage to a screen in the courtyard. We are open to ideas and open to work with anyone one with creative ideas to host events and work with us.

I am in a unique position. I am a physician and a venue owner. CoVid 19 has affected both. Elective medical work is essentially at a full stop. Venues income is down to zero. Someone likened this public health crisis of taking away a venue’s business as eminent domain, for the public good. We cannot open up until the crisis is controlled and it is safe for the public to be in large crowds.

I am awaiting guidance from the government and the industry leaders regarding occupancy and operation standards. I am considering my own plans to institute safety measures. We are lucky because we had completed the renovation and construction a few months ago. For instance, our HVAC is brand new and equipped with a sophisticated bipolar ionization air purifier system. There are many questions and several are related to how much the public is willing to tolerate, sacrifice and follow in order to attend and see live events. Mid size rooms are likely to come back earlier than larger venues. VN indoor is divided into a ground floor and mezzanine and we have a large outdoor courtyard. We can accommodate a relatively large crowd with some distancing. The courtyard can host outdoor events.

What happens next? Assuming that life begins returning to some level of normalcy in the next month or so, where do you go from there? Do you start putting shows on the books?

Have you had experience with trying to secure grants or loans? What has that process been like? The process is ongoing and I am waiting for a response. The decisions that have been made locally and statewide have had perhaps the biggest impact on bars and venues

I am hoping to host a few shows in the fall. I hope that the public will support us by attending shows If you had to estimate the earliest you’d start doing shows again, just based on the current timeline of orders being lifted, when might that be? Hopefully Fall 2020. This is a quick response, but in all honesty there is so much speculation at this time. CS For more info on Victory North, visit victorynorthconcerts.com

CONNECT SAVANNAH | MAY 13 - 19, 2020

Venue owner opens up about where they stand, what the future holds

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MUSIC INTERVIEW

Sean Moloney

Seldom Sober

Livestreaming: Has it been worthwhile?

As virtual shows become the norm, two dedicated local musicians assess their experiences so far BY SEAN KELLY

sean@connectsavannah.com

CONNECT SAVANNAH | MAY 13 - 19, 2020

OVER THE past few months, live streaming has become literally the only way to see musicians perform in real time. The reality for a lot of musicians is that their source of income has vanished without warning and they’re left having to figure out how to work and exercise their creative muscle, so live streaming has given them the unique chance to do both. It’s worked out so far for many musicians, including several in Savannah who have been putting on regular shows since the pandemic first shut down venues and bars back in March. Two of those musicians—Seldom Sober’s Michael Corbett and singer/songwriter Sean Moloney (who books The Rail Pub)—have been particularly dedicated to streaming. Corbett and his Seldom Sober bandmate Colleen Settle experienced unexpected success with their first stream, and have been doing a weekly run since things began. Moloney started streaming on March 18th, and did a marathon 50 shows (one per day) until recently, and he still does them sporadically. Both Corbett and Moloney recently took 12 the time via phone to tell us a bit about

what the experience has been like so far.

Moloney: I call my shows the ‘5 O’Clock Sessions.’ My first one was the day after On what the beginning of the streamSt. Pat’s, March 18th. I just decided to play ing experiment was like: some music for people, and didn’t need any tips or anything. I started with just one Corbett: It was Colleen’s idea, and she song on the piano, and then the next day I just said one day, ‘We should go live on did one of my originals. And after that one, Facebook and see what happens.’ We tried people were like, ‘Hey, can you play more it out on a Tuesday night, and it went so than one song?’ [laughs]. So I started doing well that we decided to make it an indefifive. I had this old book of songs, so I’d pick nite weekly thing. out a good variety. I’d pick out anything We’re not stopping any time soon, either. from The Beatles to Nirvana to wacky little I wouldn’t be surprised if we go through 80s songs or 70s songs. the summer. But we got a really good I’ve had a ton of people over these past response! 54 days tell me that they plan their days It started off as kind of a fun idea, but around these sessions, which is the craziest also at the beginning of all of this it was part about all of this. kind of a crisis time for everybody. People were really stressed out. I kind of feel like On how live stream concerts have conmusic affects people very deeply, so we felt nected people more than ever before: that we had a responsibility to be there for people in some way. Moloney: I have a good friend who I We’re also in a much different position used to see when I lived in Detroit, and than the other bands doing this, because in we’d go to the same shows. One day she the weeks leading up to the virus we’d lost commented during a show and said, ‘Hey all of our gigs with Kevin Barry’s closing Sean!’ And my friend Chris, who tunes in and the Irish pub in Richmond Hill chang- every day and who I’ve known for 20 years, ing ownership. would go to the same shows, too. But as we So the goal with these concerts is to get older, people start having families and build more of a local following so that we grow apart. can create something out of nothing when So when Sarah chimed in, which I think things get better. was day four, she and Chris started saying hey to each other. And then every day after,

Chris would say, ‘Hey Sarah!’ or vice versa, and now they talk every day. And they hadn’t talked in 10 years. That’s for real—I hadn’t even talked to Sarah for 10 years. The fact that all of these old friends are tuning in, it’s amazing. On the most rewarding part of bringing music to people during the pandemic: Corbett: We really get high on going through all of the comments afterword, you know? You do a pub gig and a couple people will come up to you after the show. But in this case, you have dozens of people leaving you comments. So to have the thrill of having a drink after the show and read people’s comments, that’s all we need. We do get some tips from it, but that wasn’t our intention. People basically ordered us to put up tip information, and people have given as much as $50 or more. It’s not just $5 here and there. And we’ve sold a good amount of T-shirts as well, which is great. Moloney: Every day I’d go live on Facebook, and then once I had a few people view it I’d introduce myself. And the fact that people religiously tuned into that daily was amazing. We’re all in this together, you know? If I can take people’s minds off of this crazy shit for 20 or 30 minutes per day, then that’s awesome. CS

MUSIC SONG AFTER SONG

Song After Song:

Josephine Johnson sean@connectsavannah.com

WE WERE LUCKY enough to call Josephine Johnson one of our own for quite some time. The prolific singer and songwriter has lived all over the country since her career began, and she’s currently living in Nashville. But Johnson, who writes beautiful, thought-provoking music, will always be connected to Savannah. As it turns out, Johnson is in town currently and preparing for a Quarantine Concert Sunday matinee on Sun., May 24. Ahead of that performance, we thought it’d be fun for Johnson to participate in our series “Song After Song.”

