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Consumer Stories
Consumer Stories

Simon Says: Uncle Sam’s Delay & Cousin Simon’s Breakfast!

The US government has opened back up, but at the time of writing, we do not know when much of the backlog of economic data will be released. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which is responsible for the national inflation and employment situation, had collected employment data for September before the shutdown and announced late Friday that this information will be released on Thursday. It has already published inflation data for September. The White House announced last week that it is unlikely we will get employment and inflation data

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Dr. Simon Medcalfe, AU Economics Professor November 18, 2025 No Comments
B2B Stories

A glimpse inside the area’s newest hospital

Elected officials and business leaders had a peek inside the hospital under construction in Columbia County. The facility is at exit 190 off Interstate 20. Officials with Wellstar MCG Health organized a Friday morning walk of the 85% completed building on Gateway Boulevard, near the Gateway to Grovetown. “It’s amazing that I’m standing here at this moment in Columbia County’s history,” said David Jameson, interim President and CEO of the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce. “It feels good. If I’m excited, every citizen in Columbia County should be just overwhelmed

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Dana Lynn McIntyre November 18, 2025 No Comments
Consumer Stories

Local developer comments on fees tacked onto new commercial buildings and homes

On Nov. 1st, newly approved impact fees took effect in North Augusta. It means that in the future, new developments are subject to fees from $2,315 for residential customers with the smallest meter and up to $90,000 for a new commercial building. Funds raised will go toward parks and recreation, sanitation, and water. A developer of “The Hive” was candid with business leaders at a recent North Augusta Chamber event. Lauren McCarthy, Division Vice President for Stanley Homes, provided the renderings. She told ABD that the new fees will influence

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Dana Lynn McIntyre November 17, 2025 No Comments
Closings

BizBits

In today’s Biz Bits, ABD looks into a restaurant closing in Evans, a snack shop opening in downtown Augusta, and DoorDash helping out the hungry. Ruby Tuesday is now closed permanently in Mullins Crossing in Evans. Two North Augusta locations remain open for the casual restaurant. With 1600 reviews, Ruby Tuesday had a 4.0 rating out of 5, but many customers on Facebook wrote how the service, cleanliness, and food quality had gone down.   Pop’n Off Gourmet Popcorn and Nuts is celebrating its grand opening and celebration tomorrow afternoon,

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Neil Gordon November 17, 2025 No Comments
Consumer Stories

3 food service updates in Columbia County

The 1.75-acre former Walgreens property at Bobby Jones is in the midst of a facelift, and the general contractor is updating ABD readers on the specifics of the future Parker’s Kitchen. Clifton Construction is on board as the General Contractor on the project. Demolishment of the original 15,200 square foot building is complete, as the parking lot is getting cleared. Parkers Kitchens are typically built in the 5000-7000 square foot range, and this one is expected to be on the small side. Rob Clifton of Clifton Construction said the footprint

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Article and Photos by Neil Gordon November 14, 2025 No Comments
B2B Stories

Getting back to normal at the airport

Augusta Regional Airport urges travelers to brace for ongoing delays — as employees scramble to recover from missed paychecks and wait for back pay. Even though the 40-day federal shutdown has officially ended, Augusta Regional Airport leaders say the effects are far from over — not only for passengers, but for the more than 80 TSA and FAA employees now scrambling to catch up on bills, repay loans, and recover from more than a month without a paycheck. At the same time, flight schedules remain unstable, and a 6% nationwide flight reduction

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Dana Lynn McIntyre November 14, 2025 No Comments
B2B Stories

Simon Says: Bad Job News & Pay in Georgia/Carolina

With the continued government shutdown and no new official economic news releases from federal agencies, I again turn to the ADP employment report for the latest jobs market data. The ADP report is based on national payroll data from more than 26 million U.S. employees, who come from ADP clients, like the ones getting serviced for payroll and HR in West August. This is about 1 in 5 private sector employees, and 1 in 6 covers total employees. The data they have does skew towards larger firms and firms located

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Dr. Simon Medcalfe November 13, 2025 No Comments
B2B Stories

Grade Inflation: Both a Cause and Sign of America’s Weakening Competitiveness

Publisher’s Note: When interviewing a candidate at your business in the CSRA, do you expect their GPA to be a true indicator of how dedicated and intelligent he or she is? Students’ grades are up across the country from a while ago until now by 10-20%. But why? Dr. Rick Franza takes a look at an academic challenge that needs course correction. Grade inflation has been rampant on college campuses for decades, particularly since COVID, when this trend became exceedingly evident and problematic.  Having done my undergraduate work in the late

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Dr. Rick Franza, AU Hull College of Business Professor November 13, 2025 No Comments
B2B Stories

Helping entrepreneurs while checking off your Christmas List

There is a special retail event tomorrow at Augusta University (AU) on a campus more commonly associated with cybersecurity. The Holiday Maker’s market is on Friday from 11 AM to 3:30 PM at the Georgia Cyber Innovation and Training Center (GCITC) on Grace Hopper Lane. Tina Baggott, AU’s interim executive vice president for Strategic Partnerships and Economic Development, told ABD the market has two goals. First, to offer early Christmas shopping with unique items created by students and faculty. The second purpose is to foster entrepreneurship, particularly among student vendors.

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Dana Lynn McIntyre November 13, 2025 No Comments
Consumer Stories

Local & Holiday shopping expected to hit record levels

A leading industry organization has checked the trends, conducted surveys, crunched the numbers, and believes spending for the 2025 holiday buying season will top $1 trillion. Ray Carnes, founder of Recteq in Evans and part-owner, says he can tell already it’s going to be a strong holiday season. Friends and others are constantly asking, “When will Black Friday sales start?” Carnes says the earlier people ask, the better their season is. The National Retail Federation (NRF) lists the time between November 1st and December 31st as the holiday shopping season.

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Dana Lynn McIntyre and Neil Gordon November 12, 2025 No Comments
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