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MELINDA WALDROP PROFILE

Melinda Waldrop
Editor
Connect with Melinda
- 803-726-7542
- mwaldrop@scbiznews.com
About Melinda
Columbia Regional Business Report editor Melinda Waldrop is a journalism veteran. She has worked for The Associated Press, The Hilton Head Island (S.C.) Packet, The Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Sun News, The Newport News (Va.) Daily Press and The South Florida Sun Sentinel. She has a B.A. in journalism from the University of South Carolina.
Oct 31, 2022
Gas and Supply, a welding supply distributor with locations in seven states, celebrated the ribbon cutting of its new Cayce location. Founded in 1981, the company provides services to customers ranging from international organizations... Read More
Oct 31, 2022
The Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina has awarded grants totaling $837,000 to 100 nonprofit organizations working to reduce poverty throughout the state. Since 1996, the foundation has awarded 3,300-plus grants to South ... Read More
Oct 27, 2022
When Columbia law firm Robinson Gray needed a new space, it decided to do something completely different. Having outgrown its offices in the R.L. Bryan Co. warehouse, built in 1913 in the Congaree Vista, the firm with area roots s... Read More
Oct 04, 2022
A new development is adding two businesses to Devine Street. The Green at Devine District, a project of Columbia-based Estates & Companies, will feature the first Midlands location of Greenville-based sandwich shop Sully&rsquo... Read More
Sep 07, 2022
From cows to cheesecake, the best of South Carolina crafts, agriculture and art will be on display at the S.C. State Fair, coming to the State Fairgrounds in Columbia Oct. 12-23. The annual harbinger of fall is in its 153rd year and i... Read More
Sep 01, 2022
A new speculative industrial distribution facility totaling more than 675,000 square feet is planned for a major S.C. intersection. Bowman Industrial Center, a 677,160-square-foot facility at the intersection of interstates 26 and... Read More
Aug 31, 2022
A new Farm Bureau Insurance claims service center will open later this year at 3315 Sunset Blvd., bringing the West Columbia office building to full occupancy. NAI Columbia’s John Gregory and Will DuPree represented the building... Read More
Aug 24, 2022
We suspected folks had a great time at SC Biz News' Best Places to Work awards event, and the proof is in the photographs. Thanks to the more than 800 people who made time to come out to the Columbia Metropolitan Co... Read More
Aug 15, 2022
Right now, it might be easy to mistake Ashley Kinart-Short for a contractor, not a brewmaster. With the opening of the 64,000-square-foot production facility, brewpub and entertainment venue she’ll preside over on North Main Str... Read More
Aug 11, 2022
Tissue and pulp manufacturer Georgia-Pacific is investing $40 million in an expansion of its Clarendon County operations. Founded in 1927, Georgia-Pacific is a global manufacturer and marketers of consumer tissue and tableware product... Read More
Jul 28, 2022
State agribusinesses have until Sept. 30 to apply for tax credits intended to reward companies for buying S.C.-grown products. Income tax credits or withholding tax credits are available to qualified agribusinesses or agricultural pac... Read More
Jul 14, 2022
A 14,100-square-foot medical office building in downtown Columbia has sold for $3.3 million. Bruce Harper, managing partner of Trinity Partners, represented the seller of the property, located at 1520 Taylor St. and home to Hawtho... Read More
Jul 13, 2022
Columbia urban farm and agribusiness City Roots is investing $4.4 million in an expansion expected to create 60 jobs in the next five years. Established in 2009, City Roots is a sustainable farm that produces fresh, organic vegeta... Read More
Jul 05, 2022
A Blythewood-based investment company is one of two startups accepted as new South Carolina Research Authority member companies. Borealis Global Advisory LLC provides global equity products and services to individuals, advisors and or... Read More
Jun 30, 2022
The tight industrial real estate market in the Columbia area will soon have a new addition. A 43,750-square-foot speculative building is planned for Saxe Gotha Industrial Park, site of Nephron Pharmaceuticals and an Amazon distributio... Read More
Jun 30, 2022
Leadership Columbia is requesting proposals from area nonprofits for its 2023 class project. Each year, the flagship leadership program of the Columbia Chamber of Commerce works on a selected project that creates a positive effect in ... Read More
