Latest news with #Savannah-based
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Yahoo
Law firms file 100-page lawsuit against designers, builders of Sapelo Island gangway after collapse
Six law firms, including Morgan & Morgan and the firm of prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump, are suing five companies involved with the engineering and construction of the gangway on Georgia's Sapelo Island that led to the deaths of seven people after collapsing last October. Four of the people who died were from Jacksonville, one was a former reverend from Brunswick, and the two others were from Georgia. Georgia state officials believe 40 people were on the gangway between the ferry and the island when it broke apart. 'This was a tragedy of unbelievable proportions,' said Chadrick Mance, a Savannah-based attorney who helped create the lawsuit, 'there was an improper design and improper maintenance of the gangway.' The 101-page lawsuit lists 19 different charges against the companies being sued, including negligence and wrongful death related to the collapse. Part of the reason is because it lists information from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources saying the gangway should have been able to hold the weight of 320 people. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< Between survivors of the collapse and family of those who died, 50 people are listed in the lawsuit as those seeking damages. The lawsuit claims the gangway had issues for years. It shows an email from 2022 between one of the companies that helped design the gangway and DNR, saying hairline cracks and a 'completely failed weld' had been found during an inspection, and concerns raised over a loud popping sound as people were walking across the platform. The email later said there were no issues or concerns related to the gangway's structural integrity. The lawsuit was announced between two separate news briefings: one held by attorney Ben Crump in Atlanta and another held by Chadrick Mance at the Elm Grove Baptist Church in Meridian, Georgia. It's right next to the ferry pickup to Sapelo Island and the site where those who survived the collapse first reunited with their families after it happened. 'Replaying everything in my mind, seeing my daughter hanging on the side, finding out my wife and my youngest daughter are missing, it's just been rough,' Michael Wood said, one of the survivors who spoke at the briefing inside Elm Grove Baptist Church. Read: Historic Mayport Lighthouse in plans to be relocated One of the last pages of the lawsuit, which was filed in Georgia's Gwinnett County, demands a trial to be held, though no set trial or hearing date has been given. Mance, along with the other lawyers who helped put the lawsuit together, are promising answers for those affected by the collapse in the hope it may help them heal. 'We will be seeking maximum justice, unfettered justice and aggressive justice for these clients. And these are the best firms in the country. And so if there's ever an opportunity to get justice, this is it,' Mance said. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Survivors of Sapelo Island dock collapse suing construction companies
The Brief The survivors of a ferry dock collapse that killed seven people on Georgia's Sapelo Island last year are suing the engineering and construction companies responsible for the dock's construction. The collapse happened when family members and tourists had traveled to the island for Cultural Day, an annual fall event spotlighting the island's tiny community of Hogg Hummock, home to a few dozen Black residents. Officials have confirmed with FOX 5 that the last inspection of the gangway took place in December 2023. No areas of concern were found during the inspection, which officials say examined the top and bottom sides. SAPELO ISLAND, Ga. - The survivors of a ferry dock collapse on Georgia's Sapelo Island have filed a lawsuit against the engineering and construction companies responsible for the dock's construction. The devastating disaster killed seven people and injured more than a dozen others who had gathered on the small island for a celebration. MORE: Remembering the victims of the Sapelo Island dock collapse The backstory The collapse happened on Oct. 19, 2024, when family members and tourists gathered for Cultural Day, an annual fall event spotlighting the island's tiny community of Hogg Hummock, home to a few dozen Black residents. Authorities say the dock held about 40 people when the metal snapped, sending them into the Atlantic waters. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources said engineers calculated that the 80-foot gangway should have been able to support the weight of 320 people. The dock was rebuilt in 2021 after Georgia officials settled a lawsuit by Hogg Hummock residents who complained the ferries and docks failed to meet federal accessibility standards for people with disabilities. Ferry worker Ed Grovner said he complained to a ferry captain months ago that the gangway didn't seem sturdy enough, but nothing happened. "I couldn't sleep last night," Grovner told the Associated Press after the disaster. "My wife said I was sleeping, I was hollering in my sleep, saying, 'I'm going to save you. I'm going to save you. I'm going to get you.'" Officials have confirmed with FOX 5 that the last inspection of the gangway took place in December 2023. No areas of concern were found during the inspection, which officials say examined the top and bottom sides. The remains of the gangway were sent to a secure facility to be inspected. Details about that