The North Main Street retail corridor is starting to gain some traction with three new businesses opening in North Main Plaza in recent weeks.After a day spa and medical rehab center recently opened there and a staffing agency signed a contract this week to open an office there, the plaza is nearing capacity, said at-large Columbia City Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine.“The city putting a ...

President Barack Obama reached agreement Monday with congressional Republicans to extend and deepen tax cuts temporarily - and extend unemployment insurance - in hopes of stirring the economy and creating jobs. Obama pointedly refused to drag out the debate any longer over his quest

The Medical University of South Carolina Children's Hospital is forming a partnership with Carnival Cruise lines, which sails regularly from Charleston.Hospital and Carnival officials gather Monday to make the announcement.The partnership will include a number of in-kind and monetary donations by the line as well as fundraisers.Last May the 2,056-passenger Carnival Fantasy arrived in Charleston, b...

The Associated Press asked people around the country to share their ideas on jump-starting the economy. Some responses:More stimulus: Carolyn Morrison is a Wake County, N.C., school board member who has spent more than 45 years in education. The public school she attended as a child in Lumberton

Bargain shoppers, braving rain or frigid weather, crowded the nation's stores and malls in the wee hours of the night to get their hands on deals from TVs to toys on Black Friday.In a bid to grab shoppers earlier on the traditional start to the holiday shopping season, a number of stores including Old Navy, Toys R Us and Sears opened on Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday. Toys R Us was counting on ge...

A South Carolina builder has become one of the latest victims of the troubled economy.The Island Packet of Hilton Head reports that Malphrus Construction is suspending operations. Malphrus started 70 years ago and became one of the largest contractors in the Southeast.A company statement says the suspension is due in part to the economic downturn and the state of the construction industry. The sta...

Gulfstream Aerospace, a maker of business-jet aircraft, announced Monday that it is expanding operations in Georgia by adding more than 1,000 jobs and investing at least $500 million.Gulfstream's seven-year plan calls for expanding its jet production and maintenance facilities at the Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport and renovating several existing facilities on its main Savannah campus. ...

Francis Marion University celebrated its 40th anniversary last summer. And so far, 40 is looking like the new 20 for the college.The university is financially sound despite the poor economy of recent years, enrollment is up and there are many projects and advancements on the horizon

The Associated Press will provide live video here from the Roosevelt Room at The White House as President Barack Obama discusses the economy and the higher-than-expected monthly jobs numbers.

The margin in a Richland County transportation sales tax was too close to call, with three precincts still out at 10:45 p.m.The anti-tax sentiment was slightly ahead amid the remnants of a recession, the vote 51 percent to 49 percent, as observers waited to find the fate of a $1 billion, 25-year plan to fund roads, public transportation and pedestrian improvements.A citizen-led effort, bankrolled ...

Voter turnout was moderate to heavy statewide Tuesday, fueled by anger over the weak economy, and federal health care reform and stimulus programs.However, the S.C. Election Commission reported very few problems at the polls.Locally, turnout was heavy, buoyed by the all-Midlands race

The millions of Americans voting in midterm elections Tuesday were not always sure what they wanted, or even whom. But many knew they were unhappy - uneasy about the economy, frustrated with the direction of the country and dissatisfied with politics.On an Election Day

Columbia’s newly renovated Township Auditorium will host the revamped Miss South Carolina Pageant July 2, pageant officials announced this morning.The pageant is expected to account for 1,500 hotel room nights and generate $630,000 for the local economy, said Jason Outman, director of sales

The music director and conductor of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra for 25 years has died.James McAlister III of James A. McAlister Funeral Home says David Stahl was 60-years-old when he died Sunday. The Post and Courier of Charleston reported Stahl had been fighting lymphoma for the two months.Stahl is credited with building the symphony from a community orchestra to one that received praise fr...

Most U.S. homeowners should get some relief on their heating bills this winter. The price of natural gas, the fuel that supplies 70 percent of the nation’s heat, is relatively low for the second year in a row, and falling. Also, forecasters predict a warmer winter across much of the country – especially in the Southeast, which suffered through a historically cold winter last year. Bu...