Original Song: “Built To Last” What stands out about the writing process? I was doing some back and forth collaboration, a long distance kind of thing, and I wanted to create something containing poetic imagery, social insight, and hopefully, a catchy hook. I wanted these as the bones to stand solidly on their own, but I had a specific feel and vibe in mind for the final production. What’s the song about? It’s a response to a couple of songs—The Rolling Stones, You Can’t Always Get What You Want; The Beatles, Ob-La-Di, Ob La Da; Lord Huron, Ends of the Earth. I wanted to synthesize a thoughtful, poetic response to all of these tunes. And I think the final work produced with Andrew Sovine achieves that end. Proud of how it came together. How long of a writing process was it? Well, at first like I mentioned, I was doing a long distance collaboration of sorts, and the lyrics went back and forth a few times. The tune that Andrew and I recorded is ultimately what came of that writing. The bones of it took about three weeks to build, and then what Andrew and I created required a series of months and represents the best version of how I intended the song to come through. Andrew very nearly read my mind for the song’s production.

What about this song makes it an important one for you personally? It’s one of the few tunes for which I had a specific set of goals in mind—the key written in, lyrics—and like I mentioned, the synthetic response to those other songs— as well as the final vibe for full production. It also doesn’t hurt to have some one like Andrew to bounce ideas off of. I enjoyed working on this tune with him. Generally speaking, who are some of the artists you look to for inspiration as a writer? Gah! I have so many though I try not to get all my inspiration from musicians alone. For example, I really like Oscar Wilde and his sharp wit—he has some poignant things to say about human nature, and I like to think about his witticisms and insights. Being in nature and observing it also informs what I do. In recent years I’ve come to appreciate Joni Mitchell’s wisdom, and of course, Brandi Carlile just kills me with her depth and efficiency—she cuts clean to the bone. As a songwriter, do you tend to have a goal in mind musically that you sit down and work at? Or do you let songs happen organically? It depends. In the batch of song for Double High Five, the EP I’ll be releasing later this summer, about half of those were goal-oriented, meaning I gave myself “an assignment” to see if I could reach specific songwriting objectives. The other tunes, though, wrote themselves with words that came from the ether. The key is to consistently work at it. I write a lot of duds, but when a song throws me, I do my best to get back on and keep writing. Doing the work is what makes the art happen.

Favorite Song: “Ends Of The Earth” Lord Huron When did you first discover this song? In the spring of 2019. What stands out to you about it? I like the story and the overall atmospheric soundscape. I love the tone on the lead guitar. The song is about a man torn

Josephine Johnson returns to town for a Quarantine Concert on May 24. PHOTO BY JON WAITS

between adventure—seeing all the beauty and bandits in the world—and a woman he loves. He wants her to go with him to the “ends of the earth.” But she wants to stay. And so he goes. The last half of the last verse kills me: I’m on a river that winds on forever Follow ‘til I get where I’m goin’ Maybe I’m headin’ to die but I’m still gonna try I guess I’m going alone Dissect it musically; what’s most interesting to you in terms of production, writing, instrumentation, etc? I like its tight songwriting, succinct to the point. Really, it’s a simple song, in key of E, kind of Johnny Cash-ish, but the layers of instrumentation build the song into this rich, lush soundscape—so many layers of harmony on lead and backing vocals; lots of

reverb; horns and violins. It builds into this nice indie-Americana-esque pop song. If you could make one connection between this song and yours, what would it be? My song is, in part a response to this tune, from the perspective of the woman to whom he’s singing. In my last chorus, the tune asks: Can you see between what you think you want and what you really need? What you think you want and what you really need? Could I be what you really need? CS Josephine Johnson will play a Quarantine Concert on Sun., May 24 alongside guitarist Andrew Sovine. For more info and to purchase Johnson’s music, visit josephinejohnsonsings. com

CONNECT SAVANNAH | MAY 13 - 19, 2020

BY SEAN KELLY

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MUSIC REVIEWS

ALBUM REVIEWS BY SEAN KELLY sean@connectsavannah.com

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EARLY BRANCH - MIRROR (2019)

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I suppose most album reviews coincide with a release or even happen in advance, but with everything in the world being so unprecedented I figured why not open these reviews up to some of the best from our city over the last few years? With that, I decided to dive into the debut EP from locals Early Branch, which we covered around its release in January of 2019. Listening to it back again under this new context of reviewing the album, it holds up even more than it initially did. They make a statement right off the bat with “You Thought You Saw Me Crying,” a spacious and laid back indie rock song that finds the band employing some fairly sparse production in favor of letting the trio’s individual instruments shine. That’s not to say they’re white knuckling it in any way, because you certainly don’t hear the songs yearning for more. The dynamics are there and the sonics, but this one is about performance. They follow it up with “Boy You’re So Stupid,” which reminds me a lot of a band like Real Estate in terms of its chord progressions and structure. There’s a dissonance here that comes only from having a truly ingrained sense of melody that’s derivative (in a positive way) of the best of the 90s. Mirror sounds human, which is what makes this project even more appealing. “Into the Vortex” is a good example of when things get a little more experimental and ethereal. It’s quite obviously a nod to Pink Floyd in little ways, but overall there’s something unique about an indie rock trio going for epic and prog-infused. It works really, really well. On the EP, the band lands in this really special place balancing indie rock sensibilities with psychedelic guitar work, and it’s something that I haven’t heard done so genuinely in a while.

