Briefs
by John Temple Ligon

Lake Carolina

Lake Carolina was named "Community of the Year" for the seventh year in a row by the Home Builders Association of Greater Columbia.

California growth

In 2006, venture capital investments in California increased 14% to $12.2 billion, 48% of all venture capital in the country last year.

Tourism

Tourism in South Carolina contributes $10.9 billion a year to the gross state product and employs about 216,000 people.

Blogging

In 2002, the amount of the blog ad marketplace was $100,000. In 2006, the blog ad marketplace shot up to $36.2 million. By 2010, blog advertising is expected to hit $300.4 million. Currently, there are 57 million blogs, and 85% of bloggers say they do not blog to make money.

Clyburn and the lottery

U.S. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn wants the S.C. Legislature to review how it spends lottery money. Clyburn would like to see more of the proceeds go to programs that serve the state's elementary and secondary school students and to grants to help low- income students pay for college, according to the Post and Courier.

Iraq's oil

Iraq could have another 100 billion barrels of oil in its western desert, according to The Financial Times , which doubles its oil reserves. Iraq then becomes the world's second biggest source of oil reserves, overtaking Iran. Saudi Arabia is the biggest.

DeMint defeated

U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint (R- S.C.) offered an amendment on the Senate floor recently to let small businesses opt out of the 2002 post- Enron Sarbanes- Oxley laws. By a vote of 62- 35, the Senate set aside DeMint's amendment to make compliance with Sarbanes- Oxley's Section 404 optional for companies with total market value of less than $700 million.

USC horsemanship

The USC equestrian team won its second national championship in three years.

Infidelities

MSNBC.com and iVillage.com recently conducted a study of office affairs. More than a third of those who admitted to infidelity cheated with a co- worker. The study also disclosed that the more money men make, the more likely they are to cheat. For women, more income did not mean more likelihood to be unfaithful.

New air taxi serves Charleston airports

ImagineAir, based in Lawrenceville, Ga., is making regular trips between Augusta and Kiawah Island, charging its club member and two other passengers a total of $447 for a one-way trip. The air taxi service operates the Cirrus SR22- GTS aircraft, which seats three passengers and cruises at more than 200 miles per hour. The Cirrus is equipped with a parachute. In 2008, ImagineAir will expand its fleet to include Eclipse 500 very light jets, which seat five passengers and can fly 1,300 miles.

The eggplant that smoked Chicago

The City of Chicago has an unpliable smoking ban. Smoking is not allowed in any public space to include on stage in a theater. Martha- as in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? - cannot smoke. While Twelve Angry Men go through the jury's deliberation, the Chicago aldermen won't allow smoking on stage. The City of Columbia has not taken the final step in its smoking ordinance, and the State of S.C.'s smoking ban in public spaces is still in the formative "stage." Maybe respect for artistic intent and even the voice of reason will prevail here, unlike Chicago.

Barely legal briefs coming to Columbia?

Lawyer advertising in Chicago might influence the Richland County Bar. Above Bellvue and Rush on Chicago's posh Gold Coast, as seen from a Drake Hotel window, is a large billboard advertising an all- female divorce firm, Fetman Garland & Associates. The sign reads, "Life's Short, Get a Divorce." Flanking the commercial guidance are a curvaceous woman in lace lingerie and a sport of a guy in a towel.

Next- door biotechnology competition for USC's Innovista

North Carolina's Kannapolis City Council recently approved a plan to seek $168.4 million in 25- year self-financing bonds to fund infrastructure improvements for a N.C. Research Campus. Billionaire businessman David Murdock and several N.C. universities and colleges are developing the 350- acre, $1.5 billion N.C. Research Campus as a biotechnology hub.

Next- door aerodynamics research competition for Clemson's ICAR

California- based Haas, which operates NASCAR racers driven by Jeff Green and Johnny Sauter, is building a $40 million wind tunnel in Concord, N.C. The tunnel can simulate road speeds of 180 mph, attracting Formula 1 cars from Europe as well as American stock racers.