Volvo CEO Lex Kerssemakers has a Q&A with P&C biz writer David Wren today, citing the state’s vocational training programs, geography, and business experience as reasons why the Swedish automaker chose to build its first American plant in the Charleston area. State officials ponied up $120 million in taxpayer money and state bonds to lure Volvo (plus incentives from Santee Cooper), which also considered other Southern states. Source: P&C, WSJ, Charlotte Observer

From the P&C opinion pages, by state Sen. Larry Grooms: “Why Volvo is a great fit for Lowcountry and state” Source: P&C

Vindication for P&C columnist Frank Wooten, who heckles the rest of us from the back of the P&C today, asking: “How about those cool new Volvos?” Source: P&C

The massive planned development on the peninsula’s west side, originally called the Horizon Project, has been renamed WestEdge, and the conceptual renderings of the proposed buildings have been submitted to the BAR for approval. Source: CRBJ

A new job opportunity study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers shows that the job market for graduating college seniors is the best it’s been since 2008. Source: G’ville News

Clemson is announcing additional graduate degrees that are set to be offered at a new North Charleston facility, currently under construction. Source: News 2

The Port of Charleston played a major role in luring Volvo, and part of the deal to bring them was to improve local infrastructure, a pitch that Vice President Biden echoed on Twitter, posting a photo from a recent visit to Charleston. Source: Twitter

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