AROUND TOWN _

Hospitals, colleges, prisons, manufacturers and power generator customers of Dominion Energy will receive a 1-time bill credit in their December invoices.

This is for savings under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act based on the customer’s percentage of total sales and transportation revenue collected from January 2018 through October 2018.

The act reduced the federal corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% effective January 1, 2018, according to Jim Clarkson of Resource Supply Management.

Dominion deferred the credit until November 2018 when new rates started reflecting the reduced federal corporate tax rate.

What’s ahead in business in 2020?

Our economy remains on solid footing, says University of South Carolina economist Joey Von Nessen.

• Growth will continue but slow. Economists agree the state will continue to grow in 2020 but not as rapidly.

• More housing to meet demand. As people continue to move into the area, housing developments will rise to meet the demand, but activity could slow somewhat. Home builders anticipate a great year.

• Employers seek help in a tight labor market. Our unemployment rate is the lowest it’s ever been. The percentage of adults who are working or looking for work is one of the lowest in the US. Employers need creative ways to draw people off the sidelines and into the workforce.

• Access to 5G will expand. Telecommunications providers are promising an expansive rollout of the next big update to wireless technology. Businesses will likely be the first to buy access to the lightning-fast connections.

Robot competition

Meadow Glen Middle will host the First LEGO South Carolina tournament Saturday.

The events are open to the public and free to attend.

Explore the tournament pits where teams display their research Projects and demonstrate their Core Values.

Spectators can watch the Robot Game where teams compete to score the highest points using LEGO built robots to solve intricate missions.

4 Meadow Glen teams will compete between 7:30 am and 5 pm at 440 Ginny Lane, in Lexington.

Caught red-handed

A chain of vape stores in Lexington County must pay over $66,000 in back wages and damages to employees.

The US Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that Planet Vapor Inc. violated the minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The vape chain paid $66,410 to 20 employees across its 5 locations in Columbia, Lexington, West Columbia and Irmo.

WHD found the employer paid some store managers a flat weekly salary that, when divided by the number of hours they worked, failed to cover those hours at the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

The retailer also inaccurately classified managers and lab employees as exempt from the overtime requirements of the FLSA when none met the requirements for exemption and paid them straight-time for all the hours that they worked.

Sorry, ‘Friends’ fans

Netflix will no longer host the popular show “Friends.”

Dec. 31 was the last day to watch the show on Netflix.

It will now move to HBO Max in the spring, WLTX news reported.

The streaming service will also exclusively host “The Frest Prince of Bel-Air” and “Pretty Little Liars.”

A subscription will run you $14.99 per month.

Keeping our rivers clean

2019 was a busy year for Congaree River-keeper.

In the last year, it:

•Worked with partners to remove an outdated and obsolete dam on Congaree Creek, improving natural stream flows, aquatic habitat, and safety for paddlers.

•Reached a settlement agreement with Blue Granite Water Company (formerly, Carolina Water Service) over a long-running lawsuit that eliminated the illegal discharges from the company’s I-20 wastewater treatment plant. As a result of the settlement, Blue Granite contributed $350,000 to local water quality monitoring and planning initiatives.

•Set the stage for the elimination of another problematic sewer discharge from the Lower Saluda River, Blue Granite Water Company’s Friarsgate wastewater treatment plant.

•Expanded local water quality monitoring initiatives, including continued involvement and leadership in the Midlands Rivers Coalition (www.HowsMySCRiver.org).

•Collaborated with researchers from the University of South Carolina to conduct a microplastics study of our local rivers.

•Continued legal and advocacy efforts to compel Dominion Energy (formerly, SCE&G) to clean up its toxic coal tar from the Congaree River.

•Participated in the regulatory and legislative process to oppose environmental rollbacks and promote good policy.

•Organized volunteer cleanups that removed more than 10,000 pounds of trash from our rivers and streams.

•Engaged with thousands of citizens through outreach and education activities

•Responded to more than 30 citizen pollution reports, from sewer spills to illegal dumping.