HANNAH WICKLUND - THE INBETWEEN (2020) Hannah Wicklund is best known as a guitar virtuoso in the blues-rock band Hannah Wicklund & the Steppin’ Stones. She’s one of the best guitar players you’ll probably ever hear, which is a good part of the reason she’s become a buzzed-about artist all over the world in just a few short years. Wicklund used to play regularly in Savannah when she lived in the area, and the now-Los Angeles-based musician has graduated to festival stages and clubs in the U.S., Europe, and beyond. Her band’s most recent full-length showcased what an incredible songwriter she is as well as a guitarist, and now she’s put that on an ever bigger display with The Inbetween. The Inbetween is a solo venture, with Wicklund on guitar and piano. It’s a collection of songs from the band album, reworked into a solo arrangement. This context really puts the emphasis on Wicklund’s voice, which is incredibly powerful and has a very magnetic quality to it—something rare in singers these days. “Meet You Again” has a very Led Zeppelin III vibe to it, complete with drop tuning and percussive rhythms. “Ghost” is a totally haunting song (no pun intended) with just Wicklund and her electric guitar, and it’s so good that you never really feel like you’re listening to just one guitar and vocal. “Shadowboxes and Porcelain Faces” is really unique here because of the protestfolk feel of the guitar picking stands out so immensely. Lyrically, WIcklund stands out on a song like this—beautiful imagery and heartbreaking storytelling that you may not get the same impression of with a band behind it. It’s raw, emotionally bare, and pretty staggering. CS

CULTURE THE ART•BEAT OF SAVANNAH

Southern Gothic sisters

BY RACHAEL FLORA

rachael@connectsavannah.com

IT’S A SUNNY Thursday afternoon, and Lisa Ocampo and Tiffany O’Brien are hanging out in their favorite place: Bonaventure Cemetery. “Victorians were cool,” says Ocampo. “This is what they did after church every Sunday: came and picnicked in the cemetery.” “They’d show off their plot,” adds O’Brien. “We were born in the wrong era,” sighs Ocampo. It should be no surprise, based on their artwork, that Ocampo and O’Brien like to hang out in the cemetery. Both their painting styles toe the line between super-sweet and slightly creepy. “I call our style ‘pop surreal Southern Gothic narrative,’” says Ocampo. “A lot of them are stories—you get put right into it.” “I’m not painting every scene dripping with moss, but being Southerners, you have certain ideals; you feel it,” adds O’Brien. Ocampo and O’Brien are as Southern Gothic as it gets. Born in a house on a dirt road in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, they’re steeped in Southern tradition. Their father, Thomas Luper, who’s still in Winston, is an artist of all media and inspired his daughters’ love of painting. Ocampo has memories of sitting with her dad at a table while he was painting. “He’s colorblind, so he was painting mostly with tester paints out of the little glass bottles, and he had shoeboxes full of them,” remembers Ocampo. “He’d go, ‘Lisa, I need a sky blue,’ so I’d go in there and look for sky blue. That’s when I was little, so he’d go, ‘Are you sure this is sky blue?’” Their family is so artistic that even at family gatherings, before dinner, someone will inexplicably pull out a sketchbook or coloring book and complete a page—“even the spouses who could care nothing about it,” adds Ocampo. “They have to do it.” Luper’s style of painting is described by his daughters as reminiscent of Andrew Wyeth, and he relied heavily on reference photos. Growing up, O’Brien thought that she

had to paint the same way her dad did. “I thought I was just supposed to paint what Dad painted,” says O’Brien. “I didn’t know about painting crazy stuff out of your head. I used to paint boats and barns. Why? I could care less about a boat and a barn, but that’s what Dad was doing, so that’s what I did.” But then in her early twenties, O’Brien attended a paint party with a friend, where he showed her Juxtapoz Magazine. The wild styles she saw in its pages inspired her to break out of her comfort zone and paint out of her head. For her part, Ocampo was doing that back when she was little. “I put crowns and horns on everything, but you lose that. ‘Oh, you don’t put horns on people,’ so then it goes into more realistic,” she says. But Ocampo and O’Brien didn’t start painting in their similar style together— they actually developed it while they apart. They didn’t talk for years—but not, as they both rush to assert, because they were mad at each other. The sisters are eight years apart, so when Ocampo moved away to Atlanta in her late teens, O’Brien was young, and they didn’t enjoy an adult relationship until later. Up in Atlanta, Ocampo painted murals and on wood and furniture. When she saw her younger sister’s work years later, she was blown away. “She was the only one doing that, and I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I really like that! If she can do that, I’m doing it too!’” remembers Ocampo. Now, their art is so similar that people confuse their pieces fairly often. “A lot of people do get our work mixed up,” shares O’Brien. “I’ll be at a show and somebody will come up and look at my work and be like, ‘Well, where’s Lisa at?’ I’m like, ‘Well, I don’t know where she’s at…’” “Or they’ll be like, ‘I saw your work at so-and-so but I didn’t see you,’ and I’m like, ‘That was my sister Tiffany,’” adds Ocampo. “I have no problem being compared to hers, but I’m like, ‘Really? We look nothing alike!’ We don’t paint the same.” “There’s nobody I know [that paints like this], so when they see it, they just know us as one person,” says O’Brien. The sisters each ended up in this area by a bit of chance. Ocampo lived near Atlanta

but loved vacationing in Savannah so much she’d drive down just to eat at a local restaurant. “It was kind of the gypsy move of, ‘I’m putting the house up for sale when we get back. Y’all with me or not?’” recalls Ocampo. A few years later, O’Brien and her husband, based in the Big Apple, sought out warmer weather than New York could provide. “We always wanted to live at a beach, and I had a sister that lives in Savannah,” says O’Brien. Now, with Ocampo and O’Brien here for 13 and six years respectively, they’re regulars in the local art scene. Ocampo works at the Telfair, though that is currently on hold due to the pandemic. O’Brien is starting work at the Tybee Cottage Art Gallery and is also selling art at GCD Home Furnishings. In July, they were slated to do a joint show in Winston-Salem called “Scary Things,” which would have been a painting and poetry show that featured about 12

works from each painter. “It was really getting fun,” said Ocampo. “It’ll happen somewhere, sometime.” One of Ocampo’s paintings set to be in the show was “Under Siege,” depicting the Statue of Liberty in a mask. She originally painted it in response to the pandemic, but it ended up fitting perfectly for the show. “I just pulled out a canvas and decided to paint what I was feeling: the fear of gloves and masks and viruses floating around,” she remembers. “By the time I finished, it would fit in the ‘Scary Things’ show because nothing is more scary than this.” Now, “Under Siege” is available for purchase at Moveable Feast, the new initiative of Location Gallery that donates proceeds of art sold to buy Bull Street Taco boxes for nurses working at local hospitals. It’s a way that helps Ocampo feel better about the situation we find ourselves in. “I don’t feel good about it, but the art helps,” says Ocampo. “It’s like a lifeline.” CS Visit lisaocampo.com and tiffanystarobrien. com for more.

