Sanford survey According to an informal short–term survey of readers of the Daily Report edition of the Columbia Regional Business Report, S. C. Governor Sanford might be remembered more for his foreign philandering and his obstructing progress than for any other actions or accomplishments in his eight–year administration. In its four–day survey, the Daily Report found 45.5% of respondents will remember Sanford as an obstructionist, and 34.3% will always call him a philanderer. However, 20.2% did respond favorably toward the governor and said he helped direct the state to improved fiscal responsibility.

Thompson Turner Construction Charlotte–based Nucor Building Systems recently recognized Thompson Turner Construction of Sumter for sales achievement in a single year and cumulative shipments since 2001. Nucor is a manufacturer of metal building systems. More than 800 design–build contractors are included in the authorized Nucor builder network.

Off and on... S.C. State University’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously in 2008 to put George Cooper in the president’s office replacing Andrew Hugine who was fired before his contract expired. On June 15, the board voted 7 to not to renew Cooper’s contract and announced the school’s interim president. On July 1, the board voted to 5 to reinstate Cooper as president and revoked the appointment of the interim president.

...and off again S. C. State University voted unanimously on Tuesday, June 29, to invite an external financial audit at the James E. Clyburn University Transportation Center. The center was launched in 1998 for transportation research and study, and since then it has taken in more than $50 million. According to the Charleston Post Courier, S. C. State leaders claim they have about half the $50 million on hand, but they can’t say where the other half went. No transportation research is under way, and the Clyburn Center has lost its designation as a federal transportation center. The school recently disclosed plans to use its available transportation study funds to build a maintenance garage for buses at the Clyburn Center and an archive for Congressman Clyburn's papers.

Army Wives still around On Tuesday, June 29, the S. C. Senate voted 28–13 to override a Sanford budget veto of incentives to lure the film industry to S. C. The Senate held film incentives to 20 percent for S. C. residents’ wages and 30 percent for supplies purchased from in–state business, according to the Post & Courier. Since it began filming in Charleston in 2006, the Army Wives series has spent more than $120 million in production costs in the local economy. For the past year’s production, “the show hired 355 employees and 1,101 extras and paid more than $19 million in salaries and wages,” as the Post Courier quoted from a letter to lawmakers written by “Army Wives” representatives. The film incentives package was one of 27 Sanford budget vetoes facing the Senate.

Energy efficiency USC’s Darla Moore School of Business has engaged the U. S. Dept. of Energy and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to help ensure the school’s new 250,000 sq. ft. Innovista building achieves net–zero energy consumption. The $90 million building is being designed to generate as much energy as it consumes, combining efficiency technologies and on–site power generation.

Listing with the Nasdaq An initial public offering on the Nasdaq Stock Market is expected from Greenville–based Palmetto Bancshares Inc., 104 years old this year. The bank has never gone public, and currently its shares are traded privately. The company’s annual meeting of its shareholders is scheduled for August 6, and then the company's owners will vote on an increase in authorized common shares from 25 million to 75 million. If approved, about 45 million shares will be issued as part of the bank’s $100 million stock purchase agreement announced last May. For the past four fiscal quarters, the bank lost a total of $47.5 million. As of this month, Palmetto Bancshares Inc. is under a consent order with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to improve its financial position.

Delisting from the Nasdaq Spartanburg–based First National Bancshares Inc., as of Thursday, July 8, will be delisted from the Nasdaq Stock Market. On Dec. 29, 2009, Nasdaq notified the company the stock price had to rise above the $1–pershare minimum by June 28 or First National could be delisted. For the past 52 weeks the company’s share price high was $3 and the low, 25 cents. Operating as First National Bank of the South, for 2009 the bank reported a year–end loss of $43.7 million. In 2008 the loss was $44.8 million. In Columbia the bank's main Midlands location is in the Barringer Building, 1350 Main St.

First quarter home sales For the first quarter of 2010, almost 21 percent of home sales in S.C. were under foreclosure. For the nation in the first quarter, 31 percent of home sales were in foreclosure, according to RealtyTrac.