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Addressing growing demand for trained engineers

While Aiken Technical College is on the frontline of workforce development with programs designed to upskill students for immediate placement, USCA is playing the long game. The largest employers in the County are helping out. The recent announcement that the Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility (SRPPF) has been greenlit to begin construction is just the latest major project announced in Aiken County. At USCA, leaders have watched demand grow for trained personnel, particularly in the engineering field.  Dr. Bethany Fralick in the USCA Department of Computer Science, Engineering and Mathematics

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Dana Lynn McIntyre October 27, 2026 No Comments
Consumer Stories

County Delayed in Announcing Trader Joe’s Application

While Columbia County Economic Development leaders wait for Trader Joe’s to formalize its transaction to build in Evans, ABD is learning more details about the timing of TJ’s application and the size of the store IF the deal closes. On Tuesday, October 19th, Columbia County Commission Chairman Doug Duncan announced Trader Joe’s completed its construction permit application. A review of the document indicates that initial engineering and structural reports were filed on behalf of TJ’s before September 14th. TJ’s contractor Scott Belcher, from Atlanta-based Belcher Construction, completed his application 10

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Neil Gordon October 26, 2026 No Comments
B2B Stories

Additional Info on that Trader Joe’s deal

Wait! Hold off on your Trader Joe’s Dill Pickle Hummus craving… for now. The deal between the Columbia County Economic Development Authority and representatives has NOT closed yet—even though a construction permit has been applied for by the grocer. “The transaction should close any day now,” said Cheney Eldridge, Executive Director of the Columbia County Economic Development Authority.  As ABD first told you back in February, the plan is for Trader Joe’s to build on this 3 + acre property in between U.S. Battery on North Belair Road and the

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Neil Gordon October 22, 2026 No Comments
Consumer Stories

Local tutoring studio delays opening due to permitting issues

A nationally franchised music lesson studio got a lesson in the way our local government conducts business. ABD chose not to show a photo of a stop-work order issued by the County on September 23rd, as an inspector’s cellphone number is prominently displayed.  The franchisee of Musicologie failed to obtain permits to begin work on the buildout and had to stop any construction. ABD received a statement from Columbia County yesterday in part that reads:  “In this case, County staff have worked with the business owner to identify the permitting

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Neil Gordon October 21, 2026 No Comments
B2B Stories

CSRA company grows its consulting agency

Publisher’s Note: This is part 2 of a multi-part series on the explosive growth of “The Pennant Group”, a health insurance agency and HR consulting company in Augusta. It started five years ago with four employer clients and two employees. As we approach 2027, The Pennant Group is nearing 100 employer clients and 400 individual and group Medicare clients with 11 employees, the latest of which is opening up a new market for TPG in HR Services. As Tom Mastny’s former major league baseball team in Cleveland competes for the

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Neil Gordon October 20, 2026 No Comments
B2B Stories

Simon Says: Free Market System

This second column, commemorating the semiquincentennial of economics, examines Adam Smith’s views on enterprise. (Spoiler alert – he is still turning in his grave) Smith believed in individual freedom and self-interest. A famous quote states, “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.” The free market and profit incentivize merchants, craftsmen, and artisans to provide meat, beer, and bread, not because of some altruistic feeling for others, but because it is

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Dr. Simon Medcalfe, AU Hull College of Business Economics Professor October 20, 2026 No Comments
B2B Stories

New CSRA company puts up $100,000 in matching funds

Applications are being accepted for grants offered by one of Metro Augusta’s newest financial institutions. There are nearly 20 nominations, but none in the Peach State. There is a key 100-hour period once nonprofits are selected. Palmetto Citizens Foundation, the 501(c)(3) arm of South Carolina-based Palmetto Citizens Federal Credit Union (PCFCU), is calling on nonprofit organizations to apply for its Fuel the Change campaign. “Fuel the Change is a campaign for us to be able to match funds for five different nonprofits,” foundation executive director Emilie Lewis told ABD. “I

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Dana Lynn McIntyre October 19, 2026 No Comments
Consumer Stories

Celebrating entrepreneur’s $50 million investment in CSRA

Life will be made a little bit easier for younger patients in Augusta, thanks to a former payroll company executive and philanthropist. The hospital formally recognized the renaming of the hospital to Wellstar Golisano Children’s Hospital of Georgia.  ABD first told you about the $50 million gift at the end of 2025. It remains the largest sum in the history of both Wellstar and the Children’s Hospital. The Wellstar Golisano Children’s Hospital of Georgia cares for children from every county in Georgia and children from neighboring states. The group is,

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Neil Gordon/Staff Report October 16, 2026 No Comments
Consumer Stories

Interesting Grand Opening for Dessert Shop

ABD first told you about plans for Paris Baguette to open sweet shops in Evans and Aiken, and now the first store is open. The Evans location next to the Cava Mediterranean food restaurant is open. Parking could be a challenge for both of those popular eateries in front of Mullins Colony on Washington Road in Evans. Some patrons may need to park in the shopping center and walk over. Thanks to members of Let’s Talk Augusta and Augusta Business Connection for first posting photos and word of the opening.

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Neil Gordon October 15, 2026 No Comments
B2B Stories

The impact of tourism in Augusta and statewide

Tickets are on sale for the annual Augusta State of Tourism (ASOT) event. We’ll learn whether visitor spending hits $1 billion.  Sponsored by Destination Augusta, the event brings into focus the impact the tourism and hospitality industry has on Metro Augusta. President and CEO Bennish Brown told ABD the celebration brings together all of Destination Augusta’s partners, including the Augusta Sports Council. “No success happens in Augusta, at least from the tourism space, without us collectively working,” he said. “So, our annual Augusta State of Tourism is when we just

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Dana Lynn McIntyre October 14, 2026 No Comments
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