CONNECT SAVANNAH | MAY 13 - 19, 2020

Lisa Ocampo and Tiffany O’Brien talk family history, new work

15

CULTURE VISUAL ARTS

QUESTIONS WITH

Terri

Harris BY RACHAEL FLORA

rachael@connectsavannah.com

PAINTER TERRI HARRIS is a recent SCAD graduate whose work is informed by her experience with obsessive compulsive disorder. The colors she uses are representative of meanings she assigned to those colors when she was younger. She’s also currently working on a body of work in response to the pandemic, as those collective feelings of fear and panic begin to be experienced by more people. We talked with Harris last week.

1. What was your experience at school like?

I’ve always been really invested in art since I was a little kid; it’s been my primary interest. I’ve always wanted to be a studio practice artist, so SCAD just made sense to me. My last quarter was fall of last year, so as of now, I’ve graduated. I feel really grateful but also a little bit guilty. We were able to do our showcase when we did because so many other peers are taking exhibition design this quarter and they’re facing a lot of challenges with conducting shows alternatively through digital platforms.

2. How has your art practice evolved over the years? CONNECT SAVANNAH | MAY 13 - 19, 2020

I’ve undergone a pretty huge transformation with that. As a little girl, I romanticized the idea of being a painter. When I got to my adolescence, I thought that comic work and sequential was going to be more of the field I was interested in because storytelling was so important to me. But when I came to SCAD, I started doing a lot of internal reflection and investigation that kind of led me into this idea of confrontation. In 2017 I started this confessional body of work that detailed my experiences with obsessive compulsive 16 disorder and the ways in which it affects

Terri Harris’ paintings draw on her experience with OCD and the colors she assigns to certain feelings or thoughts, which are primarily green and red. PHOT0S COURTESY OF HARRIS.

your relationship with cause and effect. A lot of these fears that people experience are very much based in reality. OCD affects your ability to see your real proximity to worst-case scenarios and how much space these intrusive thoughts really take up in your mind. In particular, scrupolosity has been the primary way OCD has manifested in my own experience. It’s essentially obsession surrounding one’s adherence to a moral code. It’s often referred to as religious OCD since it’s commonly been observed as aversion to sin, but it doesn’t exclusively affect those with a religious practice. I attended Christian schools growing up, so these existential discussions surrounding the ramifications of sin, afterlife and relationship with the divine were a huge part of my formative years. I developed magical thinking surrounding divine punishment that devolved into this paranoia of bringing harm to myself or others if I fell out of line with the behavior expected of being a good Christian, so I developed compulsive rituals centered around prayer. It’s a part of the human experience to be in situations where you feel small compared to something out of your control. I’m trying to relate these very specific experiences with ones that I think are more commonly shared, especially in the face of a pandemic.

3. What media do you work in besides painting?

When it comes to time-based media, if I’m being really transparent, that was just a requirement of one of the classes I took. But once I got into it, I realized that video just offers a completely different way of investigating the themes. With the kind of work I’m making, it’s easier to translate the experiences using something timebased. You can see movement, and that helps with these ideas of repetition and

compulsion. With sculpture, when Monica Cook came to SCAD, I wanted to get physical with my approach to creating. Doing these kind of human sculpture works is a really satisfying way [of creating]. I already liked having gritty surfaces with my work, a subtractive and additive process, and it just felt more gratifying to to do it on an object.

4.Tell me about the color you use in your work.

The red and white in my work are the most significant of them. The way my brain works through OCD is that it’s decided red is representation of sanguine, of death and violence, things to be avoided. One of my things growing up was, I was very afraid to step on red surfaces and make contact with them, because I felt like if I stepped on this thing that was red for too long, I’m going to get cancer. I had to do a lot of exposure therapy on standing on red surfaces. I have this process in my video work and some of my paintings where it’s applying red to the skin and washing it away. This way of illustrating the nonlinear process, how there’ll be days when you feel empowered and comfortable being immersed in a thing and it’s lost its power, but then there’ll be times that during seasons of life there are more challenging or stressful where you just don’t have the same tolerance for these very irrational things. The green I integrate in my work is a way of signaling, the same way you’d look at a stoplight: green means go, green is the good and safe color. It’s this way of illustrating utopian states of mind, feelings of conquering. In terms of contemporary artists, I’m looking a lot at Emilio Villalba and his environmental paintings and his Paintings from Home series he’s been doing lately. The application and his space and color is something I’m looking at and want to find

ways of incorporating into my own work. Edvard Munch has been thematically the artist that continues to inspire me the most.

5. It seems hard to say right now, but what’s next for you?

It’s definitely hard to say! My goals before everything was to stay in town and continue this body of work I’ve been developing. It’s kind of shifted gears now; I’m still interested in our relationship with the fear and confrontation, but looking at the global landscape of everybody’s response to that in the face of the pandemic is changing. The duality of everybody’s response is something I want to build as a body of work. It’s interesting how our fear is acting as this survival response. It’s being incentivized to keep us away from each other and safe to prevent spread, but at the same time, I see this irrational fear from people like the protestors who think their civil rights are being usurped, how that’s becoming the self-sabotaging thing. I changed my mediums a little bit, but I’m starting to do more watercolor work and going back to the small scale. I want to move west as soon as I get the opportunity to. Everything’s so up in the air now, I’m taking it one day at a time. CS Follow Terri Harris on Instagram at @terriharrisart.

