Charter schools

S.C. has eight new charter schools statewide opening this fall. On Monday, August 23, Jim Rex, state superintendent of education, announced a $5.7 million federal grant to help create more high–quality charter schools in the state. The Apple Charter School on James Island, for instance, targets students who scored at the basic level or below on state tests. Apple will implement single–gender classes with a rigorous instructional environment. Besides S.C., states receiving similar grants include Arkansas, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Texas. For more information, call the S.C. Association of Public Charter Schools, 800.691.7133.

Health care

The National Institutes of Health and its National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities recently awarded USC’s Arnold School of Public Health a $6.7 million grant. The five–year award will fund a Center of Excellence in the Social Promotion of Health Equity Research, Education and Community Engagement. The grant also supports the Arnold School’s partnership for education and research with Claflin University in Orangeburg.

Regional mayors meeting

On Tuesday, September 14 at noon, local mayors of the Midlands, including Columbia’s Steve Benjamin, will convene at the Cayce Visitors Center, 1800 12th Street. When a meeting agenda is made public, it will be published

in The Columbia Star.

N.C. loses jobs while unemployment drops

In July, for the fifth straight month, the N.C. unemployment rate fell, this time to 9.8 percent. The state lost 30,000 nonagricultural jobs in July. All but 2,500 of those jobs lost were in the government sector, mostly school district layoffs. The unemployment rate fell because the labor force shrank, and there were fewer people unemployed in July. Only people actively searching for work or are employed are counted in the calculations of the unemployment rate. For the past 12 months, N.C. overall gained 6,000 jobs.

S.C. loses jobs, too, and unemployment rises

Also in July, S.C. lost 32,300 nonagricultural jobs, and the statewide unemployment rate rose to 10.8 percent in July from 10.7 percent in June. Lexington County had the state’s lowest unemployment rate, 8.2 percent, and Marion County had the highest at 19.9 percent. Overall for the past year, S.C. gained 18,600 jobs, seventh best gain in the country.

Georgia loses even more jobs

Georgia lost 39,100 nonagricultural jobs in the past 12 months. In the country, only California’s loss of 103,900 jobs and New York’s loss of 51,400 were worse. Georgia’s unemployment rate for July improved slightly from 10 percent to 9.9 percent. To further illustrate the Georgia condition, Georgia had the third–highest bankruptcy rate in the country for fiscal 2010, ending June 30. Georgia had 77,543 bankruptcy filings, a rate of 7.92 filings per 1,000 residents. The national total for the same period was 1,572,597 bankruptcies, a rate of 5.02 filings per 1,000 people.

Meanwhile, some winners

Texas for the past 12 months experienced a gain of 134,600 nonagricultural jobs; Indiana, up 47,600; Massachusetts, up 36,600; Minnesota, up 23,200. The lowest unemployment rate in the country is in North Dakota, 3.6 percent.

And some more losers

U.S. employers made 1,609 mass layoffs in July, and that caused 143,703 workers to lose their jobs. But July, at least, was a little better than June. In June, there were 1,647 mass layoffs putting 145,538 people out of work. In a national survey by the Gallup Organization, more than 18 percent of U.S. workers say they are either unemployed or underemployed. Gallup surveys 19,800 workers each month.

Charlotte is doing it. Columbia?

Charlotte is putting together an uptown transit hub that links Greyhound buses and Amtrak trains with commuter rail lines, local buses and the streetcar. Charlotte City Council appears ready to hire a transportation consultant, looking for analysis and recommendations for the existing uptown Charlotte Transportation Center, and the planned nearby $100 million Charlotte Gateway Multimodal Station in the Fourth Ward. The Gateway station puts Amtrak and Greyhound at the same terminal with planned commuter and high–speed rail service. Another surrounding $100 million in private development is expected to respond to the new Gateway station, which will be built with state and federal funds. N.C. has a cabinet–level secretary of transportation. S.C. does not.