Piling on By Dan McCue Kinder Morgan Inc., the energy transportation, storage and distribution giant, has asked federal regulators for permission to redevelop its Charleston facility and nearly triple its capacity to handle imported coal.
The project, as detailed in filings with the Charleston office of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is intended to increase and improve conveyance and storage of material at Kinder Morgan’s 148-acre Shipyard Creek terminal and complete the integration of adjacent facilities on 154 acres the company bought from the Salmons Dredging Corp. in November 2005.
After the work is completed, Kinder Morgan told the corps it wants to increase the volume of imported coal handled at the facility from approximately 3.5 million tons a year to 10 million tons a year.
Solar power lighting way to top green honor By Dennis Quick The Half-Moon Outfitters distribution center in North Charleston is green in a gung-ho way. Desks, partitions and other furnishings are made from recyclable sunflower husks and regionally harvested woods. Paints and carpets are toxic-free. Rainwater is used to fill the facility’s toilets.
The goal is for the distribution center to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, Platinum certification, the highest honor the U.S. Green Building Council awards commercial and industrial buildings.
Pro-union bill could strike S.C. businesses By Dan McCue A bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and soon to be considered in the Senate would radically change the rules pertaining to union activity in the workplace and could open South Carolina to union activity like it has never seen before, a prominent labor attorney in Columbia said.
The Employee Free Choice Act, which passed in the House in a 214-185 vote Feb. 28, would be a “radical change” in the relationship between employer and employee, said William Floyd, an attorney with Nexsen Pruet LLC.
In Charleston, a woman’s place is in her own P.R. firm By Kathleen Dayton The old adage about a woman’s intuition seems to be playing out in the Charleston business arena as an increasing number of women head into the field of public relations.
Governors agree to Jasper port deal, but details not certain By Dan McCue The governors of South Carolina and Georgia have forged a deal they say will allow their two states to cooperate in the creation of a jointly run port in Jasper County, on the South Carolina side of the Savannah River.
Reader disappointed over carriage coverage I am disappointed in the coverage by your paper of the carriage animal proposed ordinance (“Debate rages over carriage regulations,” Jan. 22-Feb. 4).
Employee wins triple damages in Wages Act case By David E. Dubberly In Ross v. Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc., filed Dec. 21, 2006, the S.C. Court of Appeals ruled that an employer’s incentive compensation plan violated the S.C. Payment of Wages Act because the plan did not provide a certain date when incentive payments would be made.
Pharmaceutical maker plans $28.5 million Mount Pleasant expansion By Dan McCue GenPhar Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing and producing therapeutic vaccines against some of the world’s most dangerous diseases, is planning a $28.5 million expansion of its presence in the Lowcountry.
Wind power could bring state economic windfall By Dan McCue Standing before a series of maps depicting the wind gradients along the South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia coasts—a region referred to by scientists and cartographers as the “South Atlantic Bight”—Nicholas C. Rigas was making the case for wind science being a tool for economic development.
U.S. Chamber to discuss trade promotion at conference By Dan McCue Free trade agreements with Columbia and Peru hold promise for South Carolinians engaged in international trade, but the trade story of the year will be whether President Bush can broker the reauthorization of his authority to make such deals, according to a senior trade advisor to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
'Moderate-income' housing springing up on Daniel Island By Kathleen Dayton Call it sensibly priced housing or entry-level home ownership. Call it housing for the young professional or the newly retired. But don’t label it affordable housing, necessarily.
‘Central Mount Pleasant’ set to redefine Hungryneck By Kathleen Dayton With its yards of broken white fencing sinking into a rising tide of tangled brush, an abandoned home site in the middle of Mount Pleasant looks a bit sad as cars whiz past it on Hungryneck Boulevard.
Big ships, aging infrastructure focus of port conference By Dan McCue The absence of a national focus on infrastructure and port terminal needs is crippling regional ports authorities’ ability to deal with a tsunami of trade from the Far East, foreshadowing a potential crisis that could spread throughout the U.S. economy, according to one of the nation’s leading experts on international trade issues.
International company franchises networking groups By Lindsay Danzell Networking groups, by a general definition, are local and nonprofit. That’s just business as usual. So what happens when a for-profit, internationally franchised business capitalizes on the networking game?