CULTURE REMEMBER WHEN

SINCE 2001  BREWING COFFEE & COMMUNITY

Remember When: 1997 Savannah Jazz Festival

WRUU’s Dave Lake looks back on a standout year for the festival

THE SENTIENT BEAN

BY SEAN KELLY

sean@connectsavannah.com

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WELCOME to ‘Remember When.’ This is a chance for Savannah art veterans to reminisce on some of their favorite events in the city’s history. Whether it’s a concert, theater production, festival, visual art show, dance production, or comedy show, Savannah has a long history of memorable art and now is as good a time as any to look back on some of the best. Today, we’re catching up with Dave Lake, who runs the show over at WRUU. If you’re unfamiliar with WRUU, it’s Savannah’s community radio station—featuring a huge variety of shows spanning genres and subjects. Lake has been a proponent and supporter of arts in Savannah since moving to town in the 90s, and the station is his latest effort to help nurture independent radio in our city. Dave decided to dig into the 1997 Savannah Jazz Festival, which took place at Forsyth Park. It was a landmark experience for him—something he says cemented his love of the city and ultimately the pride he felt as a new Savannahian. The Savannah Jazz Festival still goes strong to this day, but can certainly be seen as being ahead of its time; around long before some of the most prominent music festivals and events in our city.

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In the mid 90’s when I moved to Savannah, there was not much reason to come downtown. A black mayor had just been elected and there was a lot of racial tension in town. But seeing the mixture of ages, races and economic circumstances at the Savannah Jazz Festival restored my faith in the Savannah community and in the power of music to unite the city. At that time in Savannah, what was the music scene like? There was no Savannah Music Festival. There were some music clubs in town, but not the range of music that is around today. There were a limited number of restaurants and not the large number of great restaurants we have today. I didn’t feel safe walking at night downtown.

Kenny Barron PHOTO BY JOHN SWANN

Where were you in your career and life at that point?

I am sure one of the reasons that I came to the Savannah Jazz Festival was the appearance of Kenny Barron, the fabulous I had come to Savannah in 1994 as the first jazz pianist (in fact, we were to see him Department Head of Physical Therapy at again here in Savannah as he was to be at what was then Armstrong State College. So the SMF 2020). But the impression of that I was mid-career as a physical therapy edu- festival is not what went on but the overall cator, but early in the development of this impression of pride in Savannah that I felt. new program. CS Our first graduates of the PT Program were in 1997. The faith in Savannah that Visit wruu.org for more information on WRUU came to me at the 1997 Savannah Jazz Fes- and how you can support community radio. For tival inspired me to stay in Savannah and information on the Savannah Jazz Festival, visit make it my home. savannahjazz.org Is there one moment from the festival that you remember most fondly?

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What sticks out in your mind about the ‘97 festival?

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FIND THE FOOD TRUCKS: The week’s schedule

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CONNECT SAVANNAH | MAY 13 - 19, 2020

THOMAS CLAXTON & THE MYTH

18

WITH the help of the Savannah Food Truck Force (savannahfoodtruckforce. com), we’ve compiled this schedule of the week’s food truck appearances, through Sunday. This schedule is subject to change. Note: “Butterbean Beach” is the Skidaway Narrows landing at 25 Diamond Causeway.

5 Spot

Sat. May 16, Coastal Cathedral, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sun. May 17, Butterbean Beach, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.

Backyard Grill

Wed. May 13, Coastal Cathedral, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Thu. May 14, Gordonston, 4:30-7:30 p.m. Fri. May 15, Burnside Island, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sat. May 16, Ace Hardware, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

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Thu. May 14, Sandpiper Supply, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat. May 16, Kensington Park, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.

Ben & Jerry’s

Fri. May 15, Sandpiper Supply, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat. May 16, Coastal Cathedral, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sun. May 17, Isle of Hope Baptist, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.

Bojangle’s

Fri. May 15, Isle of Hope Baptist, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.

Bowtie BBQ

Fri. May 15, Habersham Beverage, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Chazito’s

Wed. May 13, Burnside Island, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Thu. May 14, Isle of Hope Baptist, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Fri. May 15, Butterbean Beach, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sun. May 17, Lighthouse Baptist 5-8 p.m.

Krazian

Thu. May 14, Lighthouse Baptist, 5-8 p.m. Fri. May 15, Ace Hardware, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sun. May 17, Coastal Cathedral, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.

Kona Ice

Sat. May 16, Isle of Hope Baptist, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.

Latin Chicks

Wed. May 13, Butterbean Beach, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Fri. May 15, Coastal Cathedral Sat. May 16, Isle of Hope Baptist

Macaron’s

Fri. May 15, Coastal Cathedral, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.

Molly’s Fish & Chips

Thu. May 14, Habersham Beverage, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. May 16, Butterbean Beach, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.

Pie Society

Wed. May 13, Sandpiper Supply, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Thu. May 14, Kensington Park, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sat. May 16, Lighthouse Baptist, 5-8 p.m.

Renowned

Thu. May 14, Coastal Cathedral, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Fri. May 15, Lighthouse Baptist, 5-8 p.m. Sun. May 17, Isle of Hope Baptist, 5-8 p.m.

River St. Sweets

Thu. May 14, Coastal Cathedral, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Fri. May 15, Isle of Hope Baptist, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sun. May 17, Coastal Cathedral, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.

