Sports / Entertainment

Consumer Stories

“PLAY BALL” with The Hyatt Agency

The Hyatt Agency, LLC www.thehyattagencyllc.com 706-343-8033 Call for a FREE quote today! Baseball will be back in full THIS FRIDAY at SRP Park. The Augusta GreenJackets take on the Columbia Fireflies for Opening Weekend going on April 5th-7th. For a second season, fans will enjoy “Thirsty Thursday” sponsored by The Hyatt Agency, LLC. Kevin Hyatt, owner of The Hyatt Agency, LLC, finds that the sponsorship, “shows how much we love our team that represents our community.” The Hyatt Agency, LLC’s Insurance offers a wide array of insurance options, specializing in

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B2B Stories

Changes to Augusta’s Masters Week traffic plan

Augusta’s traffic engineering division is ready to launch the traffic plan for Masters Week 2024. Assistant Director, John Ussery held a media briefing and outlined the plan. Much of it is familiar, steps created to improve traffic flow for the roughly 30,000 vehicles trying to access and depart the golf course. This year, however, the plan includes two major changes. A traffic light was installed at Washington Road and River Ridge Road. It is necessary because the Augusta National Golf Club (ANGC) purchased the former Electrolux building and turned it

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Consumer Stories

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire: Are We Really Doing This?

Ivan Reitman’s Ghostbusters is the latest film to get both the reboot and franchise treatment in Hollywood, with its newest installment, Frozen Empire, opening this past week. The 1984 fantasy comedy is a classic in American blockbuster and the new film is another in a series of these nostalgia-based re-vamps (see the never-ending Star Wars and Jurassic World films), begging the question, why can’t we leave these film properties alone? Frozen Empire follows Afterlife (released in 2021), and retains the cast from that film; Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard,

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B2B Stories

We’re paying for JBA construction starting Monday

If you’re among the tens of thousands of people who buy goods and services in Richmond County, you will begin paying an additional half-penny sales tax on Monday, April 1. Money collected will cover the cost of building a new James Brown Arena. Demolition of the existing arena is expected to begin in July. The $250 million bond issue was approved by voters in November 2023. Mike Harvey, Vice President of Project Design with Nations Group, owner’s representative for the Coliseum Authority, told ABD they are ready to bring in

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Consumer Stories

Dune 2: A colossal achievement and big $ for local theaters and beyond

The biggest franchise of the post-Superhero era in movies saw its second installment at the beginning of the month. Delayed by several months due to the industry strikes, the film’s opening was moved from Autumn 2023 to Spring 2024, a move that was done either out of generosity to last year’s Oscar contenders, calculation for a full press rollout, or foresight for owning the year. Nevertheless, Dune: Part Two is finally in theaters. The world of Arrakis is reopened for the viewers, continuing the tale of Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet)

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B2B Stories

Off to the races with a major economic impact

While it doesn’t involve world-class golf, there is another time-honored tradition in the CSRA and this one is all about horses. The 57th running of the Aiken Spring Steeplechase is Saturday, March 23, and it’s a big deal. According to the Aiken Steeplechase Association, more than 25,000 visitors will attend this weekend’s event. The 43 horses entered came from up and down the Eastern seaboard. That means, horse owners, jockeys, and supporters are probably already here. While ABD couldn’t confirm a bottom-line figure for economic impact, Eric Gordon, the city

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Consumer Stories

Oscars Recap: Nuanced Highs and the Big Disappointment

This year’s Oscar ceremony was the shortest in years – a rapid-fire cavalcade that barely had time to breathe. Despite this, it produced some real surprises, good and bad. Oppenheimer, unsurprisingly, won the top awards of the night, including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Director. The film provided the path for actors, Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey, Jr., as well as director, Christopher Nolan, to finally win their Oscars. It was one of a handful of “finally” moments. Nolan made a particularly inspired speech, emphasizing how

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Consumer Stories

The Oscar Will Go To…

Editor’s note: Watching movies has been part of our family as much as gathering around the dinner table. By the time our son was in second grade, he was a fan of great motion pictures, including Gone with the Wind, Singing in the Rain, Funny Face, African Queen, and any movie with Hepburn and Tracy. Aren’t we lucky that ABD has Dylan James who also appreciates the classics and keeps us up on future classics including the local movie productions? We hope you entered our Oscar competition for a chance

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B2B Stories

Big bucks bouncing into the CSRA

More than 500 visitors are expected to generate an economic impact of nearly a quarter of a million dollars for three days of basketball competition that starts today at Riverview Park in North Augusta. Eight high school basketball teams will face off in the Nike EYBL (Elite Youth Basketball League) Scholastic League, created by a partnership with the National Interscholastic Basketball Conference (NIBC). Teams from Canada and across the U.S. including, New York, Arizona, and Kansas will face off beginning tonight at 6:00 pm and continuing through Saturday, March 9.

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Consumer Stories

JBA construction closer to reality

The intergovernmental agreement between the Augusta Commission and the Augusta-Richmond Coliseum Authority has been signed. Authority Chairman, Cedric Johnson confirmed for ABD he signed the document. It creates the pipeline to receive funds from the half-penny sales tax approved by voters in November 2023. “Approval by the Commission opens the doorway for us to get those funds,” he said. “Without that agreement, any SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) goes straight to the city. So, we do have an agreement on how we would handle the funds.” One of

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