Air travel: If it’s broke, why can’t we fix it? By Bill Settlemyer A recent issue of BusinessWeek featured “Fear & Loathing at the Airport” as its cover story. The subtitle was “How a failure of leadership led to the summer from hell.”
Calendar SEPT. 17: The Jessamine Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association meeting. 6:30 p.m. at the Sweetwater Cafe, Summerville. Speaker: Kevin Ziman, crew member for FishBait Festivals & Events. Information: Shirlie Taylor, (843) 873-6769.
Accolades & More The board of directors of Alliance for Full Acceptance, a Charleston nonprofit social-justice organization, has elected Suzanne Weller as president. Weller replaces Suzanne “Susie” Prueter, who served as AFFA president for the past three years.
People in the News Assistant professor Kristin B. Gutting joined the faculty of the Charleston School of Law in June to teach tax issue and policy.
Drayton Hall receives donation The deed to 43.8 acres of marshland along the Ashley River near Drayton Hall will be presented later this month to officials at the historic landmark.
Clements Ferry Road transitioning from light industrial to residential By Kathleen Dayton It’s east of the Cooper but it’s not in Mount Pleasant. It’s in the city of Charleston but it’s not in Charleston County. It is still largely rural, but light industry has moved in and rooftops are going up. Where are you? The answer is Clements Ferry Road, a developing corridor between Interstate 526 and S.C. Highway 41.
Aerospace giant to be partner in new Charleston County facility SKF Aerospace, a leading manufacturer and supplier of bearings, seals and other aircraft components, is the majority stakeholder in the joint venture planning a new manufacturing facility in Palmetto Commerce Park in North Charleston, according to aviation industry sources.
Housing development gives hope By Molly Parker When North Charleston officials cut the ceremonial ribbon earlier this month on the multi-million-dollar Horizon Village subdivision located between Rivers and Spruill avenues, they helped usher in a new era in public housing in the United States.
Armored-vehicle manufacturers in a legal scrap Armored-vehicle manufacturer Force Protection Inc. is suing competitor Protected Vehicles Inc., charging the latter with stealing its trade secrets.
Dubai eyes Orangeburg investment By Dan McCue It’s the kind of deal that can change communities. A planned $600 million to $700 million investment in a logistics, manufacturing and distribution “megahub” on 800 acres in Orangeburg could bring up to 10,000 jobs to the region.
Pilot ‘business court’ expected to debut in mid-September A new and more efficient way of managing the state court system’s growing business docket could be set into motion as early as mid-September and will likely be authorized by S.C. Chief Justice Jean Hoefer Toal.
CaroLinks hit with lawsuits 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.
Right-brained working in a left-brained world By Kathleen Dayton Andra Watkins gets things done, even if she has to use the left side of her brain. As a child, the 38-year-old founder and president of Positus Consulting LLC, a business consulting company, dreamed of becoming a Broadway star. In fact, most of the things she still enjoys—reading, travel, music and theater—are mostly creative activities.
DHEC: No decision made on Kinder Morgan permits S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control officials asserted that no decision has been made on Kinder Morgan’s request to expand its coal-trafficking operations in North Charleston and that no timetable has been established for announcing such a decision.
Mortgage firms close, funds still available By Kathleen Dayton Mortgage lenders large and small are shutting their doors, home builders are offering incentives to help them move unsold homes, and potential home buyers are no longer being showered with pennies from heaven.
C of C office will forecast region’s economy The College of Charleston’s School of Business and Economics has established the Office of Economic Analysis, which will partner with the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce on its annual economic forecasting project.
Achieving the dream By Kathleen Dayton Some consumers also are not aware of organizations and programs that help would-be homeowners achieve the American Dream.
Charles Towne Landing named ‘Shining Example’ The Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site has been named the Shining Example Travel Attraction of the Year by the Southeast Tourism Society.
Deer season offers opportunity for big bucks By Lindsay Street Hunting guide Tony Thornley hiked across the property he leases in rural Berkeley County, checking the corn he recently left out for deer. Most of it was nibbled down to the cob.
Charleston County Library launches The Big Read By Holly Fisher The percentage of the U.S. adult population reading any book has declined by 7% over the past decade, according to the National Endowment for the Arts. But the Charleston County Public Library hopes to change that trend.
AFB unveils combat training system By Shelia Watson The 437th Security Forces Squadron of the Charleston Air Force Base has combined the latest in technology with a dash of realism to enhance combat skills training.
North Charleston takes on public housing debate By Molly Parker With the new Hope VI housing program still in its infancy in North Charleston and in cities across the nation, it could be years before taxpayers know whether it was worth what amounts to one of the largest government investments in public housing since Franklin Roosevelt signed the U.S. Housing Act of 1937.
Conservation League vows to fight on after ruling By Dan McCue A state administrative law judge has dismissed the S.C. Coastal Conservation League’s challenges of state permits for the new port access road and marine cargo container terminal at the former Charleston Naval Base.
New festival aimed at local veterans By Kathleen Dayton The events-marketing guru who brought ChazzFest to Daniel Island is going down the nonprofit path this November to launch the first annual National Veterans Day Celebration, a four-day festival that aims to inspire and entertain with a spread of events across the tri-county area.
Port workers soon to need new ID credentials By Dan McCue Within the coming year, 10,000 to 15,000 individuals working in a port-related industry and needing access to a secured area in Charleston will require a valid Transportation Worker Identified Credential.
Lowe’s hits glitches in North Charleston By Molly Parker A Lowe’s Home Improvement store opens somewhere in the nation roughly every three days, but concerned residents are asking the hardware giant to take its time in building a second store in North Charleston.
