South Carolina’s request for an Expedited Major Presidential Disaster Declaration to provide federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in response to Hurricane Helene has been approved. Individuals and business owners who sustained losses in Aiken and Barnwell, along with 11 other counties outside the CSRA can begin applying for assistance by registering online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov, by calling 1-800-621- 3362, or by using the FEMA App. If you use a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service, or others, give FEMA the number for that service. More information

One of the Augusta area’s primary transportation links is slowly taking steps back to full service. Herbert Judon, Jr., Executive Director of Augusta Regional Airport, told ABD the airport lost all its primary power, is operating off generator auxiliary power, and will continue to do so indefinitely. On Friday, just after the magnitude of the storm damage became evident, Lauren Smith, the airport’s Assistant Director of Marketing and Public Relations, sent a news release: “Out of an abundance of caution and safety for our customers and employees, Augusta Regional Airport

I read Dana McIntyre’s report a few weeks ago, in which Georgia agriculture commissioner, Tyler Harper, claimed that agriculture was a $84 billion economic driver, 17% of the state’s economy. He added that one in seven jobs or 330,000 Georgians are employed in agriculture. That seemed high to me, so I looked up the numbers. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Georgia’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2024 was $673,064 million annually. GDP measures the total value of all final goods and services produced in