Augusta, GA

Augusta sees $740K economic impact from events in February

Published

2 years ago

February 26, 2024

Augusta sees 0K economic impact from events in February

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – March is just around the corner, but the city of Augusta is taking time to celebrate hundreds of thousands of dollars brought in through February through events like the Augusta half marathon, conferences, and more.

February was a busy month for Augusta, from conferences to sporting events more than 4000 people visited the CSRA, bringing an economic impact of over $740,000 to the city.

Local businesses also felt the love from visitors and sales and hope it continues into spring; hoping this early rush becomes their new normal.

“We definitely saw an uptick. I mean, there’s all the events that have been happening downtown, new bars that have been opening downtown, restaurants all coming together. I think people starting to realize that downtown’s place to be so February was great. If you compare it to last year. It’s tremendous. Yeah, big difference between last year and this year,” said Manny Hatzis, owner of Manny’s Sports off Broad.

Manny’s Sports off Broad has seen more people walk in their doors, especially from out of town.

“Comparing numbers, we don’t really see a big tick until like maybe March and then you get this of course we get our masters uptick. But really this early is kind of unique. So it’s nice to see that,” he said.

They are hoping to stay busy, helping not only their business but also Augusta grow.

“I also think that all the events that we’ve had, and all those little shows that we’ve had really helped a lot. And I look forward to more of those with the new James Brown Arena in the future,” said Hatzis.

And when events come to town, they’re ready. Some events, like the Augusta Half Marathon do what they can to support local businesses.

“We’ve been really conscientious about using more local businesses in our race. So for example, the metal design and the t shirt design, it’s from a local artist, Jason Craig. And we’ve gotten the year from a local, you know, local business here, and we’ve done the screen printing from a local business,” said Michelle Pippin, Augusta Sports Council CEO.

Allowing more money to go right back into the city, bringing more people back to the CSRA.

“These new restaurants that have opened up and all these other clubs that have opened up, people can now make it a destination. Downtown can be a destination and that’s a great thing. That’s what it was in the old days. I think it’ll start doing that again,” Hatzis said.

With Masters coming up, local businesses hope this wave continues into March and April.

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Augusta, GA

AU to cut ribbon on new Student Health Services building

Published

7 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

AU to cut ribbon on new Student Health Services building

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Augusta University is set to cut the ribbon on a new Student Health Services building on Friday.

The ribbon cutting will be held at 2:30 p.m. at 1465 Laney Walker Boulevard in Augusta.

The event will showcase the field of college health and the role the services have on students’ personal development and academic success.

The clinic relocated to the new space last month to make way for AU’s advanced research and clinical innovation, according to officials.

At the event, there will also be snacks, interactive games and clinic tours.

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Augusta, GA

Law enforcement converges on home in west Augusta

Published

19 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Law enforcement converges on home in west Augusta

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – There was a large law enforcement presence Thursday morning at a home in west Augusta near Fort Gordon.

The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office and Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force were in the area attempting to find a suspect, according to deputies.

Witnesses said around 11:25 a.m. that officers had been surrounding a home at Harper-Franklin Avenue and Covington Court.

That’s in a neighborhood of mostly two-story brick-fronted homes built in the past three or four years just east of Jimmie Dyess Parkway and a couple of blocks north of Gordon Highway.

As noon approached, law enforcement had left.

But a Facebook post from earlier did show a large presence,including marked and unmarked cars, and officers all around the house. A witness said police dogs were on the scene, as well.

News 12 has reached out to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office for information.

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Augusta, GA

Augusta mayoral candidate holds town hall as election season begins

Published

1 day ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Augusta mayoral candidate holds town hall as election season begins

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Steven Kendrick held a town hall on Wednesday at the Henry Brigham Community Center as he prepares to challenge Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson.

Kendrick, who serves as chief deputy tax commissioner for Richmond County, previously ran against Johnson in 2022. The town hall was part of Kendrick’s campaign tour as he seeks to unseat the incumbent mayor.

“Some of the people felt as though we really needed to dig a little deeper and we dug a little deeper,” Kendrick said after the meeting. “But that’s how you gain understanding, where everybody’s not going to agree about everything. Some of them we didn’t agree on. I certainly enjoyed the interaction. I learned some things, and I hope they learned some things as well.”

Multiple Commission seats up for election

The mayoral race is not the only contest facing Richmond County voters. Several Augusta Commission seats are up for election across multiple districts.

District 8 will have a new commissioner because Commissioner Brandon Garrett is term-limited and cannot run again. Michael Cioffi and Evett Williams have filed to run for the District 8 seat.

Districts 2, 4, 6 and 10 are also up for election. Stacy Pulliam currently serves in District 2.

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