We won’t know how the Omicron variant affects employment in the Augusta area until March 18th, when the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the data for January. Unfortunately, government statistics, particularly at the local level, lag real activity by several weeks if not months. This makes their use for business planning less useful. Fortunately, several organizations have started to produce real time data during the pandemic that provides useful information. For example, Google releases COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports for counties, based on information gathered from products such as Google Maps.

Editor’s Note: This story is an update to a story ABD brought you about a dine-and-dash incident that occurred at Taqueria El Rey – a local Mexican restaurant – on Tuesday, Jan. 18. Two female diners left the restaurant without paying their $55 bill, even after a video posted on Facebook showed they were chased to the parking lot by an employee. ABD has learned the identity of the second suspect in the Columbia County dine-and-dash case. According to Maj. Steve Morris with the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, the suspect’s