AC repair in Savannah, GA

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — For its 11th season, the hit Netflix reality series ‘Love is Blind’ is once again asking, “Is love actually blind?” and Georgians, including Savannahians, are the ones putting the social experiment to the test.

The reality show was first filmed in Atlanta in 2020, but for its second season in the Peach State, casting is expanding beyond Atlanta into Savannah.

WSAV spoke with Donna Driscoll, executive vice president of casting and talent for Kinetic Content, about what the casting team is looking for in Georgia. Kinetic Content is the production company behind Love is Blind, and shows like The Ultimatum and Married at First Sight.

“With Atlanta, the show has evolved enough to where we can spread out a little bit further past Atlanta proper,” said Driscoll. “So, we are in Savannah, and we’re excited to see if we can find some people for the parts from there too.

Whether it’s the cities the show has already traveled to, like Cincinnati, Chicago or Dallas, or uncharted territory like Savannah, Driscoll said casting teams hear one common complaint: dating is hard.

Some singles spend hours socializing through dating apps only for a connection to vanish, she said. Others feel as if they’re easily replaceable in the online dating culture.

“That is a very real thing,” said Driscoll.

When it comes to casting, that’s exactly what Driscoll is looking for: people who are frustrated with the cycle, ready for commitment and brave enough to take a leap of faith.

What does a Savannah contestant look like?

Driscoll said the casting team researches the communities they cast in and wants people on the show to represent the place they come from, while focusing on diversity. For Georgia, the casting team, she said, could be looking for anyone from Vidalia Onion farmers, University of Georgia graduates, art shop owners or Southern belles.

“We want Georgia to feel like our ensemble represents the demographic there,” said Driscoll.

But the quality, she said, that matters the most is authenticity.

“I feel like people who are looking at it as a platform for clout are a huge red flag,” said Driscoll.

Journey to the pods

Getting into the pods is more than just filling out an application, according to Driscoll.

Driscoll said the process begins with the application, where being intentional about your answers can help an applicant stand out.

From there, potential candidates may receive a phone call from a casting agent, with questions like why they are looking for love now and why they would choose to look for it through an experiment like Love Is Blind.

Zoom interviews follow and as casting narrows down singles, conversations turn towards compatibility meetings, including who applicants are, what they value and what they consider non-negotiable in a long-term partner.

Those deal-breakers can be religious, political, physical or emotional, Driscoll said.

“It’s our responsibility and we take it very seriously to make sure that there’s a possible love match for at least everybody in the pods,” said Driscoll. “In order to do that, people need to come into the experience with their heart first.”

Final stages include psychological screening and background checks before someone is cleared to enter the pods and participate.

“I think the experiment is such a beautiful thing because you have the ability to focus only on dating and becoming very like intimate, vulnerable and connecting over hours and hours and hours of pure and simple conversation,” said Driscoll.

While casting is already underway, Driscoll said they will be accepting applications until showtime. You can find the link to apply by clicking or tapping here.

What is Love is Blind?

Thirty to 40 singles enter a social experiment where they date and have conversations inside private pods, where they can hear one another, but cannot see one another. If a deep connection comes to fruition, they can get engaged before meeting face-to-face for the first time.

From there, couples find out whether their emotional connection can survive once they return to their everyday outside world.

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — A building, just steps from Savannah City Hall, could soon be demolished to prepare for a new development, according to the Savannah Historic District Board of Review.

The applicant, requesting the demolition of the building located at 15 Bull St., is Savannah’s Greg Parker. He is a well-known philanthropist and the founder of Parker’s Kitchen.

Parker is planning a “skyline building” for the property on Johnson Square, though no further details have been announced. The building, owned by Parker, currently serves as a Regions Bank.

WSAV obtained a copy of the Request for Certificate of Appropriateness. That document shows that the current building has a non-contributing status, meaning it is not significant to downtown Savannah’s historic character.

The HBR approved the request to demolish the non-contributing building with conditions. The applicant must determine the feasibility of deconstruction and document the existing conditions of the building as per the City of Savannah’s policy.

This new “skyline building” is just the latest big project possibly coming to Johnson Square. WSAV previously reported that the Ritz-Carlton is planned for the adjoining buildings of 2 E. Bryan St. and 14 E. Bryan St.

Mayor Johnson was asked about these new projects in Johnson Square at his weekly press conference Tuesday.

“Construction is one of the signs of a good, thriving community,” Johnson said. “That’s always a good thing. That means that there are people working. That means there are permits being paid. Obviously, we have not been involved as of yet, as it is a zoning issue. At one point, there was a 15-or-so-story building that was there. I’m glad that people still want to invest in Savannah. Obviously, this creates an opportunity for a variety of things, a variety of businesses, and it keeps our downtown thriving. On the other end, it also brings more congestion to a congested area. As we continue to work through that balance, we have to be able to address the livability in a thriving downtown community.”

