Category Archives: EcoDevo

Looks like that ‘cluster’ thing is working

As with automotive companies clustering around BMW in the Upstate, we’re starting to see more aerospace growth between here and Charleston:

Aerospace company lands in Orangeburg County

Aerostructures North America will open a new aerospace components assembly facility in the 150,000-square-foot Miller Valentine speculative building, located at 348 Millennium Drive, Orangeburg.

GKN South Carolina plans to create 278 jobs and invest a minimum of $38 million over the next six years.

The U.K.-based company’s plans were announced today after Orangeburg County Council approved a set of incentives for the new aerospace manufacturer Monday night.

Initially, the facility will perform assembly operations for a composite fuselage for Honda’s new HondaJet, a light business aircraft. GKN was awarded the HondaJet contract on Nov. 14…

“Over the longer term we expect the new site to serve a range of aerospace customers on assembly tasks across civil and military aviation,” Cummings added.

One of those customers is Boeing Co., which last summer opened a final assembly facility for the wide-body Dreamliner 787 passenger plant in North Charleston, about 70 miles from GKN’s new Orangeburg site near the intersection of Interstate 26 and U.S. Route 301.

GKN Aerospace is responsible for a number of components on the 787, including the plane’s acoustic exhaust and lightweight thrust links, according to an earlier press release on the company’s website…

That sure does beat a high-stakes bingo parlor, when it comes to economic development.

Entire DHEC board elected by Haley

OK, here’s a piece of the puzzle that was missing for me when I read Vincent Sheheen’s release demanding that the whole DHEC board resign for having approved a permit for Georgia…

The whole board was appointed by Nikki Haley:

  • Chairman and Member-at-large — Allen Amsler
  • 1st District — Mark Lutz
  • 2nd District — Robert Kenyon Wells
  • 4th District — L. Clarence Batts, Jr.
  • 5th District — Ann B. Kirol, DDS
  • 6th District — John O. Hutto, Sr., MD

    • Make of that what you will, but you can begin to see why the senator just might be holding the governor responsible for what he regards as a sellout of South Carolina’s environment and its economy.

    Vincent Sheheen wants entire DHEC board to quit, hints at impropriety by Nikki Haley

    I don’t know what Vincent Sheheen knows, or thinks he knows, but he comes on pretty strong in this release I got from Phil Bailey a few moments ago:

    Sheheen Calls DHEC Port Decision a Costly Blunder

    Calls for DHEC Board’s Resignation

    Columbia, SC  – State Senator Vincent Sheheen of Camden today called the state’s Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) unanimous decision to allow the dredging of waterways to the Port of Savannah a costly blunder and called for Board members to resign immediately. Sheheen issued the following statement:

    “Today’s decision by the DHEC board is a disaster for our state’s environment and our future economic growth. Selling out on protection of our sensitive natural habitats and our own economy is a blunder that will cost us dearly in jobs and natural resources. The DHEC Board members should resign immediately and Governor Haley should replace them with knowledgeable individuals who will represent the best interest of South Carolina and who are not campaign contributors to Haley. I am further requesting that state Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell convene an investigatory committee to review whether or not the DHEC board was improperly influenced.  I am also calling on Governor Haley to disclose immediately all contributions, if any, she received from persons or corporations residing in the state of Georgia during the last six months.”

    “The actions today show a disregard for our state’s economic and environmental interests.  Every person who loves this state should be shocked.”

    ###

    Here’s what little I know about the action that prompted the release, from The Associated Press:

    COLUMBIA, S.C. — The board overseeing South Carolina’s environmental agency has approved a compromise with the Army Corps of Engineers over a permit to dredge the Savannah River.

    The agency’s board voted unanimously Thursday to accept the agreement, putting Georgia and the federal government a step closer to deepening 35 miles between the Atlantic Ocean and the port of Savannah, Ga.

    DHEC staff denied the Corps’ water permit request in September. The agreement was reached minutes before an appeal before the board.

    It includes Georgia’s promise to pay for upkeep on devices the Corps will install to inject oxygen into the river, and agreeing to preserve an additional 1,500 acres of marsh.

    Patrick Moore with the Coastal Conservation League says his group will appeal the decision to the state’s Administrative Law Court.

    There seems little doubt that this is not good news for SC, but I have no way of knowing whether there is anything nefarious going on.

    The Ariail cartoon that plumb tickled them ol’ fancy-pants NLRB lawyers

    Here’s the Robert Ariail cartoon that the smart-a__ Yankee NLRB attorneys were passing around and giggling about:

    WASHINGTON — Lawyers for the federal labor agency fighting Boeing’s new factory in North Charleston, N.C., repeatedly joked among themselves about the dispute and exchanged a political cartoon portraying S.C. Sen. Glenn McConnell as a crass-speaking confederate soldier, according to internal documents released Wednesday.

    They enjoyed it as much as they could, but we can take satisfaction from knowing that they couldn’t possibly have enjoyed it on the deeper, convoluted levels of meaning that are accessible to us, the cognoscenti.

    Who’s out there polling about metro issues?

    A friend sent me  this last night:

    Interesting note: I just got polled about the following issues: view of city-county council, opinions of USC economic development, Harris Pastides, Innovista and funding the bus system.
    Also asked about funding a new baseball stadium, riverfront and Zoo improvements.
    Even (da-dum) strong mayor!
    You might throw that out there (without my name, please) and see who might be paying for such a poll.

    So… any of y’all know who’s doing that polling? I mean, I could call around to the usual suspects, but it’s easier to see if y’all know anything first…

    About those parking garages…

    A colleague (not anyone with The State) asked me this morning what I thought about that parking garages story in The State Sunday morning:

    Exclusive | USC garages $4 million in the red

    Two parking facilities underutilized

    By WAYNE WASHINGTON – wwashington@thestate.com

    The University of South Carolina has spent $4 million over the last three years to cover deficits at a pair of underutilized parking structures built to serve the school’s Innovista research campus.