Piling On: Coal facility expansion a bet on future power-plant growth By Dan McCue The planned redevelopment of Kinder Morgan’s Shipyard Creek facility is a microcosm of activity occurring up and down the East and Gulf coasts of the United States as an increasing amount of the nation’s population heads to the Sun Belt.
Interactive media company starts ‘global conversation’ By Shelia Watson Charleston-based CIVISonline Inc., a software and services company that offers tools and technology for major news media to enhance audience interactivity and “citizen journalism,” has been accepted by the S.C. Research Authority’s SC Launch! program and has received $75,000 to expand the company.
Local broker creates loans for Peru’s poor businesswomen By Dennis Quick Iquitos is the largest city in Peru’s section of the Amazon Rainforest. Located on the headwaters of the Amazon River, the city, with a population of 400,000, is one of the lumber capitals of South America as well as an oil, beer and rum producer.
Accountants consider the Charleston business climate By Dan McCue Seated around a table with a view at the Charleston Yacht Club, William Jarrard, Christopher Nowell and William Russell III don’t seem anything like the stodgy image of accountancy.
Fiscal Wake-Up Tour sounds alarm in Charleston By Shelia Watson Americans will hand their children a staggering bill for government services they consumed unless a major, bipartisan effort cuts federal spending and raises revenue, most likely through taxes.
Fiscal Wake-Up Tour: The world according to David Walker By Shelia Watson David Walker is an accountant by trade. And not just any accountant—he’s the nation’s top accountant and auditor, the comptroller general of the United States, and head of the Government Accountability Office on a 15-year term that will run through 2013.
Lawsuits, congressional hearings put 401(k) fees at center stage By Shelia Watson As the oldest of nearly 80 million baby boomers get ready to retire, the scrutiny over retirement-plan fees is reaching critical mass, with the U.S. Department of Labor considering whether to require companies to disclose more information about the fees amid a glut of lawsuits filed against major companies over 401(k) plans.
Financial services sector seeks women advisors By Dennis Quick Financial planners increasingly have been targeting women as clients, and for good reason. Women outnumber men, outlive them, make 80% of a household’s financial decisions and by 2010 will control 60% of the nation’s wealth.
ERISA and PPA By Shelia Watson The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, which set minimum standards for most voluntarily established pension and health plans in private industry, was created to protect the interests of employees and their beneficiaries regarding their pension plans.
SEC forum looks at going global with accounting By Shelia Watson The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission held a roundtable discussion earlier this month in Washington, D.C., to discuss simplifying accounting practices for international firms.
Daschle: Alternative fuels represent opportunities for rural economies By Dan McCue Biofuel and biotechnology have the potential to transform the rural economies of the Carolinas as nothing has in a generation, but if that’s to happen, the federal government has to do all it can to create a stable investment environment for the industry, said former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle.
Charleston hosts Homeland Security pilot programs By Shelia Watson The success of the Project Seahawk pilot program in Charleston, now in its fourth year and the focus of two bills in Congress that will expand the program across the nation, has paved the way for two other pilot projects in the area.
Shrimpers struggle to compete against imports By Lindsay Danzell Bob Waggoner, head chef at Charleston Grill, is a shrimp connoisseur and, as such, likes his shrimp local and fresh, passing by Asian frozen shrimp like cheap box wine.
DOE, NOAA join forces on homeland security By Shelia Watson An agreement between the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research facilities in South Carolina will strengthen advances in homeland security, marine health and ocean observation technologies through sensors to detect biological toxins and chemical hazards while maintaining ocean health and water quality.
Charleston VA receives six research grants By Shelia Watson The research program at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center has received approval and funding for six VA Biomedical Laboratory/Clinical Science Research and Development Merit Review grants, out of a total of 14 submissions.
Branding is great, but it won’t sell on its own By Jeffery Gitomer What does “branding” mean to you? Growing up in the ’50s and ’60s, I still have a vision of hot branding irons in a coal or wood fire, and some rancher roping a steer or a horse and pushing the red-hot branding iron against its skin to make sure the name of their ranch was “branded” on the animal.
Are S.C. charities as strong as national ones? By June Bradham Q. My business partner and I are considering increasing our corporate giving next year and would like to give more to South Carolina charities. Do you think they’re as solid as national ones?
Concentrate on your plan and things falls into place By Elizabeth Boineau Keep an eye on the sky and your feet firmly planted on the ground. That might just be sound advice for anyone seeking to kick start or rejuvenate a marketing plan destined for success in today’s somewhat volatile economic scene.
