Augusta, GA
Augusta Fire Department reminds residents of burn ban that starts on May 1
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“The winds can function each ignition and as transport,” he says. “When you’ve gotten a stretch of dry climate, the bottom can get dry. When you’ve got dry air on high of that, the relative humidity ranges can get actually low, beneath 20-30 p.c, which does occur typically, you may get these wind speeds to ignite.”
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Augusta, GA
Augusta businesses discuss concerns over downtown construction
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AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – On Monday, business owners got an update on the $42 million project happening on Broad Street.
This is a multi-phase construction project with phase one, including Milledge Road and 15th Street, already underway.
The meeting follows a previous meeting held earlier this month where local businesses weighed in on the project.
After seeing the plans, business owners decided to meet alongside city officials to talk about their concerns.
Some owners say a plan to beautify downtown Augusta could do more harm than good.
“We felt like there was a need to get together and get on the same page, have everyone express concerns,” says Penelope Ballas-Stewart, a 4th generation owner of Luigi’s.
Parking has been a huge concern. Originally, plans took the number of parking spaces from 750 to 480.
Business owners say any amount of parking lost is devastating.
“A potential solution is to convert some of these ancillary streets to one way so that we can add additional side parking,” says Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson.
The streets being considered for this change are Ellis and Reynolds.
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But parking isn’t the only concern.
“It’s the staging of these different projects with projects still happening on Green Street, on Telfair, before we move on to Broad Street,” Ballas-Stewart says.
Mayor Johnson says he understands.
“We’re going to do our due diligence to make sure that we’re going to finish a product before we move forward with an additional project,” Johnson says.
Another concern is lighting.
“Parking on Ellis or Reynolds or Jones Street certainly presents a challenge with the lighting,” says Johnson. “Make sure that all of the entertainment venues that Broad Street offers will have the ability to park and enjoy it safely.”
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The meeting wasn’t just about problems, but solutions too.
“It’s comforting to know that there’s at least communication now,” says Ballas-Stewart. “We’ve been told that plans are being revised, and some parking is being added back in. There’s just still the question as to what that exactly will entail.”
For people like Ballas-Stewart, it’s about being able to stay downtown.
“We just celebrated 75 years last and I would love to be down here another 75 years,” Ballas-Stewart says. “We don’t intend to break tradition and move out of downtown. We really hope that things can get worked out and the infrastructure will be here for us to remain.”
Many of these topics are being talked about tomorrow at the committee meeting.
Mayor Johnson says the focus is making sure everyone’s voices are heard.
Copyright 2025 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
Augusta, GA
Driver seriously injured in car crash
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Augusta, GA
Dozens arrested, cited in Richmond County checkpoint blitz
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AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – A blitz of safety checkpoints over the weekend led to dozens of arrests and citations of drivers across the region.
In Richmond County, officers removed at least 20 impaired drivers from roads.
The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, East Central Traffic Enforcement Network, Governor’s Office of Highway Safety and Georgia State Patrol conducted checks between 8 p.m. Friday and 3 a.m. Saturday.
According to Capt. Mike Lewis of the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, the safety checks also led to:
- Nine seat belt citations.
- Five child safety seat citations.
- Two uninsured motorist citations.
- 10 suspended driver’s license citations.
- Two suspended tag citations.
- One arrest for an outstanding warrant.
- One arrest on felony drug charges.
Lewis called the operation “a great success in making Richmond County’s roads safer,” saying, “We look forward to continued collaboration to enhance roadway safety in our community.”
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Officers also assisted numerous families by ensuring children were properly secured in appropriate car seats, deputies said.
“You never know when you might save a child’s life at an event such as this,” said Grovetown Police Chief Jamey Kitchens, who serves as the East Central Traffic Enforcement Network coordinator for an 11-county region. “Through the Department of Health and ECTEN, we were able to provide complimentary car seats to those in need helping us to further our goal of saving lives.”
Powell Harrelson of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety emphasized the legality of the safety checks, stating: “Road checks such as these are legal as determined by the U.S. Supreme Court in Michigan v. Sitz and reaffirmed by the Georgia Supreme Court for Georgia’s roadways. While you may never know how many lives are saved through checkpoints, studies by the CDC and other meta-analyses have shown that these efforts reduce alcohol-related crashes and encourage responsible decision-making.”
Copyright 2025 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
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