VALDOSTA —
Some of the most sweeping and broad legislation has been passed under the current administration, the latest of which is the financial reform bill. Consumers need to educate themselves on all of the changes under the bill as they impact us all.
However, trying to educate yourself is a challenge. If you try an Internet search, looking at various news sites, you will find as many versions of the “truth” behind the financial reform bill as you will sightings of Bigfoot. And all are about as believable.
As is most often the case, the truth lies somewhere in between the outliers. So, perusing a half dozen or so different news outlets, several things are apparent. One is that the sheer size of the reform bill has precluded even those with tremendous resources from delving too deeply into it and the other is that there are as many conflicting ways to look at it as there are the health care reform plan.
What is fairly evident, though, is that there will be definite changes in the way that the home mortgages are handled. New rules requiring banks to verify incomes and to ensure that the borrower can actually afford the house they want and can pay the loan back. Consumers will also be allowed to prepay their mortgages with no penalties.
Other changes on the way include how failing banks will be dealt with and there will be more resources for consumers to learn about financial planning.
Although the reforms did not venture into a number of issues, such as student loans, this may be a step in the right direction to help shore up the economy. At any rate, once this becomes law, you will need to understand how it will impact your life, so be prepared.
Business Roundup
Sad to say that Carlton Outdoors is closed. The store has been a mainstay for hunters and outdoorsmen and has been closed for about two weeks, and I’ve been leaving messages around town to find someone who could tell me why. In the meantime, the store has been cleaned out. If someone knows if they are going to reopen in a new location, please let me know.
There is a new antique store coming into downtown Valdosta, so be on the lookout for more information about Into the Past.
It looks like much of The Ambling Company’s Residences at Five Points apartment development is complete and actively being rented out.
Oh, and good news for the City of Valdosta. According to the city manager, until they begin development of the portion of Five Points that they purchased, they’ll receive rent payments from the businesses located there.
Hahira Mini Storage is now open on Marshall Street in Hahira, right behind Just Off Main Antiques & Interiors. They’re all new with security lights, etc.
Walmart on Norman Drive is getting ready for a major renovation to the store. They’re putting more than $1.2 million into the project to spruce up the interior and exterior.
The Scruggs Company is moving in the next week or so to a new office on River Street, next door to where they are currently. The company bought the old office that belonged to Hood Packaging and has renovated the building to house their corporate offices.
Sadly, it looks like a private prison that was potentially going to locate in Valdosta is going to Bainbridge instead. Corrections Corporation of America operates correctional facilities across the country and had looked at a site locally as well.
That’s about it for this week, but if there’s anything I missed, please let me know!
Business
Business This Week: What does financial reform mean?
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Gayla’s Grits: A Taste of the South
What started as a unique Christmas gift for family and friends has turned into the go-to business for the best grits in town and, possibly, the world.
Gayla’s Grits, owned by husband-and-wife duo Kevin and Gayla Shaw, began in 1997 while grinding naturally grown white corn for personal consumption. -
Graduates heading into the real world
Over the last week or so, thousands of high school students in our area have graduated and are preparing for their next step in life. Some are going straight to college, others are seeking military careers, some are going straight to work, and there are most likely quite a few who have no real plans or idea what to do next.
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Have A Happy Free Birthday!
The only thing better than a birthday is a free birthday. I would know, because my birthday was on Friday and, yes, I am absolutely using the newspaper as a platform for a free birthday ad because Facebook just doesn’t do it for me anymore.
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Valdosta Shared Office Space
VALDOSTA — Though Valdosta Shared Office Space is not new to Valdosta, it is newly green. The first and only shared office space in Valdosta owned by Gino Fina, just became the first Downtown Valdosta business to work with the Georgia Cities Foundation’s Green Communities Fund to implement environmentally friendly, energy-efficient improvements, reducing energy consumption upwards of 50 percent. -
Downtown businesses to be mobbed this week
A few years ago, when everyone started talking through social media, flash mobs became the new in thing to do. Primarily in the big cities, although VSU did their own a year or two ago, a designated place and time would be set and masses of people would descend on these sites, sometimes dancing, sometimes singing, sometimes acting obnoxiously.
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Keep tails wagging when your budget is lagging
I have a problem. Though I am a tight-wad when it comes to spending my money, I cannot resist the calling to buy adorable toys, collars and, yes, even clothes for my three cuter than all get out fur babies.
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The Valdosta Mall: Revamped and Ready for Business!
VALDOSTA — The Valdosta Mall has made tremendous strides since its rebranding away from Colonial Mall in 2007 and it’s refocus in 2008 when it made a move from serving the community to being a part of the community.
“We had taken for granted our place in the community for a long time,” said Jerry Weller, general manager of the Valdosta Mall. “We don’t do that anymore.” -
Keep your clothes looking fab to avoid looking drab
As I get older, I’m beginning to learn that there are more important things than clothes. Ugh! It pains me to even form that sentence; however, it’s true.
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Business This Week: Happy Mother’s Day!
Today is the one day a year dedicated to celebrating mothers, although we all use their guidance and wisdom every day. But for this one day, their sacrifices, kindness, love, and advice are recognized, hopefully, by the children they raised or helped to raise. It might not even be those born to them, as most mothers don’t limit their love and it flows over onto their children’s friends, family members, and the children they influence in the classroom, in Sunday school and in volunteer activities.
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Downtown will have a new beat this week
The Brown Bag Concert Series produced by Valdosta Main Street will begin again on Monday and last all week.
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