Tue, April 07, 2026

Facebook-f Youtube Instagram
Newsletter Sign up
Show Support
Menu

Consumer Stories
B2B Stories

CSRA Businesspeople to Make Cotton Exchange A Thriving Space for Work & Fun

In September 2004, this reporter attended a huge grand re-opening of the Cotton Exchange building when Georgia Bank & Trust opened a downtown Augusta branch. After South State bought GB&T in 2017, it remained a bank until closing within the last few years as Augusta’s Riverwalk lost its luster and some businesses. Soon, Dr. Troy Akers and his wife, Nancy, will restore the historic Cotton Exchange building, after recently purchasing it. It’s reopening as corporate office space and an upscale event venue. They’ll honor the building’s legacy, which was constructed

Read More »
Neil Gordon March 4, 2026 No Comments
Consumer Stories

Using the cyber world to advance innovations in the medical field

A partnership with the Georgia Cyber Innovation and Training Center (GCITC), Augusta University (AU), the Advanced Technology and Development Center, and the Georgia Institute of Technology (GT) brought together a diverse group of individuals for a workshop at GCITC. ABD first highlighted the effort to accelerate medical device innovation and commercialization in our Friday issue.  In the news release announcing the event, Dr. Guido Verbeck, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at AU, said academia is a fantastic platform for launching ideas. “But there must be an understanding of how to

Read More »
Dana Lynn McIntyre March 3, 2026 No Comments
B2B Stories

Augusta Positioned to Become a Leader in Medical Device Entrepreneurship

AUGUSTA, Ga. —  The Georgia Institute of Technology and Augusta University have launched a collaborative effort to boost the city’s medical device innovation ecosystem. Leaders are going to talk about it today at the Innovate Conference at Georgia Cyber Innovation and Training Center. The advocacy nonprofit Georgia Life Sciences designated the region a BioReady Gold community. Augusta is known as a desired choice for biotech companies looking for suitable sites to expand. Leading the work at Georgia Tech are the Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership (GaMEP) and the Advanced Technology Development

Read More »
Staff Report February 27, 2026 No Comments
Consumer Stories

Retailer holds moving sale as it relocates to smaller store

HobbyTown is moving across town for the second time in three years. This major downsizing in the next few weeks will result in a move to one of the newest shopping centers in the CSRA. The leisure retailer is moving into the Davis Square Shopping Center, which will now be 75% occupied, according to Jordan Trotter Commercial Realty, which handles the leasing in the center. HobbyTown will be next to the Back Nine golf simulator experience and near Baldino’s Giant Jersey Subs.  What’s significant is that it is moving into

Read More »
Neil Gordon February 27, 2026 No Comments
Consumer Stories

Big changes at AU after Hurricane Helene

AU’s three campuses, Summerville, Health Science, and Forest Hills, lost thousands of trees in the hurricane-strength winds during Hurricane Helene in 2025.  The Community Foundation for the CSRA (CFCSRA) and Sand Hills Garden Club joined with Augusta University (AU) to repopulate its tree canopy following the damage wrought by Hurricane Helene. The most noticeable was the huge Deodar cedar tree at the main entrance to the Summerville campus. That is where the garden club and CFCSRA stepped in. Shell Berry, President and CEO of CFCSRA, told ABD the garden club

Read More »
Story by Dana Lynn McIntyre & Photos by Michael Holohan from AU February 27, 2026 No Comments
B2B Stories

Simon Says: What County Had the Highest Per Capital Personal Income?

Did residents in Aiken, Columbia, and Edgefield County make the most money? In 2024, Columbia County had the highest per capita personal income in the Augusta Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), and McDuffie County had the largest increase over 2023. Personal income is defined by the Bureau of Economic Analysis as “the income received by, or on behalf of, all persons from all sources: from participation as laborers in production, from owning a home or business, from the ownership of financial assets, and from government and business in the form of

Read More »
Dr. Simon Medcalfe, AU Hull College of Business Economics Professor February 25, 2026 No Comments
B2B Stories

All I know about the Trader Joe’s Deal in Evans

The worst-kept secret in the CSRA is that Trader Joe’s is expected to build a standalone store directly behind the Columbia County Performing Arts Center, with the building facing North Belair Road. Cal Wray, the leader of the Augusta Economic Development Authority, says Trader Joe’s even looked in Richmond County a while back and decided against it. He says that Columbia County officials not being specific on active projects is not unusual. He doesn’t comment until there is a signed agreement. A Columbia County spokesperson said, not only is the

Read More »
Neil Gordon February 19, 2026 No Comments
B2B Stories

EXCLUSIVE: Grocery/Retail Center Hinges on many moving parts

A home at 8101 Sir Galahad Drive, across from the Evans Post Office and Regions Bank, is one of the complex deal points of a proposed commercial development. The Columbia County Chamber has owned that property for more than 10 years, and developers are hoping for a better result with commissioners than the Chamber had. The Chamber purchased the home on the right for $177,000 in the summer of 2015 with the intention of renovating the property as their corporate office. It was and is currently zoned residential. Back then,

Read More »
Photos and Article by Neil Gordon February 18, 2026 No Comments
B2B Stories

Next wave of workforce in CSRA gets BIG boost

The Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) has signed an agreement designed to streamline transfer pathways at all 22 regional campuses, including Augusta Technical College. The articulation agreement with the American College of Education (ACE) also creates tuition reductions and expanded access to undergraduate and graduate programs. The partnership is available for eligible TCSG students, graduates, and full-time employees. The news release announcing the agreement quoted TCSG Commissioner Greg Dozier. “This agreement reflects our shared commitment to expanding access, affordability, and opportunity for Georgia’s workforce,” said Dozier. “By reducing barriers

Read More »
Dana Lynn McIntyre February 18, 2026 No Comments
Consumer Stories

CSRA golf course piggybacks the Masters

Watching the Masters tournament at Augusta National or on CBS could lead to a big boon the following week for a renovated golf course in Augusta. The Augusta Municipal Golf Course, best known by its nickname, The Patch, is set to re-open on April 15 after a 16-month renovation process. Photo Courtesy of Augusta National It has been closed since April 2023. Under a partnership with the Augusta National Golf Club (ANGC), Augusta Technical College, The First Tee of Augusta, and Masters Tournament Charities, the 18-hole course has undergone a

Read More »
Dana Lynn McIntyre February 17, 2026 No Comments
Load More