    And it could be another half-dozen years before the garages break even, bringing in as much money as they cost the university each year in debt payments.

    Combined, the Horizon garage on Main Street and the Discovery garage on Park Street bring in roughly $764,000 a year less in parking revenue than they were expected to generate, according to figures provided by the university.

    USC contractually is pledged to use its “best efforts” to cover $1.4 million a year in debt payments on the two garages…

    I had to confess I hadn’t read past the top of it, because it didn’t tell me anything new. I mean, we’ve been over this ground before, many times, right? I mean, the reason so many of y’all spit on the ground every time “Innovista” gets mentioned is because USC made the mistake of building those buildings right as the economy was about to crash — causing them to be under-occupied, and therefore for the parking garages attached to be underutilized.

    I guess the news in this — the “Exclusive” news — is that there are some actual numbers attached to what we already knew. I guess.

    I mean, this is the same ground I covered, yet again, in an exchange with Doug this morning. In an effort to rain on the Nephron parade, Doug wrote:

    I really hope this doesn’t turn into another Innovista marketing hype venture like so many of the announcements made by USC over the past few years…

    Of course, Doug was trying to head off exactly what I DO say about the Nephron deal, which is that it is one small step in the direction of success for Innovista. I responded to him thusly:

    Let me say it again:
    Innovista is not about those buildings.
    Innovista is not about those buildings.
    Innovista is not about those buildings.
    Innovista is not about those buildings.
    It just isn’t.

    I curse the day those buildings were conceived, because they distracted everyone from what the Innovista concept is. It’s about all sorts of investments that will take place in all sorts of physical locations, mostly centered in an area bounded by the new baseball field and the State Museum along the river, and then up to Assembly Street — but NOT limited by that. It’s about leveraging that proximity to the University to promote high-tech development throughout the Midlands. Some will locate in the Innovista proper; some won’t.

    As Innovista succeeds, many large and small investors will invest in all sorts of ways in infrastructure — from existing buildings to new. And the types of investors will include living space, restaurants and retail stores for the people who work in the research-related businesses there.

    That’s IF it succeeds. Which is hard to do when so many people spit on the ground every time its name gets mentioned.

    This IS a case of Innovista succeeding, by the way — one step in the right direction. A business first got involved with USC through Innovista, and is now expanding its business in our area, producing jobs that pay well. This is one of a number of ways that one would expect Innovista to contribute to our economy.

    Back to the garages story. For me, the pertinent part, the real perspective on this, comes at the bottom, when Wayne quotes Don Herriott, the guy hired to clean up the Innovista effort after the last guy got pushed out the door:

    … Don Herriott, director of Innovista, said the two 110,000-square-foot buildings already constructed are 40 percent occupied by researchers.

    One of those buildings should be 60 percent occupied by early next year, Herriott said. The other should be 100 percent occupied in two to three years.

    The economic downturn, which struck as the university was moving forward with Innovista, has made it difficult to get the other two buildings planned constructed, Herriott said.

    Those buildings still could be erected at some time in the future, Herriott said. But rather than stick with its original, expansive vision of Innovista, USC officials are moving forward with a stripped-down plan that focuses more on selling the benefits of having a high-tech corridor and moving researchers into existing space.

    “ ‘If you build it, they will come’ is not a business strategy,” Herriott said when he was hired last year.

    Last week, Herriott said Innovista is coming together.

    “It’s prime real estate,” he said. “There are people who want to have close proximity to the university.”

    That’s the real perspective. That’s what’s happening here. And for my part, I look forward to Innovista — the real Innovista, not those stupid buildings — continuing to take off, to the point at which the $4 million shortfalls will look like a very small price to have paid.

    The necessary ingredients for capitalism to work

    On a previous post, Kathryn Fenner had the following to say (sort of taking off on something Phillip had said) about our economic and political systems:

    Free market capitalisn is the best system going for creating wealth, but it is really poor at distributional equity. You have to redress it somehow, or the disenfranchised will reinstate a Hobbesian jungle, and kill the freedom of the market. In a really capitalist society, the capitalists drive around in bullet-proof limos and hide behind gated compounds while the rest of the society scraps and scrounges…many “developing” nations are like this.

    In response to both, I wrote a series of comments, and for the sake of coherence, I will now edit them together as the rest of this post…

    That’s not capitalism; that’s oligarchy. You find it in totalitarian systems (Stalinist Russia) with a small “Inner Party” with exclusive access to foreign goods, or in strongman-type dictatorships (such as with the Caudillos you see so much in Latin American history). And despite what Occupy Wall Street may think, that’s not what we have.

    For capitalism to work, you need a thriving middle class (and NOT the bullet-proof oligarchs). Businesses need customers and skilled workers. There needs to be lots of unfettered economic activity.

    This, by the way, is why all of those people turned out for that announcement Friday. Far from being just the “politicians” Doug universally despises, it was a cross-section. Yes, there were politicians of all stripes — and one of the wonderful things about an event like this is that Democrats and Republicans are happy to celebrate together, which is a good thing for the Republic.

    But there were all sorts of representatives of business and academia. People I run into everywhere — Rotary, church, on Facebook, Twitter, etc. It was sort of like the last episodes of “Seinfeld,” when all these memorable characters from previous episodes crop up. Everywhere you turn, recognition. And they are people you don’t normally see together.

