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B2B Stories

Look to MLB for Cues on How to Build Your Team and Business

The remainder of July is crucial for Major League Baseball (MLB) teams as two major events will help impact their future success. First, on July 13 and 14, MLB will hold its Annual Draft in nearby Atlanta during All-Star Week. During this draft, teams will have the opportunity to select high school and college players to sign with their organizations. Following the draft, the next big event is the July 31 trade deadline, which is the last date MLB allows teams to trade players who will be eligible to play

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Dr. Rick Franza July 8, 2025 No Comments
Consumer Stories

CSRA apprentices become skilled workers

A local, woman-owned small business has partnered with one of the region’s largest employers to turn students into employees. WesWorks, which manages Savannah River Mission Completion’s project controls initiatives, has hired six graduates from the project controls apprenticeship program at Aiken Technical College as full-time employees. Daniel Faulk, Vice President of Projects with WesWorks, told ABD they have faced challenges transitioning potential employees from their current jobs into project controls. It is a highly sought-after field that is in demand across the country, but companies require applicants with experience. “What

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Dana Lynn McIntyre July 7, 2025 No Comments
B2B Stories

Simon Says: Big employment dip

Employment in the Augusta Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) fell by 1,200 in May compared to April. There are two reasons for this fall that I can see in the data. First, although the employment data is seasonally adjusted by the Federal Reserve Economic Data team at the St. Louis Fed, the hangover effect of the Masters golf tournament can be seen in the leisure and hospitality and other services sectors. Employment in leisure and hospitality fell by 600, and other services by 1,100. Second, we may be beginning to see

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Dr. Simon Medcalfe July 7, 2025 No Comments
B2B Stories

$225 million investment for the CSRA outskirts

A leading producer of sustainable building materials is establishing its first sawmill in the southeast. Hampton Lumber will invest $225 million in its latest operation in nearby Allendale County, SC, and is expected to create 125 jobs. Headquartered in Oregon, Hampton Lumber is a fourth-generation, family-owned producer of high-quality wood products sourced from sustainably managed forest resources. Operating nine sawmills in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia, Canada, the company markets and sells building materials worldwide. Hampton Lumber will construct a state-of-the-art, 375,000-square-foot lumber mill located at Highway 321 and Barker

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Staff Report July 7, 2025 No Comments
B2B Stories

Pricey transportation projects underway in the CSRA

The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) has released a report showing the impact the Transportation Investment Act (TIA) has on the CSRA. TIA is a 1% special-purpose tax designed to fund transportation programs in GDOT districts that approved it. In 2012, voters in District 2, which includes the CSRA, were one of only three districts to approve the tax. That 10-year term, now called TIA 1, raised $746.9 million for 84 projects across the district. Kyle Titus, Columbia County Engineering Services Director, told ABD that the TIA funding has been

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Dana Lynn McIntyre July 6, 2025 No Comments
Consumer Stories

Former Coke Exec returns to CSRA to open a healthcare business

You’re invited to an event with refreshments this Thursday morning. It’s led by Jeanine Lewis Canales, a former Coca-Cola and Bumblebee Foods Executive, and her husband, Juan, a business exec. They are opening a branch of Seniors Helping Seniors serving CSRA residents in Burke, Columbia, McDuffie, and Richmond Counties. Jeanine returned to Augusta to care for her aging mother and was inspired to open a business that hires active seniors to provide care and companionship to their less-active peers. Seniors Helping Seniors® provides a compassionate community of caregivers who can

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Neil Gordon July 6, 2025 No Comments
Awards/Celebrations

Two CSRA restaurants capture national awards

Raise a glass to two of our own that emerged as Award of Excellence winners by Wine Spectator magazine, billed as a leading authority on wine. It’s quite an honor based on the level of competition across Georgia and South Carolina. The Willcox Inn has aged like fine wine, literally. The hotel was built in 1898 in Aiken, considered the Queen of the Winter Colony. Fine dining and drinks by the fireplace have always been a part of the ambiance. This marks The Willcox restaurant’s 11th year receiving the Wine Spectator

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Mitzi Oxford July 6, 2025 No Comments
B2B Stories

Burke County part of $18 million grant program

The Development Authority of Burke County (DABC) is one of three organizations in the CSRA that will receive funds through the Georgia OneGeorgia Authority’s Rural Site Development Initiative. The program gives rural counties financial support to identify and establish ready-for-development industrial sites. “Georgia offers the workforce, connectivity, and business-friendly environment for companies to be successful in every corner of the state, which is why we’ve been named the top state for business for over a decade,” said Governor Brian Kemp in the news release announcing the grants. “The Rural Site

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Dana Lynn McIntyre July 2, 2025 No Comments
B2B Stories

PSC freezes Georgia Power rates for three years

In a move that should benefit both businesses and consumers alike, the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) has approved a plan to keep Georgia Power’s base rates stable and predictable through at least the end of 2028. Storm costs from Hurricane Helene will be considered separately at the beginning of 2026. After seven hours of testimony, the freeze approval follows a stipulated agreement reached between Georgia Power and Georgia PSC Public Interest Advocacy Staff in May, which recommended an extension of the existing alternate rate plan previously approved by the

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Staff Report July 2, 2025 No Comments
B2B Stories

2025 Predictions Update: Mid-Year Status

Today, July 2, we officially move into the second half of 2025. Therefore, I thought it would be a good time to perform a “mid-year check” of the predictions I made for the year in this space on December 18, 2024. As a reminder, the title of that column was “2025 Predictions:  Trump Policies Edition.” So, in the remainder of this column, I will evaluate each of my predictions based on the promises President Trump made prior to returning to the White House by giving myself a “midterm grade,” a

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Dr. Rick Franza July 1, 2025 No Comments
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