we're all the BUZZ!

Neil Gordon owns Buzz on Biz, LLC, a company dedicated to highlighting business growth through Newspaper, Television, Radio, and Web content. Story idea? E-mail neil.gordon@buzzon.biz

“HEY HONEY, LET’S HIT THE OUTLET MALL IN GROVETOWN!”
This could happen. Developers and outlet mall experts look for key research when they plan their next project.


Land? Check. Grovetown. Proximity to an interstate? Check. I-20. Growth in the area? Check. Columbia County is GOLD. Positive research? Check. 95% of the 4,000 people surveyed by the Columbia County Planning Department said “yes” to wanting an outlet mall in the county.


“We use our research, demographics and numbers to try to encourage and motivate realtors and developers to look at us for an outlet mall,” said Columbia County Planning Director Nanya Mistry.


About a year ago, she conducted another survey asking residents what stores and restaurants they would like to relocate here. Outlet malls came in fourth place.


“We try to get the citizens what they ask for,” said Ms. Mistry.




Roses Are Red Violets Are Blue, We Opened JUST In 
The Nick of Time – WHEW!
Talk about cutting it close before a big holiday, Tonya Jones, owner of Creations and Blessings, opened her flower and gift shop the Saturday before Valentine’s Day! She’s in a building on Walton Way near the Partridge Inn, formerly the home of DaVinci Bakery Shop.


Specialty Shoe Store to Close
Foot Solutions, an upscale, medically-focused shoe store, is offering a 50% discount as part of their Going Out Of Business sale in Mullins Crossing. They will accept cash and checks. The franchisee is known for painstakingly using their high-tech machines to measure foot sizes and determine stressors on clients’ knees, hips and back to find the right fit. 


$300,000 Contract Goes to South Augusta Company
Acme Moving Systems, part of a major moving, storage, data and shredding group of companies,  just won the bid to move out all of the judge’s chambers, offices, courtrooms and more from the Municipal Building to the new Augusta Richmond County Judicial Center.  The company is headquartered on the Mike Padgett Highway and will send at least 20 employees to work on the move for a period of about 90 days. The Judicial Center is expected to open in downtown Augusta in May.


Happy Anniversary To A Niche Business On The Hill
“Tea With A Dutchess” made it a year on Monte Sano Avenue. That may not seem like a major accomplishment, but consider the economy and their specialty services: afternoon tea, dress-up parties, tea and crumpets, etc. Congratulations to Laura Simmons. Business is tough. Running a niche business is tougher.


He’ll “Pump You Up” for Nine More Years
Happy ninth anniversary for uber-certified fitness trainer Jay Garrison of  OneonOne-fitness.com. He celebrated this month by launching his website and getting back into his studio on Shartom Drive behind Applebee’s on Washington Road. Garrison has helped train high school and college athletes, physical therapy out-patients and those just out of shape. His passion is training golfers to work-out lower scores on the course with his stretching and training help.


“Ivan The Terrible” Grows His Fitness Business
Ivan Trinidad, who has some healthy fish dishes named after him at Rhinehart’s Oyster Bar, is now helping some of the 1,300 employees at Doctor’s Hospital. He is leading spin classes for them at a new fitness area at the Joseph M. Still Burn Center. His existing business, The Spinning Gallery and Nutrition Center, continues to flourish at their flagship location on Old Petersburg and Baston Road.




All Of That Exercise Is Making Me Want A SWEET TREAT!
Dunkin Donuts is getting ready to open a second location in Aiken on Whiskey Road next to Five Guys Burgers and Fries. Go ahead and treat yourself!

SOUTHERN COUNTRY ROCK in Augusta

Blackberry Smoke introduced Augustans to their hard-driving mix of rock, country and Southern rock in late 2009, shortly after the release of their major label debut, Little Piece of Dixie. At that time, Brit Turner – drums, Charlie Starr – vocals/guitar/pedal steel/banjo, Richard Turner – bass/vocals, Brit Turner – drums, Paul Jackson – guitar/vocals and Brandon Still – keyboards, were on the road with Lynyrd Skynyrd. 
     