    (At one point, Page Ivey — now with USC, formerly of the AP, formerly of The State — and I were standing near Bobby Hitt, and she remarked that it was like being in The State’s newsroom in the late 80s. I said something about The State having sent two writers, and she corrected me — yes, Jeff Wilkinson is still with The State, but Chuck Crumbo was with Columbia Regional Business Review. THAT publication had sent two — Chuck, and Jim Hammond, also formerly of The State. By the way, Chuck had also once worked at The Wichita Eagle, where I had been in the mid-80s. Memories of past lives, everywhere.)

    Even Walid Hakim from OC fit into that category. He and I sit on the Community Relations Council board. He’s a nice guy and a very dedicated, helpful board member. I enjoy conversing with him. He, too, was attracted by the promise of new economic activity, if only to protest it.

    It was particularly fitting that so many ex-newspaper types were there (and I didn’t name all of them I saw). A weakened newspaper, which is what The State and so many others were going into 2008, is like a canary in the coal mine for the local economy. If things slow down, or suddenly seize up the way they did in September of that year, the already-distressed newspaper keels over. Newspapers, relying almost entirely on advertising for life, are enormously dependent upon their communities thriving economically.

    I’m acutely aware of it in the marketing game as well. As was pretty much everyone there. We can feel the fluctuations more easily than a lot of people with fixed salaries who have never seen volatility up close and personally. We all truly welcome the promise that a large new industry brings — especially one that pays a lot of people well — and how that can positively effect everyone in the community. And we have greater appreciation than my friends with The Nerve have for a community, as a community, taking on some small risk in order to encourage such growth — and an expanding industry can be one of the best kinds — in their midst.

    Because for capitalism to work, everyone needs to thrive — blue collar, white collar, and yes, the Fat Cat investors. Lots of people able to buy cars and shop in the stores, and pay taxes so that we can pay for the governmental services that provide the framework for healthy economic activity — roads, parks, schools, laws that uphold private property rights.

    One more point — for private and public to function together so that the whole community benefits, it is essential that people in the community have some faith in, and respect, those institutions. That is one reason why I so consistently denounce movements that are built upon the delegimization of such institutions. That includes the Tea Party, Occupy Wall Street, the Libertarian Party, the Sanfordistas in the Republican Party. Any movement that has its basis in lack of trust of these institutions.

    Yes, by all means, point to problems with the system, as Nicholas Kristof did in that column that Phillip brought to my attention. Point to things we can fix, to make the system better.

    But there is nothing worse than unfocused outcries against the system itself. Because a free and open republic in which capitalism can thrive to the benefit of all classes is the best hope mankind has yet come up with for mutual benefit in a community — or rather, in a complex web of communities, which is what we actually live in.

    Man is a social animal. He does not thrive in isolation. And he interacts through institutions, from the family to the federal government, from Mom and Pop shops to large corporations. The idea is to work together to keep those institutions healthy and functioning as they should for the benefit of all, not to try to tear them down or make them pariahs or shrink them until they’re small enough to drown in a bathtub.

    The movements or philosophies that would do those things are the enemies of our communities, and therefore the enemies of every one of us. And I stand against them.

    Nikki Haley vs. Occupy Columbia: Pick your side

    Because I can’t. An excerpt from a release that just came in from Occupy Columbia:

    On Thursday, Governor Nikki Haley said that unions are behind the Occupy Wall Street movement. We contest that accusation. This is a leaderless movement that welcomes participation from all groups, but neither bows down nor endorses any. We’ve publicly invited all people or organizations, whether they be Unions or the Tea Party, to come take part in a conversation about economic injustice and a system that is rigged to benefit the 1% at the direct expense of the 99%.

    We challenge Governor Haley to produce evidence to back up her claim. If she would attend one of our General Assemblies (held every day at 10:00am and 7:00pm), she would realize that all decicions made by Occupy Columbia are voted on by those in attendence. We require a 90% threshold for consensus, and no group, Union or otherwise, has the ability to control that.

    Whom should I back here? This is a toughie…

    Seriously, though — I don’t think the gov should have said that about them, without justification. Shades of her tale about the drug-addled unemployed.

    But then, I don’t agree with OC that Nephron locating here is a bad idea. The rest of the release:

    On the other hand, it was the Governor herself who said, earlier this morning, that she is the “number one employee” of a pharmaceutical company and that their success is her “number one goal.” This company, Nephron Pharmaceuticals is the same company whose private jet she used to fly to a fundraiser in Dallas, TX last month, according to Fits News.

    We had members in attendance for this morning’s announcement, one holding a sign reading “Who owns you?” Her number one priority should be the success of the people of South Carolina, not the non-body person that is a major pharmaceutical company.

    By her statement, she is the personification of the merger of state and corporate interests. We applaud her bold honesty, but find it hard to believe that she can be expected to be accountable after such a declaritive pledge of allegiance to the highest bidder.

    So I’m where I started, without a side. But that’s my usual position…

    USC connection brings 707 jobs to Midlands

    First, for the overview, I’ll give you the press release from today’s event (provided by the SC Commerce Department):

    Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corporation Announces New Operations in Lexington County

    $313 million investment expected to create 707 new jobs

    COLUMBIA, S.C. – October 28, 2011 – Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corporation today announced that the company will locate its new operations in Lexington County. The $313 million investment is expected to generate 707 new jobs.

    “We are excited to expand our company by locating our new manufacturing facility in Lexington County. This is a big step for our firm and will help us meet increased demand, expand our market share and develop our pipeline of products. South Carolina has an excellent business environment and we look forward to our expansion into the Palmetto State,” said Lou Kennedy, CEO of Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corporation.

    Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corporation will establish a new pharmaceutical manufacturing campus and offices in Lexington County. The company is based in Orlando where it currently operates 250,000 square feet of manufacturing, distribution and packaging facilities. Additionally, the company has distribution centers in Kentucky and Arizona.