inspection have not been released. What we know Attorney Chadrick A. Mance announced that a lawsuit has been filed in Gwinnett County against the parties involved in the engineering and construction of the gangway. According to the complaint, the survivors suffered physical injuries and mental anguish and trauma. While the complaint has not been released to the public yet, the Savannah-based attorney plans to discuss the lawsuit at a press conference on Wednesday morning. Dig deeper Civil rights attorney Ben Crump has also announced he would be representing the families of three of the individuals who lost their lives and one who was injured in the collapse. "The tragic deaths and injuries caused by the collapse of the Sapelo Island dock gangway are devastating for these families and the entire community. We will not rest until we uncover the truth behind this catastrophic failure and hold those responsible accountable," Crump said. "This should never have happened, and it is crucial that we prevent future tragedies by addressing the negligence that led to this horrific event. Sapelo Island also has no medical facilities. Resident Jazz Watts said a health care provider was planning to open a clinic in the county-owned building that had long served as the island's community center. But those plans got scrapped when county commissioners opted to lease the space for a restaurant. The Source Information for this story came from a release by The Mance Law Firm and previous FOX 5 reporting.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Savannah waterfront vision plan details concrete measures for improvement
The emergence of the Plant Riverside District on the Savannah waterfront's west end transformed an industrial relic into a fixture of the city's retail and entertainment profile. Far on the other end beyond East Broad Street, revitalization is running at full speed, fueled Eastern Wharf. That revitalization on the waterfront's anchor ends has only highlighted the need for improvement and reinvestment along the riverfront's core, which has received various plans for improvements dating back to at least 2009. Such is the subject of the Savannah Waterfront Community Improvement District's vision plan for waterfront improvements. Done in collaboration with SWCID board members and Savannah-based design and architectural firm Sottile & Sottile, the vision plan maps nearly 50 potential improvements broken down on the east, central and west waterfront areas. Christian Sottile, the design firm's principal who is also a consultant on other city projects such as Civic Center redevelopment, discussed the plan with the Savannah Morning News. Here is a deep dive into some of its key points: Sottile said one of the themes from the visioning sessions was connectivity, exploring how people navigate the waterfront area by using the riverwalk, River Street, Factor's Walk or even Bay Street. But there are also north-south connections at each of the streets on downtown Savannah's historic grid (Bull Street, Abercorn Street, Whitaker Street). "We really diagnosed each of those connections to see what's working very well and what's not working very well, because that's a big part of making the riverfront accessible to everyone and enjoyed by everyone, that it's safe and accessible for residents of the city, for visitors as well," Sottile said. As a starter, the plan posits that points of access to River Street should be recognizable and easy to find. The same could be true in the inverse, where access points to streets on the grid are identifiable from River Street. Those key connections are one area where the waterfront area could be improved through more identifiable wayfinding. Use of signage can also contribute to the iconography of a place, such as New York City's subway signs. "When we come up and down from the river, maybe there is a Savannah way of creating a signature ... those kinds of ideas of doing wayfinding, not in a temporary way, but in a very thoughtful and durable way," Sottile said. Other options for improved connectivity include linking the riverwalk at sections where it is currently separated. At one section on the east end, the riverwalk is separated by a sliver of water. The plan proposes a bridge joining the paths. At a different point, the riverwalk is broken by a surface parking lot, and the plan outlines potentially reconfiguring that lot to connect the path. When it comes to reimagining how certain spaces are explored for different uses, a few surface parking lots along the waterfront come into focus. Sottile's plan proposes two potential new uses for those lots: multi-use plazas and parks. Gathering space for pedestrians or potential outdoor dining options in current parking lots could reduce auto traffic and create more activated spaces, the plan states. The need for parking lots on the waterfront is less than when those lots were created, given new parking decks exist at each end of the river, Sottile said. "(The plan) calls into question: are some of these spaces underperforming today, and could they perform at a higher level and provide more benefit to the city and to the to the life of River Street?" Another opportunity for transforming a portion of the waterfront is at Factor's Walk. The plan offers two recommendations: make the entrance to Factor's Walk more of a gateway and create an art gallery walk along its walls. The start of Factor's Walk is currently dimly lit, with bare brick walls and scattered graffiti. Sottile noted that River Street is in many ways the most historic part of Savannah's National Historic Landmark