Jun 29, 2022
An Atlanta-based real estate investment firm has acquired three flex properties totaling 107,268 square feet in Columbia. Greenleaf Capital purchased the properties for $6.27 million in a transaction facilitated by Wilson Kib... Read More
Jun 27, 2022
Claflin University is launching The Institute of Teaching and Nursing on Tuesday. The institute is part is of South Carolina’s Institutes of Innovation and Information, a nonprofit which provides resources and support for the st... Read More
Jun 23, 2022
A former partner at Nexsen Pruet is the new chief of staff at the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce. William H. Floyd III, a certified labor and employment law specialist, was a partner in Nexsen Pruet’s Labor and Empl... Read More
Jun 23, 2022
Nine agribusiness entrepreneurs have been awarded a share of $150,000 in the latest round of the S.C. Department of Agriculture’s Agribusiness Center for Research and Entrepreneurship funding. The businesses range from an oyster... Read More
Jun 22, 2022
Preserving South Carolina’s architectural heritage is one mission of the South Carolina Architectural Foundation and the state chapter of the American Institute of Architects, and a new showplace designed to highlight that ongoing ... Read More
Jun 22, 2022
The Ritedose Corp., a Columbia-headquartered pharmaceutical company, is giving its 450-plus employees a $100-a-month “fuel subsidy” in their paychecks. Jody Chastain, Ritedose president and CEO, estimated that the subsidy ... Read More
Jun 22, 2022
Editor's note: This story has been updated with comment from Dezzutti. Pixie Paula Dezzutti, owner of Charleston’s Striped Pig Distillery, is the new CEO of a Columbia-based bio pharmaceutical company. Sycamore BioPharma... Read More
Jun 22, 2022
A year shy of its 20th anniversary, Pyramid Contracting is celebrating a new home for its business. Company executives joined state representatives and city officials to cut the ribbon on Pyramid’s new corporate headquarters... Read More
Jun 20, 2022
Claflin University has received a $500,000 grant to support its Center for Social Justice and its Pathways From Prison education program. The investment from Bank of America will help fund Claflin’s partnership with the S.C. Dep... Read More
Jun 17, 2022
South Carolina’s May unemployment rate remained unchanged from April at 3.3%, with the leisure and hospitality industry adding 4,000 jobs and manufacturing adding 2,200. While the overall rate remained the same, unemployment ros... Read More
Jun 13, 2022
Local and federal data found that eight of 10 South Carolina metropolitan statistical areas have seen wage increases in the last two years. The S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce’s examination of labor market informatio... Read More
Jun 13, 2022
Benedict College will use a $500,000 grant from the National Park Service to continue rehabilitation efforts at Morgan Hall. The African American Civil Rights grant will be used to implement the second phase of a preservation proj... Read More
Jun 09, 2022
Drama students at White Knoll High School have a brand-new Performing Arts Center in which to showcase their talents. The center, constructed as part of $26.2 million in improvements to the Lexington high school’s campus mad... Read More
Jun 09, 2022
The Saluda County School District has been allocated $38 million to renovate and replace outdated facilities. The funding is part of the $100 million appropriated to the South Carolina Department of Education as part of the Gener... Read More
Jun 08, 2022
A former Orangeburg School District employee has been sentenced to almost three years in federal prison for defrauding the district of more than $550,000. David Cortez Marshall was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Mary G. L... Read More
Jun 08, 2022
An international decor printing company is investing $21 million to expand its Lexington County operations in a move expected to create 23 jobs during the next five years. Schattdecor, a family-owned company headquartered in Germany a... Read More
Jun 08, 2022
A Richland County businessman has been charged with six counts of tax evasion. S.C. Department of Revenue agents arrested Ronnie L. Dozier today, according to a news release from the department. Dozier, 53, of Hopkins, opera... Read More
Jun 08, 2022