    “It’s another great day in South Carolina with today’s announcement. We celebrate Nephron Pharmaceuticals’ decision to locate its new manufacturing facility in the Midlands and create hundreds of well-paying new jobs. This is a big win for our state,” said Gov. Nikki Haley.

    In June, William and Lou Kennedy were awarded the Order of the Palmetto for their philanthropy in founding the Kennedy School of Pharmacy at the University of South Carolina. Both are South Carolinians and alumni of the University of South Carolina. Discussions between the Governor and the Kennedys during the Order of the Palmetto visit led the company to consider South Carolina for the new facility.

    “I am gratified that Lou and Bill Kennedy, who have already established the Kennedy Pharmacy Innovation Center at Innovista, see the University of South Carolina and our state as locations to further their commitment to pharmaceutical manufacturing with world class quality and efficiency. Their vision and keen business acumen have led to an important second step in increasing innovation and the knowledge economy in South Carolina,” said Dr. Harris Pastides, USC president.

    “Nephron Pharmaceuticals’ investment and new jobs will have a huge positive impact on our state. This new facility will be a major boost for our pharmaceutical manufacturing sector. Today’s announcement is the largest one in the state’s life sciences industry this year,” said Bobby Hitt, Secretary of Commerce.

    The new facility will be located on a 60-acre parcel of land near the Amazon facility in Lexington. It is expected to be up and running in the next couple of years.

    “I would like to take this opportunity to publically recognize and celebrate the remarkable achievements of Nephron Pharmaceuticals and to hail their decision to expand their operations into their ‘home’ state. This expansion will bring over $313 million dollars into our local economy and will generate more than 700 jobs for the citizens of Lexington County, the Midlands and South Carolina. Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corporation is a

    renowned leader in its field, and through the years has grown to manufacture over one billion units of medication. What an accomplishment,” said Lexington County Council Chairman Jim Kinard.

    Central SC Alliance Chairman Jim Apple said, “Today’s significant capital investment and high-wage job creation announcement by Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corporation is a game changer in our quest to recruit international life science/biotechnology industries to the Central South Carolina region. This company is a market leader that produces millions of units of life-saving medications every year right here in the United States and shortly, product will be coming out of Lexington County. We want to recognize and thank the Kennedys for coming back home to South Carolina in making this announcement. The Central SC Alliance is proud to represent a dynamic nine-county region and we value the outstanding working relationship with the University of South Carolina and the S.C. Department of Commerce as we collectively grow our region.”

    The S.C. Department of Commerce has committed a set aside grant of $4.5 million for site preparation and infrastructure. The company was also approved for job development credits, which will be available when hiring targets are met. The company will receive training support from the state’s ReadySCprogram.

    Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corporation is a global leader in manufacturing generic respiratory medications. The company’s products are available to retail pharmacies, hospitals, home care companies, long term care facilities, mail order pharmacies, and various other customers. For more information about Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corporation, please visit www.nephronpharm.com.

    About S.C. Department of Commerce

    As South Carolina’s leading economic development agency, the Department of Commerce works to recruit new businesses and help existing businesses grow. This year, Commerce won the Gold Shovel Award and the Deal of Year Award from Area Development magazine. Commerce has been part of recruiting world-class companies to South Carolina such as Boeing, Bridgestone, Continental, Monster.com, Heinz, ZF Group, BMW and Google Inc. Commerce also supports small and existing business, rural development initiatives and offers grants for community development. For more information, visit www.SCcommerce.com.

    -###-

    This was a big day for all concerned, as you can tell from the basic facts, but the pics below will help confirm. Everybody wanted to get in on the act — the governor, Harris Pastides and a large array of USC honchos, Lexington County Council, the Lexington legislative delegation, Steve Benjamin and his folks, and of course the whole economic development community, from Commerce Secretary Bobby Hitt (who was sort of the master of ceremonies) through all the local and regional recruiters. Walid Hakim and others from Occupy Columbia were there, which really confirmed what a big deal it was.

    There was enough glory to go around for all, especially for USC. Hence the Horseshoe venue. Lou and Bill Kennedy got their start at USC, and they have a child who is a freshman at the university. More to the point, they had already set up the Kennedy Pharmacy Innovation Center as part of Innovista. This is what Innovista is to look like, folks. Not White Elephant parking garages, but industries getting a foothold here through a research relationship with the university, then expanding into good jobs for South Carolinians.

    After the formal ceremony, Lou Kennedy said the jobs they’ve produced in Orlando pay an average of about $70,000. And at this point, they don’t plan on bringing any of their Orlando personnel here.

    So, very good news. And very little controversy — so far. House Majority Leader Kenny Bingham was given a chance to compare this to the fight Lexington County lawmakers had with the governor over Amazon (which will be this plant’s neighbor), and he declined. This one was nothing but cooperation.

    Part of that may be that the industry itself wanted to come here, rather than having to be enticed. (There apparently were incentives, but no one — aside from those involved in the deal — knows what they were yet. I ran into my friend Kevin Dietrich of The Nerve, the scourge of incentives, there, and he didn’t seem on the scent of any yet.) But whatever the reason they’re here. And I don’t feel like I’m going out on a limb when I say that’s a very good thing. Congratulations to all involved, from the governor on down.

    Let’s talk downtown Walmart

    Meant to blog about this yesterday. Let’s do it now instead.

    I don’t want all our fine downtown merchants to think less of me, or think that I think less of them, but my first thought when I heard we might have a Walmart (although a little one) on Assembly Street was to be very pleased.

    Actually, it was my second thought. My first was to lament the loss of the ballpark, and to once again feel great regret that when USC was building its superlative venue down by the river, then didn’t do a deal to share it with the AAA team out of Jackson, TN, that really wanted to come here. And then to rend my garments at the thought that there will be NO professional or semipro ball in our capital city for the foreseeable future.

