June 15 - 28, 2015 • www.charlestonbusiness.com
Volume 21, No. 13 • $2.00
Legislature postpones medical marijuana bill What’s Montana got on S.C.?
S.C. would have thousands more small businesses if it had a comparable ownership rate to Montana’s. Page 2
Legal discovery
Interim president named at Charleston School of Law as bar association makes site visit. Page 11
What Charleston lawyers earn
Starting salaries in Lowcountry among lowest in South Carolina. Page 11
By Liz Segrist
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lsegrist@scbiznews.com
ayden Kozak, 11, has seen his little sister stop breathing from epileptic seizures so many times that he stopped counting. Seven-year-old Sophia Kozak had seizures so frequently that she stopped walking, speaking and smiling.
“That is something I will never forget,” Jayden said. “She would have so many seizures it was very difficult to be her big brother.” Robynn Kozak, their mother, started giving Sophia cannabidiol oil, a substance derived from marijuana plants. The treatment helped. Sophia now has a few seizures a day, but not the hundreds a day she had experienced for most of her life.
Hauling ’em in Last year, trawlers landed 1.6 million pounds of shrimp, valued at more than $8 million, off the coast of S.C. A mild winter could push this year’s harvest above $9 million. Page 6
Boeing cleared from complaint
National Labor Relations Board drops accusation brought by Machinists union. Page 15
INSIDE Upfront............................. 2 In Focus: Law............... 13 List: Law Firms............. 16 At Work.......................... 19 People in the News......... 19 Business Digest.............. 19 Hot Properties................. 22 Viewpoint........................ 23
“Look at my sister now,” Jayden said during a medical marijuana rally last month on the Statehouse steps. “She is able to walk. Before the CBD oil, she could not walk up those stairs. ... Look at her now. She is joyful. She has a smile on her face.” The S.C. Legislature and Gov. Nikki Haley See MARIJUANA, Page 8
Jasper plan rejected despite shorter tower By Ashley Heffernan
T
aheffernan@scbiznews.com
he Beach Co.’s third proposal for the Sergeant Jasper site in downtown Charleston was denied earlier this month by the city’s Board of Architectural Review. The board had deferred the controversial redevelopment plan on May 13, based primarily on an 18-story, 214-foot residential tower. But reducing the tower to 13 floors, or 159 feet tall — the same height as the current Sergeant Jasper building on Broad Street — was not enough to convince board members or many area residents of the project’s fit for the neighborhood. Beach Co. CEO John Darby said he was disappointed with the vote, adding that the plan incorporated feedback from more than 50 meetings with neighborhood and preservation groups over a span of eight years. He said the company remains committed to developing a “quality project.” None of The Beach Co.’s plans has been welcomed by the majority of the public. One meeting had to be deferred because an angry See JASPER, Page 5
Photo/Ashley Heffernan
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Volvo’s big play
New models, rebranding figure into automaker’s Berkeley County plan. Page 3 Photo/Kathy Allen