Sweet Spice

Wed. May 13, Isle of Hope Baptist, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Thu. May 14, Butterbean Beach, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Fri. May 15, Sandpiper Supply, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

FOOD & DRINK NIGHTLIFE

Kegs of spoiled beer at a local bar which will have to be disposed of

“I’ve made the assumption that we will need to be at least as restrictive as restaurants. But the most restricted businesses — bars, nightclubs, live theaters — are conspicuously absent on the state’s reopening list,” Coles says. “We are wading back into the waters slowly, so we plan on erring on the side of caution when it comes to things like the dancefloor and theatre space,” he says. Most bar owners maintain that it’s long past time to completely eliminate the antiquated rule that allows restaurants to serve as much alcohol as they want on Sunday, but bars which don’t serve food must close entirely. “Losing an extra day of sales per week has always been a challenge. But now with all that’s happened, not having that extra day could literally be the last straw,” says Rail Pub’s Brown. “The food requirement has been a huge roadblock in providing an opportunity to grow and contribute to the economy and business — job growth,” Brown says. Several local bar owners, including Brown, are joining a larger statewide effort to lobby for changes in the law at the state level. “The regulation about Sundays is stifling. So much creativity and growth could be accomplished if the food requirement was removed,” Brown sighs. “So the biggest roadblock here is being regulated and treated like we are not a viable business when we literally sell the same products as other classified businesses and whom do not even meet the food requirement.” Coles concurs. “It’s an antiquated law that seems to only be based on religion, not logical policy. It’s one legislative move that could help the businesses that were forced to shut down co-owner of Lone Wolf Lounge. “For capac- the longest, while also giving political ity I do believe federal guidelines will limit cover to those politicians who might otherstanding room, but seats probably won’t be wise vote against it,” Coles says. touched too much.” Also, there is the challenge of inventory Lone Wolf used this down time to — bars have been closed long enough for expand the bar, part of a previous plan much of their beer on hand to spoil. already in place. “We have renovated the “We currently have 18 kegs spoiled and entire building so we will probably just set spoilage is growing for us day by day. We up more tables,” Worley says. have other products like pre-mix, fruit, “We are good to go,” says Matt Garappackage beer/wine and juices that have polo, owner of The Original Pinkie Masspoiled as well. We have pulled it and have ters. “The staff is ready and I have Pinkies it stacked to be either legally replaced by masks ordered. Just waiting to see what distributors, or I will need to make an the capacity rules are going to be. If they insurance claim for spoilage,” says Brown. stay as is – 10 people per 500 square feet – “We are going have to see what beer will our capacity is going to be 18 people.” be left that is not expired before we can Club One, a multi-level, multi-use space, decide what inventory we will buy and how will probably need to be even more sensimuch. Product selection will be trimmed tive about restrictive measures. down a lot,” she says, echoing concerns of “As of now, we have not been given any other bar owners in a similar predicament. CS specific guidance as it pertains to bars, nightclubs, or performance venues, as we pretty much cover all 3, and then some,” says Travis Coles, Club One manager.

Bars navigate tricky reopening

BY JIM MOREKIS

jim@connectsavannah.com

THOUGH it’s been notoriously difficult to predict exactly what Ga. Gov. Brian Kemp is going to announce next during the pandemic, his order keeping bars closed throughout the state is set to expire this Wednesday evening at 11:59 p.m. Unless he extends the order, this means one of the last closed industries will finally be allowed to reopen, nearly three weeks after tattoo shops and hair/nail salons could, and a full week after a wave of tourists descended on Savannah and Tybee Island this past weekend. If you wanted to drink booze at a restaurant, no problem — you could have done so since April 27, when restaurants were allowed to partially reopen inside dining. But bars that don’t serve food in Savannah have been out of luck since Friday night, March 20, the last night they were open before Mayor Van Johnson closed

them down, followed by a similar state order three days later. They might be able to open this Thursday — maybe. We talked to a few local bar owners about their status pending what may or may not be their big opening weekend. The biggest sticking point as we go to press is the wait for “guidance” — what restrictive rules will be put on bars by the state to allow reopening — and if that will even make opening worth the risk and expense, given the possibly limited capacity. “If Kemp says we can open, that doesn’t mean we will open,” says Trina Brown, owner of The Rail Pub. “We are committed to ensuring the safety of the employees. So we have been meeting to figure out how to do that first. Then focus on customer safety and their responsibilities in order to allow entrance in the establishment.” “I’m sure there will be some sort of requirements for staff to be extra clean, maybe even masked,” says Thomas Worley,

CONNECT SAVANNAH | MAY 13 - 19, 2020

Guidelines, clues from governor have been scant so far

19

FILM LOCAL CINEMA

Streaming excellence: CinemaSavannah top picks 9. La la Land * 10. The Lesson ** (Bulgarian) 11. The Survivalist ** 12. United States of Love (Polish) 13. I, Daniel Blake* 14. Under the Sun (doc on North Korea)** 15. Julietta (new Almodovar) 16. Sicario 17. Hell or High Water 18. Loving* 19. The Love Witch ** 20. Under the Shadow **

IT may be months before there are public screenings in the area, so we decided to see what Tomasz Warchol of CinemaSavannah is recommending that people stream these days. These are his favorite films of the last four years. “CinemaSavannah fans will recognize some titles from our screenings, but there is plenty of quality films on the list that you probably have not seen,” Warchol writes. “All these films are streaming on Amazon, Hulu, or Netflix and will keep you sane until the world reopens.” * shown at Savannah Film Festival ** shown by CinemaSavannah

2015

1. Brooklyn 2. Room (Canada) 3. The Salvation (Denmark) 4. Anomalisa 5. Son of Saul (Hungary) 6. Wild Tales (Argentina) 7. Phoenix (Germany) 8. Ex Machina (UK) 9. Carol (UK) 10. Mustang (Turkey) 11. White God (Hungary)

2017 Knives Out

12. Zero Motivation (Israel) 13. Joy 14. 45 Years (UK) 15. Revenant 16. Trainwreck 17. Results 18. Second Mother (Brazil) 19. Pure (Swedish, on Netflix) 20. Obce Niebo/Alien Heaven (Polish) (Netflix)

THANK YOU.

CONNECT SAVANNAH | MAY 13 - 19, 2020

Our sincere thanks to the awesome advertisers who supported this week’s issue of Connect Savannah.

20

These businesses and organizations are helping to support free, independent journalism and a locally-owned media company at a time when financial resources are critical for all. Please show them your support.

