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A longtime Augusta businessman is retiring and selling his company to his president and two family members, after a 2021 deal fell through with a private equity firm. ABD has learned Jim Felton – founder and Chief Executive Officer of Southern Industries – is turning his home remodeling company over to his son Ed Felton, Vice President of Operations for Southern Wholesale with 35 years’ experience; his niece Fran Felton, Corporate Manager with 29 years’ experience; and President Derek Thexton with 14 years working for Mr. Felton. Founded in 1967,

We won’t know how the Omicron variant affects employment in the Augusta area until March 18th, when the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the data for January. Unfortunately, government statistics, particularly at the local level, lag real activity by several weeks if not months. This makes their use for business planning less useful. Fortunately, several organizations have started to produce real time data during the pandemic that provides useful information. For example, Google releases COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports for counties, based on information gathered from products such as Google Maps.

Editor’s Note: This story is an update to a story ABD brought you about a dine-and-dash incident that occurred at Taqueria El Rey – a local Mexican restaurant – on Tuesday, Jan. 18. Two female diners left the restaurant without paying their $55 bill, even after a video posted on Facebook showed they were chased to the parking lot by an employee. ABD has learned the identity of the second suspect in the Columbia County dine-and-dash case. According to Maj. Steve Morris with the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, the suspect’s

An alleged dine-and-dash incident at a local Mexican restaurant landed one woman in jail for free-loading on the main course, but this story has a sweeter ending. According to The Jail Report www.augustacrime.com, Chondrea Mayfield (see photo above story), of Grovetown, was arrested on Thursday, Jan. 20 for theft of services for allegedly leaving a restaurant without paying her bill. Mayfield – a drill instructor at Fort Gordon – will be required to appear in court to answer to the misdemeanor charge. The next day, Ramiro Galvan – owner of

At times, business owners must confront trespassers, but alleged incidents involving a local man have forced Laurie Pratt to take additional steps to protect her business and staff. Pratt – owner of Serenity Massage & Wellness Spa LLC located at 3406 Middleton Drive in Augusta – attended a court hearing in Richmond County on Friday, Jan. 14 to request an order of protection against Scott Bowden (see photo above story) of Augusta. She says Bowden first visited Serenity on Dec. 8. “He came in and made an appointment for the