An industrial building in West Columbia has sold for $6.375 million. Trinity Partners’ Nick Stomski and Jake Nidiffer represented the seller of the 180,000-square-foot building at 107 McQueen St. The agents generated multipl... Read More
Jun 07, 2022
South Carolinians will see the final increase in gas taxes of a phased, six-year plan starting July 1. The Motor Fuel User Fee increase will raise gas prices by two cents per gallon for the final time as part of the South Carolin... Read More
Jun 07, 2022
The Columbia Chamber of Commerce honored nine local businesses and individuals, ranging from a hotel to an exterminating company, with its 2022 Impact Awards. The awards, presented by Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A., were announced virt... Read More
Jun 06, 2022
An Orangeburg County man has been arrested and charged with three counts of tax evasion. David Cortez Marshall Jr., 31, of Orangeburg failed to report sales for his company, Level 8 Communications LLC, totaling $1.1 million from 2019 ... Read More
Jun 06, 2022
In the five years since opening its first U.S. home appliance manufacturing facility in 2017, Samsung has invested nearly $500 million in the Newberry County plant. That total exceeds the $380 million planned investment, according... Read More
Jun 03, 2022
Aficionados of a Southern delicacy have a new way to consume pimento cheese. Experience Columbia SC is celebrating National Cheese Day on June 4 by reintroducing its Pimento Cheese Passport. The downloadable passport features 17 d... Read More
Jun 03, 2022
Savannah River Nuclear Solutions and Denmark Technical College have created a paid internship program to train Savannah River Site nuclear operators. The apprenticeships, open to area residents and students from local colleges and uni... Read More
Jun 02, 2022
An exercise equipment company which purchased a Lexington facility in March is expanding operations. Sorinex Exercise Equipment Inc. is investing $7 million in an expansion of its 120 Glassmaster Road facility expected to create 35 jo... Read More
Jun 01, 2022
The International African American Museum will welcome its first visitors on Jan. 21, 2023. The museum is located at the site of Gadsden’s Wharf in downtown Charleston, where many slaves disembarked from Africa. Its focus will b... Read More
May 31, 2022
Three York County hotels have been sold to a Charlotte-headquartered, privately held real estate investment, development and management company. Hunter Hotel Advisors facilitated the sale of the Hampton Inn & Suites in Fort Mi... Read More
May 31, 2022
Wilmington, Del.-headquartered DuPont has opened a new manufacturing facility at its Berkeley County plant that will have a global reach. The Liveo Healthcare facility, located at DuPont’s Cooper River plant, will increase t... Read More
May 27, 2022
Milliken & Co. Charitable Foundation is donating $2,000 scholarships to five historically Black colleges and universities in South Carolina. The grant will provide one scholarship per institution beginning this fall to science, te... Read More
May 26, 2022
The International African American Museum has received a $250,000 grant from TD Bank to sponsor onsite and online programming. The TD Bank Program Series will feature nine major community events and programs from 2022 to 2024 aime... Read More
May 26, 2022
Twelve defendants from seven construction-related companies have been sentenced for employment tax fraud felonies and crimes related to hiring unauthorized workers in a scheme that saw at least $15 million in bogus checks cashed. The ... Read More
May 25, 2022
Five Points’ newest business features a familiar face. Dance supply shop The Turning Pointe relocated from the Forest Drive location it had called home for 38 years to 1030 Harden Street after owner Coleen Strasburger receiv... Read More
May 24, 2022
A Connecticut-based startup has launched a community gift card program that includes 148 cards specific to S.C. towns. The cards, offered by Giverrang, can be redeemed at local, independent businesses throughout the state. A portion o... Read More
May 24, 2022
Fifty-three high school students have received scholarships through the South Carolina State Fair’s Ride of Your Life program. The $6,000 scholarships are awarded at an annual rate of $1,500 to students planning to pursue th... Read More
May 21, 2022
The Midlands’ tight industrial real estate market will get a boost with a planned 350,000-square-foot speculative building at Pineview Industrial Park in Richland County. Summit Real Estate Group is investing $28.6 million towar... Read More
May 20, 2022
