
Higher than a kite!
It pumps about a quarter of a million $ into the local economy. Good news is that the Augusta Regional Airshow will be making a return flight. Mike Petchenik has more in today’s Biz Bits.

It pumps about a quarter of a million $ into the local economy. Good news is that the Augusta Regional Airshow will be making a return flight. Mike Petchenik has more in today’s Biz Bits.

The Augusta Leading Economic Index (LEI) fell 1.1 percent in December 2023 from November 2023. It is 2.5 percent lower than December 2022. The index has fallen 12 percentage points from its all-time peak in June 2022, with data going back to 2007 (see chart below). The major components that caused the monthly decline were residential permits and initial claims for unemployment insurance. Housing permits fell 21 percent in December from November and were 813 lower in 2023 than in 2022. Initial claims for unemployment insurance claims rose 27 percent

Healthcare providers are significant employers. A shortage of primary care physicians or clinics that provide primary care can have broader economic implications, affecting jobs, local economies, and community well-being. Mike Petchenik has more in today’s Biz Bits.

Augusta Tech is launching a community partnership program with local businesses. The Cougar Community Partners Program kicks off with a webinar on Wednesday, February 28. The program is a perfect fit for Augusta Tech’s cultivating a culture of collaboration with local businesses. The goal is to provide opportunities for businesses to engage with their faculty, staff, and students. If you are a local business interested in joining the Augusta Technical College’s Cougar Community Partners Program, you can register for one of the two sessions below. 10 am session 5 pm

Black History Month concludes this week with an extra special story of a military family succeeding one home at a time. Mike Petchenik has more in today’s Biz Bits.

A company with a South Augusta showroom and three South Carolina locations is getting ready to light up Evans. LITECRAFT is getting ready for its outdoor season with the upcoming Masters tournament, while clients plan to undertake spring and summer renovations. The company also provides lighting solutions for ceilings, walls, and with free-standing lamps. Owner—Augustan, Michael Johnson has showrooms in Charleston, Surfside Beach, Greenville, and on Barton Chapel Road in Augusta. According to Jordan Trotter Commercial Real Estate, LITECRAFT Lighting is the fastest-growing lighting store in the Southeast. JT handled

Travel, tourism, and hospitality are rebounding following a slump during the years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Augusta University and UGA are helping bump the numbers by offering training programs for those industries. A recent report from the University of Georgia (UGA), listed hospitality and tourism as the second largest contributor to the state’s economy. In 2022, there were nearly 168 million visitors generating $39.8 billion in direct visitor spending. That translates to $4.7 billion in state and local tax revenues. In Athens, the UGA Center for Continuing Education & Hotel

Are you a small business? Need to make more money and move your business forward? Today’s Biz Bits outlines the steps for the doing business with the state of Georgia. Check it out!

If transportation drives tourism and the economy in the CSRA, you can’t have a hitch in your giddy-up. Mike Petchenik explains in today’s Biz Bits.

After more than 20 years of military service in the U.S. Army, Jeremiah Adell and his wife, Maria are serving again, this time with a home inspection business. Last month, their family opened a Pillar to Post Home Inspectors franchise. “I’m from Rochester, New York, but Maria is from Augusta. When we bought our house here, I was still deployed, so the Pillar to Post Home Inspectors business seemed a great fit for us. The company has a checklist that takes the mystery out of home inspection whether a spouse