BEST ADVICE Brandi Sellers, Left Brain Collaborative
PAGE 4 VOLUME 26 NUMBER 19 ■ CHARLESTONBUSINESS.COM
Part of the
SEPTEMBER 7 - 20, 2020 ■ $2.25
network
New distributor promotes minority-owned wineries By Holly Fisher
Taxing situation
Reduced accommodations taxes are causing issues for organizations across S.C. Page 7
Deeply funded
Charleston Harbor project sees renewed political support with money in place. Page 14
T
Contributing writer
hree years ago, Brooke Lago and Jonella Orozco met in a wine class at the Culinary Institute of Charleston. Actually, they met on the last day of class when Orozco asked if anyone had job leads. Lago
chimed in with details on an opening with her employer, the Carolina Yacht Club. The two became co-workers and best friends. Lago went on to work at Belmond Charleston Place, and Orozco became the sommelier at Peninsula Grill; earlier this year, Peninsula Grill offered Lago a management position. Then, COVID-19 hit. The two
Business Decisions
See MANTRA, Page 10
Education, commerce, coronavirus Data in COVID era intersects with business, schools and social issues
Technologic shift
Benefitfocus names new CEO from within its ranks after executive steps down. Page 9
By Barry Waldman
T
Contract finalized by Lockheed to provide 90 of the jet fighters from the Upstate. Page 17
INSIDE
Charleston’s only tea farm removed the word “plantation” and initiated a branding change. Many businesses are considering how to respond to the recent racial unrest that carries implications for social change and the bottom line. Page 6
Contributing Writer
he COVID-19 pandemic and its reverberating impacts on schools have created a massive strain on America’s educational systems. Its impact has been borne disproportionately by segments of American society that repeatedly bear the greatest burdens of shocks to the system: those at the bottom of the educational and economic ladder. The numbers are familiar: The high school dropout rate for white students in the tri-county area is 17%, for Black students it is 35%. Median income for white non-Hispanics is $44,800, for Blacks it is $31,000, and for Hispanics, $28,000. As schools went virtual during the pandemic, a lack of access to broadband internet left 40% of local Black children without any education at all. At a panel discussion from the Charleston
S.C-made F-16s
Upfront................................. 2 SC Biz News Briefs................. 3 Best Advice........................... 4 In Focus: Manufacturing.................... 15 List: Manufacturers.............22 Bonus List: Industrial Staffing Agencies................25 At Work...............................27 People in the News...............27 Business Digest....................27 Viewpoint............................ 31
friends were both furloughed and collecting unemployment while they waited for the restaurant to reopen. On the heels of the coronavirus came another pivotal moment for 2020 — the killing of George Floyd and the subsequent out-
Photo/Teri Errico Griffis
See EDUCATION, Page 8
Banking on film
As popular Netflix show resumes production in Charleston area, film commission says incentives run out quickly for television and film. Page 11