With Boeing coming to North Charleston, and now Proterra coming to the Upstate, call it “trimming the fat” or just realizing what Wal-Mart has proclaimed for years, unions are not the way to go. Either way, these high-tech companies are leading the charge for others to relocate here to South Carolina.

Proterra Inc., which develops and assembles fuel cell hybrid-powered transit vehicles, has announced that it will locate a facility for R&D and assembly of its products at CU-ICAR here in Greenville.

We have plenty of ‘green space’ here in the Upstate, and now you can ‘own’ a section of the Swamp Rabbit trail for yourself or a loved one.

You can help build and maintain the growing Greenville County Greenways network by purchasing a 25′ section of the GHS Swamp Rabbit trail for $25.00.

For your tax-deductible support, you will receive a certificate of ownership listing the exact GPS coordinates of your section(s). The Greater Greenville Parks Foundation site assures us that 90% of the monies received will be used to directly mobilize public support and financial resources for public parks, trails, and recreational opportunities in our community.

Just posted to the Greenville County Libraries page is “Social Media, Libraries, and Web 2.0: How American Libraries are Using New Tools for Public Relations and to Attract New Users”, a study from The South Carolina State Library providing data gathered from library staff members across the United States.

The report provides data gathered from library staff members in the U.S. to determine how libraries are employing a variety of Web 2.0 and social networking tools to promote library programs and services, according to SC.gov.

As can be expected, Facebook was far and away the favorite Web2.0 tool of choice for social media participants. Be sure to follow our Facebook page for Greenville County information pertaining to you and your community.

No, this graph is not America’s economic status over the last decade; rather, it is Greenville County’s Per Capita Income since 1986, and unfortunately, it’s right back to where it was 24 years ago!

Indeed, the turn of the century apexed high-times here in Greenville County. For 20 years, Greenville outperformed the U.S. in income growth and the quality of life here steadily rose because of it.

A’las, “what goes up, must come down”, and Greenville County has lost over $1.3 billion in spendable income every year since to prove it.

Timing is on our side now though: Greenville Chamber President and CEO Ben Haskew has a plan to return Greenville County to it’s glory days.

This Thursday, the SBDC is putting on an event, “JumpStart Your Business, Tips for Start-up Success” to help interested individuals explore the basics of what it takes to get into business.

The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) of South Carolina is a consortium of 4 universities which operate a state office and 15 regional / area centers around the state. These centers offer a variety of services and management training courses tailored to meet the needs of SMBs. SBDC consultants at each site provide management and technical assistance to those wishing to start or expand an enterprise.