Augusta, GA
What the Tech: How do you get started using NFC tags?
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AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – If you’ve been on TikTok, or Instagram lately, you may have seen some buzz about a technology called NFC tags.
Many people are sharing some of the things they have automated using these plastic tags by tapping them with their phones.
Some are very impressive, such as tapping a tag for movie night. Tapping the tag triggers a string of commands that close automated blinds, turn down the lights, open Netflix on the TV, and even start making popcorn with a popcorn maker connected to a smart plug.
Who doesn’t want to do something like that? How do you get started using NFC tags?
We purchased a pack of 50 NFC tags on Amazon for $15. They’re very small, about the size of a quarter. To program the tags you need to open the Shortcuts app on an iPhone.
They can also be used with Android phones and we’ll get to that below. On an iPhone open the Shortcuts app and select a shortcut.
If you haven’t used it before, the app has several “starter shortcuts” and many others in a gallery. These shortcuts allow users to start things in motion using just one tap on the screen or by asking Siri.
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They can also be triggered through an NFC tag. We selected a shortcut called “Home ETA” which automatically gathers our current location and driving conditions and sends a text message saying we’re on our way, with an estimated time of arrival.
To complete setup of the Shortcut you just need to enter your home address and select who you want to send the messages to.
Once the shortcut is created and saved, go back into the Shortcuts menu and select “Automation” at the bottom of the screen, then tap on the plus sign in the top right corner of the screen.
This calls up a page called “Personal Automation”. Scrolling down the page, select “NFC”. It will ask to scan a tag which you do by placing the phone next to one of the NFC tags.
It also wants to know if you want it to run the command automatically or run it after confirmation. Select run automatically if you don’t want to tap on the screen after you tap the NFC Tag. After tapping “next”, look for the Home ETA shortcut you set up earlier.
That’s it. The next time you tap the tag it’ll send the text messages to the people you selected. You can create your automation and shortcuts to do more things. Set it up to control smart home devices you may have.
We set up a tag to turn on the lights in my office and begin playing an Apple Music playlist.
It takes some time to set up shortcuts and can be confusing.
We found it to be both complicated and maddening. On Android devices, we suggest downloading the app “NFC Tools” which is easier to use than the iPhone’s shortcuts app.
There are few limits to what you can use the NFC tags for, but it depends largely on your ability to figure things out without much direction from Apple and Android. You’re generating a computer code, and although there are a few shortcuts to writing them, it’s still difficult to set up the tags to do complicated things.
Can they change how you do some everyday tasks? Yes.
But we’ve found it’s easier to do some things just by asking Siri, Alexa, or Google Assistant.
Copyright 2023 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.

Augusta, GA
People gather at monument in downtown Augusta honoring independence

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The 15th annual Signer’s Monument celebration was held on Greene Street on Friday.
A 50-foot-tall monument stands there to honor the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Band members at the event talked about the importance of remembering the nation’s history.
“Sometimes we just have a barbecue or we have some kinds of family activities and things like that which are great, and we should do that. But, I think it’s important, and we fortunately got to come and do this ceremony today to remember what really the commemoration is all about,” said Tony Kirkland, who plays trumpet.

The monument itself is on the historic registry, and people can visit it anytime.
“[This is] in a lot of ways, certainly in the patriotic sense, is the most important holiday that we can have,” said Kirkland.
Copyright 2025 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
Augusta, GA
Tensions rise in Augusta neighborhood over proposed Parker’s Kitchen

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – District 7 Commissioner Tina Slendak, Sheriff Eugene Brantley and more officials met with over 40 members of the Montclair neighborhood Thursday afternoon.
The meeting took place because the neighbors strongly oppose the possibility of a new Parker’s Kitchen being built in a vacant lot.
The original plan was to build a doctor’s office, and the neighbors feel lied to as the new plan seems to mean more traffic to the area.
“The traffic is a big concern. Where there were 34 accidents last year, 18 so far this year, and three in one day,” said Thomasine Deer, lives in Montclair.
Slendak says the plan for a doctor’s office fell through.
“I really think the neighborhood didn’t think it was going to be rezoned to anything that would allow for a convenience store, and I think that’s the surprise right there,” said Slandak.
Slendak says not to be upset with Parker’s or at the planning and zoning committees.
“If you want to be mad, you know your beef is with the developer,” said Slendak.

Deer says neighbors weren’t told anything, and that this caught them by surprise.
“For some people, the largest investment that they have is their home. And so you know that’s unfortunately, that’s what we’re having to go through,” said Deer.
Slendak says she is going to do everything she can to help, whether that means the project shutting down or it gets sent back to rezoning, but she isn’t sure how the ordinance would get changed.
With the number of accidents that occur in the neighborhood, Deer says having fuel trucks going in and out would be a bad idea.

The proposed Parker’s Kitchen is still in the early stages of planning, but neighbors say this was the first of many meetings, and they plan to reach out to more city leaders and explore legal actions.
Copyright 2025 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
Augusta, GA
SENTENCED: Augusta killer who left dead mom’s body with kids

An Augusta man has been sentenced to life in prison plus 75 years for killing his new girlfriend last year and leaving her body in their home with her young daughters.
Davante Parks, 27, was convicted Thursday in the fatal shooting 27-year-old Laquana Lang at her home on 515 Hines Street. The Augusta District Attorney’s Office secured the victory after a jury returned a verdict of guilty on all counts after less than an hour of deliberation. Senior Superior Court Judge Daniel Craig handed down the sentence.
The parolee killed the victim last September while her daughters, ages 5 and 2, were upstairs. The residence is located within the Allen Homes subdivision. The children were reportedly left alone with their mother’s body for at least four hours and had to walk through her blood and crawl over her body to get help from a neighbor.
When officers arrived, they found a gruesome scene, including child-sized footprints in the blood. Parks had been dropped off at the house around 3:30 a.m. that Saturday, and the 5-year-old daughter told officers she heard her “stepdad” arguing with her mom. Authorities were notified hours later.
Parks was wanted and surrendered the next day. He was indicted for malice murder, felony murder, two counts of cruelty to children and multiple weapons possession.
Parks and Lang had started their relationship last summer, just days after Parks was paroled following an eight-year sentence for a previous shooting.

His parole conditions required him to live with his mother, find employment, avoid street gangs, pay $30 a month to a victim’s compensation fund and stay away from his previous shooting victim.
Parks was 18 years old in 2016 when he shot a woman repeatedly in Richmond County. The incident began when Parks’ friend, Marion Terry, sought revenge on Brittanie McKie, whom he suspected of setting him up after a robbery, according to previous reporting. Terry and Parks shot McKie, who survived despite being hit five times. A subsequent confrontation with Bilal Givens and another suspect led to more gunfire, resulting in Terry’s death.
Parks pleaded guilty before Superior Court Judge Sheryl B. Jolly. She sentenced him to 12 years of confinement and 13 years of probation, but he only served eight in prison before being paroled on July 16, 2024, according to court records.
Making matters worse, McKie told WRDW-TV that she was not notified about the release of the man who tried to kill her. She said nobody contacted her.
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