Media release: Ryan Earnest, President and CEO of Rome’s Heritage First Bank, announces that Jarrod S. Floyd, Vice President and Business Development Officer with Heritage First Bank, is among the 185 bankers receiving graduation diplomas from the graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University. This three-year program provides courses covering all aspects of banking, economics and related subjects. Participation… Read more
The local unemployment rates for May: Floyd: 3.6 percent, down from the previous month and from the same month last year. Bartow: 3.4 percent, down from April and down from May 2017. Gordon: 3.4 percent, down from the month before and from the same month in 2017. Polk: 3.7 percent, down from April of… Read more
Rome’s remodeled ALDI grocery at 836 Turner McCall Blvd. reopens Thursday, June 28, with an 8:25 a.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony as well as a “golden ticket” giveaway for the first 100 shoppers to win select prizes as well as a chance at the “produce for a year” sweepstakes. Opened in August 2014 on the site where… Read more
It wasn’t that long ago that Rome’s Downtown Development Authority was hearing about the need for residential to help balance the continued evolution and revitalization of Broad Street. That “live-work-play” mantra stuck and we’ve since seen a surge in lofts along Broad Street and connecting streets — some with monthly rents of $1,300 a month… Read more
Captain D’s of Rockmart is taking applications as the restaurant off U.S. 278 prepares to open. The above photo, from Saturday evening, shows just how close they are. The nearby Dairy Queen in Rockmart is taking applications and states interviews will be held around Wednesday of this week. The restaurant had a construction cost of… Read more
Renovations to the Rome Aldi store are nearing completion as the grocery store on Turner McCall next to Steak ‘n Shake prepares to reopen by the end of the month. All exterior renovations are complete with new logo signage installed. Crews were working Saturday to finish interior upgrades before restocking the store. Opened in… Read more
As we noted earlier this week, the Chick-fil-A at Cherokee Place in Cartersville is now closed for renovations. The restaurant was demolished Friday to make way for a new, redesigned restaurant slated to open in October. In the meantime, an “express” location with a limited menu is open in the nearby shopping center. Starting today,… Read more
Jake’s on the Lake coming to Cedar Bluff: This looks interesting. Jake’s on the Lake has set a noon Thursday, June 28, opening (EDT) off Ala. 9 (Ga. 20 on this side of the state line). Open for lunch, dinner and drinks (beer, frozen cocktails). The menu will feature Mahi Mahi tacos, sliders, barbecue and… Read more
Since opening in fall 2003, the Kroger at Riverbend Center off Turner McCall in Rome has been through some changes. It grew by almost 20,000 in recent years, saw a major upgrade to the pharmacy a year ago, recently added the “Click List” grocery pickup option and even the gas station has had a… Read more
Bass Pro on hold with any LakePoint plans: When announced in December 2012, LakePoint Sporting Community was to feature a 100,000-square-foot Bass Pro retail outlet. Sixty-six months later, the signage is down and now LakePoint is going through reorganization as well as a bankruptcy filing. Where does that leave Bass Pro, now merged with down-the-road… Read more
Local labor force: The good news is the number of people working in Rome/Floyd jumped 800 jobs compared to May 2017. That’s 100 more people working than in April of this year. May marked the second time this year the labor force has hit 41,600 people. First-time jobless claims: Floyd, Bartow, Gordon, Chattooga see increases;… Read more
THE LATEST On Wednesday’s Hometown Headlines Radio Edition on WRGA 98.7 FM, Bob Zurcher, manager and chief financial officer at LakePoint, joined us to talk about what’s next for the campus following Monday’s bankruptcy filing. We’ll post the audio from the interview soon. Here are some of the highlights: LakePoint expects up to… Read more
In context: Here’s a stunner for not only the local aviation community but for Rome/Floyd’s business community as well. Mike Mathews, who has led operations at Richard B. Russell Regional Airport/Towers Field for 21 years, is leaving to take over as director of Athens-Ben Epps Airport in Clarke County, effective July 9. Mathews… Read more
Annual Georgia Press Association awards presented: The Georgia Press Association honored the winners of the 2018 Better Newspaper Contestat the Jekyll Island Club during the group’s 132nd annual convention. Complete list here. Local winners Rome News-Tribune (division B, daily circulation of 8,000 to 17,999): Third place, humor column, Severo Avila Third place, investigative reporting, Spencer Lahr Third… Read more
Media release: The Board of Trustees of the Joint Apprenticeship Training Fund and the membership of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 926 announce they will be relocating and expanding their training facility to 90 acres in the Cedartown North Business Park. The investment will include land for heavy equipment training purposes that will… Read more