Briefs
by John Temple Ligon
Google In the fall of 2007, Google bought a 466- acre site near Blythewood for $13 million, where it could feasibly build a data center and hire 200 workers based on its Goose Creek project. Still secretive about hiring and operations, Google has begun testing its $600 million data center it is building near Goose Creek.

BMW BMW in Greer plans to hire another 500 workers and spend $750 million. The plant's capacity is 155,000 cars a year, and it's set for a 33 percent increase to 240,000 by 2012.

Jasper County port Even though it is 10 years away from opening for business, the proposed $450 million Jasper County port on the Savannah River has already attracted more than $364 million in economic development on the Georgia side.

Wachovia Charlotte- based Wachovia Corporation has received an "outstanding" Community Reinvestment Act rating from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The Community Reinvestment Act was begun in 1977 to encourage banks to meet the credit needs of all the populations in their markets, particularly in low and moderate income communities.

Architects The Greater Columbia Section of the American Institute of Architects received an "Excellence Award in Component Outreach" at the 2008 AIA Grassroots Conference. The conference, held annually in Washington, D.C., stresses leadership and community involvement for design professionals. AIA Greater Columbia was awarded the honor based on programs developed in conjunction with the Columbia

Museum of Art in 2006- 2007, during the museum's Frank

Lloyd Wright and the House Beautiful exhibition.

New Carolina goes nuclear The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) has chosen Columbia as a location for one of its regional Manufacturing Outreach Workshops due to connections with the Carolinas Nuclear Cluster chaired by Ron Jones of Duke Energy. The workshop, with the S.C. Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell as its keynote speaker, is scheduled for March 27 and is sponsored by New Carolina and the S.C. Department of Commerce. The conference will be at the Columbia Convention Center on Lincoln Street, registration beginning at 7:30 that morning. The workshop will help firms in the Carolinas learn how to do more business with the nuclear power industry. There are 12 operating reactors in the Carolinas producing 11 percent of the nation's power, and five new nuclear power plants are being proposed for the Carolinas. To learn more about the workshop, visit www.nei.org/newsandevents/conferencesandmeetings/ mowc/. For more information on New Carolina, visit newcarolina.org/.

Midlands Tech and fuel cells Midlands Technical College (MTC), with the support of the Greater Columbia Fuel Cell Challenge, is expanding the college's Fuel Cell Technician Program on its Beltline campus. MTC's fuel cell laboratory, which opened in 2006, trains students in basic fuel cell technology. To develop a viable workforce of fuel cell technicians, the college is expanding its facilities to include two additional laboratories.

S.C. State South Carolina State University is looking for a new president, and 50 people have applied for the job. The historically black college plans to hire a new president, its fifth in 20 years, by July 1, 2008. Leonard McIntyre, dean of the College of Education, Humanities and Social Services, is acting as interim president.

Foreclosures The Mortgage Bankers Association report the number of home mortgage foreclosures in South Carolina rose with the rest of the country in the last quarter of 2007. In S.C. 1.86% of the homes were in some stage of foreclosure in the fourth quarter of 2007, up from 1.68% during the third quarter. The number of S.C. homes in foreclosure in the fourth quarter of 2007 was also up from 1.55% during the same period a year ago. Well removed from S.C. in price and location, Michael Jackson's Neverland is up for foreclosure sale on March 19 at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse. The opening bid is expected to be at least $20 million.

Charlotte gets what Columbia already has The UNC Board of Governors has endorsed a plan to expand the UNC School of Medicine to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte by 2011 at a cost estimated to run $450 million. Charlotte's Mecklenburg County is planning for a $300 million zoo, but the site is still under study.