Top Story

Consumer Stories

Facebook’s parent company gives grants to CSRA entrepreneurs and others

As the parent company to Facebook and Instagram, Meta targets its grants to projects that support technology-centric education and community programs in communities where they have a data center. The Aiken Data Center is under construction in the Sage Mill Industrial Park. Among the grant recipients is the Make Startups Institute, an extension of MakeStartups.org, based in theClubhou.se, in collaboration with the Aiken Chamber of Commerce and Western SC. “We’ve been helping to get the Aiken Innovation District really up and running,” explained Eric Parker, co-founder of Make Startups. “We’re

Read More »
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 »
B2B Stories

Simon Says: Year-over-Year Growth in Metro Augusta

There are fears of inflation, but the numbers for the Augusta Leading Economic Index seem to be heading in the right direction. The Augusta Leading Economic Index (LEI) ended the year 1.8 percent higher than in December 2024.  Because of the government shutdown in the fall, the release of data for November and December was delayed until last week for some components of the LEI. Specifically, new privately owned housing units authorized increased in November and December by 21% and 17% respectively, although the total number of permits for 2025

Read More »
B2B Stories

Aerospace experts land in CSRA for key conference

Aerospace experts from education, business, and the military are in Augusta this week for the Seventh Annual Innovation Xchange. The one-day event is on Thursday, March 5.  Diane Johnston, Director of Innovation and Business Development at Augusta Regional Airport (AGS), told ABD the forum will focus on new aerospace technologies. “We have panelists come from all over the world to present about some of the things that they’re doing, some of the technologies that they’re dealing with,” she said. “It allows people to get into the room and network and brainstorm

Read More »
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 »
B2B Stories

Company chases lofty goals in the CSRA

A bank added its third local location as part of a 160-branch expansion with emphasis on the Southeast.   The Aiken Chamber welcomed local and regional executives from Chase Bank to open its newest location at 481 Fabian Drive in the Hitchcock Plaza in Aiken near Old Navy, TJ Maxx, and other retailers. The branch is a newly constructed, standalone building, staffed by employees from Aiken and nearby communities and featuring both a drive-up ATM and a vestibule ATM for added convenience.  Aiken Branch Manager Brandee Gonzalez shared insight with guests during the morning get-together with

Read More »
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 »
B2B Stories

(Water) Taxi anyone on the Savannah River?

For North Augusta Mayor Briton Williams, the most intriguing part of Augusta 2035: Blueprint for Action report is Augusta Tomorrow’s proposal to introduce water taxis. Those would be used to shuttle passengers between the Augusta side and the new boat dock near the Sharon Jones Amphitheater on the North Augusta side. “Neither one of our communities has truly understood and embraced what it means to have a body of water in between us,” Williams said. “Communities in both our states would love to have water as part of what they

Read More »
B2B Stories

EXCLUSIVE: “Powerful” company ignites possibilities in Aiken

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in early February at USCA creates a partnership with a company on the leading edge of developing new ways to generate power. The MOU is with Antares Industries, a California-based company that specializes in nuclear fission energy systems, including fission microreactors, also known as Small Modular Reactors (SMR). Tom Mancinelli, Head of Federal Strategy and Policy at Antares, told ABD that their work right now is primarily for defense and space. They also work with the Pentagon and NASA to provide reactors for energy

Read More »
B2B Stories

250,000 member group in CSRA goes high tech

An organization that is more closely associated with outdoor activities and ecology is adding high-tech to its operation. The National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) is opening a satellite office in the Georgia Cyber Innovation and Training Center (GCITC) in downtown Augusta.  NWTF co-CEO, Jason Burckhalter, told ABD the collaboration is a natural progression to innovate so their mission has the maximum impact. “We’re leaning heavily into innovation and technology being a key component of that, and to be more specific, on the AI front. We wanted to embed our IT

Read More »