The amount of first-time unemployment claims in South Carolina is down for a second straight week. For the week ending Saturday, the Department of Employment and Workforce received 1,455 first-time unemployment claims, 46 fewer than last week, the agency said. That represented a 3% decrease from the prior week’s 1,501.

Greenville County recorded the highest number of initial claims, 151. Richland County had the second-highest weekly count with 144, while Spartanburg County was third with 94.

For more information on how Florence County unemployment claims stack up, click here.

After two years of pandemic response and assessing the modern needs of the Pee Dee region, Harvest Hope Food Bank of the Pee Dee Branch held a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday, March 17^th at its larger, more centralized facility parallel to I-95 in Florence County.

The 75,000 square-foot facility at 2701 Alex Lee Boulevard formerly served as a call center for “Monster.Com.”

To read the full story, click here.

Francis Marion University will expand its dual enrollment offerings through a new partnership with the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science & Mathematics.

Beginning fall 2022, students at the governor’s school in Hartsville will earn college credit for courses in physics, chemistry, economics and English. The school will become the 14th dual enrollment partner to engage with FMU since the university began its highly successful dual enrollment program in 2019.

To read the full story, click here.

MUSC Health Florence Medical Center Tuesday announced a new treatment option for patients with severely calcified coronary artery disease who live in the Pee Dee region. The treatment is a new application of lithotripsy, an approach using sonic pressure waves to safely break up kidney stones. It now can be used to treat problematic calcium build-up in the coronary arteries that can reduce blood flow in the heart. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women.

To read the full story, click here.

• Education Scholarships (S.935) – Last week, the Senate passed a bill that would provide roughly $6,000 to parents to cover tuition, fees, course materials, transportation, or other qualified expenses to send their children to private or charter schools. Qualified students must have been previously enrolled in the public school system and must either come from a Medicaid eligible family or have an IEP. Students receiving these scholarships must take the same testing required of public-school students (such as SC Ready, SC Pass, and other national standardized tests) so that the Department of Education can track their academic progress and the success of the program. For year one, enrollment in the program will be capped at 5,000 students, 10,000 students in year two, and 15,000 students in year three. Any private school that participates in the program may not discriminate against a prospective qualified student based on race, color, religion, or national origin. The bill now heads to the House.
• Corporate License Fee Exemption (H.4805) – The House Ways and Means Committee advanced a proposal allowing pre-revenue and early growth companies to exempt the first $50 million received from outside investment from its corporate license fee calculation. Currently, South Carolina’s corporate license fee requires all companies to pay an annual fee without considering a company’s actual profit or ability to pay, which creates serious challenges for highly capitalized businesses and pre-revenue companies. The South Carolina Chamber of Commerce supports all efforts to cut taxes and reform our tax system. The bill now heads to the House floor.
• Site-Specific Remediation Standards (H.4999) – The House Agriculture Committee advanced a proposal that would allow DHEC to utilize risk-based corrective action standards as cleanup goals for contaminated sites, similar to the approach used by the EPA. If enacted, DHEC would be able to set site-specific remediation standards for soils, groundwater, and surface waters at a contaminated site instead of solely using the existing contaminant standards in State regulations that may not be appropriate for a certain site and do not take into account community risk or exposure. The bill now heads to the House floor.
• Medical Marijuana (S.150) – The House began debate on Sen. Tom Davis’ medical cannabis legislation that passed the Senate in early February with a House Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs (3-M) Committee subcommittee advancing the bill to the full 3-M committee where public testimony will be received next week.