On Thursday, many Savannah hotels still had rooms free for the big weekend before St. Patrick’s Day.
Midtown and Southside hotels had rooms available in the range of $150 per night for a party of two. Hotels in the heart of the Historic District also had rooms available, most in the range of $200 to $350 per night.
Some of those hotels might have filled up in the final days before the holiday, but the wide availability of rooms might be a cautionary note about our simultaneously raucous and heavily regulated St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.
Savannah officials have struggled for years to manage the crowds. For sure, it’s a daunting task, especially for the various agencies on the front lines dealing with the drunks, the trash and the traffic.
This year will prove an especially interesting test.
Will overnight weekend visitors commit to an extra night or two so they can stay in town for the parade? How many overnight visitors and day trippers will buy wristbands so they can drink outside in the “control zone” on all four days?
Do we really need 24 booths selling wristbands for four days straight?
I’ve been critical in this column in previous years of almost every new restriction put in place during the extended St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. Years ago, I opposed the gating of River Street, which was eventually discontinued. More recently, I have opposed the wristband requirement.
Every day of the year, patrons can leave downtown restaurants and bars with alcoholic beverages in plastic go cups. But on one of our busiest weekends, at a time when we’re trying to roll out the red carpet for visitors, we have chosen to impose a burden on both locals and tourists.
Sure, it’s pretty easy and inexpensive ($5) to get a wristband, but I’m not alone in simply refusing to play along. I might hit some downtown bars this weekend, but I’ll finish my drinks before wandering outside.
And how will we pay for all the stages and all the bands?
Given the number of downtown bars and restaurants that routinely book live music, I don’t think we need a big public effort to produce music in the streets for four days.
In the 13 years I’ve been writing this column, I’ve also heard innumerable complaints from business owners who are resigned to losing money during the big St. Patrick’s Day party. The loss will be especially acute this year because those entrepreneurs are giving up a long weekend’s worth of business.
I love St. Patrick’s Day in Savannah, by the way. I want as many people as possible to enjoy the city’s hospitality and to revel in our beautiful public spaces.
But we have implemented ordinances and policies over the years that emphasize the drinking and the “party” atmosphere. These changes have discouraged many locals from joining in the fun, while discouraging some traditional spring tourists too.
Unemployment rate tumbling, except within Savannah city limits
In Tuesday’s City Talk, we looked at the upbeat employment data for January from the survey of payroll establishments.
The Georgia Department of Labor subsequently released the estimates from January’s household survey. Those results are used to determine the unemployment rate and other statistics about the composition of the local labor force.
The unemployment rate for the Savannah metro area (Chatham, Effingham and Bryan counties) was 6.9 percent in January, down pretty sharply from the 8.4 percent in January 2013.
The slow growth of the civilian labor force over the last year suggests a slight decline in the participation rate, which most would see as a negative sign.
But the decrease in the unemployment rate was primarily due to the fact that almost 4,000 additional residents found employment over the last year.
This good news is consistent with the upbeat payroll establishment estimates that we discussed on Tuesday.
It’s worth noting, however, that the most recent numbers suggest that the improvements are taking place outside the city of Savannah. According to the data, the unemployment rate within the Savannah city limits actually increased from 8.0 percent in January 2013 to 8.2 percent in January 2014.
Among Georgia cities with more than 50,000 residents, Savannah and Macon were the only ones with a year-over-year increase in the January unemployment rate.
City Talk appears every Tuesday and Sunday. Bill Dawers can be reached via billdawers@comcast.net. Send mail to 10 East 32nd St., Savannah, Ga. 31401.