Grapevine
Study: New port would bring in $2.3B by 2020
The planned joint South Carolina-Georgia port terminal in Jasper County could generate $2.3 billion by 2020.
That's according to a preliminary analysis by civil engineering firm Moffat & Nichol designed to assess the need for the new terminal.
"It is a number that we must keep refining," said Bill Bethea, a member of the terminal task force and a former S.C. State Ports Authority chairman.
Breaking from fierce competition between Charleston and Savannah, Govs. Mark Sanford and Sonny Perdue announced the terminal agreement in March 2007. Bethea, of Hilton Head, and other task force members eventually will produce a bi-state compact, subject to approval by the South Carolina and Georgia legislatures and Congress, to address financing and operations for the terminal.
The Moffat & Nichol study found that container volume should grow by 6.7 percent annually through 2025 and then 5.3 percent annually from 2025 to 2050.
Longevity check
As New York-based financial behemoth Citigroup Inc. moved to scoop up Wachovia Corp.'s troubled banking business Monday, Wachovia Securities (which wasn't part of that sale) sought to send a reassuring message to existing and prospective customers. In a prominent advertisement in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal, the brokerage unit, which handles $1.1 trillion in client assets, noted that it has grown through the combination of more than 50 mergers, including the buyout of A.G. Edwards. It also noted that the "key to navigating today's economy is to think long-term. After 120 years, it's second nature to us."
Perhaps the brokerage should have looked to the short-term in this instance. Just three days later, its Charlotte-based parent announced that the Citi deal was off and that it had agreed to sell the securities business — along with the bank operations — to West Coast financial giant Wells Fargo & Co. for about $15.1 billion in stock. In its ad, Wachovia Securities also invited investors to go to its Web site to get its perspective on where to place money these days. Fittingly, the title of the report is: "Six Strategies for Weathering Market Volatility."
By any other name
The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, often shortened to SPAWAR, has changed its formal name, marking a coastal consolidation of military operations.
It's now called Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic. The press release about a Sept. 29 ceremony for the change said the "event marks a red-letter date" in SPAWAR's history, but the change seems to be more symbolic.
The Charleston operation is being combined with similar but smaller outfits in Norfolk, Va., and New Orleans under the Atlantic branch. It also includes SPAWAR sites in Washington, D.C., Pensacola and Tampa, Fla., and strategic satellite offices in Europe, the Middle East and Antarctica.
All of those offices will report to the center on the Charleston Naval Weapons Station, the designated hub. The new system follows the same alignment on the West Coast, which is organized under Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific.
The consolidated East Coast operation now has more than 3,000 government employees and 129 military personnel, according to the Navy.
Fighting words
A Department of Defense program that supports thousands of Lowcountry jobs took the spotlight last week during a spat between vice presidential candidates. VP hopefuls Joe Biden and Sarah Palin went back and forth during their debate over a Congressional vote that would have put funding toward purchasing mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles — or MRAPS, many of which are made and outfitted in the Charleston area. Palin began by pointing out that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama voted against the funding measure put forth by his running mate.
Biden immediately responded, pointing out that the guy at the top of her ticket, John McCain, didn't vote for that particular measure either.
Biden took a lead role several years ago in pointing out that defense officials were dragging their heels in ordering the MRAPs, which protect occupants far better than the standard Humvee. He even visited the Lowcountry to drum up support.
Eventually, the plan to buy the MRAP vehicles got financial support, and more than 10,000 vehicles have passed through the Lowcountry en route to the Middle East.
Some are manufactured at Ladson-based Force Protection Inc. , and nearly all vehicles are outfitted with radios and other technology at Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic in Hanahan.
Happy trails
U.S. Customs and Border Protection just days ago launched a travel widget to help people prepare for upcoming trips. Part of the "Let's Get You Home" campaign, the widget provides travel information on the user's computer desktop. The tool shows a trip countdown, weather at the traveler's destination and reminders to pack key documents. As for the toothbrush and clean underwear, you're on your own.
For more information or to download the planner, visit www.GetYouHome.gov.
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