Briefs
by John Temple Ligon
Temple@TheColumbiaStar.com

Yuan more time

China wants to eventually allow its currency to float, to allow for a market value in the yuan. But for now an under-valued yuan suits the Chinese trade imbalance just fine. A Senate bill put together by S.C.'s Sen. Lindsey Graham and New York's Sen. Charles Schumer threatened to impose a 27.5% tariff on all Chinese products coming into the U.S. unless China revalued its currency. President Bush and Treas. Sec. Henry Paulson asked for more time to work with the Chinese and to expect some strengthening of the yuan against the dollar. Graham and Schumer agreed to scrap scheduled vote on their bill.

Greenville has it worse

The Greenville Transit Authority is short $500,000 for this year's $3.3 million budget. Their fiscal year began Sunday, October 1. The GTA is planning on cutting service by 40% if it can't find the $500,000. The CMRTA bus system runs through Richland and Lexington Counties on an $11 million budget. The City of Columbia contributes $1 million annually to the CMRTA, while Greenville gives just $355,000 annually to the GTA.

Greenville has it better

Greenville's downtown YMCA on Cleveland Street is building a $7.8 million expansion. Columbia's downtown YMCA on Sumter Street, there for a century, has never expanded.

Foreign companies cut payroll

South Carolina lost about 5,000 people from foreign companies' local payrolls compared with last year. Arizona gained the same amount in the same time.

Retail in town and out of town

Columbia, SC's capital city, has 231,075 square feet of retail, according to Colliers Keenan. Cayce/West Columbia has 1,058,850 square feet of retail, while Northeast Richland has 2,942,774.

Fat cities

The Trust for American Health reported recently 26.2% of South Carolinians are obese, establishing the state as the nation's eighth fattest.

Sun City

Pulte Homes is planning a new Sun City retirement community in Berkeley County with 1,000 single-family homes. It will be the third Del Webb development in S.C. According to census data from 1995 to 2000, S.C. was the nation's fifth fastest-growing state in numbers of people ages 60 and over moving in.

Drink because it's good for your pocketbook

According to the Reason Foundation, women drinkers earn 14% more than nondrinkers.

Signs of profligacy

The SCDOT let out for bid a contract to install access-ramp signs to inform the Interstate drivers of gas stations and restaurants near the intersections. Corey Media of Atlanta bid $1 million less than the winning team, S.C. Logos. John Hardee, a SCDOT commissioner, is an executive with the parent company of S.C. Logos, according to the Greenville News.

Income

South Carolina's per-capita income in 2005 was $21,135, which was 86% of the national average. The 2000 average income in S.C. was $300 less, but it was also 89% of the national average.

Clemson

Private giving to Clemson University topped $59 million in the 2005-06 fiscal year, which ended June 30. USC is yet to disclose its numbers for the same period.

Baseball in uptown Charlotte

The AAA Charlotte Knights are looking to locate in uptown Charlotte between 2nd Street and 4th Street, about a block northeast of the Bank of America Stadium. At least 14 new condominium towers are planned nearby.

Spartanburg-based Denny's gets hit with another suit

A fired employee at a Baltimore Denny's is suing her employer to comply with the ADA by allowing additional medical leave. She had her leg amputated. Having taken 26 weeks of medical leave in a 12-month period, the employee was told she was a safety risk, and she was fired. Denny's suffered a 1994 lawsuit for $54.4 million when it was accused of asking black customers to prepay meals. Denny's settled. A slew of suits from minorities followed.

Least expensive homes

On average, Columbia has the cheapest homes among the state's cities. Nationally, Columbia is one of the cheapest cities to buy a house. According to a national Coldwell Banker study, what costs $191,666 in Columbia for 2,200 square feet costs $200,725 in Greenville, $253,938 in Myrtle Beach, and $361,250 in Charleston.

Just one more dollar

Glenn Knight, 72, of West Columbia, won $100,000, the top prize on S.C. Education Lottery online game, Palmetto Cash 5. The Palmetto Cash 5 numbers drawn September 29, 2006, were 4, 5, 16, 33, and 37. The Power-Up number drawn was 2. Knight did not spend the extra $1 for the Power-Up feature which multiplies Palmetto Cash 5 winnings up to $500,000.