News In Brief - November 22, 2008

By Staff Reports

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Marriott to celebrate new location

Marriott Townplace Suites will host a ribbon-cutting at 11:30 a.m. Monday to celebrate its opening near the Rock Hill Galleria.

The hotel is scheduled to open in April 2009 next to the Hampton Inn. Developed by Warren Norman Co., the 98-room hotel will feature a meeting room, workout room and outdoor pool.

It's one of the few hotels across the country being built during an economic downturn that has made it difficult to get financing, said developer Ralph Norman.

I-77 wreck in Charlotte blocks northbound lanes

CHARLOTTE -- An injury accident involving two tractor-trailers Friday night blocked two of three northbound lanes of Interstate 77 in Charlotte.

The state Department of Transportation said Friday that it managed to open one lane to allow some traffic to pass after initially shutting down all northbound lanes. Two of the lanes are to remain closed until later in the night.

The accident also involved several passenger vehicles, and a number of emergency crews remain on scene. Some vehicles are being directed off the freeway at the Clanton Road exit just south of downtown as a detour around the accident.

Pastides formally becomes USC president

COLUMBIA -- The University of South Carolina installed Harris Pastides as its new president Friday in a ceremony full of pomp and overshadowed by tough economic times that are taking a toll on the public college's budget.

Pastides formally enters the job weeks after the Legislature cut more than $32 million from the university's budget and its campuses around the state.

Pastides noted the global context of the problems but said he wasn't worried about the university failing. "But, I do worry about the lives of people who will be affected in the short run. This reshaping is not without pain, and I am sensitive to the impact on each member of our university family."

Those problems have students and parents worried about tuition increases.

"I was educated in public schools and at a public university, and I cherish the importance of keeping the University of South Carolina affordable and accessible to South Carolina families. No qualified South Carolinian should ever be denied the opportunity to learn because of cost," Pastides said.