The price of a 1^st class stamp went up from 42¢ to 44¢ and a postcard from 27¢ to 28¢ effective 5/9/09. I personally didn’t realize it until Monday and wish I had a larger stash of the “Forever” stamps on hand. 

As we all know, property values are falling, even in our area.  There is a little known method to keep your tax assessment in line with current values.  The State of Georgia has a requirement that property owners file a Form PT-50R Property Tax Return every year, and your non-filing of that form is used as confirmation that you agree with the prior year's assessment.  Most of us have never heard of this form (let alone filed it), because in an area of rising prices, we were usually happy with the lagging values.  If you didn't file this form, the government deems that you are filing in acceptance with last year's value. 

Our local Glynn County newspaper, The Brunswick News, recently ran a very interesting article about an organization working out of our neighboring McIntosh County, the Altamaha Riverkeeper. This article featured one of their CoastKeepers, Wendy Galan, and her reflections on her first year with the Riverkeepers. This group was founded to protect one of our most vital natural resources, the Altamaha River which is Georgia’s biggest river, including its tributaries the Ocmulgee, the Oconee and the Ohoopee. They monitor pollution throughout the waters and also land-based actions impacting the waterways and wetlands. 

Google has a great new service that I use frequently on my cell and even when I am on a land line. You can dial 1-800/GOOG-411 and simply SAY what you are looking for and then GOOG-411 will connect you with the business without any fees or charges (only the air time your cell phone provider charges for minutes will apply). No computer or Internet connection or keypad is required as it is voice activated!  If you are calling from a mobile device, the system can even send you a text message with more details and a map! Simply say “text message” or “map it.” 

FREE is always a good thing, particularly when it is such a useful tool.  Try it out and I 'll wager you'll be using this service often.

The update does not show the 3 county areas of Glynn, Brantley and McIntosh counties in a flattering light in all areas, but the numbers are what they are. This update is based on three years’ of data gathered by the American Community Survey.   I am noting a few highlights:

1. 3 county area total population of 99,809. With Glynn County as home to 73,276 of them.
2. 18.1% of population as high school dropouts as compared to national average of 16%. 22% of population with a bachelor’s degree or higher to compare with 27% nationally.
3. Median household income at $44,613, which is less than the national median of $50,740. (Note: single mother households make up the largest percentage of families living in poverty.)
4. Our unemployment rate is lower than the national average – 3.1% compared to the national percent of 4.6.
5. Interestingly, we have a high percentage of military veterans than elsewhere with 14% of our population having served compared to 10.7% in other areas of GA and 10.4% nationally.
6. Single parent households came in at 8% headed by a mother and 2.7% by a single father. More women live here---52% to the 48% male figure. 
7. The median age is 37 with 71.3% being white, 23.9 black and 3.6% are Hispanic, Asian or Indian. 

The results of this survey of course lump the 3 county data into one pot. In doing so, it doesn’t take into consideration the individual makeup of just Glynn County. But information is a very good thing and I wanted to pass this along to you.

If you would care to view the full results of the Census survey, go online to: