Economics

For North Augusta Mayor Briton Williams, the most intriguing part of Augusta 2035: Blueprint for Action report is Augusta Tomorrow’s proposal to introduce water taxis. Those would be used to shuttle passengers between the Augusta side and the new boat dock near the Sharon Jones Amphitheater on the North Augusta side. “Neither one of our communities has truly understood and embraced what it means to have a body of water in between us,” Williams said. “Communities in both our states would love to have water as part of what they

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in early February at USCA creates a partnership with a company on the leading edge of developing new ways to generate power. The MOU is with Antares Industries, a California-based company that specializes in nuclear fission energy systems, including fission microreactors, also known as Small Modular Reactors (SMR). Tom Mancinelli, Head of Federal Strategy and Policy at Antares, told ABD that their work right now is primarily for defense and space. They also work with the Pentagon and NASA to provide reactors for energy

Dr. Santanu Chatterjee, interim dean at UGA’s Terry College of Business (at podium), and Dr. Simon Medcalfe, economist at AU’s Hull College of Business and an ABD contributor, both can see growth in Augusta’s economy in 2026. They see different sectors helping to drive revenue and jobs. Dr. Chatterjee led the 43rd annual statewide economic outlook event that travels from city to city. He said the Metro Augusta region is important to the overall outlook for Georgia, with healthcare leading the way. “The only sector in which we’ll see some

Tom Barkin, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, was the featured speaker at an economic symposium in Aiken. The Wednesday event, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Aiken, attracted 400 people, including South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evett (R) and Attorney General Alan Wilson (R), to the USCA Convocation Center. Barkin led his presentation with a topic on everyone’s mind: inflation. He said inflation is unfair, creates uncertainty, and the effort to negotiate with suppliers or shop around for better prices is exhausting. He coupled that