This month, the Atlanta band returns to Augusta to headline a club date, one of many on a never-ending tour. Verge spoke with Brit Turner about the band’s history and the thrill of tracking with Dann Huff, one of the industry’s most revered guitarists and producers.




To read the entire article please visit: www.vergelive.com
see page 25

John Corabi is hitting "Rock Bottom". Music that is...

There was a time, many years ago, when my life revolved around the flash and fun of ‘80s hair metal. My record collection was my bible and MTV’s Head Banger’s Ball, my church. Every Saturday night at midnight, I would congregate with the rest of the faithful for a weekly service of bombastic rock and roll. While it’s true that I was baptized by the sounds of ‘70s bands such as Kiss and Ted Nugent, the ‘80s brought forth a revival that would take rock and metal to new heights. Even in a concert-starved city like Augusta, it was hard not to notice that there was more to the flash and glamour of Los Angeles California than just movies. Unfortunately, only a handful of these bands dared to venture into the “Garden City.” 


by JOHN “STONEY” CANNON


to read the entire article please go to: www.vergelive.com  page 24

Stillwater has got the BLUES

Southerners typically view Athens, Georgia, as the mecca of new, cutting edge music.  While that is true, Athens also produces groups that have their roots deep in classic, traditional music.  One such group is Packway Handle Band who will be playing at Stillwater Taproom on February 18th. 

To read more of this story please go to: www.vergelive.com

page 25

LOCAL: AUGUSTA LOCALLY GROWN

This Market Connects Farm to Table & Promotes Sustainable Living

We drove up to the pavilion in Evans where Augusta Locally Grown meets. The tables were covered in plastic bags full of produce and other things. A few people were coming and going. I told the children I care for that we were going on an adventure to see a different kind of grocery store, where farmers bring fresh goods for their customers. Five-year-old Molly, upon seeing the pavilion, the bags and the people coming and going, said, “That is a little grocery store.”


She’s right. Augusta Locally Grown is a small community of growers, farmers, bakers and artisans connecting directly to their customers, all of whom live and work in and around Augusta and are committed to sustainable living. Yet, this community thrives on being small. It is an online-based market whereby customers see what vendors have available each week, order a specific quantity of whatever they want, and then pick it up from a vendor drop-off location within a few days. They meet first at the Augusta Jewish Community Center in Evans, where the farmers drop off their goods and the first round of customers picks up on Tuesday afternoons. There are additional pick-up locations later that day at Fireside Outdoor Kitchens and Grills on Broad Street and at the Riverwood Plantation in Evans.

To read the entire article please follow the link:

www.vergelive.com

see page 15.

ZIV KOREN - leads a life on the edge

 – capturing the ongoing conflict in his homeland of Israel on film. He has served as a photographer for the Israeli army, the Prime Minister and an Israeli daily newspaper. In 1994, Koren’s image of a suicide bomb attack on a Tel Aviv bus, which left 23 dead, brought him national attention as the shot landed on the front page of the New York Times.


A few years later, Koren opted for the world of freelance and began focusing on photographing people to tell their story – such as the award-winning “Louai Mer’I, a Sergeant, is Going Home,” which follows an injured soldier’s painful rehabilitation. 


In a profile by Canon Ambassadors, Koren said, “I try to cover conflict, people, poverty, aid, immigration and war. I try to tell a story that can open up a view that people were not aware of previously.”


Koren is now an international photojournalist and his work routinely appears in Time and Newsweek, among others “The sheer volatility of the region in which [Koren] lives and works, the rise of suicide bombers, and the ever changing face of Israeli politics made him (and still makes him) one of the chief documentors of a fascinating but bloodcurdling period in Israel’s history,” states the Canon review. 


