<img src="http://postandcourier.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/img/croppedphotos/2010/05/30/Charleston_Good_News_t80.jpg?70d7b5704cba9ce5eec38ef90643531b81b90d4c” title=”" alt=”S.C., city aim to get fast transit moving” style=”float:left;margin-right:4px;border:1px solid #006600;” />
A high-speed mass transit system for eastern South Carolina is a long way off, but the Lowcountry is trying to get the effort on track.
S.C.
S.C., city aim to get fast transit moving
Midlands job machine: Some say armed forces equal to Boeing, BMW
The planned Boeing plant in North Charleston is getting ink as the state’s major job creator in the midst of the Great Recession.
But the U.S. military is answering the call in the Midlands, expanding its already massive work force at Fort Jackson and Shaw and McEntire air bases by about 2,500 new civilian and uniformed workers.
Those paychecks and the spending they generate at grocery stores and gas stations will pump an additional .9 billion into the local economy each year, according to estimates from the S.C. Military Task Force, a group of community leaders, state officials and retired military brass formed by the state to protect S.C. bases from Pentagon cuts.
That .9 billion estimate is on top of the .2 billion the bases already contribute to the Midlands’ economy, for a total of .1 billion annually. By comparison, the economic impact of the Boeing plant is estimated at .1 billion.
Midlands job machine: Some say armed forces equal to Boeing, BMW
The planned Boeing plant in North Charleston is getting ink as the state’s major job creator in the midst of the Great Recession.
But the U.S. military is answering the call in the Midlands, expanding its already massive work force at Fort Jackson and Shaw and McEntire air bases by about 2,500 new civilian and uniformed workers.
Those paychecks and the spending they generate at grocery stores and gas stations will pump an additional .9 billion into the local economy each year, according to estimates from the S.C. Military Task Force, a group of community leaders, state officials and retired military brass formed by the state to protect S.C. bases from Pentagon cuts.
That .9 billion estimate is on top of the .2 billion the bases already contribute to the Midlands’ economy, for a total of .1 billion annually. By comparison, the economic impact of the Boeing plant is estimated at .1 billion.
Delay likely in arrival of jets to Shaw, McEntire
The possible deployment of the new F-35 fighter to two S.C. bases could be delayed by up to four years, according to the S.C. Military Base Task Force.
Production delays and cost overruns on the new fighter jet could push any possible deployment to Shaw Air Force Base and McEntire Joint National Guard Base to 2016 or 2017, task force members said.
Deployment of the F-35 at the bases is key to Shaw and McEntire’s ability to withstand any possible reductions in future rounds of the Base Realignment and Closure reviews.
Shaw and McEntire are on the short list of 11 bases to receive the fighters to replace their F-16s, Patrick said.
Delay likely in arrival of jets to Shaw, McEntire
The possible deployment of the new F-35 fighter to two S.C. bases could be delayed by up to four years, according to the S.C. Military Base Task Force.
Production delays and cost overruns on the new fighter jet could push any possible deployment to Shaw Air Force Base and McEntire Joint National Guard Base to 2016 or 2017, task force members said.
Deployment of the F-35 at the bases is key to Shaw and McEntire’s ability to withstand any possible reductions in future rounds of the Base Realignment and Closure reviews.
Shaw and McEntire are on the short list of 11 bases to receive the fighters to replace their F-16s, Patrick said.
