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David Williams cannot speak. Jason Statts cannot walk.

Chatham County officials have put new language into a renegotiated police merger agreement to try to keep a specialized drug squad under their control.

An Atlanta pollster says a potentially significant number of people who say they'll vote for Barack Obama won't.

A young dolphin was freed Tuesday from a rubber strap that was acting like a noose closing slowly around her neck.

One man is at a burn center in Augusta and two others were treated at a local hospital after an explosion Wednesday at Gulfstream Aerospace Corp.'s Savannah facility.

ATLANTA - Republican candidates for the Public Service Commission traded shots Wednesday over campaign contributions from lawyers and employees of the utilities the agency regulates.

Montessori Charter School organizers missed the Savannah-Chatham County school board's July 2 deadline to have the long-awaited school building up and running.

Georgia officials are predicting at least 23 traffic deaths over the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

Cannons and black-powder muskets being fired Friday at Fort McAllister and fireworks Saturday rocketing over J.F. Gregory Park will highlight Richmond Hill's two, long-running Independence Day celebrations.

GUYTON - A 13-year-old Effingham County teenager remained in an area youth detention facility Wednesday after sheriff's deputies arrested him in the bludgeoning of a 15-year-old with an ax handle a day earlier.

Dozens of youngsters - undaunted by a tornado that washed out their first attempt - gathered Wednesday for an album-release party and fundraiser at Lake Mayer.

AIKEN, S.C. - Nursing home resident Betty Minor broke into a smile when she rounded the corner in her motorized wheelchair and spotted the three dogs.

MONROE - State and federal agents looking for evidence in the 1946 Moore's Ford lynching have seized items from a property in rural Walton County, authorities said.

BRUNSWICK - A record number of wood-stork nests found in Georgia during the spring is prompting cautious optimism among state wildlife biologists monitoring the endangered birds.

Dear Prima,

Fireworks aren't the only thing reaching the sky this Fourth of July.

COMING FRIDAY: Spiraling diesel costs make Independence Day anything but for independent truckers who struggle to keep their rigs on the road.

RICHMOND, Va. - Circuit City Stores Inc. plummeted to historic lows in trading Wednesday after Blockbuster Inc. withdrew its takeover bid, causing investors to question the consumer electronics retailer's future.

NEW YORK - A new study suggests that attitude rather than availability may be the key reason why more Americans don't have high-speed Internet access.

WASHINGTON - Orders to U.S. factories turned in the weakest performance in three months in May, reflecting slumping demand for autos, heavy machinery and steel.

BOSTON - MoneyAisle is a new free Web service that makes a bold claim: It says it will maximize the interest rates consumers can get on savings accounts by running online auctions in which banks bid for consumers' business.

NEW YORK - Wall Street resumed its sell-off Wednesday after oil hit a new record and a bearish analyst report renewed concerns that General Motors Corp. could run out of cash.

DETROIT - When consumers astonished the U.S. auto industry two months ago by quickly shunning trucks and going for gas mileage, the biggest beneficiary ended up being Honda Motor Co.

Georgia is among the top-five tomato-growing states with a $50 million industry, but the current salmonella scare has harmed farmers, most based in South Georgia, according to Charles Hall, executive director of the Georgia Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association.

A friend told me recently that he's afraid to look at the business section of the newspaper. "There's nothing but bad news," he said.

Feeling defensive, I pointed out that good journalists don't create the news, we report it. Besides, putting a positive spin on an issue should be left to politicians. We'd hate to take their jobs away.

Once my hackles lowered, I conceded that there is a lot of doom and gloom when it comes to the economy. But although it stinks to have less money and more worries, as individuals we can use the nation's misfortune to our advantage.

No one who lived through the Great Depression of the 1930s or the great recession of the 1970s considered it a fun time. But they will all tell you they learned how to make due and were better people from the experience.

Property owned by The Fitzer Group at a southside luxury residential complex it was developing was sold at a foreclosure auction Tuesday.

It was a race to deliver the best sales pitch at the Small Business Council of the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce monthly luncheon Tuesday as nearly 100 small-business owners participated in a speed networking exercise.

"Sometimes they do a power point or a Q&A; this is definitely one of the more interactive ones," said Diana Morrison of Advertising Specialty Services.

Scroll to the bottom or click here to watch video of chamber members participating in speed networking.

Participants formed an inner ring facing those in an outer ring and were allowed 45 seconds in which to introduce themselves and their businesses before rotating to the next person.

"OK, let's move to the next person," instructed Jay Kelly of Bella Consulting Solutions, who conducted the exercise.

WASHINGTON - High gasoline prices have dramatically changed Americans' views on energy and the environment with more people now viewing oil drilling and new power plants as a greater priority than energy conservation than they did five months ago, according to a new survey.

SEATTLE - Starbucks Corp. said Tuesday that it will close 600 company-operated stores in the next year, up dramatically from its previous plan for 100 closures, a sign the coffee-shop operator is still feeling the pain from the faltering U.S. economy.

Starbucks said in a statement that 70 percent of the stores to be closed were opened after the start of 2006. The locations set to close include ones that "were not profitable and not projected to provide acceptable returns in the foreseeable future," it said.

