People in the News Settings, owned by Amanda Davis, opened on James Island. The retail shop will offer custom invitations and registry items.
Calendar AUG. 6: Business Networking International meeting, West Ashley “Edge of America” chapter. Noon at Sunfire Grill in West Ashley. Information: Katie Lentz, (843) 670-1737.
AirTran lifting airport passenger numbers, lowering ticket prices Flights out of the Charleston Interntional Airport have increased significantly since the late May addition of AirTran Airways, elating airport officials who worked for several years to lure the discount airline company, and riling competition among legacy carriers such as Delta.
Market got you down? Don’t worry, the fundamentals are good By Bill Settlemyer It’s been quite a roller coaster ride in the stock markets recently. But rest easy, I can take the worry out of it for you because I know what the future holds: The markets will go up. Then down. Then up. Then down.
Charleston Southern University tight lipped about lost $10M By Dan McCue More than four months after the formal collapse of investments that may have cost it as much as $10.6 million, Charleston Southern University officials declined to discuss exactly how the institution wound up investing substantial endowment and operational funds with one-time economics professor Al Parish.
Transportation hub dream coming alive By Molly Parker One recent afternoon, standing on the corner of Seiberling Road and Montague Avenue, Howard Chapman used the trunk of his vehicle as an impromptu easel to display a thick stack of blueprints outlining dreams for a new transportation hub in North Charleston.
Restaurateur always looking for Uno Mas By Kathleen Dayton Sal Parco first arrived in Mount Pleasant with a car full of shorts and T-shirts and rented a room at the Masters Inn. The heavy winter clothes, gloves and boots he had collected while living in Detroit had been given to the Salvation Army.
Mystery company to receive county tax incentive plan By Dan McCue The Charleston County Council approved a fee-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement with a mystery company that will soon be investing $38 million, including $9.7 million for a new manufacturing plant, to be located in the Palmetto Commerce Park in North Charleston.
Pottermania hits Lowcountry bookstores By Lindsay Street Selling more than 8.3 million books in 24 hours can mean only one thing—the last installment of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series has hit the bookshelves.
Upscale community slated for Maybank Highway By Dennis Quick A 22.5-acre parcel near the Maybank Highway-Folly Road intersection on James Island could become the site of a miniature “downtown” that will feature upscale homes, high-end retail stores and class “A” office space.
Auto components manufacturer to open locally By Dan McCue Proponents of the Lowcountry’s burgeoning automotive cluster hit a figurative grand slam on Thursday morning, not only scoring a worldwide supplier of vehicle components for the tri-county region, but securing its North American headquarters as well.
Debate no economic juggernaut, but seen as worth it By Dan McCue The Democratic presidential candidates’ debate here in Charleston did not prove to be the economic juggernaut that some had hoped for, but the impact of the positive publicity, not to mention the positive experience the eight participating candidates had in the city, is incalculable, said Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr.
Bill casts hopes of aquaculture industry By Molly Parker The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s June announcement that it was seizing a slew of drug-contaminated seafood imported from China may end up being the push needed to grow an aquaculture industry in America’s federal waters.
National builders put some projects on hold By Kathleen Dayton Home sales are still sluggish in much of the tri-county area, but most national builders with a stake in the Lowcountry say they aren’t going anywhere. While a few projects are on hold, new developments continue to move forward, especially in lower price points in Berkeley and Dorchester counties.
Call center expands in Charleston market By Lindsay Street As wages rise and good employees become hard to find in India and the Philippines, many call center companies are beginning to bring jobs back to the United States.
St. Stephen ventures into tourism development By Lindsay Street Standing on Main Street in St. Stephen one hot Friday in July, Deb Palmer and Libba Carroll looked across the railroad tracks at what was once the Masonic lodge and which is now a brick shell blackened by a recent fire.
ATI metalcasting contract protects the warfighter By Shelia Watson A contract recently awarded to Advanced Technology Institute, an affiliate of the South Carolina Research Authority, will help develop metalcasting technologies and processes to support the Department of Defense in the war effort.
City explores new City Market management By Kathleen Dayton Charleston’s City Market, one of the town’s most prominent tourist attractions, had its 200th birthday last month and is on the verge of change.
Startup travel agency books new market niche By Dennis Quick Entrepreneurs Don Campagna and Jim Golden believe they have found a niche in the travel agency market—a “go-to” agency that handles flight reservations, hotel bookings, car rentals, restaurant reservations, golf tee times, theater ticket reservations and just about everything else affluent visitors to coastal South Carolina need.
Biden wants to protect local manufacturers By Dan McCue Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, a Democratic presidential hopeful in town to improve his standing over his fellow candidates, took time out from his CNN YouTube debate preparations to tout two armored vehicle makers based here in the Lowcountry.
