Economics

Members of the North Augusta Chamber of Commerce heard updates ranging from the new public safety headquarters under construction to infrastructure projects on September 14. City Administrator, Jim Clifford was the guest speaker for the monthly “Good Morning, North Augusta” breakfast in the Palmetto Ballroom at the municipal building. Clifford began by running down a list of projects he believes make North Augusta attractive for residents and businesses. He pointed to the historic downtown and the “Live, Play Work” community that’s grown in Riverside Village. “We’re a very strong, growing

Editor’s Note: Happy 27th birthday to a great friend of ABD, Kevin Hyatt! He is also approaching his first anniversary in business and has taken the CSRA by storm with his initiative to help people save money on their insurance… Including many ABD members, who provided testimonials below. Kevin Hyatt is a walking (and stationary) billboard for his Hyatt Agency, LLC firm. You may have noticed his outdoor billboard while shopping at Costco or noticed him networking at area Chambers of Commerce, on “Thirsty Thursdays” at GreenJackets games, and twice

The Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce has honored the men who have been leading the ambitious road projects in East Central Georgia. This is the 10th year that road projects in the Department of Transportation’s District 12 have been funded by a transportation special purpose local option sales tax (T-SPLOST). The individuals recognized were Phil Wahl, James Kendrick, Mark Ivey, Ben Tarbutton III, and James Alfriend who make up the Citizen Review Panel (CRP) that oversees progress. Assisting the panel was Don Grantham, a former GDOT board member, and former

I watched a lot of U.S. Open tennis over the last two weeks and was pleasantly surprised to find out that the U.S. Open had been paying women equal prize money for 50 years, thanks to the efforts of Billie Jean King. The other majors only started equal prize money for men and women this century (Australian Open in 2001; French Open in 2006 for champions and all rounds in 2007; Wimbledon in 2007). Unfortunately, if you are not an elite female tennis player, you are unlikely to earn the

The Augusta Leading Economic Index (LEI) rose 0.4 percent in June, but remains 1.3 percent below its level of June 2022. I use a three-month rolling average to smooth out very volatile local data. For example, residential building permits in the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) have varied between 407 (August 2022) and 213 (December 2022) over the last year, even after seasonal adjustment, an almost 100% swing. In June, residential housing permits fell 10 percent from May. Residential building permits have been lower than the same month, one year earlier