About 12,000 workers will be affected by the closings, which are expected to take place over the next year, according to Valerie O'Neill, a spokeswoman for the company.

Running back Franklin Green's Georgia Southern debut is going to have to wait a couple of years.

On his list of things to do, Quin Monahan needs to update the job title on his voice mail.

WEDNESDAY'S SCORE: Greenville Drive 4, Savannah Sand Gnats 3

ATHENS, Ga. -- Last week before the national championship series in Omaha, Neb., Gordon Beckham called David Perno's salary "embarrassing" in relation to the rest of the coaches in the SEC.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - As soon as the 2006 racing season was done, Kenny Francis threw out all his notes and started over. Like everyone else at Gillett Evernham Motorsports, the new season couldn't come quick enough.

ATHENS, Ga. -- The University of Georgia on Wednesday rewarded head baseball coach David Perno, who led the Diamond Dogs to a runner-up finish in the College World Series, with a new five-year, $2.25 million contract, athletics director Damon Evans said.

GREEN BAY, Wis. - Brett Favre dismissed an ESPN report that he's considering coming out of retirement as "all rumor."

ATHENS, Ga. -- A University of Georgia football player is expected to surrender to authorities this morning on a felony charge stemming from a fight last weekend that seriously injured another UGA student, Athens-Clarke County police said.

Coastal fishing action has slowed in recent days, due mostly to the current run of spring tides and afternoon thunderstorms which has caused muddy water conditions in many areas.

PHILADELPHIA - Josh Smith wasted no time taking advantage of his restricted free-agent status, spending Wednesday visiting the Philadelphia 76ers - a franchise with plenty of cap room to make a big offer.

ATLANTA - Ryan Howard hit a three-run homer, Pat Burrell added his second homer of the series and the Philadelphia Phillies survived a ninth-inning scare to beat the Atlanta Braves 7-3 on Wednesday night.

BETHESDA, Md. - This week's AT&T National is missing eight of the top-10 players in the world, only one of them on crutches.

Bits and pieces from the week in sports ...

Literally, bits and pieces, as in the shards of Jason Heyward's bat last Friday in a game against the Savannah Sand Gnats at Grayson Stadium.

Heyward is one of the top prospects in the Atlanta farm system, and the Braves know how to find them in their back yard. Heyward, a first-round pick in 2007 from McDonough, stands a sculpted 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds - an imposing figure from the left side of the plate and in right field for the Rome Braves.

He's one of the leading hitters for average and power as an all-star in the Class A South Atlantic League. He's also one of the reasons to come out to the ballpark when Rome is in town, whether to root on your home team or see future talent for your home state team. Just don't expect to see him at this level much longer.

They may play on vastly different stages, but Armstrong Atlantic State University golfer Kristen Jelinek knows how Tiger Woods felt during the U.S. Open.

Woods limped and winced his way to his 14th major victory on a bum knee that subsequently sidelined the world's No. 1 player for the rest of the year. Jelinek, a rising sophomore from Jacksonville, Fla., played through the fall season of her freshman year with a severe case of tennis elbow before finding a tailor-made solution in physical therapy.

While golf isn't a contact sport, the repetitive motion of the golf swing makes the game as stressful as a triple bogey for the human body. And as the golfing population has expanded and gotten older, physical therapy specifically related to golf has become a relevant cottage industry.

ATLANTA - Kyle Kendrick and the Philadelphia Phillies emerged from their interleague blahs to resume their mastery of the Atlanta Braves, ruining the surprise return of Chipper Jones.

Shane Victorino hit a home run and drove in four runs and Kendrick and the Phillies beat the Braves 8-3 on Tuesday night to remain unbeaten at Turner Field this season.

Pat Burrell also hit a homer for the Phillies, who improved to 6-1 against the Braves this season. They are 4-0 in Atlanta.

The Phillies spoiled the return of Jones, who missed eight straight starts with a strained right quadriceps. Jones, 1-for-3 with a double and two walks, had been expected to go on the DL but instead told manager Bobby Cox before the game that he was ready to play. He said he had no problems with the injury but added "We got our butts whipped tonight."

Contribute to Vox Populi by calling 652-0370 or e-mailing us at vox@savannahnow.com. Be sure to write Vox Populi in the subject field. Not all responses are used.

You've no doubt made your Independence Day wine purchases, so let's turn to the mailbox this week to answer reader questions.

An estimated 150 million hot dogs will be consumed by Americans on Friday, the Fourth of July. For those of you in Savannah who will light the charcoals, or turn on the gas, and then carefully arrange the dogs on the grill, we've got a few suggestions on what beers to serve. Brew U permanent panelists Tim Rutherford, Cynthia Creighton-Jones and I skipped the usual rating system. We looked for brews that are long on flavor, and easy on the alcohol content. After all, if you're like us, just the process of turning the dogs requires a cold one, or two.

Part fruit salad, part savory salad, this delicious mix of sweet watermelon and crispy prosciutto from Real Simple magazine is a delicious way to mix up your summer salad repertoire.

Grayson Stadium Celebration

THURSDAY