City under fire for permitting process By Shelia Watson Even as it deals with fallout from the Sofa Super Store fire, including the question of whether additions to that building had been properly permitted or inspected, the city of Charleston’s inspection office has become embroiled in another conflagration of sorts, this time with a repair contractor who disputes the city’s permitting process.
Restructure gains SAIC additional assets for DOD By Shelia Watson In July, when Science Applications International Corp. completed the restructure of AMSEC LLC, it walked away from the restructuring deal with the aviation, combat systems and strike-force integration services that had been under AMSEC, which included former subsidiary Eagan, McAllister Associates Inc.
Property in negotiations By Molly Parker Attorney Mark Mason and general contractor Phillip Smith recently rejected a first offer from Mount Pleasant on more than 43 acres of waterfront property the two own on Shem Creek and a nearby piece of land off Coleman Boulevard.
Radio frequency identification: hype or help? By Shelia Watson Radio frequency identification, or RFID, has become a ubiquitous technology, found in a wide range of industries, from retail and shipping to security access control to supply chain management systems.
Charleston ready to seize distribution business By Dan McCue Savannah might have gotten the jump on Charleston in terms of the distribution center and warehousing business, but waterfront insiders believe progressive operational policies at the Port of Charleston, an explosion of distribution center construction in Jedburg, and a growing recognition of the flexibility of facilities already in the mix here could significantly narrow the gap.
Going green requires focused efforts By Shelia Watson In today’s business climate, companies are becoming more aware of environmental issues, especially with increasing government regulations and public directives for environmental accountability.
Court pushes back trucker drive time by one hour By Shelia Watson A federal appellate court has cut an hour from the amount of time truck drivers can be behind the wheel per day and revoked a minimum break of 34 hours between long-haul trips.
Web-based system keeps the supply chain visible By Shelia Watson Charleston-based Shippers Commonwealth has contracted with Graphic Packaging Corp., headquartered in Marietta, Ga., for a transportation management system that will provide not only cost savings but real-time Web visibility for Graphic Packaging’s shipments.
J.C. Penney coming back to Citadel Mall By Kathleen Dayton It’s round two for J.C. Penney as the department store chain opens its doors at Citadel Mall for the second time in 12 years.
Orangeburg deal would bolster port’s position By Dan McCue If you build it, they will come. That was the phrase, borrowed from the movie “Field of Dreams,” that was used repeatedly by representatives of Jafza International in early September to describe their interest in potentially establishing a logistics “megahub” in Orangeburg or other locations in the Southeast.
Hospitality industry implores Congress to renew visa By Molly Parker South Carolina’s hospitality industry will be “in dire straits” if Congress fails to extend a visa program by the end of the month that allows hundreds of international workers short-term employment in the United States, said Tom Sponseller, president of the Hospitality Association of South Carolina.
DHS no-match rule comes with paperwork burden By Shelia Watson Last month, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement division published a final rule on its “no-match” letters in an effort to curtail the influx of illegal aliens in the country.
Becoming green starts at home, anyone can do it By Andy Brack Based on a week of discussions about environmental policy ideas in 11 states, it’s pretty clear that Southerners are interested in being greener.
How to make why work to illustrate your reasons By John Carroll In my last column, we looked at the value of your associates’ and team members’ understanding the reasons for the importance of what you and others ask them to do.
Planned gifting takes time to develop By June Bradham Q: I work with a large nonprofit and although our annual giving program is sound and our capital campaigns have always been successful, we’ve not done much with planned giving. Any ideas on how to get started?
Those ‘Mad Men’ Are Crazy! By David L. Rawle Here’s a snippet from a promo for “Mad Men,” the new TV series about ad agencies. One seasoned agency executive asks the other, “What do women want?”
Plain talk makes sales. Fancy talk is lame. By Jeffrey Gitomer How does your prospect perceive your words? New? Engaging? Valuable? Exciting? Compelling? Or are they boring, time-worn clichés that have your prospect mentally yawning and turned off?
Business, city fined in connection with sofa superstore blaze By Dan McCue A series of decisions made in part to keep vagrants from entering his Savannah Highway establishment after business hours may cost the owner of the Sofa Super Store chain more than $30,000 in connection with the conflagration that claimed nine firefighters’ lives on June 18.
New port security inspection system debuts in Charleston By Shelia Watson A new port security cargo screening system was unveiled today for use at the Port of Charleston’s U.S. Customs and Border Protection Container Examination Station.
Fed rate cut a case of good news/bad news By Shelia Watson The half-point cut in interest rates by the Federal Reserve on Sept. 18, the first rate cut since 2003, is a good news/bad news scenario, said Tim Koch, a finance professor and chairman of the department of banking, finance, insurance and real estate at the University of South Carolina.
Roper St. Francis Healthcare to build in Goose Creek By Molly Parker Roper St. Francis Healthcare announced plans Monday to buy 66 acres of land in Goose Creek from The Daniel Island Co. and build a new medical facility at Carnes Crossroads.
Colleagues remember local restaurateur’s impact on city By Kathleen Dayton The local business community remains in shock over the death of Tom Parsell, a former Charleston automobile dealer who successfully changed careers more than a decade ago and became one of the area’s great restaurateurs.
Dubai team envisions a new economy in Orangeburg By Dan McCue With the Jebel Ali Free Zone in the emirate of Dubai, the principals involved in Jafza International created an epic logistics and distribution center on 35,000 barren desert acres.
