MELINDA WALDROP PROFILE

For a moment, Rita Patel had to fight back tears. Seeing a dream become reality can have that effect on a person. Patel and her husband and investment partner, Marcus Munse, celebrated the soft opening of Hotel Trundle, a 41-room b... Read More

In the nights following the devastating flood of 2015, Michael Marsha sat on the porch of his Lake Katherine home, listening to the silence. “It was pretty eerie,” Marsha said. “It was totally dark. No one was drivin... Read More

A rapid rise in senior home health care service is not likely to subside soon, not with an estimated 10,000 baby boomers retiring per day. Alexandria Brown’s family got in on the ground floor of the fast-growing industry. Bro... Read More

Although some questions linger, the two men leading the partnership formed by Palmetto Health and Greenville Health System say the new relationship is working out better than imagined. “I certainly figured that Chuck and I would... Read More

In the nights following the devastating flood of 2015, Michael Marsha sat on the porch of his Lake Katherine home, listening to the silence. “It was pretty eerie,” Marsha said. “It was totally dark. No one was drivin... Read More

There’s a story University of South Carolina associate history professor and local historian Bobby Donaldson likes to tell to illustrate the importance of Victory Savings Bank.  “In the 1950s, when African-Americans i... Read More

Money may not seem the most romantic subject, but financial advisors say an upfront discussion about finances is key to avoiding conflict in marriage, whether it’s a person’s first or second time walking down the aisle. &l... Read More

Columbia mainstay Cromer’s is settling into its new digs, and the popcorn, peanut and cotton candy makers already feel right at home. Cromer’s held a soft opening on Feb. 15 at its new store at 3036 N. Main St., a... Read More

With the number of flu-related deaths in South Carolina now at 84, one local hospital has turned to an unusual solution to help handle patient volume. Palmetto Health Richland began using a temporary mobile unit to expedite patient di... Read More

While its index value in four of five categories rose in the 2017 Midlands Regional Competitiveness Report, Columbia’s ranking among peer cities fell in three of the indicators used to measure economic competitiveness, leaving loca... Read More

Dominion Energy concedes its proposed acquisition of SCANA won’t satisfy all the players in the ongoing V.C. Summer nuclear debacle. But the company says its proposal is the best and — outside of a widely criticized proposal ... Read More

Mike Adams remembers a very different time at Prysmian Group. Adams, plant manager at the global cable manufacturer and energy solution company’s North American headquarters in Lexington, has worked for Prysmian for 26 years. Th... Read More

One of downtown Columbia’s most visible gathering spots may soon look quite different. The city Design/Development Review Commission approved plans by Columbia-based Quackenbush Architects to revamp Boyd Plaza, the open space in... Read More

Richland County Council members presented more details about the “Richland Renaissance” redevelopment plan at a meeting today, extolling the project’s virtues while vowing to fund it without raising taxes. The plan w... Read More

The money has arrived, Prakash Nagarkatti said, and it’s full speed ahead for the 10 S.C. universities that shared a $20 million, five-year grant from the National Science Foundation’s Established Program to Stimulate Competi... Read More

It’s been a convent, the headquarters of the Union Army and a governor’s mansion. Built in 1818, the Hampton-Preston Mansion at 1615 Blanding St. has gone through many incarnations in its rich history. Now, it’s gett... Read More

After 25 years in the beer business, Kevin Varner is branching out. Not into a different line of work; just into a new location. Varner, who opened Main Street mainstay Hunter-Gatherer Brewery and Alehouse in 1995, is weeks away fr... Read More

The four-year relationship between Continental Corp. and the University of South Carolina has been a fruitful one, and now it’s taking the next step. A $2 million grant from the S.C. Commerce Department will fund a new endowed c... Read More

The day after New Year’s in 2016, a bit of unwelcome news interrupted Scott Middleton’s holiday relaxation. “I was in North Carolina, and somebody said turn on the television,” Middleton said. “I flipped ... Read More

Lou Kennedy admits her motives are partly selfish. Kennedy, president and CEO of Nephron Pharmaceuticals and a graduate of the University of South Carolina, oversaw the relocation of her company’s headquarters from Orlando to We... Read More

The goal was clear from the start: Make people the priority. As the two-year, $10 million renovation of Richland Library’s main branch in downtown Columbia nears completion, those most closely involved in the changes to the... Read More

Money matters took up residence in C. Justin Hawkins’ consciousness early. “I’m the youngest of 23 grandkids on mom’s side and of the youngest of 11 on my dad’s side,” said Hawkins, Wells Fargo&rsqu... Read More

