Criminal Defense Attorney in Vernonburg, GA.

Savannah Alderman Tony Thomas is facing a public rebuke by fellow City Council members after a confrontation he had with a local television reporter.

Mayor Eddie DeLoach said he has scheduled a special council meeting at 5 p.m. Wednesday to consider a resolution to censure Thomas for sexist and vulgar comments made to the reporter Saturday - and to make it clear that such language is unacceptable.

"We, as leaders of this community, have a responsibility to set an example that everyone should aspire to," DeLoach said.

The censure meeting was scheduled after Thomas admitted to calling the WTOC reporter, Georgiaree Godfrey, a "c***" and claimed he would make the comment again if given the chance, DeLoach said.

Thomas' behavior follows a downward spiral for the District 6 alderman, who had put several members of staff and council in compromising positions when he became intoxicated during the St. Patrick's Day parade in March, DeLoach said. The alderman ended up apologizing and the council agreed to move forward, DeLoach said.

"Sadley, in the last few days the same destructive behavior has resurfaced," he said.

Thomas is in his fifth term. He won the 2016 election with 58 percent of the vote, overcoming challengers Zena McClain, Stephen McElveen and David Self.

The censure vote would have to be unanimous to pass, under Georgia law.

If approved, the censure would be a condemnation of Thomas' actions, but would not impact his ability to vote or participate in discussions as a council member. That is the most the council can do and it is up to his constituents to hold him responsible for his actions, DeLoach said.

In a worst case-scenario, Georgia law provides for a recall election of elected officials due to an "act of malfeasance or misconduct while in office," a "violation of the oath of office," failure to perform duties or willfully misappropriating public funds. A recall election must have a chairperson, sponsors and petitions, and valid signatures required for a recall election must be 15 percent of the number of constituents who voted in the preceding election, Georgia law states.

Other aldermen did not want to comment Tuesday.

The reporter for WTOC whom Thomas insulted was reportedly inquiring into Thomas' house being foreclosed on and being offered for sale through public auction on June 6. On Tuesday, there was a city dumpster outside the home on Vernonburg Road filled with couch cushions and some furnishings.

Chatham County Animal Services had recently performed a welfare check after neighbors had raised concerns about some cats living in the abandoned house, said county spokeswoman Catherine Glasby. But the cats were found to be in good health and allowed to stay on the property, Glasby said.

It is not clear where the alderman is living and Thomas did not return messages seeking comment Tuesday. City code requires that aldermen live in the district they represent.

On his public Savannah Alderman Facebook page, Thomas said WTOC's report of the encounter was misleading, malicious and false. The reporter was no angel and had come with a deceitful mission, Thomas said. He also stated that the house is not in foreclosure and he lives at the residence, and used the phrase "Fake News!"

Comments on Thomas' post ranged from support to criticism, with one poster saying "you've lost my goodwill" because of his vulgar remarks.

This is not the first time Thomas' language toward others has drawn scrutiny. In an ethics complaint made against him last year, Debra Kujawa and Karen Thompson said Thomas launched a "hate campaign" against them when they decided to support an opposing City Council candidate in the last election.

That complaint stemmed from comments Thomas posted on his personal Facebook page in which he called Kujawa and Thompson a variety of demeaning names such as "hag" and "skank." The committee dismissed the complaint in March after finding the comments did not constitute an ethics violation.

Alderman apologizes for vulgar language to reporter, decries special session as 'shameful'

The Savannah City Council essentially slapped Alderman Tony Thomas on the wrist Wednesday and told him to straighten up his behavior.

In a unanimous vote, Mayor Eddie DeLoach joined the rest of the aldermen in condemning Thomas for the derogatory name he called a television reporter on Saturday. Thomas had admitted to calling the WTOC reporter a "c***" and said he would do it again, DeLoach said.

But DeLoach said the special called meeting was not just about one incident and that Thomas had demonstrated a pattern of unacceptable behavior. That behavior included putting staff and council members in a compromising position when Thomas became intoxicated during the St. Patrick's Day parade, after which he and the other council members agreed to give him another chance when he apologized, DeLoach said.

"The issue I'm dealing with today is a behavior that is not becoming of anyone in the general community let alone someone who is leading this community," he said. "That's what this is about."

