Staff Report
Published Aug. 31, 2009

Today’s edition of the Charleston Regional Business Journal features stories on attendance at the S.C. Aquarium, Santee Cooper’s plans to scrap a coal-fired electric plant and the Medical University of South Carolina’s leveraging of grant money.

The Business Journal’s biweekly print edition also includes a copy of the 2009 Market Facts, our annual report on the facts, figures, demographics and data that create the tapestry of the Charleston region.

For information about a subscription to the Charleston Regional Business Journal, click here.

Here’s a look at some of the features in this week’s Business Journal:

• Attendance soars at S.C. Aquarium: Nine years after the S.C. Aquarium opened its doors, the attraction is setting monthly attendance records.
• Santee Cooper scraps plans for Pee Dee coal plant: After years of work, Santee Cooper has decided to suspend its plans for a coal plant in Florence County. About half a million Upstate co-op customers will be transferred to Duke Energy starting in 2013.
• MUSC leverages grant money: The Medical University of South Carolina intends to use a federal grant for clinical research to lead a multistate research effort, including 45 academic centers across the U.S.
• Employment trends up and down for the past 12 months: A graphic report looks at the past 12 months’ worth of employment numbers for the state and the Charleston region. The average jobless rate was 10.1% during the past 12 months, but unemployment numbers fell by 0.3 percentage points in July.

Special Report: Automotive & Aerospace

• Parts manufacturers, suppliers hit by nationwide decline: Generally in a down economy, the auto parts supplier business does OK. It can even pick up as people cling to older vehicles. That’s not true this time around.