Accolades & More
Foundation Source, a provider of support services for private foundations, announced that company executive Tom Dittrich has relocated to Charleston to open a new office for the company. Dittrich joins Atlanta-based senior managing director Matt Brill to offer Foundation Source’s private foundation services throughout the Southeast region.
Charleston Area Therapeutic Riding Inc. announced the election of officers on its board of trustees: Martha Craft-Essig, president; Mallory Norvell, vice president; and Beverly K. Ballinger, secretary. Margaret…
People in the News
Mount Pleasant Fire Department promoted John Whetsell to training officer. Whetsell has 13 years of experience with the department.
The town of Mount Pleasant hired Jan Crates as deputy director of administrative services. Crates brings more than 15 years of municipal experience to the department.
Donald Automotive Group has hired John “Irish” Burke to oversee Low Country VW and Low Country Mazda in Mount Pleasant. For the past five years, Burke has worked as…
Calendar
MAY 29-31: South Carolina International Trade Conference. Conference will recognize scholarship winners. Registration: www.scitc.org. Information: Byron Miller, bmiller@scspa.com.
MAY 30: Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce business council. 7:30-9:30 a.m. at the Charleston Area Convention Center from 7:30-9:30 a.m. Topic: North ABC—North Charleston candidate forum. Cost: $15 in advance; $20 at the door. Information: Samantha Test, stest@Charlestonchamber.org. …
Slow housing market not affecting regions equally A recent analysis of the Charleston real estate market shows while the market is currently in a higher risk status, that does not mean certain segments are not performing well.
Plantations’ slavery exhibits hope to attract more tourists By Dennis Quick On the 450-acre Magnolia Plantation and Gardens a row of five wooden cabins stand in disrepair, but their survival reveals the legacy of the people that once occupied the tiny structures. our cabins built in the 1850s were homes to slaves, and one cabin built in 1900 was home to descendents of slaves.
Google begins active search for employees, vendors With construction “moving along nicely” on its new facility in the Mt. Holly Commerce Park in Goose Creek, Google has started looking for new employees and potential vendors to work at and support the work of the facility, a company spokesman said earlier this month.
Parish case keeping attorneys busy By Dan McCue While it’s still too early to tell how the investment fraud case against economist Al Parish will stack up in the annals of Charleston legal history, one thing is clear: Scores of attorneys both around town and throughout the Southeast are being kept busy by the case.
Local business thriving from ‘celebritydom’ By Kathleen Dayton The headlines tell the story: “Access Hollywood’s Nancy O’Dell expecting a girl.” “Kevin Costner, wife have baby boy.” “It’s official: Angelina adopts new son.” And remember Kim Fields, the actress who played schoolgirl Tootie on the 1980s television series “Facts of Life?” Fields welcomed a baby boy, Sam, on May 4.
Pets at work? A fetching idea for some companies By Kathleen Dayton Attention, employers. Would you like a more creative and productive environment in your workplace? Do you want to decrease absenteeism? Would you like your co-workers to get along better or improve the relationship between management and employees?
Town council approved Central Mount Pleasant project By Kathleen Dayton After more than a year of planning and public input, Mount Pleasant Town Council has passed a development agreement that will create a 110-acre mixed-use community in the heart of Mount Pleasant.
General Assembly overrides gov.’s affordable housing trust veto By Dennis Quick When Gov. Mark Sanford earlier this month vetoed the William C. Mescher Local Housing Trust Fund Enabling Act, a bill helping local governments create and operate local or regional housing trust funds that make more money available for low- and moderate-income housing, affordable housing advocates were stunned.
Hospitals move forward on Mount Pleasant facilities By Dennis Quick Roper St. Francis Healthcare and East Cooper Regional Medical Center have moved closer to the construction of their respective new Mount Pleasant hospitals.
Republicans all business at Columbia debate By Dan McCue If the atmosphere surrounding the first-in-the-South Democratic presidential debate in Orangeburg two weeks ago was that of an all-out party, their Republican counterparts’ gathering on the campus of the University of South Carolina in Columbia May 15 was all business, if not exactly about business.
Dem debate likely to have $30 million economic impact By Dan McCue The upcoming Democratic presidential debate in Charleston will likely have an economic impact on the city for more than a week and total $30 million if not more when all is said and done, said Patrick Norton, a spokesman for the S.C. Democratic Party.
Mikasa to close by spring 2008 By Holly Fisher Mikasa, a well-known maker of tableware and flatware, is closing its Charleston distribution facility by next spring.
Bi-partisan compromise reached on immigration reform legislation By Shelia Watson Key senators in both parties and the White House have reached an agreement on an immigration overhaul that would grant quick legal status to millions of illegal immigrants already in the country.
Santee Cooper to launch net billing pilot program By Shelia Watson After a year-long review of regulatory standards in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Santee Cooper’s board of directors has directed the utility’s staff to study the concept of net billing and present a pilot program for residential customers in the fall.
Chrysler sale won’t impact Sprinter plant By Dan McCue DaimlerChrysler AG’s proposed sale of 80.1% of the Chrysler Group to private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP is not expected to affect the activities or future of the company’s new Sprinter van plant in Ladson.
SCRA technology provides gunshot location systems for Birmingham By Shelia Watson ShotSpotter Inc., a California-based producer of gunshot location systems developed with technology created by the S.C. Research Authority, recently contracted with the city of Birmingham, Ala.
BackupKey rolls out to ‘big box’ stores at trade show By Shelia Watson The roll-out of Turnkey Technology Solutions’ new product happened in the best possible venue: before the nation’s top retailers who were looking for new products for the coming year.
