Augusta, GA

Future of Augusta Historic Preservation Commission still on hold

Published

11 months ago

April 2, 2025

Future of Augusta Historic Preservation Commission still on hold

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The future of the Augusta Historic Preservation Commission remains uncertain after months of back-and-forth between city leaders.

Commissioners met on Wednesday to discuss possible changes to the ordinance.

This comes after the panel came under fire from city leaders over the decaying Old First Baptist Church.

Some leaders want to do away with the ordinance, while others are fighting for it to stay.

We caught up with Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson and Augusta Commission member Catherine Smith-Rice after the meeting.

“Decisions made, especially as it relates to homeowners, that it be brought before the commission before going to arbitration,” said Johnson. “No homeowner who’s bearing the costs of renovating a property that’s potentially hundreds of years old should have to bear the costs of an attorney if they are just trying to bring their house up to standard, so I would hope that decision would be brought before the governing body.”

“Augusta is an old city, and with what we have in Summerville, we’ve got a lot of old structures, so no, I don’t believe in doing away with the historic preservation,” said Smith-Rice. “They’ve been here for a while, we continue to keep them, and we need to work together.”

Commissioners talked about the guidelines within each district, the impact of downtown blight, and tax credits.

Johnson also says leaders are working on plans to help work on vacant buildings in the city.

“We had one of the best leadership organizations visiting our city and wanted to take a picture of the beautiful James Brown statue, but unfortunately, behind the James Brown statue is an eyesore. So, we are continuing to have conversations about how we could perhaps bring these buildings that are vacant to some level of decorum.”

Commissioners are expected to make a decision at the next committee meeting.

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Augusta, GA

Augusta Falls to Georgia Southwestern in Final Game of the Series – Augusta University

Published

11 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Augusta Falls to Georgia Southwestern in Final Game of the Series – Augusta University

Augusta, Ga. – Augusta managed just five hits and one run and fell to Georgia Southwestern 12-1 Sunday as the Hurricanes win two of the three games of the series. The Jaguars are now 7-2 in Peach Belt Conference play and 11-8 overall. The Canes improve to 7-2 in conference play and 12-7 overall.

Georgia Southwestern scored runs in all but one inning including four runs in the first two innings and plated five runs in the fifth, highlighted by a grand slam.

The only Augusta run would come in the fourth inning. Landon Leonard would reach on an error and would come around when Kent Moon reached on a fielder’s choice that would plate Leonard.

Leonard, Moon, Davis Newman, Harris Bachelder and Jakob Cowart would collect the hits for the Jaguars.

Augusta will next be in action on Friday when the open up a three game series with Lander at Jaguar Field. First pitch on Friday is set for 6:00 p.m.

Fans of Jaguar Athletics can subscribe to the email listserve by clicking here. Fans can follow Augusta University at www.augustajags.com and receive short updates on Facebook at Augusta University Athletics and on Twitter at @AugustaJags.

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Augusta, GA

Protestors in downtown Augusta speak out after strikes on Iran

Published

23 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Protestors in downtown Augusta speak out after strikes on Iran

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Local protestors made their voices heard after Israel and the U.S. announced strikes on Iran Saturday, ones that killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, reports say.

Protesters lined 13th Street in Downtown Augusta and walked across the river to North Augusta to make sure as many people as possible heard them.

50501 CSRA already had a march planned for Saturday, but in light of the strikes on Iran, decided to expand its focus.

Local leaders spoke about their concerns for the strikes, and roughly 60 people showed up to share theirs as well.

One of the event organizers said to make your voice heard your voice heard.

“Just call your people, call your representatives, if you don’t like that Iran was bombed, I don’t either. But call people and let them know, email them. Let it be relentless. Congress did not approve this. They have a say in this,” Zee Cook said.

The strike is being called “Operation Epic Fury,” with Iran responding with multiple missile and drone strikes across the Middle East.

In a social media post, President Trump said the bombing of the country will continue “as long as necessary.”

People across the world began lining the streets as well in support and against the decision.

Leaders across the world reacted to the news, including those in Georgia and South Carolina.

There’s a protest planned in Charleston and other regional cities this week.

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