DALLAS — New Assist. Dir. named to Riochland Co. Economic Development office, American Airlines inspects passenger seats

Annie Caggiano gets Richland economic development post

Annie Caggiano has been named assistant director of the Richland County Economic Development Office. She will lead the county’s new business retention and expansion program. Caggiano previously was project manager in the dean’s office at the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business. She also worked for seven years at the Central SC Alliance, a non-profit economic development organization serving 10 Midlands counties. The Richland County native is a Clemson University graduate and a member of the South Carolina Economic Developers Association. She will make $60,000 a year and will work closely with the office’s director, Nelson Lindsay.

American Airlines inspecting passenger seats after seats come loose on third flight

American Airlines says passenger seats on a third flight came loose as the plane was airborne, and it’s continuing to inspect other jets with similar seating. The airline acknowledged Tuesday that seats came loose on a flight last week from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport to Vail, Colo. The same thing happened aboard the same plane Monday and a second plane Saturday, according to the airline. Separately an American flight on Tuesday from Chicago to London was diverted to Shannon Airport in Ireland after a report of smoke in the cabin. An airline spokesman said it turned out to be a faulty cooling fan in an entertainment system, and the plane was expected to continue on to London Tuesday night. The reports of smoky cabins and seats coming loose during flights raised questions about safety on the nation’s third biggest airline. Aviation industry experts said publicity about the problem could make passengers stay away from American and fly on other airlines instead. Matt Ziemkiewicz, president of the safety-advocacy group National Air Disaster Alliance, said passengers could be hurt or killed in an otherwise survivable crash if seats break loose from their moorings.

Some 2009 unemployment payments went to households with incomes of $1 million or more

Almost 2,400 people who received unemployment insurance in 2009 lived in households with annual incomes of $1 million or more, according to the Congressional Research Service. The report was released after about 1.1 million people exhausted their jobless benefits during the second quarter of 2012, when more than 4.6 million filed initial unemployment claims. Eliminating those payments to high earners is one idea being considered as U.S. lawmakers struggle to curb a projected $1.1 trillion deficit for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, with the nationwide jobless rate at 8.1 percent. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., called it “a case study in out-of-control spending.” The 2,362 people in millionaire homes represent 0.02 percent of the 11.3 million U.S. tax filers who reported unemployment insurance income in 2009, according to the August report. Another 954,000 households earning more than $100,000 during the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression also reported receiving unemployment benefits. The reported benefits may include those received by spouses or dependents of people who made high incomes, or benefits received earlier in the year before a household member got a high-paying job. Eliminating the federal share of unemployment benefits for millionaires would save $20 million in the next decade, the congressional researchers said in their report.

Kristy Eppley Rupon, The Associated Press and Bloomberg News contributed.