Briefs

by John Temple Ligon

Bull Street

The S.C. Supreme Court has ruled the sale

proceeds of the Bull Street site must go the the state Department of Mental Health instead of the state's general fund. Columbia expectations include the full planned contingent of 1,257 residential units, 179,000 square feet of retail space, and 638,000 square feet of office space. The sale of the property could run to $32 million, which is just to acquire the land and existing buildings in order to bulldoze, build, renovate, and readapt in some cases. The mentally ill in S.C., then, stand to see another $32 million in the near future.

Beaufort deal

Earl McMillen III of Beaufort, S.C., was profiled recently in London's Financial Times. McMillen is in the business of restoring classic yachts, both motor launches and sailboats, and he is also in the business of selling part- ownerships. His boats summer in Newport, R.I., winter in Florida and the Bahamas, and they spend the spring and fall in Beaufort. Investing partners, depending on what costs for which boat, pay between $50,000 and $350,000 each for a minimum 5% stake. The ownership is organized as a limited liability company.

Walkable cities

In a recently released list of America's most walkable cities, Columbia is not included, but there's no reason why Columbia cannot take stock of what's here and make it better. Make it walkable. According to Prevention magazine, the country's top 10 walkable cities are (1) Madison, Wis.; (2) Austin, Tex.; (3) San Francisco; (4) Charlotte, (5) Seattle, (6) Henderson, Nev.; (7) San Diego, (8) San José, Calif.; (9) Chandler, Ariz.; and (10) Virginia Beach, Va.

Real inflation

For the past 25 years, since Federal Reserve Chairman Volcker choked the economy, the U.S. has seen annual inflation run about 3%. In Zimbabwe, February annual inflation hit 1,729.9%.

Gas tax

To help South Carolina with its cleanup of more than 3,300 underground storage tanks, state legislators are debating an increase in the state gasoline tax. To generate an extra $17 million, the state gas tax needs to increase by one- half cent.

Giuliani's approval challenge in South Carolina

Although his ratings hold high nationally in his quest for the Republican nomination, Giuliani is having a hard time presenting himself as a solid family man in S.C.. When he was mayor in NYC in 2000, he moved out of Gracie Mansion to live in the private apartment of a gay couple. His second wife at the time secured an exclusion order on Judith Nation, now his third wife. Meanwhile, one of Giuliani's competitors for the nomination, Mormon multi- millionaire Mitt Romney just turned 60 aside his wife, his only wife of the past 40 years or so and the mother of his five married sons.

South Carolina jobless rate drops a bit

According to the S.C. Employment Security Commission, S.C.'s unemployment rate fell in January to 6.4%, down from December's 6.5%. Still, S.C.'s 6.4% is second highest in the country. Michigan's 6.9% is the highest in the U.S.

School choice

As education issues heat up in the presidential primary race in South Carolina, school choice is sure to get full discussion. A quick recall of Democrat party leaders' choices of the recent past might shed light on the subject. The Clintons moved into the White House in 1993, and they could have placed daughter Chelsea in any public school in the District of Columbia. Instead, they chose private Sidwell Friends School. Former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina sent his children to a religious school upon assuming his duties in the U.S. Senate. Al Gore of Tennessee lived with his family in the District of Columbia as both a U.S. Senator and as the country's vice president, and he sent all his children to toney private Washington schools. After all, he attended one himself: St. Albans. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois sends his child to a private school in Chicago, but at least Obama is open to the idea of helping low- income families send their children to the schools of their choosing, public or private. Other than Obama, however, all the others mentioned here, the parents of private- school students, object to helping low-income American families enroll their children in private schools.

Home sales up

According to the S.C. Association of Realtors, Columbia home sales in January totaled 679, an increase of 12% compared with January of last year.

Parsimonious pension planners

The $26 billion pension fund for state employees in S.C. last June 30 brought in a return of 5.13% for the year. The Yale University endowment fund for the last 20 years has averaged an annual return of 16%.