Work force drives Force Protection to N.C. By Molly Parker Ladson-based Force Protection Inc. advertises that its military trucks “eat improvised explosive devices for lunch.”
County clerk named S.C. ‘Outstanding Older Worker’ By Kathleen Dayton At age 74, Beverly Craven is on the advisory board of the Lowcountry Senior Center but can’t take part in most of the activities the center offers. She doesn’t have time. She’s still working.
Streamlined call center going nationwide By Shelia Watson In a matter of months, the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center in Charleston has centralized and streamlined an understaffed, ineffective patient call center into a system that is so efficient that other VA centers around the country are clamoring to implement it at their locations.
Tech firms search for elusive qualities in applicants By Dan McCue In spite of a response from applicants that he described as “pleasantly overwhelming,” the man heading up Google Inc.’s search for employees for its new Mt. Holly data center admitted the early going in the hiring process has been difficult.
Google takes new tack in community By Dan McCue It used to be that when Google came to town to build a new data center or other company facility, its presence was tantamount to a state secret and its arrival akin to the landing of a flying saucer.
Blackbaud exec departures not sign of brain drain By Dan McCue Do the recently announced departures of two senior executives from Blackbaud Inc. portend a future management brain drain from the Lowcountry’s technology sector?
Ambassador: Trade opportunities abound to and from India By Dan McCue A middle class that’s growing exponentially and a work force rife with workers skilled in the high-tech and service industries means ample opportunity for companies in South Carolina to profit from trade with India, the country’s ambassador to the U.S. said during a visit to Charleston.
Nursing interest strong, facility space weak at TTC By Dennis Quick Like the rest of the nation, South Carolina faces a critical nursing shortage. By 2015, the Palmetto State will suffer a dearth of some 15,000 nurses.
Minimum wage increase likely to raise all wages By Kristen Poland Businesses around South Carolina aren’t fretting too badly about the federally mandated minimum wage increase that raises the minimum wage more than $2 over the next two years.
Modus21 helps with IT learning curve By Shelia Watson The celebrated physicist Albert Einstein once said “information is not knowledge.” Einstein, who knew a few things about the topic, makes a good point.
Charleston Southern: Who’s minding the store? By Bob Bouyea As the Al Parish case of investment fraud unfolds, Parish himself asked the right question during his bout with amnesia: Why would his employer, Charleston Southern University, give him more than $10.5 million to invest?
Ways to become a cultured job seeker By Barbara Poole Which of the following kinds of office environments would you prefer to work in? Option A is a hostile, unfriendly pressure-cooker of a business with long hours, lousy benefits, cut-throat managers and a cold, sterile office setting.
Branding is a key to a capital campaign By June Bradham Q. I have recently taken a job with a nonprofit and, having come from a marketing position with a for-profit company, it’s apparent to me that my new organization does not do enough branding. We are about to begin a capital campaign; could you recommend some ways to brand the campaign?
All right then, are you ready for your close up? By Elizabeth L. Boineau Noted as one of the top (seventh) most famous movie lines of all time, I was mesmerized some years ago watching Glenn Close deliver something akin to the above from the “big stage” as her closing line in “Sunset Boulevard.”
International trade generates $23 billion for S.C. economy By Dan McCue International trade generated $23 billion for South Carolina in 2006, with $13.6 billion of that total generated by exports to more than150 counties around the world, said U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez as he toured the Port of Charleston’s Union Pier Monday.
Container volume down at port, but positive developments abound By Dan McCue Cargo volume at the Port of Charleston declined by nearly 5% in the fiscal year that ended June 30, S.C. State Port Authority officials said Tuesday. After a string of record years, the SPA reported that roughly 1.88 million TEUs, or 20-foot equivalent units, had passed through Charleston’s terminals in fiscal year 2006-2007, a decline of 4.8% from the previous fiscal year.
Brownback samples barbecue, prospects By Dan McCue Republican presidential hopeful Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas visited the Mount Pleasant Sticky Fingers restaurant on Wednesday afternoon to sample the barbecue and talk face-to-face with potential supporters.
Charleston, state colleges rank high in national report By Molly Parker Two local and state higher-education institutions have grabbed first-place rankings in the U.S. News and World Report’s America’s Best Colleges 2008 report, and regional and state schools also fared well in a variety of categories.
Charleston Air Force Base uploads MRAPs By Shelia Watson The Ramp Services Load Team of the 437th Aerial Port Squadron at the Charleston Air Force Base gathered around the cargo that was tagged for immediate delivery: two Mine Resistant Ambush Protection vehicles, better known as MRAPs, manufactured by Ladson-based Force Protection.