A wave of government layoffs in September outpaced weak hiring in the private sector, pushing down the nation's payrolls by a net total of 95,000 jobs.The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate held at 9.6 percent last month. The jobless rate has now topped 9.5 percent for 14 straight months, the longest stretch since the 1930s.The private sector added 64,000 jobs, the weakest sho...

More than 75 people showed up Thursday to kick off a campaign promoting a penny sales tax for transportation improvements in Richland County.The event, held at the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce, drew a range of political and business leaders in a very public show of support for the proposed tax, which goes to voters Nov. 2.The plan has drawn its share of critics, concerned about an increase...

Read the report below. If your device cannot display the document, try reading it here.Republicans are making their final argument to voters six weeks before the midterm congressional elections with a campaign manifesto designed to show they're listening to an angry public and focused on creating jobs.GOP lawmakers on Thursday were to roll out their "Pledge to America" - a 21-page document filled ...

At least a half dozen hotel projects are in the works in historic Charleston on the South Carolina coast in a sign the recession may be fading.The Post and Courier of Charleston reported Monday that hotel occupancy on the Charleston peninsula has increased every month since last spring. Last month alone, occupancy was up more than 12 percent over August of 2009.The hotel projects range from those ...

President Barack Obama celebrated the opening of an advanced battery plant in Michigan on Monday as a critical boost for hybrid and electric cars - and a success for his administration's economic stimulus program.But even as mass-produced advanced batteries start rolling off assembly lines, costs are high for consumers, and hurdles remain."This is about the birth of an entire new industry in Ameri...

President Barack Obama will call on Congress to pass new tax breaks that would allow businesses to write off 100 percent of their new capital investments through 2011, the latest in a series of proposals the White House is rolling out in hopes of jump-starting economic growth ahead of the November elections.An administration official said the tax breaks would save businesses $200 billion over two ...

Despite the still-faltering economy, the trucking industry is beginning to revive and companies are again hiring drivers.Even as the industry slumped along with the manufacturing sector, the demand for Greenville Technical College's truck driving program increased as workers were laid off or feared

Private employers hired more workers over the past three months than first thought, lifting hopes for the weak economy ahead of the Labor Day weekend. But the unemployment rate rose in August for the first time in four months as more people entered the market looking for work.Companies added a net

A panel studying taxes in South Carolina is recommending an increase in the gasoline tax to fund road repairs.The State newspaper reported the Tax Realignment Commission voted unanimously Thursday to recommend that the state's gas tax be raised a nickel a gallon.South Carolina's current gasoline tax is 16 cents a gallon and hasn't changed since 1987. Commission member Kenneth Cosgrove says he does...

The top executive of the South Carolina State Ports Authority is issuing an update on the state's growing cruise industry.Jim Newsome presents his report on Thursday during a meeting with the public at the authority's passenger terminal in Charleston.This has been the first year-round cruising season from Charleston.Last winter, the authority unveiled plans to create a new cruise terminal and open...

The full transcript of the president's speech can be found at the bottom of this page.Claiming no victory, President Barack Obama formally ended the U.S. combat role in Iraq after seven long years of bloodshed, declaring firmly Tuesday night: "It's time to turn the page." Now, he said, the nation's most urgent priority is fixing its own sickly economy.From the Oval Office, where George W. Bush fir...

An iconic nightspot on the South Carolina coast will soon be a Dollar General store.The Sun News of Myrtle Beach reports renovation has begun on the former Studebaker's nightclub in Myrtle Beach and should take about two months.For almost three decades, Studebaker's was part of the Myrtle Beach entertainment scene and had been home to most of the annual National Shag Dance Championships.The nights...

Despite the troubled economy, charitable giving to the Medical University of South Carolina reached a record of almost $77 million in the last fiscal year.Officials at the Charleston school said on Tuesday the figure for the fiscal year that ended June 30 represents an 8.2 percent increase

The nation faces a long road to get back to good economic health, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Monday.Bernanke said progress is being made after the deepest recession since the 1930s. The worst of the financial crisis is behind the nation and the economy is growing

Surprise U.S. Senate nominee Alvin Greene frequently mentions his 13 years of military service, but records obtained Thursday by The Associated Press show that the veteran who has called himself an "American hero" was considered a lackluster service member at best.The records, which document his superiors' decisions to pass over Green for promotion, cite mistakes as severe as improperly uploading ...