2016

1. Moonlight * 2. Nocturnal Animals 3. American Honey ** 4 Manchester by the Sea* 5. The Innocents ** 6. Elle (new Verhoeven) 7. Paterson * 8. Eye in the Sky

bar.food Barnes Restaurant

1 The Florida Project */** 2. Get Out 3.Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri * 4. Shape of Water * 5. Wind River 6. In the Fade ** (German, dir. Fatih Akin, Golden Globe Best Foreign Film) 7. Loveless (Russian, dir. A. Zvyagintsev, Cannes/London winner) 8. Baby Driver (UK) 9. Lady Macbeth/Lady M. (UK)

Georgia Public Broadcasting

Basil’s Pizza & Deli

Goodwill Southeast Georgia

Carey Hilliard’s

Sentient Bean

Restaurant

Smoke City

Coach’s Corner

Southern Eagle Distributors

Economy Feed & Seed Foxy Loxy Cafe

Trek Bicycle Store of Savannah

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

10. Suntan (Greek, Edinburgh winner) 11. Detroit 12. On Body and Soul** (Berlin winner) 13. Beatriz at Dinner* 14. I, Tonya* 15. Perfect Strangers (Italian) 16. Strange Weather* 17. Zookeeper’s Wife (Czech/UK) 18. The Big Sick 19. Call Me By Your Name* 20.Glory (Bulgarian)**

2018

1. Green Book** 2. Cold War** (Poland) 3. Leave no Trace 4. Shoplifters* (Japan) 5. Hate U Give** 6. The Guilty* (Denmark) 7. Three Identical Strangers** 8. First Reformed* 9. Revenge (France) 10. Searching 11. Custody* (France) 12. Sweet Country* (Australia) 13. Burning (S. Korea) 14. Nancy** 15. In Between* (Israel) 16. The Quiet Place** 17. Widows** (UK) 18. Roma (US/Mexico)** 19. At Eternity’s Gate** (multi-national) 20. Eighth Grade

2019

My Top 25 Favorite Films of 2019 1. Portrait of a Lady on Fire* (France, coming to CinemaSavannah in April) 2. Just Mercy 3. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 4. Joker (Joaquin Phoenix!) 5. Knives Out 6. Pain and Glory* 7. Corpus Christi* (Poland) 8. Woman at War* (Iceland) 9. Amazing Grace* 10. What They Had 11. Queen of Hearts* (Denmark) 12. Parasite *(S. Korea) 13. An Officer and a Spy (France) 14. Clemency (another great “black” movie and performance by Alfre Woodard) 15. Feast of the Seven Fishes* 16. Marriage Story 17. Little Woods* 18. Honeyland* (Macedonia) 19. Cold Pursuit 20. The Two Popes 21. A Vigilante* 22. The Nightingale (Australia) 23. Wild Rose*(UK/Scotland) 24. Wild Nights with Emily* 25. Holiday

JONESIN’ CROSSWORD BY MATT JONES ©2020 Answers on page 23

“FRESH AIR” --FOR YOUR SUNSHINE DAYS, OR NOT.

ACROSS

1 It’s built for accessibility 5 Rainless 9 Graceful fowl 13 The Beehive State 14 Curiosity rover launcher 15 Fern’s seed 16 Start of a path, which traces the opening lyric from a “Brady Bunch” song 18 Film director Pier ___ Pasolini 19 “A Woman Speaks” writer Anais 20 “M*A*S*H” actor Alan 21 Sonic Youth bassist/ singer Kim 22 Winter warmers 24 Vientiane’s country 25 Cartoon tavern that’s very susceptible to prank calls 26 Hat removers, quaintly 29 Filtered communication 31 College teachers, familiarly 32 Neighbor of Liech. 34 “The BFG” author Roald 35 Pilot light, e.g. 36 Watch sound 37 Container for coffee 38 Chain that merged with AMC Theatres 39 It’s not the same as assertive 40 Language of Andorra and Barcelona 42 New Facebook reaction emoji

43 Tire mark 44 One of Universal’s classic movie monsters 47 “___ & Juliet” (2011 animated film) 50 Hat stat 51 Lyric verse 52 Parts partner 53 End of the path 55 Signs 56 Perceive 57 Singer Rexha 58 Bonus item 59 Grand Ole ___ (venue broadcasting live streams) 60 “Nailed It” host Nicole

DOWN

1 Archaeological attractions 2 Place to store antiques 3 Classic “Muppet Show” song with that “do dooo do do-do” refrain 4 Golden ratio symbol 5 Where some bracelets are worn 6 Steals from, as a fridge 7 Actress Fisher of “The Great Gatsby” 8 East Indian lentil stew 9 Hardly dense 10 Lumber material 11 “Alice’s Restaurant” chronicler Guthrie 12 “Open” sign element 15 Parodies 17 Belly button 21 Blunder

23 Churn 24 Appears menacingly 26 Sketched 27 Ask for support, in a way 28 “___ fun!” (catchphrase from the BBC’s “Miranda”) 29 Ivy extension? 30 Antony who eulogized Caesar 31 Answer, in court 33 Something to look up to 35 Shakespearean compilation 36 Lawn layer 38 Shaq’s former team 39 ___ in comparison 41 Jazz bandleader/drummer and son of Thelonious 42 In a snug manner 44 Less naive 45 Photoshop company 46 More recent 47 Disgusting goo 48 Handle 49 Above, in Augsburg 50 Part of a recipe 53 Craft in videos recently released by the Pentagon 54 Lessen gradually

CONNECT SAVANNAH | MAY 13 - 19, 2020

LOCAL CINEMA

21

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY ARIES (March 21-April 19)

During a pandemic, is it possible to spread the news about your talents and offerings? Yes! That’s why I suggest you make sure that everyone who should know about you does indeed know about you. To mobilize your efforts and stimulate your imagination, I came up with colorful titles for you to use to describe yourself on your résumé or in promotional materials or during conversations with potential helpers. 1. Fire-Maker 2. Seed-Sower 3. Brisk Instigator 4. Hope Fiend 5. Gap Leaper 6. Fertility Aficionado 7. Gleam Finder 8. Launch Catalyst 9. Chief Improviser 10. Change Artist

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

Of all the signs, Tauruses are among the least likely to be egomaniacs. Most of you aren’t inclined to indulge in fits of braggadocio or outbreaks of narcissism. (I just heard one of my favorite virtuoso Taurus singers say she wasn’t a very good singer!) That’s why one of my secret agendas is to tell you how gorgeous you are, to nudge you to cultivate the confidence and pride you deserve to have. Are you ready to leap to a higher octave of self-love? I think so. In the coming weeks, please use Taurus artist Salvador Dali’s boast as your motto: “There comes a moment in every person’s life when they realize they adore me.”

