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Savannah residents and visitors going downtown soon will be able to access a new underground parking garage, but they'll have to wait about a year to enjoy a new recreational space for the public above the structure.

A key company executive said Tuesday that he was scolded and isolated for pushing too hard to make Imperial Sugar Co.'s Port Wentworth refinery safer.

Graham H. Graham testified at a U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing on fires and explosions, like the disaster that killed 13 people at the refinery on Feb. 7.

"I was surprised that we hadn't killed anybody already because the plant was so dangerous," said Graham, Imperial's vice president of operations.

Imperial CEO John Sheptor told Graham he was being "excessively eager in addressing the refinery's problems ... and I had to temper it," Graham said.

The panel also heard a federal safety board chairman describe knee-high sugar piles and airborne sugar particles so thick that workers could barely see. Investigators say sugar dust helped cause the February inferno.

Denise Brown was resting in her room when she heard popping sounds coming from the garage. She thought it was her dad, doing "dad things."

But Brown was home alone at 5 Baysprings Point in the Southbridge neighborhood just off Dean Forest Road. And a neighbor was knocking on her front door at 2:15 p.m. Monday to warn her that the popping sounds were her garage on fire.

"I was home asleep. I didn't feel well," Brown said Tuesday afternoon, while she walked through the burned remnants of her home. "It smelled weird, so I went downstairs.

"When I opened the garage door, there was smoke. I shut it really quick, grabbed my purse and ran out through the front door."

Within five minutes, Brown said, Southside Fire & EMS responders were working the fire. But, she added, she and neighbors were hoping firefighters could have done more to save the house.

Government officials cannot control the weather, but they are working to make sure dangerous conditions are never a surprise to Chatham County residents.

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Savannah plans to conduct a "service of solidarity, followed by a vigil of peace" for victims of a Sunday shooting at a Unitarian Universalist church in Knoxville, Tenn.

SPRINGFIELD - Effingham County sheriff's officials have arrested a 29-year-old female jailer accused of having sex with an inmate.

ATLANTA - The waters off Georgia's beaches are relatively clean for swimmers, according to a new report by a national organization, but some environmentalists wonder whether the drop in pollution has more to do with drought than reduced emissions.

For Talisha Thomas, knowing cardiopulmonary resuscitation was essential for her job as a pre-school teacher.

But when her 3-month-old daughter, Ajanae Solomon, stopped breathing May 18, she immediately forgot everything she had learned.

Thomas had used the restroom about 3:30 a.m., and when she checked on Ajanae - now 5 months old - on her way back to her bedroom, she noticed her baby was not breathing.

The desperate mother called 911.

JACKSONVILLE - A murder suspect being chased by a Jacksonville police officer was fatally shot Tuesday near Mayport, becoming the third person shot by city police in the past 10 days.

ATLANTA - Vernon Jones and Jim Martin clashed on several topics during a statewide television debate Tuesday, a week before the pair face off in a runoff for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.

While they agreed on all substantive issues, the two traded shots over who voted for whom in past presidential elections and over campaign tactics. Each accused the other of dishonesty, and Jones refused to say he would even support Martin if he won the runoff.

Jones, 46, chief executive officer of DeKalb County, and Martin, 62, a former legislator and onetime commissioner of human resources for the state, finished first and second, respectively, in the July 15 primary.

ATLANTA - Georgia Public Service Commission candidate Jim Powell and Secretary of State Karen Handel are scheduled to square off Monday in a Fulton County courtroom over Handel's decision to disqualify Powell in the July 15 Democratic primary.

In May 2005, Savannah-Chatham police responded to a report of a sexual assault of an 87-year-old woman.

Testimony about dangerous conditions at Imperial Sugar's Port Wentworth plant did nothing to drop company stock prices Tuesday.

Just the opposite.

At the close of trading, Imperial's stock was $15, up more than 8 percent from $13.86, at close of business Monday.

John Sheptor, Imperial's CEO and president, couldn't explain the uptick, but called it "a nice vote of confidence from our investors."

Late Tuesday, he said he was finishing up Imperial's third-quarter earnings report, which is due today.

Long-range projections from industry analysts, however, expect stock prices to continue their gradual slide since the Feb. 7 explosion that killed 13 workers and severely injured more than 40 at the plant.

The Savannah Sand Gnats won their game Saturday night, but the team still came up with a loss.

It's virtually impossible to function without passwords today. With everything from medical records to banking information available online, those alphanumerics can mean the difference between a clean credit report and an unpleasant surprise on your next ATM receipt.

The seventh year of back-to-school tax-free shopping is nearly upon us in Georgia.

NEW YORK - More than 800,000 vacant homes for sale stand between the housing recession and the bottom. And that glut is driving down home prices, slowing sales and turning consumer psychology against the market.

Here are some questions and answers about the Hope for Homeowners Act of 2008, passed by Congress last weekend to try to steer as many as 400,000 struggling homeowners away from foreclosure:

CHICAGO - Help is on the way for some debt-plagued homeowners. It just may not be fast enough or broad enough to keep many from losing their homes.

The mortgage relief plan President Bush was poised to sign as soon as Tuesday is designed to rescue about 400,000 homeowners by allowing them to get more affordable mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration.

But consumer advocates and some economists think the housing act doesn't go nearly far enough to save those whose homeownership is in peril.

While the foreclosure avoidance program is scheduled to start Oct. 1, help may not arrive for months after that - and individual homeowners have no assurances they will be rescued.

