Sports / Entertainment

B2B Stories

New athleisure brand opens to the pickleball-loving public

Pickleball is one of the fastest-growing sports in the CSRA and America. It’s easy to learn and fun to play. It’s a racquet sport and a cross between tennis, badminton, and ping pong, but played on a smaller court. Pickleball is also good for your health which is what brought brothers, Dan and Jon Lawson and David Pope together to form the athleisure company Good Get Apparel. Jon is a pulmonologist, Dan and David were in the technology side of healthcare. “We all understood the health benefits of playing pickleball,

Read More »
B2B Stories

Dividing the tax pie following huge event successes

It’s been a banner year for events in the CSRA and with that comes a healthy chunk of money collected through accommodation taxes. Building on those success stories and creating a new event resulted in requests for dividing up the bounty. The funds are collected through the state’s 2% accommodations tax (ATAX) from visitors staying in hotels and similar lodgings. North Augusta’s pot has grown steadily. In 2021, the city had $76,065 to distribute. That climbed to $140,450 last year. Members of the North Augusta Accommodations Tax Advisory Committee reviewed

Read More »
ABD Extra

Georgia filmmaking soon to be back in action?

118 Days after declaring an industry walkout, SAG-AFTRA’s negotiating team announced the news that millions had long been waiting for: “We have reached a deal.” What does that mean for Georgia and specifically the CSRA? With the massive agreement comes the return of film to Georgia, and already a lot of high-profile projects are scuttling to get back to production. Clint Eastwood’s newest film, Juror #2, will soon begin shooting in Savannah. Marvel’s Captain America: Brave New World will proceed with filming in Atlanta’s Trilith studios. While it isn’t yet

Read More »
Consumer Stories

Time to play ball in the Brinkley’s Bullpen!

Tis’ the season for special get togethers and parties! In late October, some members of the Augusta Business Daily team and family members spent the day overlooking the field at SRP Ballpark and the night in the bullpen at Brinkley’s Chop House. With a successful Conference and Expo behind us, my business partner, Larry Rudwick, our Editor, Mitzi Oxford and her husband, and my wife, Melissa, and our daughters wanted to celebrate! “Dinner at Brinkley’s was one of the most memorable food experiences of my life on so many levels.

Read More »
B2B Stories

Papa’s got a brand new arena in the bag. What’s next?

Approving the Construction Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (C-SPLOST) was just the first step to building a state-of-the-art James Brown Arena complex. Attorney Jim Plunkett, who serves as bond counsel for the city, joined members of the Augusta-Richmond County Coliseum Authority during a Nov. 9 meeting to lay out the path forward. He said it will begin with a meeting with the city finance department, city financial advisor, and legal counsel to work out the structure of the bond issue. “What that means is basically, whether this will be

Read More »
Consumer Stories

Have We Given Up on Superheroes?

Lately, there have been quite a few headlines in major entertainment publications signaling a phenomenon that, just a few years ago, would’ve seemed unimaginable. The gist of those headlines is that superhero movies are losing money. It’s true. Marvel Studios’ newest release, the Brie Larson-led Marvels, (a sequel to 2019’s Captain Marvel) is expected to gross $60 Million on its opening weekend. Its predecessor earned a whopping $154 Million after its premiere. This comes after another box office flop for the studio, Ant Man & The Wasp: Quantumania. D.C. Studios

Read More »
B2B Stories

Repurposing of shopping center to include hardware and pickleball

Demolition and clearing continue this week inside the 50,000-square-foot former home of Bi-Lo and Final Cut in the shopping center at 500 Furys Ferry Road in Martinez. Once the remodeling is complete, the right side of the vacant building will feature Furys Ferry Hardware, a deal we reported a few months back. Co-owners of the tool and gardening center will be a local alternative to Lowe’s and Home Depot. The plan is for them to open their nearly 20,000-square-foot facility in early spring, in advance of the 2024 Masters Golf

Read More »
Consumer Stories

Killers of the Flower Moon reminds us of the power of movies

No, it’s not too long. Martin Scorsese’s newest epic, Killers of the Flower Moon, stimulates the senses, shocks our complacencies, and uncovers a world of treachery otherwise unexplored in the general American culture, all while reminding us of the inherent power of the picture. The film opens in 1920’s Oklahoma; the small town of Fairfax, to be exact. In Fairfax, the Osage Indian tribe are the wealthiest people per capita in the entire world, due to federal subsidies in exchange for the copious amounts of oil hidden beneath their tribal

Read More »
B2B Stories

Final week of early voting on JBA funding referendum

The fate of the James Brown Arena’s future is in the hands of Richmond County voters, and it is coming down to the wire. Today through Friday, November 3 are the final days registered voters can advance vote on the referendum to create a Construction Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (C-SPLOST). If approved, it will create a half-penny sales tax to fund the $250 million project to build a new JBA. Members of the Augusta-Richmond County Coliseum Authority continue meeting with individuals and groups of voters to explain the

Read More »
Consumer Stories

The O$car $ea$on

As we near the end of the year, Hollywood studios are preparing to roll out their newest flock of contenders for the 2024 Awards Season. The period between October and January is, historically, the most bloated (and frantic) time for new movie releases, as companies cram to vie for decorations and publicity in the winter. This period is called “Oscar Season.” There are many – too many – award shows nowadays; hosted by guilds, artistic foundations, academies, critics, and whatever the Hollywood Foreign Press Association is. Let’s face it, the

Read More »