The council's vote to censure Thomas has no impact on his ability to vote or participate in meeting discussions. But the move was a way to show their disapproval of the alderman's actions, which Alderman Julian Miller described as despicable and Mayor Pro Tem Carol Bell said deserved the "highest level of condemnation."

The resolution calling for the censure was initially opposed by Alderman Van Johnson, who said the comments by Thomas were "dead wrong," but he insisted that two paragraphs be eliminated before the council would get his support. One paragraph referred to the St. Patrick's Day incident, which Johnson said the council had agreed to move past. Johnson also opposed a paragraph that stated that Thomas had refused to apologize to the reporter, after Thomas said during the meeting that he regretted the language he had used.

"He apologized publicly," Johnson said. "That needs to be addressed."

But DeLoach said that he wanted to make it clear that such incidents would not be tolerated and said he was opposed to the elimination of the apology paragraph.

Johnson then voted against Bell's motion to pass an amended resolution that eliminated the paragraph referring to St. Patrick's Day, but left the apology section in. Since censure requires a unanimous vote, the motion failed.

Both paragraphs were eventually dropped in a motion by Johnson that was then approved by the council, although DeLoach said he wanted it read into the record that Thomas did not apologize until after the resolution was written and up for vote.

"That's like a rat with his tail in the trap," he said.

Thomas said the apology was only to the reporter and not the television station's management, which he claimed was harassing him. His apology came as he defended himself by making accusations against other aldermen and the mayor, who he accused of conspiring against him. He also offered to take any drug or alcohol analysis that the mayor himself would agree to go through.

"It is appallingly shameful the council can find the time for a special meeting to carry out a personal vendetta," Thomas said.

Thomas is in his fifth term. He won the 2016 election with 58 percent of the vote, overcoming challengers Zena McClain, Stephen McElveen and David Self.

Online petition

The vote was the first time the council had censured a member since state legislation allowing it became effective in May last year.

Self said the public rebuke of Thomas was a long overdue.

"It's given me hope that we're not totally in a sinking boat," he said.

The move was not enough for some residents, however, and an online petition calling for Thomas to be impeached had garnered 287 signatures by Wednesday evening after being launched Tuesday. But the alderman's removal would require much more than an online petition.

Georgia law provides for a recall election of elected officials due to an "act of malfeasance or misconduct while in office," a "violation of the oath of office," failure to perform duties or willfully misappropriating public funds. A recall election must have a chairperson, sponsors and petitions, and valid signatures required for a recall election must be 15 percent of the number of constituents who voted in the preceding election, Georgia law states.

The reporter for WTOC whom Thomas insulted was inquiring into Thomas' house being foreclosed on and being offered for sale through public auction on June 6. According to a legal ad in the Savannah Morning News on May 11, his home is being auctioned off after Thomas defaulted on his mortgage. On Tuesday, there was a city dumpster outside the home on Vernonburg Road filled with couch cushions and some furnishings.

Thomas said Wednesday that his house was not in foreclosure or being sold at auction. He said the legal ad was a personal financial issue that he would not discuss.

Chatham County Animal Services had recently performed a welfare check after neighbors had raised concerns about some cats living in the house that appeared abandoned, said county spokeswoman Catherine Glasby. But the cats were found to be in good health and allowed to stay on the property, Glasby said.

Weekend retreat

The censure vote comes ahead of a strategic planning retreat scheduled for Friday and Saturday.

Miller said he did not think the action against Thomas would have any impact on the council's ability to govern.

"I think he'll move forward," he said. "I think the council will move forward. I know the city will move forward."

This is not the first time Thomas' language toward others has drawn scrutiny. In an ethics complaint made against him last year, Debra Kujawa and Karen Thompson said Thomas launched a "hate campaign" against them when they decided to support an opposing City Council candidate in the last election.

That complaint stemmed from comments Thomas posted on his personal Facebook page in which he called Kujawa and Thompson a variety of demeaning names such as "hag" and "skank." The committee dismissed the complaint in March after finding the comments did not constitute an ethics violation.

Savannah Morning News reporter Jan Skutch contributed to this article.

In a Tweet, Savannah Mayor Van Johnson stated that Chatham County has, once again, walked away from the cities' latest offer during a contentious round of Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) negotiations that began in July of this year.