District, and the street is lined with historic buildings and multiple-story facades. But when the sun goes down, the faces of those historic structures are invisible. A lack of lighting along the facades leaves the primary lumination on River Street coming from restaurant lighting and open storefronts. The vision plan sees the lack of lighting as an opportunity to increase the waterfront's vibrancy by uplighting its signature facades. "There are certain buildings that just have a really good potential for that. They have good architecture, and they'll benefit from that," Sottile said. Other lighting opportunities include the tunnel under the Hyatt Regency Savannah Waterfront hotel. The plan also proposes fully enclosing trash bin holding areas, many of which are located along ramps connecting Bay Street to River Street. Today, garbage bins are exposed to the public eye and often in those prominent places. The plan envisions those enclosures as having low-sloped roofs and doors to fully close the holding areas. Evan Lasseter is the city of Savannah and Chatham County government reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at ELasseter@ or on X (formerly known as Twitter) @evanalasseter. This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah waterfront vision plan details concrete measures for improvement
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Alice In Wonderland…with a twist
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — If you like your fairy tales a little bit twisted, then get ready for 'Alice In Wonderland' like you've never seen! Presented by The Assembly Of Phantasms, a Savannah-based performance troupe dedicated to creating mesmerizing and unforgettable dark theatrical experiences, this 'Alice' will push some boundaries. 'It's definitely a 21-and-up show,' says producer/director/adaptor Valerie America Lavelle. 'You'll see all kinds of performance genres: burlesque, drag, puppetry…there is something for everyone…who's over 21!' Lavelle has selected local performers for the show. She says, while they will follow the general framework of the original Lewis Carroll story, she picked people who can bring the words to life, while infusing their own talents and enthusiasm. 'I love to see what people come up with for their parts. I give them a lot of free rein with their assigned roles.' As with many local performances, this is a labor of love. The actors choreograph scenes, make their own costumes, and collaborate with each other. Valerie is excited about staging 'Alice' at Club One. 'I know that space and feel comfortable with what we can accomplish. Working with talented crew, like stage and set designer Erin Muller and sound designer Cami Nicole Hall, makes this such a great collaboration. And we've got a cast of familiar faces –Jeremiah Kizer is our White Rabbit! — and a lot of new faces too. So get ready to go down the rabbit hole with Alice as she eats and drinks her way to a show like no other. Catch 'Alice In Wonderland' with the Assembly Of Phantasms April 4th and 5th at Club One. Get your tickets here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Fast-growing convenience store chain Parker's is closing this Port Royal store. Here's why
Fast-growing gas station and convenience store chain Parker's Kitchen is opening new stores right and left as part of an ambitious expansion. That's why a demolition of a Parker's at the busy intersection at Ribaut Road and Lady's Island Drive in Port Royal is turning heads. The town of Port Royal issued the demolition permit to a contractor for Drayton-Parker Companies LLC, which develops Parker's Kitchen stores, to tear down the building and heavy equipment operators have been on the scene these week. Parker's Kitchen issued this statement about the closure: 'We recently made the difficult decision to close our store at 1451 Ribaut Road in Port Royal, which did not meet our brand standards,' the statement says, 'and hope that future development at this site will serve the community's needs in Port Royal.' Now the property is listed for sale, meaning a new use will be coming to the highly visible location eventually. Parker's is expanding into new markets including Myrtle Beach, Columbia and Jacksonville, Fla. The company employs 1,600 people in Georgia and South Carolina. Last month alone, the Savannah-based company celebrated the opening of two new stores — a 200,000 square-foot store at Beaufort Station, the new Beaufort shopping center at 311 Robert Smalls Pkwy. in Beaufort, and at Moncks Corner, which is north of Charleston in Berkeley County. The new stores were the company's 95th and 96th stores overall and the 44th and 45th in South Carolina. There are 17 stores in Beaufort County. Despite the demolition of the building and the sale of the property at 1451 Ribaut Road, Parker's will continue to have a strong presence in the Port Royal area. Another Parker's is located at Ribaut Road and Paris Avenue, about a mile south of the Lady's Island Road-Ribaut Road site where the store is being torn down. Other nearby stores are located on Parris Island Gateway and the Old Savannah Highway and on Sams Point Road on Lady's Island. Parker's was changed to Parker's Kitchen when the company began emphasizing its food service. Some older stores retain the 'Parker's' signs and do not have kitchens but they are still owned by Parker's Kitchens. The Port Royal station that closed was an older store without a kitchen. Parker's also is the name of 11 coastal Georgia stores owned by Patrick Parker, the brother of Parker's Kitchen CEO Greg Parker. Sign in to access your portfolio
