Entries sought for ideas contest

EngenuitySC and Wells Fargo are accepting entries for their Ignite! 2012 Ideas Contest. The public competition with a $5,000 prize is open to individuals and organizations with ideas about how to start something new, novel and innovative in the greater Columbia area. Enter by 11:14 p.m. Oct. 19 by submitting a short form and two-minute video clip at engenuitysc.com. Ideas should represent a way to use the prize money to create a new product or solve a problem through a novel business solution. A panel of local judges will pick the top five finalists who will make presentations the week of Nov. 5. The top three will then present for live audience voting at the Ignite! 2012 knowledge economy celebration Nov. 14.

Study: Wind farm would bring windfall

CHARLESTON A new study concludes that a wind farm off the South Carolina coast could mean billions of dollars in wages and thousands of jobs. The study released Wednesday was compiled by Clemson’s Restoration Institute and its Strom Thurmond Institute of Government and Public Affairs for the state Energy Office. It finds that if a 1,000 megawatt offshore wind farm was constructed beginning in 2016, it would generate nearly $2 billion in wages and create 3,800 jobs a year during the decade it would take to build. The report says there are about 1,100 people employed either full or part time in the wind energy industry in the state. The report said they make, on average, about $78,000 a year.

Cruise terminal court challenge sent back to Charleston

CHARLESTON A federal judge has transferred a court challenge to South Carolina’s planned $35 million cruise terminal to Charleston from Washington, D.C., ruling the controversy is largely a local issue. Local environmental and preservation group sued in July in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, saying the case is of national importance and should be heard there. The suit seeks to invalidate a U.S. Corps of Engineers permit allowing the State Ports Authority to renovate a riverfront warehouse for the terminal. The plaintiffs say there should be more federal review of effects on the city’s historic district. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, in his Sept. 27 order transferring the case, wrote that the claim “is overwhelmingly local in nature and has no meaningful nexus in the District of Columbia.”

Economic news lifts market

NEW YORK An encouraging report on the labor market and better sales from Costco and other retail stores helped push the stock market higher Thursday. The government said that 367,000 Americans sought unemployment benefits for the first time last week. That’s an increase from the previous week but fewer than economists had forecast. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 80.75 points to close at 13,575.36. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index climbed 10.41 points to 1,461.40. The Nasdaq composite rose 14.23 points to 3,149.46.

The Associated Press contributed.