Atlanta talks with the Upstate

Some of the Obama administration's $8 billion set aside for high- speed rail development brought Atlanta representatives to Greenville recently to look into the feasibility of a line through Washington- Richmond- Raleigh- Charlotte- Greenville to Atlanta and to Birmingham. The Washington- Richmond- Raleigh- Charlotte segment is expected to be the first in the country to run at speeds above 150 miles per hour. First things first: South Carolina needs to update its state rail plans to satisfy the Federal Railroad Administration. Columbia needs to take similar steps for its connection between Washington and Miami. Warning to Columbia: The pre- fab sheet metal train station off Pulaski just won't do.

Boomers on the move

Among the country's 74 million baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964, about one- fourth plans to move after retirement. Usually about 130,000 people move to S.C. each year, and maybe half of that crowd is over 50 years of age, according to Pat Mason of the Center for Carolina Living. Industries accommodating seniors are on a growth curve, clearly.

Start-up funding

Venture capital is shrinking as the recession is growing. Across the country, venture capital firms raised $1.7 billion in the second quarter of 2009 - the lowest amount raised in a quarter in the past seven years, according to the National Venture Capital Association. Only 25 venture capital firms raised money nationally for the second quarter this year to reach $1.7 billion, while 82 firms raised $9.3 billion in the second quarter of 2008.

Speaking of start-ups

Entrepreneur magazine reports Chapel Hill is one of the best business start- up towns in the country. Included among the country's best start- up cities are Austin, Texas; Las Vegas; Portland, Ore.; San Diego; Phoenix; Atlanta; Madison, Wisc.; and Youngstown, Ohio.

Green is good

Columbia's 2009 Green Is Good for Business Conference is scheduled for Tuesday, September 1, in the convention center on Lincoln Street. Online registration is $50 per person. Sponsorships and exhibit spaces are available. To ask for further information: cpac@columbiasc.net or 545.CPAC. The event's Web site is www.coccpac.com.

Job hunting in Columbia and Greenville

According to a recent Brookings Institute study, Columbia and Greenville have just about the worst unemployment numbers among the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the country. Greenville is ranked No. 95 and Columbia is ranked No. 97. Both cities have jobless rates just above 15 percent.

McClatchy rebounds

From a low of $0.35 over the past year to a current $1.39, McClatchy Newspapers is showing a gain in its stock price due to a gain in profitability for the second quarter of 2009. Most newspapers experienced a similar small surge. In April 2005, a share of McClatchy stock was $74.50. McClatchy owns The State, The Charlotte Observer, and the Myrtle Beach Sun News among many other newspapers across the country.

Greenville says Carbon Motors not likely

Atlanta-based Carbon Motors Corp. is looking at Aiken, still, for an assembly plant site for its police cars, but it hasn't expressed any further interest in Greenville. The plant should cost $350 million, and it might employ 1,300 workers. For now, the odds- on favorite site is in Indiana, near Cincinnati, where there is a vacant plant building.

Interstate widening planned for I-26

State transportation officials have said I- 26 will be widened to eight lanes to accommodate the new port facility under construction in North Charleston. Also, the SCDOT expects to send out requests for qualifications in August in order to award a contract to build the port access road. The state has budgeted $182 million for the access road. By 2025 the new port facility in North Charleston is expected to generate between roughly 8,000 and 11,000 trips per day, which will be less than 2 percent of future traffic between I- 526 and Remount Avenue.

Accommodating comfort

Charlotte's Ritz-Carlton hotel is taking reservations for opening October 1. The 18- story luxury facility is part of a $450 million multi- purpose development at the corner of College Street and Fifth Street. At street level will be the BLT Steak restaurant.

Well ahead of North Carolina

South Carolina spends $8,533 per public school student, 34th in the country. North Carolina spends $7,883, No. 44 at about $2,000 less than the national average.

Speaking of crackers and money

Charlotte-based Lance Inc. reports net income for the second fiscal quarter of the year up 157 percent compared with the same period a year ago.