    But my second thought was that it would be awesome to be able to get the items that I always save up to buy at Walmart during the working day when I need them. I’m talking little things, like if my allergies act up, I can get some of those little, generic antihistamine/decongestant pills that are so much cheaper there. Now, I have to plan trips to Walmart for weekends or at the end of a long, hard day, on my way home. I therefore loved the idea of the convenience.

    But now downtown merchants are up in arms:

    Neighbors, environmentalists and owners of small businesses aired their worries Tuesday about the possibility that Capital City Stadium could be converted into downtown Columbia’s first Wal-Mart.

    A cadre of detractors complained to a City Council committee Tuesday that allowing the international retail giant into the city would destroy mom-and-pop shops, threaten to increase water pollution in tributaries that feed the already polluted Congaree River and that the project was done in a hush-hush manner by City Council.

    “Small business owners are in a panic,” said Leslie Minerd, owner of Five Points retail shop Hip Wa Zee. “A big-box store will help destroy the diversity we have in Columbia. And we don’t have a lot of diversity.”…

    And that gets me thinking about the cost of my convenience to friends and neighbors. I haven’t reached any conclusions.

    What are y’all’s thoughts?

    Duke Endowment gives $11.25 million to HSSC

    Jay Moskowitz speaks at the news conference.

    I am running through so much stuff today (most of it non-blog) that I don’t have time to say much about this very development, but it’s a big deal, that could lead — among other things — to real-time information being available statewide for doctors and hospitals to better treat their patients.

    There was quite a crowd at the announcement, including Commerce Secretary Bobby Hitt (the second of three times I would see him today; he was an active guy, too), and such other luminaries as ex-Spartanburg Mayor Bill Barnet and Minor Shaw President of the Micco Corporation, both members of the Duke Endowment board — as well as board chair L. Neil Williams of Atlanta — to give you an idea of how far people came to celebrate this important investment in health research and implementation in South Carolina:

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    October 19, 2011

    Health Sciences South Carolina lands an $11.25M grant from

    The Duke Endowment

    Major gift can result in health care innovation, boost economy, and translate into healthier citizens in SC.

    Leaders from Health Sciences South Carolina (HSSC), The Duke Endowment, and the state gathered in Columbia today to announce significant news for the future of health care in South Carolina. HSSC, a statewide biomedical research collaborative, has been selected to receive a major grant from The Duke Endowment totaling $11.25 million.

    “This grant will help us continue to improve health, health care and health research in South Carolina,” said HSSC President and CEO Dr. Jay Moskowitz. “HSSC, through the support of The Duke Endowment, can translate research discoveries into improved delivery and care models and healthier lifestyles that will benefit not only South Carolinians, but all humanity.”
    Today’s grant marks the second time that The Duke Endowment has invested in HSSC’s work. In 2006, HSSC received $21 million from The Duke Endowment, the largest grant for a health care initiative in the foundation’s history. As a result of The Duke Endowment grants, HSSC, through research grants and proposals, has brought another $50 million into South Carolina.

    “From the beginning, Trustees of The Duke Endowment were impressed with Health Sciences South Carolina’s vision and commitment from its partner organizations to share knowledge and to work together,” said Neil Williams, chair of the Endowment’s Trustees. “Through this new investment, we believe South Carolina has a chance to bolster leading-edge programs and impact pressing health issues. It will help HSSC continue its vital role in making good health possible in South Carolina.”

    The Duke Endowment funding will enable HSSC to build on its existing infrastructure and move in a new strategic direction focused both on research and on translating that research into better clinical care in all parts of the state.
    For example, the grant will support HSSC in its efforts to continue to build and implement a health care information technology and clinical trials network in South Carolina. The central feature of this effort is a statewide clinical data warehouse, which will compile real-time clinical data from across HSSC’s collaborative hospitals. The statewide IT and clinical trials network not only will make research more efficient, but also will allow medical teams to use clinical data to make evidence-based decisions, resulting in better patient care. In addition, it will help South Carolina attract clinical trials, which can benefit patients and bring economic activity to the state.

    Furthermore, the new funding will enable HSSC to improve the pace at which health care quality and patient safety innovations are integrated into practice in South Carolina. By translating research into clinical practice faster, HSSC believes it can significantly improve how some of the state’s most critical chronic diseases, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity, are treated.

    While the grant will help HSSC foster research and translate that research into better health care, it also can strengthen South Carolina’s economy by leading to the development of new products, new jobs and new industries. Additionally, with the support of the grant, HSSC can play a role in containing and reducing health care costs in South Carolina.

    “In 2004, HSSC set out to develop a health care model that was unique in the U.S. and, through it, to improve the health of all South Carolinians,” Moskowitz said. “Through HSSC’s ongoing initiatives and the support of The Duke Endowment, we are realizing the promise of new treatments, methodologies, tools and discoveries. We believe that this grant, ultimately, will translate into healthier citizens in every part of South Carolina.”

    About Health Sciences South Carolina

    Established in April 2004, Health Sciences South Carolina (HSSC) is a statewide public-private collaborative of research-intensive universities and major health systems possessing the shared vision of using health sciences research to improve the health, healthcare and economic wellbeing of South Carolina. HSSC includes Clemson University, the Medical University of South Carolina, the University ofSouth Carolina, Greenville Hospital System University Medical Center, Palmetto Health, Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System, McLeod Health, Self Regional Healthcare and AnMed Health.

    For more information, visit www.healthsciencessc.org.

    About The Duke Endowment

    The Duke Endowment, a private foundation in Charlotte, N.C., seeks to fulfill the legacy of James B. Duke by enriching lives and communities in the Carolinas through higher education, health care, rural churches and children’s services. Its founder is the same Duke behind Duke University and Duke Energy, but they are all separate organizations. Since its inception in 1924, the Endowment has awarded nearly $2.8 billion in grants. For more information, visit www.dukeendowment.org.

