Briefs
by John Temple Ligon
Move to Gulfport Columbia's Cynthia (Detuelo) Minton has taken over as executive director of the Lynn Meadows Discovery Center in Gulfport, Mississippi. Minton was previously director of education for EdVenture Children's Museum in Columbia, which is the tenth largest children's museum in the world. She was responsible for professional development for teachers statewide, as well as field trips and outreach programs. Prior to that, while an elementary school principal at Columbia's A. C. Moore, she was selected South Carolina Elementary School Principal of theYear in 2000 by the SCAEA.

Governor tweaks budget Gov. Mark Sanford has called on the House to rework the Ways and Means Committee's proposed budget, so that it doesn't take from reserve funds and impact the state's ability to provide Medicaid for its neediest citizens. Under the Committee's proposal, more than $100 million would be taken from a funds set aside for Medicaid reserves in the case of an increase in Medicaid population, and to transition to new Medicaid reforms. "The bottom line is that this budget needs a lot of work if the House is serious about protecting both the people served by government and protecting taxpayers from the effects of poor budgeting," Gov. Sanford said. "After the last recession, the lesson should have been learned about taking money from trust funds and digging annualization holes. It's very disappointing that history is about to repeat itself, and has the very real potential to impact 860,000 people served by Medicaid in the process."

Small business owner training New Carolina (the S.C. Council on Competitiveness) is the host for a conversation on incubators, "Supporting a New Generation of Entrepreneurs: Creating a New Economy,"at the Columbia Marriott Wednesday, March 5. A panel of local experts will discuss best practices and new ideas in the field. Panel participants will include Richard Robinson of USC's Faber Center for Entrepreneurship, David Hughes of the Clemson Institute for Economic and Community Development, Joel Stevenson of the USC Columbia Technology Incubator, and Don Tomlin of Tomlin and Company Inc. Lunch is included for $75. Call 760-1400 or visit newcarolina.org/savethedate.

USC among top 20 The University of South Carolina ranked No. 19 among 155 comprehensive universities nationally and No. 14 among public universities for the number of start- up companies created in 2006, according to the latest technology- transfer survey from the Association of University Technology Managers. The survey gauges academic intellectual- property licensing activities in the U.S. and Canada. S.C. was tied with the University of South Florida and with private universities Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, and Cornell for the number of start- up companies created. The five universities each created six start- up companies in 2006.

State's top tourism award Downtown revitalization in Greenville was awarded the 2008 Governor's Cup, given annually by the S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism to an organization that has had a significant economic impact on its community and state while helping improve the quality of life in South Carolina. Through public/private partnerships, major projects in downtown Greenville included the unique Liberty Bridge at Falls Park, West End minor league baseball stadium, and RiverPlace, a $65 million development that includes office and residential space as well as some of the city's trendy new restaurants. Developers include Bo Aughtry of Columbia's Hilton and Bob Hughes of Vista Farms.

Continental Tire moves to South Carolina Continental Tire North America will move its corporate headquarters from Charlotte to Lancaster County in South Carolina in 2009. The new facility will house CTNA's corporate workforce of more than 300 employees.

International city in Orangeburg County The World Trade City Orangeburg LLC has about 1,200 acres fronting I- 26 in Orangeburg under contract and holds letters of intent to purchase the remaining 3,300 acres, according to the president of the World Trade Center Ningbo and the World Trade Center Yiwu, both in China.