Horry-Georgetown Technical College is doubling the size of its culinary arts program in the next three years to serve the needs of hundreds of restaurants on South Carolina's Grand Strand.The Sun News of Myrtle Beach reports ( http://bit.ly/v9qP35) the number of culinary students will double to 300.The college is building a new two-story building on its Grand Strand campus to house classrooms, kit...

With Hurricane Irene past and the Labor Day weekend looming, tourism officials in Myrtle Beach have extended their summer ad campaign in hopes of offsetting any negative publicity from the storm.South Carolina's beaches emerged from their brush with Irene relatively unscathed last weekend but officials worry that may not be clear to potential visitors after news about the storm.Brad Dean of the My...

A local group is pushing efforts to make the center of South Carolina's $18 billion tourism industry a smoke-free area.The Sun News of Myrtle Beach reports that the nonprofit Smoke Free Horry cites survey figures showing that an overwhelming majority of the county's residents believe secondhand smoke causes health problems. Organization spokesman George DuRant wants visitors to see a progressive c...

North Myrtle Beach city council has given initial approval to an agreement to expand the city by about 1,800 acres west of the intracoastal waterway.The Sun News of Myrtle Beach reported the council voted Monday to approve an agreement with several landowning firms that would zone more than 1,400 of the acres for single-family homes, multi-family homes and commercial units. The city would also buy...

Leaders in Myrtle Beach say a city sales tax passed two years ago to promote tourism is paying off in a big way.The Sun News of Myrtle Beach reports that leaders say the tourism recovery that started last year should continue in 2011 thanks to the additional money.Brad Dean with the chamber of commerce says the group has used money from the sales tax to increase visitor awareness of the area. He s...

Montana Biopolymers Inc., a new firm which will produce polymers using biodegradable sucrose, is opening in Fairfield County. The company plans to begin production in April and hire up to 10 people in the first two years. The biopolymers will be used to replace certain petrochemicals in everything from cosmetics to plastics, a release said. Montana Biopolymers’ sister company, Montana Polys...

Companies that made campaign donations to politicians who supported a sales tax increase for the Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce are now getting some of those tax dollars to help market the tourist destination, a newspaper has reported.The chamber of commerce has paid out almost $6 million this year in public funds to businesses and others that donated to the chamber's political action committee,...

Tourism along South Carolina's Grand Strand is up this fall as couples and groups spend time at the beach. But officials say the golf business remains weak.The Sun News of Myrtle Beach reported that revenue per hotel room is up more than 7 percent since Labor Day compared with last year. Coastal Carolina University researcher Taylor Damonte says rising room rates mean travelers can expect fewer di...

Visitors to South Carolina's coast during the summer are as likely to be waited on by a college student from Taiwan or Eastern Europe as they are a local teen, The Sun News of Myrtle Beach reported Sunday.Hundreds of foreign workers every year find summer work along the state's Grand Strand, despite a statewide jobless rate of 10 percent. But Sheryl Kline of the University of South Carolina's Scho...

Some tourists worried about the effect of the oil spill on the Gulf Coast are making reservations for beach vacations in South Carolina.The Sun News of Myrtle Beach reported Wednesday that chambers of commerce along South Carolina's Grand Strand report an increase in calls from people concerned the oil spill might ruin a Gulf vacation.Brad Dean of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce is waiti...

President Barack Obama says Virginia's governor made "an unacceptable omission" when he proclaimed it Confederate History Month without mentioning slavery."I don't think you can understand the Confederacy and the Civil War unless you understand slavery," said Obama, the nation's first black president. First lady Michelle Obama is descended from a South Carolina slave.Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell ca...