February 23 - March 8, 2015 • www.charlestonbusiness.com
Volume 21, No. 5 • $2.00
S.C. hopes to draw tourists off beaten path By Ashley Heffernan
Keep on truckin’
Most common job in S.C. is the same for all the U.S. Page 2
Money to dig President’s budget includes cash for Charleston Harbor. Page 5
Need a lift?
Charleston startup gives free rides to college students. Page 14
S
aheffernan@scbiznews.com
ites such as the Sheldon Church ruins, Harold’s Country Club, Charles Towne Landing and Hampton Plantation could soon see an uptick in tourist traffic if the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism has its way.
“Charleston is our international gem. Not only was it No. 1 in the U.S., but it was No. 2 in the world in destinations to come to,” Director Duane Parrish said, referencing the city’s wins from Conde Nast Traveler magazine. “It’s been discovered.” One of the department’s goals for 2015 is to bring visitors to the undiscovered parts of the state.
Parrish said there will be destination-specific marketing efforts to entice people to visit Summerville’s Sweet Tea Trail, which takes people from the Interstate 26 interchange through five districts in the town, along with Cypress Gardens and the not-so-popular beaches.
PROPELLING
GROWTH
Supply and demand
SCRA, Commerce establish center to help companies with supply chain issues. Page 8
INSIDE Upfront............................. 2 In Focus: Energy and the Environment........... 19 List: Heating and Air Contractors............. 22 List: Employee Benefits Brokers........... 23 At Work.......................... 25 People in the News......... 25 Business Digest.............. 25 Hot Properties................. 29 Viewpoint........................ 31
The opening of Propulsion South Carolina brings additional work to Boeing South Carolina. The new facility in North Charleston makes engine parts for the 737 Max and 777X, expanding beyond Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner campus. Full story, page 6
Photo/Liz Segris
t
See TOURISM, Page 16
Lawmakers debate S.C. State’s future By Ashley Heffernan
S
aheffernan@scbiznews.com
.C. representatives are at odds about how to handle the state’s only publicly funded historically black university. Two House Ways and Means subcommittees voted in mid-February for a plan that would shut down S.C. State University beginning July 1 and reopen it in the fall of 2017 with a new board of trustees, president, faculty and staff. To be enacted, the plan still must be approved by the House Ways and Means Committee, as well as the full House and Senate. During the possible closure, an advisory committee would create a plan to rebuild the university’s finances by Jan. 1, 2017, hire faculty, reconstitute athletic programs and set a new curriculum approved by the state Commission on Higher Education. The state would assume S.C. State’s debt and pay vendors, bonds and loans from the contingency reserve fund. Current S.C. State students with a 2.5 GPA or higher would be allowed to transfer to another in-state public institution or S.C. historically black university, and the state would pay tuition for those transferred students for up to four years. House Speaker Jay Lucas, R-Hartsville, See S.C. STATE, Page 12
777-9X in flight. (Rendering/Boeing Co.)
Dumping e-waste
California company partners with Charleston County to get rid of electronic refuse. Page 20
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