    More than one of the business and research leaders present for the announcement later said it was good to see some of that North Carolina money flowing into South Carolina — particularly since that amount can move the needle here more than it can there.

    Bobby Hitt on media, unions and other stuff

    SC Commerce Secretary Bobby Hitt speaking to the Columbia Rotary Club on Monday.

    Here’s a post I’ve been meaning to get to all week…

    Fellow Rotarian Jimmy Covington asked my long-ago managing editor, Bobby Hitt, what he thought of the news media today. Bobby, who is now SC Commerce secretary, said:

    I think that it’s as good as it can be.

    That was followed by a long pause, with Bobby regarding the crowd with one of those patented Hitt wiseguy grins as they laughed with appreciation, before he added:

    … but not as good as it was.

    That said more succinctly what I say so often in answer to the same question. My more wordy answer goes something like, “You have to understand that my friends who still have jobs in the MSM are working heroically in the face of a really horrific lack of resources, yadda yadda….” Bobby put it more cleverly.

    Here are some other things he said to the Columbia Rotary Club Monday…

    • Between the newspaper and Commerce, Bobby spent 18 years at BMW. So it was with some authority that he said that whatever you may think about the government providing economic incentives to attract jobs — however much you may want markets to take care of everything — the truth is that “BMW has never built an Interstate highway, and has no plans to do so in the future.” But without them, no BMWs would get delivered, and there would be no BMW plant in Greer.
    • A core strength of South Carolina in economic development is that “We’re good at making stuff.” When’s the last time, he asked, that a manufacturing company located here and then left? That’s why, aside from the new Bridgestone plant, Michelin has just expanded. Those are jobs that are here to stay, he said: Our grandchildren will be working at those plants. “The world gets us, maybe better sometimes than we get ourselves.”
    • Tensions between one part of the state and another are “foolish.” A great advantage we have is that we are a small state, and it’s possible for us to work together statewide. “I look at South Carolina as one big county” in promoting economic development.
    • “I would like to see a time when South Carolinians are not just on the plant floor; they’re in the front office.”
    • Staying a right-to-work state is key to economic development, and in any event it’s not up to him. He just doesn’t see any political chance of it changing. He said he doesn’t see South Carolinians as interested in third-party representation: “Most people in South Carolina don’t want to be told what to do by anyone other than the one that pays them.”

    I don’t know WHAT I think about the ‘Chinese currency manipulation’ thing. You?

    I don’t know what I think about the issue that Lindsey Graham keeps going on about:

    Graham Responds to Chinese Government Criticism of Senate on Vote over Currency Manipulation

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) made this statement in response to criticism from the Chinese government’s Central Bank, Foreign Ministry and Ministry of Commerce over Senate legislation to crack down on Chinese currency manipulation. (Articles below.)

    Last night, the Senate voted to proceed to debate on legislation cracking down on Chinese currency manipulation.  The procedural vote was 79-19.  The Senate continues to debate the legislation today.

    Graham said:

    “China’s threats to the United States Senate should fall on deaf ears.  We should be examining their business practices, not their rhetoric.  China should be rewarded and engaged when they play fair and we should push back when they continue to cheat.

    “The Chinese government’s criticism of our efforts to bring about long-overdue currency reform is ill-advised.  We all want a healthy trading relationship with China, but their business practices – from intellectual property theft to currency manipulation, has created an unhealthy business relationship.

    “China’s pegging of the yuan to the dollar and keeping it consistently undervalued continues to create a competitive advantage for the Chinese.  China has too big of an economy to allow them to continue creating an unfair trade advantage.  Chinese currency manipulation has resulted in 2 million jobs being lost in the United States and over 40,000 in South Carolina.  China must stop cheating.”

    #####

    How would I know? Like I’m an international currency expert or something.

    I know what my gut reaction is — to be mad at the Chinese for being all unfair to us and everything. But what does my gut know about fair currency policy?

    From what I hear, what they do is fairly standard practice for developing economies. And they DO have a developing economy — a humongous, planet-eating developing economy, but still…

    That’s it. I just exhausted by expertise on this.

    Cindi’s good column about Haley’s naivete

    On Tuesday, while still eating breakfast, I sent Cindi Scoppe an email telling her what a good column she had written about Nikki Haley’s ridiculous claim (later retracted) that half the job applicants at SRS had failed drug tests.

    I was proud of the fine job she had done. I was also proud of myself, because I told her it was good without any caveats or “yes, buts” or any qualifications of any kind. I mean, I didn’t even tell her that I thought the headline could have been stronger. I was unusually nice, for me. (Dave Moniz, who worked for me as a reporter in the early 90s, used to say the highest praise anyone ever got from me was “pretty good.”)

    But was she grateful? No. She complained later that I hadn’t said how good the column was on the blog.

    So here goes. Actually, I think I’ll just quote from the piece:

    THE EXTRAORDINARY thing about Gov. Nikki Haley’s discredited claim that half the job applicants at the Savannah River Site had failed drug tests — the actual number was less than 1 percent — wasn’t her acknowledgement that she couldn’t back it up. It was her explanation for why she ever would have parroted such an absurd claim to begin with.

    Some unidentified someone she talked to told her that during the campaign, she told The Associated Press’ Jim Davenport last week, and she took it at face value and ran with it. “I’ve never felt like I had to back up what people tell me,” she said. “You assume that you’re given good information.”

    I used to think the same thing about elected officials.

    I don’t mean I believed everything they said. Quite the contrary. As a reporter, the most fun I had — and some of my most important work — was writing “fact check” articles that explained what was untrue or misleading about the claims politicians made in their political ads, speeches and debates.

