Aiken County, the Economic Development Partnership and the Center for Hydrogen Research opened a hydrogen fueling station at Sage Mill Industrial Park on March 30. The Sage Mill facility is unique in that it is located in an advanced manufacturing park. Bridgestone/Firestone, located at Sage Mill, is currently using hydrogen fuel cell forklifts and the new station will contribute to the development of hydrogen infrastructure in Aiken County.

The Center for Hydrogen Research’s Chevy Silverado and a Kia Borrego were both filled with hydrogen before being driven to the Columbia Fuel Cell Collaborative’s opening of the Columbia hydrogen fueling station that afternoon. The ceremonious drive officially opened the South Carolina Hydrogen Freeway.

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Annapolis, MD – Governor Martin O’Malley has introduced legislation that will apply a “rational reregulation” policy for energy markets in Maryland moving forward. The legislation will call for reregulation of electricity markets in Maryland moving forward when the Public Service Commission (PSC) deems it is in the best interest of consumers.

Governor O’Malley, joined by Maryland Energy Administration Director Malcolm Woolf, outlined the major themes of the legislation.

Re-regulate Maryland’s electricity supply going forward when it is in the best interest of Maryland consumers. Currently, deregulation allows important decision...Read More

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Gov. Bev Perdue has announced that GMAC Financial Services will grow its Mecklenburg County operations and invest more than $16.4 million, including capitalized lease payments, for an expanded corporate center. The Charlotte expansion is expected to create 200 finance, marketing, IT and related jobs over the next two years that will pay an average annual wage of $96,124, not including benefits. 

GMAC Financial Services is a bank holding company with operations in North America, South America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. GMAC specializes in automotive finance, real estate finance, insurance, commercial finance and online banking. As of Dec. 31, 2008, the organization had $189 billion in assets and serviced 15 million customers around the world.

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Governor Martin O’Malley has announced Maryland’s plan to monitor and track Recovery and Reinvestment funds in the state, and announced the launch of Maryland’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act web site, www.recovery.maryland.gov to allow Marylanders to track recovery projects, which uses GIS (Geographic-Information System) technology. 

The web site will be maintained by StateStat, Governor O’Malley’s performance-measurement and management program implemented to make the state government more accountable and more efficient. StateStat was recently honored by the Pew Center for the States as a model for tracking performance and accountabil...Read More

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North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue announced the new professional decision-making process for the N.C. Department of Transportation as called for in Executive Order No. 2, which she signed on her first day in office. The new process transforms the approval process and will improve efficiency and openness, as well as make decisions more strategic. Under the reform initiative, NCDOT professionals will determine project priorities based on data and input from local government and planning groups. The appointed N.C. Board of Transportation will set transportation policy.

On Jan. 12, Gov. Perdue issued Executive Order No. 2 as part of her first day of change orders, which required Transportation Secretary Gene Conti to implement a professional approval process for highway const...Read More

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South Carolina – Following the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) Commission’s action in February, SCDOT has created a web page to provide the latest information on projects that are part of the federal stimulus package.

The information is available at the SCDOT home page, www.scdot.org, by clicking on “Economic Stimulus Plan,” or by visiting the page directly by clicking HERE.

The SCDOT Commission approved the use of up to $200 million in federal stimulus funds for projects that fall into these four categories:

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Gov. Bev Perdue has announced 70 highway and bridge projects throughout North Carolina will soon get under way using $466 million in federal economic stimulus funding. The money is the first half the state will receive for highway improvements through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The new federal law requires states to obligate the first half of transportation stimulus money within 120 days of receipt, and the remaining half to projects within a year. According to state transportation officials, this round of infrastructure investment will create about 14,000 jobs for the state. 

The North Carolina Department of Transportation has worked with local planning organizations across the state to determine which projects will be funded. The biggest factor is whet...Read More

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Virginia’s Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) has approved an $8.9-billion Fiscal Years 2009-2014 Six-Year Improvement Program for public transportation, rail and highway projects and the revised Fiscal Year 2009 annual budgets. The program was approved during a special meeting held February 13, 2009. The rare mid-year revision reflects significant reductions stemming from a $2.6 billion state and federal funding shortfall over the next six years.

The approved program commits $6 billion for highway construction and $2.9 billion for public transportation and rail over the next six years. A slowing economy, shrinking revenues and increased maintenance costs impacted 808 highway program projects statewide, resulting in a $2-billion reduction in the highway construct...Read More

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The USDOT has signed a multi-state agreement between North Carolina, Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida that focuses on reducing congestion and improving mobility along I-95. The interstate is one of only six corridors chosen to participate in the Corridors of the Future Program, which is aimed at alleviating congestion and encouraging economic development along the nation’s major highways.

The agreement lays out the commitment of all parties to developing and maintaining the I-95 corridor, and serves as a model for future regional partnerships focused on other nationally significant highway corridors. The document also gives I-95 priority in obtaining financial and technical support from USDOT.

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After three years of declining workplace fatalities in North Carolina, job deaths were up 31 percent in North Carolina in 2008. Fatalities for 2005-2007 were 69, 65, and 45 victims respectively, but rose to 59 victims in 2008 based on preliminary figures released by the North Carolina Department of Labor. The first construction-related fatality in Charlotte, NC, in 2009 occurred Tuesday when a 46-year-old father of four was crushed beneath a hydraulic lift at a concrete block plant. Another Charlotte construction worker died just last month.

Could the economy be affecting this trend – and does it mean workers are in greater danger as economic conditions continue to deteriorate?

Safety train...Read More

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The Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) began an unusual mid-year revision of the Fiscal Year 2009-2014 Six-Year Improvement Program (SYIP) during its monthly meeting in Richmond on Thursday, Dec.18.

The draft released to the CTB details $1.3 billion in proposed reductions to highway projects and adjustments to public transit, rail, bicycle, and pedestrian projects in response to a $2.6 billion reduction in overall state and federal transportation revenue. Additional reductions to the program are likely to follow as the recently announced December revenue reduction is addressed. Reductions to administrative programs and other services will account for more than $1 billion in cost cutting measures.

The release of the draft program will be followed by a series of public hearings around the state in early January. The CTB...Read More

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The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) South Carolina Chapter cautions employers against cutting back on workplace safety in time of economic difficulty and encourages employers to explore creative ways of generating temporary and long-term savings in safety and training expenses, while still ensuring that the safety needs of employees and safety regulations are met.

During economic down-turns, employers seeking to cut expenses may target variable operating costs such as travel, training and safety. According to the ASSE South Carolina Chapter, although some safety expenses can be delayed or deferred, some safety expenses are critical. 

President-Elect of the ASSE South Carolina...Read More

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