"What happens to the people who are falling off the ledge right now? The answer is they're going to keep falling," said James Carr, chief operating officer for the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, a consumer group in Washington.

NEW YORK - Americans see a slice of sunlight for the economy, as a widely watched report Tuesday showed people are not as pessimistic about the future as they were a month ago.

Local Bennigan's not part of bankruptcy shutdown

DETROIT - Take automakers' inability to finance leases, combined with gas prices, the weak economy and other problems facing the industry, and you have the makings of what could be one of the worst months for auto sales in more than 15 years.

WASHINGTON - Marketing food and drinks to children these days occurs with more than just a few television ads. It involves promotional displays at grocery stores and packaging that directs them to Web sites where they can play games, win prizes or send e-cards to a friend.

In all, the nation's largest food and beverage companies spent about $1.6 billion in 2006 marketing their products to children, according to a Federal Trade Commission report released Tuesday.

About $200 million of that went to cross-promotional campaigns designed to provide children and teens with repeated product exposure across several venues. For example, some 80 films, television shows and video games were used to also promote food and beverages to children and teens, the FTC found.

The commission's report stems from lawmakers' concern about growing obesity rates in children. It gives researchers new insight into how much companies are spending to attract youth to their products and what venues the companies are using for their marketing. To come up with its estimate, the FTC used confidential financial data that it required the companies to provide.

LOS ANGELES - The union representing thousands of West Coast dockworkers reached a tentative contract deal with shippers Monday that promises to keep ports running and avoid another blow to the U.S. economy.

NEW YORK - Oil prices tumbled more than $2 a barrel Tuesday, finishing at their lowest level in seven weeks as a stronger dollar and beliefs that record prices are eroding the world's thirst for energy sparked another dramatic sell-off.

Everybody's a critic.

NEW YORK - Compact cars such as the Honda Fit and Chevrolet Aveo are now expected to retain more of their value than trucks and sport utility vehicles once prized for the resale demand, according to a car-value tracking firm.

NEW YORK - Oil prices rose Monday, approaching $125 a barrel after militants sabotaged two oil pipelines in Nigeria and Iran claimed it had doubled the size of its nuclear program but signaled a willingness to work with the U.S.

Visit savannahnow.com/gasbuddy to search for the most affordable gasoline.

The gains, however, were tempered by more evidence that high gas prices are causing Americans to keep their cars off the roads.

Light, sweet crude for September delivery rose $1.47 to settle at $124.73 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Prices were expected to rise some after crude's steep nosedive during the past two weeks. The contract fell $2.23 to settle at $123.26 a barrel Friday - oil's lowest point in weeks - as record prices continue to dent demand.

ATLANTA - The Los Angeles Angels already have the best record in baseball. That didn't stop them from making a bold move two days before the trade deadline.

ATLANTA - A miserable day for the Atlanta Braves ended with another dismal loss.

FLOWERY BRANCH - The Atlanta Falcons welcomed Grady Jackson back to their training table on Tuesday.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - NASCAR apologized Tuesday for the tire fiasco that ruined its prestigious race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and vowed to avoid a repeat.

NEW YORK - Disgraced ex-NBA official Tim Donaghy admitted that he'd brought shame on his profession Tuesday as a federal judge sentenced him to 15 months behind bars for a gambling scandal that still has the league on the defensive.

The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. plans to return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the next four months to start testing tires for future races.

ATHENS - Bobby Bowden knows why Georgia coach Mark Richt harkened back to his days as a Florida State assistant this offseason to give his players an example of how not to handle the hype of possibly being a preseason No. 1 team.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Long after he left school, Emmitt Thomas remained a student.

LOCAL

Savannah High grad signs with S.C. State

Former Savannah High School football player Andre McArthur recently signed a football scholarship with South Carolina State, Blue Jackets coach Charlie Brown said.

Last year McArthur, a 6-foot, 170-pound wide receiver, caught 32 passes for 500 yards and three touchdowns. He was a Savannah Morning News Player of Week and an All-Greater Savannah first-team selection in 2007.

The Bulldogs, who are coming off a 7-4 season, compete in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, a Football Championship Subdivision league.

- Rich McGowan

Savannah State promotes Jones

Malik Jones, Savannah State's assistant volleyball coach in 2007, has been promoted to head coach, athletics director Bart Bellairs announced Tuesday.

Following the gnats

You think filling your Ford Explorer's gas tank is expensive, try filling up the 50-gallon tank on the average school bus.

There's someone out there for everyone.

ATLANTA - Braves right-hander Tim Hudson had an MRI on Monday that showed ligament damage in his pitching elbow, sending the ace to the disabled list and leaving the rest of his season in doubt.

MONDAYS SCORE: Asheville Tourists 6, Savannah Sand Gnats 4.

Team Savannah's male weightlifters notched four more gold medals on the final day of the AAU Junior Olympics in Detroit on Monday.

The painstaking effort, intellect and passion that is put into growing and bringing wine to market is nothing short of amazing.

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.

Right about now, you may be taking a bit of summer's sweetness for granted.

TODAY

"I am superstitious and want to know what it means when cats start hanging around your house. Is it good luck or bad luck?"

Q. I have a friend who is overweight and seriously lacking in dedication and confidence. I know I can't force him to work out, but I thought if I made him a gift of a session or two with a trainer, that might be good for him. I know you get this question for women a lot, but are there any gyms or trainer services that are friendly to self-conscious, beginner men? The Curves for men, if you will.

MIAMI - Personal trainer Craig Marks wants to help his clients slam Parkinson's disease with a knockout blow - literally.