Johnson Tweeted shortly after 1 p.m.: "Chatham County walks away from an offer that would net the County an additional $102 million in additional tax revenue. For #Savannah this is not a 'plot or a ploy.' This is real life - involving real dollars & real people. #WeAreAllLOST."

The latest mediation session between the county's eight municipal governments — Savannah, Pooler, Port Wentworth, Garden City, Bloomingdale, Thunderbolt, Tybee Island and Vernonburg — and the county government began at 11 a.m. this morning behind closed doors at the Oliver Maner LLP offices in Savannah.

Previous story:Cities' new strategy on LOST: Start at 23% share for county, increase incrementally to 31%

More:Chatham sales tax negotiations stall. Why the breakdown poses a threat to property owners

About three hours later, the mediation ended with still no consensus on how to distribute around $1 billion in tax revenue generated by the 1% tax levy over the next 10 years. If the parties do not reach an agreement by year's end, the LOST certificate will expire and so will the ability to collect millions in annual funds that are used to offset property taxes for residents and business owners throughout the county.

To bring back the tax levy, a referendum will have to be voted on by residents.

The latest offer from the municipalities presented the county with two options: the county takes 26% of the funding, an immediate 3% increase from their current share, and the cities take 74%. Or, the county starts with its current share (23%) with incremental increases to 31% throughout the 10-year funding cycle.

The county rejected both offers.

"They want us to wait 10 years to get to 31% and that’s not workable," said Chester A. Ellis, chairman of the Chatham County Commission. "Everybody agrees to the 31. It's just how you get to the 31% — it needs to be there sooner rather than later."

The city of Savannah, which is the lead on negotiations for the municipalities, offered another compromise: that the county share starts at 26% and increases to 31% within five years. The proposal would have netted the county an additional $102 million over ten years compared to their current LOST breakdown (23%).

According to city leaders, Savannah also stipulated that Chatham County give an annual $300,000 stipend for Tybee Island's beach renourishment efforts, a costly project that protects the barrier island's shoreline.

"We’re supposed to be negotiating percentages, not beach renourishment," said Ellis, "They're not negotiating in good faith."

The county's push for a larger cut stems from growing costs to provide 31 essential services to all residents, according to Ellis. Over the last decade, costs to provide services such as the court system and emergency services increased by $54 million, according to the county's accounting.

“When you look at what it’s costing the county to provide those essential services … the prices keep going up,” said Ellis to the Savannah Morning News in a previous article.

Ellis said that the county, instead, proposed that its share start at 26% next year, increase to 28% in 2024 and increase again to 31% in 2025. Municipal leaders rejected the counterproposal.

Public negotiations on how much LOST funding each party deserves began in July of this year. Ellis had requested the county's LOST share increase to 50% (with the eight cities splitting the remaining 50% largely based on population). The proposal was a 27% increase from its current 23% share. According to 2021 numbers, the county received about $22.4 million from LOST funds.

The eight cities collectively received around $75 million in 2021. Some city officials have stated that LOST funding makes up a significant portion of the city's overall budget. For Pooler, the second largest city in the county after Savannah, LOST is the second-largest revenue source that funds basic services in the city, according to Mayor Rebecca Benton.

Municipalities refused the 50/50 offer, citing exorbitant property tax increases should the county suddenly hike its share to half of all LOST proceeds. The parties stalled at an impasse, leading to closed-door mediation sessions that ultimately did not result in an agreement in the fall.

In the last two weeks, news of continuing LOST negotiations re-emerged with the county and cities exchanging proposals and counterproposals, as pressure to reach a consensus mounts with only 23 days left in the year.

On Nov. 22, the county rejected the municipalities’ Nov. 17 proposal to keep the breakdown at its current status: 23% for the county and 77% for municipalities.

Instead, Ellis proposed a 31/69 divide with the county share growing 2% annually during the decade-long cycle, eventually resulting in a 49% share for the county, which was close to the 50/50 split initially suggested during public negotiation sessions in July. Ellis cited the growing cost of county-funded essential services such as the court system and emergency services for the increase in funding.

Johnson countered that the “county’s poorest neighborhoods” will bear the brunt of a tax increase." He, along with other city officials, stated that increased funds for the county would come at a cost to the municipalities -- where about 70% of the county population lives.

