The South Carolina Research Authority was established in 1983 to help drive the state’s innovation economy. This week the organization hopped back in the driver's seat and awarded $212,500 to 7 South Carolina companies that were accepted as member companies + approved for grant funding. Of the 7 companies selected, 4 are based right here in the capital city.
Wondering who received funding? Let’s check it out. 💸
Bird Dog Deals, LLC, founded in 2020
- Project Development Fund Grant — $25,000
- This local company created a real estate acquisition automation software called Bird Dog that streamlines underwriting for large investors interested in purchasing real estate.
Carolina Diagnostic Solutions, Inc., founded in 2014
- Project Development Fund Grant — $17,500
- Carolina Diagnostic Solutions was founded as a resource to offer respiratory testing, diagnosis, and treatment to patients in all levels of healthcare with chronic pulmonary diseases such as asthma, cystic fibrosis, and COPD.
University of South Carolina Office of Economic Engagement, est. in 2013
- Demonstration Grant — $50,000
- The funding will be used to find solutions for manufacturers in industrialized technology. The solutions will hopefully provide more efficient manufacturing processes to reduce downtime and prevent quality inconsistency. The Office of Economic Engagement brings together industry leaders and provides resources on innovative technology + entrepreneurship to build community partnerships.
Validide Corporation, founded in 2021
- Project Development Fund Grant — $25,000
- Validide is a startup community within UofSC working to develop personal identity protection services, such as an identity wallet system. The company aims to transform personal credentials + assets into verifiable credentials (think similar to bitcoin) that individuals could protect and share as necessary.
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Biz
Arts
- Coffee + Canvas Art | Wed., June 9 | 11 a.m.-1 p.m. | Painting with a Twist, 275 Harbison Blvd., Suite R | $33+ | A step-by-step lesson to paint your own “Paradise Isle” scene. 🎨
ForKids
Drink
PlanAhead
- Coffee with the City Manager | Thurs., June 10 | 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. | NoMa Warehouse, 2222 Sumter St. | $20+ | Join City of Columbia City Manager Teresa Wilson to talk plans + vitality of business.
- 1 or 2 Sessions Live | Fri., June 11 | 5-9 p.m. | Hampton-Preston Mansion, 1615 Blanding St. | Free | BYO chairs or blankets for a night of live music + local vendors.
That’s the name of the awareness campaign + the art contest that Richland County is hosting this year. Neighborhoods can participate by marking the storm drains in their area. #ProTip — you can request materials for this.
Contest winners will be randomly selected later this year to have the drains decorated by local artists to continue to prevent pollution to our rivers.
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Just use #COLAtoday on social media.
Weather
- 89º | Scattered thunderstorms | 50% chance of rain
Development
- Yesterday, Midlands Technical College broke ground on the 58,000 sqft Beltline Campus Center for Business and Information Technologies. The new project is expected to be completed in August 2023. (CRBR)
Announced
- Earth, Wind & Fire is going to turn Cola into a “Boogie Wonderland” on Sat., Oct. 9 at the Columbia Township Auditorium. Tickets to the jazz-fusion band will be available on Fri., June 11 here. 🎵(Cola Daily)
Civic
- The City of Columbia has placed misting stations at 6 community parks to keep folks cool in the famously hot summer. The misting stations will be in operation when the heat index is 90+ degrees from 10 a.m.-8 p.m.🔥 (ABC Columbia)
Number
- 3,100. The number of free scholarships that would be covered for the newly announced workforce retraining program by Gov. Henry McMaster + state officials. The $8 million in GEER funds will be used to help unemployment claimants explore short-term educational programs.
UofSC
- Yesterday, Founders Parks was selected to host a Super Regional round of the NCAA baseball tournament this weekend. While the Gamecocks won’t take the field, you can see Dallas Baptist play the winner of the Virginia vs. Old Dominion game, which was moved due to inclement weather. ⚾(The State)
WaterCooler
- Forest Acres-native + A.C. Flora grad Jordan Anderson will race in the Xfinity series in Austin, TX. This will be the first of this NASCAR series for Jordan + you can spot him driving No. 31.🏎️ (WLTX)
SodaCitizen
- A Dent Middle School student, James Pearson, published a book with the help of his family that he worked on as a school project. The book, “The Sleeping Dragon,” is now available on Amazon. (WLTX)
Stat
- 65.9%. The percent of the sun that will be obscured during the solar eclipse on Thursday. The maximum eclipse will be seen in the Columbia area at 5:29 a.m. + don’t forget to wear special eyewear to view.☀️ (The State)
Health
- Sunlight is an important ingredient for making vitamin D, which keeps our bones strong, fights disease + helps prevent some cancers. Here are a few tips on how to safely soak up the sun from Rachel Brown, MD. ☀️ Ⓟ
Digs
Cause
Cheers, Columbia. Fireflies baseball is back — and so are Budweiser Thirsty Thursdays, where fans can enjoy half price draft beer and fountain sodas all night long, plus $2 Bud Light Pints. 🍻
We took advantage of these deals (and stuffed our faces with all the best ballpark food) while watching the Fireflies defeat the Augusta GreenJackets on Thurs., May 27. Here’s how it went + how you can #TryThis.
Cheers to Columbia Fireflies baseball — and Budweiser Thirsty Thursday — being back at Segra Park | Photo by the COLAtoday team
Experience:
Thirsty Thursday with the Columbia Fireflies
What we tried (with pricing):
We purchased our tickets online for seats in the socially-distant (optional) Section 102 ($11; see all ticketing options here.) FYI, all tickets this season are either digital or “print at home” to limit person-to-person contact.
Here are some other updates fans should know about:
All purchases this season are card-only. Fans can exchange cash for gift cards with no expiration date.
With QR codes scattered throughout the stadium, mobile food ordering for these cheese fries ($3) was easy (and delicious) | Photo by the COLAtoday team
Starting this season, fans can order food from their seats + pick it up at a designated location to reduce line queues. Not to worry — the regular concession stands are still open. Ⓟ
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