Southern Fried Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee top a list of obesity prevalence, states where more than 30% of adults age 18 and older qualify as obese. American Blacks and Southern rural folk, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, tend to have high rates of obesity. Colorado was the slimmest state with only 19% of adults qualifying as obese. Obesity is a bodymass index of 30 or more. An adult who measures 5'-9", weighs more than 203 pounds and has a BMI of 30 is obese. The federal government has a goal of reducing obesity prevalence in each state to 15% or less by 2010.

Maybe we can harness the hot air in the S.C. House The Texas Public Utility Commission recently approved a $4.9 billion plan to boost transmission capacity for windpowered energy to 18,000 megawatts from the current 5,000. The likely development of wind power in S.C. will probably be in offshore wind farms.

Clemson tuition tops $10,000 Starting this fall, in- state tuition at Clemson University will be $10,412. Out- of- state students will pay $23,432.

Endowments The endowment at USC is $439 million, while at Clemson it is $430 million. At UNC- Chapel Hill, their endowment is $2.1 billion.

Demographics The percentage point change in the gain of the white share of the population of Washington, D.C., from 1990 to 2000 was 0.5%. From 2000 to 2006, it was 3.7%. In Atlanta, the percentage point change in the gain of the white share of the population from 1990 to 2000 was 1%, while from 2000 to 2006 it was 4%. In other words, Southern cities may be experiencing the end of white flight.

Movie production A workshop for aspiring and established producers will be held at North Charleston's Trident Technical College, Aug. 16- 17. The workshop is being held in conjunction with the S.C. Film Production Fund. The charge is $50 for residents and $75 for non- residents, but it's free for students studying film production at in- state colleges and universities. For more information, call Dargin Smith in Columbia at 737.0420 or email Smith at Darginsmith@scprt.com.

State industry recruitment John D. Scarborough, the former economic director for Berkeley County, will serve as senior project manager for the State Department of Commerce. His mission will be to not only recruit industrial investment to the state, but Scarborough will also work in coordination with the S.C. State Port Authority to fully market and expand the distribution and logistics centers throughout the state. There are approximately 260 domestic and international distribution and logistics operations in South Carolina. Nearly $61 billion in cargo passed through the Port of Charleston in 2007.

BlueCross BlueShield subsidiary scores Palmetto GBA, part of BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, was recently awarded a $76 million contract to continue serving as the federal Medicare program's National Supplier Clearinghouse for companies that provide durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies. Palmetto GBA has held the National Supplier Clearinghouse contract since 1993.

Hydrogen power The National Hydrogen Association and the South Carolina Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Alliance will stage the Formula Zero's Student Edition Championship race in Columbia, Saturday and Sunday, March 28 and 29, just before the NHA Conference and Hydrogen Expo, March 30- April 3. Formula Zero is an international championship race series among six university teams from Europe and the United States: Lawrence Technology University (Detroit, Mich.), EuplaTech (Zaragoza, Spain), University of Technology Delft (Delft, The Netherlands), Imperial College (London, U.K.), UCLA (Los Angeles, Calif.), and Groep T Leuven Engineering School (Leuven, Belgium). Formula Zero is seeking sponsorship for the Columbia race. For information on sponsorship, contact the North American sponsorship representative, Leif Gruenberg, at 248.688.2116 or l.gruenberg@formulazero.nl.