Briefs
by John Temple Ligon
Home sales Columbia home sales, new and existing, fell off a bit in May. Most years, May is a busy month with home buyers trying to relocate well before the opening of school classes in the fall. According to the S.C. Association of Realtors, Columbia home sales in May totaled 1,056, a 4% drop from May '06. Higher in Columbia, however, was the median price, 0.69% above last year. Statewide sales were 6,125, a drop of 13%. In Charleston, a single house at 21 King Street sold for $7.2 million in mid- June, a record price for the peninsula.

Final budget Last Thursday, June 21, the S.C. General Assembly approved a $7.4 billion state budget. Health care coverage was expanded, while the 3% sales tax on groceries was scheduled to end Nov. 1.

Whittled down Knoxville- founded Edison Schools lost its contract with the Charleston County School District. Edison Schools was hired to produce academic gains in nine struggling schools, but those gains were falling short. The school district had already paid Edison Schools $5.8 million as part of an $11.1 million contract starting three years ago. The Edison Schools contract was scheduled to expire in June 2009, but the Charleston County School District declared the contract expired by the end of June 2007.

Public transit The Richland County temporary vehicle fee to support bus transit - $16 per vehicle for residents and $24 per vehicle for businesses - appears headed for an annual total of $4.3 million, a $1 million increase over original expectations. With one of the worse bus systems on a per capita basis, with no bus service in Lexington County on weekends, the greater Columbia bus system could use some expansion, some gains in service. Instead of taking the money to do what is necessary, editors other than ones at The Columbia Star are calling for a reduction in the vehicle fee, as if one of the worse bus systems in the country is what we really want. City fathers and mothers and elected officials often cite Austin, Tex., as a paradigm, as a goal for what Columbia wants to be. Austin is building a light rail system, but on a per capita basis, its bus system is six times the service offered in Columbia.

Personal transit Besides American cities like Austin, Columbia can look to European cities for proven ideas on mobility. Every so often, Mayor Coble will announce another task force to study bicycle accommodations in Columbia. Maybe the Netherlands is a good start. The Amsterdam Central Train Station bicycle garage won a design award for its five winding levels that accommodate 2,500 bicycles. The Netherlands has 20 million bikes and just 16 million people. There are three times as many bicycles as automobiles. Flat as a checkerboard with no downhill speeding, the Netherlands has no helmet law for bicyclists, and almost no one wears a helmet.

By the year 2020 China is expected to take over the role of the U.S. as the world's largest manufacturer, according to Global Insight, a Washington- based economics consulting firm. Last year, the U.S. share of global manufacturing output was 25.5%, and it should fall to 22.2% by 2020. Education in S.C., as well as the entire U.S., becomes more important as entry- level jobs in manufacturing become fewer.

Atlanta Journal- Constitution loses an owner Barbara Cox Anthony died in her Honolulu home May 28. She and her sister, Anne Cox Chambers, were ranked by Forbes magazine as the 17th- richest Americans, each with a net worth of $12.6 billion. Barbara Cox Anthony, with her sister, was a principal owner of Cox Enterprises

Inc., which had a 2006 revenue of $13 billion. The

Atlanta Journal- Constitution is part of Cox Enterprises.

Speaking of the Atlanta Journal- Constitution

TGhreee AnJvCil lies Nuenwavsailable, mostly, in Columbia. The Charlotte Observcearn't be found, and neither can the , not even at Capitol City News on Main Street. The only out- of- town Southern paper still

on the stands in Columbia is Charleston's Post and

Courier, owned by Charleston's Manigault family. The other papers are owned by national chains, organizations that don't see the need to practice community pride beyond their borders, apparently.

Spoleto sales down The 2006 Spoleto Festival USA brought in $2,973,868, and this year the 2007 version brought in $2,945,452, a slight drop from the previous year. Most Spoleto people attribute the $28,000 difference to the lack of circus this year. The 2007 festival featured 138 performances. The 2008 festival is scheduled for May 23- June 8.