    Typically, this involved sins of omission: Candidates take their opponents’ votes or comments out of context to create an incorrect and unfair impression. And it tended to be confined to the campaign trail. The overwhelming majority of elected officials I’ve dealt with in a quarter century of covering politics could be trusted with the basic facts once the campaign was ended and they were talking about policy instead of their opponents. They didn’t fabricate “facts”; even Mark Sanford just manipulated numbers in convoluted and misleading ways — although he did it more purposefully and masterfully than any of his predecessors.

    I took note before last year’s GOP primary of several misleading claims Ms. Haley had made during a meeting with our editorial board. What was striking was that she would stretch the truth so far in a setting where most candidates go out of their way to be extra careful. More striking was that there was no need for any of it. Although it might have meant a bit more work, she could have made legitimate arguments if she had stuck to the facts.

    What has remained notable since she took office is that her demonstrably inaccurate claims continue to be unnecessary…

    She goes on to give examples. It’s a good piece. You should go read it.

    Wait, here’s another good bit:

    That sort of carelessness is fairly common among people who aren’t used to being in the public spotlight. But most elected officials I know are actually quite careful about getting the facts right. They footnote their claims. They say they’ll have to get back to you before answering a question — not because they want to figure out how to spin it but because they want to make sure that they know what they’re talking about…

    And here’s another:

    Now that she has been forced to back off the drug-testing claim that she says convinced her that we need to make laid-off workers pass drug tests before they receive unemployment checks, I’m struck by the fact that she’s still pushing for the mandatory tests.

    I don’t find it objectionable to require the tests. Wasteful, yes — since taxpayers would have to foot the bill, and indications are that fewer than 5 percent of applicants would test positive — but not philosophically objectionable.

    What I find objectionable is basing an expensive policy position on an unbelievable anecdote that you didn’t even bother to question because it fits so comfortably with your preconceived notions. And then clinging to that position even after the anecdote has been so utterly discredited…

    But you should still go read the whole thing.

    Joel Lourie: What we need in SC is jobs

    In a more serious vein, I thought I’d share with you more of what Joel Lourie had to say at Rotary today.

    I realize when you read that headline, you’ll think, “So? Everybody knows that, and all politicians say it.”

    But Joel said it better than most.

    One thing he did was share the numbers above — which I scanned directly from the sheet he shared with me afterward. (To read it better, click on it.) The numbers provide statistical snapshots of South Carolina before and after the Great Recession hit.

    What Joel had to say about that was not — as you’d expect in a lesser politician — to complain about those awful Republicans (which in a Democrat in SC these days shows remarkable restraint), and blame it on them. It was more to say look, here’s the situation we have, and this is what we must deal with.

    And to him, the way out is not to pass this or that particular piece of legislation (although he did make an able case for comprehensive tax reform), or to embrace this political ideology or reject that one. Nor does he see our state’s salvation in anything that government might do, because government can only do so much. All government can do is pursue whatever policies it can that encourage our economy to come back.

    As an example of how lawmakers should work together to allow jobs to emerge in our state, he told the story of how Democrats and Republicans worked together to make sure Amazon didn’t take its 2,000-plus jobs and leave this year, how they worked together to turn a 2-1 “no” vote into a 2-1 “yes” vote for the sake of the Midlands, and of South Carolina. In that ecumenical spirit, he particularly praised his old USC classmate, House Majority Leader Kenny Bingham.

    I never was as wholeheartedly for the Amazon deal as Joel was, but I certainly appreciate his point, just as I appreciate the motivation that he and Kenny and so many others had to turn that around for the sake of their community.

    For Joel, that sort of service to the whole community is what it’s about, just as it was for his father before him. And because he delivers that service so earnestly and ably, I’m proud to know him. I didn’t tell him that at Rotary today. You don’t want stuff like that to go to people’s heads, you know.

    Does everything come in twos now?

    Above you see the rather startling double rainbow over Columbia last evening, shot through one of the front windows of Yesterday’s. Below you see the more earthbound view from several moments earlier.

    The gray Jetta across the river — I mean, street — belongs to my daughter-in-law. I had invited her and my son and youngest granddaughter to Five Points for dinner last night. As we were eating, we were aware of how hard the rain was falling outside. Then, we noticed a crowd gathering to look out the the window. Was there a fire?

    I went to check, and got the pictures. And yes, their car was flooded. Which makes me feel pretty bad, since if I hadn’t asked them out, their car would have been high and dry in their driveway.

    We had to take them home — the parking lot was high enough to be out of the floodwaters, and that’s where my Buick was. Then we had to bring my son back for the bailing. The car started, but it’s saturated.

    As you’ll recall, this is the second time in three days that a car belonging to a member of my family has been drenched by the chronic floods of Columbia. (My wife’s car started after the flood receded, but there’s still water squelching under the carpet, and it started to smell over the weekend. We kept trying to sop up the water and air it out, but it kept raining.)

    My eldest daughter (unlike me, a Columbia resident) said last night, “I’m not someone who normally says this, but what am I paying taxes for?”

    Indeed. I saw Cameron Runyan this morning and advised him, “Here’s a city issue for you.”

    This is totally unacceptable. As we were leaving, we saw the business owners fighting the water in their shops. Shoes were floating around in a shoe store. Lights were on everywhere on this Sunday night.

    Five Points is a gem for Columbia. But it’s kind of hard to keep a business going when there are whitecaps in the street.

