Any Hardin work in S.C.?

The University of Georgia dropped Hardin Construction Co. as the contractor for a planned $18.6 million expansion of UGA's football facilities. A Hardin- built walkway in the Atlanta Botanical Gardens collapsed in December 2008, killing one worker. Then in late June 2009, the Centergy parking deck in Atlanta's Midtown collapsed. Soon after the second collapse, UGA notified Hardin the construction company was no longer needed for the school's expansion of its football facilities.

Arts points north

For the next 18 months, Charlotte's Arts & Science Council is overseeing the completion of a publicly funded cultural campus and renovations to Discovery Place, all costing $158.5 million. On a more sour note, donations to the annual arts campaign are off 40% this year. The endowment campaign, extended several times, is $20 million short of its projected total goal.

Power

SCANA Corp., parent company of SCE&G, suffered a drop in second- quarter net income to $55 million, down from $57 million for the same time period a year ago. Atlanta- based Southern Co. grew its second- quarter net income by 15 percent to $478.6 million. Across the country, Americans used less energy in 2008, 99.2 quadrillion BTUs of energy, down from 101.5 quadrillion in 2007.

S.C. lost jobs

The state has shed about 93,000 jobs in the past 12 months, economist Don Schunk was reported to say in the Charleston Regional Business Journal. About 30,000 of those came from manufacturing.

And in the biggest cities...

Among the country's 100 top labor markets, 98 lost jobs between the middle of 2008 and the middle of 2009 for a total of 3.46 million jobs. Charlotte lost more than 53,000 jobs. Los Angeles lost the most jobs in the country for a single city, 259,100. Greenville lost 10,400; Charleston, 10,200; and Columbia, 7,700.

Single file

According to Forbes.com, Atlanta has fallen from the top spot in the country for singles down to No. 6. New York City was rated No. 1 this year, followed by Boston, Chicago, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.

Feeling tired?

According to a survey by NFI Research, as reported in the

Triangle Business Journal, 77 percent of senior executives and managers worked between 41 and 60 hours each week.

Whittle

To replace Mack Whittle on the board of directors at The South Financial Group, parent company of Carolina First bank, TSFG appointed an Atlanta banking executive, Donald T. Heroman, the retired CFO of Equifax Inc. TSFG's board and Whittle were defendants in two lawsuits brought by shareholders objecting to Whittle's retirement package. The plaintiff's lawyers, both suits, are being paid $500,000 by TSFG, and the company's by- laws are being amended to give shareholders more input in the selection of future board members. Company executives can no longer serve as the board chair, which was Whittle's position. Paid $18 million to leave, Whittle returned $250,000.

This just in from New Ideas South Carolina

S.C. residents can win $5,000 cash for the best business idea through the New Ideas SC (http://www.newideassc.com/) competition, which kicked off Monday, August 3, to help foster entrepreneurship in South Carolina. Participants can enter their idea online (http://www.newideassc.com/) through September 23. Winners will be announced at the Small Business Innovation Summit and Expo on November 4 in Charleston. Winners will be chosen based on their ideas' viability, innovation and vision, and profit and revenue potential.

Buy a house for a flat $23 million.

The Sword Gate House on Legare Street in Charleston is on the market for $23 million, Charleston's priciest house ever. For $23 million you get 14,000 heated square feet of space, seven bedrooms and a carriage house. The listing is with Douglas Berlinsky of Charleston- based Disher Hamrick & Myers.

Boeing, Boeing

On Monday, August 3, the Boeing Co. announced its intention to decide on the site for a second full assembly line for its Dreamliner aircraft by the end of this year. North Charleston is on the short list for the site, as is Everett, Wash.

Precision manufacturing

Columbia- based FN Manufacturing LLC recently won a $39.9 million contract to supply M249 light machine guns to the U.S. Army. Final delivery is set for July 24, 2014. The total number of units is not disclosed. In 1984, the M249 and its 5.56 mm bullets replaced the M60 (7.62 mm bullets) machine gun produced by Colt Manufacturing. FN Manufacturing on Clemson Road also produces M16 rifles, M240 medium machine guns, and FNP pistols.