CONNECT SAVANNAH | MAY 13 - 19, 2020

GEMINI (May 21-June 20)

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When I was young, I had a fun-filled fling with a smart Gemini woman who years later became a highly praised author and the authorized biographer of a Nobel Prize-winning writer. Do I regret our break-up? Am I sorry I never got to enjoy her remarkable success up close? No. As amazing as she was and is, we wouldn’t have been right for each other long-term. I am content with the brief magic we created together, and have always kept her in my fond thoughts with gratitude and the wish for her to thrive. Now I invite you to do something comparable to what I just did, Gemini: Make peace with your past. Send blessings to the people who helped make you who you are. Celebrate what has actually happened in your life, and graduate forever from what might have happened but didn’t.

CANCER (June 21-July 22)

“You have two ways to live your life, from memory or from inspiration,” writes teacher Joe Vitale. Many of you Cancerians favor memory over inspiration to provide their primary motivation. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, although it can be a problem if you become so obsessed with memory that you distract yourself from creating new developments

in your life story. But in accordance with astrological potentials and the exigencies of our Global Healing Crisis, I urge you, in the coming weeks, to mobilize yourself through a balance of memory and inspiration. I suspect you’ll be getting rich opportunities to both rework the past and dream up a future full of interesting novelty. In fact, those two imperatives will serve each other well.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)

Author Anne Lamott has some crucial advice for you to heed in the coming weeks. “Even when we’re most sure that love can’t conquer all,” she says, “it seems to anyway. It goes down into the rat hole with us, in the guise of our friends, and there it swells and comforts. It gives us second winds, third winds, hundredth winds.” I hope you’ll wield this truth as your secret magic in the coming weeks, Leo. Regard love not just as a sweet emotion that makes you feel good, but as a superpower that can accomplish practical miracles.

BY ROB BREZSNY

beautyandtruth@freewillastrology.com

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

On the kids’ TV show *Sesame Street*, there’s a muppet character named Count von Count. He’s a friendly vampire who loves to count things. He is 6,523,730 years old and his favorite number is 34,969—the square root of 187. The Count was “born” on November 13, 1972, when he made his first appearance on the show, which means he’s a Scorpio. I propose we make him your patron saint for the next four weeks. It’s an excellent time to transform any threatening qualities you might seem to have into harmless and cordial forms of expression. It’s also a favorable phase for you to count your blessings and make plans that will contribute to your longevity.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

“I’m curious about everything, except what people have to say about me,” says actor Sarah Jessica Parker. I think that’s an excellent strategy for you to adopt in the coming weeks. On the one hand, the whole world will be exceptionally interesting, and your ability to learn valuable lessons and acquire useful information will be at peak. On the other hand, one of the keys to getting the most out of the wealth of catalytic influences will be to cultivate nonchalance about people’s opinions of you.

“Few people have a treasure,” writes Nobel Prize-winning author Alice Munro. She’s speaking metaphorically, of course— not referring to a strongbox full of gold and jewels. But I’m happy to inform you that if you don’t have a treasure, the coming months will be a favorable time to find or create it. So I’m putting you on a High Alert for Treasure. I urge you to be receptive to and hungry for it. And if you are one of those rare lucky ones who already has a treasure, I’m happy to say that you now have the power and motivation to appreciate it even more and learn how to make even better use of it. Whether you do or don’t yet have the treasure, heed these further words from Alice Munro: “You must hang onto it. You must not let yourself be waylaid, and have it taken from you.”

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

At this moment, there are 50 trillion cells in your body, and each of them is a sentient being in its own right. They act together as a community, consecrating you with their astonishing collaboration. It’s like magic! Here’s an amazing fact: Just as you communicate with dogs and cats and other animals, you can engage in dialogs with your cells. The coming weeks will be a ripe time to explore this phenomenon. Is there anything you’d like to say to the tiny creatures living in your stomach or lungs? Any information you’d love to receive from your heart or your sex organs? If you have trouble believing this is a real possibility, imagine and pretend. And have fun!

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

Theologian St. Catherine of Siena observed, “To a brave person, good and bad luck are like her left and right hand. She uses both.” The funny thing is, Virgo, that in the past you have sometimes been more adept and proactive in using your bad luck, and less skillful at capitalizing on your good luck. But from what I can tell, this curious problem has been diminishing for you in 2020—and will continue to do so. I expect that in the coming weeks, you will welcome and harness your good luck with brisk artistry.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

“No one ever found wisdom without also being a fool,” writes novelist Erica Jong. “Until you’re ready to look foolish, you’ll never have the possibility of being great,” says singer Cher. “He dares to be a fool, and that is the first step in the direction of wisdom,” declared art critic James Huneker. “Almost all new ideas have a certain aspect of foolishness when they are first produced,” observed philosopher Alfred North Whitehead. According to my analysis of astrological omens, you’re primed to prove these theories, Sagittarius. Congratulations!

“A myriad of modest delights constitute happiness,” wrote poet Charles Baudelaire. I think that definition will serve you well in the coming weeks, Pisces. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, there won’t be spectacular breakthroughs barging into your life; I expect no sublime epiphanies or radiant transformations. On the other hand, there’ll be a steady stream of small marvels if you’re receptive to such a possibility. Here’s key advice: Don’t miss the small wonders because you’re expecting and wishing for bigger splashes.

EXCHANGE

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