It’s almost been a week since Augusta Mayor Hardie Davis held a news conference calling for state legislators to change the city’s 1995 consolidation bill to give the mayor significantly more authority, but the tremors from his announcement are still being felt across Richmond County. While Davis was all smiles prior to the Augusta Commission’s […]
Rumor has become reality regarding a proposal before the Columbia County Commission to require promoters to provide 20 all-access tickets to shows held in the Columbia County Exhibition Center. Barry Smith, director of the county’s Community & Leisure Services Division, told commissioners this week that his department is proposing revising the rental contracts for the […]
At the first signs of spring, everyone’s instinct is to head outdoors, relax and enjoy the beautiful weather. Add live music, tasty food, a cold beer and several thousand friends to the mix and you have a festival that can’t be missed. Welcome to the Metro Spirit’s Spring Festival Guide that will definitely jump-start your […]
To the Editor: It was a true delight reading about Dr. Edward Cashin and his contributions to the history of Augusta (“Cashin’s Augusta,” February 5). Your article was thoroughly researched, comprehensive and well written. However, many do not know that Ed Cashin himself had a rich history before he came to Augusta in 1969. I […]
When Augusta Mayor Hardie Davis called for the state legislature to change the city’s 1995 consolidation bill last week to allow for the mayor to have more authority such as veto power, the ability to hire and fire all city department heads and submit the city’s budget, he perhaps should have had more discussions with […]
When Mayor Hardie Davis came up with the campaign slogan, “OneAugusta” last year, he said that it meant he wanted a “unified Augusta.” Prior to taking office, Davis frequently spoke about how he looked forward to “working with the commission” to truly transform the city. And during his first six weeks in office, he has […]
Kevin Gillespie keeps collecting accolades. The Atlanta chef became a household name in 2009 when he became a finalist on Top Chef’s season 6. He was beloved that season as much for his humble attitude (more apparent considering it was such a sharp contrast with the eventual winner, the douchy
Dear Mr. Mayor: Rough week, huh? You found out the hard way that no matter what “deals or arrangements” you have with your fellow elected officials, if you don’t have those discussions in the light of day, and hopefully in front of lots of witnesses (and reporters), you might
Because I’m lazy and kind of an idiot, I thought about churning out another tired post-Academy Awards column this week. And, seeing as how I’m certainly not above sentencing low-hanging fruit to death by katana — to the best of my recollection, one year’s Oscar fallout column dealt exclusively
Please forgive me. I’ve been preoccupied lately, and I haven’t had time to think about anything very interesting. I know about the weather and my kids, and I’ve taken the time to have an occasional glass of wine with my husband to talk about both. These phases happen, I suppose. My house is a
Years from now, the world will look back on February 26, 2015, as the day that the Internet began to die. Today, the FCC reclassifies the Internet as a common carrier service and imposes archaic 1930s-era regulation upon the most innovative and creative culture since the Renaissance. Very soon,
For a benefit concert that is only five years old, Music for Memories has been able to secure some pretty big-name talent. Lee Brice, Montgomery Gentry and Scotty McCreery have all taken the Country Club stage and, this year, it’s Cole Swindell’s turn to help raise money for the Jud C. Hickey
If you ever need a couple of hours of quality alone time, check out a matinee showing of “Hot Tub Time Machine 2″ the day of the Oscars. You won’t ever have this chance again, I’m afraid, given that there’s not a snowball’s chance in a hot tub that “Hot
Many policymakers embrace the idea that job creation is the work of a select class of individuals. These individuals are affectionately referred to as “job creators.” They are commonly known as business owners. Business owners are people that take on a greater than usual financial risk in order
Mayor Hardie Davis surprised most of Augusta today by announcing a “call to action” for citizens to change Augusta’s form of government. We’ll let the mayor’s announcement speak for itself, but the tremors are already being felt across Richmond County. The following is a
For those long-time readers of the Metro Spirit, checking out Augusta’s weekly gripes about the community and public jabs at local leaders in the Whine Line has become a weekly tradition. So, when the newspaper experienced a minor glitch in its email system last week and couldn’t run the Whine
A high school lecture… sometime in the next century… [The teacher continues…] In the winter of 2015, a group of researchers from Kaspersky Lab released their findings in regards to a suite of malware that had been discovered over the last decade. This software is attributed to the efforts of
So I got to spend a couple of days in a hospital last week. It’s something I get really excited about. If you can’t pick up on the sarcasm, I’ll go ahead and tell you that I would have rather rub porcupines in my eyes while shoving my hands down a garbage disposal… and I […]
“West Side Story” may be one of Debi Ballas’ favorite musicals, but there’s a good reason the Augusta Players haven’t staged a production of it in a very long time. “We did it 11 years ago,” laughed Ballas, director of the musical that shows this weekend at the Imperial Theatre, “and it took me
When Augusta Mayor Pro Tem Grady Smith proposed last week requiring commission approval for out-of-state trips, several of his colleagues were not pleased. This week, Smith was even more specific in his request by asking that all out-of-state trips not only require commission approval, but that
It’s no secret that the separation of church and state has never been a huge priority in Richmond County’s school system. Almost any day of the week, students can walk into area schools and hear a number of teachers and, in some cases, even principals, talk about God and lessons from the Bible.
Last week, the Insider decided to shed a little light on the sweetheart deal that Morris Communications, parent company of The Augusta Chronicle, has with its private hangar at Augusta Regional Airport. Basically, “Hangar 3” out at the airport houses private jets owned by William S. Morris III,
“Fifty Shades of Grey,” the tedious new romantic comedy, purports to be about sex, but is instead about two hours too long. In it, a college student named Anastasia Steele falls immediately for a striking billionaire named Christian Grey, who unlike most very good looking very
There are three things Tricie Scholer wants her restaurant to be known for, and the first should be obvious from its name. Tricie and her husband Jan have owned Wild Wing Cafe on Washington Road for almost 11 years now. That’s long enough for their son Daniel to become the general manager and
When Whole Foods held its grand opening in Washington Crossing last September, hundreds of people lined up to taste the store’s amazing Italian gelato, freshly baked bread, extensive food bar and French roast coffee. Not long after, stores such as HomeGoods and DSW opened their doors to the
According to local reports, on June 19, 2014, a 20-year-old woman named Alicia Manigault left her then two-week-old child in the back seat of her SUV from 8 a.m. until 8:50 a.m. She did this so that she could take an exam. Needless to say, many members of the community were outraged. Even for a