News briefs for April 15: Historic District Board approves McDonald’s on Broughton Street
State
The $17.8 billion budget approved by the Georgia House of Representatives on Wednesday eliminates the Georgia Council for the Arts, which awards competitive grants to arts organizations throughout the state. The $890,735 cut would make Georgia the only state in the nation without an arts agency. The Council for the Arts allocation in 2009 was under $2.5 million, half its budget in 2008. Only $250,000 would remain in the state’s budget for arts grants through the Department of Community Affairs.
Local
Savannah’s Historic District Board of Review gave its blessing on Wednesday to the proposed McDonald’s at 246 W. Broughton St. Architects for the fast-food chain altered their original designs to conform with the historic windows in the shuttered building on the corner of Jefferson Street that’s been vacant for almost 20 years. A new walk-up window that changes the character of the façade remains a concern among several board members and the Historic Savannah Foundation.