Flight instructors taking off for new opportunities By Kathleen Dayton Linda Benson can rattle off the names of at least a dozen former flight instructors who once worked for Proflight, the aviation school at Charleston Executive Airport on Johns Island.
Vought plant completes first 787 fuselage section By Dan McCue It was a modest physical move with gigantic implications not only for the workers at Vought Aircraft Industries’ North Charleston plant but for the Lowcountry as a whole.
Dreamlifter to become fixture in Lowcountry sky By Dan McCue A highly unusual aircraft is set to become a regular site over the Lowcountry. Dubbed the “Dreamlifter” by the Boeing Co., the modified 747-400 was created by lopping off the top of the passenger section of a traditional 747 passenger aircraft and adding a new bubble-top that makes the craft look absolutely other-worldly.
Embry-Riddle launches aerospace careers By Dennis Quick Melba Miles has airport operations down to a science. She teaches international aviation management at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Charleston center, the Daytona Beach, Fla.-based school located at the Charleston Air Force Base.
Students learn to run an airport safely, smoothly and efficiently and how different airports interact with one another, Miles said. …
Charleston market warms up to ‘hot’ kosher trend By Lindsay Street You can’t miss it. On the aisle next to the bakery and deli at Publix on Sam Rittenberg Boulevard is a large kosher section. It may not take up an entire row like the wine or canned goods section, but it is larger and more diverse than the Latin- and Asian-originated goods a few aisles down.
Trade deal could boost activity to South America By Dan McCue A deal between the White House and congressional Democrats to strengthen labor and environmental standards in free-trade pacts could greatly boost already bustling trade activity between South Carolina, Peru and Panama.
Quick Notes: Companies can learn from Verizon’s culture By Dennis Quick Nowadays, when too many American companies focus coldly and narrowly on the bottom line, Verizon Wireless offers a breath of fresh air reminiscent of how things used to be.
The Brack Report: Living on $3 a day produces unhealthy diet By Andy Brack Imagine if you had to live on $3 a day. “That’s not a meal at McDonald’s,” remarked Jermaine Husser, director of the Lowcountry Food Bank, which annually provides food to more than 154,000 people in 10 coastal area counties.
SCORE Card: Effective marketing gives your business an edge Marketing consists of more than making some phone calls or buying an ad in the local paper. Your marketing effort is the sum total of the sales, pricing, promotional and advertising efforts designed to promote the flow of goods or services from your business to the consumer.
Sales Moves: Did you get the order? If not, here’s why! By Jeffrey Gitomer Everybody wants to close the sale. You want to close the sale. Your manager wants you to close the sale. Your manager’s boss wants you to close the sale. Your CEO wants you to close the sale. Your accounting department wants you to close the sale. I want you to close the sale.
Marketing Matters: The retailer’s success guide: Stake your claim By Bruce D. Murdy In today’s retail environment, every minute you spend, every penny you invest, must show a return on investment. Competitive growth and aggressive pricing can eat into your existing business silently and relentlessly if you aren’t in a constant state of evolution, change and occasionally revolution of your brand and your retail experience.
Carroll on Work: Sales lessons from the mountain trail By John Carroll I recently accepted an invitation from a friend to join a large group of men on a four-day hike on, around and through the mountains of Pisgah National Forest in western North Carolina.
Parish attorney moves to free client By Dan McCue The attorney representing Al Parish in his investment fraud case filed a 49-page compendium of documents in the federal court in Charleston on Tuesday, seeking an immediate reconsideration of the court’s denial of bond for the former economist.
Receiver seeks $343K for work on Parish case By Dan McCue The court-appointed receiver in the Al Parish fraud case this afternoon will ask a federal judge in Charleston for fees and reimbursements of nearly $350,000 related to work completed in the first four weeks of the investigation.
Marion Square Hotel plans sent back to drawing board By Kathleen Dayton The city of Charleston’s Board of Architectural Review on Wednesday voted 5-1 against preliminary approval of plans for Marion Square Hotel, a 185-room structure that would replace the former Charleston County Library at 404 King St.
Consultant pleased with King Street progress By Kathleen Dayton An urban retail consultant who in 2003 presented the city of Charleston with a 10-year plan to improve its central business district recently returned to check on the city’s progress. He liked what he saw.
Insurance crisis, not housing market concern to developer By Dan McCue Developer Robert L. Clement III is standing on the verge of seeing his $2 billion dream of a new urbanist community, Magnolia Development, rise on the neck of the Charleston peninsula, but if anything can slow the growth of his project it’s the insurance crisis that’s now gripping communities throughout the United States, he said.
City may purchase federal building, redevelop site By Kathleen Dayton Another high-profile site at Marion Square may be redeveloped, and whether that means demolition of an existing building is not yet clear. The L. Mendel Rivers Federal Building at the corner of Meeting and Charlotte streets, constructed in 1964 and empty for the past eight years, is scheduled to be auctioned by the federal government this summer if state, local or county governments first do not make offers to purchase it.
New home builders giving incentives that take the cake By Kathleen Dayton If you’re shopping for a home, don’t be surprised if you hear the real estate agent say, “Would you like a boat to go with that?” In a softer housing market where buyers rule, home builders are creating all kinds of incentives to entice house hunters to make a purchase.
Through U-Haul, Hunley hits road to promote tourism By Dan McCue Over the course of its legendary existence, the CSS H.L. Hunley has been many things. The first submarine in history to sink an enemy warship and then lay lost off Sullivan’s island for 136 years has been an object sought, a subject of scientific and forensic scrutiny, and will soon be the cornerstone of Clemson’s Restoration Institute on the grounds of the former Charleston Naval Base.
