David Wren

2 months ago | postandcourier.com | David Wren

South Carolina's public schools are shouldering much of the burden for tax breaks used to lure manufacturers, according to a new analysis from taxpayer watchdog Good Jobs First. The report shows the state's 71 school districts lost nearly $3.2 billion in revenue because of tax abatements, like allowing businesses to pay a lower annual fee rather than traditional property taxes, between 2017 and 2023. That money translates to 6,641 teaching jobs per year, according to the left-leaning think tank.

Nov 20, 2024 | postandcourier.com | David Wren

Dorchester County is taking the first step toward boosting the amount of water it can provide to rural homeowners and industries such as Google's planned data center near the Winding Woods Commerce Park in St. George. Elected officials voted this week to more than double its capacity from the Lake Marion Regional Water Agency, which treats and sells water taken from the man-made lake to rural parts of Berkeley, Calhoun, Dorchester and Orangeburg counties as well as seven municipalities.

Oct 19, 2024 | postandcourier.com | David Wren

The owner of the Bushy Park industrial park wants to add capacity to a railroad line at the Berkeley County site to help chemical maker Evonik Industries ship more of its product to South Carolina companies that make so-called green tires. The German company broke ground this month on an expansion at its Lowcountry plant that will boost production of silica — a compound that significantly reduces rolling resistance in tires — by 50 percent.

Oct 12, 2024 | postandcourier.com | David Wren

Historic preservation experts talk about a balance they hope to achieve — a finished project should look as close to the original as possible without appearing to have been fixed up. That's what Savannah-based Landmark Preservation hopes to achieve with a $1.6 million renovation and stabilization of the Bennett Rice Mill facade, now enveloped in scaffolding at Union Pier Terminal in downtown Charleston.

Sep 30, 2024 | archive.ph | David Wren

Sean McBride and his Charleston Crafted do-it-yourself home-repair and crafting company were among Google's shining stars. McBride was a featured owner in the internet giant's 2023 report touting its ability to help small and independent businesses reach potential customers on the web.