A week later, the mayors of eight municipalities sent a new proposal, stating that they would be willing to negotiate up to a 31%-69% divide, in order to avoid property takes hikes for incorporated city residents, and to prevent the LOST certificate from expiring without an agreement.

During a Dec. 2 Chatham Commission meeting, commissioners voted to support a 31/69 divide. However, on Dec. 5, Johnson responded with a letter stating that they would only support an incremental increase to 31% for the county, rather than an immediate change.

Wednesday's mediation session was prompted by the letter which offered the county the two options, which was rejected.

“The Municipalities cannot agree to anything other than a gradual increase to 31%. The choice between these options is yours to make,” wrote Johnson.

City officials are planning a press conference Thursday morning at 9 a.m. at Wright Square in downtown Savannah.

Nancy Guan is the general assignment reporter for Savannah Morning News. You can reach her at NGuan@gannett.com.

The United States Trade and Development Agency will provide a grant to an internet service provider to conduct a feasibility study to take broadband connectivity to over 30 million people in rural and peri-urban communities across India, an official release said. The amount of the grant, however, was not disclosed.

The USTDA on Wednesday said projects such as this can transform communities and stimulate more inclusive economic growth.

It said the grant would be used to conduct a feasibility study to help expand broadband connectivity to more than 30 million people in rural and peri-urban communities across India.

The internet service provider, AirJaldi, selected Georgia-based Vernonburg Group LLC to conduct the study, the release said.

"Projects such as this can transform communities and stimulate more inclusive economic growth. AirJaldi's vision to provide reliable and affordable internet access to the underserved is one that USTDA is proud to share," said USTDA director Enoh T. Ebong.

"This project also reflects USTDA's commitment to bridge India's digital divide through partnerships with the US industry," he said.

According to USTDA, the study will evaluate the technical and economic viability of expanding AirJaldi's broadband network to new rural and peri-urban areas, as well as modelling sustainable business cases and scenarios for delivering affordable connectivity and value-added digital services for customers in these markets.

The study will identify and prioritise infrastructure investments for AirJaldi to expand broadband connectivity across 16 Indian states, design network architecture, evaluate technology options, provide a financing plan and assess other critical areas that will be necessary for the project's implementation.

"The provision of fast and reliable connectivity to underserved yet well-deserving communities in rural and semi-rural areas in India remains a challenge despite the great progress made in the past few years by multiple providers and partners across India, us included," said AirJaldi director Michael Ginguld.

"Maintaining the drive to realise universal access to fast, stable and economically and socially beneficial connectivity throughout the country requires considerable financial and human resources," he said.

The project advances the priorities of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework with the goal of developing, expanding, and deploying secure digital infrastructure to power economic growth and facilitate open digital societies, the release said.

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SAVANNAH, Ga. —

Putting the spotlight on Savannah, Marvel Studios' "The Falcon and The Winter Soldier" is now streaming on Disney+, and you might see a familiar face.

Sheila Jackson, a Savannah native, can be seen making an appearance in the new series. She is following her dream of becoming an actress, a new interest for the 64 year old.

"It's very exciting, you know, to know that I was even called to be in this movie and not only that but to be in an episode with a famous person as Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan," said Jackson.

The show stars Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan. Scenes set in Louisiana at the family home of Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) were actually filmed at a private home in the Vernonburg community, off of White Bluff Road.

Jackson shared part of her big moment in the series.

“Well yes I had no idea what was going to happen but when he eventually pulled up in his truck and I was in a stall really cooking and there were some French fries. He was to come up and get one to eat, so I was right there where the fries were, which he did come up, got the fry, and touched me-- it’s like 'oh my goodness I’m going to be in the scene--' at least I was hoping I was going to be in the scene, and sure enough I was," Jackson added.

Kara Jackson

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Some other notable filming locations for the show include Dobbins Air Base in Marietta, Newnan, Mercedes-Benz Stadium and the Duluth High School football field.

The movie industry has long brought a major impact to the Savannah area, which helps bring attention to the hostess city and draws people in to visit. This means an economic boost to local businesses.

COVID-19 brought filming to a halt last year but over the last several weeks more film crews have been seen around the area; a sign that the local film industry is moving full steam ahead.