‘Angel’ Incentives Would Duplicate 3 State Programs

A bill that has moved another step closer to passing would have the state subsidize early-stage venture capital investing on top of three existing programs that do more or less the same thing.

Senator Proposes Putting Himself on SCRA Board

One of the state’s most powerful lawmakers has authored a bill that would put himself on the board of trustees and executive committee of a little-understood, state-controlled technology and real estate company.

Boeing Greased Its Landing in South Carolina

Even before Boeing announced plans to build in South Carolina, the aerospace company showed it knew how to play the political game.

Another Top SCRA Executive to Depart

The S.C. Research Authority, beset by loss of top executives over the past two years, is losing Rick Self, president of SCRA Applied R&D, one of its most important divisions.

SCRA Spins Its Economic Impact

The S.C. Research Authority, a state-created and state-controlled technology and real estate company, left out the bad news in recently announcing its latest economic impact results.

Tax Breaks for Wealthy ‘Angel’ Investors Set for Senate Hearing

New examples of investment capital available to startup South Carolina companies call into question an argument for state government to get more involved in the venture capital business.

Former SCRA Chairman: Turnover No Surprise

Former SCRA Chairman Bill Masters says problems at the agency are systemic.

Executive Turnover Hits SCRA

The S.C. Research Authority pays extremely well, but that hasn't helped it retain top executives.

End of the Road for I-95 Corridor Authority?

A legislative showdown is brewing over an S.C. Senate bill that would create another state agency whose purported goal is to improve economic conditions in historically poor, rural counties along Interstate 95.

Additional Details of SCRA Lending Revealed; Legality in Question

Some South Carolina banks have had a tough go over the past few years. Hit hard by the ongoing economic downturn, no fewer than seven state financial institutions have been closed by regulators since 2009, while several others have been placed under regulatory-enforcement actions of one sort or another.

Additional Details of SCRA Lending Revealed; Legality in Question

The S.C. Research Authority approved nearly $1 million in loans to five separate entities – including a consortium created by some of the biggest entities in the state and an alternative-fuel vehicle manufacturer eligible for tens of millions of dollars in state incentives – during fiscal year 2011 alone.

Making Sense of SC Launch Numbers No Easy Task

Questions still remain after the S.C. Research Authority responded to an S.C. Freedom of Information Act request for information on how its affiliate SC Launch spent approximately $18 million in state money over the past three years.

Making Sense of SC Launch Numbers No Easy Task

Questions still remain after the S.C. Research Authority responded to an S.C. Freedom of Information Act request for information on how its affiliate SC Launch spent approximately $18 million in state money over the past three years.

Research Authority Named Ninth-Fastest Growing “Company” in S.C.

The S.C. Research Authority, a tax-free state agency that represents itself as a private business, is No. 9 on this year’s state Chamber of Commerce list of the 25 fastest-growing companies in South Carolina.

TRAC Recommends Nixing SCRA’s Sales Tax Exemption

SC Launch Slow to Respond to Funding FOIA

It’s been nearly seven weeks since The Nerve sent SC Launch a state Freedom of Information Act request to ascertain how the S.C. Research Authority affiliate was disbursing $6 million in taxpayer-supported funds it receives annually.

SC Launch Grant to MUSC Dean’s Company Raises Questions

There appears to be potential issues with NextRay’s funding from SC Launch. Not only is there a question as to whether NextRay fulfilled the residency requirement necessary to receive funding from SC Launch, but it’s not clear if NextRay was up front in its application about all of its “principals, founders and partners.”

Bill to Give SCRA More Control Remains Alive

SCRA Said To Be ‘Cleansing’ its Wikipedia Page

Wikipedia, the free web-based collaborative encyclopedia project that encourages public input on articles, identified the S.C. Research Authority as the location of an Internet protocol address that had earlier this week repeatedly deleted information unfavorable to the state agency.

BCB Handles Public Relations Work for Private Business

By all accounts, Midlands BioFuels is an alternative fuels success story. The Winnsboro company produces 25,000 gallons of biodiesel fuel a month from waste vegetable oil, and while it has received some government support since its inception, Midlands BioFuels is profitable and would be even without government largesse, co-founder Joe Renwick says.

SCRA Paid Nearly $4 Million in Bonuses during 2008-10

The South Carolina Research Authority paid out more than $1.44 million in bonuses to 50 individuals for the 12-month period ending Oct. 23, 2010, the most current data available.

SCRA Intransigence Highlights State's FOIA Flaws

More than half a year after The Nerve submitted an S.C. Freedom of Information Act request to the state agency charged with developing South Carolina’s “knowledge-based economy,” officials with the S.C. Research Authority say they’re ready to comply.

Legislators Show Lack of SCRA Knowledge

If South Carolinians were asked in a poll to explain what the S.C. Research Authority is, the vast majority of them probably would be unable to do so.

Paper Trail Scarce Regarding SCRA Chair Selection

While the S.C. Research Authority may cloak itself in an air of mystery, there’s little doubt that state leaders have attached significant importance to the agency’s role in developing the state’s “knowledge economy.”

SCRA Extends Tentacles into High Finance

SCRA is moving into high finance.

S.C. Research Authority's FOIA Fail

SCRA has gone more than 140 days without fulfilling an S.C. Freedom of Information Act request.

SCRA Chair Sets Departure Date, Slams Agency

SCRA chairman slams agency in resignation letter.

Expensive Taxpayer Gift Offered to Boeing

Masters Sounds Concerns on SCRA in E-Mail

Outgoing S.C. Research Authority Chairman Bill Masters continues to sound a steady drumbeat of concern regarding the state-created agency.

Monday, he sent out an e-mail questioning the direction of the agency, touching on a number of different issues, including the veracity of data provided by SCRA top management to board trustees, high management salaries, SCRA’s accounting practices and whether it funds jobs that go to other states.

SCRA Now Hiring – But Mostly Out of State

Call it mission creep or a basic misunderstanding of the mission, but the S.C. Research Authority – created nearly 30 years ago in part to boost employment in South Carolina – would appear at present to be doing more good for the Missouri Ozarks than the Palmetto State.

Chair Blasts SCRA in Resignation Letter, Report

S.C. Research Authority Chairman Bill Masters’ resignation letter to Gov. Nikki Haley, submitted earlier this month, contains an accompanying report that paints a damning picture of the agency charged with leading South Carolina’s knowledge-based economy.

According to the eight-page report sent to Haley and obtained by The Nerve, Masters states that "SCRA has evolved over the past five years from a scientific research organization into a political organization using its core competency of data and information manipulation to market itself and benefit top management and its allies."

SCRA Executives Took Home $50k-$90k in Bonuses

As South Carolina’s budget woes have worsened over the past couple of years, many state agencies have cut back, leaving unfilled positions vacant, curtailing raises and, in some cases, laying off employees.

SCRA: How S.C. Created Its Own Company

Witnessing what was happening in North Carolina and Georgia, a group of powerful state officials here wanted in on the government-driven, knowledge-based economic development game in which the Palmetto State’s neighbors had long been engaged. Thus, amid the dawning of home computers, the General Assembly under then-Gov. Richard Riley passed legislation creating the S.C. Research Authority (SCRA).

Masters Calls for Investigation of SCRA Chief

SCRA chairman calls for independent investigation of agency.