    It wasn’t just Five Points last night, of course. I saw someone else stalled in Shandon after the waters receded. And state GOP Executive Director Matt Moore Tweeted this, at about the time I Tweeted out the double rainbow:

    Water 6 feet deep on Leesburg Rd, in@columbiasc #sctweetshttp://yfrog.com/h8ba7gcj

    That’s no everyday occurrence — or rather, it shouldn’t be. That kind of flooding in Louisiana inspired Randy Newman to write this wonderful song 50 years later:

    The river rose all day
    The river rose all night
    Some people got lost in the flood
    Some people got away alright
    The river have busted through clear down to Plaquemines
    Six feet of water in the streets of Evangeline…

    Let me leave you with a theological question: If one rainbow means it’s not going to flood any more, is a double rainbow a double guarantee? Or is it a toggle sort of thing: One the promise is on; two it’s off? Is it like adding positive three to negative three, so you end up at zero?

    In Columbia, I fear that may be the case.

    Well, I certainly hope this isn’t true about Amazon

    Speaking of economic development news, I haven’t known quite what to make of this report, which one of our regulars has shared with me:

    Employees say they faced brutal heat at Amazon warehouse

    Twenty current and former employees at an Amazon warehouse in Pennsylvania say they were forced to work in brutal heat at a breakneck pace while hired paramedics waited outside in case anyone became dangerously dehydrated.

    Spencer Soper has published an exhaustive investigation into the massive online retailer’s Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania operation. Soper reports that a local doctor treated employees at the facility for heat-related health problems, and wound up filing a complaint about conditions there with federal regulators. Many of the warehouse’s employees were temporary and hired through a staffing company; if they did not meet packing quotas, they faced daily threats of termination, Soper writes.

    He also notes that a corps of other temporary workers were poised to replace any freshly fired Amazon employee. “The safety and welfare of our employees is our No. 1 priority at Amazon, and as the general manager, I take that responsibility seriously,” Amazon warehouse manager Vickie Mortimer told the paper.

    The original news story to which that summary refers is here. By the way, the summary is from Yahoo. Not sure what to make of that.

    Our regular contributor sent that to me via email, so I’m guessing he meant to be an anonymous messenger. As for me, I just say I have great hopes for Amazon, and hope even more fervently that this description will in no way apply to the new facility here that will employ so many of our neighbors.

    I doubt that it will. In this day and age, such stories are a bit hard to believe. But I pass it on for you to decide what you think.

    Nikki has something legit to brag on today

    All hail the good news:

    Bridgestone to spend $1.2 billion, build new facility in Aiken

    Bridgestone Americas Inc. announced today it plans to build a 1.5 million-square-foot manufacturing plant for off-road radial tires and make a 474,000-square-foot expansion to the existing passenger and light truck tire plant in Aiken County.

    The $1.2 billion investment — the largest capital investment in state history — should create more than 850 full-time and contractor jobs, officials said.

    Today’s announcement was the second major announcement for Bridgestone this year. On July 20, the Bridgestone Corp. subsidiary announced a $135 million investment to make a 266,000-square-foot expansion of the existing tire plant, which would lead to the creation of 122 jobs….

    “This is a continuation of the good work we are doing to partner with companies,” Gov. Nikki Haley said. “South Carolina has a great reason to smile today.”

    Site preparation and construction are scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of this year, and the manufacturing equipment is to be installed in the third quarter of 2012, Bridgestone said.

    Today’s announcement is a “real game-changer,” S.C. Commerce Secretary Bobby Hitt said…

    I’m sure there will be all sorts of debates later re incentives, etc. But for now, I’m celebrating this boost to the SC economy.

    Well, the Onion nailed us that time

    On an earlier post, Burl shared this link to The Onion:

    Obama Visits South-Carolina-Ravaged South Carolina

    SEPTEMBER 20, 2011 | ISSUE 47•38

    COLUMBIA, SC—Calling the devastation “heartbreaking and appalling,” President Barack Obama toured South-Carolina-ravaged South Carolina Tuesday, vowing never to turn his back on the 4.6 million residents whose lives have been turned upside down by the horrors of South Carolina. “For decades, citizens from Columbia to Walterboro have suffered a kind of pain and anguish that most Americans could never fathom,” said Obama, who later led a silent prayer for the countless victims of the Southern state. “But I’m confident you will rebound. Maybe not in a month. Maybe not in a year. But South Carolina will one day emerge from the ashes of this South-Carolina-torn land.” Obama will reportedly be traveling to Charleston next, a city the president said has miraculously escaped the devastation of South Carolina.

    Yeah, that’s pretty much us. I wish it weren’t. I wish it were some outsider view that unfairly stereotypes us as something we are not, but that’s us.

    There was a time when we could have blamed “the Yankees” for keeping us down economically and otherwise. Laughably, some still do (see, “Tea Party,” demands that Congress quit “stepping on our rights,” move to ban U.S. currency, etc.).

    But nowadays, we have ourselves to blame for the fact that we lag behind their neighbors. And inexplicably, we keep marching down the path that has brought us to where we are.

    Building the Innovista, one brick at a time

    Or maybe it’s one photon at a time. This just in from CRBR:

    SCRA announced its newest tenant at the SCRA USC Innovation Center in Columbia, Nitek Inc.

    SCRA described the company as a world leader and pioneer in deep ultraviolet-LED lamp technology. Nitek was launched in early 2007 with the goal of commercializing innovative micro-devices using III-Nitride technology, according to the company website.

    Nitek is a spin-off of the University of South Carolina’s Photonics and Microelectronics Laboratory, which was started by USC professor Asif Khan in 1997.

    The lab was formed as a small-scale, vertically integrated manufacturing facility for ultraviolet emitters, high-power electronics and visible LEDs and lasers…

    The company will initially employ about 14 high-tech, high-wage employees. That number is expected to double in the next three years, SCRA said…

    So… they’re selling light, from what I gather. Or something. Here’s wishing them huge success.