GREENVILLE -- Furman University's school colors officially are purple and white, but the private institution in Greenville is adding some environmental "green," thanks to a $1.5 million gift from Duke Energy Corp. Furman and Duke Energy on Monday announced a partnership to create a demonstration laboratory on the university's campus that will showcase technological advances in energy efficiency and sustainability.

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GREENVILLE -- Gov. Mark Sanford called again Monday for repeal of special tax breaks designed to lure big retailers, such as the Bass Pro Shops store a developer is said to be trying to bring to Greer. Sanford outlined his arguments against the incentives law, which lawmakers approved over his veto, during a press conference at Foothills Fly Fishing, a small business on North Pleasantburg Drive.
 

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CLEMSON -- With Clemson growing the city must be ready, city officials say, and that includes more wastewater treatment capacity. The Clemson City Council last week agreed to allow City Administrator Rick Cotton to sign an agreement with Pendleton to proceed with upgrading the wastewater treatment plant the two cities jointly own.

Read more at The (Anderson) Independent Mail...

BEAUFORT -- The housing market slump has had a trickle-down effect on the area's residential construction industry, according to local builders. Gerald Neal, owner of Neal's Construction, first noticed the slowdown earlier this year. "It's real tough times for those guys -- the (residential construction) subcontractors. They're having a rough time," he said. The commercial construction industry has not been hit quite as hard, he said.

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BLUFFTON -- Paper giant Union Camp sold the last of its forests in 2006, and the trees that weren't clear cut for development are now largely in the hands of conservation trusts, land owning families and developers. And while intensive tree harvesting in the county may be a thing of the past, a state tax benefit still gives the owners north of the Broad River a tax break of $4,314,656 in 2007 for 49,324 acres of timber.

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SAVANNAH -- The first ship to dock at a 1,400-acre port planned on the Jasper County side of the Savannah River could be as few as four years away, Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue said Friday. With the Savannah River as a backdrop, Perdue and South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford unveiled their plan to develop the new port in Jasper County, which is expected to spur a sea change in the region's economy. 

Read more at The Beaufort Gazette...