Briefs
by John Temple Ligon

Tourism

Tourism Development International reports tourism might reach $40 billion annually in economic impact on South Carolina's gross state product by 2020. To get there, according to Governor Sanford, legislators must agree to Sanford's request to increase state marketing funding by $13.5 million this year. Tourism currently contributes almost $11 billion to the gross state product, but less than one- fifth of 1% of that is spent on promoting tourism.

Smoking ban survives court test

Circuit Judge John Few of Greenville ruled last week a coalition of restaurants and bars failed to show the city's smoking ban would force irreparable harm on the businesses. Few declined to stop the city from fining businesses for violating the new law.

Spoleto

Charleston's 31st Spoleto Festival USA, the American cousin of Italy's Festival of Two Worlds, is scheduled to run from May 25 until June 10. The tickets went on sale last week. Spoleto will feature the American premiers of two French operas: Gluck's comic Baroque opera Merlin's Island or The World Turned Upside Down and Pascal Dusapin's Faustus, the Last Night. This year's festival offers 125 performances, to include the first American production of Book of Longing, a 12- part music cycle by composer Philip Glass borrowing from Leonard Cohen's eponymous poetry collection. However, retired ad man Marvin Chernoff reportedly says there's little sense for Columbians to go to the 31st Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston with all its imported performances and American premiers, as he and Columbia City Council are spending city money for a competing festival offering strictly local talent.

Can it happen here?

Beginning February 1, lawyers licensed in New York face tough advertising restrictions. Under rules issued last week, lawyers can no longer send out solicitation letters to victims of a tragedy within 30 days of media reports. The rules also ban paid testimonials and actors in advertising unless payment is disclosed.

Another paper sells

McClatchy Co., owner of The State, bought the Minneapolis Star Tribune in 1998 for $1.2 billion. NYC- based Avista Capital Partners plans to buy the Star Tribune for $530 million, a considerable drop in price since 1998 and a cheap deal at 6.5 times the paper's cash flow.

Charleston investment

Automated Trading Desk of Mount Pleasant last week announced an infusion of $60 million from Technology Crossover Ventures of Palo Alto, Calif. ATD began 18 years ago with $100,000 and a business plan based on stock-trading software. The firm executes about 7% of the stock trades at the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ, managing the transfer of about 280 million shares a day.

Atlanta still #1 in the world

Hartsville- Jackson International Airport logged 976,307 flights in 2006, while Chicago O'Hare International's count for the year was 958,643, second in the world.

Jim Rex has work to do

S.C. Superintendent of Education, as of inauguration Wednesday, January 10, Jim Rex faces a state rank of 41 in the latest national evaluation of public school quality. Education Week published South Carolina's rank at the bottom with the nation's lowest high school graduation rate. However, the state was recognized for the nation's best testing standards. Also, the state ranked #11 in education alignment policies, the orderly matriculation from pre- kindergarten to college.

Columbia schools make The New York Times

Last week, a New York Times article on middle schools recognized efforts in the Midlands: "In one Columbia, S.C., school district, all five middle schools have begun offering some form of single- sex classes, on the theory that they promote self- esteem and reduce distractions."

Gas tax

North Carolina gas tax rises to 33 cents a gallon as of June 30. South Carolina gas tax appears to be holding at 16 cents, among the nation's least expensive.

Sub- prime mortgages

According to Raleigh's Center for Responsible Lending, 28,000 sub- prime loans originated in South Carolina in 2006, and 4,900 (17%) of those were projected to be foreclosed. Nationally 19% are projected to be foreclosed.