Syd Padgett, owner of Oddfellows Art Gallery, took a long shot in mid-December and contacted Koren. Within a day, Koren personally and positively responded. Over the next month, through a flurry of emails, Koren and Padgett planned the Augusta exhibit. “I hope this exhibit gives the people of Augusta a wider view of the situation [in Israel]. The pictures of the soldiers with the children are especially eye-opening,” says Padgett. Poignant, gritty and heart-breaking at times, Koren’s photographs expose a reality with which most Americans have no connection – a country and a people torn by war. 


Koren’s exhibit will run through the end of April at Oddfellows Art Gallery, 301 8th Street in downtown Augusta. Find Oddfellows on Facebook.


ZIVKOREN.COM 

VIEWPOINT

Take Action to End Use of Children in War


When three college students – Jason Russell, Laren Poole and Bobby Bailey – traveled to Africa in 2003 in search of a story to film; little did they know they would stumble into the war-torn country of Uganda. The Uganda war continues with child soldiers led by Joseph Kony and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), raging through central Africa leaving behind devastation and ruin. 

The war started in 1986 in northern Uganda and, since then, there have been over 30,000 children abducted, over 100,000 civilians killed and another 1.8 million citizens have been displaced. Since 2006, the LRA has advanced towards the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic and Sudan. Jason, Laren and Bobby returned home with footage of these atrocities and started Invisible Children, Inc., a global movement that is changing lives. 


Invisible Children uses film, narration and social activism to raise awareness. Through this awareness they hope to help to end the war and restore the communities in Central Africa to peace and prosperity. Through creativity, Invisible Children has presented and accurately portrayed the tragic realities of the child soldiers with artistic quality. The non-profit raises awareness and propels the viewers and volunteers to participate and advocate against this war. Not only are they advocating against the war, they are also raising funds for rehabilitation in the communities. These programs are helping to rescue former child soldiers, raising the standard of education and offering counsel and support to the individuals that have been affected by the war. 


According to UNICEF, “A ‘child soldier’ is defined as any child – boy or girl – under 18 years of age, who is part of any kind of regular or irregular armed force or armed group in any capacity, including, but not limited to: cooks, porters, messengers, and anyone accompanying such groups other than family members. It includes girls and boys recruited for sexual purposes and/or forced marriage. The definition, therefore, does not only refer to a child who is carrying, or has carried weapons.”


I have a passion to work for non-profit organizations and raise awareness in the community. I coordinated an event in December 2010 for Falling Whistles, an organization that advocates against the use of children as human shields in the war in Congo. I learned of Falling Whistles through my sister, when I asked her about the whistle on her keychain two years ago. After researching the organization, I was moved to become an active member in the society. I continued with my research and found Invisible Children and came in direct contact with them when they visited Augusta State University last year. I came to the realization that if someone could be driven towards helping a cause and a community after one conversation, then what could an event do if they reached more than one individual?


Invisible Children is visiting Augusta State University once again on February 21, 2011 at 5:30 p.m. The event will be held at the D. Douglas Barnard Jr. Amphitheatre on the ASU campus. There will be a screening of their new film, Tony, and a discussion with the “roadies,” the energetic volunteers from Invisible Children, and Evelyn Adong, a mentor from northern Uganda. Come join us at the screening and help spread the word about the cause, and discover the tools to end this war. 


My mission is not only propelling myself to continue as a volunteer for bettering a global community, but to inspire others to become involved as well. There is a sense of fulfillment when one dedicates their time to a cause, to enhance an understanding and to contribute to the visual and social movement of mankind. 


EDITOR’S NOTE: For more information on Invisible Children, visit INVISIBLECHILDREN.COM. For more on Falling Whistles, visit FALLINGWHISTLES.COM.


A photography and psychology student at Augusta State University, Maleeha Ahmad hopes to use her photography to call viewers to action through art that empowers, inspires and provokes them to make a difference. She is passionate about traveling, family and friends, coffee and good food.