Drilling offshore South Carolina By Wednesday, June 25, President Bush was expected to overturn the 1990 federal ban on offshore drilling, the same ban signed by his father, President George H. W. Bush, #41. U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R- S.C., has been pushing for offshore oil exploration along the nation's coast. Graham supports offshore drilling only if states are given the right to determine whether the drilling occurs and only if they prohibit drilling within 50 miles of the coast.

Unemployment South Carolina's unemployment rate climbed to 6.5 percent in May from April's 5.9 percent. North Carolina's unemployment rate rose to 5.8 percent from 5.4 percent in April. National unemployment jumped from 5 percent in April to 5.5 percent in May.

Hall of Fame nominations Nominations for laureates to be considered for induction into the South Carolina Business Hall of Fame on May 21, 2009 are due Monday, July 28, 2008. Criteria and nomination forms are available at http://centralsc.ja.org or from Alecia Parsons at Junior Achievement, 803.252.1974. Income growth South Carolina income growth is a bit behind the national average but keeps pace with the Southeast, according to a report by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Personal income in the nation grew by 1.1 percent in the first quarter of the year, slightly above the Southeast's 0.8 percent. Personal income in South Carolina grew by 0.9 percent in the first quarter.

Lake Marion development The Beach Co., the Charleston- based firm behind Columbia's CanalSide, is developing Cantey Bay Plantation, a planned mixed- use 4,000- acre project on the shores of Lake Marion next to the Santee National Wildlife Refuge. DesignWorks is a partner with Beach on the deal, which includes homes, retail, commercial office space, dining, and golf.

Billionaire Darla Moore should get a home in Columbia Lake City native Darla Moore has launched a nonprofit to beautify parks in Charleston, where she has a home. Her Charleston Parks Conservancy has targeted renovations to Colonial Lake, Moultrie Playground, and Wragg Square. Also, the conservancy is helping with the development of the new Concord Park. Horticulturalist Jim Martin is director of the conservancy. Commercial office development Downtown Greenville leaders have funded their new director for office recruitment, who is to sell downtown Greenville to prospective companies looking for Class A office space. According to Columbia real estate sources, Greenville's absorption rate of Class A office space is about 200,000 square feet per year, and Columbia's has lately been maybe 50,000 square feet per year. Once Scana leaves the Palmetto Center, McNair and Edens & Avant move into Main & Gervais, and a few other announced moves are complete, downtown Columbia could have about 1,000,000 square feet of empty Class A office space.

China The S.C. Department of Commerce is leading a trade and investment mission to China, September 4- 13, for companies looking for export sales opportunities. Register at www.regonline.com/China08. According to Commerce, Chinese companies have invested more than $280 million in South Carolina, creating 1,400 jobs. For the past year, 2007, China imported at least $700 million worth of goods from South Carolina. China's total imports for the year approached $1 trillion worth of foreign goods. A study by the Wharton School of Business suggests at least 300 million Chinese have $100,000- $500,000 in savings.

Artists Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC), a national initiative to improve conditions for artists, has awarded the South Carolina Arts Commission a $100,000 project grant. The agency plans to offer gatherings for artists, beginning with a statewide, all- discipline artists' retreat with workshops and networking sessions. Two entrepreneurship programs - one 10- week intensive business development program and one three- weekend, 24- module course - will help artists learn more about how to profit from their work, including writing business plans.

Dunkin' Donuts at the Capitol Café Inside the home of the former Capitol Café, on the east side of Main Street between Gervais and Lady where Columbia served its worst food to its best people, Dunkin' Donuts will open in the next few months as the first of 31 planned Columbia- area locations.