It's pretty much a cliche that there's no such things as a 'shade tree mechanic' any more, but I got a reminder yesterday of how far we've come from the shade tree. 

It started when I dropped off  my car at my favorite shop, RPM Autoworx on Chatham Parkway, for its regular oil change and checkup.

A while later, co-owner Rick  Broussard called to tell me I needed new shock absorbers, struts and, either this time or later, new sparkplugs.  My car has 107,000 miles on it; so this wasn't particulary surprising.    

For about  five years now -- since the beginning of the Great recession --  it's been a fairly common practice for a lot of people to limit where they go and how much they spend on vcation.

The word 'staycation' even was created to describe the experience of spending time away from work on the family homestead.

Now, AAA says that's changing, and they expect  2013 to be a "robust year for travel."

It's hard to believe for those of us who have been involved with BiS since the beginning that we've been doing this for three and a half years. 

Our first edition was published on July 29, 2009, and we just wrapped up the version for Feb. 20, 2013.

Before we started, we talked to a variety of business people and were told repeatedly that (1) there was a need and demand for a local business-oriented publication and (2) they wanted to read about people in business.

It's hard to believe not only that we have to write "2013" on our checks now but that St. Patrick's Day is just over a month and a half away.

With that in mind, savannahnow.com is offering a new app that could be invaluable in navigating everything from the parade route to the location of the portable toilets. Here's the link:

http://savannahnow.com/latest-news/2013-01-30/savannah-morning-news-sava...

If you haven't signed up for the next BiS luncheon on Jan. 23 with restaurant owner Brian Huskey, you might want to do so.  Promises to be full:

http://www.eventbrite.com/event/4791095295/?ref=estw

In case you haven't seen the announcement:  The IRS has set Jan. 30 as the start time for filing income tax returns.

Here's what the IRS has to say:

The following item is reprinted from the TLC Traveler, the monthly newsletter of the Tourism Leadership Council: 

Despite the devastation left in the wake of Super Storm Sandy, one group of Girl Scouts from Northern New Jersey decided to travel to Savannah for a trip that was already planned.

An item came over today that's worth passing along, especially if you know anyone between 16 and 24 who isn't in school and needs training to find a job. 

YouthBuild is a nine-month program to provide training in a trade and then help the trainees find jobs.

Applications had been due by Friday, but the deadline has  been extended to Dec. 7. 

Basically, this is an excellent opportunity for young people who need a second chance.  

Georgia Forward, an independent, non-partisan organization that's trying to do what it can to make the state a better place to live by bringing people together on collaborative projects is going to target Americus and Sumter County this fall and winter.

I recently had an inquiry from a local person new to her job in p.r. asking whether she was sending her information to the right editor.  Here's part of a response I send to her that might helpful to others out there:

In general, here are a few guidelines on where to send your releases.

OK, we get a lot of news releases from a lot of businesses and others who'd like a little attention, but one that arrived today from an outfit called Brainiacs from Mars was a little different.

The Brainiacs are headquartered in California and they're doing what they call "something a bit out there ... we're turning homes into billboards."

And they're interested in painting a few homes in Savannah.

The deal is this: They pay you a fee to paint the front or side of your house as a billboard. They make their money by charging the advertiser for the billboard.

Now that we've launched the revamped and revitalized version of businessinsavannah.com, we're inviting members of the business community to join us as featured bloggers. 

We'd like to have professionals in whatever area of expertise you may have add your voices to the site for the benefit of the local business community.

If you think you might be interested, please drop me a note at gale.baldwin@savannahnow.com.

Welcome to the conversation.

It's hard to believe it's been more than three years since launched BiS in late July 2009. At the time, we thought we had a solid concept, but you're never sure how a new publication is going to be received. 

It turned out readers not only accepted BiS; you warmed to it and have participated through submitted columns, photos, news releases, newsmakers and feedback.