News - Business

Wednesday, Sep. 17, 2008

Business In Brief - September 17, 2008

Palmetto Bank to have ribbon-cutting Friday

The Palmetto Bank will hold a ribbon-cutting at its new Rock Hill branch at 10:30 a.m. Friday.

The ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. at the branch, 201 Oakland Ave.

York County Regional Chamber hires Heidi West

Heidi West has joined the staff of the York County Regional Chamber as membership director and Tega Cay Area Council director.

West's responsibilities will include oversight of the Tega Cay Area Council, including Tega Cay events, activities and its office; general membership services/programs and the total resource campaign.

West, who has worked at the Summerville/Dorchester county and Pinkerington, Ohio, chambers of commerce, brings more than five years of experience in the nonprofit sector and has specialized in event planning, volunteer/membership services and marketing. She is familiar with the area council concept and has worked directly with Summerville/Dorchester county chamber's Oakbrook Area Council.

West, a graduate of Ohio University, and her husband moved to York County earlier this year from Chicago.

Legend Leathers offers gear for motorcyclists

Legend Leathers, a retail store offering leather jackets, chaps and other accessories for motorcyclists, has opened at 2610-B S. Anderson Road in Rock Hill. Allen Faile is the owner.

Shop hours are from noon to 6 p.m. Mondays through Wednesdays, noon to 7 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, noon to 8 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 6 p.m. Sundays.

For more information, call (803) 554-1548.

Small business tax workshop to be Oct. 20

A small business tax workshop will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 20 in 415 Thurmond Building at Winthrop University in Rock Hill.

The workshop will give small business owners the information they need to get started related to state and federal taxes.

It's sponsored by the IRS, the Small Business Development Center, the S.C. Department of Revenue and the S.C. Employment Security Commission.

Registration is required. To sign up or for more information, call the SBDC, 323-2283 or visit the Web site cba.winthrop.educ/sbdc.

Driver training school opens office in York

YORK -- Stines Driver Training School has opened its office in York at 128 N. Congress St., Suite E.

Ray Stines is the owner operator. The classroom can accommodate up to 18 students, and classes are held 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturdays.

The school is licensed by the S.C. Department of Motor Vehicles, Driver Improvement/Driver Training School Section and the AAA Driver Improvement Program.

For more information or to sign up for classes, contact Stines at 684-1236, office, or (803) 322-8022, cell phone.

Park Pointe collects 2,525 pounds of food

Residents and staff from Park Pointe Village, an ACTS Retirement-Life Community in Rock Hill, collected more than 2,525 pounds of food for Hope House and Dorothy Day Soup Kitchens during a recent food drive.

The food drive was led by residents Bob Crowe and Jim Kennedy.

ACTS locations nationwide participated in the food drives in their communities.

Big fall in energy pushes consumer prices down

WASHINGTON -- Consumer prices in August posted the first monthly decline in nearly two years as Americans finally got some relief from surging energy prices. But the cost of food and clothing still rose last month and wages over the past year are down.

Consumer prices edged down 0.1 percent last month, the Labor Department reported Tuesday, a significant improvement from a 1.1 percent price spike in June and a 0.8 percent rise in July.

Best Buy second-quarter profit slides 19 percent

CHICAGO -- Best Buy said Tuesday that its second-quarter profit slid 19 percent as it spent money to boost cell phone sales by completing the rollout of its Best Buy Mobile concept to nearly 1,000 North American stores.

Revenue rose, however, as consumers bought more flat-panel TVs, laptops and cell phones, ahead of forecasts.

The nation's largest consumer electronics retailer earned $202 million, or 48 cents per share, for the three months ending Aug. 30. That's down from $250 million, or 55 cents per share, during the same period last year. Revenue rose 12 percent to $9.8 billion.

McClatchy to cut 1,150 jobs, 10% of work force

NEW YORK -- The McClatchy Co. is trimming its payroll by about 1,150 more employees nationwide, or about 10 percent of its work force.

McClatchy made the announcement Tuesday and blamed a "difficult advertising downturn."

The company expects about half of the reductions will come from voluntary buyouts and attrition. It says the job cuts and other initiatives will save $100 million over the next year, not including severance costs of about $20 million.

McClatchy says it will try to maintain editorial quality by sharing staff across newspapers.

Based in Sacramento, Calif., McClatchy is one of the nation's leading newspaper publishers. Its newspapers in the Carolinas include The Herald, The State in Columbia, The Island Packet in Hilton Head, The Beaufort Gazette, The Sun News in Myrtle Beach, The Charlotte Observer and The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C.