Utility executive reveals amazing new fuel By Bill Settlemyer Wow! That’s some headline, right? Sounds like something off the front page of a tabloid newspaper, but it really sums up a recent article by The New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman about a proposal from Jim Rogers, chairman and CEO of Duke Energy.
Accolades & More The Junior League of Charleston Inc. has elected its 2007-2008 board of directors: Tracy Blanchard, president; Holland Williams, president-elect; Greer Polansky, community vice president; Anne Walpole, membership vice president; Sarah Corley, fundraising vice president; Lisa Craig, marketing vice president; Kristy Lewis, treasurer; Sandra Drolshagen, assistant treasurer; Lise Ibsen, recording secretary; Kristen Cummings, nominating chair; Kim Durst, strategic planning chair; and Suzi Parcell, sustainer board advisor. These women will lead the league into its 85th year of serving the Charleston community.
People in the News Seamon Whiteside & Associates has hired Meredith Beardon for its Mount Pleasant Landscape Architecture department. Beardon formerly worked for DesignWork.
Dorchester Road connects blight to bucolic By Kathleen Dayton From end to end, it is 22 miles long, straddling two counties and two municipalities from North Charleston to Summerville. Like many older highways, it tells a tale of booms and busts, of once-thriving communities that have seen better days and of red-hot development that is pushing the limits of infrastructure.
Firm wants trucks to scale back By Dan McCue Between 2001 and 2006, South Carolina was the scene of 513 fatal truck accidents and of nearly 1,000 truck accidents involving hazardous materials, according to statistics compiled by several U.S. Department of Transportation agencies.
Developer, town battle over creek By Molly Parker Mark Mason and Phillip Smith’s third-story offices on Coleman Boulevard provide a picture-perfect view of Shem Creek and the 43-plus marshy acres they own.
Research park system a sustaining asset By Shelia Watson The building complex, partially hidden as it is by a stand of trees along International Boulevard, might garner a description of “just another office building” were it not for the sign: “Trident Research Center.”
Synergy in development By Shelia Watson One of SCRA’s activities is partnering with other research-based companies in developing their facilities.
Lowcountry Graduate Center ramps up By Molly Parker A row of paper silos sits on Rew “Skip” Godow Jr.’s desk at the Lowcountry Graduate Center where he is executive director.
Entrepreneur turns poultry grease into biodiesel fuel By Molly Parker When a chicken dies in Georgia, biodiesel is born in South Carolina. It’s the cycle of life in Dean Schmelter’s business, Southeast BioDiesel LLC, located on the old Charleston Naval Complex in North Charleston.
Investor sues CaroLinks By Dan McCue CaroLinks, the Charleston-based company currently developing an inland port in Orangeburg, is being sued by a North Carolina developer who lent the company $500,000 to secure land for a part of the project it has since abandoned.
Manufacturer files charges over trade secrets By Dan McCue Armored-vehicle manufacturer Force Protection Inc. is suing competitor Protected Vehicles Inc., charging the latter with stealing its trade secrets.
SRNL technology named among ‘world’s best’ By Shelia Watson A door-latching device developed at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Savannah River National Laboratory has received kudos from companies that follow emerging high-tech trends and could be licensed for manufacture as a commercial product.
Local gun dealers to face New York City in court By Dan McCue A federal judge has ruled that more than two dozen gun dealers, including at least three in the Charleston area, must square off against the city of New York in January to answer charges that by selling guns later used in crimes, they aided and abetted the perpetrators of those crimes.
Economists shaping politicos’ policies By Dan McCue The candidates and their political surrogates might be grabbing the headlines in the long march toward January’s South Carolina primaries, but behind the scenes, on both sides of the political divide, economists are already beginning to shape the business, trade and other significant fiscal policies of the next administration.
Adviser feeds Giuliani By Dan McCue On the afternoon that the Charleston Regional Business Journal spoke with David Malpass, chief economist at Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc., former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani was preparing for a major speech in Michigan on economics and global trade.
An old friend has Obama’s ear on economic issues By Dan McCue Perhaps no economist is more closely aligned with his candidate than Austan Goolsbee, the University of Chicago economist who is working with Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.
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.
Charleston gets fresh with local food By Lindsay Street Part sustainability movement and part fresh-food initiative, eating locally grown and produced food is gaining momentum in the region even as the practice continues to grow in popularity nationally.
Recyclers take refuge in restaurants’ trash By Kathleen Dayton It’s messy, it takes up space, and it stinks. But garbage has kept one man in business for 15 years and has even opened up manufacturing opportunities.
North of Calhoun becomes hotbed for hotels By Kathleen Dayton The city of Charleston continues to bloom north of Calhoun Street, at one time the boundary beyond which few locals and fewer tourists used to venture.
College of Charleston under construction By Molly Parker The College of Charleston is pumping millions of dollars into its aging infrastructure as the school undergoes its largest construction project since it went public in 1970.
SC utilities balk at federal renewable-energy bill By Molly Parker Arguing that a one-size-fits-all approach is unfair because the availability of renewable resources differs across the nation, the electric utilities serving South Carolina prefer that individual states set renewable-energy portfolio standards rather than the federal government.
I’On Group uses energy-efficient concrete blocks in home construction By Kristen Poland Energy efficiency plays an important part in today’s construction industry, influencing decisions on everything from choice of building materials and appliances to neighborhood design and location. I’On Build, a new construction division of I’On Group, is building new homes using an uncommon building material that offers both energy-efficient and weather-resistant properties.
Bulldogs stadium gets serious makeover By Kristen Poland The familiar castle-like façade that distinguishes The Citadel facilities from other area buildings is eclipsed now by the towering construction that has engulfed several blocks on Hagood Street.
Hanckel Marine, Scout Boats build marine mall By Lindsay Street Two family-owned businesses have teamed up to produce a $7 million marine and sporting goods mini-mall on Daniel Island with all the flair of a one-stop shopping experience at a national retailer.
SCDOT focuses on maintenance By Shelia Watson The S.C. Department of Transportation Commission has approved a federal funding plan that includes a “fix it first” strategy based on an expected $632 million for fiscal year 2008, which begins Oct. 1, 2007.
Trade Center developer to relocate to N. Charleston By Dan McCue Mark Condon, former director of the S.C. World Trade Center, promised the local importing and exporting community that it wouldn’t be losing him when he accepted a new position with a development firm last year.
Sales are down. I’m down. People won’t decide. By Jeffrey Gitomer I get a ton of e-mails that start out something like, “My sales are off,” or “The market is down,” or “I just can’t get motivated like I used to.”
Planning for a crisis teaches us how to fall By Elizabeth L. Boineau You may remember that my last article focused on media training to help a company present its best image when it’s using the media to announce a new office, product or service, launch an initiative in the community, or advance other “soft” news or feature opportunities that the company is consistently mining to build reputation, awareness and credibility.
Exclusive: Dubai eyes $600M investment in Orangeburg By Dan McCue Jafza International, a subsidiary of Dubai World, a holding company wholly owned by the Dubai government, has put Orangeburg on its short list of potential sites in the Southeast for a $600 million to $700 million logistics, manufacturing and distribution center.
