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ANDY OWENS PROFILE

Andy Owens
Executive Editor
Connect with Andy
- 843-849-3142
- @CRBJ
- aowens@scbiznews.com
About Andy
Andy Owens is the executive editor for the Charleston Regional Business Journal, Columbia Regional Business Report, GSA Business Report, SC Lawyers Weekly, NC Lawyers Weekly, and the Mecklenburg Times.
Feb 04, 2021
Lowcountry Local First opened a new HQ, including more than 5,000 square feet of coworking space on Summerville Avenue in Charleston late last week. The location in the Lumberyard commercial development expands and modernize... Read More
Nov 25, 2020
Most of the companies receiving emergency loans to retain jobs in South Carolina in the early days of the pandemic will qualify for a streamlined forgiveness program. That could mean more than $76 million would not have to be paid bac... Read More
Oct 02, 2020
Gov. Henry McMaster indicated during a military commanders briefing Thursday that he would lift restaurant occupancy restrictions that have been in place since early August. “We’re going to remove the limitations on restau... Read More
Aug 13, 2020
North Charleston firefighters and Charleston County EMS responded to a commercial structure fire at a uniform company in North Charleston this morning. There were no injuries, the fire department said in a news release, and the fi... Read More
Aug 03, 2020
A regional developer said while the market for larger office space might struggle during the coronavirus pandemic, the appetite for smaller square footage could see a resurgence. Jeff Baxter, a partner in Cityvolve, said interest ... Read More
Jul 27, 2020
Goose Creek launched an economic development quest last year that included finding a food and beverage tenant for the city’s old fire station building. Now, the city has announced that effort is moving forward with a new brewery... Read More
Jul 24, 2020
The president of the S.C. Craft Distillers Guild told the S.C. congressional delegation that without increased federal help to deal with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, many distilleries in the state could be facing closure. I... Read More
Jul 22, 2020
Congress is considering a simplified process for forgiveness of Paycheck Protection Program loans, especially smaller loans, the CEO of the S.C. Bankers Association said. Across South Carolina, 63,000 businesses received federally bac... Read More
Jun 22, 2020
The latest chapter in a dispute over church property between the national Episcopal Church and a group of breakaway churches has been filed by a circuit court judge in Dorchester County. The dispute over ownership of church proper... Read More
Jun 03, 2020
The Charleston Museum has reopened with two new exhibits, as well as hourly tours of the Joseph Manigault House, which began Monday. The Heyward-Washington House is set to reopen June 15. The museum recently received a bridge gran... Read More
Jun 02, 2020
Responding to questions from businesses already struggling to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, Charleston and Charleston County officials said they took their lead from law enforcement on the timing of multiple days of curfews.... Read More
Apr 24, 2020
Jason Ward, president of Landmark Enterprises, said diversification has helped the portfolio developer and commercial real estate company weather some of the COVID-19 fallout in recent weeks. Ward said the pandemic, and its requir... Read More
Apr 22, 2020
As offices and retail businesses closed in waves while COVID-19 took hold across the Lowcountry, one thing soon became clear: Construction sites were not closing down. Part of that is the essential nature of the business sector, e... Read More
Apr 14, 2020
COVID-19 has put a business twist on a scam that typically gets used against homeowners during natural disasters. The scam goes like this: Someone calls or emails you and says they’re from the electric utility company and if you... Read More
Apr 13, 2020
Coping with COVID SC Biz News is speaking with small businesses and community leaders about the impact of the new coronavirus on business and industry, and how this is changing how they operate. Contact Andy Owens, aowens@scbiznews.c... Read More
Mar 25, 2020
Coping with COVID SC Biz News is speaking with small businesses and community leaders about the impact of the new coronavirus on business and industry, and how this is changing how they operate. Contact Andy Owens, aowens@scbizn... Read More
Mar 17, 2020
Coping with COVID: SC Biz News is speaking with small businesses and community leaders about the impact of the new coronavirus on business and industry, and how this is changing how they operate. Contact Andy Owens, aowens@scbiz... Read More
Sep 05, 2019
Hurricane Dorian was a shared experience for residents and businesses of the Lowcountry, with or without electricity, as it spun off the coast as a Category 3 hurricane and raked the area with wave after wave of wind this morning. ... Read More
Aug 08, 2019
Kion North America in Summerville has received its largest industrial truck order in the company’s history from a chain of home improvement stores headquartered in Wisconsin. Kion North America will manufacture and supply Me... Read More
Aug 07, 2019
Heritage Trust Federal Credit Union's board of directors has named Jason S. Lee as the financial institution's new president and chief operating officer. Lee replaces CEO Jim McDaniel, who worked for Heritage Trust for 22 year... Read More
Aug 07, 2019
Four transactions totaling more than $14 million in downtown Charleston have moved 31,635 square feet of retail and office space to a Charlotte investment firm. Asana Partners paid $14.4 million for three buildings and a portion of a ... Read More
Jul 01, 2019
The Columbia Regional Business Report and GSA Business Report won top honors for journalism excellence during an annual conference of business-to-business publishers over the weekend in Atlanta. Hundreds of publishers attended the thr... Read More