Photos from Family Connection’s LOOK! 2021 exhibit will be on display at Columbiana Centre Mall beginning Saturday. Family Connection serves S.C. families who have children with a disability or chronic health condition. A r... Read More
May 20, 2022
Fourteen years ago, the biofuel world looked a bit different. When Beth and Joe Renwick founded what was then called Midlands Biofuels in 2008, restaurants paid to dispose of used cooking oil, which often went to landfills. Now, t... Read More
May 20, 2022
The city of Columbia and Richland County will participate in a national study aimed at understanding and reducing heat-related health risks. The urban head island mapping initiative will provide localized detail which can be used to i... Read More
May 19, 2022
Lou Kennedy admitted to a few flashbacks as she stood in the bright sunlight filling an interior courtyard at Seven Oaks Elementary School on Thursday morning. “This is where I stayed in trouble, in that corner,” Kennedy, ... Read More
May 18, 2022
Benedict College has become the first in the nation to agree to participate in the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs’ Veteran Health Administration Health Care Talent Academy. Benedict undergraduates interested in health care c... Read More
May 18, 2022
Metal fabrication and machine shop LaserForm & Machine Inc. is investing $5 million to expand its Richland County operations in a move expected to create 51 jobs. LaserForm & Machine is adding 20,000 square feet to its manufac... Read More
May 17, 2022
David Lockwood, COO and executive vice president of Colliers | South Carolina, has been elected to serve a one-year term as president of the global board of directors of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors. Lockwood’s ... Read More
May 13, 2022
After a whirlwind production schedule that brought a $400 million, 1.3 million-square-foot state-of-the-art production facility online in a year, the stakeholders in Mark Anthony Brewing’s Shop Road operations took a moment to ... Read More
May 12, 2022
The Standard, a 17-story, 441,980-square-foot housing tower in downtown Columbia, has taken a major step toward completion. Chicago-based real estate development and construction engineering firm Clayco recently celebrated the top... Read More
May 10, 2022
A Greenwood-based startup specializing in automatic fire suppression systems has been accepted as a South Carolina Research Authority member company, while two Midlands businesses joined another Upstate member company in receiving new gr... Read More
May 09, 2022
Midlands Technical College has become first in South Carolina to introduce a new SCBIO Life Sciences Pharmaceutical Manufacturing certificate program. The inaugural class completed the 48-hour curriculum, developed in conjunction ... Read More
May 06, 2022
Five Points consignment shop Revente Luxury Resale is celebrating its 30th anniversary this weekend. The shop, located at 737 Saluda Ave., plans an anniversary gathering this afternoon featuring Columbia Mayor Daniel Rickenmann, r... Read More
May 05, 2022
An Orangeburg native has been named the first Black male S.C. Teacher of the Year. Deion Jamison, an English teacher at Legacy Early College in Greenville, is also the first public school charter teacher to earn the annual award. S... Read More
May 05, 2022
Isabella Casillas Guzman learned firsthand what makes a successful small business growing up in California, where her father owned a chain of veterinary practices. “What I admired most about my father was his relationship in the... Read More
May 04, 2022
A Columbia tax preparer has been arrested and charged with 19 counts of willfully making or assisting in false or fraudulent returns. S.C. Department of Revenue agents arrested Shervonne Simmons, 49, of Columbia today. From 2017 to 20... Read More
May 03, 2022
The first apartments on the 1800 block of Main Street are expected to be ready for move-in this fall. Twenty-eight market rate apartments being developed by Cason Development Group and Cohn Corp. at 1813 Main St. in downtown Colum... Read More
May 02, 2022
Editor's note: County Council gave initial approval Tuesday to an ordinance restarting the mapping process. Richland County Council will consider a vote to restart the mapping process for its rewritten Land Development Code at its... Read More
May 02, 2022
A new garden designed to demonstrate the benefits of healthy food is underway at the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. DHEC broke ground on its Community Demonstration Garden project on Friday. The garden aims t... Read More