According to HBR documents, Parker may need to obtain a building permit and an encroachment permit. Stick with WSAV as we follow what’s next for this property.

Palumbo cites transparency, accountability and data protection as key issues

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Savannah alderman Nick Palumbo believes the city needs to rethink how it uses artificial intelligence, calling for guardrails around the technology’s use in local government.

District 4 Alderman Nick Palumbo said the city currently has a license with Microsoft but no limit on what or how city departments use it or other AI models.

“No one can answer the question on how the city of Savannah utilizes AI,” Palumbo said. “It’s the Wild West, it’s anything goes, any platform or generative AI usage they want to do themselves, they can use it in their practice.”

Four pillars of the proposed framework

Palumbo said his framework is built on four pillars: transparency, accountability, the right to a human review and vetting contractors.

Here is the full list according to Palumbo’s Facebook post from Tuesday morning.

The city publishes what it uses. A public list of every AI system the city runs, what it does, and which department is using it. You should be able to look it up the same way you look up a budget.

A human being signs off on the decisions that matter. If software helps sort your permit, flag your property, or route your request, good. But when the decision affects your money, your record, or your rights, a person makes the call, and residents keep the right to a human appeal.

Savannah’s data stays Savannah’s. Your information belongs to you. It doesn’t get handed off to a vendor, and it doesn’t get used to train somebody else’s product.

We ask the hard questions before we sign. Before the city buys the software, we review it for privacy risk and for bias, and we ask the company what it does with our data. That review happens at procurement, like every purchasing item.

Alderman Nick Palumbo's Facebook account

Palumbo works on the National League of Cities board, and pulled his pillars from Seattle, Washington and Lebanon, New Hampshire, which already have AI usage transparency.

Cybersecurity concerns

To learn about the issues with unregulated AI usage, Nicholas Bidwell, CEO of Lowcountry Technologies, a local cybersecurity company, was interviewed.

“Its very easy for it to go and do not what you intended if you’re not constantly watching it and guiding it in a direction, if you let it run autonomously, there’s no guarantee it will stay on the rails,” Bidwell said.

Data leak raised concerns

Palumbo said one way AI usage can go off the rails is through data leaks. He said his family’s health information, along with many other families’, was leaked, putting them at risk of issues such as identity theft.

“We were furious, not because of what we heard, but what we didn’t know. We don’t know how much of my family’s data is out there, is our social security or date of birth, or is it just my name, we’re not sure,” Palumbo said.

Palumbo’s framework involves making sure information is used more selectively and doesn’t help train the AI models the city uses.

“We don’t have a structure right now for what happens to that data, can they train their models with it? Where does it get sold to? We don’t know, and that’s what this is trying to address, we need a framework now and then build upon it in the future,” Palumbo said.

Mayor weighs in

Mayor Van Johnson said he agrees with Palumbo that AI is already in use in Savannah and can be a useful tool, but said it needs regulation and should be governed accordingly.

“You have to codify it in policy, and we want people to be clear about what they can expect from us when it comes to AI,” Johnson said.

He mentioned that the city does use AI for efficiencies.

Next steps

Palumbo said the framework will first take shape as a workshop to inform city council of the plan and its importance.

Palumbo said the effort is not aimed at prevention but mitigation. Palumbo and Bidwell said it’s not a question of if another leak will occur, but when, and what the response and accountability will look like afterward.

SAVANNAH, Ga. —

The weekend forecast includes more sticky humidity, highs in the low 90s, and a few more showers and thunderstorms. I'll go over possible rain timing to help you make your outdoor plans.

Let's start with the heat and humidity. Highs in the low 90s with more high humidity will lead to triple digit feels like temperatures by Saturday afternoon. The 100+ heat indices may get knocked down later in the day once showers and thunderstorms develop.

Through Tuesday there is no break in the humidity.

Rain timing on Saturday looks to be after 1-2pm. Widely scattered showers and thunderstorms are possible. The main impacts with any thunderstorms will be heavy downpours, frequent lightning, and gusty winds. If you have outdoor plans keep an umbrella on standby and a plan 'B' ready to go in case rain finds your area.

Showers may stick around past sunset Saturday evening. Sunday looks like an overall drier day across Southeast Georgia and the Lowcountry.

Rain chances will start to decrease Sunday into early next week. The rainfall outlook the next 5 days shows most locations in the 0.01"-0.5" range. If thunderstorms find your area you may top 0.5".

Here is the area's only 10 day forecast. This shows the dip in rain chances. Also notice that low temperatures may slide to the upper 60s by the middle of next week. A weak front may drop our humidity and deliver slightly cooler temperatures!

For the latest weather information and the area's certified most accurate forecast watch WJCL 22 News or check the free WJCL 22 News App. You can get weather updates anytime on social media...follow me on X here and Facebook here.

Jeremy Nelson

WJCL 22 Chief Meteorologist