Stepping on vetoes Governor Sanford's 69 state budget vetoes totaling $72 million threaten business school programs at the College of Charleston, possibly wiping out the Tate Center for Entrepreneurship. The Legislature's proposed state budget includes $1.2 million for the Economic Partnership and Real Estate programs, which is where the Tate Center receives its annual operating funds. The $1.2 million might make it back into the budget if the Legislature overrides the governor's veto.

Wachovia woes Charlotte- based Wachovia Corp. and its board urged the early retirement of CEO Ken Thompson. Thompson oversaw the company's acquisition of California- based thrift Golden West Financial Corp. at the peak of the mortgage market, and Wachovia became swamped with defaulting mortgage loans. Wachovia reports a loss of $708 million for the first quarter of this year. In 2007, for the same time period, Wachovia earned $2.3 billion. Wachovia signs around Columbia may change soon to JPMorgan Chase, the big bank identified as the presumptive buyer of Wachovia.

DuPont's Kevlar BE&K Inc., an Alabama- based engineering and construction firm, has contracted with DuPont to build a $500 million Kevlar fiber plant in Berkeley County. The plant is expected to be operating with 100 new jobs in 2010.

Hometown firm doing well Columbia- based CMARK is a world- wide provider of logistic support services. It has recently completed two of three phases of its $293,000 household and quarters furniture contract in Coronado, Calif., at the Naval Amphibious Base. The company is contracted for several similar projects in 2008.

Transit bus operating cost vs. light- rail operating cost According to The Charlotte Observer, a ride on Charlotte's new Lynx train can cost $2.70 per trip in operating dollars, not counting the cost of building the line. Three- quarters of the cost of building the line came from state and federal grants. An average ride on the city bus runs about $4.30, not counting the cost of buying the bus. The Lynx train runs on electricity, and the city bus runs on fuel, so the cost of riding the bus should go up as fuel prices go up. The cost of electricity, the power behind the light- rail train, is relatively stable. In Columbia, where there is no plan for light- rail transit, the bus system loses its Richland County $16- per- resident vehicle tax subsidy this October. Richland County Council is scheduled to debate a replacement subsidy on June 17.

Shaw Group and Westinghouse Last October, the Shaw Power Group announced it was moving its headquarters to Charlotte where it's expected to bring 556 jobs. South Carolina cities competed to land Shaw Power. During the last week in May, Shaw Power was identified in partnership with Westinghouse Electric, a division of Toshiba, to build SCE&G's and Santee Cooper's two new nuclear power units at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station in Jenkinsville, S.C. Total cost is projected to be about $9.8 billion.

Scana gets N.C. rate hike PSNC Energy of Gastonia, a subsidiary of Columbia- based Scana Corp., has won approval from the N.C. Utility Commission to increase rates for natural gas in response to the rising wholesale price of natural gas. PSNC has 460,000 customers in its 28- county area.

The S.C.Education Lottery As college tuition inflation continues its overpowering pace, lottery

proceeds fail to keep up, according to the Charleston

Regional Business Journal. Since the 2002- 2003 school year, the lottery has paid out $1.74 billion for education. Since then, tuition at the state's two- year colleges has increased 47%, and at the four- year universities it has gone up 64%. When South Carolina voters lifted the ban on lotteries in 2000, they were told the goal was to make attendance free at a state two- year technical college. Lottery assistance carries about half the cost of attending a state two- year technical college.

Kiawah A readers' poll at Conde Nast Traveler magazine rates Kiawah Island Golf Resort at No. 69 out of the world's 100 best golf courses. Kiawah's Beachwalker Park is included in the top 10 beaches in the country by Dr. Stephen P. Leatherman, aka Dr. Beach, a professor at Florida International University.