From carriage rides to candlelight tours, there’s more behind the bricks walls and wrought iron fences of Historic Columbia’s four downtown properties than many who pass by them every day might realize. From December to Ja... Read More

Almost 44 million Americans have student loan debt, and nearly three in 10 of them stand to be affected by the proposed elimination of a deduction in House Republicans’ Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. IRS records show that more than 12 m... Read More

There are lots of reasons why Colonial Life decided to concentrate on promoting and increasing diversity. The most important reason also is the simplest, said company diversity and inclusion consultant Beth Ruffin. “It’... Read More

Certain work traditions are well-established as the holidays approach: the office party, the ugly sweater contest, perhaps a co-worker who doubles as a Secret Santa. More and more, companies are adding another custom to their list: phila... Read More

The S.C. Department of Natural Resources’ Cultural Heritage Trust Program has a new home befitting its dedication to discovering and preserving the state’s history. The program has moved millions upon millions of artifacts... Read More

Area business, community and political leaders stood in the parking lot of a shopping plaza pockmarked by empty storefronts, looking towards the on-ramp to Interstate 20 and envisioning a game-changing development. The assembled crowd... Read More

The numbers are clear: South Carolina has a supply-and-demand problem in the field of information technology. A study commissioned by Columbia nonprofit technology collaboration It-oLogy found that in the fourth quarter of 2016, the s... Read More

The abandoned nuclear reactor project at V.C. Summer contributed to a sharp dip in earnings for SCANA Corp., but analysts say the company should be able to weather reported losses — and even get most, if not all, of that money... Read More

A million things ran through Simon Bouie’s mind as he sat at the Eckerd’s lunch counter on March 14, 1960. He kept coming back to one thought: His parents, who had admonished him to stay out of the civil rights unrest ... Read More

When the light came flooding in, it brought relief for Justin Lucas. Lucas, senior project architect at Columbia design firm The Boudreaux Group, oversaw the painstaking renovations to his company’s new building at 1519 Sumter S... Read More

When Carrie Grebenc first started coming to work at the Nickelodeon Theatre in March 2013, she encountered a slightly different scene from her present-day reality. “You never had an issue finding an empty parking spot, (and) you... Read More

Palmetto Health Richland emergency room doctor Steve Shelton’s days have gotten even busier as the hospital joins forces with federal, state and local agencies to provide medical care to patients affected by hurricanes in the Carib... Read More

The total solar eclipse of Aug. 21 got more than a million and a half people moving to or within South Carolina, generating an estimated economic impact of $269 million, a study commissioned by the South Carolina Department of Parks, Rec... Read More

Long-time Columbia real estate agent Beronica Whisnant knows her way around the city. She’s enjoying showing off a part of it not many have seen yet as part of her role as the on-site head of sales and marketing for the Commons at ... Read More

While two high-profile downtown development projects have lost a bit of momentum, industry insiders remain confident that Columbia’s overall growth picture is a vibrant one. Last week, both The Edge high-rise apartment build... Read More

Business is booming in the senior living industry, and that trend is likely to gather speed as an aging baby boomer population enters the picture.  On June 8, a ribbon-cutting ceremony heralded the latest area entry into the Midlan... Read More

From Dec. 5-18 print issue of Columbia Regional Business Report Three years after it began collecting taxes, and a year after running afoul of the S.C. Department of Revenue, Richland County’s Transportation Penny Program soldie... Read More

Growing up near the Greenview area of North Columbia, Tamala Lathan has childhood memories of vibrant business communities. She’s now one of the reasons the metropolitan footprint around her old neighborhood is looking decidedly... Read More

In her 12 years as executive director of the Columbia Museum of Art, Karen Brosius hopes she’s helped change the public’s perception of an art museum. “My ultimate thing I think about a lot is I want art to be part o... Read More

Whenever Mickey Layden looks at a chair in her kitchen, she will think of Cathy Novinger. Every time JoAnn Turnquist makes an introduction, she will remember Judy Davis. The Midlands lost two influential business leaders and humani... Read More

Mayor Steve Benjamin and City Councilman Sam Davis turned out for a ribbon-cutting ceremony showcasing the renovated Gable Oaks Apartments in the Eau Claire community on Tuesday morning, but they weren’t the only civic dignitaries ... Read More

S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley has accepted President-elect Donald Trump’s offer to become the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. “Last week, President-elect Trump asked if I would meet with him to discuss those challenges, whi... Read More