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Multi-million dollar contract for a company with an Augusta office

A Virginia-based company with more than 100 offices nationwide has been awarded an $889 million contract with local impact. The contract will support the U.S. Army Cyber Command (ARCYBER) and its mission partners. “The ARCYBER contract showcases the multi-faceted ability of Peraton to support the integration of cyberspace-related operations with EW, IO, and other IAE activities to provide information advantage,” said Tom Afferton, President, Cyber Mission sector, in a news release announcing the contract. The company opened an office in Augusta in 2020, located in the Georgia Cyber Innovation and

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B2B Stories

Simon Says: Climate change to impact local economy?

Several weeks ago, I attended the American Economic Association annual meeting in San Antonio. As economists, we always have our annual meeting over the first weekend of the year, because who else wants to go to a conference at that time? We get great deals on hotel rooms ($115 per night!). As well as presenting a paper on Name Image and Likeness, I attended several other sessions. One presentation I heard was from Daniel Wilson from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. He and a colleague analyzed the long-run

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B2B Stories

$33 million parking deck breaks ground

Students at Augusta University’s (AU) Health Sciences campus will soon spend more time in classrooms and less time searching for parking. A groundbreaking ceremony for an on-campus parking deck was held on Monday near Elm Hall, just off R.A. Dent Blvd. Yvonne Turner, Executive Vice President for Finance, said the university needs modern facilities to support students, faculty, and staff. “The construction of this parking deck is a significant step in meeting those needs and ensuring that our university remains a place where academic pursuits and campus life can thrive,”

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Consumer Stories

Students ready to dazzle employers

While job fairs are a popular way for businesses to attract new employees, students in Columbia County are flipping the script. The Columbia County School District (CCSD) is partnering with Columbia County, the Columbia County Chamber Foundation, and the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) for the fourth annual CTAE (Career, Technical and Agricultural Education) Workforce Showcase Competition on Friday, Feb. 16. Brooks Smith, director of the school district’s CTAE programs, told ABD this showcase is also a competition for students to show off to potential employers the skills they are

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B2B Stories

Augusta airport prepping for this year’s tournament

The countdown has started at Augusta Regional Airport heading into Masters Week 2024. The first indication of what to expect came in an announcement from Delta Airlines just days before the Aviation Commission’s monthly meeting. Delta, one of the two airlines that provides daily service at Augusta airport, announced nine routes, six of which are new, with more than 1,300 seats daily to Augusta. That represents nearly double the level of service. The expanded schedule will feature new routes from Washington, D.C., Boston, and Austin. There will be flights from

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B2B Stories

Georgia’s technical colleges to help businesses find temporary, non-citizen, workers

A program that helps employers hire non-U.S. citizens for their businesses is now being coordinated by the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG). An announcement on the TCSG website said they will take over managing Georgia’s Foreign Labor Certification Program. The Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) had coordinated it. The agreement transfers the program to WorkSource Georgia, which replaced Employ Georgia in August 2023 as the official online tool for employment services. WorkSource Georgia is assuming the responsibility of providing employers with the foreign labor certification services that are required

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B2B Stories

CSRA Community Kicks Off Inaugural Event to Look Forward

The organization working to make North Augusta a community of choice to live, work, and play, is kicking off a new fundraiser. North Augusta Forward has scheduled its inaugural Melodies & Masterpieces event on Feb. 10 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. It will feature chefs from the city’s well-known restaurants, along with music, art, and an auction. Avery Spears-Mahoney, Director of the non-profit organization, told ABD the funds will go toward the organization’s strategic initiatives. She said it is difficult to gauge how much they could bring in with this

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B2B Stories

Former bank building again generating “interest”

Recently, Goodwill said welcome to the community. Goodwill Industries of Middle Georgia and the CSRA held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Jan. 19 for its new welcome center on the campus in West Augusta. The center is in the former Georgia Federal Bank building at Washington and Furys Ferry Road. The building is part of the former Village West Shopping Center that is now home to the Goodwill campus, including Helms College, the Job Connection, and Edgar’s Grille and Bakehouse. Jim Stiff, President of the 31 county local region, said the

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B2B Stories

Simon Says: Improvements in the LEI

The Augusta Leading Economic Index (LEI) increased by 0.8% on a monthly basis and 0.2% on a three-month moving average in November. Overall, the LEI is 0.1% higher than a year ago, the first annual increase since October 2022. Four out of the five components in the index improved in November from October. Residential Building permits increased by 9.6% and initial claims for unemployment insurance fell by 6.8%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had a strong end to the year, including an 8.4% gain in November. Inflation fell a little

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B2B Stories

Sharing Augusta’s expertise with other cities

A local group with the mission to help people with an entrepreneurial spirit develop a start-up business is hitting the road this week. The leaders of Make Startups are launching an ambitious plan to travel to 24 cities to share what they know, teach what they have learned, is necessary to create a business. Eric Parker, CEO of Make Startups, told ABD the goal of the trip is twofold. In addition to sharing what they have learned as they help entrepreneurs in metro Augusta, they also want to learn what

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