Nov 30, 2018
Businesses and residents have collected more than $30 million in incentives from South Carolina’s utilities for launching solar projects since 2014. That’s when a law went into effect allowing privately owned solar operati... Read More
Sep 12, 2018
As larger companies build stronger, more fortified layers of cybersecurity, bad actors are increasingly going after small and midsize businesses they consider more vulnerable, according to an executive from an Atlanta cybersecurity compa... Read More
Aug 14, 2018
The renewables vice president for S.C. Electric & Gas said that businesses should look at electric vehicle charging as a possible workplace benefit, saying such a move could trigger a shift in how people think about electric vehi... Read More
Aug 10, 2018
Cayce’s mayor told a group of business executives and community members that women excel in business and government once they see opportunity open to them. Mayor Elise Partin gave the keynote address Thursday at the 2018 Women o... Read More
Jul 30, 2018
When Isaac Morton started Smithey Ironware Co. in 2014, his goal was to make the kind of cast iron cookware he would use in his own kitchen. Four years later, the company has grown from a small, boxy industrial spot on James Islan... Read More
Jul 02, 2018
The S.C. Department of Transportation has answered some of the lingering questions surrounding the sudden closure and later reopening of the James B. Edwards bridge that snarled traffic across the Charleston region after a cable snap... Read More
Jun 15, 2018
This is the time of year when we usually like to do a short post on shark attacks. There are a lot of tourists here (and newcomers), and we usually feel good about reminding folks they can go into the ocean without a care because your... Read More
Jan 11, 2018
More than a few South Carolinians inadvertently did some drifting in their vehicles as the recent ice storm descended on the Palmetto State more than a week ago. But not long ago, the high-performance drivers at the BMW Performance C... Read More
Aug 08, 2017
Mount Pleasant officially opened the doors on its new, $29 million town hall this morning, next door to the old town hall, which will be torn down and made into a community park. Residents already were doing business Tuesday morni... Read More
May 26, 2017
Sharon Sellers, president of SLS Consulting LLC, wanted to honor an employee’s request to work more than 40 hours one week to give her time to be out with a sick child. But she couldn’t do it. Federal laws require private ... Read More
May 12, 2017
They didn’t make the final cut, but the students at Cane Bay High School did something that 2,950 other schools weren’t able to do: Get the attention of a worldwide brand of shoes and nearly end up having their designs sold. ... Read More
Apr 28, 2017
The Charleston Regional Business Journal’s Power Breakfast was hugely popular on Wednesday. Nine individuals from a mosaic of sectors in business, industry, national defense, finance, marking and community outreach told us what the... Read More
Apr 26, 2017
Before Joe Riley left the mayor’s office, he told the Charleston RiverDogs that plans to enhance the baseball stadium bearing his name should fit into the existing look and feel of the stadium. “We’ve had quite a... Read More
Feb 22, 2017
For 20 years, the Charleston Regional Business Journal has honored 40 individuals under 40 years old for their professional engagement and community service in the Charleston area. An awards ceremony and networking event will be held ... Read More
Feb 16, 2017
A proposal to raise Mount Pleasant’s impact fees to the maximum allowed by state law was tabled just before a Town Council vote Tuesday night. Councilman Joe Bustos, who led the effort, agreed to put his motion on hold after sev... Read More
Feb 15, 2017
Mount Pleasant Town Council passed a six-month moratorium on multifamily developments Tuesday night, but some council members suggested the move didn’t go far enough and is mostly symbolic. The halt, which passed by a 7-2 vote, ... Read More
Feb 03, 2017
Alfred R. Waud was a 19th-century artist who traveled across the United States and drew the things he saw, including the war-torn America of the late 1800s. Back then, he worked as a correspondent, using pencils and paper instead of ... Read More
Nov 30, 2016
State lawmakers representing Dorchester County said Gov. Nikki Haley’s appointment as U.N. ambassador could mean South Carolina’s infrastructure problems might finally be addressed in the next legislative session. Rep.... Read More
Nov 23, 2016
A federal judge in Texas halted a Labor Department rule change that would have made 70,000 salaried S.C. workers eligible for overtime on Dec. 1. In May, the Labor Department, at the direction of President Barack Obama, doubled the th... Read More
Nov 03, 2016
Don’t call it an uber tuber — sweet potatoes are roots, after all — but there’s a patented potato growing beneath the soil in North Charleston that’s good for making chips and could be used as an alternative... Read More
Oct 27, 2016
The Charleston area shouldn’t be too concerned if the national economy takes a dip, said an economist and banking executive during a World Trade Center Charleston luncheon on Wednesday. The local economy already outshines the re... Read More
Sep 21, 2016
Economic development begins with businesses serving as envoys for their communities, Summerville Mayor Wiley Johnson told a group of business leaders this morning. “You guys probably know about economic development before we fin... Read More
Aug 26, 2016
The Charleston Regional Business Journal is a member of a national trade association of business publications. Our counterparts in Baton Rogue, La., asked us to ask you to consider helping Louisiana businesses recover from the devastatin... Read More