Briefs
by John Temple Ligon
Jobless South Carolina's jobless rate is the third highest in the U.S. Only Michigan and Mississippi have higher jobless rates. The South Carolina jobless rate rose from 5.9 percent in November to 6.6 percent in December. The jobless rate for the Columbia metro area in December was 5.4 percent.

Pull out Hendon Properties of Atlanta pulled out of its development plans for the property it had optioned around the corner of Gervais and Harden, property facing both Gervais and Harden but not including the corner Exxon station. Hendon claimed the design guidelines imposed by the "Future Five" master plan would drive up cost and lower efficiency.

Still guilty Former State Controller and Lieutenant Governor Earl E. Morris Jr. was tried and found guilty of one count of engaging in a scheme to commit securities fraud and 22 counts of securities fraud. The office of S.C. Attorney General Henry McMaster issued a January 14 release reporting the South Carolina Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the conviction and sentence of Morris. Morris served as chairman of Carolina Investors, Inc., which closed its doors in March 2003.

Coal In 20 states, there are more than 50 proposed coal- fired power plants that have been canceled or delayed in 2007 because of concerns about climate change, construction costs, and transportation problems. Burned in about 600 plants, coal produces more than half of the country's electricity. So far, however, the pulverized coal burning power plant proposed by Santee Cooper for southern Florence County is still expected to be completed on schedule.

Cleaner coal Duke Energy wants to build a 630 MW coal gasification (Integrated Gasification Combined- Cycle, or IGCC) power plant in Edwardsport, Indiana, to replace two old coal- fired power plants built in the 1950s. The Duke IGCC plant is what many demand in place of the proposed pulverized coal burning plant in Florence County. In Indiana, however, the Citizens Action Coalition is protesting the IGCC plant as too dirty, allowing no credit whatsoever for the improvements over what Santee Cooper plans for Florence County. The coalition asks the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to follow the lead of the Kansas Department of Health and the Environment, which rejected the air permits for two proposed coal- fired power plants on the basis that carbon dioxide is a health and environmental hazard.

Energy deregulation During their annual meeting in Charleston, the National Energy Marketers Association pleaded with presidential policy advisers Thursday, January 17, to promote deregulation of the country's electric power system.

Comparisons According to a USC study, from 2000- 2005, median wages for full- time white S.C. workers increased by 1.2 percent, while falling by 1 percent for Black South Carolinians and 9.6 percent for Hispanics. In 2005 in S.C., Whites had a poverty level of 9.3 percent, and Blacks had a poverty level of 25.1 percent, and Hispanics, 25.7 percent. Of newly diagnosed HIV/AIDS cases in S.C., 75 percent are African Americans.

Port of Charleston

As reported by the Charleston Regional Business Journal,

in an email survey, readers of a West Coast- based cargo and shipping trade newsletter named the Port of Charleston and Wando Welch terminal as the most productive of any supply chain.

Mayors for the long haul Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. took the oath of office earlier this month for an unprecedented ninth term, coming to a total of 36 years when completed. Columbia Mayor Bob Coble first took his oath of office in 1990, and is expected to run for re- election.

Population gains According to U.S. Census Bureau estimates released earlier this month, S.C. ranked No. 10 in the U.S. in its rate of population growth from July 1, 2006, to July 1, 2007.