South Carolinians report being “on the fence” as they look ahead to 2025. 

A survey of 3,000 respondents conducted by MarketBeat.com asked people to rate their financial optimism for the coming year on a scale of 1 to 10. 

South Carolinians scored a 6 out of 10, aligning with the national average, while Hawaii residents led the pack with an impressive 9/10 optimism rating. 

It seems challenges like rising interest rates and global economic uncertainty are weighing heavily on South Carolinians' financial outlook for 2025.

MarketBeat.com said the average South Carolina investor saw a 19 percent return on their investments in 2024. That was in line with the national average. 

So how are South Carolinians putting their gains to work?

According to MarketBeat.com, a significant number are choosing to reinvest in 2025, seeing it as an opportunity to keep building their portfolios and grow their wealth further. 

Others are using the financial boost to tackle long-standing debt or build up emergency savings, which have become a higher priority in uncertain times. 

Some are also setting money aside for personal goals – whether that’s education, travel, or other meaningful pursuits. 

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Attorney General Alan Wilson Co-Leads Brief Supporting Students’ Free Speech Rights

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson co-led a 23-state brief filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit aimed at protecting students’ First Amendment right to free speech.

The case is about a school district in Ohio that adopted policies requiring everyone to use students’ preferred pronouns. 

A group of parents challenged the policies but lost at the district court level. They appealed and lost before a small panel of the Appeals Court judges but have now won a hearing before the entire Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. 

This brief supports the parents and students.

“The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1969 that teachers and students don’t ‘shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate,’ and yet this district in Ohio is trying to force all students to say things that many of them may not believe in,” Wilson said.

The brief argues some believe that people can have a gender identity inconsistent with their biological sex, and using preferred pronouns expresses that view. 

But others disagree and believe that using pronouns inconsistent with someone’s sex is to speak a lie. In this case, the school district took sides and embraced the first view while trying to eradicate opposing views. 

The states argue that “the First Amendment forbids school officials from coercing students to express messages inconsistent with the students’ values.”

South Carolina and Ohio are leading the 23-state brief, and are joined by the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia.

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Crystal Lagoons Brings Beach Life to South Carolina

Columbia, the capital of South Carolina, a city without a coastline, will now have an idyllic beach life thanks to the first project signed by Crystal Lagoons in this state. 

The new operation adds another chapter to the success story in the United States that has this multinational innovation company founded by scientist Fernando Fischmann. 

The U.S. is the company's main market worldwide, with more than 275 projects at different stages of development and negotiation.

The project, called Oak Hills, forms part of an agreement with Greenville, South Carolina-based Contender Development, Broadstreet Inc., and Blue Lagoon Development LLC to develop four complexes in the state.

The project will feature a 4.8-acre crystalline lagoon surrounded by white sandy beaches. It will have a private area reserved for residences and tourists staying at a luxury hotel.

On the other hand, it will have a public access area, accessible to all through ticketed entry, which will have all the features of the Public Access Lagoons model, also known as PAL developments. 

For this reason, it will be a hybrid complex, equipped with extensive commercial, entertainment, and sports infrastructure, as well as terraces, restaurants, parks, a wedding peninsula, a children's area, and other amenities.

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MUSC Health’s Executive Medical Director for the Center for Telehealth Receives Marion Woodbury Leadership Award

MUSC Health named James McElligott, M.D., as the 2024 recipient of the Marion Woodbury Leadership Excellence Award.

The Marion Woodbury Jr. Leadership Excellence Award is presented annually for meritorious service to a member of the MUSC Health leadership team. 

The award recognizes leaders who have served as role models for MUSC Health's values, with particular focus on innovations that transform MUSC Health. 

Named after the late Marion E. Woodbury Jr., who spent over a decade as CEO of University Medical Associates, now known as MUSC Physicians, the award represents substantive leadership accomplishments in innovation with specific focus on those new systems, process, or ways of accomplishing individual or all elements of the tripartite mission of MUSC Health. 

“This award represents a testament to his unwavering commitment to grow MUSC Health through new systems, and lead health care transformations through innovative and groundbreaking ways,” Patrick J. Cawley, M.D., CEO, MUSC Health and vice president for Health Affairs, University, said in a statement.

McElligott oversees the activities of the MUSC Center for Telehealth and is co-chair of the South Carolina Telehealth Alliance. 

Under his leadership, the MUSC Center for Telehealth has been designated a National Center for Excellence, and the South Carolina Telehealth Alliance received the American Telemedicine Association’s 2019 President’s Award. 

His personal awards include the 2020 South Carolina State Champion Award for Telehealth, MUSC’s 2020 Physician of the Year Award, the 2020 MUSC Innovator Award, and the 2020 Margaret Jenkins Pediatric Teaching Award.

Said McElligott: “This award embodies the spirit of MUSC as I know it, and I am incredibly grateful to be part of an institution that I know will continue to support innovation and a persistence to improve the lives of those we serve.”

Marion Woodbury Jr. served in a number of roles during his tenure at MUSC, including chief financial officer, vice president for finance and administration; deputy executive director of hospitals and clinics; and associate hospital director. 

While CFO, he negotiated through political pressures and social changes and was instrumental in securing funding for the MUSC Children’s Hospital and the Ashley River Tower. 

Significantly, in 1991, he became the founding CEO of University Medical Associates, a position he held until his “retirement” in 2004. 

Upon his retirement, he continued as a consultant and served as special assistant to the president, Ray Greenberg, for several years.